Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon, nope. I don't even own this computer.

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Seeking Comfort

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Kouichi sighed as he leaned against the wall, papers in one hand, pencil in another. "Okay, so…I could use that one…but that one isn't all that important," he murmured, circling the paragraphs.

"K-Kouichi?"

Looking up, Kouichi found Izumi in front of him, trembling. Frowning, he asked, "Anything wrong? You look kind of…pale."

Izumi wiped her eyes and sat beside him. "I'm sorry about how Kako's been acting. She's a total loser, and I hate it. And I-"

"Don't apologize. It isn't any of your faults," Kouichi murmured, circling a paragraph every so often. "It's just…a stage, I guess. We're just…moving on?"

"Well it isn't right!" Izumi said fiercely. "It's completely childish and you know it!"

Kouichi let out a hollow laugh as he told her, "I've lost sight of the border between immaturity and maturity. I can't stay in one section for too long before switching to the other and switching back."

There was a bitter tone in his voice that made Izumi want to break down and cry. She very nearly did, and would have, had Kouichi not said what he said next. "But, you know, I've been thinking…if I had the spirits of Darkness, shouldn't I be able to master it? Even Patamon said that Darkness could be good or bad, it just depended on the person. So if I keep fighting those voices…" he murmured, trailing off and looking at Izumi. "You think it would work?"

Brushing the tears out of her eyes, Izumi smiled and nodded. "I think it would work out just fine."

Kouichi broke into a small smile. "Then I guess I better start. Can't stay like this forever, can I?"

"If you do, I'll make sure Takuya and Junpei make your life miserable," Izumi swore.

Frowning, Kouichi asked, "What about Kouji?"

Something sparked in Izumi's eyes that made Kouichi suspect something. "What about Kouji?"

"Izumi…"

"It's his fault, too! I can't stand either of them! They're both hurting you, and you just let them! Stop it, Kouichi, you can't just let them do this to you. You're letting them treat you like a rug."

Kouichi shrugged. "So…I'll be a rug."

"Kouichi!"

"What? If it'll make them happy, that's what I'll be!"

"You're stupid! Stupider than they are! If you don't stop them, I swear, Kouichi, I will!" Izumi warned him, rising to her feet and walking off.

Kouichi watched her leave with a smile on his face. "And Takuya is very lucky to have you," he whispered. "Very, very lucky."

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"I can't believe this! I have to play the piano? And Ai gets to play the flute! It's ridiculous! What are you playing, Naoko?" Kako asked as they walked into the music room.

Naoko sighed. She's jealous…why doesn't she just admit it? "Clarinet. You know, if you don't stop complaining, people are going to start assuming…"

"Assuming what?" Kako asked, completely clueless about what her friend was talking about.

Naoko brought out her clarinet. "That you like him."

"Who?" Kako asked, taking a seat by Naoko.

"Kouichi."

"I don't," snapped Kako. "That's stupid!"

"I wonder…it just doesn't seem right that you two went from really close to…hating each other in less than half a year. If you ask me, it's Kouji's fault. I think you and Kouichi would have looked really cute together," Naoko commented, examining her clarinet. "I swear, I saw a dent…"

Kako winced and walked over to her cousin, who sat in front of the piano, fuming. "Izumi…why do people assume?" the younger girl groaned, sitting beside her cousin.

Izumi stood up and shot Kako a cold glare. "Ask yourself that question again. You have no right to assume anything about Kouichi right now! I'm disgusted about the very fact that you're my cousin!" she snapped.

Something seemed to click in Kako's brain as the words came out of Izumi's mouth. Biting her lip, she stood up and walked out of the room, mumbling an excuse about a headache to Mrs. Nakamura. It was in the quiet hallways that she wondered what she really thought of Kouichi.

"Damn, I'm late," she heard a voice mutter.

Looking up, Kako found Kouichi by his locker, flute case in hand. Her eyes widened as he turned her way, stopping and even taking a step back as he saw her. "Uh…K-Kouichi…" murmured Kako, rooted to the spot. "You're…late…"

He looked to his side awkwardly as he mumbled in return, "Uh…yeah…I guess I got caught up in…never mind. What's up?"

"I got a headache…"

Kouichi looked at her, concerned as he told her, "Really? You should drink some tea, you know, it sh-I mean, um…uh…never mind."

As she opened her mouth, Kako found it impossible to say anything. Instead, she walked up to Kouichi and murmured, "I'm sorry…about before…it's just that all your ideas were great, and umm…it was hard to narrow it down. I didn't want to."

Quietly, Kouichi met her eyes and nodded. "Here, I have the papers. You should study them when you get the chance so you won't be unprepared," he said curtly as he handed her the papers and walked to the music room.

Kako stared at the papers in her hand and sighed. Headache…nurse's office…Napoleon debate papers. They connect well enough. I'll just study these to take my mind off of things, I guess, she thought, heading straight to the nurse's office and not noticing that Kouichi had his eyes on her the entire time.

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Before he entered the music room, Kouichi knew several things would happen. One, Ai and Kouji would be talking about the dance theme and ask him to do something. Two, Izumi would be glaring at him. Three, Takuya would be giving him a disappointed look, and lastly, Mrs. Nakamura would tell him not to be late again and he'd have to make up an excuse. But of course he wouldn't make up an excuse and Mrs. Nakamura would know right away that he had been doing something else, so there was no point in lying.

"Kouichi…you're late," Mrs. Nakamura stated, raising an eyebrow. "You were doing something else, weren't you?"

With a sigh, Kouichi nodded. I guess I am pretty easy to read, he thought, taking his seat beside Ai. "I didn't miss anything important, did I?" he asked her, not taking his eyes off Mrs. Nakamura as she began to talk.

Ai let out a small laugh. "Depends on what you consider important."

"In class," he growled, turning to her, eyes flickering with an unknown fire. "Really, you're pretty pathetic. Are dances all you think about?" Kouichi barely resisted the urge to cough.

Smirking, Ai murmured, "Which reminds me…"

Kouji suddenly stood up as soon as everyone began to take out their instruments to practice and looked at his twin, "Kouichi! I need to talk to you and I have permission to do so, so just hurry up and get over here!"

Rolling his eyes, Kouichi stood up and walked over to his brother. "What?"

"I need you to sing at the beginning of the dance. Please? It's our birthday! And I won't even ask for a birthday gift!" pleaded the younger twin desperately.

Twitching, Kouichi asked through gritted teeth, "Why can't you sing?"

"Because you have a better voice?"

"Because you don't try, you mean. I'm not singing on stage, forget it!"

Kouji grabbed his brother's arm just as Kouichi was about to walk away. "Would you really disappoint your dear little brother and…certain others?" he asked with a grin.

Kouichi yanked his arm away and shrugged. "I said I wouldn't sing on stage, idiot. Whoever said anything about you lip syncing while I sang backstage?"

The younger twin grinned up at Kouichi as he told him, "You are the freaking awesomest person I know! Well, that means you'll be attending the entire dance! Thanks, bro!"

Grumbling, Kouichi muttered under his breath, "And you're the stupidest idiot I know. There is no such word as 'awesomest.'"

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"Wow…Napoleon was pretty tricky, then," Kako murmured, flipping to the next page. "Kouichi must've studied him in depth to get all this information. I mean…how many sources did he look through?"

Sighing, Kako placed the papers down beside her and looked up at the blank ceiling. "Why did I just blow up at him like that…? I miss…everything…" Kako moaned, picking up the papers again. She flipped through them again until she came across a page that had nothing to do with the Napoleon debate. "What the…? Kouichi…this-oh…"

Kako let out a small whimper as she quickly scanned the page. Shivering, she whispered to herself, "He never said. Was that why…? Kouji…oh, gods, this is so messed up."

"Now…why are you here?"

Looking up with wide eyes, Kako stuffed the papers behind her back and saw Ms. Kawai in front of her. "Rai! I…uhh…"

Rai smiled and reached for the papers, taking them in her hand and reading them as she murmured, "You don't have to hide them. I know what they say anyway…"

The girl looked down at her hands guiltily. "He hates me…" she said softly, "doesn't he?"

For a second, all was quiet. Then, Rai sat beside Kako and placed her hand on the young girl's own and asked, "Do you feel his pain?"

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kako nodded, trying to ignore the tears that appeared in the corner of her eyes. "I…can't take it anymore…"

"Good…" Removing her hand, Rai wiped Kako's eyes with a handkerchief that she retrieved from her pocket. "You shouldn't cry, Kako. You know what will happen in time. I wouldn't worry too much."

"But Kouichi…and…what about Hideki…?"

"Did he tell you his latest dream?"

Kako shook her head and looked up at Rai expectantly. There was a smile on the older woman's face as she closed her eyes. "Rai…? What was it about?"

Laughing softly, Rai stood up and opened her eyes, brushing back her short hair. "Kako, he'll tell you when he needs to. I suggest you go to class now. There's only an hour left," she told Kako, handing her back the papers.

Nodding, Kako stood up and followed Ms. Kawai out into the hall, all the while staring at the papers in her hand. "So…then…why did Kouichi write this if he doesn't hate me?"

"It wasn't aimed at you, Kako. Read it again," was all her teacher told her before walking off.

As she walked into the music room, the meaning of the words suddenly hit her. Kako nearly dropped the pages as she opened the door. Gasping, she shuffled the papers, handed them to Kouichi and quickly walked over to her cousin, who shot her a cold look.

Kouichi looked at the papers, twisting them around as if to discover why Kako was so pale. He sent Izumi a questioning look, but seeing that he was receiving no answer, instead tried to go talk to Kako. Just as he was a few feet away from her, Kouji moved in and began talking to both cousins, leaving Kouichi doubly confused. I guess, the boy thought, staring at the papers, I'll just…figure it out later…?

Then again…girls were one of the many mysteries he could never figure out.

Maybe he'd ask Kouji.

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"Yeah! Debate tomorrow, baby!" Takuya shouted as he exited the music room, laughing loudly.

Izumi walked beside him, glaring coldly at the floor in front of her and ignoring Kako, who lagged behind, sighing every few seconds. Behind her were the twins, in yet another argument.

"I said not on the stage!" Kouichi snapped, irked at his twin as usual. By the end of their music period, he felt much better, especially considering he was in an argument with Kouji.

Kouji stuck his tongue out as he said dismissively, "on stage, backstage, same thing."

"NO IT ISN'T! I REFUSE TO EVER SING ON STAGE!"

Kako stood up straight and looked up behind her, staring at Kouichi blankly. Kouichi met her blank gaze with a confused one of his own before he turned red and covered his mouth. After what he said had sunk in, Kako snapped out of her daze and ran back to Kouji. "What singing?" she exclaimed. Turning to Kouji, she snapped, "You never said anything about singing!"

"Yeah I did! I said there'd be the three-part plan! First the masquerade, then the Kouichi singing part, then the dance!" countered Kouji, glaring back at her.

"You liar!"

"I'm not lying!"

"STOP LYING!"

"I'M NOT!"

"YES YOU ARE! BY LYING ABOUT LYING, YOU HAVE THEREFORE LIED! NOW SHUT UP AND…what?" Kako asked, matching each of the groans and shaking of heads with a confused look. "It's true!"

Takuya sighed and looked at Izumi. "True…but can we just get a move on it? It took us fifteen minutes to get to the front of school…" Under his breath, he muttered, "And I bet it'll take two billion more just to get home."

But to his amazement, Izumi said nothing in her cousin's defense. Frowning, Takuya opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but was interrupted by Junpei who asked, "So Kouji, you're organizing the dance, right?"

Kouji nodded proudly in affirmation.

"What's the theme?"

"Masquerade! We all agreed that would be 'romantic' enough. Ai was shooting for romantic, I just wanted the mini-concert."

Junpei grumbled, "Great…suits, suits, and more suits."

"Shut up," Izumi muttered. "A masquerade is perfect…"

A smile formed on her lips and Kouji shivered as he thought, She's up to something…and that's gonna ruin my plans.

Chuckling, Takuya wrapped his hands around Izumi. "You gonna go?"

"Yes. And so are the rest of you," Izumi replied smoothly.

"I'm not!" Kako cheered, jumping up.

Kouichi rolled his eyes. "Make me."

Izumi shot a glare in their direction. "I will."

Eyes widening, Kouichi edged behind Kouji. "She's not going to really make me go, is she?" he whispered to his brother.

Swallowing, Kouji replied, "You'd have to go anyway. I'm making you sing backstage, remember?"

"But I'm only going for the singing, then…"

"No, we'd need you to sing some other time, too…"

"Stop talking behind my back! You're all going whether you like it or not! Except Tomoki," she snapped as Tomoki came running over. "But that's because he's younger. And if you don't go, you can just say good bye."

Takuya sighed in exasperation and let go of Izumi. "Sheesh, Ms. Violent, calm down…this is worse than the time that you and Kako tried to get Kouichi to go trick-or-treating…"

"I did go…as the chaperone," Kouichi muttered.

"You should've gone as me! Then I could've gone as you!" Kouji whined.

Kouichi glared at his twin. "That's just stupid. 'Oh, yeah, I'm my twin, and my twin is me!'" he said in falsetto.

"Ew, Kouichi just spoke in falsetto," muttered Kouji, pinching his nose shut.

As they all turned the corner, Kouichi stopped and gazed at the door of the bookstore as he continued, "Shaddup…" Three seconds later, what he was supposed to do hit him. "Oh…I almost forgot, I have to ditch you guys here," said Kouichi hastily, looking around before dashing into the bookstore and calling back, "I'll catch you guys later!"

"What's he up to?" Junpei asked, raising an eyebrow and looking in Kouji's direction.

Kouji shrugged. And I was just feeling like everything was back in place, too, he thought, disappointed. "Oh well…who wants to come over?" he yelled.

A chorus of 'I do!'s answered his question, and soon everyone was on their way to Kouichi's house.

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Kouichi looked around nervously as soon as he entered the bookstore. As soon as he found Mr. Saito in the back, he sighed in relief and walked up to the clerk. "Ah…about those lessons…?"

Mr. Saito blinked a few times before breaking into a smile and murmuring, "Yes…of course, how could I forget? You'll have to forgive me, Kouichi, I appear to be blanking out quite often. Now, meet me in the back room and we'll begin as soon as I close up."

Nodding in thanks, Kouichi rushed to the back, a wave of relief and safety washing over him.

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A/N-

Kouichi! Stop doing illegal things! XP Just kidding. Kouichi definitely is maturing a lot in character. Same with Kouji, even though he seems to be taking a few steps back every now and then….:frowns:. Huh.

I'm gonna start a new story soon! It'll be staring Kouji, and I believe he'll be the only OOC one. Though…it's out of habit that I make them all OOC…haha…a bad habit. But I figured out the beginning, and I find it quite amusing. I hope you will, too. I'll post it up maybe…Thursday or Friday. We shall see. For now, however, I think that this chapter title is…crappy. Oh well. I will update soon, I promise.

Does anyone know why I have zero hits on all my stories...? XP

Review or Flame.