Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

Presenting…

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Pendulum

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Summary: Her life was like a pendulum, always swinging from one side to another. As it continues to swing back and forth, Izumi wonders if she can take it anymore. And then comes an unlikely savior. Can a pendulum ever stop? Or will she remain unwanted forever? Izumi finds the answer. (KoujixIzumi)

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Center

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Her shoe kicked at the dirt.

"Stupid Dad."

The grass flew inches into the air before landing back on the ground.

"Stupid Mom."

Her shoe kicked at the dirt again.

"Stupid adults."

Izumi pulled her hat down slightly, to shade her eyes as she looked up ahead. Her mother was probably worried she was out this late, but she found she didn't care. The heat of the summer had been getting to her. She needed to get out.

Her eyes fell on the small river to her left. Thigh-deep water simply sat there. There was a small current, if any. The sun was reflected in the water at its present position and so, much to Izumi's dismay, she couldn't glare at it without hurting her eyes.

The road to her right was growing busier by the moment. Izumi looked at it steadily, watching the cars drive past, wishing she were in an air conditioned car herself.

She began to head home.

Izumi gazed down at the grass below her feet as she walked after the cars that passed her. It was boring, and uncomfortable.

Walking down a road in a dress and a hat. What kind of idiot do I look like? Izumi shook her head and sighed. She bit her lip as she remembered something. Idiots…huh? I should see them soon.

But she didn't care right now.

Now.

The present…?

Izumi came to a stop and frowned. How long have I been walking? It felt like only minutes ago that she had been standing there in the grass, under the sun, grouchy from its heat. And now…

…the park. Her eyes fell on a tree. I remember this…

She had been here before, several times before. Once with her parents, when she was young; a few years ago, when her parents had confirmed their divorce; a few months after that, with them.

"It finished blooming," she observed, placing a hand on the fairly young cherry tree. The bark was rough under her skin, and she stroked it several times, gazing at it blankly, reminiscing.

"I found you, Takuya, you moron," a boy growled, sounding irritated. "And you're lucky that all these nice people are here to witness this!"

Takuya? Izumi looked around, then used the tree to shield herself. Her head peeked out and looked around, and she caught sight of the voices that sounded so familiar. Kouji…? Kouichi…there's Tomoki, and he doesn't have his hat! Who…is…that? Oh, no wait. That's Junpei. She smiled, watched Takuya fall to his knees.

"Come on, Kouji, please? I didn't mean to! Junpei dared me!"

"But you accepted!" Kouji returned angrily. "You accepted after I told you not to."

"I said I was sorry!"

Kouichi let out a sigh. "Alright, alright…let's not kill each other here. Kouji, accept Takuya's apology and Takuya, don't tell anyone what you saw."

Takuya nodded with a smile. "Oh, don't worry, I won't. I'm a bit surprised, though." He looked at Kouji with a wide grin. "Do you really–"

The boy rolled his eyes. "No, of course not," he drawled sarcastically. "I just have all those things because someone dumped them on me."

The goggle boy – rather, currently goggle-less boy – nodded. "So then, Kouji…?"

"Yeah?" Kouji sounded grumpy.

"If I were to…say…date her one day, would you hate me for it?"

The boy rolled his eyes again. "Do my preferences have priority over yours?" he snapped. "Do what you want. I don't plan on doing anything."

"What? Are you serious?" Takuya jumped to his feet, a frown on his face. "Hey, Kouichi! Convince that loser twin of yours to do something!"

"He's saying if she likes him she'll date him and if she doesn't, she won't," Kouichi translated.

"…Oh." Takuya scratched the back of his neck and let out a sheepish laugh. "Is that so?"

Tomoki tugged on Kouichi's sleeve now, looking impatient. "Can we please go to the arcade?"

"YES!" Takuya jumped up in the air, throwing his fist up as well. He landed on both feet, then pointed towards Kouji. "Let's go to the arcade!"

"Sure, we can," Kouji said with a shrug, walking past Takuya.

"Well then why aren't you going?" Takuya looked from Junpei to Kouji, then at Tomoki, and finally at Kouichi, looking absolutely lost.

"Takuya, the arcade is that way," Junpei informed the younger boy, pointing behind Takuya.

Said boy waddled around 180 degrees, frowning as they followed Kouji's lead. "Hold it!" he snapped, running forward. "You all have to follow me!"

Izumi's eyes widened in realization. I'm not ready, she realized, turning around and pressing her back against the tree. I can't do this! Biting her lip, she turned and looked at the road to her right. If all went well, they would be too busy looking forward to notice her. She sent a hesitant glance to the left using her peripheral vision.

"…and then we have to play that Sailor Venus game!" Tomoki insisted. "I know what you're thinking: it's a girl's game, but it's really hard! Chiaki told Teppei to play it when he laughed when she lost, and he couldn't get past the first level! Even Katsuharu and Teruo managed to get to only level two!"

"What?" Junpei asked in disbelief. "That's impossible! I'll show you just how girly that game is!"

"It isn't, I'm telling you!"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see," Kouji muttered, his gaze falling on the tree as he passed it. He frowned for a moment, seeing a girl with her back pressed against the trunk of the tree, her eyes darting from one side to another under her sun hat. Could that be…? His gaze fell on her, and he stopped walking altogether.

Their eyes met.

Izumi swallowed.

Kouji's mouth opened slightly.

Without warning, Takuya ran behind Kouji, then covered the bandana boy's eyes with his hands. "GUESS WHO?"

"Guess who's going to get beaten to a pulp?" Kouji hissed, pushing Takuya away. His frown deepened when he looked back at the tree.

She was gone.

He was pissed.

"Takuya," Kouji growled, looking at the boy with a sickeningly friendly smile on his face. "Guess what?"

Takuya swallowed. "I'm going to…uh…catch up on some lost exercise!" he announced, breaking into a run. "MEET YOU AT THE ARCADE!"

"TAKUYA, GET BACK HERE, YOU MORON!" Kouji snapped, running after the boy.

Izumi watched from behind the tree, watching the backs of her friends as they walked (or in the case of Takuya and Kouji, ran) to the arcade. Half her mind screamed for her to run after them, but the other half screamed not to.

She wasn't sure why she was so split on the matter.

Izumi stepped out from behind the tree once they were a decent distance away.

Way to go. When will you get a chance to talk to them all together like that again?

Please, shut up.

You know you won't.

I will. Just you wait. I bet next week, they'll be here, doing the exact same thing!

Oh, do you know? Care to make a bet?

Since when do I make bets with myself? Izumi shook her head. She felt dizzy, she realized, as she took a step forward. I should go home, Izumi decided, pulling the rim of the hat down slightly so as to cover her eyes as she walked home, head bent to let her stare morosely at the ground.

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"Mom…" Izumi bit her lip. She stepped back to stay outside of the threshold as a man passed her.

He stopped and glanced at her in surprise. "Izumi! Well, it's good to see you again," he greeted her warmly.

Oh, the things she could have said. Izumi nodded, trying to maintain a polite look as she nodded in acknowledgement. She waited a while longer, until he left, until he got into his car, until the roaring of his car's engine could not be heard. Then, Izumi entered, tossing off her shoes and putting on her slippers after slamming the door shut.

I hate him, I hate her, I hate them, I hate him, I hate her, I hate them, she chanted in her head as she entered the kitchen. "I'm back…"

"Izumi! You just missed dinner with us," her mother sighed, picking up two plates and heading over to the sink where she placed them down. "It's such a pity. You're always doing one thing or another. I really wish you would have time to eat with us…"

I really wish you had time to listen to what I have to say. Although, that might take a few weeks, and I don't think I want to talk that long. Izumi held her tongue.

"Here's your dinner." Her mother smiled at her and placed the plate of food on the table, behind a pair of chopsticks.

"M-Mom…" She bit her lip again. She was getting guilt-trapped, that's what it was. She wasn't such a sucker that she would fall for that smile.

Or…so she thought.

Her mother pushed her to her seat. "Come on, you haven't been eating dinner properly since you came back. I didn't tell you, but I talked to Shoichi before you came here from Italy, and he said that your middle school choice is perfect. In fact, it's one of the best around. So I called them up and got you registered yesterday. You'll be attending starting tomorrow."

"…oh." She asks him, huh? I bet she doesn't even remember Dad went there. Of course it's a good school.

"Of course, now that I think about it," the woman murmured, "your father went there too."

Izumi stared at her mother, then at her food. "I…I'm not that hungry," she began, but her mother shook her head.

"Eat, Izumi. I called your father yesterday to ask about your eating habits there. He said you did the same thing and you got sick. I can't have you getting sick, Izumi. Not like you did back in Italy."

"I wasn't that sick, Mother. He exaggerated. He always does."

Her mother laughed. "Yes, well, I should know that, of all people."

Izumi took a bite. "Yes, you should," she agreed, smiling a little. She kind of felt better when she thought about it.

"Izumi…"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Do you really…want to be here?"

Izumi looked up, but by then, her mother was smiling again.

"Kidding! Did I get you?"

"Yeah." The girl forced a smile. Her stomach was doing barrel rolls again. "You did…" She rose to her feet and pushed her plate in. "I'm finished." Only a quarter of the food was gone.

Her mother nodded, too preoccupied with her own thoughts to protest. "Alright. Get lots of sleep…"

"I will," Izumi murmured, heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

The person in the mirror, she realized, as she brushed her teeth, was someone she didn't know before. Her hair was a dull blond, just past her shoulders, and her eyes were gray and tired, confirmed by the bags under her eyes. She looked old, tired, and…

What am I thinking? Izumi turned on the faucet and splashed her face with water. When she looked up again, it was the same old her.

Regular eyes. Regular hair. Regular Izumi. Not old.

Everything was perfect. She could convince people of that. She was sure she could, anyway. Sure, her father was in Italy and her mother was here, and they were divorced, but she couldn't be happier. They both loved her; they both wanted her to be happy. She was going to the school she wanted to go to, she saw her friends, and she would see them again, and speak to them.

Everything was perfect.

Izumi fell onto her bed, lying on her stomach and looking to her right, where the window was. A deep blue light filtered through the blinds, cascading onto the floor of her room. She stared at it a while, watching the shadows of the leaves shift around on the floor.

Tomorrow was a new day.

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A/N-

Short first chapter. Sorry about ditching Misconceptions, but I need to redo chapter four and swish things around and that will take a while. My brain isn't in place and I've been itching to write something like this story. Happy thing is, I'm hoping it'll be finished in less than ten chapters and I actually know where I'm going!

I probably should have stated the time period in this chapter. They're in middle school so…two-ish years after the Digital World. Thus there will be OOC-ishness.

And yes, I know Izumi's family probably isn't like that. Bear with me, would you? It's a FANfic. I'd be much obliged if you were to overlook the fact that I know nothing of Izumi's family situation.

Ew. I think I saw subjunctives in this chapter. Yuck.

Next chapter should be up soon. As in less than a week soon. Summer break is a blessing.

Review or PM or Flame.