Author's Note: I wouldn't really say this is my absolute first Digimon fic, because it's not. I have a strange history with the TV show, both the Japanese and English version. In fact-- I was the biggest fan in the world, and then got hypnotized by a certain movie… and never watched the show again. But, I'm back to grace you with my presence! Don't ya just love me?! (people can be seen fleeing) …I see how you stay…

Unnecessary Disclaimer: I don't know why I even bother with this stuff. I mean, you know I don't own Digimon or anything closely affiliated with it. So why must I bother saying it so many times?

MINOR notes: I'm using the Japanese names. Why? Because I can. I'm also mixing in a few of the 02 characters, for reference and maybe some references to other characters. Why? Because I can. Also, because if I just used plain Frontier people, Izumi would have no friends that were girls. Odd, isn't it? So… I think that's about all you have to know-- OH! This is a Takumi fic, btw. It ends up that way, no matter what you seem to think. It's also slightly AU. They're in high school. I don't know where they live, but I used Odaiba because it was the first thing within reach =) And… I made up Takuya's family for the fun of it.

It Might Be You
Chapter 3
Aftermath Syndrome

Takuya woke up on the lumpish sofa. He wished he'd stayed in with Tayumi. She woke up and began fluttering around the house happily. She walked up to him and grinned, "Hello Takuya."

"Ugh," he groaned, turning over and trying to shut his eyes. But his mother's morning ritual had already begun. She'd walk around the house singing "Wake up dearest children" in Japanese. She couldn't sing, so it wasn't necessarily something anyone would wanna hear. He got up tiredly and folded up his blazing red comforter and bundled up his pillows, heading back to his room. He pushed the door open where Takeyo was sitting on his bed reading "The Lexicon of Literature and Mathematics". It was almost like he had nothing better to do with his spare time. "Hey," Takuya said, dropping his beddings beside Takeyo. He looked up at him and grinned.

"How goes it?" Takeyo asked, putting down the book. "I just went through the greatest literature exercise yet!" he said, nodding.

"I just woke up." Takuya told him, uninterested. He grabbed his towel off the bedpost, and a change of clothing which he found in the closet -_-;;. "I'll be right back."

"Sure thing," he replied, opening the book again.

***

"Takuya, you're gonna be late for breakfast!" Reiko called into his room. The rest of the family was seated at the kitchen table with a plate full of bacon and eggs in front of them.

"Mom…" he said, sticking his head out of his room. "Screw breakfast-- I'm gonna be late for school." He told her, noticing there was only 2 minutes left until the bell would ring. She scowled. "…and besides Mom, I'm not hungry-"

"Takuya, I'm not letting you leave until you eat something." She said, walking over to lock the front door and chain it. "No one is leaving unless Takuya eats."

Everyone instantly turned on him and waited for him to get to the table. Tayumi-- impatiently. She always left with Takuya, or around a minute after him, so she could catch bare glimpses of Daisuke. Takeyo-- ever so patiently. He finished his studying so he wasn't in that much of a hurry. Tenji was always late for work, so he wasn't that hectic. He did keep checking his watch, though. Reiko was a nutritionist, so feeding Takuya and her family was like her job. She wasn't in a hurry either. Takuya's eyebrow flickered as he stared at his anticipating family. He sighed. This is not my day either. Is it ever?

***

"Where were you for half the day exactly?" Daisuke asked, as Takuya approached him and Ken by the benches. JP was off practicing the JP Thunder Ball with a net on the field. He didn't notice Takuya walk in. "You missed history… and science. Tch, why're you always so lucky?"

"Please, it's not as easy as it seems," he muttered, dropping down on the benches, clutching his stomach. "I'm so not used to eating breakfast."

"You're feeling better though, right?" Ken asked. "After… the… head thing."

"Yeah. The finals are in 3 or something days, right?" he asked, as Ken merely nodded.

"Everyone's talking about it, man," Daisuke told him. "You got knocked straight out, and fell unconscious too… Coach said we might not be able to play in the finals, unless you're okay. … it looked pretty painful." Takuya sighed and dropped his head.

***

He twisted his combination lock and pulled it open. It locked again. He grumbled, trying the combination again. What the hell? I wish I stayed home today. He barely got it open. He continued to tug at it. After minutes, he gave up and began to spell the combination again, slowly and making sure he got it.

"What's the combination?" he turned to look at Izumi, leaning against the locker beside him. She had her arms crossed across her chest.

"And you'd care because?" he asked, with irritation. He'd been through enough that day. A boy in his class asked him if he saw fairies when he collapsed, and if it really was because of a lack of nutrition. He said some lady told him that, and he told the rest of the school, and they told… the rest of the world.

"Because," Izumi replied. "That's Koji's locker. Yours is… this one." She said, getting off the locker she was leaning on to point to locker 493. Takuya could've screamed. He unhanded Koji's lock, and wiped his hands on his pants, quickly. He walked over to his locker. 13… 40… 54. he pulled it open. It actually opened this time. He ignored her smiles. "Got a minute?" she asked, slowly.

"No, I don't. I'm extremely pissed off right now, and you're the last person I wanna talk to." He said, picking out one of his textbooks and kicking his soccer ball back in before it fell out. "I think I'm going crazy."

"I think you need to calm down," Izumi said, soothingly. "You're completely stressed out right now, I can tell."

"Can you stop entering my head and telling me all this psycho stuff?" he asked, testily, shutting his locker. "I don't wanna talk about it, just leave me alone."

"Did you… tell anyone about yesterday?" she asked, completely ignoring what he said. He instantly turned on her. For a second, she thought his eyes were bloodshot. But, they weren't. "The kiss in the rain and everything... kisses in the rain are very romantic, I think." She gushed to herself.

"Like anyone would care," he said, quaintly. "And Koji would only wanna kill me, like the spineless bastard he is. And besides, that meant nothing to me whatsoever, so… I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure," she grinned, noticing how jumpy he was getting. Of course it meant something to him. Probably not whatever it meant to Izumi, but to him, it meant something.

"Where is your annoying other half?" Takuya asked, slowly letting the "rain sequence" slip out of his fingers. He didn't wanna think about it anymore. He just wanted to go home, sleep in his own bed, and then wake up to the smell of carrot cake with his name all over it. Of course, he wouldn't eat it, he'd just give it to Daisuke or someone. Daisuke would eat anything.

"Koji," Izumi began. "…last time I saw him, he was in the cafeteria, talking to Ruki. That b-"

"I only asked where he was."

Izumi sighed, her arms still crossed. "I think he's losing interest in me. We hardly talked last night-"

"Can't imagine what else could've been more important," he said, sarcastically. Izumi rolled her eyes, slightly.

"Seriously, Takuya," she told him. "Can we focus on my problem?" Takuya ignored her, and continued walking. Izumi followed him, still talking, "He apologized for everything, and so did I… and then he said he was busy, so he'd call back. But he never did call back. I called back around 11, and Kouichi picked up. He said he wasn't there, and that he was looking for Koji too. He'd come over to see what happened to him, but his parents told him that Koji left around an hour ago… you don't think he went to her house, do you?"

"Where else would he go?" Takuya asked, slowly. "…does Koji have any friends?"

"Of course."

"I haven't seen any."

"What are you getting at?"

"Nothing."

"Sure."

"Sure."

"…so drop it."

"I dropped it a long time ago." He told her. "Listen, if you know what this guy's doing to you, then confront him about it, and leave me the hell out of your life. I don't even like Koji."

"Oh, I figured that." Izumi nodded. "I think I know why you don't like Koji, though."

"What about the reason that I supposedly hated you?" he asked, turning to look at her. She scowled. "Well what?"

"You said you didn't hate me."

"Just go on, will you?"

"Okay," she began. "It's because he's… going out with me." She nodded, smiling. Takuya's expression grew frightful, and Izumi almost laughed.

"Where'd you get something stupid like that?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. Luckily for him, she didn't notice. "If you think that's the reason… it's not."

"Mmhmm,"

"It's not," he replied again. "Izumi, you're losing it. If you're trying to take complete advantage of me, it's not working. Why? Because I know how awfully manipulative you can be. You're trying to get me to like you, because the only person who does like you, doesn't like you anymore… and you're running out of friends." He nodded, knowledgeably.

"Oh please, Takuya," she scoffed, doubtfully. "That's obviously not true."

"Shut up, yes it is."

"Shut up, no it's not."

"Yeah, it is."

"No, it's not."

"Yeah it-"

"Izumi!" they both stopped arguing if only for a second. Hikari, Izumi's friend and the only reason Daisuke came to school, was standing at the other end of the hallway. "I have the most important thing to tell you!" she called.

"Ah… okay," she called back to her. She turned to Takuya with a vengeful look. "You're so stuck on yourself. I would punch you, if I knew you weren't already on the brink of extinction."

"I've never been punched by a girl before," he said, edgily. "Could be fun."

"You're such a-"

"Izumi!" Hikari called to her again.

"I'm coming, one second," she told her, snapping a little. She turned back to Takuya, still quite pissed at him. Taking him in on his offer, she punched him hard in his right arm, and smiled, sweetly before she skipped off. "See you later," she blew him a quick kiss, and went off to join Hikari.

"God, what a b-" Wait… that didn't hurt. His arm was throbbing. She had incredibly good aim; she punched him in his bicep. It hurt. A great deal. I swear to God, that didn't hurt… what the hell is this? Beat-up-defenseless-Takuya week?! He gripped his arm and tried to walk normally down the hallway. He hadn't just been punched by a girl, and actually thought it was painful. Her hands are pretty strong…

"What's with you, always with him?" Hikari asked, as her and Izumi began walking. "And what's with you, not with Koji anymore?"

"Me and Koji didn't break up, first off," Izumi told her, nodding. "And me and Takuya… just talk a lot."

"You punched him."

"I think we're pretty okay friends." She replied. "If you wanna call it a friendship, you can."

"So there's nothing… else, right?" Hikari asked, with a bit of hope in her voice. Izumi glared at her. Hikari always thought Izumi was seeing other people, and soon found herself matching her friend with Kouichi, JP, Ken and even Daisuke. She never ever thought of the whole Takuya and Izumi thing, though. Ever since 3rd grade, she figured they hated each other. Izumi shook her head. "Crap."

"You said you had something important to tell me," she reminded her.

"…show you, actually," Hikari told her. "I wished I've never brought it up." She mentally kicked herself as they continued toward the cafeteria. "What you're about to see might considerably shock you, so don't say I didn't warn you."

"What is it, Hikari?" Izumi asked, getting impatient. Hikari nodded slowly as they began to enter the cafeteria. She pointed to an end table at the back, where it was clear the people figured no one could see.

There at the back table, is where Izumi spotted Koji with someone. But not just any "someone". This someone was Ruki. And what they were doing was completely inexplicable, to Izumi's mind anyway. Why is she kissing him…? Izumi fumed to herself. She fought back all urges to kill Ruki, though she had no reason why. I can't let Koji know I saw anything… Izumi, just handle this with complete control. Don't do anything rash, it might ruin your reputation…

"I'm so sorry, but I figured you had a right to know…" Hikari muttered, mercilessly attacking her fingernails. Izumi looked blank, but didn't respond. Hikari turned back to her, and the make-out session. Neither one had ceased to change. "…Izumi?"

"Hikari…" she began, slowly, her voice slowly disappearing. "…I think… I forgot something…" Say locker. Say locker. "…in my locker." Yes! I'm saved! "I'll be… right back." She said, uneasily. She slowly turned on her heel and headed down the hallway.

"But…" Hikari began, but trailed off, slowly. Before she headed off to find her, loud screams and sobs were heard from outside. Everyone paused and stayed silent, listening to the constant wails of the screamer outside.

"…hmm," Koji muttered, shaking his head slightly, as the cafeteria stayed in complete silence. "...sounds like Izumi." He thought for awhile.

"…who?" Ruki began, testily. "I thought you said we weren't gonna bring her up ever again. And when are you gonna break up with her anyway?"

"I never said I was gonna break up with her-" he was cut off, as Ruki gave him a piercingly annoying, yet angry look. He said nothing, for the while. "…I'm gonna go see if she's okay." He got up slowly and headed out the door.

******

"What is that racket?" Mr. Toshiba came down the hall, still equipped with his pointer stick. Many people were grouped around the girls' bathroom, just standing and waiting. The fuming math teacher stared around, spotting many of his students that decided to take the class off listening to something, or someone, crying in the bathroom.

"AAAAAHHHH!!!" the person inside screamed, mercilessly.

"I rate that one a 9.5," JP whispered to Ken, slowly. Ken shrugged. The both of them continued staring at the door.

"Oh God, I hope she's okay," Hikari muttered to herself. She'd tried several times to talk to Izumi but, for some reason, she wouldn't answer her. She just said to let her be alone. Hikari sighed, and waited back outside. "She's been crying like that for hours now."

"Thank God, too," Daisuke nodded, popping another barbeque chip into his mouth. "I lost my math book."

"You're so insensitive," Hikari told him, digging into his bag of chips and stealing half of them. "She's deeply upset, and I can understand why."

"Of course I don't know why, guess who didn't tell me," Daisuke said, fishing through his bag for the remainders of the chips. Hikari shot him a pestered look, but said nothing. "…well what?" he asked, blankly.

"This is a matter for the principal," Mr. Toshiba nodded sternly and set off on his journey to see the principal, Mr. Yokohashi.

"At least the spotlight's off you," Takeru whispered to Takuya who had just walked up. Takuya looked at him, and let go of his arm slowly, pretending it didn't hurt. It still ached a little, but he would live.

"Thank God," he said. "…what's going on anyway?"

"Izumi's crying," Takeru nodded. "Something about a backstabbing bastard and his beeep girlfriend… it's a long story." He shrugged. "Hikari won't tell anyone, and then still expects people to have compassion."

"So why are you here, if you don't know anything about it?" Takuya asked, cluelessly.

"Tch, you kidding?" he smirked. "Anything that'll get me out of Mr. Toshiba's class. I didn't finish the last question of the assignment."

"…wow," Takuya began, sarcastically. "Wonder what kind of grueling punishment he'll give you for not finishing the last question."

"Yeah, I know,"

"It'd probably be more than mine, considering I didn't finish it at all."

Takeru shrugged, and continued watching the door.

Takuya, clearly agreeing that Takeru didn't get the sarcasm that ruthlessly floated into his face and up his nostrils, was about to leave for down the hall when the bathroom door creaked open. Everyone gasped, and as Takuya turned around, he swore he saw a camera flash. Izumi could barely be seen through the small crack, but of what she could see, she saw Takuya. He feared she saw him too, so he continued walking, slowly.

She reached out a hand and grabbed the nearest person in reach, which was JP. After a lot of struggling, he was in the bathroom and all was silent. "JP's in the girls' bathroom with Izumi!" someone chorused. No one followed, however. This was like a real life soap opera, except this one, you could actually understand! Seconds later, JP was thrown out of the bathroom and the door was shut. The crying and wailing continued. Mr. Toshiba still hadn't gotten back.

"Ah!" JP looked around, quickly. "Where'd he go?" he asked, loudly. No one replied. "…wait!" he ran out of the crowd and down the hall as he spotted Takuya walking away. "Takuya!!"

Takuya turned around  just to see JP almost knock him over. "Um…" Takuya began, slowly. "…what?"

"Hey…" JP panted, bending down to catch his breath. Calm down, Takuya thought. …oh God, he's wheezing and he only ran two steps. "…this might take awhile." JP muttered.

"What is it?" Takuya asked, as the crowd began to direct their attention towards JP and Takuya. Daisuke opened another bag of chips, this time ketchup, and began snacking away as he still watched from the door, Hikari still sneaking chips of out his bag.

"Izumi wants you in the bathroom," JP finally spoke up. "Said it's urgent."

"Izumi wants you in the bathroom?" Daisuke asked, loudly, a smile appearing on his lips. "…that doesn't sound right in many ways."

"I'm not gonna go in the girls' bathroom," Takuya said, defensively, grasping his arm. "…I'm not going near her anymore, either."

"…dude, why are you feeling up your arm?" JP asked. Takuya dropping his arm, and deftly ignored JP. He walked down the hall, ignoring the crowd and whispers. He pushed open the door of the bathroom, and the crying amplified. He quickly rushed in and shut the door behind him.

*******

End of chapter 3! :) The next chapter'll be out sooner than this one was. Sorry for making everyone wait… actually, I wasn't aware anyone was seriously waiting, but sorry anyway. =D Pleeeez review…