Faith is based on what is invisible, intangible. Faith itself is merely a belief in itself, as it is merely felt from within. Never has thine eyes seen it, touched it with living hands, or spoke with it. Riddle we this: "Trust is given just as it is taken. However, one must be careful that it is never broken." Replication born of wires and clocks rather than veins and heart… is there really such a thing as trust?


"…" Takuya watched the clone for a moment, before turning back to the tray and tossing everything on there. "Let's go." He said quietly, already heading up the stairs. Kouji raised a brow, but did not object or complain about the abrupt change. He could not blame the brunette. The more he thought about the answers the tape might contain, the more impatient he became as well. Naturally, he hurried after the other.

Inside the brunette's room the two went straight away to setting up the old VCR, connecting it to the television that until then had been quietly waiting to be used once more. Takuya pushed in the power button, and watched as its screen came alive for the first time in nearly two and a half months with the colours as vivid at that moment as they were last.

The tape started at twelve in the morning, right on the dot at the start of a new day. The flowers were quiet, and the atmosphere silent. No one was inside, and the cyanotype colouration of the video made for a dreary monochrome visual. Though flowers were lively and colourful, the nighttime and dismal feel to the shop took away the cheery attitude held toward the otherwise beautiful plants. Moonlight gave the petals and leaves a halo around them, along with the room an almost otherworldly sense. It was haunting.

"Should we fast-forward?" Kouji inquired, looking over to the brunette who had almost been entranced by how different the place looked now in comparison to then. He snapped out of it.

"Oh, err… yeah. To late in the evening. I'll fast-forward, and you tell me when it gets past four in the afternoon, and that's when we'll really have to start looking." Takuya directed, and hit the button. The long strands of tape within the VHS began to roll faster, and the lines on the screen progressively grew as the lights started to change. The halos moved as the moon's position changed, while the hours began to be sped up on the day that hopefully kept all their answers.

It sped faster. Time was flying quickly on a mere screen, hurrying into the morning of a day already past. Yuri entered the store and began to set it up. Customers arrived once she opened the flower shop. They would browse, peer, tinker, and even offer to help her water them or reposition them nearer to the sun's rays that dribbled all through the windows like the water from the sprout of a canteen. Blurred faces, with outfits that ranged from casual to professional; endless types of people meandered in and out.

The afternoon had arrived now, with the sun beaming in stronger than it had hours ago. The flowers were lively, the hues in vibrant blues and no longer ethereal as the moonlight once claimed them to be. Yuri was as jubilant then as she was when she first arrived, which showed her passion for the garden she worked in. The acacias were being arranged. It was one in the afternoon now. The timer at the top left corner rolled to two, and now the florist was messing with the anemones. Three ticked on, and now she was fiddling with the oleanders… and went into the back with a single one.

"…" Kouji said nothing, but glanced over at Takuya to see if he noticed. If he did, he made no comment about it so the clone let it be for the moment. When the numbers finally hit four, Yuri was back out and greeting a young man around her age. "All right, it's time." He announced to the brunette, who merely nodded his head and put his finger over the play button. The two viewers no longer spoke, and it almost appeared as though the pair being watched were flirting. The florist would sway from side to side, while the young man with short hair would scratch the back of his head shyly.

Eventually he left, and the setting sun's light was casting a morbid shadow over the room. Or maybe it just looked that way to the two youths. "Stop it." Kouji hissed, instantly recognizing the two males who had just entered the store. Takuya pushed down on the pause button, and they stared. Exchanging short glances, Takuya then pressed on play once more. Yuri was at the counter, and looked up to smile at them as they walked inside. She spoke to them, and Kouichi looked down giving her his stuttered response.

The brunette felt himself tense, as he watched that day go by once more. Watched that moment all over again, from a pair of eyes that were not his. It was so surreal to see Kouichi moving, talking once more. It scared him. Kouji watched, kind of entranced to see whose DNA he had stolen. The pair silently observed the interactions between the original duo and Yuri, right down to the very last detail of the florist reading Kouichi's note to Izumi.

It came to where the florist was peering around her store trying to find the flowers, with the two eyes trying to keep up with her. This was where Takuya could see what the back of his head never did. This would explain why he never heard the three robbers enter through the door of the shop. Just like ghosts the woman and two men slid right inside the store as though they were no more tangible than the frightened emotion crawling up the brunette's spine as he watched them defy the logic that he once knew.

Yuri frowned, before her expression developed into that of fear. The exchange began… starting with demands for money and the florist. Takuya could still hear their voices, and remember exactly what they said. He mouthed it all, while his stomach felt as though skinks cold as ice clambered all around inside of it. His heart wanted to stop when the raspy man pointed at Kouichi. That was where it would all come down.

"Three." Takuya whispered, right down to the very second that the woman did in the tape. Kouji jumped from the sudden sound, and then watched exactly what Kouichi and the brunette had seen. Only this time, he really saw it. The weapon was not a gun. Guns did not move. Guns did not have eyes. Guns did not shoot out bursts of flames, before a small object pierced right into Kouichi.

Bullets that hit there, did not kill instantly.

...

....

...

"Are you sure you saw nothing like that?" Kouji asked again, watching as the somewhat panicked Takuya paced around his own room. Their dinner remained completely untouched, and the tape was heard rewinding behind them. It was nighttime at this point, as fast-forwarding on a VCR's regular speed for more than sixteen hours took more than a few minutes.

"No. I didn't. I never saw them enter, or heard them… know why now." Takuya gave a dry, sarcastic laugh as he continued to hurry around in his room with no destination or real desire to really get anywhere with his feet. "They were like… silhouettes when it happened. Shadows, almost. I don't even get why the camera caught them so picture perfectly. I mean, you'd think they'd be just as obscured to it as it was to me… not that I'm complaining. Of course, I feel utterly crazy now…" He vented, running a hand through his hair. It still hurt.

"…" Kouji looked to the VHS. "Maybe it wasn't a normal camera." He suggested, and looked to the brunette. "Did you notice that the florist took one oleander from the rest before you guys arrived? On the tape, I mean."

"No…" Takuya said slowly, stopping in his tracks to look at the other. "She did?"

"Yeah. And what was with the tape?" Kouji inquired, crossing his arms and looking at the other.

"A single oleander…" Takuya mumbled, looking over at the flower. "But wouldn't it have withered and died by now? It's been more than two months…"

"Wonder if she replaced it then." Kouji mumbled. He forgot that flowers died that fast; obviously it was not the same one. Even so, Takuya went over to the oleander curiously. He plucked one petal off of it - the second it was removed another sprang up to replace it.

"…I don't think she did." Takuya breathed, staring at the flower's ability to replenish itself.

"That's one heck of a flower store she's running." Kouji stated, unsure what else to say about it. "Okay… so we have ghosts with a living weapon, and a florist who sells flowers that are capable of rejuvenation."

"Kouichi… that ordered you, so he must have known something was going to happen at that flower shop. But why didn't he say anything? And why did he go…?" Takuya whispered, looking up at the ceiling. He blinked away the rising moisture in his eyes. He could not understand his friend's choices, that sudden change in personality…

"Also, how did Kouichi even know where Wolf was? I mean when you think about it, they're kind of out of the way…" Kouji added on, recalling how secretive they were about their location. Kouichi must have been really playing a detective on those old buildings to locate them.

""Damnit, this doesn't explain anything." Takuya growled, shaking his head. "I thought it was supposed to help."

"At least we know why she didn't give it to the police. They'd call it a glitch and probably just toss it as evidence." Kouji muttered in an almost sour tone.

"Likely. But at least they'd know what those murdering bastards looked like." Takuya stated, his face contorted as though he had a bad taste in his mouth just by mentioning their existence.

"They walked through a wall." Kouji sighed, looking over at the brunette. "It's little wonder no one's seen them since. Look even with an actual picture instead of a drawn depiction, do you think it would be any easier to track down or even arrest the kind of person who just ignores the laws of physics?"

"…" Takuya had no response to that. "Do you think we should talk to Wolf about this? I mean, he does clone people for a living. That's not exactly normal… it might not do much, but at least we might know how Kouichi found out about them. That might lead us somewhere else." His tone had quieted some, and the brunette was looking back at the empty blue screen of his television with a large '03' at the right corner. Even though Wolf had initially believed Takuya to be the purchaser, surely the man would have an idea as to how anyone would find a way to contact him?

"It wouldn't hurt." Kouji agreed, giving a faint nod of his head. "I can drop this back off at the flower shop tomorrow while you're in school, and when you get back home we can go to Wolf's together."

"No." Takuya snapped, looking at the clone with a slightly agitated expression. "We'll drop the tape off together. I want to ask… Yuri, I think her nametag said, a few questions. More than just how'd she know you would come."

"…fine." Kouji smiled some, shaking his head. "So tell me, what am I supposed to do all day?" He asked with a raised brow. The brunette grinned over at him, and motioned over at his laptop. "…am I writing a report?"

"No." Takuya shook his head, and motioned for the clone to come over. With a reluctant sigh, Kouji dragged himself over there. "I need you to… research yourself in a way. Like… I don't know, try and find out how all of this is connected. Let's face it. In some kind of way, everything has something to do with each other. Those people… they wanted the florist and Kouichi, I think. I was the only one who was told to go in the back… they wanted him to stay. It was as though he knew what was going on, and then he made the decision to… you know." It was strange. Takuya felt embarrassed now to point out the crucial difference between himself and well… the clone.

"Yeah. I know." Kouji chuckled some, amused at how uncomfortable the brunette seemed to be with it. It was relieving… he felt like Takuya would rather see him as a normal person than just a replication. "Hey… for all you know, maybe he didn't have all the little details about cloning. Perhaps he thought we were born, and just did as we were told. No personality, or something. Got me ordered to throw them off?"

"It's possible." Takuya mumbled, looking up. "But if that's the case, it just explains you. That's it. Still doesn't add up though. I mean, Wolf explained it to me…"

"Maybe there was no time?" Kouji suggested with a shrug. "No matter how we look at it though… I suppose I can kill some time looking up stuff online. Cloning, living weapons… ghosts." He added on, thinking about the 'robbers'. "Pray not too many sci-fi and supernatural lies follow along. I can't guarantee you anything, but I'll definitely try."

"…thanks." Takuya smiled appreciatively at the clone. "I'll help you investigate other things after school for the rest of the week too. Do you think I should fill Izumi and Mimi in on all of this?"

"No. Florist chick warned us to be careful. It's getting really weird, and obviously it's dangerous enough for her to get scared just talking about it… whatever it is. They're your friends right? You don't want to put them in danger." Kouji had to put his two cents in for this. True, he could not stand the blonde but it went far deeper than that. For him, he had just witnessed Takuya lose one close friend. The clone did not want to see the brunette lose anyone else.

"…well, when you put it that way…" Takuya trailed, mulling over the clone's words. "You shouldn't get involved either." He stated bluntly, flicking the ravenette in the forehead.

"Hey." Kouji scowled, rubbing the spot that had been attacked. He then blinked, thinking about just what exactly that meant. "…tch. I'm not your friend. I mooch off of you to escape that crazy wrench. I only help because you can't handle it alone, and if something happens to you… Wolf will blame me, and ship me off."

"…I'm sure." Takuya smiled, and tried his best to not look like he disbelieved it as much as he did. That was okay. Kouji did not believe his own words either. "All right. We'll work on this together. But if you sneak out one more time…" He glared, but it's intimidating effects were lost because the brunette just could not manage one as dangerous as the clone could.

"Yeah yeah yeah, save it for someone who cares." Kouji scoffed… with the trace of a soft smile.

...

....

...

Tueday afternoon. The air was still chilly, but the skies were clear and open. Regardless of the lower temperatures, it was a beautiful day full of clouds surrounded by the prettiest of silver linings. Takuya and Kouji walked together towards the flower shop, tape and oleander in hand as they traveled. The duo ignored people whispering as they passed, and little children who squealed with playful fright as they imitated those around them that knew Kouichi. The pair spent their travel in silence, each trying to memorize their own questions for when they arrived. It was worth hoping that the woman would be less ambiguous, and more helpful. Perhaps less fearful, as well.

The brunette had his hands stuffed into his red windbreaker, left unzipped so that the cool zephyrs would hit the exposed areas of his plain yellow long-sleeved shirt. As though to balance out the warmth on his torso, the young man had on a pair of blue denim shorts that reached down to his knees. Regular red and white sneakers were tied tightly, helping the white socks keep the feet inside warm. He wore his usual hat and goggles on his head, hiding away his unruly brown hair. Walking next to him, Kouji had on a simple white tee and a dark blue jacket. The zipper was pulled as far up as the clone could bring it without it choking him, wanting the chills to be held back as much as possible. Unlike his strange 'guardian', he wore denim jeans and a pair of black boots. He wanted to remain warm, and they were better insulated than any mere shoe.

The afternoon was still young, only around five. The sun would not be setting for about another two or three hours, so they were free from any familiar instances. "Hey, you hear that?" Kouji asked, looking up from his thoughts. It sounded like sirens.

"Yeah…" Takuya answered shortly, before bolting off in a run. The clone quickly dashed after him, but was surprised to see how much faster the brunette moved. Perhaps all those years with soccer had indeed left their mark. Going at a full-blown run, the two hurried to where the sounds were coming from with their dread nipping at their heels.

"All right, so when'd you notice she was missing?" An officer asked, looking at a young man with short brown hair and turquoise blue eyes. He was in his early twenties, and appeared panicked. Actually, he looked kind of familiar…

"W-well, I c-called her around t-twelve to ask her i-if she wanted to c-come with me to lu-lunch…" The young man stammered, sitting on the hood of a police car while his eyes would occasionally dart around. There were two vehicles there, both with their sirens blaring and flashing their lights brightly in front of the floral shop. Warning tape was plastered all around the store, with three other officers inspecting the perimeter.

"I see. All right, and then what?" The officer speaking with the twenty-year old was scribbling down the other's words, patiently listening to the entirety of the story.

"Sh-she didn't answer so I a-assumed that she was busy… s-sometimes the st-store gets hectic." He went on, hugging himself and rubbing his arms on occasion to retain heat. "W-well… I waited a few minutes, and th-then tried again. Still, n-no answer. Guessed she was st-still busy. My lunch break was over by then… s-so I figured I'd just drop by later." As the story progressed, his stammering became more infrequent. He must have been settling down as he remembered, which made the officers job easier of writing it.

"Was she here when you came here later? Or did she ask you to wait, and then never returned?" The police man inquired, looking to the younger male. The brunette shook his head.

"When I got here, the store was still open. B-but she… wasn't there. At all. No note, no 'out' sign there. Listen, she loves this place. She'd never just leave it for no good reason. Call me paranoid if you like, but after those robbers two months ago I can't help but panic. She's missing! All right? And last night when we talked, she sounded kind of nervous. Then on her cell phone, there were all these weird glitches… like, it'd ring and then we'd hear some kind of… of… I don't know, scream. It was horrible… I didn't want her to go home last night. And I walked her home, and to work this morning…"

"So there's been a lot of strange occurrences?" The officer asked, brows going up in surprise. "Hmm… well, listen. If she still doesn't show up by tomorrow, we'll help you file a missing persons report. But for now, we'll close up the store and keep it on close watch. You got to remember, they aren't considered missing unless they've been gone for more than twenty-four hours. All right?" He placed a consoling hand on the young man's back. "Keep us updated if anything else weird happens. And… pray that she's all right." He added, giving another pat before going to the other police car. Both Takuya and Kouji exchanged concerned expressions. So somewhere between the time Yuri got to work, and the afternoon she had gone missing. They looked at the tape.

"Wait. He was the guy visiting her." The younger brunette whispered, looking to the clone.

"…you're right. Think they're dating?" Kouji asked in a hushed voice, looking between the two.

"Maybe. Should we approach him?" Takuya wondered, thinking about it.

"You can. If he knows about the shooting, he might know what Kouichi looks like too. He already looks shaken enough as it is, let's not give him any more reasons to be." Kouji sighed, and moved back in the crowd some. "I'll wait by that store." He motioned over to a nearby coffee shop, before heading over there by himself.

"All right." Takuya watched him go, smiling some. As of late… the guy seemed to be obtaining a sense of consideration. In two mere days the clone had… changed. A lot. The brunette could not help but wonder if all of Kouji's anger had been spent and this was what remained. Shaking away these thoughts, Takuya walked over to where the elder was and hoped no officer would stop him. Apparently not - their attention was on everything in and just on the outside of it rather than what went on around the floral shop. Getting to his elder, he coughed some. "Uhm, excuse me…" The older brunette snapped up, and his eyes widened looking at the younger.

"Takuya?" The man blinked, his voice startled. "What are you doing here? Never thought we'd meet here…"

"I came to… wait, how do you know my name? And what do you mean, meet?!" The younger brunette demanded, eyes narrowing as he took a step back.

"Oh, s-sorry!" The man yelped, holding up both hands. "I guess Tomoki doesn't talk about me like Shinya talks about you… eheh. I'm Yutaka. Tomoki's older brother." He explained, giving a soft nod.

"You are?" Takuya looked at him cautiously. Yes, he was actually. Same eye colour, and hair colour. Their features were similar as well, although Yutaka's were (naturally) more mature than his sibling's. "Guess so." That explained it. Oh, awkward. "Well… what are you doing here?"

"I came to check on my girlfriend, Yuri. She's gone missing… I told her I'd be by later, so I know she isn't out wandering." Yutaka sighed, eyes going downcast. "And with all these weird things lately… I can't help but worry. And you! What are you doing around here? After what happened, I'd figure you'd never come here again."

"Yeah well, some things came up. And I kind of wanted to check on her… she was there too, you know?" Takuya shrugged, looking away from the other not wanting to lie to his face. It just felt wrong. The elder sighed.

"That would make sense. But hey, I'm glad to see you doing something like this." Yutaka forced a smile, and patted the younger on the head. "Shinya's been telling us how down you've been since then… starting to heal a little?" He asked, almost hopefully.

"…yeah. A little." Takuya nodded, looking back at the other. Strange as it was, it was true. And thanks to, of all people, Kouji.

"Hey, is that an oleander?" Yutaka inquired curiously, noticing the flower and tape. "Rent something?"

"Err, yeah… a movie." Takuya mumbled, and quickly shook that lie off to stare the other in the eyes. "You know what kind of flower this is?" He asked incredulously.

"Of course! I'm dating a florist, she tells me all kinds of things about them." Yutaka laughed. "And I just said it was an oleander, did I not?" He chuckled some, running a hand through his hair. "Ahh… I needed that." He sighed, closing his blue eyes before slowly opening them once more. "Hmm… let's see. Depending on your views, it has a lot of meanings to it. Some believe it deals with romance and beauty, while others think it symbolizes to beware. Heh, she told me that on our first date… I got her a bunch of oleanders, you see."

"…it does?" Takuya inquired quietly, looking down at the flower. "Yeah. I think she was waiting for me. Maybe even you. She also told me to be careful, return this to her when I was finished because 'they' can't find out it ever left the store…" echoed Kouji's words from the day before. He knew who they were now. "Yutaka, thank you so much for all of this! I wish you luck in getting contact back with Yuri, but I have to go now!" With that said, Takuya hurried off over to the coffee shop while waving to Tomoki's older brother.

"Ah w-well… you're welcome. Hey! Be safe!" Yutaka yelled back. The younger brunette skidded to a halt in front of Kouji, who was raising a brow at his urgency.

"Something happened, I take it?" He wondered with a lazy, but mildly interested visage.

"Oleanders… they can mean to beware." Takuya gasped, holding the flower up as though to emphasize his point. "She told us… to be careful. Added the flower… for extra I guess."

"…" Kouji's brows then furrowed together, and he took the flower from the brunette's hand. "So there was a point to the flower. How'd she know it was that day? And did she know that…?"

"I couldn't tell you." Takuya shook his head. "But I think…" He looked around nervously, licking his lips as he did so to push away the dry sensation building on them. He moved closer to the clone's ear and whispered, "That 'they' might be those three. And I think they may have been the ones to have dragged her off."

"And they didn't want the tape to leave because of what was on it." Kouji mumbled, looking at the video clenched in the brunette's other hand.

"Probably. So…" Takuya went on, taking a deep breath as he moved away from the other.

"If you have the tape, you have to be careful." Kouji finished, nodding his head in understanding. "Just great. All right." He took in a deep breath, and nodded. "We should get to Wolf then."

"Hey, maybe he can help us figure the rest out." Takuya grinned wryly, and took the clone's hand. "Come on, let's get going while we still have sunlight on…" He stopped, watching as a shadow slowly came to loom over them. "…our…" Mahogany eyes slowly moved as their owner turned his head to see why. The silhouette of a woman, cloaked in both shadow and heavy clothing. "…side."

Disclaimer: Nnnnope. Still don't own nor have any affiliation with Digimon, its characters, or its creators. Just another hopeless fangirl.
A/N: So like, I totally forgot about the whole thing where I threatened to take this down if no one reviewed, until someone brought that back to my attention. Cripes, I sounded so MEAN. I'm really sorry, guys. Like, I don't know what crawled up my butt, but DUDE! I'm majorly sorry I was so mean. Please forgive my attitude, it was never intended to come off that way. Anywho, my favourite chapter is neeexxt. MOST ILLOGICAL CHAPTER EVER, BUT I JUST DON'T CARE! I NEEDED FLUFF, AND I NEEDED IT BAAAAD. What am I talking about? In what way is it illogical...? Well, I wouldn't be a meanie if I told you, now would I? Muahahah...