Digimon: Reloaded

Chapter 6

Kouichi wasn't sure what he or his element had done to wrong Hikari and Takeru, and part of him wanted to do everything he could to amend it. The rest of him knew that there was nothing he could do to right what he had apparently done wrong.

It was with this mindset that he set after Koushiro, Kouji at his side. It was weird having his brother be so much shorter than he. Usually Kouji was just an inch taller, and it was comforting to have Kouji walk beside him. While Strabimon radiated the same warmth that Kouji's human form did, it just wasn't the same.

Koushiro chattered as they walked down the street, out of sight from any pedestrians that would see Kouji and immediately call the police. Kouichi learned much more in the span of five minutes than he had in any of his classes, as it seemed as soon as Koushiro got started on one thing or another, he wouldn't stop until he was done.

And so, Kouichi listened to Koushiro's lecture about all of his gadgets, most of which he had made from using his extensive knowledge of the Digital World. He even let slip parts of the adventure he and his friends had shared; a story Kouichi was more than interested in hearing. But he'd have to wait until Saturday to find out the full truth of all the other Chosen Children had suffered through. And they'd have to do the same.

They came upon a small apartment complex that Koushiro undoubtedly lived in. Kouichi tried to memorize where it was as they climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor. He had a hunch he and the others would come here quite often. Koushiro opened the door to a small neat apartment that was managed well from the looks of things. Tentomon buzzed around his head as he entered, gesturing for Kouichi and Kouji to follow. Respectfully removing his shoes as he went inside, Kouichi looked around and the white walls, adorned with family images of all sorts.

"It's nice in here," Kouichi remarked to his brother quietly. A faint smell of cinnamon was in the air. Kouji grunted, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah."

"Hopefully we can find some way to return you to human," Kouichi said, trying to lighten his brother's sour mood. Although, Kouichi mentally admitted that it was rare to see Kouji not in a bad mood. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Kouji said again. "Hopefully this computer genius has some answers for us. Blitzmon wasn't exactly very specific when he told Junpei about our evolutions."

"He wasn't," Kouichi agreed. Setting his worn sneakers down neatly, Kouichi trailed after the way Koushiro had gone, seeing his red hair disappear behind a door.

"In here, guys!" Koushiro called from a bedroom down the hall. Kouichi pushed open the door to see Koushiro sitting at a desk, a computer with no less than three monitors sitting on top. It was already in its boot up sequence, with Koushiro sitting comfortably in a plush swivel chair. "Sit here," Koushiro pointed to the bed tucked in the corner, looking at the brothers. They sat down obediently, quietly looking at the plain decor that adorned Koushiro's room.

"Alright," Kouji was quickly bored of this. "So tell me. How can I return back to my human form? I don't want to be stuck as Strabimon for the rest of my life. My parents would freak. "

"You haven't told your parents about Digimon?" Tentomon twittered on the floor. Both Kouichi and Kouji shook their heads.

"I don't think they'd believe us, anyways," Kouichi said, smiling weakly. Koushiro and his partner exchanged knowing glances as the computer beeped quietly. Koushiro scooted forwards, towards Kouji and examined him up and down.

"Before I can tell you how to return to normal, I have to understand how you managed to even pull this off." Koushiro seemed to be marveling at the fact that there was a real human boy underneath the layer of fur that covered Strabimon. "How did you reconfigure every single cell in your body to become Digital?"