Who Will Pray For Me?: Aftermath 
By Archangel Bloodraven

"Hello?" The pink haired girl shouted to be heard over the noise of the party.

"Mimi it's Koushiro." 

"Look, I can't hear you. Hold on." She clamped her hand over the mouthpiece and shouted, "Hey guys, can you tone it down? I got a call!"

"Have 'em call you back." Her roommate Krista shouted.

"Come on guys. This is long distance."

"All right." Krista acquiesced, reducing the din to a low rumble.

"Thanks. Who is it?" 

"Koushiro Izumi."

"Izzy! Great to hear from you. How-"

"This isn't a social call." He cut her off. "It's about Takeru."

"Is he alright?" She asked even though the sinking feeling in her gut gave her the answer. 

"He..." Koushiro coughed as if to clear his throat. "He took an entire bottle of sleeping pills, Mimi. There was nothing anyone could do. He's..." He trailed off into racking sobs as Mimi felt her legs give out. 

"Takeru." She murmured numbly as Krista caught her from behind.

"Mimi, what's wrong?" She asked.

Instead of answering Mimi picked up the receiver. "Koushiro."

"How soon can you get here?" He sobbed.

"I'll be on the next flight out."

~*~

Yamato, Taichi, and Sora burst through the door moments after the paramedics and police, with Mr. and Mrs. Ishida following shortly after them, but they were all too late.

Takeru was dead. The police questioned them for hours while going over the tiny apartment. It was four o' clock when they finally left the Ishida home to the grieving family and friends.

"How could he do this?" Mrs. Ishida asked.

"We should have done something." Sora managed between sobs.

"No." Taichi said solemnly. "Takeru didn't want to be helped. He had a picture of Hikari on the table."

"Where?" Yamato asked.

"I didn't see it." Sora said.

"It was under one of the candles." Taichi explained. "When Kari died I cried until I had no more tears to cry and it still hurt like hell. I lost a sister but Takeru lost something far more valuable."

"A soulmate." Koushiro said from the open door. Everyone jumped at his quiet voice.

"But he was so young. He had his whole life to find someone else."

"Sometimes there is no one else." Jyou said following Koushiro into the apartment as Yamato closed the door.

"But his was the crest of hope." Yamato said. "After all that he faced, how could he just give up like that?"

"Takeru didn't die of the drugs and alcohol." Jyou said. "He died of a broken heart."

"Mr. Kido, as a medical student you know that is quite impossible." Mr. Ishida said angrily.

"Is it?" Taichi asked quietly. "I beg to differ. I think it is quite possible. When Hikari died I was so full of pain and hurt I wanted to end it all, but I didn't because there were others depending on me to pull them through. Sora, my parents, Takeru."

"You were his friends." Mrs. Ishida snapped. "Why didn't you help him?"

"For the same reason you didn't mom." Yamato said. "Nobody saw it coming until it was too late."

Sora was about to say something when someone knocked at the door. Yamato opened it to find a female police officer. "Hello. I'm Angelique Raven, the officer in charge of the investigation."

"No more questions." Yamato said wearily.

"That's not why I'm here." She said holding out a wax sealed envelope and a videotape. "Takeru left this for you."

"Thank you." Yamato said. "Have a nice evening." He moved to close the door.

"Wait." Angelique said thrusting her foot into the door. "If it's all right with you I'd like to stay. You see I knew Takeru. We met five years ago when I was a beat cop investigating what had seemed at the time like a simple DUI hit and run. Now five years and two promotions later I come full circle."

"You were the officer at Hikari's death." Taichi said. 

"Yes. I was there at the beginning, and if you'll let me, I want to be here for the end."

"Come in." Yamato said swinging the door open wider. "Would you like a drink?" He winced inwardly remembering the empty bottle of scotch beside Takeru.

"No." She shook her head gently. "Why don't we get started. It tends to hurt more if you let it wait."

"Why are you so concerned?" Sora asked rubbing at her eyes.

"I know what it's like to lose someone close to you." She said as Yamato slipped the tape into the machine. "My twin sister died in a drive by shooting. Taichi is right. It hurts so much you just want to end it all and I applaud his courage."

Taichi was about to reply when the tape began, surprisingly enough not with Takeru, but with a street scene. As the camera panned the scene it stopped on a familiar figure in a white sundress. Taichi's breath caught as Yamato said the name on everyone's lips.

"Hikari."

"Hiya Hikari!" Takeru called from behind the camera. Hikari turned and waved with a smile when the light turned red and she started to cross.  

Then it happened.

A white sport utility vehicle raced through the red light and hit Hikari. The young girls body bounced off the grille, hood and windshield before she rolled into the street. The screen faded to darkness, but Takeru's voice remained screaming for someone to help him.

"Oh my god." Sora gasped.

"I think I may be sick." Koushiro said.

"Me too." Jyou whispered.

"Hello all." Takeru's phantom voice said as the screen faded in to show him in a three piece suit sitting in  a leather chair. "I'm sorry you all had to see that, but imagine seeing that every time you close your eyes, hearing her voice whisper on the wind, seeing a flash of brown hair that you think is her even though she died in your arms. My life has been a living hell and she's only been gone a month, so perhaps you'll understand why I've decided to..." He took deep breath, perhaps to steel himself. "to end my life. It won't be soon because I have to grieve and prepare, and perhaps someone will come along and it won't hurt so badly. This tape is my legacy." He reached into his shirt and stared at his crest for a moment. "I hope someone can save me." He said as the screen faded out.

"Wow." Sora said.

"Is that what you felt Taichi?" Yamato asked.

Taichi just shook his head as the screen faded in to show a very irate Takeru yanking off a necktie. "Bloody murdering son of a bitch!" He ranted. "I just came from court. You know what Hikari's killer got? Three years in jail followed by two years suspended license. He should rot in jail for what he did to her, but then again it's a good thing I'm not in jail myself. Now that the bastard's sober he came to apologize. Like an apology would bring Hikari back. The Kamiya's walked away, but I drew back and hit him square in the jaw. I would have done more if Taichi hadn't restrained me. Of all people, go figure."

"I wanted to do something like that myself." Taichi confessed.

"Anyway, once they separated us, the judge gave me a warning and a restraining order and had me 'escorted' from the courtroom." He was about to say something else when the phone rang. "Hello." He said yanking up the receiver. "Speaking. I see." He paused to check his watch. "I can be there in twenty minutes. Very well. I'll see you shortly." He hung up and hastily retied his tie and pulled on his jacket. "That was the engraver with some question about my gravestone. See? This is why I'm making all my arrangements now. People get so sloppy if you're not there to watch them. Later." He said pointing a remote at the camera as the scene faded to black.

"He had a gravestone made?" Yamato asked.

Taichi nodded. "He had Hikari's headstone made too remember?"

"Where did he get all this money?" Mrs. Ishida asked as the screen faded up to show Takeru sitting at a desk apparently balancing his checkbook. 

"Well that is a problem." He mused setting aside his reading glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Hello all. It seems that recent expenditures have taxed my resources more than I had expected. Fortunately I foresaw this and took a part time job as the assistant groundskeeper at Hikari's graveyard. It'll keep me busy and near her. Mom and dad took me to a therapist today." He spun the chair in a silent 'whoop de doo'. "The first time they get together in years is to take me to a shrink. Does anybody else see a problem with that? Anyway I made it clear to this guy that I wasn't going to bear my soul for analysis just so he could tell me what I already know. He said what basically boiled down to 'You shouldn't keep your feelings bottled up.' I don't need cold detached analysis. I need someone who cares, and Taichi has his own pain to deal with. But maybe the quack is right." He paused to flip through a series of business cards he had produce from his wallet. "There was one person who might understand. Officer Raven, she's a nice enough lady. There's something about the way she looked at the scene. I'm a fairly good judge of character, and she did say she could call her anytime. I didn't see a ring on her finger so hopefully I wouldn't disrupt her life too much. Hmm." The scene faded out with Takeru thoughtfully gazing at the card.

"Takeru actually did call me several times." Angelique supplied. "He never mentioned being suicidal, but he always seemed buoyed by our conversations when we hung up.

"You helped him through the harder times. Thank you." Yamato said honestly.

"Wow! it is cold out there!" Takeru said as the screen faded up. "I never touch this thing on Christmas, so Merry Christmas all. I can't stay long because, to paraphrase a famous poet, 'The snow is lovely, bright and deep, bit have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. You see, Hikari and I would walk through town admiring the lights, maybe stop and sing with the carolers, share some hot chocolate, that sort of thing. We promised each other that on Christmas Eve, we'd do this for as long as we're able and I've kept all my promises, save for one."

"What did he mean by that?" Jyou asked as the screen faded.

"When we were escaping from Piedmon, he promised me he'd keep Hikari safe." Sora explained sadly.

"I never knew." Taichi said.

"None of us could." Yamato said placing a hand on his shoulder. "He felt like he failed her."

The scene faded in again to show Takeru seated before a synthesizer. "Hello all. Today is Hikari's birthday. She would have been thirteen, so I wrote a song. I hoped it would cheer me up, but it turned out so sad... Well, just listen." He turned on the keyboard and played a few plaintive notes before singing in a clear heavenly voice.

"There's a red brick in a white wall
Somebody's brush forgot to paint
So it sits there all alone
Like a hopeful sinner 
Who finally goes to church
She don't sit among the Christians
'Cause she questions her own worth.
Oh she's lonely

Lonely like the way you left me
Nothing I know's gonna get me through losing you
The worst of loves analogies
 Are tangled up inside of me
But the only one that brings me to my knees 
Is lonely

There's a man in his own prison
With a crime nobody knows
He has sentenced himself to life 
With no pardon or parole.
Oh, he's lonely.

Lonely like the way you left me
Nothing I know's gonna get me through losing you
The worst of loves analogies
 Are tangled up inside of me
But the only one that brings me to my knees 
Is lonely

I'm a red brick in a white wall
Somebody's brush forgot to paint
Lonely."

As he finished his voice cracked and he broke down into tears. "Happy birthday Hikari." He sobbed burying his face in the pillow.

"I was here when he did that." Yamato said.

"Huh?" Sora said.

"Mom and dad were working late and they asked me to swing by and keep an eye on Takeru. I heard him play that but I couldn't hear the words. When the music ended he started  crying. When he stopped I looked in on him. He had cried himself to sleep."

"Where did he learn to play like that?" Mr. Ishida asked.

"Hikari and I taught him." Yamato said. "But I had no idea he had progressed this far."

He was a talented young man." Angelique said. "With the voice of an angel."

"Oh wow, Hikari. I was going to end it all when I got your gift. Nice cover work, but then our friend only does the best. You sound great Hikari as always." Takeru said pulling on his jacket. "But this isn't how I want to thank you. See you soon." He said as the scene again faded to darkness.

"Kari sent him a CD of all his favorite songs. I found him kneeling beside her grave asleep." Yamato said.

"I remember that." Taichi said. "We spent his birthday scouring the town when he was right under our noses."

The screen faded in for the final time to show Takeru dressed as he had been that morning. "Well all, this is goodbye."

"He must have recorded this this morning before he..." Taichi trailed off.

"It's been five years since my light died, and these are my final words to her."

The group listened in silence to Takeru's thoughtful last words. "Goodbye my love." He said as the image faded to static.

~*~