Chapter 37 : Reviving Hope

Taichi

Is it because we lied to our families for so long while saving Odaiba from plagues of evil Digimon? Is it because we got into some many fights with each other while we journeyed through the Digiworld? Is it because we were decieved and tricked by our enemies? Or why is it? Did we commit some horrible sin in a past life? Why is it that this is happening to us? And the most innocent ones first? Is the last one to die the one that's being punished? The last one to die will see all his friends fall before him, lifeless. Takeru died first, he was the angel, he was the Keeper of the Crest of Hope. He was the least deservant of the lot of us. Then Mimi, she may have been a bit annoying at times, complaining about conditions and her clothes, but really, did she deserve to die? No. She didn't. And Joe, gods, he was decapitated for cryin' out loud. Did he deserve that!? To be killed then picked apart for the amusement of some twisted, morbid freak? What did we ever do to you?

I'm never going to get an answer, am I? And someone's out there laughing at me now, laughing at my confusion and hatred for all that's happening. They're laughing because they know why, and our sufferage amuses them. And there's nothing I can do. I don't know where Aymichi is, I don't know what he plans to do next, who he plans to kill next. I don't know who I'm going to have to say goodbye to next. Koushirou, Sora, Hikari, Yamato? Are we realy the only ones left? The five of us? Or should I say four? Matt's not really with us anymore is he? I watched him walk away, out of the graveyard, bristling with anger. He's taken it worse than anyone else. He's taken it farther than anyone else. His head's probably been dragged through hell and back a couple of times. And I felt sorry for him, but what could I do?

We've tried talking to him, we've tried reasoning with him. We've tried getting him help, we've tried tried everything. He isn't coming back. He said so himself, and I believe him. It's been long enough, if he had planned on changing his mind, he would have done so already. He hasn't. He's gone. He's off in his own world, off on his own mission, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop him. And Yama was probably right, I didn't understand him, and I probably never would. Because Kari was NOT doing to die. Not before me anyway, not before me. Thinking about my sister made me anxious to get home again. I turned back to look at the graves once more, it's like something out of the movies. People coming up dead all around you, and you're helpless to do anything.

Yamato was already out of sight by the time I reach the graveyard gates, it doesn't matter anymore. I walked quickly down the empty streets, my arms were kind of cold as I couldn't put on a coat over my thick bandages. Mom hadn't wanted me to come out, but she could hardly argue; after all, I was visiting graves. I had planned on visiting Sora, but her parents said she was in no condition for visitors. Still. When she had passed out in Joe's apartment, it had been Joe's older brother that found them both. Luckily, he didn't faint, because his parents did, and then it would have been quite a while before police were informed.

I don't know if they took Joe to the hospital, there would have been no point. They might have just taken him straight to the morgue to get cleaned up... though they ended up cremeting him. Made sense...who would want to have an open burial with a headless person? Ugh...I don't even want to know how that sicko went about removing Joe's head. I shuddered at the thought, or at the cold. Sora had been brought to the hospital, at first they thought she had been injured as well; she wasn't physically, but...mentally? I guess seeing Joe's head hanging there had been a real shock. I don't know how I would have reacted. I never did see Joe, they had already reduced him to ashes when I visited the morgue.

We had tried to talk to Sora at the hospital, but she had been in a fit of screams and tears, it was horrible to watch. In the end we were chased from the room by nurses, who said we were aggravating her. I hoped she recovered, she needed to recover...she was one of the few we had left. She had to recover. If she didn't...Aymichi might decide she would be an easy target. She may be the next one to die...I paused in front of her apartment. The blinds to her window were drawn tightly shut. I thought I saw a shadow moving inside, but it disappeared when I tried to focus on it.

My apartment complex was silent, just like the rest of the world seemed to be. My footsteps echoed loudly and eeriely in the noiseless halls. Soft murmurs could be heard behind some of the doors, people speaking. For a moment, it felt as if the entire world understood this better than I did. Everyone knew why this was happening, everyone knew why we were suffering, everyone knew what was going to happen next, except me. And they were talking about it behind my back, laughing at me, laughing at all of us. It was unnerving. I reached my home and walked inside, almost afraid of what I would find. Anything was possible. With the way things were going, I almost expected for my sister's dead body to be waiting to greet me.

She was there, waiting for me, yes. But alive and well. Or as well as she had been for the past month. "Taichi, what took you so long?" she asked, obviously worried. She shouldn't worry so much, she shouldn't have so much on her mind. That was my job as her older brother, I was supposed to protect her from these worries and fears. Ha, some job I was doing. "Sorry, Kari...I met someone there." I said softly, should I tell her about Matt? She deserved to know, she deserved to know. But she didn't need more to worry about. She was bound to find out sooner or later though, I couldn't hide these facts from her. The TV in our house worked fine. She would find out eventually anyway.

The Keeper of the Crest of Light blinked at me, before expectedly wondering; "Who?" The shifted my gaze to the floor, debating with myself. "Yamato." I didn't look up; how would she react to knowing that Yama was free? How would she react knowing another 'psycho' was on the loose out there, for I knew that's what she thought of our old ally and friend. She didn't say anything, so I kept talking. "I'm sorry, Kari...I should have told you he had escaped...I didn't want you to worry about it." Silence. Say something Hikari...you're scaring me...but I refused to look up, I didn't want to meet my sister's eyes.

"I knew he escaped." she said finally, her voice quivering slightly. I redirected my gaze automaticly, surprised. She knew? Had she already seen it on television? "I overheard you telling the others and..." she paused, biting her lip. So she had heard me. Figures. Well...she didn't seem too upset by it...but then, Kari didn't always show what she felt, like me. Then my attention went to the fact that Kari had trailed off, and what? I stared at her, questioningly. She shifted her weight around, nervous. She wasn't telling me something. "Kari...?" It was her turn to stare at the floor.

"I..." she started, then broke off again. I waited, very curious, and a little worried. What was she hiding? I watched her take a deep breath, then start talking again; "I ... saw M-Matt." I felt myself stiffen, she saw Matt? When? Where? Why didn't she tell me earlier? I saw about to ask, but Hikari already knew I had questions, and continued on. "I saw him after school that day, when I came home late. He was unconscious in a dumpster. I didn't know what to do...he didn't know I was there, didn't wake up or anything." she stopped again, I guess she didn't know what else to say. So she saw Yama, no wonder she's been so jumpy these last couple of weeks.

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan..." I smiled for her, she shouldn't be scared of Yamato...the only person he was after was Aymichi. I smiled for her, and hugged her. What else could I do to comfort her? "Don't worry about it Kari,...he's not going to do anything except go after Aymichi. He's not coming after you...don't worry about him." It was true wasn't it? She shouldn't worry about Matt. He was fine...for now anyway. I didn't know how he was getting food...probably stealing it like he was everything else. As long as he didn't get caught...I don't know. I didn't know where he was staying, I should have asked. But I doubted he would tell me anyway. I hoped he would get through this alright, Aymichi would get caught eventually. Then maybe he could come home.

Our parents have talked with the police, they're going to set up a patrol of our area, finally. Maybe no one else will die. If the murderer is psychotic enough to come after us, then surely the police would catch him. We weren't paying our tax dollars for nothing, right? They must've learned something about the situation by now. It's been a month and more. They must've figured something out about Aymichi and his twisted motives, they must've. I sat with Kari for a while, just being with her, keeping her company in silence. I wasn't going to loose her to Aymichi. I was not going to. She was dying over my dead body. She wasn't going to die, Sora wasn't going to die, Izzy wasn't going to die. Yama was not going to die. No one was. Aymichi would get caught.

At least I could hope. I didn't know much about the police or how they worked, I didn't know how effective they were. I didn't really care until now. But I could hope couldn't I? I could hope that they were doing something right and that that bastard would get caught. Maybe had hope, then Kari would. She needed every ounce of hope she could muster, poor girl was damn paranoid. How could I help her? TK's angel was up there somewhere, maybe he was watching us. He would want us to keep hoping for the best.

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© Kiriska