Once again, I apologize for the delay. Between the really weird weather we've been having down here (we had six inches of snow on Easter…) I've found that I'm on a real Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kick lately, and that's been occupying a lot of my time. Plus, I just can't concentrate. So if this chapter seems a little, well, underwhelming...I'm sorry. Really sorry. I'll try to get off this kick of distraction as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, nor do I own anything to do with 'Loveless'. I'm just obsessed with both…

Balance

Chapter 8: Watch Where You're Going

Takuya walked home that evening in a daze, feeling more confused than anything else. Kouji's story was looping through his head over and over, distracting him, confusing him. He was trying to focus on other things - on dinner, on schoolwork, on anything - but there was nothing that could draw his mind away from the same thoughts.

The story was…not what he had been expecting. Well, honestly, he wasn't really sure what he had been expecting, but the story was anything but, well, anything. He normally didn't delve that much into his friends' homes or family life - he noted certain boundaries and tended to stay away from them. This was much, much deeper than he had ever dared to delve before, almost ridiculously so.

…Had their mother really died that way?

Takuya was so lost in his thoughts that he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, or what was on the street in front of him. As such, he didn't realize that one of the players in his constant merry-go-round of thoughts - namely, the fellow he now knew as Soubi Agatsuma - was there until he practically ran into him.

Agatsuma-san chuckled. "I would think that someone in your situation would be a bit more careful about where he was walking."

Takuya leapt back, startled. "You!"

"Yes, it's me," another light chuckle. Takuya's body tensed a bit, his jaw setting heavily, which made the older man grin a bit. "I take it that one of them finally decided that you could be trusted with information about our…personal…relationship."

"Just…don't come any closer, okay?" Takuya nibbled his lip. Kouji had a certain amount of respect for this man, but in all honesty, he trusted Kouichi's judgment more. And Kouichi didn't like him even a little.

But Soubi just laughed again, knocking out a cigarette from his pack coolly. He slipped it into his mouth and pulled out his lighter. "Those boys are so interesting, aren't they? Now that they've been willing to loosen their tongues about me, I'll take it that you now know everything about their history, ne?"

Takuya didn't answer. Soubi finally lit his cigarette and took a deep drag, blowing the smoke away from them both coolly. His smile was pleasant and his teeth, which Takuya could see now that he was close enough, were pearl white without even a hint of tobacco stain. Takuya couldn't help musing that he must spend a fortune on dental work to keep his teeth looking that good.

"Those boys have a real power in them, you know," Soubi said in an off-hand manner, as though he was talking about the weather with an old friend. "It's the kind of strength that all the players want, but not necessarily because they understand. Their unique relationship makes it a hard concept for most people to grasp…"

Something flared in Takuya's mind, and his mouth asked before he could think of it. "Unique?"

"You've noticed," Soubi's grin extended just a bit, "haven't you? There is nothing about those boys themselves that is really of any importance, but their relationship is a special one. They're much, much more than just brothers."

Takuya's eyebrows shot to his hairline. The rumors returned to his mind yet again, the nasty things spreading through the school about the twins, their relationship, and their home. "They're…not?"

"Naturally," Soubi took another drag, closing his eyes. "Those two can be anything to one another. Anything at all. Any gap that needs to be filled, any connection of the heart that either of they may need - each can fill it for the other. At any given moment, at any given time, they can be brothers…best friends…life-long companions, battle partners, master and servant, trusted confidents…lovers…"

Takuya choked on the last one, but Soubi continued without missing a beat. "Anything that you can think of, anything at all, they are to one another. That is their nature, that is their life. There is nothing more that either of them could ever want nor need. They complete each other, quite literally.

"Of course, not everyone can be so fortunate," he took another long drag and chuckled to himself. "The rest of us are limited to stumbling around through the darkness of our lives, blindly searching for any bits of clue that we can find in a desperate, futile attempt to locate that one thing that we are all missing in our lives."

He sighed, shook his head, and turned to Takuya with a light, almost playful-looking smile. "If you would like, though, I do have a little light that could be shed over your journey, Kanbara-kun."

Takuya tensed again, especially at the ending on his name, though he didn't know why. It was perfectly acceptable, from a social point of view, for Agatsuma to call him kun - he was several years younger than the blonde, after all. But for some reason, he just didn't like it. "What kind of…'Light'?"

Another sly smile crept over Agatsuma's face. "Would you like to know your Name?"

"I already know my name…"

"No. Your Name."

For a moment, Takuya stopped breathing altogether. His Name…his True Name. That was the reason that the school was after him, wasn't it? Because of his Name. They wanted him, because of his Name, because of some sort of power that he had whether he realized he had it or not. That was the reason that they…

"No."

Soubi lifted a pale eyebrow curiously. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Takuya gripped his hands into fists at his side. "I'm sure. I'm definitely sure. I don't…Don't want to hear it. Not from you."

Soubi took in one last drag before he dropped the cigarette to the ground, rubbing it into the sidewalk with the toe of his boot.

"As you wish," he said calmly, slipping his hands into his pockets. He set off down the street at an easy pace, brushing past Takuya to do so. He tweaked one of the brown kitty ears as he walked by and smirked just a bit wider. "See you around…Kanbara-kun."

Takuya tensed just a bit, waiting until the man was well gone because he relaxed again. His body tingled with nervous energy, but his actual nerves were shot. At the moment, all he really wanted to do was go home and lie down for a little bit. For the night. Maybe for the rest of the week. That's about how long it would take for him to sort this whole thing out…

For the second time that day, Takuya ran into someone because he hadn't been paying attention. This new person, however, was not tall and strong, but around his size and a good deal thinner. They were also not striding purposefully down the sidewalk with long, measured steps, instead jogging lightly as though attempting to get away from something and not looking where they were going either. As a result, when Takuya and this new person collided, the energy between them bounced back onto them both, knocking both figures to the ground with light cries of surprise.

Takuya sat up first, groaning and rubbing his head where he had hit it during his fall. "Ow…man, watch where you're going."

"I'm so sorry!" A higher, slightly more nervous voice exclaimed, breaking his thoughts. "I wasn't watching where I was going, and I thought I heard someone come up behind me, and…"

It was only then that Takuya e registered that the other person picking themselves off the ground was a girl.

He opened his eyes fully and looked up to find that she was not just a girl, she was a very pretty girl, much prettier than the girls in class. She was taller than they were, and paler, with a strange kind of exotic air that Takuya couldn't quite put his finger on. Her hair was long and straight blonde, falling to her waist but tied back from her eyes with a dark blue headband, and her eyes were the most beautiful crystal blue that he had ever seen. Her ears mostly matched her hair color, except for the tips, which looked as though they had been dipped in black ink, and her long-furred tail bore a similar pattern. She was dressed very strangely, almost as though she had been prepared for a mid-winter gym class. She wore a slate grey hoodie with purple lining and inch-thick purple strips running over the seams, a dark blue t-shirt poking out from under it. Her skirt, which was very thick, had the same colors and patterns and seemed to have come with the set. With this, she wore thick navy blue stockings, meant for winter wear, and a pair of dirty grey tennis shoes. Behind her on the ground was a dark blue backpack, which had fallen out of her grasp when she hit the ground.

For a moment, Takuya just stared at her.

For a moment, she just stared back at him.

There was something…there. Takuya couldn't quite figure it out, but he did know, there was something there. Maybe it meant something, maybe something special was about to happen…

Or maybe he'd just run head-long into a really, really cute girl.

He grinned at her. "Hey."

She grinned back, a bit more shyly. "Hey."

Takuya's evening was starting to look up already.

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Making up after the fight almost made up for arguing in the first place.

The atmosphere of their little apartment was cozy and warm despite the autumn chill that was settling in outside. They had no fireplace, but there were a few scented candles hidden away in one of the cupboards, which Kouji had liberally scattered around the living room, filling the darkened room with a soft orange glow. Kouichi was enjoying himself, watching the flames dance and the shadows that they cast as the soothing scents of vanilla, cinnamon and dried leaves filled the room.

Kouji was in the kitchen, presumably putting the finishing touches on dinner. Kouichi had been reluctant to allow this - Kouji's cooking often resulted in blackened pots and pans that took hours of scrubbing before they were usable again. But Kouji had been insistant to make up for what had happened earlier that day and, after much coaxing and promises to keep it simple, Kouichi had relented.

He mused over the warm reception with a smile on his face. Though they were rare, there were times when Kouji could be extremely romantic, normally when he was trying to cheer the elder twin up or make up for something that he had gone wrong. Tonight, it was enough that Kouichi almost wished their fights would happen a bit more often.

Almost, but not quite.

"Here we go," Kouji announced with a warm smile, carrying a tray of food into the room and setting it in front of his brother. "All done."

Kouichi leaned forward and cracked a smile when he saw what Kouji had made. There, accompanied by two neatly-folded napkins, wrapped around freshly-shined metal spoons, and a single stem of bluebonnets, were two big bowls of Cheerios in skim milk. "Oh, Kouji…"

"What?" The younger twin frowned just a little, settling next him on the couch. "I know it's not much, but you didn't want me to use the stove, so…"

"No…No, it looks great." Kouichi grinned at his brother and lifted one of the bowls into his lap, careful not to spill. "Everything looks great. It's wonderful. Thank you."

Kouji's smile softened, putting an arm around his brother. Kouichi nestled into the embrace with a sigh, settling back to lean against his brother's body, resting his head on the other's shoulder. "It's been too long since we've been able to be together like this…just you and me."

"Yeah…" Kouji pulled his brother a bit closer. "It's a shame."

"Mm-hm…It really is."

Kouichi dipped the spoon into his bowl, taking a bite of the cereal. It was only wheat and milk, simple enough that a child could have made it, but just the fact that Kouji had put it together made the meal feel…somehow…special.

Kouji was just reaching over for his own bowl, but just as he lifted it into his hands a ringing, pulsing sensation rang through his mind. Even though he knew what it was, the suddenness of it made him drop the bowl in surprise, spilling cereal and milk everywhere, and he grabbed his temples in pain.

"Kouji?" Kouichi asked worriedly, putting down his bowl and touching his brother's shoulder. "What is it, what's wrong?"

Kouji grit his teeth as the pulsing grew stronger, louder, and swore under his breath. "Damn them. Damn every last one of them."

Kouichi's eyes widened a bit as he understood. "Another Unit? Already?"

"Damn them for running our night." Kouji snarled again, glancing at his brother with eyes that were something between angry and disappointed. "I guess we have to, don't we?"

Kouichi nodded with a little sigh. "I'm sorry, Kouji."

"Damn them all," Kouji swore again, and stood. "Let's go. I'm ready to kick somebody's ass for this."

TBC…

Yeah, short chapter, but I'm in a bit of a rut. Maybe this new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fic I've been thinking of will loosen me up a bit…

In case you're wondering, in my mind Izumi is a Himalayan Siamese. We had one of those when I was a kid (poor, retarded victim of genetic inbreeding though he was…) and they're very pretty cats.