Standard Disclaimer: You walk through the wasteland…nothing around for miles…and then you come across a sign that says 'I don't own Digimon'…mind if I borrow it?

Author's Notes: Before you all enter this chapter, please put on your hardhats.

Begin!

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Chapter 4: This is a Construction Zone; Please Wear your Hardhats

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/Outside Inoue Convenience Store, Odaiba, 3:54 PM/

Chizuru and Sasuke looked on as Mantarou hopped onto the back of his dark green Toyota pick-up trunk. Currently, he was the only other member of the family – other than the mother and father – that possessed a vehicle. Sasuke and Subaru's car was a gray Hyundai minivan.

Mantarou talked as he began pulling large boxes off. "I got the necessary stuff to build two bunk beds. I also got the two mattresses needed. It'll take us awhile, but we should be able to finish the bunks by tonight."

"Nice job, bro," said Chizuru as she looked at the four boxes – which held the bed parts – and the two white mattresses, which were wrapped tightly in plastic. "So I take it Jun and Momoe will build theirs, while you and Davis build yours?"

Mantarou nodded. "Speaking of Davis, how's the little guy holding up?"

"He's sitting in the corner of the store right now, blind as a bat. He should be fine after about twenty minutes," answered Chizuru.

Mantarou blinked. "Huh? Blind? How?"

Sasuke sighed before saying, "Well…he sprayed himself in the eyes with pepper spray."

Mantarou sweatdropped. "……okay…why?"

His father shrugged. "Who knows?"

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/Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, 4:10 PM/

Yolei sighed as she exited the bathroom, a red bathrobe wrapped around her body. "Ah…what a lovely bath…"

Bath? But she took a shower, didn't she? Yes. She did. She did both. You see, the Japanese CLEANED themselves of any impurities – using a shower, for instance – using soap to cleanse themselves. Then they stepped into the tub to relax, usually for at least ten minutes; usually longer. That was the way they bathed. They also bathed in public, but we're not going into that.

As Yolei stepped into the living room, she saw a few things.

One: both Momoe and Mantarou were walking up the stairs with a mattress in their hands.

Two: there were four boxes in the living room.

Three: Jun was sitting in front of the couch, tending to someone.

Four: The someone was Davis, who laid on the couch with a wet cloth over his eyes.

Yolei blinked out of curiosity. "What the heck happened to him?"

"He blasted his eyes with a dose of pepper spray," replied Jun with a sigh. "That lug head…"

Yolei couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Why would Davis spray his eyes with pepper spray? He has a knack for getting into trouble, but he isn't a masochist…

Then it hit her.

Davis had seen her naked.

Then he had sprayed himself with pepper spray, obviously to sear the image of her away with pain.

So he did it to get rid of the image of me being naked…say, WAIT A MINUTE! She suddenly scowled as a flash of anger roared through her. Is he insinuating…that I look HIDEOUS?

Strange how people's thought processes work, don't they? Oh well; it makes for good reading material.

Steam figuratively shot out from Yolei's nose as she grabbed a nearby newspaper, rolled it up, and thrust it downward. "ARE YOU SAYING I'M UGLY?"

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Yolei's wrist.

Davis' hand.

Everyone was too silent to move.

At that moment, Davis used his other hand to peel away his wet cloth. His eyes were red, and they were still narrowed; the last vestiges of his self-inflicted pain. But he could see Yolei clearly.

Then, with a voice fully expressing his annoyance, Davis said, "You know…maybe I AM!" Then he grabbed the newspaper out of Yolei's hand and smacked her in the face with it, sending her backwards.

Everyone was silent as Yolei stumbled backwards, more out of shock than pain. Jun was silent. Momoe was silent. Mantarou flashed a thumbs-up. "Nice one."

Davis smirked as he stood, glaring at Yolei. "Well? Got anything to say to that…'ugly'?"

Yolei's nostrils flared as she roared, "YOU JERK! YOU DON'T CALL LADIES UGLY!"

Davis lightly said, "The only ladies I see in here are Momoe and Jun. You look more like a Deltamon than a 'lady'."

Mantarou smiled; Davis was laying the verbal smack-down on Yolei. Momoe winced; Davis was treading a dangerous path. Jun blinked; since when did Davis consider her a lady?

And sure enough, Yolei confirmed Momoe's fears by howling, "WHAT? I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU EAT YOUR WORDS!"

Davis smirked as he dropped the newspaper, motioning for Yolei to come towards him. He was feeling better already; now it was time for a role-reversal. "Well? You going to follow up or not…'ugly'?"

Yolei roared as she charged.

Davis blinked out of momentary surprise; even though he knew Yolei would get upset if he insulted her – like she sometimes did to him – he wouldn't have guessed her to charge at him, as if wanting to fight. After all, HE never fought her. Heh…doesn't matter. If she wants a fight, thought Davis as he clenched his fists. Then I'll give her one!

Yolei's arm stretched forward, nails ready to slash.

Davis' arm stretched forward, fist ready to punch.

Jun and Momoe gaped as they stood, preparing to intervene. Mantarou just watched on, wishing he had some popcorn.

Then, two hands grasped Davis' and Yolei's outstretched arms at the wrists.

Next, the two were flipped over and onto the floor, their backs slamming into the carpet.

Then, the owner of the two hands released them. It was Chizuru, who had come upstairs just as the shouting contest had begun. She had chosen now to intervene.

Davis grimaced as he sat up. "Ow…that hurt…"

Chizuru sighed. "Boy. You two sure know how to shout."

Yolei stammered, "B-but…he-"

"Acted like an idiot. And so did you, sis," interrupted Chizuru. Her eyes had a surprisingly mature quality to them…and she was glaring silently at both Davis and Yolei. "Now stop screwing around. Both of you. Davis, YOU have a bunk bed to make. As for you Yolei…go help Jun and Momoe for the heck of it."

"Hey!" protested Yolei as she stood up. "It's not my-"

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, SISTER?" said Chizuru with a stern tone. Yolei grimaced under her older sister's gaze…and then her shoulders slackened. Chizuru then turned around for the stairs. "Now if you don't mind, I've got to get back to work."

Davis and Jun blinked as Chizuru walked back downstairs to the store. Yolei was absolutely silent. Mantarou was in the kitchen, getting some popcorn. Momoe smiled lightly as she said, "Well…that was a close one."

"Mind telling me what the heck that was about?" muttered Davis, stunned by what had just happened.

"Chizuru just happens to take TaeKwonDo," answered Momoe. "She's actually sort of the mediator in the house when mom and dad are busy working. It's sort of nifty when one of us gets into a scuffle."

Jun then asked, "What about when SHE gets into a scuffle?"

"We don't know. I can't recall the last time she got into an argument with us," replied Mantarou with a shrug. He then got up and grabbed Davis by the arm. "Well? Time to get to work."

Jun and Momoe also grabbed Yolei's arms. "You too."

Davis and Yolei could only sigh.

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/Mantarou's Room, Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, 4:30 PM/

"Dang it…"

Mantarou sighed as he finished unpacking the last box. Neat piles of wood were laid on the floor, and white sheets were sitting in a corner of the room, neatly folded together. A small metal box with the necessary nails and screws was sitting beside Davis, who was holding staring down at a hammer and a number of screwdrivers silently. Mantarou glanced back at Davis and said, "What's eating you?"

"It's just Yolei…she always acts so high and mighty to me."

"She has a tendency to do that if someone's done something she doesn't like."

Davis snorted. "Geez…and all I did was stumble upon her while she was getting in the shower. She should've locked the friggin' door!"

Realization hit Mantarou. "OH…well, that explains why you doused your eyes with pepper spray." As he thought about it some more, the eldest Inoue began laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Davis with a fierce stare.

Mantarou stopped chuckling as he looked at the blueprints for the bunk bed. "Oh, just thinking about how life's going to be now."

Davis snorted again as he fingered one of the screwdrivers. "Whatever…besides, you don't seem like a decent guy anyway. Especially if you were going to just let me hit your sister."

"You'd be surprised," replied Mantarou as he continued to study the plans. "Yolei can be quite…'aggressive'. I'm sure you know that by now."

Davis grumbled.

"But hey, you can't blame her for that. She was the youngest child growing up in a family where the age gap from youngest to oldest is only six years."

"But still!" protested Davis. "It's like she goes out of her way to get me! What the heck did I ever do to her?"

Mantarou calmly said, "You must've acted like a jerk at one point in time. She has a thing against people like that."

"Yeah? Well how would YOU know?" snapped Davis.

"Because…" Mantarou looked away from the plans, gazing right into Davis' eyes. "I happened to be a bit of a jerk myself when Yolei was growing up."

Davis was silent under Mantarou's gaze. "…"

Mantarou immediately smiled. "Enough reminiscing though! Time to work…so hand me that hammer!"

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/Momoe and Chizuru's Room, Inoue Apartment, 5:02 PM/

Bang.

Momoe, Jun, and Yolei were silent as they went to work on constructing the bunk bed. Yolei was hammering in the nails to the bottom frame, as that part had been completed already. Jun and Momoe were busy working on one of the four posts that connected the top and bottom bunks.

Bang.

All three girls were sweating already; Momoe strained her head to looked at the plans once again.

BANG.

Both Momoe and Jun blinked.

BANG.

Yolei was hitting harder with the hammer.

BANG.

Momoe frowned as she muttered, "Uh…Yolei?"

"WHAT?" yelled Yolei as she swung her hammer again-

SLAM.

"AAAAAAAAAOOOOOWWWW!" yelped the Child of Caring as she dropped the hammer, clutching her thumb gingerly.

"Sis, you should really pay attention," said Momoe with a sigh.

Yolei grimaced as she sucked on her thumb for a few minutes. Man, Mantarou should've gone for the pre-made metal bunk beds…

Jun suddenly giggled.

Yolei sighed as she retrieved her thumb and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing…just thinking of how much you looked like Davis right then," replied Jun with a smile.

Yolei suddenly scowled. "Gee. How wonderful."

Jun frowned as she sat down in front of Yolei. "Yolei…why do you always act like you hate Davis so much?"

"He's a jerk! Do I have to be any more specific?" Yolei snorted as she had a flashback to earlier. "Besides…HE SAW ME NAKED! AND THEN HE INSINUATED THAT I'M UGLY! AND THEN HE WOULD'VE HIT ME IF CHIZURU DIDN'T INTERFERE! AND YOU'RE ASKING WHY?"

"Ssh! There are people upstairs you know," sternly muttered Momoe.

Jun, meanwhile, didn't say a thing.

She only smiled.

Yolei, on the other hand, was honestly bewildered. She would've expected Jun to become defensive if Davis had been spoken of like that…so why not? "Why aren't you angry at me for talking about your brother like that?"

Jun continued to smile.

Then, she finally said, "Because we're all siblings here. It's nothing more than a sibling rivalry."

Yolei facefaulted. "DON'T JOKE!"

"She's serious Yolei," replied Momoe.

"I am," said Jun, her face still etched into a smile. "Because you act like Davis would act to me…and vice-versa. Even though we both care for each other, we're not very good at showing it to each other. If it were someone else, we wouldn't have a problem…but seeing that we're siblings, we naturally don't want to admit our weaknesses to each other."

Yolei was silent as she stared wide-eyed at the smiling Jun.

Jun smiled even wider. "I know you both care for each other as friends…you both just have a strange way of expressing it."

…wow. Yolei couldn't respond in the face of Jun's words…because she was absolutely, positively…correct. Davis was her friend…but they just rubbed each other too much in the wrong way…like regular siblings. "…how…?"

Jun simply kept her smile. "Because I know exactly what you're going through. Isn't that right…'little sister'?"

In response to this…Yolei couldn't help but grin. "Yeah…I guess you're right. But enough talk!" She immediately grabbed her hammer again. "We've got a bunk bed to make!"

SLAM.

"AAAAAAOOOWWW!"

Momoe sweatdropped. "Yolei…"

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/Mantarou's Room, Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, 5:11 PM/

"Did Yolei just scream?" asked Davis.

"Probably," replied Mantarou.

"Should we be worried?"

"Nah."

"My thoughts exactly." Davis grinned as he and Mantarou continued to work. Moments later, Davis glanced over at the blueprints and frowned. "Okay…now we need 'screw G4'…" Davis then glanced down into the pile of nails and screws around him. "Where is it…?"

Mantaoru sighed as Davis began rummaging through the pile. "I TOLD you to keep it all separate."

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/Inoue Convenience Store, Odaiba, 7:00 PM/

Demiveemon sighed as he sat down on the counter. "Boy…I'm pooped!"

"Oh, come on! All we did all day was stand here and say two lines!" protested Poromon. Night had now fallen on Odaiba…the bright light of the store served as a stark contrast to the darkness of the outside night.

Demiveemon sighed. "I know…but look at all of this food!" It was almost like torture; the stomachs of Digimon practically had unlimited space…especially Digimon of the In-Training and Rookie levels.

Poromon was silent.

Then he smiled.

"You have an idea?" asked Demiveemon, whose eyes had just caught Poromon's.

"You bet."

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/Momoe and Chizuru's Room, Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, 8:10 PM/

Dinner had been finished thirty minutes ago…and this time, there had been no food fight, no thanks to Torture-Cola (now available in a Wal-Mart near you). The work on the bunk bed had continued again…and this time, Chizuru was helping out.

Momoe sighed as she stepped back. "Well…it's finished."

"It looks sort of rickety though," protested Yolei.

"As long as no one jumps on it, it'll be fine," reassured Jun.

Yolei wasn't convinced. "Eh, I'm just going to get one more nail in there. I'll be right back."

Chizuru suddenly grabbed her wrist. "No."

"Huh? Why?" asked Yolei.

Chizuru's voice had a tone of sarcasm and non-emotion; just like usual. "Because the blueprints don't say there should be another nail in there. Besides, if you so much as add another nail to it, the whole thing will fall apart. Don't you know what happens in cartoons?"

Yolei blinked as she thought about it. "Oh yeah…good point."

"Well, now there's only one thing left to do…" said Momoe with a smile.

Jun grinned. "Yep…PAINT!"

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/Mantarou's Room, Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, 9:20 PM/

Mantarou and Davis both sighed as they looked at their work; the entire bunk bed – save for the mattresses of course – was painted pitch-black. Davis smiled goofily. "We're done!"

"I'm just surprised we didn't get paint on anything," said Mantarou.

Davis stared at him incredulously. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Look at ourselves!" True enough, both of the boys were smothered in black paint. Apparently, 'anything' didn't apply to humans.

Mantarou shrugged. "I'm talking about the house."

"Oh." Davis sighed as he finger the paint on his arms. "Man, I feel filthy."

"That's what showers are for!" exclaimed Mantarou with a grin. "Besides, we have to wait until the paint dries until we can put the mattresses and sheets on anyway."

Davis nodded. "True…"

"To the bathroom!" exclaimed Mantarou dramatically, his finger pointed toward the hallway.

Davis sweatdropped. "…can we just go? I'm tired."

"Okay."

As both boys entered the hallway, their eyes caught four females on the opposite end.

Jun. Momoe. Yolei. Chizuru.

All of them had dark green paint on them; a side effect of painting Jun and Momoe's bunk bed.

And the bathroom was right in the center between them.

Silence. You could hear a tumbleweed rolling across the floor, like in the Old Western standoffs…

"What's a tumbleweed doing in our house?" asked Chizuru as she watched it roll out of the hallway and into the living room.

(Just ignore it.)

At that moment, both parties made a break for the bathroom. Mantarou grimaced as the four females rushed head-on towards them. "Oh great, we're not going to make it in time!"

Davis frowned…and then inspiration hit him. "I've got an idea!" He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his blue D-3. "HOLY ARMOR ENERGIZE!"

The four females skidded to a halt as a golden glow overwhelmed them. When the glow faded, Davis could be seen in front of them…except he was now covered in a golden armor. It looked exactly like Magnamon's armor…except it had some differences. Unlike Magnamon, it covered his entire body, with the exception of his face. Thick, blocky armor covered his feet, and golden plates of shimmering metal covered his legs, with a 'V' shaped protrusion sticking out the top of the shin guards. His entire upper body was covered by a singular piece of golden armor, and the Crest of Miracles was emblazoned on the chest. Segmented plates of golden steel covered his arms; golden gloves enwrapped his hands, with golden studs covering the knuckles. Large, pointed shoulder pads had thrusters sticking out of the bottom; similar pieces of armor encircled his waist, much like they did with Magnamon. Finally, his helmet had 'V' shaped prongs sticking upward; unlike Magnamon, however, Davis did not have a mask that covered his face.

This was the Armor of Miracles: one of the four Holy Armors that had proven to be an invaluable asset in the Digidestined's battles. Davis grinned as he looked down at the four dumbstruck females.

Then Yolei protested, "No fair! That's cheating!"

"Since when?" countered Davis.

"I'm in!" shouted Mantarou from the bathroom. As he closed the door, Davis flashed a thumbs-up to the girls. In a flash of golden light, his armor disappeared. "Guys win again!"

Poor Davis. He should've known not to get between a girl and her personal hygiene. The four females shot the Child of Miracles a sadistic glare…and that's when Davis realized something bad.

He was outmatched here. …oh boy.

"YAR!" roared Jun and Momoe as they pinned Davis down by the shoulders. Chizuru grabbed both legs (hey, she has to get involved every once in a while. ;P ). Yolei cracked her knuckles as she said, "So…what shall we do with him?"

Jun glanced down at Davis. Then she smiled. "Well, his belly and armpits have always been ticklish…"

Davis' mouth dropped down out of sheer horror. "YOU WOULDN'T."

All four females grinned as Yolei said, "We WOULD…and we WILL!" Yolei's arm roared downwards…and stopped inches above his belly.

Then she began tickling him.

Uncontrolled laughs began escaping Davis' mouth. Momoe and Jun giggled as they began tickling his armpits, causing him to spasm like mad. "AGH-HAH! PLEASE-HEE HEE-STOP-HA HA!"

Chizuru grimaced as she tried to keep his legs under control. Man, he's got some muscle.

At this point in time, Sasuke poked his head into the hall. He arched an eyebrow as he watched the four females mob Davis Inoue. …hmm. That boy must have a way with women; he's already formed his own harem. Shrugging, Sasuke walked away.

…I think we'll just skip ahead in time.

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/Jun, Momoe, and Chizuru's Room, Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, 11:13 PM/

Well, now that the bunk bed was complete, Jun can now be included in the room name! JOYOUS CELEBRATION!

…er, never mind.

Jun sighed as she got into the bottom bunk. She was completely paint-free, as were the other girls. "I wanted the top bunk…"

"You lost at Ro-Sham-Bo. Sorry Jun," muttered Chizuru as she got into her bed.

Momoe smiled as she snuggled under the covers of the top bed. "Besides, be happy! Now we ALL have a place to sleep!"

Jun smiled. "True."

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/Davis and Mantarou's Room, Inoue Apartment, Odaiba, 11:20 PM/

Davis grimaced as he yawned. "Man…I feel sore."

"That's what happens when girls tickle you for about twenty minutes," answered Mantarou. He had gotten the top bunk, while Davis had gotten the bottom bunk.

Davis snorted. "Don't remind me."

"Can I?" asked Demiveemon with a grin. He sat on top of Davis' head.

"No."

"Aw…"

Silence.

Finally, Mantarou said, "That was a nifty trick you pulled back there."

Davis nodded. "Perks of being a Digidestined!"

"Does Yolei have an armor like that?"

Davis grinned cockily. "Nope. Only three others have them!" Two of those three had been TK – who wielded the Armor of Hope – and Kari, who wielded the Armor of Light. As for the third…his name had been Shaun, a Digidestined that had traveled back in time to avert a terrible crisis by destroying a Dark Digimon called Demon. Using his Armor of Wisdom, he had almost succeeded…until Demon had been absorbed by a Digimon called Myotismon. Shaun had then died at the hands of BelialMyotismon. Davis stifled a tear; dwelling on the past wasn't going to help him now.

"Heh…sounds nifty. Just be careful where you use it though…some people might get suspicious," cautiously warned Mantarou.

Davis snorted. "I know that."

Mantarou chuckled. "Sure…I just felt like reminding you. After all, big brothers do that…right 'little brother'?"

Davis was silent. Then, with a calm, stern voice, he said, "I'm…I'm not ready for that yet…just call me Davis."

"…okay. I understand. Good night Davis," said Mantarou before going to sleep.

Davis smiled lightly as he turned around to face the wall. Maybe Mantarou had more 'friend' material than he had initially thought.

Silence pervaded through the Inoue residence.

Then…

Creak…

Creak.

CRACK.

CRASH!

"AAAAAAAHH!" screamed Davis and Jun.

Moments later, a frustrated Yolei – wearing an extra-large red T-shirt for her pajamas – stampeded out of her room. I KNEW Mantarou should've gotten metal bunk beds! I KNEW IT! At the same time, Poromon snuck out.

She opened the first door to her left. Inside was the boys' room…and the bunk bed was now a mass of broken wood, and Mantarou was seen lifting the top mattress to get at Davis underneath, who was more stunned than hurt. The eldest Inoue child grumbled, "I KNEW I should've gotten the metal kind…"

That made Yolei facefault.

And all the while, no one saw Demiveemon sneak out between Yolei's legs.

Both In-Training Digimon immediately tiptoed into the living room: they had plans of their own for tonight.

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To be continued…

Next time…

Chapter 5: Operation Snack Attack

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Author's Notes: Any guesses as to what Poromon and Demiveemon have in mind? ;)

See you soon, and please review!