Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon, thank you very much. It's better that way.

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One Debate After Another

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I should…talk to Kouji, Kako thought as she placed down the controller. So far, her hour that should have been dedicated to chocobo racing had been filled with thoughts of her conversation with Rai and Hideki.

Almost immediately after Rai had left, Hideki had gone out to, saying he would be back in time for dinner when Kako had questioned where he was going.

Finally, deciding she was thinking too hard, she decided to go for a walk. And who knows, a voice in her head remarked sarcastically, you might just pass by Kouichi's house and happen to meet Kouji.

Shut up.

I REFUSE, YOU IDIOT!

Hey, I'm doing this for a reason! This is the only way-

Oh shut it. Even you know you're wrong!

Kako let out an angry growl and slammed the door shut, locking it quickly before making her way out. It was warmer than she had imagined it would be, despite the gray skies and light rain. Pulling her jacket tighter around her, Kako crossed the street and stopped to look at the sky.

A small ray of light peeked through in a few places, creating a glare that hurt her eyes. Shutting her eyes, Kako let out a sigh. One debate over. I lose. I guess I'll go see Kouji after all, she thought glumly, heading straight to Kouichi's house.

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SHE DIES? Kouichi nearly slammed down the controller angrily. "That's not fair!" he growled, his eyes burning with rage as the boss battle came. In a matter of minutes, he quickly defeated the boss and watched the scene take place, feeling something empty inside of him, something that needed to be filled.

"Kouichi, you said I was bad when playing videogames, but you're just ridiculous!" Kouji snapped as he slung on his bag and made his way to the door. "Not even I'm that loud when playing videogames. And I especially don't talk."

Kouichi ignored his brother as he slammed the door and raced to kendo practice. He's going to be a minute late today, the older twin thought, glancing at the clock. "Whatever. I still can't believe they made her die. I mean, why not make someone useless die? Like Cait Sith!" He fell silent and sighed as the game prompted him to save. After doing so, he turned off the PS2 and sat on the couch, closing his eyes.

Kouichi…come to us…

His eyes opened wide. The room was quiet, and slowly darkening in his eyes. Glancing around nervously, the boy withdrew slowly. "Wh-who's there?"

Come…to us…

Wincing, Kouichi drew his feet up on the couch, now hugging his knees. Please…not this again, he begged silently, squeezing his eyes shut much as a child would do.

The voices only seemed to grow louder and more menacing, eventually threatening to drag him into the shadows by force. In his mind, Kouichi screamed back at the shadows, claiming he wasn't part of them, claiming he didn't have anything to do with them. He tried not to scream out loud, but as they nearly drew him in, the doorbell rang, reversing everything back to its normal, quiet state.

Kouichi jumped to his feet as the doorbell rang again, nearly yelping. Rubbing his head, he opened the door and found Kako there, blinking at him. "Oh…umm…hi, Kako," he murmured, sounding a bit tired to himself. "What are you doing here?" Might as well make a conversation.

Kako blushed, realizing Kouichi was talking to her. "Oh! Uhm…Kouji…is he here?" she asked quickly, looking around nervously.

He shook his head. "No, he left for kendo practice about ten minutes ago. He was a minute late to practice."

"Oh, how can you tell?"

Shrugging, Kouichi replied, "I dunno. I guess I just can."

Kako laughed, "But what if he ran there?"

"He did."

Taken aback, Kako nearly stepped off the steps, barely catching herself without Kouichi's help. Blushing as he caught her hand and helped her back up, she shook her head. "So…I'll come back later, I guess…"

"W-wait!" Kouichi blurted just as she turned around to leave.

Kako turned back around to face him, a questioning look on her face. "Yeah?"

Turning red, Kouichi stuttered for a while before asking, "W-would you like to stay and wait? We might as well work on the debate and all…and umm, yeah…"

Breaking into a smile, Kako nodded. "Sure, why not?" …I can't believe it…he's so stupid. He should be screaming his head off at me, not being nice! Nevertheless, Kako walked in.

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"I DON'T GET IT! HOW WILL THAT HELP US WIN?" Kako screeched, standing up and slamming her hands on the table.

Kouichi rolled his eyes. "Can you not break my table?" Still glaring at him, Kako sat down. "Thank you, now, the reason pointing out examples of why he didn't uphold liberty, equality and fraternity will help us win because Napoleon only-"

Kako interrupted him, "I don't care. No one's going to understand your argument! He did uphold the ideals! And-"

"And he did it by accident! They were results of him getting what he wanted! Don't you watch A&E? He even knew he had an ego!"

"But you apparently don't know of yours!"

"I know I have an ego, but so do you."

"Yeah? Well Kouji's got a bigger ego!"

Kouichi rolled his eyes. I always wondered how she won her arguments, he thought as he heard the front door slam shut. It's because they're so stupid, you can't argue against them.

"AND IF YOU'RE THINKING MY ARGUMENTS ARE STUPID-"

"Which they are," he cut in calmly.

"THEN YOU'RE JUST PLAIN WRONG!"

Standing up, he pushed his room door open and stared at his younger brother. "Kouji. Help. Insane. Kako."

Kouji twitched before storming into Kouichi's room and glaring at Kako. "Out."

"Huh?" Kako stared at him clueless of what was going on.

"OUT. I need to talk to Kouichi."

"HUH. FINE!" Kako snapped, storming out and plopping down on the couch.

Kouichi shook his head, exasperated. What children, he thought, heading over to his room as Kouji beckoned him. "What is it, Kouji?" he asked, shutting the door and leaning against it.

"Why is she here?" Kouji demanded.

"She was looking for you, and then we decided to wait for you so I could work on the debate with her."

"You're as bad as Napoleon."

"Why, thank you. I don't know what to say," replied the older twin sarcastically. "And I'm assuming you're Robespierre, starting something you can't finish?"

Kouji twitched. "What?"

"Never mind. Why are you so annoyed, anyway?"

"NO REASON!"

Kouichi nearly banged his head against the door in surprise. Did he…just…yell at me? ANGRILY? Well, that's a new side of Kouji. I thought I was bad.

"You lied to me," Kouji muttered quietly.

The older twin frowned. "What?"

Kouji glared at his brother and snapped, "You said that you would tell me when something was wrong! You lied to me!"

Kouichi stared in amazement as Kouji stormed out of his room and out of the house. Biting his lower lip, he walked into the living room where Kako sat, the FF7 strategy guide in her hands. "Do you know what's wrong with him?" he asked Kako, staring at the open door.

Kako shrugged as she informed him, "He did say something about you talking in your sleep or not getting enough sleep. I dunno. But…Kouichi…have you been sleeping lately? Now that I think about it, you do look really tired."

His eyes widened for a mere second before he turned around and shook his head. "I'm fine. So…did he say where he went?"

"Only that he'd be back in time for dinner."

"Great," Kouichi muttered, banging his head against the wall and letting it stay there for a minute before he pushed off and turned to Kako. "I'm…going to go look for him. I guess. Maybe he just had a bad day."

"No."

"What?"

Kako shook her head. "You stay here. Finish FF7 for me, okay?" she asked with a smile. "I'll go get him."

Kouichi frowned. "But…"

"You're only up to the second disc so far. That's nothing! Go finish it. You'll like it, I know you will," she told him before dashing out the door.

Feeling alone, Kouichi shivered and looked at the T.V. The only thing that would keep him safe now would be his one single videogame. Everything else didn't matter anymore.

Nothing.

Nothing but…

Maybe, just maybe, he could find something more.

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"Idiot…how could he…that stupid…damn him!" Kouji swore, heading straight to the arcade. As a single tear slid out of his eyes, which burned with rage, he opened the door, his voice cracking as he murmured miserably to himself, "Why didn't he just tell me…?"

It had been a few minutes after his kendo practice that Kouji's phone rang. Of course, he had been certain it would be Kako, Kouichi or Takuya. Instead, it was someone completely different. But he knew the voice.

'Things aren't going as you planned, Kouji. Darkness may consume those you love again,' was all they said. It sounded remarkably like Ophanimon, but now, Kouji wasn't sure what to think.

But it had to be. Only Ophanimon talked like that, right? And obviously, they were talking about Kouichi.

It all makes sense…his not sleeping at night…his getting sick…everything. And it's all my fault, Kouji thought, leaning against the glass wall of the arcade.

"Hey, kid, get off the glass!" an employee yelled, startling Kouji.

Kouji almost fell down in surprise, but caught himself in time. With a sigh, he headed outside, deciding games wouldn't do him any good at the moment. "Why am I doing this? I thought it would do him some good…" Whimpering, he sank down against the wall of a nearby building.

"Apparently it isn't, is it? What would do who good?" an innocent voice asked.

Turning red, Kouji looked up and found Kako looking down at him, head tilted to the side in askance. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he yelled, jumping to his feet. "I mean…what…are…I give up. You're just another confusing girl. I can't do anything about it, can I?"

"Glad you agree to that fact. So, mind telling me why you blew up at Kouichi and giving me some good reasons why I shouldn't tell Takuya that you broke the bet?" Kako asked, leaning against the wall beside him.

"You're in an awfully good mood," he replied testily, "and Takuya never stated I couldn't get mad. He said I couldn't get worried."

She turned and smiled to him. "But you are worried."

"So?" Kouji glared at her, pouting so childishly that Kako couldn't help but laugh. Even more annoyed than before, Kouji snapped, "It's not funny!"

A while after her laughter subsided, Kako closed her eyes. "Kouichi knows what he's doing. I…I suppose…that's why we worry about him. It's because he seems sure about what he's doing, but…" Drawing in a breath and letting out a shaky breath, Kako continued, "But he does, and we just have to believe in him. After all, what is he without you? You know…?"

Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Kouji turned around and slammed his fist into the wall right next to Kako, scaring her out of her wits. "I'm sorry," Kouji muttered, "but I just can't believe he knows what he's doing. He doesn't, Kako. I just can't."

Trying to get over the scare that had been delivered, Kako took several breaths. "Kouji, that's the only reason he's like this right now…it's my fault, too, but if you doubt him, he'll go into an even worse state! Do you want a brother or not?" she snapped.

Do I want a brother or not…I wonder, Kouji thought. Biting his lip, he looked at Kako and held out his hand. "Come with me. I need to show you something…"

Kako kept her eyes glued onto him as he yanked her hand. They're more alike than I thought. If it weren't for the bet…would I have fallen for Kouji, or Kouichi? Or…would I have not met any of them? As the questions ran through her head, Kako closed her eyes and let Kouji guide her. The days until his birthday would be a torturous wait, but well worth it.

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What is happening? Why is…what is going on? I don't understand…Cloud, but…and Aeris-so then, she's really gone, Kouichi thought, frowning as he continued playing. "Squaresoft really managed to put in a confusing plot. Stupid Sephiroth. What kind of idiot kills people for no reason? Or did he have a reason…?" Sighing, the boy looked at a picture that lay in a frame above the T.V. "My hat…I can only hope it isn't burned," he muttered, lowering his eyes on the T.V. screen.

Letting out a frustrated cry, Kouichi nearly threw the controller against the wall. "Why can't I concentrate?"

A single voice in his head answered, Your mind is preoccupied.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Kouichi shouted, dropped the controller to the floor and resting his head on his knees as he drew them up onto the couch. "Why…are you back…Duskmon?"

You're falling into darkness again. You know this.

"Go away…"

The voice chuckled, How weak. Haven't you learned from me in the past? Even if I am the spirit of corrupt darkness, surely you have learned something.

Kouichi gritted his teeth. "Only that I was a fool for believing Cherubimon."

You seem to keep changing your mind on this matter. Were you Cherubimon's pawn or not, Kouichi? Is that what's bothering you? Or is it something else? Duskmon seemed to be asking Kouichi all the questions he was asking himself.

"I…" Kouichi stared at the T.V., where a mini pixel version of Cloud stood, waiting to be moved. Is this what Cloud reminded me of? Myself? Or is it someone else? "I don't know," he murmured. "I don't know anything anymore. I'm not sure of anything. I used to be so sure…but now…"

But now…? Duskmon prompted.

"But now, I'm losing a debate to one of the things I hate most…" Kouichi muttered, a look of disgust on his face. "It's pathetic."

There was a laugh. Is it really? But Kouichi, I thought you believed in learning from mistakes…

"Learning fr-" Eyes widening, Kouichi looked around, as if trying to discover where the voice was coming from. Standing up, he looked at the door and murmured, "My mistakes…I can't tell them from my accomplishments. Have I become…so…twisted? Maybe I am like Napoleon…maybe Kouji was right. What do you think, Duskmon?"

There was a dead silence, only the eerie music from the videogame sounding. Looking around again, confused, Kouichi sat down on the couch and picked up the controller. "So, Cloud…what's your problem?"

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"Your backyard? You dragged me all the way to your backyard? Wh-hey! Kouji, let go already!" Kako yelled as Kouji continued dragging her. "I can't really go through the fence, you know!"

"Shut up. It's a hologram," Kouji snapped, irritated with Kako's comments. How can anyone stand her…?

"WHAT!" Kako waved her hand through the fence hologram several times before looking at Kouji. "Did you make the program up for it?"

"What do you think?"

With a wide grin, she answered, "I THINK THAT'S SO FREAKING COOL! Where does it lead to, anyway?"

Dropping her hand and walking through the hologram, Kouji murmured, "A grave."

Almost immediately, Kako stiffened and fell silent. "Wh-…whose grave?"

"Tsubasa's."

"Who?"

"My dog."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You had a dog? You don't seem the type…"

Kouji sighed. "He died about a year after the Digiworld incident."

"Oh…I'm…sorry…" Kako murmured awkwardly, lowering her voice considerably.

"I kind of regret never letting him meet Kouichi. Dad always thought I couldn't take care of him myself, so whenever I tried sneaking Tsubasa out to meet Kouichi, he'd come, too. And since either Dad or Mom were always home, Kouichi could never come here to meet him…" Kouji cut himself off with a sigh. "Back then, Kouichi wasn't so overly mature, either. I didn't tick him off as easily. I just…don't know what the hell happened."

"He always described you as someone with a lot of potential, you know?" Kako suddenly murmured. "And he always seemed…sad whenever it got to the topic of your or your dad. I think…he wanted the one with a better life. He hated seeing his mom like she was. I think, though, what he really wanted was a complete family. No regrets, nothing. Just a normal everyday family, with a younger twin brother who he could annoy…"

A bitter laugh escaped Kouji's lips, "I guess we lost track of what we really wanted a while after we got it, huh?"

"No," Kako murmured, shaking her head. "You just want more. But we can't all have what we want, can we?"

"Which reminds me, how old are you, now?" Kouji asked suddenly, glaring at Kako suspiciously.

The girl turned to him, obviously surprised. "Fourteen, why?"

"Y-you…you just turned fourteen?" he asked incredulously. "SO YOU SKIPPED A GRADE?"

Laughing nervously, Kako edged her way out of the house. Oh screw, how did this happen? "Well, yes…? No? I don't know? I really don't, Kouji. Maybe my mom enrolled me early…or maybe I was so stupid, I was smart! Yeah, somethi-why are you looking at me like that?" she squealed, wailing and pointing at Kouji's face.

Kouji twitched before turning around and banging his head against the wall of his house. "Ow…ow…ow…damn, you're too smart."

Kako kicked his shoulder lightly, retorting, "I'm stupid! Shut up! I just got lucky or something! I can't understand a word of math…"

"And you kick hard," Kouji whined.

"You're just weak!"

Rolling his eyes, Kouji muttered, "I was kidding. Sheesh, don't give yourself too much credit."

"Aren't you cheerful."

Kouji fell silent, looking at his shoes thoughtfully. I guess…it works, doesn't it? "Well, it goes with the plan. Makes me look jealous, doesn't it?" he asked Kako with a slight chuckle.

Her eyes widened momentarily before she looked away and nodded. "I…guess it does…"

"What is it?"

"I feel kind of bad. Which reminds me, I need to open the presents he gave me…" Kako turned around so her back faced Kouji, quickly wiping her eyes. I hate feeling guilty…and then Kouichi can make me feel so guilty so easily. Swallowing, she turned to Kouji. "We better go back. I need to work on the debate with Kouichi anyway. Without arguing with him…" she added to herself.

"Right. Um, Kako, if it's not too much, can I ask you something?" Kouji asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and letting out an uneasy chuckle.

She rose an eyebrow and nodded, "Yeah…?"

"W…well, can you…um, stage a kiss before we go in?"

Why the hell is he asking me now when he kissed me in front of Hideki before? Rolling her eyes, Kako shrugged. "Okay. I see no point in you asking, as you kiss me whenever you want, anyway. Even-"

"Okay, thank you!" Kouji said quickly, racing ahead of her.

Kako's jaw fell open. Did he just leave me hanging in mid-sentence? THAT LOSER! "KOUJI GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" she screamed, racing after him.

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"So then…Hojo…was his father? I don't get this," Kouichi muttered, saving quickly as soon as he was prompted to save. "I made it to disc three. At least she'll be a bit happy…right?"

"Kouji! Let go of me!" he heard Kako scream.

Turning his head to the direction of the door, Kouichi frowned. My brother's a pervert, isn't he? Joy to the world, I thought I was a dictator. Instead, my brother's a pervert. "Maybe there's a corrupt gene in the family line…" he muttered thoughtfully, turning off the PS2 and knocking on the door. "Are you two done making a little scene?"

In response, Kouichi heard a thud. Shifting uncomfortably, he opened the door to see a cowering Kouji who was shrinking under the murderous gaze of Kako. Clearing his throat, Kouichi asked, "Are you two going to come in, or are you going to murder Kouji first, Kako?"

"I'M GOING TO MURDER HIM FIRST!" Kako screamed, chasing after Kouji as he bolted inside, heading straight to his room. He somehow managed to lock the door before Kako made it over, and was now yelling for mercy.

"Kouji, just shut up and do your homework. Kako, do you need to go home or do you want to still work on the debate?" Kouichi called out to the two.

Kako turned to him and blushed a little. "Er…sorry about that. I can work on the debate for a while. Thirty minutes maybe."

Kouichi rose an eyebrow, amused. "Are you sure? It's well past eight."

"WHAT?"

Sighing, Kouichi put on his jacket. "Come on. I'll get Kouji to walk you home or something."

"N-no, it's okay, really!" Kako blurted, looking at the clock, worried.

"Then I'll walk you home."

"Kouichi, it's really okay! I s-"

"I don't care. Come on," Kouichi said, paying no heed to Kako no matter how she tried to explain matters to him.

As the two walked towards Kako's house, a deep silence befell them.

"Kouji told me you were sick," Kako whispered, shyly looking over at Kouichi.

Kouichi shrugged. "I guess I still am. It's just not obvious."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know…"

Looking up at the sky, Kako stopped and closed her eyes. "I don't want to go home."

Also stopping, Kouichi glanced at Kako who stood a few feet behind. A blank look adorned his face as he questioned, "Why?"

Kako brushed her hair out of her face and recited, "Let's take the raft and go, just the two of us." Smiling, Kako walked up to him.

Kouichi merely stared, confused. "What?"

"Thank you, Kouichi," she whispered, kissing his cheek before turning around and dashing home.

Blinking, even more baffled, Kouichi watched Kako fade off into the distance. Where is this going…? I can't tell where one line starts and where it ends, anymore. Drawing a deep breath and closing his eyes as he slowly let it out, Kouichi headed back home.

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A/N-

Did this take forever to post? Well…() I don't really know how many people read the last chapter…but I take it that it wasn't that great, as I got only one review.

As you can tell, there are a lot of conflicts. Ain't Kouichi lucky? XP Have I confused you all thoroughly yet? Or must I continue some more before getting to the point?

For some reason, some the italics refuse to work. I don't know why. So, if they don't, next time, I'll add the single quotes around them. I'm sorry I screwed up by the way, on an edit. XP I didn't realize I didn't put in that one quote, so I bsed it for now, and sunday, I'll fix it!

Review or Flame, thanks.