Disclaimer-It should be obvious that I do not own Digimon.

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Sometimes, It's Best Not To Know

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It wasn't an easy sleep for Kako that night, but somehow, she managed to get more than an hour of sleep. And even though she did, she still woke up at five, cold and numb from the fear of Hideki telling her father about Kouji.

That wasn't what she needed now.

I miss Mom, Kako thought glumly, making her way into the kitchen as soon as she had changed. To her surprise, her father sat at the dining table, reading the paper. "D-dad, what are you…doing…home…this quick?" she asked in amazement.

Mr. Sakai looked up from his paper and inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Kako. How are you? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

A smirk threatened to appear on Kako's face as she thought, I'm not a hopeless slob like brother dear. Out loud, she confessed, "I…couldn't sleep."

"I see. Your brother showed me the surveillance camera he set up yesterday…"

He didn't have to say anymore for Kako to realize what this was about. "Uhm, that…" Kako muttered, looking at her feet. "I…uh…"

Her father cut off, "And I couldn't see anything. We were both quite surprised…"

Kako looked up, eyes wide. "What?"

"The screen was black."

Takuya, you little devil, I swear, the next time I see you…I'll pay you back, Kako thought, smiling to herself. "Oh. I'm sure you didn't miss anything. My group came over for a school project. It's a biology project," she lied easily.

"I see…"

The girl shifted under the scrutinizing gaze of her father somewhat uncomfortably. "Uhm…you know Hideki has a new girlfriend, right?"

Her father went back to his paper, uninterested. "Again?"

"Uh…yeah…"

"I see."

Kako stood there, unsure of what else to say. Unlike Hideki, she couldn't rat a person out straight away. It was just too…

Not her.

Tears stung her eyes as she turned around to face away from her father. "I…I'm going out," she said in a forced whisper.

"Make sure you come back before dinner," was all her father said in response.

To hell with that…to hell with you, Kako thought, angrily pushing her way past Hideki as he walked into the kitchen and then quickly dashing out the door.

Hideki watched his sister race out the door. "What's with her?"

Mr. Sakai merely shrugged.

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"Kouichi! You awake?" Kouji called, knocking on his brother's door.

No answer.

"Kouichi?"

Still, no answer.

Kouji grinned and warned his brother, "Okay, I'm coming in!"

There was no answer as Kouji opened the door and marched in, cackling until he realized his brother wasn't in bed.

It was five forty-two. Kouichi always set his alarm for six eighteen.

Kouji frowned. "Oh, fine, ruin my fun, why don't you?" he grumbled, heading into the kitchen and asked his mother, "Mom, have you seen Kouichi?"

But his mother shook her head. "He must've gone out early, which I don't really approve of. He could get even more sick! What am I going to do with you two…"

Kouji just laughed and headed outside. And I thought I was bad…Kouichi's weird whenever he's sick. I swear, he m-wait…is that him?

Kouji squinted his eyes to get a better look at the figure that stood huddled against the railing of a nearby building, looking up at the sky as if waiting for something. In his hands was the unmistakable art pad that Kouichi always had.

Kouji frowned. What's he doing? The bandana boy tried to come up with various possibilities of what his brother could be doing, but couldn't think up a single one.

Finally giving up on guessing, Kouji walked up to the building and started to climb the stairs, stopping when he saw Kako halfway to the top. "Kako?"

Kako whirled around, eyes wide. "Uh…uhm…hi?"

"What are you doing here?" he asked, a smile breaking the startled look on his face.

Shivering, Kako stepped away from him and looked behind her. "I…well, nothing, really. I come here…a lot…"

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't question any further. "Did you eat breakfast? And aren't you cold? You're just wearing a T-shirt…"

Kako blushed and shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Liar."

She shivered again as the first rays of the sun peeked out behind the clouds, still not strong enough to warm her. "B-but, we…might as well start now, huh?"

"Want to come over?"

Again, Kako blushed. "No, that's…okay."

"Kouichi's on the rooftop, you know. It's not like he's inside," Kouji informed her gently.

Kako just shook her head. In a soft whisper, she replied, "I-it's not that…it's just…complicated."

Kouji nodded. "Alright, then, arcade?"

"It won't be open now."

"Your house?" he asked hopefully.

Her eyes darkened. "My father's home, my brother's home, they even put up surveillance cameras to watch me. Not only that, but it seems I have to be babied and Hideki doesn't, even though he's acting like one because he still freaking lives in the same house!" Kako growled angrily, her voice rising dangerously before she realized it. As soon as she did, she squeaked and ran down the stairs, covering her mouth with a hand.

Kouji followed, amused with her reaction. "Family problems, huh?"

"Worse than you could imagine. What's Kouichi doing up there, anyway?" she asked leaning against the wall of the building and sighing.

He shrugged. "No clue, really. I was just about to ask him."

A silence fell upon them, both looking up the stairs, at the rooftop.

"He's probably trying to draw the sunrise again," Kako murmured thoughtfully. "I always told him it was the hardest…and he tried to prove me wrong…"

Without warning, Kouji pulled her towards him, his arms wrapped around her waist. A smile appeared as he leaned towards her. "Yeah, well…shall we go?"

Kako's eyes widened momentarily before she realized he what he was doing. Twitching, she growled, "Kouji, I told you I wasn't cold. Remove your hands, now."

He chuckled and did as she asked. "Couldn't blame me for trying, could you?"

"In your dreams."

"Oh, back with the Ms. I-Am-Superior attitude, huh?"

"Shut it!" Kako snapped, her eyes brimming with tears.

Kouji cleared his throat and in his best falsetto, mimicked Kako, "No, I'm the best, therefore you must all bow down to me! Don't touch me, I'm too good for you!"

Despite the fact that she was crying, Kako burst into laughter and Kouji quickly joined her. It was only when she started crying full out that Kouji stopped and wrapped his arms around her and murmured soothingly, "It's not your fault, you know…it really isn't…"

And he wished at that moment that they were already in the arcade, for the gaze upon them wasn't one of sorrow, but pure hatred.

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"Hah! Kouichi, everyone knows that sunrises are the hardest to draw!" Kako laughed as soon as Kouichi had mentioned how hard it was to draw the sunset.

Kouichi smirked. "Is it? They aren't that hard."

Kako rose an eyebrow. "Have you ever tried?"

"No."

"And why is that?"

"Because, sunrises are boring," he answered, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

"Hah! Lies! I bet you couldn't draw a sunrise if your life depended on it!"

Kako's words rang in Kouichi's ears as he woke up that morning at four eighteen, two hours earlier than usual. He had no idea what to do, so he went outside, properly dressed for the weather so his mother wouldn't throw a fit, and took his art pad, ready to capture the sunrise and prove Kako wrong.

Of course it meant a bit over three hours of waiting, but he didn't care. Nothing seemed to matter.

At about five twenty, he saw Kako rush up the stairs, and heard her stop halfway, probably after realizing Kouichi was up there. At around five fifty, he saw his twin head over, a curious look on his face.

And then, silence.

Kouichi guessed they were doing one of two things-they were either talking or they were engaged in an extremely passionate moment, and while the latter seemed to fit Kouji, knowing Kako, it was the first reason.

And before he knew it, there was once more that pit in his heart…

Darkness…

Darkness threatened to swallow him up again. His hands pushed against the railing as he pressed all his weight into it, as if to make it fall. But nothing happened.

There was only one difference between this and the digital world.

This time, a simple baleful look would be his weapon. This time, he had no power.

As he watched his brother walk off with Kako, Kouichi looked back at the sky, even more determined to prove Kako wrong.

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"Well, it isn't lunch, but breakfast is good, right?" Kouji asked Kako as they sat down in the small café in the back of the bookstore. Mr. Saito had been more than happy to let them in.

Kako nodded, her mind on something else as she looked outside the clear walls.

"So what are you thinking about?"

"Questions to ask you," she replied absentmindedly.

Kouji smiled and lifting the cup of hot chocolate to his lips as he said, "Well, shoot away."

Inclining her head, Kako murmured her first question, "Why…do-why…why do you want me to be your girlfriend? Or, sorry, pose as your girlfriend?"

The smile widened as he placed down the cup. "I didn't tell you?"

"If you did, I certainly don't remember."

"Well, it's a revenge thing."

She nodded and lapsed into silence once more.

"My turn," Kouji suddenly said. "When and how did you meet Kouichi?"

"Okay, so, well…it was fourth grade…and I just moved here. So our teacher had him show me around. He was really polite, but quiet. And after that, I ran into him the day later at the train station…literally. Eventually, we got to know each other pretty well, and Mom even like him." Kako paused and drew a breath before she continued, "But around the time Kouichi was in the hospital, my mom died, and I got stupid with an idiotic family. We moved to Tokyo about a month after that. And now I'm back…I…yeah…"

Kouji nodded. "I met Kouichi in the digital world, but you already know that! Wasn't the most pleasant experience in my life. Let's just say, when Kouichi's possessed…he's stronger than you think."

"But you still beat him," murmured Kako, looking up at him. "My turn. Do you hate Kouichi?"

"Nope."

"Then why-"

"That's two questions, but I'll answer it anyway. Of course I don't hate Kouichi. He's my brother. And…I have my reasons for doing what I do to him…"

Kako frowned as another question came in mind. "He told me you weren't always so goofy…what's that about?"

Kouji grinned sheepishly as he replied in a whisper, "Takuya and bet. Those are the two words I'll give you."

Rolling her eyes, Kako looked out the window again. "Your turn."

"You don't have to answer this, but…how did your mom die exactly?" Kouji asked gently.

There was a silence that Kouji had expected. Kako gazed down at the table, examining its speckled surface as if it held the answer. "I…well, she…uh…"

"And Kako doesn't need to answer that," a new voice cut in rudely. Both Kako and Kouji turned their heads up quickly to find Hideki glaring at them. "Kako, Dad said to give you your jacket. And why are you talking to him?"

Kouji smiled sweetly. "Why do you care?" he asked, his voice becoming dangerously sweet, too much for Kako's liking.

Kako snatched her jacket from Hideki. "Go out with your girlfriend so you two can make out like yesterday," she snapped icily, looking out the window.

"Why the hell are you so mad at me?" her brother shouted, exasperated.

Kako turned to him, enraged. "Because, you jerk, you keep getting me into trouble! If mom were alive-"

"Well she isn't! Live with it, kid!" Hideki snapped back.

Kouji had slipped out of his seat and found a suitable bamboo stick, then aimed it at Hideki's head. "Well, you up to it?"

The girl winced. "Kouji, that's not the brightest ide-" she tried to warn him, but Hideki quickly disarmed him and sent Kouji skidding back against the wall. "HIDEKI!"

Hideki ignored her as he stopped at the doorway and growled to Kouji, turning his head to face the bandana boy, "You better watch it. One step out of line with my sister and you'll wish you were never born.

Kouji stood up with a grin and walked over to Kako. "What? You mean like this?" he asked with mock innocence, pulling Kako into a kiss.

But instead of the usual short kiss, he did his best to annoy Hideki, going as far as to slip his tongue into Kako's mouth and deepen the kiss considerably.

Kako's eyes widened, but she found herself paralyzed in fear of several things.

Kouji slowly pulled away from her, smirking. "Oh no, what now?"

"Kouji!" Kako exclaimed, squeaking slightly as a blush quickly found its way up her cheeks.

"You little…" Hideki quickly found another bamboo stick as Kouji picked up his own fallen one.

"HIDEKI! NO!" Kako yelled, looking at both the boys as they prepared to fight. Why are boys such idiots…?

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A/N-

I updated quicker! Yes! .:really happy that I did:. I'm sorry I didn't the other two times…I got held back by a few things, including homework, colorguard, tkd, etc. So…are you enjoying it so far? Thank you to all the reviewers, you're really awesome. Feedback is helping me.

I really need to read more manga at this point. If only I had more time….:sigh:. Anyway, I have to do homework at the moment, and then go to practice…actually, I don't think I have time for hmwk. So, review or flame. Tell me if I needed to improve on some part. Ewww, Kouji, don't kiss Kako!

Review or Flame.