Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon. If I did, Kouichi would show up in a Digimon Frontier Movie of his own, and…and…and everything else would be a disaster.

-MMMMMMMMMM-

Misconceptions

-MMMMMMMMMM-

Summary: "I'll never understand girls." Takuya doesn't know the truth of the statement until he accuses Izumi of lying. It all comes down to this simple misconception to make things topsy-turvy. (TakuyaxIzumi)

-MMMMMMMMMM-

Part 1: Accusations

-MMMMMMMMMM-

Takuya's hand immediately fell on the snooze button. It was 7:29 AM. Another second, he wagered, and the alarm would go ringing off. His thumb pressed on the snooze button continuously, and the rest of his fingers gripped the side of the alarm clock for support.

Think videogames, Takuya thought. Be happy, he thought.

Hadn't he been happy? It had been six months since they had endured the adventures of the Digital World. To mark the joyous event, hadn't he been the one who organized the 'Bi-Annual Digi-World' celebration?

There was something lacking, something he had been waiting for. They talked on the phone, and they e-mailed each other often, but Takuya figured he just missed seeing them.

There's more, a voice in the back of his mind insisted. Remember Izumi? Remember her promise?

7:30 AM.

His hand fell to the side of the alarm clock, immobile as it began to ring loudly. Takuya's half-lidded eyes fell shut.

Today was exactly six months since that day. Today at nine, they would be meeting at the arcade at eight. Today, he would finally speak to Izumi, the same Izumi that had been the only one who had avoided him for these six long months. The same Izumi who had promised him…

Takuya's hand rose, and violently slammed down on the snooze button. He threw the covers off his body and sat up, eyes open. "Shut…UP!" he scowled, holding the alarm in his hand and hitting the snooze button over and over again. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP-!"

"MOM!" Shinya shouted, "TAKUYA'S GOING CRAZY!"

"I AM NOT!" Takuya returned, feeling energized and ready. It was just another day. But the opportunity was here, and he was going to seize it.

-MMMMMMMMMM-

Takuya had been the first one there, bright and early, ready for anything. As the arcade only opened at eight, he even helped the new part-time worker open up, clean all the tables, and warmed up on the games free of charge. Kouji and Kouichi had been the next to arrive, and as usual, competition flared between the Kanbara and the Minamoto, and for the next ten minutes, while waiting on Tomoki, Junpei and Izumi, Takuya and Kouji went from machine to machine, trying to beat each other's high scores.

Junpei arrived next and immediately went to the food corner to order his breakfast, or so he claimed. Tomoki had joined him shortly after the young boy had arrived himself, and they all sat down (save Kouji and Takuya) for a small snack.

Perhaps a good twenty minutes past eight, Izumi had arrived. Takuya had immediately sacrificed any chance of a high score and dashed towards her, but she just walked past him and grabbed both the twins, then dragged them to the other side of the room.

For the second time that day, Takuya felt drained of all vitality. After ordering a soda, he sat down beside Tomoki and turned around to watch Izumi.

He watched her flirt freely with the others. Kouji, usually reserved, opened up easily to Izumi, while his twin tried to shirk away from the conversation, blushing madly.

"They're a bunch of liars," Takuya muttered under his breath.

Tomoki heard him and looked up in surprise. "Takuya!" he gasped in disbelief. The older brother figure that Takuya represented seemed to crumble before his eyes with that last comment.

The goggle boy realized this and narrowed the subject down: "I mean girls," he clarified. "Either all of them, or…or just Izumi."

Relief seemed to radiate from Tomoki. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Only because it's the truth!" He let out a huff and rose to his feet. His eyes were glued to the twins and Izumi who were now laughing as they sat at their table behind the 'Space Monkeys' machine. "Well I'm not taking it anymore!" Takuya declared, slamming his hand on the tabletop. Tomoki quickly grabbed his drink and pulled it close for fear it would spill otherwise. "I'm going to get a different…" The brown-haired boy stopped, noticing that Izumi's eyes were on him, that she was just standing a few feet away and the twins were making their way over.

"Different what?" Junpei asked, slurping loudly on his soda. He was seated at the table just behind Tomoki.

"Different…er…different obsession! Yeah…er…fire is a bit old, would you say, Tomoki?" He turned helplessly towards the younger boy, trying to think of a way to get himself out of the mess.

Having eavesdropped the entire time (Izumi refused to speak with Junpei after he had nearly broken her new bracelet) and understanding Takuya's intended words, Junpei asked slyly, "Is fire in general old, or is that certain fire too old?"

Takuya began to sputter. "Wh-what are you talking about?" he exclaimed indignantly.

A look of remembrance flashed on Izumi's face. "That's right! Takuya-" she began.

"What?" he snapped, looking flustered.

Shocked, Izumi shut her mouth and looked away. "Nothing," she returned haughtily.

He scowled, and knowing full well she couldn't see, stuck his tongue out at the girl childishly. Takuya then turned around and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going home!"

"Oh, just leave, you big baby!" Izumi shouted, hands now clenched by her sides.

Takuya turned around in shock. "Baby?" he repeated slowly. Then, after a pause: "At least I'm not some pampered sissy!"

"At least I have a brain!"

"At least I have some fashion sense! Stripes are for sissies!"

Izumi gasped. "What does my clothing have anything to do with this? And no one wears goggles! They look lame!"

"Not as lame as you!" Takuya retorted.

Having had enough, Izumi looked him in the eye, her face bright red with embarrassment. "Takuya Kanbara," she said in a low voice, "I hate you."

"The feeling is mu-what?" Takuya asked incredulously. "You have no reason to hate me!"

"I could list several!"

"Well I have more reasons to hate you, you stuck up liar!" Takuya declared with a scowl plainly visible on his face, "and you're not worth the effort of reciting them!"

"Kouji, would you please tell Goggle-brain he's a waste of flesh and bone?"

"Kouichi, please tell the girl she's…she's…she's ugly, and I never liked her!" Takuya spat angrily. "I'm going home!" he yelled, spinning around and dashing off.

-MMMMMMMMMM-

"Shinya, who is it?" Takuya asked glumly, hearing his brother pick up the phone. He had intended for it to go ringing off into oblivion. He himself was too busy to pick it; videogames had priority over everything, and he definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with silly telemarketers.

The eight-and-a-half-year-old boy responded, "Kouji says Izumi wants an apology."

"Takuya says she can ask herself," the goggle boy snapped, returning his attention to the videogame at hand. Never had he taken Izumi as just another person. If she was going to treat him like trash, he just wouldn't hear her.

Shinya conveyed the message. A minute later, he shouted, "Kouji says she says you have to first!"

He frowned and paused the game. With middlemen, it always got confusing. "Shinya, bring the phone over here." His brother obliged and Takuya held the phone to his ear. "Ahh…Izumi, you can apologize now." Takuya un-paused the game, a victorious smirk on his face. He was winning two battles at once: one on the phone, one on the TV. No one else was so talented.

"Takuya, she meant you have to apologize yourself first," came Kouji's dry response.

"The hell?" Takuya exclaimed, although he knew fully well what she had meant. "She has to ask herself, or I'm not apologizing myself!"

"I don't know, Takuya. She's being stubborn…" Kouji's voice trailed off, and there were incoherent whispers on the other end.

"Call her a mule."

More whispers. Then: "Takuya, she just called you more names. Just apologize! Is it that hard?"

"She has to ask for an apology herself," the goggle-boy repeated vehemently.

Whispers. The whispers were driving him crazy. A thought suddenly entered Takuya's head, and before he could stop himself, he was red with rage and hissing into the telephone, "Is she at…your place…?"

There was silence. Then more whispers and mutters filled the other end with noise that was barely clear enough for Takuya to make out.

"Why…" The rest of what Kouichi said was droned out in whispered.

He could hear Kouji snort, but only made out a few words. "…know. Really…ridiculous…"

"Hello?" Takuya spat.

"No, Takuya," Kouji sighed. The sigh was one of exasperation, a sigh that had come many times before as a sign that Takuya was tiring the bandana-headed boy out. "She called Kouichi's cell and I'm on my cell talking to you," he informed the boy.

"Oh," replied Takuya dumbly.

Kouji then asked tentatively, "Are you mad at her?"

For a while Takuya was silent, unable to decide on whether to tell the truth or not. However, after a few long seconds, he decided Kouji would know the truth anyway, and so, he drew a breath. "Make sure the other phone is far away," Takuya warned. He assumed Kouji respected his wishes by the same, exasperated sigh he breathed again. "Alright…yes, I'm mad at her," Takuya confessed sheepishly.

"Moron. Why?" Kouji asked, sounding indifferent.

"Because…you know…before we beat up Cherubimon, she promised to take me on a date! Well, how long has it been?"

Kouji paused before answering. "Six months…" he mumbled, understanding Takuya's agitation a bit better now.

"Exactly!"

"We have lives unlike you," the other boy proclaimed. "We study, we don't sit in front of the TV and play videogames all day long. I'm sure Izumi has her reasons."

Takuya made a whining sound. "But she hasn't brought it up even once!" the goggle-boy insisted.

"You haven't either," Kouji remarked pointedly. "Maybe she forgot."

"Girls shouldn't forget things like that! And she hasn't called me once!"

"Then remind her! Don't argue with me! I bet you didn't even try to call her."

The goggle-boy bit his lip and then mumbled, "Well maybe I didn't…but…"

Another one of those sighs. "What, Takuya?" Kouji snapped. The conversation was wearing his patience down.

"See, she's still mad at me, so she won't talk to me, right? I can't exactly remind her anymore," Takuya explained.

Again, Kouji made him sound dumb: "Then apologize."

"But-"

"Kouichi, hang up!" he heard Kouji order. "Let them sort it out themselves. Goodbye, Takuya," Kouji added sourly. "Please, don't worry about us."

Takuya scowled, hearing the click of Kouji hanging up. That jerk, he thought angrily, tossing the phone to his side. I'll bet he wants to go out with Izumi himself! That's why…

"Takuya, you just killed yourself!" Shinya scowled, pointing to the TV screen. "What an amateur mistake!"

"What a big mouth!" Takuya retorted, glaring at his brother. He put down the controller. "Do you even know what that means?"

Shinya opened his mouth to explain, but no words came out. Instead, seeing his older brother smirk, the young Kanbara declared, "At least I apologize to girls!" And then, fearing for his life, he dashed out of the room as fast as his feet would carry him.

-MMMMMMMMMM-

The phone was ringing, much to his annoyance. Takuya pulled the pillow over his ears. No more, he prayed. Stop calling, you stupid telemarketers!

His parents had gone out for the night to some party or another at one of their friends' houses. As usual, Takuya left his brother to the television and warned him not to destroy anything. Shinya could listen if he really wanted to; it was a pity he didn't listen more often.

So Takuya wandered to his bedroom and did his best to sleep, but found himself unable to even close his eyes. Eyes half-lidded, he gazed at the ceiling endlessly, trying not to hear the ringing phone.

'Fire!' came a high, squeaky voice. Takuya sat up in his bed, wide-awake now. "Cell phone," he told himself, searching around his room. He finally found the phone ringing 'Fire!' in the same high, squeaky voice, until he flipped it open and answered with a frantic, "Hello?" Please, be Izumi!

"Where are you? We called your house ten times already! No one picked up!" snapped Kouji on the other end.

Patience drained out of his system. "I was trying to fall asleep!"

"It's only eight, Takuya. You sleep at eleven, and usually it's eleven in the morning, not even at night."

"What's the deal with you calling me at eight? Don't you usually sleep at seven?"

"I sleep at ten!" Kouji hissed. Then, calmer, he told the goggle-head, "Call to Digital World."

"Now?" Takuya was taken aback. "I didn't get any message," he said, holding his phone away and looking at the dimmed screen before confirming the statement. "Did you?" he asked Kouji.

"Er…no, but…um, Tomoki and Junpei did," Kouji said hesitantly. "And…er…so did Izumi."

At the girl's name, Takuya fell silent and replied with a small "oh."

"Don't get so down! We need you!" Kouji snapped. "Can you get out?"

"My parents left a while ago. If I go, Shinya'll be home alone. And he'll know even if I sneak out. He's perfectly addicted to the TV when I'm here, but if I leave…then…he'll sue me or something crazy," Takuya muttered.

Silence grew between them, but Takuya could practically hear Kouji thinking. Slowly, the bandana boy suggested, "Bring him over…Satomi and Dad can watch him."

"Are you sure-" Takuya stopped to hear the conversation on the other end.

"What do you mean you're going out?" Kouji asked, trying to keep his voice low so Takuya wouldn't hear.

Kouji's father answered, but the man really did mumble, so all Takuya heard was, "…invited…you can stay here."

Takuya frowned, easily piecing together the situation. "Kouji, maybe your mom…?"

"No fair," Kouji muttered. "I have to skip Mom's cookie night for the Digital World, and Shinya gets to indulge…"

"Is…that a yes?"

Kouji let out an annoyed sigh. "Alright," he said irritably. "Hurry up, though! I don't want to see him lay a hand on those cookies until I'm out!"

-MMMMMMMMMM-

A/N-

Wow, I'm writing a Takumi again. It'll only be a few chapters long. Maybe three? I really just want to work on developing the idea more than making it a one-shot. Anybody can make a one-shot, but developing the idea to make something greater is a bit difficult, I think. So I'll change this chapter later on with a few edits hopefully, and put up the next.

Review or PM or Flame if you'd like. Criticism would be beneficial.