Frontiers Unexplored

36) Blood of Sun and Shadow

Koji didn't know what to do. 

After he purified Malkakomon, the group decided to head back to the train station to consider what their options were for the next step. Obviously, their destination was still Rose Morning Star so that they could defeat Cherubimon, but they needed a bit of time to rest before they would be ready to set out again. Malkakomon had tired out both Koji and Koichi immensely, and there were no objections to being given the extra time to recuperate before the charge on Rose Morning Star began. 

Koji sat in a booth on the far side of the train station near where the Burgemons' counter was. He was staring down at his hand, watching the way that he rubbed his nails across the table mindlessly. Every once in a while, he would steal a glance off to his left where Koichi was sitting. He never was able to meet the other boy's eyes, and neither one of them seemed to be ready to speak. 

Koichi had been silent the whole way back to the train station. He had been resistant to the group's attempts to introduce themselves, smiling and nodding in response to everything that was said despite it being clear that he wasn't fully processing any of the information sent his way. Something about him still felt distant and unsettled, not that Koji could particularly blame him. This situation was something out of a nightmare for both of them, and he could only imagine how awful it must have been for Koichi. 

Still, he didn't know how to close the gap between them, so all he did was continue to stay still as he rubbed his nails across the table before him. He wished that there was an answer to this problem, but as far as he was aware, no easy solution was ever going to present itself, so he allowed the silence to swallow him once again. 

~~~~~

Koichi didn't know what to do. 

He had been anxious and on edge ever since he was purified from his Spirit form, but he couldn't quite explain why. He knew that if he tried, it would only end in tears, and the last thing he deserved was to have a breakdown. The other members of the team would undoubtedly attempt to comfort them, but he didn't deserve that. After all that he had done to hurt them, he wasn't worthy of their kindness or mercy. 

Koichi could remember everything that he did as Duskmon in stunning clarity despite how dazed he had been at the time. He hated everything that he had been forced to do, and the idea of hearing Cherubimon's voice again made him feel sick. There was nothing he could do to free himself of his guilt. He was simply going to have to live with it as he wondered what he could have ever done to deserve the kindness of the Legendary Warriors. 

He looked over at Koji out of the corner of his eye. Koichi had taken a seat in the corner of the restaurant furthest away from the Burgemons' counter, and the distance between himself and Koji was both far too minimal and criminally large at the same time. He swallowed dryly in an attempt to dispel his nerves, but it didn't work, leaving Koichi to drown in his own anxiety once again. 

Koichi wanted to cry, but he wasn't deserving of that kindness. He had done horrible things, and he was simply going to have to live with it. He wasn't worthy of the care of his brother, so even if he was desperate to approach Koji, he held himself back. The silence settled in like a wave of constant static that flooded every part of his being. 

~~~~~

None of them knew what to do. 

The suspense was already getting to Takuya, and he could barely sit still in his attempts to prevent himself from getting up and forcing the brothers to talk himself. The rest of the group appeared to be the same way. They had all crowded themselves into a trio of booths that split the difference between Koji and Koichi, offering everyone more than enough power to look back and forth between the two. Even Saki, who seemed heavily resistant to communicating with the rest of the group, had joined them, and their gaze was constantly set in something critical as they attempted to put the pieces together regarding the connection between the Warriors of Light and Darkness.