This was by far my favorite chapter to write. It was so fun to do, and I actually got an early one out! YAY ME! I'm going to warn you though, this chapter is more humorous that dramatic. It's a comic relief chapter, I suppose. :D Thanks for your reviews!

Review replies for chapter 37:

GirlsLikeeBoys: Two words (and an emoticon): Fuck off. :D

Celestial Writer: Uh oh, things seem to be getting heated with Izumi and Kouji… Does this mean trouble up ahead? Hehe, Keiko and Tamotsu are too cute together. xD And poor Taku-poo! Thanks a bunch for your review, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! :D

My-little-star: Ahaha, I sense some hatred against Tamotsu. xD I know, what do you think is going to happen to the others? Something bad, we'll presume! Kouji + Izumi = ?!? xD Yeah, Kouichi and his dirty little secret… Will he confide in somebody? Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you like the next chapter!

Caliboy: I know, this chapter was way overdue. Dx I'm so happy that my story is your favorite! :D Ooh, Izumi and Kouji… I've got a feeling that'll be reappearing again. xD Thank you for the review, and I hope you like the next chapter! :D

Jennison Silverye: Thank you very much. :D Aha, that's what everybody has said about Izumi and Kouji. xD Poor Takuya… I'm sure his problem will come to haunt us soon. Uh oh, is Kouichi turning into a Kouji? Oh, there will most certainly be some competition… in this chapter! Thank you so much for reviewing, and I hope you like the next chapter!

Empyrea: Ahaha, I know. Poor Tamotsu. Dx I know… Kouji and Izumi? Oh jeez, what am I going to do next? xD And poor Takuya… I wonder what he'll do next! Thank you for the review, and I hope you like this next chapter! :D

"Her," Junpei whispered. "Right behind me, with the black hair."

Izumi turned her head slightly, and stared at the girl that Junpei was talking about. She narrowed her eyes and turned back around. "She looks slightly suspicious…"

"I'm not even kidding, Z," he said quietly. "She follows me everywhere. I walk out of class, and there she is, standing at the door staring at me, I drop a pencil, she comes bursting through the door to pick it up for me… Hell, I had to go to the bathroom once, and she was waiting outside for me. I don't know what's wrong with her."

"She likes you," the blonde said, grinning.

"Well, I got that idea," the older brunette replied, rolling his eyes. "But it's starting to freak me out."

"I think she used to be one of Kouji's fangirls," Izumi said offhandedly, taking a sip of her milkshake. "She was the one who started his fan club."

"Kouji has a fan club?" Junpei muttered.

"Yeah," Izumi replied, digging into her purse and pulling a button out. It had a picture of Kouji clad in only a towel on it. "I'm an honorary member… But anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if you have a fan club soon, too. I mean, this girl is crazy."

"Oh God," Junpei mumbled, resting his elbows on the counter of the café. "Why? Why me?"

"Well, you were the one who decided to go and lose weight and get all hot and everything," Izumi said conversationally. "You knew what you were getting yourself into."

Junpei smirked. "You think I'm hot?"

Izumi nodded, smiling. "Yeah, and so does everybody I know. Like, all the girls on the volleyball team would gush about you whenever you would walk by all sweaty and everything."

Junpei raised his eyebrows and went back to his latte. "Hmm."

"Hmm? Hmm, what? You're beginning to sound like Kouji, only he goes, 'hn', like Sasuke and Neji," Izumi said.

"Did you ever notice that Kouji and Neji sound exactlythe same?" he asked. "Like, seriously. They sound exactlythe same. It's crazy…"

"I know!" Izumi exclaimed. "I really thought that I was the only person that noticed that! I've never told anybody because I thought they would think I was crazy!"

"Same here!" Junpei cried. "I always thought it was just me, but then… We need to tell everybody!"

"I know!" Izumi agreed, grinning.

"All girls' tea party?" Keiko muttered, staring at her invitation as she and her best friend walked down the empty halls of the high school. "How old are we again?"

Izumi shrugged. "I don't know… But it's an invitation from that weird girl that's obsessed with Junpei."

"The one that started the Kouji fan club earlier this year?" the brunette asked curiously.

Izumi nodded. "Yeah. She's weird. Like, she follows Junpei everywhere, and it's starting to weird him out. She did that to Kouji, but it only lasted a day. Junpei said this has been going on for a week, now."

Keiko raised an eyebrow. "A week? That's weird… I think that something's up with her."

"Shh!" Izumi suddenly pulled Keiko around and corner.

"Izumi! What're you-"

"Shush!"

"Yes, I invited the pretty ones," a voice said.

The girls' eyes widened.

"I doubt that they suspect anything, they're only children after all."

The same girl that Junpei had been having problems with emerged from the bathroom down the hall, talking on a cell phone. "Yes, I have it under control." She smirked. "You don't know who you're dealing with sometimes, do you?"

Izumi looked at Keiko, who was staring back with wide eyes. "Lilithmon…" the blonde whispered.

"Are you sure that's what you heard?" Kouji asked the two girls suspiciously. "I mean, she could have meant anything."

"We're sure," Izumi said. "I know that smile anywhere. It was definitely Lilithmon, and she's posing as a student here."

"Well, what do we do then, it's not like we can just jump her or something," Takuya said. He sighed and laid back on Keiko's bed. "And she's way strong…"

"She is having that party tonight…" Keiko muttered. "Izumi and I could-"

"The two of you aren't going to go alone," Kouji said. "It's too dangerous."

"Well it's not like you guys could come," Izumi huffed. "It's an all girls' party."

"Izumi's right," Junpei said. "It wouldn't look right if five guys suddenly strolled in…"

"Unless you all don't look like guys," Keiko said, smiling. "You could dress up as girls, and-"

"Hell no," Kouji snapped. "I am not going to dress as a girl."

"You're going to," Izumi replied. She smiled at the five boys. "You all are going to. And we're all going to that tea party tonight."

They all unconsciously tried to shield their crotches.

"Well, what time is the party?" Keiko asked. "Izumi and I have a double date at that new restaurant…"

Izumi picked up the invitation. "It's at ten… That should be enough time for us to eat dinner, then come back here and get you all ready."

"Why would a tea party be so late?" Tomoki asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah, wouldn't it make more sense for it to be earlier in the day?" Kouichi asked.

"I know why!" Takuya declared. "Lilithmon wants to make sure that you're all there at midnight, so that you're tired and out of your wits! Then, she's going to have the chance to drink your blood while you're not on guard! She'll be able to sneak around in the night, like a ninja, and then she'll dump all of their bodies into a river, leaving a different set of fingerprints on each one, but in reality, each set of fingerprints belongs to one of the dead bodies!"

They were all dead silent, before Kouji stood up excitedly. "That's exactly what I was thinking!" He looked around the room, clearing his throat and sitting back down. "I mean, uh, that's a dumb idea…"

"You know, speaking of ninja, doesn't Kouji sound like Neji?" Izumi asked off handedly.

Everybody squealed in agreement, besides Kouji, who raised his eyebrowd, and Takuya, who scoffed. "Ahaha, yeah right, if Kouji sounds like Neji, then Kouichi sounds like Itachi, and Junpei sounds like Vincent Valentine."

"OH MY GOD! JUNPEI DOES SOUND LIKE VINCENT VALENTINE!" Izumi screeched.

"He sounds like Orochimaru, too!" Tomoki exclaimed. "And Kouichi totally does sound like Itachi! Oh my God! I never realized that!"

"You know who else Kouichi sounds like?" Keiko exclaimed. "He sounds like Rude from Final Fantasy!"

"HE DOES!!!" Junpei cried happily. "HE SO DOES!!!"

"And-And, Kouji also sounds like Kadaj from Final Fantasy!" Keiko exclaimed. "And Hitsugaya from Bleach! And Izumi sounds like Rukia and Tomoki sounds like Kido from Zatch Bell, and Takuya! You sound like Mizuki, from that one episode of Naruto!"

"Keiko!" Tomoki crowed. "You sound like-"

"ALRIGHT!" Kouji yelled loudly. Everybody stared at the annoyed looking raven. "Look, we're getting off subject here. Who cares what we sound like?"

Tomoki slowly raised his hand.

"Tomoki, put your hand down," Kouji said.

"No."

"Put your hand down," he repeated, narrowing his eyes.

Tomoki put his hand down.

"Okay… So back on subject," Kouichi said, blinking twice. "Uh, so we're all going to dress as women and try to figure out what's going on with this girl?"

Both girls nodded, grinning. "I think this is going to be the best day of my life," they said at the exact same time.

"So why exactly do we have to go to dinner so early?" Tamotsu asked as he and Asashi stood at Keiko's doorstep after just ringing the bell, dressed in suits. The restaurant was expensive and extremely formal. The girls had insisted that they dine there, and the boys weren't able to deny them.

"The girls have some sort of party," Asashi said, adjusting his tie self-consciously. "They need to get back so that they have time to get ready."

"Oh," Tamotsu muttered.

The door swung open, and there stood Izumi, smiling. She was wearing a strapless red dress and heels. A red clutch with rhinestones was in her right hand, and adoring her left wrist was a beautiful red bracelet. Her hair was down and in waves that cascaded over her shoulders. She looked gorgeous. "Hey, guys. Keiko's coming down right now, she just couldn't find her other shoe…"

There were footsteps and then Keiko was there, one shoe on her foot and the other in her hand. She grabbed onto Izumi's shoulder and slipped the shoe on, smiling apologetically to the two boys in front of her.

She was in a black dress that cinched at the waist, with straps that were about one inch thick each. She was wearing black peep-toed heels and her hair was up in a high bun, that looked sloppy, but somehow perfect. A simple gold headband sat on top of her head and her bangs swept across her forehead.

"Sorry about that," she muttered, putting her other foot back on the ground. She smiled. "You all ready?"

Tamotsu nodded and put his hand out. She took it. "You look amazing." He looked at Izumi as well. "Both of you."

Keiko smiled as they walked down the driveway. "Thanks…"

They all got into the car, trying the best they could to act like mature adults, but when Izumi's favorite song came on, they all had to belt it out.

But at least they tried.

"How the hell did you get this table?" Asashi asked, his eyes wide. "Seriously, Keiko, how much did this cost you?"

"Nothing," Keiko said, shrugging.

"Seriously," Tamotsu echoed as he pulled a chair out for Keiko, Asashi doing the same for his blonde. "I'd feel bad if you had to pay thousands of dollars or something."

"It really didn't cost me anything," Keiko said. "We own the place."

Tamotsu's eye twitched. "And you didn't tell us?"

Keiko smiled at her boyfriend. "You never asked."

Asashi chuckled and looked at Izumi, who was looking her menu over. "What're you gonna get?"

"Hmmm… I'm thinking about getting lobster salad," she replied, smiling at the brunette. "What about you?"

Asashi shrugged. "I haven't really looked at the menu yet…"

Suddenly there was a yelp from Keiko and Tamotsu's side of the table. Keiko was gawking with wide eyes, and Tamotsu… Tamotsu wasn't in his seat, which was tilted…

"Are you okay?" Keiko cried.

"Fine," Tamotsu muttered, standing back up. "Uh, one of the legs of my chair broke?"

"Told you to lay off the hamburgers," Asashi mumbled under his breath, his eyes not leaving the menu in front of him.

"Go die," Tamotsu hissed.

"Yeah, no…"

A waitress came over and gasped. "Oh, are you alright?" She leaned over, showing off bountiful cleavage. Both boys' jaws dropped. Izumi punched Asashi in the leg. Hard.

"Oh, uh…" Tamotsu tried to keep his eyes from wandering. "I… Uh, my chair kind of broke…"

"Oh, well, I'll have to fix that for you," she said, smiling at him. Smiling at him flirtatiously. "She gave him a once-over. And I'm sure it's not because of your weight…" She sauntered off, shaking her hips like Shakira.

Keiko glared. "Izumi."

"Yes, Keiko?" she said through gritted teeth.

"It's war on this bitch."

"You want to go tree climbing Thomas J? His face hurts… And where is his glasses, he can't see without his glasses. Put his glasses on! Put on his glasses!"

Five boys sat on Keiko's bed, and all of them, even the stoic Kouji, were crying miserably at the sight on the screen.

"He can't see without his glasses… He was going to be an acrobat."

Kouji sobbed into his hand and curled closer to Kouichi, who was crying with the boy in his lap. "Why are w-we watching this?" the younger twin asked shakily.

Takuya shrugged and sniffled softly. "I-I don't even know…"

Tomoki held onto him tightly and buried his face in his shirt, sobbing loudly. "H-He can't s-see without his g-g-glasses!"

Junpei got pulled over with Takuya and Tomoki by the latter, and held on to them tightly. "Why? Why did he have to go out into the woods? H-He was just trying to get her r-ring!"

"It's always the good ones," Kouichi cried, hugging his brother tightly. "It's just so sad…"

The door slowly opened, and Saburo's head popped in. "Uh, what are you all doing here? And why are you crying? Hey! Is that My girl?"

Nods.

"Make room for more!" the brunette exclaimed as the others readily made room for the other boy.

"You're on fire!" Keiko screamed.

"Oh, thanks..." the brunette muttered. "I did just get this suit..."

"NO!" the brunette wailed frantically. "LITERALLY!"

Asashi's eyes widened and he looked at his sleeve, which was burning. "Holy shit!" he yelled, waving his arms frantically. "Oh my God! PUT IT OUT!!!"

Keiko grabbed the pitcher of water on the table and threw it at Asashi, successfully putting the fire out, as well as soaking the poor teen to the bone. "Thank you," the brunette muttered. "Darling."

Keiko smiled brightly, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice. "You're welcome!"

"Ahaha, Asashi's wet," Tamotsu said.

"Shut up," Asashi huffed. "You couldn't have just hit my arm with the water, Keiko?"

Keiko gawked. "Well, you should have stopped, dropped and rolled! If you had done that, we would be in this conundrum!"

The waitress came back and she gasped. "What happened?"

"Asashi got caught on fire!" Izumi exclaimed. "And Keiko saved him!"

The waitress smiled. "I'll get you a clean shirt…" She winked at both boys and walked off.

Izumi growled. "Dude, she's like seventeen, what's she doing hitting on a couple of fourteen year olds?"

"Umm, I'm fifteen?" Asashi muttered.

"So you admit that it's okay?" Izumi demanded, glaring so hard that Asashi was sure his eyebrows would burn off. "You admit that she's pretty and that you'd rather be with her?"

Asashi's eyes widened. "No! Baby, no! That's not it at all!"

"I thought we had a stronger bond," she whined. "And I thought that my boobs were enough for you…"

"But the waitress's were at least D cups…" Tamotsu muttered under his breath.

Keiko broke her glass on the table and held a shard near Tamotsu. "SOME GIRLS AREN'T WELL ENDOWED, OKAY?!?"

They were all silent. "We… weren't talking about you, Keiko…"

Keiko smiled serenely and dropped the glass. "I was kidding."

But they all knew that she wasn't.

"That was the worst date I've ever been on," Keiko huffed as they all walked out of the restaurant.

The date resulted in Asashi wearing a female's tank top with a cat face on the front, Izumi throwing her lobster salad at the waitress when she groped Asashi's ass, Tamotsu wearing an eye patch, and Keiko punching through the table with her bare hands.

All in all, it was a long night.

"I don't think this night could get any wo-AH!" Keiko dropped to the ground.

"Oh my God!" Tamotsu exclaimed. "You fell!"

"No shit," Keiko mumbled as she stood back up. She groaned when she saw that the heel on her shoe was broken. "I hate my life."

"You're home!" Takuya exclaimed, smiling at the two girls who walked into the bedroom.

Izumi tilted her head to the side. "Your faces…" She moved closer and put a hand to Kouji's cheek. "They're all red…" She dropped her hand.

"Uh, and you guys were watching My Girl and The Butterfly Effect?" Keiko muttered, staring at the DVD cases on her dresser. "Have you all been crying?"

Kouichi rubbed his eyes. "Um… Yeah…"

The girls stared at each other before they squealed and glomp-tackled them. "THAT IS SO CUTE!"

"I've never seen you with your hair down," Keiko said with admiration evident in her voice as she ran her hands through Kouji's hair.

He had his eyes closed, enjoying her ministrations. He rarely took his hair down, and he never really thought about letting somebody actually play with it…

It was nice.

"Your hair is so soft…" Keiko whispered. "And shiny…"

Kouji hummed in his throat.

"You're so pretty…"

One of Kouji's eyes opened and he looked at the brunette through the mirror, surprised by her last comment. She was blushing and paying rapt attention to his raven locks as she picked a brush up and began to run it through his hair. He smirked and closed his eye again, pretending to have not heard what she said.

He felt fingers weave through the roots of his hair and smooth it back. He nearly purred. Her hands slid down and rested on his shoulders, and she stopped all movement.

"Keiko?"

He looked through the mirror and saw that she was looking down at the ground.

"Keiko?" he repeated. "What's-"

"After that little… fight we had…" she said.

"What fight?" he asked.

"The time in the bathroom, after you and Tamotsu had gotten into your fight…" She blinked. "We haven't been as close since then…"

"Keiko-"

"And I'm sorry." Kouji stared. "Your friendship really means a lot to me, and I don't want to lose it because of a… misunderstanding."

Kouji smiled. "I'm sorry too."

"Are we okay, now?" Keiko asked softly.

He nodded. Keiko smiled and came around the chair he was situated in, giving him a quick hug. She quickly moved back to where she was.

He chucked softly at the brunette. "So what're you planning on doing to my hair?"

"Probably leave it down…" she replied. "But we need to put make-up on you. You still look like a boy with your hair down."

"Uh, was that a compliment?" he asked, puzzled.

"I thought you would've looked more girly with your hair down," the brunette said. "But I guess not."

"Thanks for the hope," Kouji muttered, huffing.

Keiko smiled. "It's like Neji…"

"Why do you always bring him up?" Kouji asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Seriously!"

"Because you sound just like him," Keiko replied.

Kouji rolled his eyes. "Creep."

"Whore."

"Take them out," Izumi demanded, staring at Takuya.

"No," the brunette said, gripping his chest and the fake boobs he decided to install.

"Now," Izumi said, her temper beginning to rise.

"Come on! One of us has to have giant boobs!" Takuya whined.

"That's Izumi's job," Keiko giggled to herself. Izumi glared and slapped the girl upside the head. The brunette rubbed the back of her head miserably. "Ow."

"Give me those, now," Izumi snapped.

"Fine," Takuya groaned, putting his hands down his shirt and pulling out the fake breasts. It was a sack with some sort of clear substance inside of it. It looked like an implant.

"Where did you find these?" Izumi asked.

"In Keiko's drawer."

The brunette gawked. "WHAT?!?"

"KEIKO!" Izumi squawked. "Why in the world did you have those in your drawer!"

Keiko grabbed them from Takuya and threw them into her closet. "Because for Halloween last year I was Marilyn Monroe!"

They blinked.

"Marilyn Monroe has big ta-tas… So I needed some fake boobs."

Izumi laughed. "Are you serious?"

Keiko just stared.

Yes, she was serious.

"You guys look so cute!" Keiko squealed, clapping her hands together. "I need a picture of this!" She skipped to her digital camera, which was on her bedside table.

Kouji's eyes widened and her sped over to it, grabbing the camera at the same time she did and attempting to wrestle it out of her hands. "NO PICTURES!" he snapped.

"I'll take a picture if I want!" Keiko yelled, pulling as hard as she could. "Let go!"

"Sure." The raven let the camera go, and Keiko fell backwards. The camera flew out of her hands and crashed onto the floor, making a sick cracking sound.

"You broke it!" Tomoki yelled, his eyes wide.

Kouji gawked. "I-I-I…"

Keiko smirked and pulled another camera from behind her back, snapping everybody's picture. "Come on, now. I'm not that stupid. Of course I would have two cameras. Especially on an occasion like this!"

"Takuya groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. "I hate you."

"Aww."

"Well, we really have to get going," Izumi said, looking at the clock on the side of Keiko's bed. "We'll be late."

They nodded and walked out of the house in a single file fashion.

Tomoki walked out first. He had on a black wig that Keiko managed to fish out from the attic. He was wearing a blue dress and white heels. He looked like a young girl, and he was quite adorable.

Takuya was second. He refused to wear something somewhat normal, so he ended up wearing the dress Izumi wore on her date. The girls had managed to straighten his hair from it's usual mess and they mad it look like he had a bob-cut.

Kouichi stepped out next. Out of all the boys, he definitely made the prettiest girl. Izumi made his hair pin straight, and it added a few inches so that his hair almost went to his shoulders. He was wearing a white cardigan and a red skirt with white flip-flops.

Keiko walked out next. She had her hair down and it was in loose curls. She was wearing a simple white sundress with white flip-flops.

Junpei came out after Keiko. He was more muscular than all of the boys, so he looked like a manly woman. Keiko put a blonde wig on him, and they tried to give him a womanly shape, but his abs were too tight… So they put him in a pencil skirt and a flowy top.

Kouji followed Junpei. He had on a blue skirt and a white sweater, looking quite a bit like Kouichi. Keiko and Izumi forced a pair of knee-high socks on him and literally made him wear wedges. He looked very unhappy.

Izumi came out last, looking extremely happy. She was wearing what Keiko had worn on the date, since Takuya stole her dress. She put her hair up in a high ponytail, and her blond locks were in waves, cascading a over her shoulder.

"How far away is the party?" Junpei asked.

"It's only a block away, we can walk there," Keiko explained, walking down the driveway.

There was a yelp, and everybody looked to the back of the line, where Kouji was on the ground, Izumi helping him back to his feet. "I can't walk in these shoes."

"Not with that attitude," Takuya remarked, slapping his own ass.

The raven's eyes narrowed and he ran at the brunette, who skipped away gleefully. "See? You can run in them, too!"

"This tea is drugged," Takuya whispered to Kouichi, who was sitting next to him.

"Why do you say that?" the slightly older boy replied.

"Because, Lilithmon wants to drug us all and suck our blood, then she'll-"

"Ah, never mind."

"So, what are your names, again?" the stalker girl, Hanako asked politely.

"Asami," Junpei answered quickly.

"Uh… Kohaku?" Kouichi said.

"Keiko!" Takuya chirped. Kouji slapped him on the back of the head. "Er… I meant Mitsuko…"

"That was very unyouthful of you to do, Neji," Keiko whispered to Kouji, causing him to tell her where to go and exactly how to get there.

"I'm Momo," Tomoki said, smiling.

"Rei," Kouji mumbled.

"Izumi."

"Keiko."

"Well, drink that tea right up," Hanako said, smiling as she walked over to the next table.

"Don't drink the tea," Takuya hissed under his breath.

All of the girls in the room were sitting exactly the same, all cross legged, with their backs straight. Their eyes lost their shine, and their faces were basically masks.

"Mind control," Takuya said softly, looking around the room for Hanako. "Where in the world is she?"

Kouji shrugged, standing up and attempting to shake some of the girls awake. "No idea."

"You were really right, Takuya," Keiko murmured as she put her hand to one of the girls' foreheads. "It must've been the tea…"

"Congratulations," a voice echoed in the room. "You're all smarter than you look." Hanako walked in, putting her hands on her hips. "But you're also quite dumb."

"And why is that?" Kouichi demanded.

"Because you didn't try to stop anybody else from drinking the tea," Hanako said, grinning. "So now, they'll do everything I say."

Izumi snarled. "You're sick."

"Shut up, Wind." So it was Lilithmon… "Everybody! Stand up now!

All of the girls suddenly stood up, their faces still blank. "Attack them!"

Izumi growled. "I'll take Lilithmon! The rest of you take care of the girls! Wind evolution!"

In a swirl of wind, Izumi merged with Kazemon and flew up into the air, attempting to punch Lilithmon, who easily dodged.

"What do we do?" Takuya asked as they were all backed into a wall. "I can't hit a girl…"

"Yes you can," Keiko said. "First of all, they're zombies, and secondly, you're all girls, too…"

Takuya smirked, his eyes lighting up. "Ahh…"

"Tempest Twist!"

Lilithmon crashed into the wall, groaning and rubbing her head. "She's strong…" she muttered to herself.

"Roseo Temporale!" Izumi yelled and she rapidly kicked Lilithmon with both legs even deeper into the wall.

Izumi jumped away, her eyes widening when she saw that Lilithmon was actually unconscious.

"I… beat her?"

The evil Digimon disappeared in a puff of black smoke and all of the girls dropped to the ground.

"I still think we should have waited for them to wake up," Keiko sighed as the seven walked down the street.

"It would be too suspicious," Kouji muttered.

"Well, can you at least use your Byakugan to check if they're alright?" Keiko asked, holding back laughter.

"I really hate you," Kouji mumbled.

"Aww."

"I can't believe you actually beat Lilithmon!" Tomoki exclaimed. "That must mean we're getting stronger!"

"Hopefully," Izumi said, smiling. "I felt an energy burst when I was fighting her… It must mean something…"

"Either we're getting way powerful, or they're getting weaker…" Kouichi said softly, blinking.

"Maybe it's both," Junpei said softly.

"I bet I can eat more chicken nuggets than you in three minutes," Tamotsu said to the raven across from him at the table.

Kouji narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

Tamotsu nodded. "Yeah."

"On your mark," Kouji said, glaring.

"Get set," Tamotsu sneered.

"GO!"

"That's disgusting," Keiko mumbled, staring at the boys stuffing their faces. "Why did we go to McDonalds?"

"Takuya wanted to play in the playground," Tomoki said, laughing when the older boy punched him in the arm playfully.

"Because I was really hungry, and McDonalds always serves food really quickly!" Takuya said defensively.

"Riiiight," Izumi said, sipping from her milkshake with a smirk on her face.

"Aaaaand… TIME!" Asashi yelled.

Both boys went right back to glaring at each other, which looked quite funny with the crumbs all over their faces.

"It's a tie!" the brunette said, raising his eyebrows.

"Fine then, we need a new contest," Kouji said, tapping his chin.

"What, is this Tamotsu vs. Kouji day or something?" Keiko muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

Tamotsu gawked. "I NOW PRONOUNCE THIS DAY TAMOTSU VS. KOUJI DAY!"

"This is stupid guys," Junpei said. "It's March, you guys'll get hypothermia and die."

"Well, the real man will," Tamotsu said, glaring at Kouji, who was standing next to him at the edge of Keiko's pool. "Losing your nerve, Minamoto?"

"Not likely, Tanaka," Kouji replied, narrowing his eyes.

Asashi found the whole thing amusing. "Ahaha! Alrighty then! Whoever swims across the pool and back first wins!"

"It's unfair that the two of you are wearing clothes," Izumi said, smirking deviously. "I mean, they might weigh you down. It'd be better if you two went naked."

Keiko gawked. "EH?"

"Good point!" both boys shouted in unison, shedding their clothes in record time.

"Oh. God," Keiko moaned, shielding her eyes.

"'Oh God' is right!" Izumi screeched. "Damn it, Keiko! I don't even know why I didn't believe you when you said Tamotsu's ass was perfect! Especially when nothing's covering it! Holy crap!"

"You've seen my ass?" Tamotsu asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Keiko.

"Shut up! Just go!" the brunette exclaimed.

Asashi was laughing. "Alright! On your marks! Get set! GO!"

Both dove into the freezing cold pool at the same time, swimming straight for the end.

"This is crazy…" Keiko muttered under her breath again. "Seriously, why do they have to act all competitive today? They already had a ten minute long staring contest, they raced around McDonalds, they already asked random people on the street who was hotter… Can't they figure out that they're even?"

"Apparently not," Izumi said, rolling her eyes. "They're guys, Keiko. Remember?"

"Yeeeaaahh."

There were two simultaneous splashes at the edge of the pool, and Tamotsu and Kouji surfaced at the same time, yelling, "DONE!"

"It… was a tie…" Asashi said, scratching the back of his head.

"Guys, enough with the competition…" Izumi said, grabbing two towels and handing one to Keiko. "It's boring now."

"Fine," they both grumbled in unison.

Keiko walked over to Tamotsu and shut her eyes tightly, holding the towel open for him. "It's so damn cold," he said, taking the towel from her and wrapping it around his waist. "I think my balls drew into my body."

"You have balls?" Kouji asked, smirking.

"Yeah, they look a lot like your mom's," Tamotsu huffed.

Keiko rolled her eyes and held a hand up when he tried to kiss her. "You're soaked and cold. You can kiss me after you shower."

"Fiesty," Tamotsu said, grinning.

"Ass bite."

"Thanks," Kouji mumbled when Keiko handed him a cup of hot chocolate. Tamotsu repeated Keiko's words when she gave him a mug as well.

"You're welcome, Tamotsu," Keiko said. "And Neji."

"HE DOES SOUND LIKE NEJI!" Asashi and Tamotsu screamed.

Kouji slammed his mug down. "I swear to God, Keiko! If you call me Neji one more time, I'll-"

"What're you gonna do, huh?" Tamotsu yelled, standing up. "Don't talk to my girlfriend like that!"

"This isn't any of your business, Tanaka!" Kouji snapped, standing up.

"It is now!"

"Is not!"

And then, Tamotsu punched Kouji in the face.

"And that's why we don't start fights in front of Keiko and Izumi," Asashi lectured as the girls walked back into the living room with icepacks and bandages.

"Did you scold them?" Izumi asked.

Asashi nodded sagely. "I did."

"Good," Keiko muttered, throwing an ice pack at Tamotsu and Kouji.

Tamotsu muttered a thank you as he put the icepack on his cheek. "Uh, what are those two extra icepacks for?" he asked.

"Our fists," the girls answered at the same time.

"Oh."

"Patamon?" Takuya whisper-shouted, running up to the orange creature and hugging it tightly to his chest. "What are you doing here? And where's Bokomon and Neemon?"

Patamon didn't even get a chance to answer, as Takuya was tackled from the side. "Takuya!" two voices squealed in unison.

"And that's how we got here," Bokomon finished, looking at the seven legendary warriors in front of him.

"Can you guys actually stay this time?" Tomoki asked.

"That's what we want to tell you!" Neemon squealed. "We're going to be able to stay with you all for a while!"

"Really?" Izumi asked excitedly.

Patamon nodded. "Isn't that cool? We'll be able to catch up and play games and-"

"Wouldn't it look suspicious if one of us went home with three weird creatures, though?" Kouji asked.

"They could pose as stuffed toys," Keiko said.

"But still," Kouichi said. "If one of us got back to our house with three 'stuffed toys' I think our parents would wonder why…"

"Then why don't three of us each take one?" Izumi said thoughtfully.

"I want to go with Kouji!" Patamon chirped, flying into Kouji's arms and cuddling him happily.

"Uh, alright, I guess…" Kouji mumbled.

"Hmmm…" Neemon pointed a stubby finger at everybody one at a time. "Eeny meeny miney moe…" His finger landed on Keiko. "I'll go with you then, Keiko!"

Keiko smiled and Neemon jumped into her arms happily.

"I'll go with Takuya," Bokomon said, nodding. He opened his arms up to Patamon. "Mama's gonna miss you!"

"I'll miss you too, Papamom!" Patamon cried, rushing into his arms.

"Neji, you should activate your Byakugan. The moment will be sweeter," Keiko said.

"…"

"Ow, Neji. That was my foot."

Ahaha, this chapter was so fun to write. Thank you all for reading, and please review!

The contest winner this week was Sydneybell24! She asked her questions to Neji, er, I mean Kouji:

1. So, Kouji, have you ever been in love with anybody?

K: No. I've never been in love with anybody. I've had little crushes, but nothing major.

2. Out of all your friends, who do you think is the funniest?

K: Funniest? Uh, I'd have to say… Asashi, or Izumi. They're both hilarious.

3. Be honest. Could you ever see yourself getting together with Keiko or Izumi as something more than a hookup?

K: *Takes a deep breath* I really don't know. I can see myself hooking up with Izumi, more than I can see myself hooking up with Keiko. But relationship-wise? I don't know… I think I would be more likely to get with Izumi, though.

4. What are your current thoughts on Izumi?

K: I obviously like Izumi. She's one of my closest friends, and I have a little bit of a crush on her… But she's with Asashi, and I doubt that she'd break up with somebody like him for somebody like me.

5. When you and Keiko kissed at the play, what was going through your head at the time?

K: *Shrugs* Uh, I was thinking about how soft her lips were, and her body against mine. But then I thought, I'm kissing Keiko. Why Keiko? I began to think about what it would be like if she were Izumi for a while, when I pulled her closer, but then my thoughts drifted to Keiko again when Tamotsu called out our names. After that, I saw Keiko and Tamotsu kiss, and then I really wished it were Izumi that I was kissing.