#the fantastic adventures of takeru takaishi

[lightchildofthespring]

Chapter 19: The End

“You pulled me out from a spiral of anger and despair just by letting me hear your voice. You already helped me, Taichi. But now, you have to let go of me.”

The final chapter of the story.

[firstagent]

Since it popped up on the Podcast, how would you rank the sibling dynamics from healthy to trainwreck?

This is an innocent-sounding question until you go over the franchise and realize just how many sibling relationships there are in Digimon and that all but like three of them have elements that might raise eyebrows. In the interest of being comprehensive, this includes all named characters in any anime, manga, and game I’m familiar with, treating the reboot separately and including Survive because... (looks at Kaito and Miu’s bios) ...holy crap.

Sibling Relationship Rankings! (Healthy is Higher)

Joe & Shin Kido (Adventure): Shin understands Joe’s hang-ups and offers support to make his own choices without steering him in any specific direction, for or against the family. And Shuu exists too (depending on the language you’re watching in)

Juri & Masahiko Kato (Tamers): For all of the awkwardness and potential points of fracture in the family, Juri and Masahiko are very close. Fun Fact: She started carrying around her iconic hand puppet to amuse and entertain him!

Keito & Nozomi Tamada (Re:Arise): Even with very different personalities, Keito and Nozomi have a lot of respect for each other. Unlike some big brothers, he comes to a mature conclusion when he realizes she’ll be just fine with Pumpmon at her side.

Yamato Ishida & Takeru Takaishi (Adventure 2020): Yamato’s worry over Takeru only affects his reluctance to take on time-consuming side quests when he might be in danger. Far more chill about trusting Takeru with the rest of the team, he’s a motivation rather than a mental handicap.

Masaru & Chika Daimon (Savers): Perhaps a more controversial pick for the healthier side, but Masaru and Chika have a playful relationship that proves that Chika dishes out as much as anyone in the family. Given how much harm DATS and Digimon have done to the family, Masaru risks her love to keep them away from her.

Joe & Shin Kido (Adventure 2020): Shin’s still supportive and still encourages Joe to make choices for himself, but having that bugout bag ready to go raises some serious questions about that family and which side Shin’s really on.

Ai & Makoto (Tamers): Toddlers fight. It’s okay. They come together for Impmon’s sake and the fact that they’re the only duo in the franchise with mutual custody over a digivice has to say something about the strength of their relationship.

Nene & Kotone Amano (Xros Wars Manga): Nene’s tactics are still desperate but not quite as extreme as the anime, and it counts for so much that Kotone fights so hard for Nene once the tables are turned. And good lord that backstory...

Takuya & Shinya Kanbara (Frontier): There’s definitely a sense of Takuya lapsing into thinking Shinya encapsulates everything frustrating about having an older brother, but he gets over it.

Miyako Inoue + Three (Zero Two): Perfectly normal large household. And while wondering what it would be like to be an only child is something every youngest does... top of mind fantasy, Miyako? Really?

Jianliang & Shaochung Lee (Tamers): Speaking of four-packs... there’s no doubting how much they care about each other, but Jian’s occasional short fuse with Shaochung betrays his usual calm demeanor, and we never get a picture of the full family dynamic once Rinchei and Jaarin are included.

Daisuke & Jun Motomiya (Zero Two): Everyone likes to paint Jun and Daisuke as something uglier than it really is. As much as they annoy each other, it’s still a pretty conventional sibling dynamic and they’d still fight hard for the other... even if the feeling’s closer to obligation.

Koji Minamoto & Koichi Kimura (Frontier): There’s no questioning the bond they develop, but there’s no way Koji and Koichi go from “don’t know the other exists” to “ZOMG Twinzies!” without a ton of awkwardness and feeling each other out. They’ll get better, but from our standpoint this is where we start to drift into trainwreck territory.

Tomoki & Yutaka Himi (Frontier): Tomoki can spin it all he wants but Yutaka comes off as a real jerk. Not that some resentment isn’t a little justified given how much Tomoki is coddled, but taking it upon himself to be the bearer of tough love is still not cool.

Taichi & Hikari Yagami (Adventure 2020): Hikari has a blind faith that Taichi can save the day in any circumstance, up to and including international shipping crisis. Meanwhile Taichi sees Hikari lapsing between typical friendly eight year old to brainwashed robot and doesn’t find any problem with it.

Yamato Ishida & Takeru Takaishi (Adventure): Lessons in how not to be an overprotective big brother. Yamato freaks out at the slightest notion that Takeru might be exposed to danger, including his very presence in the Digital World. When you have a complete nervous breakdown realizing that little bro’s actually pretty capable on his own, it’s not about your relationship with him anymore.

Touma & Relena Norstein (Savers): There’s caring about a little sister, making her plight a central cause in your life, and then involving her in a chess match with a madman. There’s a lot to forgive here (they are raised in a family where your kneejerk reaction to Grandma is “I bet she supported the Nazis in World War II”), but everything about their relationship just makes you uncomfortable.

Kaito & Miu Shinonome (Survive): Maybe it’s not fair since their game is the franchise’s unicorn, but their bios have warning flags all over it. He’s overprotective, ready to fight at the slightest hardship, and she repays this attitude by being rebellious and weird and eager to pursue trouble. May end up being worse once the game actually comes out.

Rei & Hajime Katsura (Appmon): Another one where their backstory makes you sympathize with the lengths they go to in order to stay together, but risking the security of actual guardians to go it alone? Jesus. Even with their ride or die attitude, you still sense a bit of friction in their relationship, and so many of their hardships are their own doing. 

Nene & Yuu Amano (Xros Wars): There’s nothing seemingly wrong on the surface between Nene and Yuu, but that’s why their actions are so extreme. Yuu’s more than happy to treat her as an enemy general in his game, while Nene’s aligning herself with dark forces and causing real trouble to get him back. It’s all very loud and intense for a relationship that, without external influences, is just nice and cordial.

Yuuko & Yuugo Kamishiro (Cyber Sleuth): You can be anything you want on the internet! So why not take the identify of your big brother who was stricken with a mystery illness at a young age and lead a legion of hackers? And if you’re Yuugo, use your digital body to take control of that avatar! Nothing weird about any of this!

Ken & Osamu Ichijouji (Zero Two): Like Tomoki, Ken can come up with whatever rationale for Osamu’s abuse he wants, and Osamu at least had some kind moments, but there’s no denying that this family was a mess. And of course Ken’s reaction to Osamu’s death... could have been better.

Taichi & Hikari Yagami (Adventure): Hikari’s introduction to the series was intended to be a little creepy, and that just sets the tone. Her blind loyalty to Taichi is a primary point of emphasis through three series, and Taichi sometimes goes ballistic worrying about her... when not accidentally endangering her life. And that’s before she unleashes a world-destroying abomination at the mere suggestion that Taichi’s dead, and why telling him “what you’re doing is wrong and I kind of hate you for it” is a big moment for her, even though she’s wrong.

Neo & Rei Saiba (V-Tamer): There’s going a little overboard to keep your family together or save a sibling’s life, and then there’s aligning yourself with evil forces to avoid having to deal with your sister’s manageable disability. Call it being jaded or delusional, but when it drives your sister to attempt suicide there are definitely issues you two need to work through.

Erika & Ryuji Mishima (Cyber Sleuth Hackers Memory): Because aligning oneself with Arkadimon is always a fantastic idea. He’s overprotective, she manipulates him because of it, there’s resentment, there’s anger, and basically the entire game is spent watching these two outdo each other in terms of causing wanton destruction throughout the city and cyberspace.

Honorable Mention: Bagramon & DarkKnightmon (Xros Wars): The battle of who can stab the other in the back last.

Want to support my site and/or my work? Buy me a coffee!

[sweetjaegerlove]

by EveandJohnny

This is the collection of pieces made during Fanbruary and originally published on Tumblr. With them, I wanted to say thank you to the addressed people for making such fantastic art that I'll never get bored of.

Words: 6970, Chapters: 7/8, Language: English

Fandoms: Digimon Adventure tri., Pacific Rim (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dead Poets Society (1989), Other people's OCs - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida, Takenouchi Sora, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Tachikawa Mimi, Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya, Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Chuck Hansen, Raleigh Becket, Charlie Dalton

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Raleigh Becket/Chuck Hansen, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya

pacific rim May 25, 2019 at 01:34AM via AO3 works tagged 'Pacific Rim (2013)'

[ao3feed-chaleigh]

Fanbruary 2019

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

by EveandJohnny

This is the collection of pieces made during Fanbruary and originally published on Tumblr. With them, I wanted to say thank you to the addressed people for making such fantastic art that I'll never get bored of.

Words: 6970, Chapters: 7/8, Language: English

Fandoms: Digimon Adventure tri., Pacific Rim (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dead Poets Society (1989), Other people's OCs - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida, Takenouchi Sora, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Tachikawa Mimi, Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya, Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Chuck Hansen, Raleigh Becket, Charlie Dalton

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Raleigh Becket/Chuck Hansen, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

[ao3feed-stevebucky]

Fanbruary 2019

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

by EveandJohnny

This is the collection of pieces made during Fanbruary and originally published on Tumblr. With them, I wanted to say thank you to the addressed people for making such fantastic art that I'll never get bored of.

Words: 2289, Chapters: 1/8, Language: English

Fandoms: Digimon Adventure tri., Pacific Rim (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dead Poets Society (1989), Other people's OCs - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida, Takenouchi Sora, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Tachikawa Mimi, Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya, Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Chuck Hansen, Raleigh Becket

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Raleigh Becket/Chuck Hansen, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

[ao3feed-stucky]

by EveandJohnny

This is the collection of pieces made during Fanbruary and originally published on Tumblr. With them, I wanted to say thank you to the addressed people for making such fantastic art that I'll never get bored of.

Words: 2289, Chapters: 1/8, Language: English

Fandoms: Digimon Adventure tri., Pacific Rim (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dead Poets Society (1989), Other people's OCs - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida, Takenouchi Sora, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Tachikawa Mimi, Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya, Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Chuck Hansen, Raleigh Becket

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Raleigh Becket/Chuck Hansen, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya

[ao3feed-pacific-rim]

Fanbruary 2019

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

by EveandJohnny

This is the collection of pieces made during Fanbruary and originally published on Tumblr. With them, I wanted to say thank you to the addressed people for making such fantastic art that I'll never get bored of.

Words: 2289, Chapters: 1/8, Language: English

Fandoms: Digimon Adventure tri., Pacific Rim (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dead Poets Society (1989), Other people's OCs - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida, Takenouchi Sora, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Tachikawa Mimi, Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya, Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Chuck Hansen, Raleigh Becket

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Raleigh Becket/Chuck Hansen, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

[ao3feed-buckybarnes]

Fanbruary 2019

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

by EveandJohnny

This is the collection of pieces made during Fanbruary and originally published on Tumblr. With them, I wanted to say thank you to the addressed people for making such fantastic art that I'll never get bored of.

Words: 2289, Chapters: 1/8, Language: English

Fandoms: Digimon Adventure tri., Pacific Rim (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dead Poets Society (1989), Other people's OCs - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida, Takenouchi Sora, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Tachikawa Mimi, Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya, Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Chuck Hansen, Raleigh Becket

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Raleigh Becket/Chuck Hansen, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2Eu757e

[lightchildofthespring]

Yes, this is a taishiro story, but Koushiro is very aroace, you are welcome!

[lightchildofthespring]

Chapter 15: Afterworld

The world ended. What happens next?

“Only you are responsible for your choices.”

[lightchildofthespring]

Chapter 18: The storyteller

“Brother, have more respect for stories!” Takeru interrupted. “It's wrong to think of stories as silly fantasies that distract people from real life! Stories can be inspiring, challenging, they can teach you all sorts of things... even things about yourself... I used to think of stories as something that could bring me comfort and accomplishment. Heh, I even titled my book 'The fantastic adventures of Takeru Takaishi' on a whim, thinking only of the kind of story I wanted. But things didn't go as I envisioned. Honestly, this title isn't very fitting. The plot took unexpected turns and the narrative got scarier and darker. And, yes, I eventually realized that I'm not even the main character in this tale. But so what? I'll just have to find my own story later own. It won't have to be fantastical or have adventures or any grandeur at all. I just need to be open to life and unafraid to look into myself and face my fears. I'll never accept that life has to be bleak, and that the grown up thing to do is to accept it. Listen, brother! I'll live every day to make my life as good and beautiful as the lives I read about in stories. And I know that would be like chasing after the horizon, I know that I'll never reach that utopia, that happy ending, but I'll still work towards it! And then, in the end, even if my life isn't fantastic, it'll still be pretty good!”

[lightchildofthespring]

The fantastic adventures of Takeru Takaishi

Chapter 18: The storyteller

Takeru went to Daisuke's apartment as if he had done that many times before. After all, he remembered doing that many times before in that new life. The memories of those happy moments with the man he loved made his heart ache.

He knocked on the door. Soon enough, Daisuke opened it. Takeru noticed that his boyfriend was wearing a plain white shirt and brown shorts, but still looked as charming as ever. Lost in his beautiful brown eyes, he forgot that he wasn't really in Paradise.

“I was about to call you! Call you... heh... it's so funny we have portable telephones that fit in our pockets in this world,” Daisuke bemused. “Do you want to come in? My parents went to the grocery store. Jun is in her bedroom, and probably wouldn't like to be disturbed. But we could disturb her anyway, because then she would make a really funny face-”

Takeru pulled Daisuke into a kiss, holding his boyfriend's face fiercely with both hands, as if afraid he would disappear. After half a minute, Takeru broke the kiss. Daisuke's astonished face was completely flustered.

“Wow... thanks!” Daisuke said, without thinking too much. “Wait, no! That's not what one is supposed to say after their first kiss! Give me a second, I'll think of something really romantic!”

“Typical Daisuke!” Jun said, peeking from the corridor. “Of course you would mess up your first kiss!”

“Were you spying on me?!” Daisuke asked, turning to her. “I didn't mess anything up! Mind your own business!”

“Okay, alright! Keep the romance alive, Don Juan!” Jun added, smirking.

“Let's get out of here, Takeru!” Daisuke said, quickly putting on his shoes and leaving the apartment. He was still flustered, not so much because of the kiss, but mostly because of his sister making fun of him. Takeru couldn't help but to find him adorable.

“Sorry for kissing you without warning,” Takeru had an apologetic tone. “Last time I saw you, we were in the boat and the darkness was coming towards us...”

“No need to apologize, I liked that kiss!” Daisuke comforted him. “If anything, I should apologize for my poor choice of words. 'Wow, thanks' sounds so self-centered! I'm sure you would've said something beautiful!”

Takeru remained quiet for a moment. Then, as he felt tears filling his eyes, he couldn't keep to himself the question that was tormenting him:

“Am I a bad person?”

“Huh?” Daisuke was confused. “Of course not! Where did you get such idea?”

“I like this new world, I like how everybody is happy here! But my brother said that our father had a daughter from a new relationship, and she was never born on this new world because he never met her mother here! So, they want to return to the old world, where my sister exists! And I know that I should be onboard with the idea, but I snapped at Yamato for not being mad at our father for abandoning him... we had a horrible argument! I called him an idiot, and he told me I was a spoiled brat!”

“Hey, it's alright!” Daisuke said, wrapping his arms around Takeru. “Siblings argue all the time, it's the most normal thing in the world! That doesn't make you a bad person!”

“I didn't think I was a bad person because of the argument,” Takeru clarified. “It was because I'm conflicted... I know the right thing to do should be to save this sister I didn't even know I had, but I don't want to give up on this world. Everybody is happy here, everything is perfect! Your parents are alive! Why should you have to lose your family again, just so my father gets his family back?”

Daisuke remained silent for a few seconds. It didn't take long for him to break the hug and look into Takeru's eyes with sad resignation.

“This place is perfect, and I'm happy that I could see my parents again, but it isn't real,” Daisuke said. “We can't endanger the existence of a real person for the sake of a fantasy. You know that.”

“What's so wrong with fantasies?” Takeru wondered aloud.

His brother's harsh words echoed in his mind. You lived in a mansion, had expensive clothes and a pile of books filled with stupid fantasies! Takeru had grown up reading fantasy books that brought him comfort when his broken family could only hurt his heart. His father didn't care about him, his mother worked all day, his grandfather was always busy with his appointments, and his brother chose their neglectful father over Takeru. Meanwhile, in books, people would have noble hearts and fight for love and justice. Had Takeru been a fictional character, happiness would be an assured conclusion to his adventures. Nevertheless, people kept reprehending him for wishing that life of fantasy, as if reality had something better to offer him.

Daisuke held his hands.

“Tell me, Takeru, if you were writing this story, how would you solve this situation?”

Takeru was tempted to see mockery in his boyfriend's question, but knew there couldn't be any of it. Daisuke looked at him with sweetness and patience, and Takeru knew that he was sincerely interested in what he had to say.

“I might not know Koushiro very well, but I don't believe he would create a world where some people would cease to exist,” Takeru said. “It's not in his archetype. My sister is probably alive somewhere, somehow, my father simply doesn't know where she is.”

“That could be true,” Daisuke commented. “Then, do you think this place is the end of the story? The happy ending, perhaps?”

Takeru closed his eyes. He knew stories and how they were structured. A good story would have an end that fits what the narrative had been building up, it would give satisfying conclusions to the character arcs. To have all the characters wake up in a perfect world where all their problems are erased would be very disappointing. It felt disrespectful to them.

“A good story could never end like this, it'd be anticlimactic,” Takeru stated. “Something has to happen... someone has to do something to disrupt this narrative.”

“Who could do something like that? Mimi? She's a witch, after all.” Daisuke suggested.

“This world was created by Koushiro, it has to be disrupted by someone who was important to him... someone extremely important...”

Takeru's eyes lit up. Who could be more important to Koushiro than the person for whom he had destroyed the world?

“I know what to do! Thank you, Daisuke!” Takeru said, kissing his boyfriend on the lips before rushing down the corridor. Daisuke didn't have time to ask anything, just observed as the other ran. Takeru's decisive look put his heart at peace.

On his way to Taichi's apartment, Takeru received a text from Mimi calling everybody to a meeting. Seeing the narrative convenience of having all key characters gathering in the same place, he came to the conclusion that Taichi would probably be there as well.

*

Yamato wandered around the city, unsure of where he should go. Eventually, he sat on a bench on a park and took out his cellphone. Automatically, he dialed Sora's number.

“Hello? Yamato?”

The sound of her voice brought a smile to his face.

“Just a moment, Dad, my boyfriend called me...”

Hearing her say those words made his heart sink.

“Yamato, is everything okay?” Sora asked on the phone.

“Y-Yes...” Yamato mumbled, nervously. “I just wanted to check on you... is your father home?”

“Yes, he came for a visit!” Sora replied, enthusiastic. “Would you like to come by? I want to introduce you to him!”

“I'm sorry, I can't today...” Yamato muttered, feeling as if cold water was filling his chest.

“Hey, Yamato...” Sora hesitated. “This is going to sound like a weird question, but... what were you dreaming about before waking up today?”

Yamato gulped.

“I... I don't remember, sorry...”

“It's alright,” she forced a laugh, “I just had a strange and sad dream... it doesn't matter anymore... I need to go now. Bye!”

“Bye...” Yamato said.

Once the call was over, he felt crushed by the weigh of what he had decided to do. Yamato had decided that the right thing to do was to find a way to return to the old world, where his father's daughter existed. But that would mean to take Sora's father away from her once again. Was he really going to break the heart of the woman he loved for a sister he didn't know? For a father who didn't need him and never bothered to let his own son know what had happened to him?

Yamato covered his face with both hands. He no longer knew what was the right thing to do. Maybe Takeru was in the right all along... Yamato had told his brother such cruel things. Remembering them made him hate himself.

He wished his father had never bothered to visit him that day.

*

After receiving Mimi's text, Sora headed to the Mall with apprehension. She was still forcing herself to believe that, somehow, she had only dreamed of a life as a revolutionary. Maybe her whole family had the same dream in a weird coincidence, but it didn't have to mean it wasn't a dream. It didn't have to mean that new life wasn't real.

At the Mall's food court, she found Miyako and Iori at a table, sitting across from Ken and Osamu. As she joined them, the illusion that she had woken up from a bad dream was shattered.

“I don't care that you're technically not henchmen here, I still don't like you,” Iori told the other two men.

“Come on, Iori, you must like Ken at this point,” Miyako said, “he never actually did anything bad to us.”

“I suppose I don't hate Ken, but I don't like him either,” Iori said back. “I think I've grown to be... indifferent to him?”

“That's still progress!” Miyako pointed out.

“I don't particularly mind how Iori feels about me,” Ken commented, turning to Miyako. “How you feel is much more important.”

“How I feel about you?” Miyako was puzzled.

“If you want my opinion-” Osamu began to say.

“Nobody wants your opinion! Ever!” Iori stated.

“Be quiet, brat! I'll say it anyway: incompetent revolutionaries like you lot don't have the moral ground to pass judgement on other people!”

“Why are we arguing about this? There are no revolutionaries or henchmen in this world!” Ken stated. “We should get along and be happy, don't you agree, Miyako? Let's be happy... together... you and me...”

Sora forced a cough to get their attention. At first, she didn't want to interrupt, but the conversation was getting too awkward.

“It's Sora-san!” Miyako exclaimed. “Hey! Honorifics! It's so weird to use them in this world... I don't think I like them!”

“I'm not about to start using honorifics now when I haven't used them during my entire real life,” Iori said.

“Real life...” Sora muttered, while taking a seat beside Miyako. “Then, this is really the dream... and that nightmare was real...”

She couldn't stop the tears from falling. None of that happiness was real. Her real father had been dead for most of her life. The man she had met earlier that day was nothing more than a ghost.

“Your father is alive here, right?” Ken asked. “My parents are alive too.”

“And my grandfather...” Iori muttered. “It was nice to meet him...”

“Your parents are here too, right?” Miyako asked. “It's been so long since they left, you probably didn't remember them anymore. Did you talk to them?”

“No... I sneaked out without seeing them.”

“Why would you do that? I thought you wanted to meet them!” Miyako interjected.

“I wanted to meet them in the real world, not this stupid dream like place!” Iori stated. “It didn't feel right...”

“Wow...” Osamu murmured, “you're so weird! Are you planning to avoid them for the rest of your life?”

“It's not going to be for the rest of my life because we're going to find a way back to our world!” Iori retorted.

“Are you stupid? Tha world ended!” Osamu shouted. “And even if there was a way back, why would any of us want to return?”

“Because some people don't exist here!” Yamato said, right after arriving.

“What are you talking about?” Sora asked, wiping her tears. The sight of her sorrow broke his heart.

“My father told me that, in our world, he had a daughter with another woman.” Yamato explained. “But since he never met said woman here, his daughter might not exist in this place.”

“Then, you want us to go back to that horrible place where our families are dead because of one person we didn't even know?” Osamu asked, furious.

“It's not just because of her, there could be more people...” Yamato said.

“We don't know for sure that she doesn't exist here,” Ken pointed out. “Maybe we could find her if we looked for her. Then, we wouldn't have to give up on this life...”

“This life isn't real!” Iori raised his voice. “None of this is real! This world doesn't even make sense when you really think about it! Things are too perfect!'

“Iori is right,” Miyako said. “I don't want to throw away the life I had before just to live a fantasy. If we did that, nothing we ever did would have mattered. All our fight, our beliefs, our dedication and sacrifice... it'd be all just gone...”

“But we are in peace now... we are happy... our families are alive...” Ken murmured as tears shone in his eyes. “I'm educated here... I live in a good place and go to a good college... my hands aren't even scarred from the farm work...”

“These dumb revolutionaries can't understand our feelings, Ken!” Osamu affirmed. “They don't care if people are happy unless they're the ones who brought them happiness!”

“That's not true!” Miyako protested.

“Don't waste your time arguing with him,” Iori said. “He's just a selfish guy who only cares about himself!”

They remained in silence for a couple of minutes.

Yamato sat next to Sora.

“Back when we talked, you already remembered our real lives, didn't you?” Sora asked in a murmur.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away,” he said.

“It's alright. Deep down, I knew this world wasn't real. I just didn't want to accept it.”

“So, your father...”

Sora smiled as more tears fell from her eyes.

“He's a wonderful man... I'm glad I got to see him one more time.”

“I'm sorry...”

“Don't be! Going back home is the right thing to do... he would understand that. Everything he did in life was because he believed it was the right thing to do.”

“I wish I could say something like that about my father. He got himself a new family and never bothered to let me know... that man never even bothered to let me know that he was alive and well! He only looked for me to ask for help! And because of him I got into a fight with Takeru, and I'm about to take your father away... it all feels so wrong! I'm so sorry! I'm so very sorry!”

Yamato began to cry. Sora held his hand, without saying anything.

Soon enough, Daisuke arrived. Not finding Takeru there, he took a seat beside Iori.

After a few minutes, Mimi arrived with Jyou and Taichi. Flustered and sweaty, she grabbed a cup of juice Miyako had bought and drank it.

“Ready to admit that wearing that heavy coat in summer was a mistake?” Jyou asked.

“Never! I look fabulous!” Mimi retorted.

“Why are you here?” Yamato asked, glaring at Taichi. “Was it not enough to trigger the end of the world? You have to come here and mock us as well?”

“I was deceived by Justine! I never meant for any of this to happen!” Taichi defended himself.

“You were deceived? Is that all you have to say?” Sora asked, coldly. “After all the pain you put Koushiro through, after not believing him for centuries, are you really not going to take any responsibility?”

Taichi lowered his head, ashamed.

“I know I did horrible things. Nobody has to tell me that,” he said.

“My family also did horrible things!” Jyou suddenly shouted, startling everyone. “I am so sorry for their crimes!”

“Who the heck are you?” Miyako asked.

“I think we know him from this life, but not our real life...” Iori murmured.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” Jyou said, “In this world, I'm Kido Jyou, a regular person who goes to medical school. But in our world, I was Jyou Bourgeois, fourth in the line of succession of the imperial throne.”

“WHAT?!” Everyone exclaimed at once.

“WHAT?!” Takeru shouted, jumping from behind a huge decorative plant. “You're the... you can't just drop something like that now! It's too late into the story to introduce a new character! We can't afford a flashback chapter this late in the game! Who do you think you are?!”

“Takeru, why were you hiding behind that plant?” Daisuke asked. “For how long were you there?”

“I was the first one to arrive, but I patiently waited for everybody to arrive, so I could talk to everybody at once,” Takeru explained. “But I wasn't expecting for this Jyou imperial prince reveal! What the Hell? This came completely out of nowhere!”

“Sorry?” Jyou said, nervously.

“So... are you revolutionaries going to kill the prince or...?” Osamu asked.

“Of course not!” Miyako replied. “What would be the point of doing that here, where he's just a regular person?”

“And back in our world, he's just the fourth in the line of succession. He's too irrelevant to kill,” Iori added.

“And then you don't like when I call you incompetent revolutionaries,” Osamu said. “I bet you losers never even killed anyone.”

“Don't brag about killing people!” Ken scolded his brother.

“Okay... anyway!” Takeru began to say. “I have something really important to tell you all!”

“Before that, Takeru,” Yamato stood up. “I'm sorry about the way I talked to you earlier. I shouldn't have said those awful things nor treated you so poorly.”

“I'm sorry too,” Takeru apologized as well. “But anyway... I wanted to tell you all that Taichi is the key for us to return to our world.”

“Me?” Taichi was surprised.

“You're the person Koushiro loved the most, and the fear of losing you caused the destruction of that world. If you were the cause of the apocalypse, you must be the key to take us back!”

“Then...” Yamato murmured, sitting again. “You agree that going back is the right thing to do...”

Takeru didn't pay attention to his brother.

“How could I possibly undo the apocalypse?” Taichi asked.

“From what I know about old souls,” Mimi began to say, “we are in a temporary world in Koushiro's subconsciousness. Soon, he will create a new world with a rule of his choosing. Maybe, if Taichi finds a way to talk to Koushiro, the next world could be a recreation of our old one, and we can have our lives back.”

“Why would we choose to go back to that place!” Osamu shouted. “You want most of humanity to be miserable just so you can play Revolution again? If he's going to create a new world, let it be a better one, where everybody is happy and safe!”

“But if the new world is different, people like Yamato's sister might not exist!” Sora interjected.

“That's an acceptable sacrifice, don't you think so, Ken?” Osamu asked his brother.

Ken looked down and replied:

“It wouldn't be right to sacrifice innocents for our happiness, would it? If we go back, everybody gets a chance to fight for a better life. That's the right thing to do, isn't it?”

He looked up at Miyako, who smiled and nodded to him.

“Damn it!” Osamu cursed. “Fine! Do whatever you want! But this is a huge mistake!”

“How do I do this?” Taichi asked both Mimi and Takeru. “How can I talk to Koushiro?”

“I don't know,” Mimi replied.

“With the power of love, of course!” Takeru exclaimed. “In every good story, the power of love conquers anything!”

“This isn't a story, Takeru!” Yamato stated.

“How can you be so sure?” Takeru said back. “Think on the absurdity of what we're going through. Right now, we are all stories in the back of Koushiro's minds. As a writer, I can tell you that the characters are the ones who actually control the story. Therefore, it's up to us to make this a good story! And the way to do that is through the power of love!”

“You might be used to stories with happy endings, but it's not realistic to think that something vague such as the power of love-” Yamato continued.

“Brother, have more respect for stories!” Takeru interrupted. “It's wrong to think of stories as silly fantasies that distract people from real life! Stories can be inspiring, challenging, they can teach you all sorts of things... even things about yourself... I used to think of stories as something that could bring me comfort and accomplishment. Heh, I even titled my book 'The fantastic adventures of Takeru Takaishi' on a whim, thinking only of the kind of story I wanted. But things didn't go as I envisioned. Honestly, this title isn't very fitting. The plot took unexpected turns and the narrative got scarier and darker. And, yes, I eventually realized that I'm not even the main character in this tale. But so what? I'll just have to find my own story later own. It won't have to be fantastical or have adventures or any grandeur at all. I just need to be open to life and unafraid to look into myself and face my fears. I'll never accept that life has to be bleak, and that the grown up thing to do is to accept it. Listen, brother! I'll live every day to make my life as good and beautiful as the lives I read about in stories. And I know that would be like chasing after the horizon, I know that I'll never reach that utopia, that happy ending, but I'll still work towards it! And then, in the end, even if my life isn't fantastic, it'll still be pretty good!”

“Takeru...” Yamato muttered as his eyes got brimmed with tears. Takeru smiled with confidence and turned to Taichi:

“I might not know the details, but I know that your story has been a non-stopping tragedy so far,” he told Taichi. “It's time for you to take control of it! Find the man you love, open your heart, make your story happier!”

“Yes!” Taichi said. A couple of tears fell from his eyes. “I'll make this story happier! I owe this to Koushiro! With all the love in my heart, I'll find my way to him!”

As Taichi said that, loud cracking sounds were heard around them. Small dark cracks began to appear on thin air, getting increasingly bigger. As the cracks formed a dark passage in front of Taichi, he crossed it without thinking twice.

“Looks like this reality began to collapse,” Mimi said. “It's the beginning of the end, right before the new world can start.”

Ken and Osamu stood up, as if thinking the same thing.

“If Paradise is coming to an end, I'll spend as much time with my parents as I can,” Osamu said.

“Me too,” Ken added.

“I want to be with my family as well,” Daisuke said, getting up. Before leaving, he turned to Takeru and told him: “I'm really proud of what you did today.”

“There's no guarantee of what the next world will be like,” Iori thought aloud. “We might not remember anything from our past lives, we might never see our families again...”

“Then, go see your parents while you have the time! Stop overcomplicating things!” Miyako advised.

“But I'm... afraid...” Iori confessed, shutting his eyes closed. “I've been insisting it was because this world wasn't real, but the truth is that I'm afraid! What if they're not like how I imagined them? Or I'm not like how they imagined me? What if I disappoint them?”

Miyako grabbed his hand, which made Iori look at her. She smiled at him with calm confidence.

“You're the most remarkable person I know, anyone would be proud to be your parent!” Miyako stated. “But if it makes you feel better, I can go with you and stay with you for how long as you want.”

“I would like that, thank you!” Iori said.

“I don't feel like going home,” Mimi sighed.

“Me neither,” Jyou said.

“How about we grab a couple of ice creams, and you tell me the story of your life?” Mimi proposed. “I bet it's very interesting.”

Jyou blushed and nodded enthusiastically.

Soon, there were only Sora, Yamato and Takeru left in the Mall's food court.

“Go to your parents,” Yamato told her, with a warm smile. “You should enjoy your remaining time together.”

“Will you be okay if I go?” Sora asked, worried.

“We're all going to be alright,” Yamato promised.

She kissed him on the cheek before standing up. After taking a few steps, Sora turned to him one last time and said:

“See you on the other side!”

Once alone with his brother, Takeru sat by Yamato's side.

“Maybe there's still time left for you to see Mom,” Takeru suggested.

“I've already seen her today,” Yamato replied. “There's someone else I'd like to spend my time with.”

“Our father?”

“No, of course not!” Yamato interjected. “Honestly, I have no desire of seeing him again.”

“Then, do you want to spend your time with Sora? You should've gone with her, in that case.”

“It's you, Takeru! I want to spend my time with you!”

“Oh...” Takeru murmured. “That's a first, for sure. You never seemed very enthusiastic about spending time with me since I came to the farm.”

“To be fair, a lot of things happened since you came to the farm,” Yamato said. “But you're right, I might have neglected you. Ever since Father left, I felt as if I had no purpose anymore. And then, when I met Sora, I thought she needed my help and my new purpose was to take care of her. But she never needed to be taken care of by other people... I hate to admit it, but her independence made me a bit insecure. If nobody needed me, then what was the point of me?”

“You said all that, but you still didn't explain why you neglected me,” Takeru pointed out.

“I had been away from you for so long that I felt like I didn't know you anymore,” Yamato confessed. “When I saw you again, all pompous and bubbling, I didn't recognize my little brother anymore, and that scared me. Maybe, at some level, I resented how happy you seemed to be. To be with you forced me to think about my choice to stay behind back then. It was hurtful to think that I could've been happy with you and Mom, but instead chose to be miserable with Dad. And then I resented you more and felt guilty for resenting you! I kept thinking about how horrible of a brother I was! It was easier to keep you at an arm's length and keep our conversations on surface level.”

“It was pretty intense when we had a real conversation,” Takeru admitted. “It felt horrible when it happened, but not so much now. Thanks to that argument, I came to understand you better. You're a complicated person, and you mess up a lot, but you have a good heart, and I love you for it.”

Yamato smiled, even though his lips were trembling.

“I was really surprised at your speech about stories. I think I never tried to see the world from your point of view. You're very wise and kind, Takeru. I'd like to know you better. In the next world, I'd like to spend more time getting to know you.”

“I would like that as well.”

For their remaining time in that world, the two brothers talked to each other. They were not afraid of the upcoming end, but hopeful for the new beginning.

[lightchildofthespring]

Chapter 17: Sic mundus creatus est

"I loved you. You died. And that's how the world was created.”

Koushiro meets the three old souls and learns the truth about Hikari.

[lightchildofthespring]

The fantastic adventures of Takeru Takaishi

Chapter 16: Infinite Koushiros

(4,916 words)

Everywhere Koushiro looked, all he saw were mirrored glass walls. The ceiling, the floor and the high walls, which must have been more than twenty meters high, reflected the image of a frightened and confused young man.

The reflections reflected one another infinitely, endlessly multiplying inside one another.

Koushiro was still wearing the brown pants, white shirt and suspenders that Yamato had lent him, but something in his reflection was different. His eyes, once black, had become red.

That place looked like a gigantic dome. The mirror-walled corridors formed a maze. Just below the high ceiling, there was a floating sphere emitting a faint white light. Koushiro felt cold.

Where am I? Koushiro wondered. Where is everyone? What happened?

He remembered the red thunders ripping through the sky, the huge door and the dark fog falling. Mimi had said that it was the end of the world.

"We died... because of me..." Koushiro was putting his thoughts together, leaning against a wall.

Old soul... world eater... infinity key...

"I killed everyone..." he concluded.

The weight of that truth was such that his knees could no longer support him.

Wherever he turned, he couldn't escape himself. Those reflective red eyes followed him and tormented him. Even when his tears no longer allowed him to see his image clearly, his agony did not subside. They were all dead! Taichi, Sora, Takeru, Miyako, Mimi, Daisuke, Iori, Ken, Yamato, Osamu... they all died by his hands, all because of his devotion to Taichi... everyone on the planet, maybe the entire universe... Koushiro had killed them all.

Where was he? That wasn't one of the hells he had known. It was a worse, more oppressive place.

And he was there all alone.

However, he would soon discover that this was not the case. He heard a voice from somewhere up ahead. Koushiro followed it and, after turning a few corridors, found himself.

The other Koushiro should be around twenty years old, like him. He wore a lab coat over his clothes and was standing in the center of a place that served as an intersection for four other corridors. He was looking up. Tears were falling from his eyes.

"Are you me?" Koushiro asked, when he was less than a step away from the other. He noticed that the other had a badge on his coat, with the name “Koushiro Izumi” and the word “Beleuchtung” written on it. “How can you be me? What is going on here?”

"My daughter looked so beautiful at her wedding..." the other Koushiro said, not taking his eyes off the mirrored ceiling. “I didn't think I would cry… how could I not cry? She was so happy...”

“There's no way you can have a daughter old enough to get married,” Koushiro said. "You're not old enough for that."

"I remember being old," the other said, finally looking at Koushiro. “I also remember this dream. You have finally arrived.”

The mirrored floor began to darken. Koushiro was startled to see that and walked away, jumping to where the glass floor still reflected his image. The other Koushiro remained in the same spot, smiling serenely.

"There's no reason to be afraid," he said as black smoke began to waft through the floor and envelop him, "death is just… silence…"

The smoke took the form of a large cylinder that rose ten meters into the air. At its end, there were two bright red dots. When it opened its mouth, displaying sharp black teeth, Koushiro realized he was looking at a giant snake.

He ran as fast as he could. Panic didn't allow him to organize his thoughts. After several minutes of running, he bumped into someone and fell on top of them. When he got off the other, he realized that it was a child very similar to him.

Little Koushiro had black eyes; the child's hair was a little longer than his. The kid wore an orange button-down shirt and brown shorts that reached his knees. His yellow gloves looked like they were made of rubber, but Koushiro couldn't guess the material of the strange shoes the child was wearing.

"Are you me?" the child asked, in a mixture of wonder and curiosity. Soon he was on his feet, examining Koushiro with wide eyes. "What is this place? Am I dreaming?"

"I don't know..." Koushiro replied, standing up and grabbing the boy's hand, "there's a monster here, we need to run!"

"Monster? A digimon?” the child asked.

"What? Digimon?" Koushiro asked, confused. That name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. “It's a giant snake! I just saw it eat another Koushiro! At least, I think that's what happened..."

“How many of us are here? Why are we here? Why are your eyes red and your clothes old-fashioned?” the boy asked as he was pulled by the other, running through the mirrored hallways.

“Can you say anything other than questions?!” Koushiro inquired, losing his patience. The child didn't reply.

"I can't run anymore, I need to stop for a while..." the boy said after a few minutes.

Koushiro stopped running and let go of the other's hand. The boy leaned against one of the mirrored walls as Koushiro sat on the floor.

“Sorry if I was rude just now,” Koushiro apologized. "I didn't mean to be harsh, I just..."

"It's okay, sometimes I'm unintentionally rude too..." the child said. "I think that's how we are..."

"Maybe..." Koushiro muttered. "I'm Koushiro, by the way."

"That's my name too," the other said. “I'm Izumi Koushiro, I'm in the fourth grade of Odaiba Elementary School! It's nice to meet you!"

"I don't know why your school grade is relevant right now, but okay..." Koushiro commented. “Did you say Odaiba? Is that a place?”

“Yes, it's in Tokyo.”

“What is Tokyo? A country?"

"Isn't there a Tokyo where you come from?" the boy asked, surprised. “Is there a Japan there?” "I've never heard that name before," Koushiro replied. "You must come from a very different world than mine."

"Different world?" the child muttered. “Like the Digital World?”

"What is that?" Koushiro asked. That name also sounded familiar, almost like something he had heard in a dream.

"A world that exists in my world's computer network, where the digimon live."

“What are computers and digimon?!” Koushiro kept asking, feeling that he should know the answers to those questions.

"I don't have my laptop bag, I wish I could show you what a computer is," the boy lamented. "It's so strange that there is another me that doesn't know what computers and digimon are."

"If I started to tell you about my life, I don't think you would understand much either..." Koushiro commented.

"You haven't said anything about yourself," little Koushiro pointed out. "Where do you come from? How is your world?”

That question made painful memories resurface in Koushiro's mind. He shut his eyes closed, as if that action could bury that tragedy in his heart.

"It's not important," Koushiro said, standing up. “We've had enough rest. It's time to get moving again, before the serpent finds us.”

“We also need to find a way to get back to our worlds,” little Koushiro added. “I was helping Taichi-san to look for medicine for his sister. If I don't go back soon, Hikari-san might...”

He's friends with Taichi and Hikari in his world as well, Koushiro thought. Hikari is sick over there, and he's trying to find her a cure... is this something that happens in every world?

Koushiro began to walk again, followed by the kid.

“Do you have friends in your world?” the child asked.

“There were people that I loved very much,” Koushiro replied. “They're all dead now.”

He didn't think a lot before saying those words. Koushiro didn't feel like coming up with some elaborate story to hide what he had done. It would just be wrong to lie about that, not to mention pointless. Nevertheless, saying those words aloud didn't make his heart any less heavy.

It took him a minute to realize that the kid wasn't following him anymore. Little Koushiro was standing in the middle of the corridor, his eyes were brimmed with tears.

“I am so sorry!” the child said, looking down.

“Don't be sorry for me,” Koushiro told him, resuming to walk.

“If it's okay to ask, how did it happen?” the child asked, running to catch up with the other.

“Why do you want to know that?” Koushiro questioned, not looking at the kid. “If we're the same person, I don't suppose you're very good at comforting others.”

“Ever since we've gone to the Digital World and enemies started to target my friends and me... and then my world, and my family... I've been afraid that they could all die. I'm always thinking of plans and doing my best to prevent that, but... if I were to fail and something horrible happened... if the people I care about got hurt or worse because of my incompetence, I don't think I would be able to live with myself...” the child confessed, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. “Sorry... it's unusual for me to talk about these things. I don't know if it's insensitive to bring it up now, considering what you've been through.”

Koushiro remained quiet for a few moments. He knew exactly what that child was talking about. Little Koushiro feared that outside enemies would harm his loved ones, he probably never considered that he could be the one to hurt them. But if that child ever thought of that possibility, Koushiro was sure it would crush his heart.

“My world was destroyed by a horrible creature... a cosmic abomination...” Koushiro told him. “It's not like it wanted to do that. It didn't even know what it was. But, in the end, it didn't matter what its intentions were or whether it only wanted to help people... things backfired horribly... the world came to an end. If there is justice, everybody must've gone to Paradise, and they're all at peace now. Unlike them, I don't deserve Paradise. I couldn't save anyone...”

The child didn't say anything, but Koushiro felt his eyes locked on him. Maybe he had said too much. That last part about him not deserving Paradise for not saving anyone probably reinforced the child's fears. It would've been better if he hadn't said anything at all.

Then, they started to hear the sound of someone humming. Koushiro headed towards the sound, followed by the boy. After a few turns, they found a teenage Koushiro sitting on the glass floor with his back to them. The other Koushiro wore a long white coat. There were countless shards of glass around him, which probably came from the three broken walls that surrounded him. Where the glass used to be on the walls, there was endless darkness. A thick black mist seeped out of the darkness, slowly, onto the glass floor. Soon, it would reach that boy, and he would be devoured, like the first Koushiro was.

“You need to get out of there! It's dangerous!" Koushiro warned.

The other paid him no attention. He kept humming:

“How many seconds... in eternity... how many seconds... the little bird sharpens its beak... on the diamond mountain... how many seconds... how many seconds in eternity... how long do I have to wait?”

"Is he alright?" the boy asked, worried.

“I don't think so,” Koushiro replied. "He's surrounded by that fog. We'd better not get close to him."

"We can't do that! He needs help!" the child protested, running towards the other. Koushiro followed him, being careful not to step on the mist.

"Excuse me, you're lost too, aren't you?" the boy asked. When the other Koushiro turned to him, the child took a step back, stifling a scream. Blood dripped from the teenager's head. “Did the glass cut you?” Koushiro asked, approaching the other.

"Wisemon did this to me," the teenager replied.

“Wisemon?” little Koushiro asked. “Was that an enemy digimon?”

"I used to think he was my ally... I was such an idiot..." the other Koushiro said, showing them a mirthless smile. “We are all idiots, but the snake only came for the others. I don't think I even deserve silence..."

“Do you want to be taken by the serpent?” little Koushiro asked. "Why?"

"You haven't been here for long, if you're asking that," the other said. “There is no worse punishment than eternity. Being stuck with yourself forever... there's nothing that can compare to such agony.”

Suddenly, the other Koushiro stood up. He stared into the darkness in front of him. Koushiro and the child did the same. They heard footsteps coming towards them. Then, a fourth Koushiro emerged, leaving the darkness as if he had stepped out from behind a curtain. The man, who must have been about 30 years old, jumped onto the glass floor. He wore a black overcoat over a suit of the same color.

“I didn't think I'd see you again, Izumi Koushiro,” the teenage Koushiro said as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Sorry it took me so long to find you," the other said, approaching the young man.

“Did my brother come? Did he find you?” the teenager asked.

"Brother?!" Koushiro and the child asked at the same time, surprised.

"Makoto came," the man replied. “I told him everything… he knows you were saved in the end. Your brother returned in peace, he has good friends to take care of him.”

Teenage Koushiro smiled, letting the tears pooling in his eyes wash over his face.

“What about Hikari?” the teenager asked.

"Every year, we went to see the Christmas lights together," the man replied. “We were happy... until the end came...”

“She never liked endings,” the younger Koushiro murmured.

The man extended his hand to him. Without saying anything, the teenager held it and turned into white light, which was absorbed by the adult Koushiro.

The other two Koushiros looked at everything in astonishment.

“What the hell just happened here?!” Koushiro inquired.

"Did he die?! Did you kill him?!” little Koushiro asked, visibly scared.

“It's a long story,” the man said. “In short, that Koushiro was killed by a Wisemon and turned into an interdimensional computer program that existed for trillions of years. In his original world, the son of the Izumis never died and was his brother, who searched for his soul across the multiverse. In my world, his soul finally rested, and he gave me his memories, so I could talk to his brother when he came looking for him.”

The other two Koushiros stared at him, confused.

"WHAT?!" Koushiro shouted.

"I have so many questions... I don't even know where to start..." little Koushiro muttered.

"Like I said, it's a long story," adult Koushiro said. "It's not really relevant to our current situation, so I don't want to go into this further."

“Do you understand our situation?” the child asked. “Do you know where we are? How do we get back to our worlds?”

The man gave him a sad look.

“You haven't figured it out yet?” he asked. Then, the man looked up at Koushiro. “You didn't tell him?”

“Tell him what? I don't know what this place is either!” Koushiro stated.

“But you know that you are dead, don't you?” the other Koushiro questioned. “Like me, you remember your own death, isn't that right?”

Koushiro gulped. He immediately looked at little Koushiro and found a look of pure terror on his face.

“You are both dead...?” the boy murmured, taking a few steps backwards.

“This is a dimension where the fragments of a world eater's soul, from across the multiverse, gather and merge,” the adult Koushiro explained. “When our bodies die, some of us still spend some time in afterlife worlds, some reincarnate, but, in the end, we all end here.”

“Then, I'm... I... I can't be dead! No! I can't be dead!” little Koushiro shrieked, holding his head with his shaking hands. “I was helping Taichi-san to find Hikari-san's medicine! We survived that fall! I remember it, I can't be dead! It's impossible! I need to go back and help Taichi-san!”

“None of us can go back, I'm really sorry,” adult Koushiro had a sorrowful tone.

“No, wait!” Koushiro said. “Maybe there's a way to send you back to your world! I used to go back to life all the time!”

“That was because of a curse, and you can't do that anymore,” the older Koushiro told him. “There's no point in giving him false hope.”

“It's not false hope! I can still find a solution, I can't give up!” Koushiro shouted. “He's just a little kid with his whole life ahead of him! It's not fair for his life to be over! It's not fair for him to die alone and scared, without anyone to take care of him! I won't allow it!”

Hot tears streamed down from Koushiro's eyes. Children shouldn't die like that! Children should never die! It was the job of the adults to protect kids, and comfort them, and tell them they had no reason to be afraid!

No child should be allowed to fall into the abyss of death!

“He's not really a kid,” the older Koushiro said, startling the other two. He approached the boy and told him: “I've seen many Koushiros like you, I can sense that you're not a child. You're confused and afraid, and you haven't recovered most of your memories yet, that's why you think you're still the kid that was helping Taichi to find medicine for Hikari. But once you calm down, the memories of your life will return to you. And when you're ready, the serpent will come to pick you up and let you rest.”

“What does that mean?” little Koushiro asked. “What is going to happen to me when the snake comes?”

“You will cease to exist as yourself,” the older Koushiro explained. “We all will. But what will be created by our merging will be something greater than the sum of our parts.”

“I don't want to disappear! I don't want that!” little Koushiro shouted, running back to the corridor where they had come from. Koushiro was about to run after him, but the other Koushiro stopped him by holding his arm.

“He needs some time alone,” the older Koushiro said.

“What is wrong with you?! How could you say all those frightening things to a kid?!”

“Like I said, he's not really a kid. He just doesn't remember it yet.”

“That's beside the point! It wasn't right to just dump all that on him like that!”

“I couldn't lie to him, it wouldn't be right!”

“How do you even know all that?! How do you know what the serpent is going to do, and that little Koushiro is beyond salvation?! You could very well be wrong!”

“I know all this because I remember it from my dreams,” the other explained. “Once we, the fragments, are all together, the amalgamation of our memories ripple back through our timelines as dreams. You, too, had dreams of your other lives, right? You remember the ladybug monster called Tentomon, don't you?”

“Tentomon...” Koushiro recalled several fragments of memories. That big ladybug who protected him, the friend he saw in his dreams from time to time... his name was Tentomon. Then, the dreams he used to have with him were memories from other lives.

“It will all come back to you eventually. You're the very last one of us,” the other told him. “But I ask you that, once you remember what happened to me, please, don't be angry at Hikari.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just promise me, please,” the other insisted. “She was scared and desperate, she didn't want that to happen. Please, when you see her again, don't hold that against her!”

“Alright, I promise! Whatever it is that happened, I won't be angry at Hikari! I honestly can't even imagine myself being angry at her...” Koushiro said. “Wait, you said I was going to see her again? I thought I was going to be eaten by the serpent!”

“You will become one with the rest of us eventually,” the other explained. “But you still have work to do before that,” he turned his head towards the darkness, “you will find the other old souls that used to live in the world you destroyed. They are beyond the darkness.”

“And the snake isn't going to eat me before I find them?”

“No, it is a very polite being,” the other told him. “It will only come for you when you're ready. That's the reason so many Koushiros here waited a very long time before being taken. It was my case.”

The other Koushiro at last let go of his arm. The dark fog began to envelop him.

“It's alright,” the other told him, showing a small smile. “I've told you what I needed. I am ready now. Please, find Hikari!”

Koushiro jumped back to the corridor from where he had come just before the fog took the shape of the black snake. The large animal stared at Koushiro with its red eyes, without moving.

“I'm the last one you'll take, right?” Koushiro asked. “You're going for little Koushiro first... you'll wait until he's ready...”

Koushiro imagined that scared child alone in that maze of mirrors, wandering aimlessly for who knows how long, unable to find peace. If the thought of not being able to save that kid's life tormented him before, the thought of abandoning him in that place was torturous.

He walked down the corridor, looking for the child. After a few minutes, he found him sitting on the floor, pressing his back against a glass wall, looking at his own reflection at the wall in his front. The boy had a serene expression. Koushiro sat by his side.

“I'm starting to remember...” the child said. “I'm actually very old... better said, I was old. I lived until I was 91...”

“I never got to be an old man...” Koushiro commented. “Now, I'll never get to be one.”

“I'm sorry about that,” the boy said. “To grow old was a privilege. I had the chance to learn so many things... and I got to pass down that knowledge. Also, I was able to help lots of people. That made me very happy.”

“I'm glad you had a good life,” Koushiro muttered, a bit jealous.

“It wasn't always great,” little Koushiro continued. “In times of crisis, I forced myself to work without rest until I found a solution. Back then, I didn't realize that I was slowly destroying myself. I kept thinking: 'I can't stop now, my friends need me.' If I had stayed like that, I'm sure I would've died at a young age. But then, the most wonderful thing happened.”

“What was it?” Koushiro asked.

“I met someone who made me stop,” little Koushiro replied, showing a small smile. “Someone who made me see myself and respect my limits... someone who made me realize my worth wasn't tied to how much I could do for other people. And that person stayed by my side until the end.”

“I'm really glad you had a person like that in your life,” Koushiro said, wiping a couple of tears from his eyes. He couldn't escape the growing jealousy he felt for his other self.

“I had this dream sometimes...” the kid said. “I was trying to save Taichi-san from fire wings, so I summoned a huge scythe... and then the world ended. The despair that nightmare caused me was so profound, it wasn't easy to go back to sleep afterwards. That wasn't really a dream, was it?”

Koushiro remained quiet for a few seconds.

“I told you my world had been destroyed by a cosmic abomination. However, I hid the fact that the abomination was me,” Koushiro confessed. “I spent most of my existence trying to save the world, trying to help people... but in the end I only brought misery and death to everybody. I was a tool used by a mad woman to destroy the world, I wasted my life fighting a battle I couldn't win. Nobody ever made me stop...”

Large tears escaped his eyes. All the pain he had buried for hundreds of years was resurfacing.

“Listen to me now, Koushiro-san,” the boy said. “Things might have gotten out of your control, but you're not a bad person! Don't torment yourself for your failures! Instead, you should think about what to do next.”

“There's nothing left to do!” Koushiro stated. “Don't you understand? I destroyed the world! Everybody is dead! I killed them all!”

“There was a time when my friends and I were turned into pure data. I think that was similar to being dead,” the boy told him. “My friends and I came back from that, we kept finding a way back every time everything seemed to be lost. Have faith in your friends, Koushiro-san! If they're anything like mine, a mere apocalypse is not enough to defeat them.”

The black fog surrounded them, coming from both sides of the corridor. The child stood up and smiled. There wasn't a shred of apprehension on his face.

“I am ready!” the child announced. He was then absorbed by the darkness.

Koushiro stood up. In the darkness, all he could see were the glowing red eyes of the serpent.

“The people from my world... my friends...” he began to say, “are they gone forever?”

“The souls of the inhabitants of the world you consumed are all inside you now,” a voice spoke inside his mind. “They are in a pocket dimension in your subconsciousness, waiting to be reborn in a new world.”

“How can they get to that new world?” Koushiro asked.

“First, a new world must be created. That will happen only after you, the last Koushiro, become one with the rest of us.”

“Then, the other Koushiros and I will create a new world together?” Koushiro asked.

“Once the infinite fragments of the soul of a world eater come together, they don't create a new world, exactly. They become a new universe,” the voice explained. “As the last Koushiro, you'll get to choose a fundamental rule for the next universe. Some shred of your consciousness might remain for a few decades. But in the end, everything that made you yourself will disappear. All that will be left will be a universe with no sentience, where life will bloom, until the next old soul becomes a world eater and the cycle begins again.”

“I see...” Koushiro muttered, bracing himself. “I'll disappear, but at least I'll get to save everybody... they'll all be alive again in a new world. That should make me happy... I should be happy...”

More tears fell from his eyes and Koushiro began to tremble. He should be happy! He was going to save everybody! Wasn't that what he wanted? For what other reason did he endure so much pain for such a long time? He should be happy! Koushiro would give a better world for his friends. Taichi, Sora and the others would all have happy lives... without him.

Koushiro would make the ultimate sacrifice and be stuck with himself, alone, for decades until his consciousness completely fades away. He found himself unable to be truly happy for all the people from his world. In the end, he wished he could be happy with them, as well.

“There are three old souls beyond in this darkness,” the voice informed. “You need to find them and help them before joining us.”

“And after I do that, you will find me and everything will end...” Koushiro muttered, looking at the snake's eyes.

“It's the only way to create a new beginning. But we will only come for you when you're ready.”

The serpent's red eyes disappeared. Everything turned dark.

Koushiro felt cold wind coming from his front. There was a small sparkly dot in the horizon. He should probably go there.

After taking a deep breath, he began to walk.

“They all need you! You can't stop now!” Koushiro told himself. “But once it's all over, you can stop, at last.”

[lightchildofthespring]

Chapter 16: Infinite Koushiros

“There is no worse punishment than eternity. Being stuck with yourself forever... there's nothing that can compare to such agony.”

In a mirrored dimension, Koushiro meets other versions of himself from different worlds. Meanwhile, a giant serpent catches up to him.

[lightchildofthespring]

No more heartache to Takeru, ever! Boy suffered enough, now he gets to have all the fun he needs! Go wear fancy clothes in a hot summer day, boy! You do you!