Disclaimer-For the Twenty-fourth time in this story, dammit, I don't own Digimon. Too bad.

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Secret Plots Unfold. Unfolding Secrets Plot

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"Mom, did you ever know anyone named Marise?" Kouichi asked the very next morning as his mother sat down for breakfast. The night before, he had been too afraid to open the note, thinking it was a bad omen.

Now, he didn't know what to think.

Ms. Kimura frowned. "Marise...? No, I don't believe so. Why?" She sent him a look of askance.

Kouichi shrugged. Sighing, he handed his mother her breakfast, then made his way to his room without another word. He supposed it was just that time of life when everything seemed absolutely topsy-turvy. Absolutely confusing is right, Kouichi thought, kicking his Napoleon papers aside.

"KOUICHI! Mom says clean your room or I can take pictures and show everyone at school this Monday," Kouji called out as he poked his head in his older brother's room, oohing and aahing at the sight.

Quietly picking up one of his debate papers, Kouichi crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at his twin as he muttered his little white lie, "Get out. I was going to clean..." Kouichi winced as he stared around at the mess before gazing up and glaring at Kouji.

"Sure...but just in case..." Kouji took something from behind his back.

There was a flash of light and Kouichi yelped, slamming his door shut, "Kouji! You idiot, stay out of my room!" As he heard his twin walk away, bursting into laughter, Kouichi sighed and picked up the crumpled paper by his foot. "Which part of the debate was this?" he mused, scanning through the front side before turning it around, his face paling as he did so. "Oh...this...no way," Kouichi murmured miserably, suddenly feeling as if there was an endless void in the pit of his stomach that threatened to swallow him inside out.

Dropping the page onto the floor, Kouichi got onto his knees and began rummaging under his bed until he pulled out a regular sized notebook. He flipped through it frantically, all the while whispering to himself, "No...please tell me, no..."

Unfortunately, it was true.

Picking up the page he dropped to the floor, Kouichi compared the last entry in his notebook to the first few words of the page. Stupidly enough...

He had written part of his debate on the back of his random emotional outpours. Kouichi shut his eyes, imagining Kako's expression when she finished reading the debate part, then turned to the back of the page and read the entry...It would have to be an expression of pure shock...

...but even worse...

Hate.

There was no wonder why she hated him. With trembling hands, Kouichi picked up all of his debate papers, smoothed them, then sandwiched them between two pages of his notebook. He sighed as he sat on his bed, shoving his notebook underneath then taking out Marise's diary from under his pillow and opening it up. For a while, Kouichi stared stolidly at the letter before taking it out of the pocket. The paper was yellowed, it's edges crumbling away that Kouichi swore he heard a crunch as he unfolded the paper.

As he unfolded the paper, a key fell out of the note and into his lap. Two lines were written in blue pen on the note, saying,

Here is the key, now look through the bandanas.

PS It's not the bandanas.

Reading the note aloud to himself, Kouichi wondered, "What...does that mean? Not the bandanas? What bandanas? And...the key...?" He picked up the key and examined it. The key was silver and small, about a third of the size of Kouichi's house key, perhaps smaller. Quietly, Kouichi placed both the key and the letter back in the small transparent pocket in the front before shutting the book and hiding it under his pillow once more.

Kouichi frowned as he looked around and thought, Floor and bed, clean. Now for the table...and the closet. Standing up, he got back to cleaning. Kouichi headed over to his desk, picking up the music and lyrics and arranging them into a pile before taking the lyrics, folding them neatly and shoving them into his pocket. After arranging a few minor photos and such on his desk, Kouichi drew a breath and headed to the closet.

For a long time, Kouichi stared at his closet, not daring to open it. Once he did, however, he shut his eyes and drew a breath.

There was silence.

Cracking open an eye, Kouichi sighed in relief and murmured, "Thank who knows what that I didn't die." Beaming, he took the very first item out of his closet and carefully placed it under his bed. After all, now he would need it every Thursday. Next, he rearranged all the boxes in his closet, carefully stacking them so they wouldn't fall.

And of course, he then did the least interesting thing to do.

"Where'd all the spiders go?" the boy grumbled in an exasperated voice as he walked around his room with a jar to catch the spiders in. I swear, they were here a week ago! Unlike Kako, Kouichi didn't believe in killing spiders. Unable to find any spiders, Kouichi closed the jar, placed it on his desk, double checked his room to see if he missed any spots, then headed to the kitchen for lunch.

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"Kouji, are you busy after lunch?" Kouichi asked his twin as he picked at his food.

Nodding, Kouji replied apologetically, "I've got extra kendo practice I really need. Why?"

Kouichi shrugged. "I planned to ask Izumi about yesterday."

Raising an eyebrow, Kouji questioned his twin, "What makes you think she'd tell you?"

Again, a shrug. "I'm assuming, I guess."

"Huh...well...be careful! Izumi bites."

"Think Kako'd want to go? After all, she needs to apologize..." Kouichi trailed off with a sigh. "Anyway, I'd better get going."

Kouji nodded and glanced at the clock. "Me too. Damn, I have fifteen minutes. Oh, Kouichi?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me one little thing...?"

Kouichi debated whether or not to accept for a single second before his nice side won out. "What?" he asked, glancing at his brother.

"Take Kako with you. She can tell if Izumi's lying. Plus, I think Izumi'll feel more comfortable that way, too," Kouji murmured, picking up his kendo bag and looking at his brother, then the clock. "And I really need to go now!"

Kouichi chuckled as he watched his brother dash off before he picked up the keys, walked outside, and locked the door.

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Ring the doorbell...

No, don't! She'll...hate you, right?

JUST RING IT!

NOOO! You can't make me! Can you?

I...I'm not sure, actually, Kouichi's mind argued with itself as his finger hovered over the doorbell. Kako would kill him, true, especially if her father was home, but he thought it would be a smart move. And if the case arose, he would lie.

Not that he wanted to, but he would do whatever it took.

Holding his breath, Kouichi pushed on the doorbell, squeezing his eyes shut.

The door creaked open, revealing Kako, whose face was pale and shivering.

"Uh...K-Kako...are you okay?" Kouichi asked, suddenly worried as soon as he saw her.

Kako nodded. "Small case of laryngitis," she whispered, holding onto the door for support.

Kouichi frowned as he murmured, "Oh...okay, I'm sorry...I didn't know. Well, I'll see you Monday-"

"N-no, wait!" Kako tried to shout, stepping forward and grabbing his arm. Squeezing her eyes as she coughed, she tried to control her breathing as she reassured him, "I'm fine...really..."

"Yeah, so fine you can't even stand on your own two feet...who...?" Hideki walked up behind his sister and frowned at Kouichi as he muttered, "Oh...the twerp's brother..."

Shrugging, Kouichi asked, "What happened to Kako?"

"She decided that since she did the Napoleon debate and since I was annoying her to death, she might as well debate me to death," Hideki explained absentmindedly, holding onto his sister's shoulders so she wouldn't tip over and fall. Kako glared at him as he continued, "And then she started crying about one thing or another...and kept yelling...and now she's got a small fever and a minor case of laryngitis. And she can't even stand up straight."

Kako whacked her brother's hands away. "I'm fine!" she insisted quietly, placing a hand on the frame of the doorway for support as soon as she nearly lost her balance. "So what if I don't have any sense of balance...? Um...anyway, Kouichi, why are you here?"

Kouichi blinked before shaking his head. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with me to Izumi's house. She and Takuya got into some sort of fight yesterday, I'm assuming...so yeah. If you can't, that's fine."

"I can!" Kako snapped, whacking her brother again as he grabbed onto her arm just as she was about to fall to the side. "If Hideki would just stop tilting me over!"

"What? Hey, that's not true!" Hideki exclaimed, staring at his sister in disbelief. "Don't blame me!"

"I'm going to get ready!" Kako grumbled, stomping to her room, nearly tripping forward, but catching herself by placing her hand on the wall.

Hideki grinned as he watched her fall down, then pick herself up. "Stupid. So...Kouichi...how's that twerp of a brother of yours?" he asked, suddenly bored.

Kouichi cocked an eyebrow. "Did you seriously just use my name...?"

"So what if I did? You were replaced by that freaking idiotic twin of yours. So...he hasn't been hurting Kako, has he? Nothing that gives me permission to beat him up?"

Kouichi shook his head, suddenly amused. Chuckling, he said, "You never seemed to care so much about Kako before."

Shrugging, Hideki leaned against the wall. "About that...you haven't opened the present she gave you, did you?"

The younger boy shook his head.

"Well, she didn't open yours. I find it funny how that works. It's amusing, really. Fate's one hilarious story."

"Uh...right," Kouichi muttered, slipping his hands into his pockets. "By the way..." he asked suddenly, "What did Kako fail?"

Hideki squinted at Kouichi before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh...her Taekwon-Do test. Yeah, she was pretty bummed out about it. Cried as soon as she came home Thursday. Then she cried after coming home from school yesterday. And then she started screaming and crying some more. And then she got laryngitis. And I celebrated."

Twitching, Kouichi muttered, "Even I'm not that mean to Kouji..."

"Hey!" Hideki snapped in defense, "She's mean to me."

"Whatever! Same thing."

"I still don't see why she's dating that twerp!"

Kouichi shrugged and looked at his shoes thoughtfully, murmuring, "Maybe...they want to. Kind of like you...and...how many girls have you dated now?"

Laughing uneasily, Hideki shrugged. "A bunch?"

"May Kouji never be like you."

"What about you?"

"...well, someone attempted to blackmail me into dating her...it didn't work very well...it lasted about three minutes," Kouichi replied smoothly.

Hideki grumbled, "I thought you and Kako would go out for sure..."

"People change," murmured Kouichi with a shrug. Louder, he asked, "How was she during her birthday?"

Hideki winced and looked around before he pushed off the wall and muttered in a low voice, "A total demon. Much like yesterday, only more crying. I guess I tend to provoke her a lot, but hey, what are older brothers for?"

Kouichi held back a laugh as Kako came out, putting on a scarf while staring at her brother suspiciously. "What lies were you spreading?" growled the girl, looking from her Hideki to Kouichi. "They're lies!"

Suppressing a laugh, Kouichi nodded to Hideki, a hint of amusement twinkling in his eyes. Then, looking at Kako, he just smiled. "No, he didn't say anything about you sucking your thumb until you were five or ever sleeping by a pink bunny named Yukito that wore a frilly dress. And he didn't say anything about you wanting it to be a unicorn, either."

Kako's eyes widened as Hideki began clapping and laughing, clutching his stomach as he doubled over. "Y-you! If I could yell..."

"Hey, Kako!" Hideki snickered between fits of laughter, "You're sounding better already!"

Turning around and kicking her brother's shin before walking up to Kouichi, Kako muttered, "Now I know what Rai meant when she said you're an idiot."

Howling as he grabbed his foot, Hideki began to bounce around. "H-hey!"

It was Kouichi's turn to laugh as Kako stuck her tongue out at her brother before marching away. "Some sister you have, Hideki," he murmured with a smile, waving before running after Kako.

Hideki just chuckled as he let his foot fall to the floor. He watched Kouichi pull Kako's hood over her head, leaning against the doorframe comfortably. "And if only I had time to tell you, you would know what the future has in store for you, Kimura."

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"So...Hideki didn't tell you that? How'd you know?" Kako asked softly, adjusting her scarf. A shiver made its way down her spine as she unconsciously edged towards Kouichi for warmth.

Kouichi smiled smugly as he looked at her and replied, "Secret source." After a pause, he turned her towards him and pressed a hand against her forehead. "Well, you're still burning, but your voice..."

"I ate a peppermint and drank some tea with honey. Takes a while, but it's effective," she whispered back. "So...you're going to sing during the Valentine's day dance?"

After a second of pondering, Kouichi shook his head. "Nope. Kouji is," he lied smoothly, removing his hand.

"Oh..." murmured Kako as they began to walk again.

"And he asked me to pick two songs...but they're all pretty good...so...wanna help me?"

Kako turned to Kouichi and nodded. "Sure."

Beaming, Kouichi pulled the folded papers out of his pocket. "He was pretty stupid about it, too. Didn't even know he gave me one of these. Alright...so...this one, In The Blue, or Innocent?"

Taking the lyrics into her own hands, Kako's eyes widened. Shaking her head and scanning them again, she looked up at Kouichi with a frown as she mumbled, "But they're all good! I think...though...he should start off by singing Innocent. Then, In The Blue, and finally...this last one. Does it have a title?" Kouichi shook his head. Fingering the paper, Kako smiled and whispered, "Oreta Tsubasa de. That. He should sing that last."

Kouichi nodded gratefully and took back the papers. "Great! I'll tell him that. And now I need to ask you something else..."

"What?"

"Kanaye. He..." Kouichi shut his mouth as he fingered the paper Kanaye had given him the day before. "Um...he mentioned something to me about forgetting to give you some...chores...?"

The color drained from Kako's face as she looked up at Kouichi. "D-did he give you anything?"

"No...but...I'd appreciate an explanation."

Kako drew a deep breath before letting out a sigh. "Kanaye...well, he took the test with me. He came here over the summer, like I did, same belt and everything. His uncle runs our Taekwon-Do dojo and...and so, well..."

"Calm down..." Kouichi murmured, frowning. "Just...start from Kanaye...?"

"Okay...well, Kanaye's well known for his luck in betting, as it turns out. That's how he gets everywhere, pretty much. So...we made a bet..."

"And...?"

"Well, I bet that I would pass, and he wouldn't. Because, well, for some reason, his uncle decided that only one of the two testing red belts could move onto black stripe. The other would have to retest. So I bet..." At this point, Kako burst into tears, burying her face into Kouichi's arm. "And I lost..."

Kouichi's eyes betrayed his surprise, but he kept his calm as he pried Kako off his jacket, forcing a smile. "Listen...I'm sure you'll get through this. Whatever it is. What do you have to do now, because you lost?"

"I...have to do whatever he orders me to do for a month. No questions. So if he ordered me to steal something, I'd have to. If he ordered me to kill someone, I'd have to. And I don't want to!" she cried, wiping her eyes. "I let everyone down. They all hate him...and I..."

Biting his lip, Kouichi held out his hand. "Come on. Crying'll only make your throat worse. Besides...I have a bad feeling Izumi and Takuya's situation is just as bad."

Kako nodded and placed her hand in his, wiping her eyes with another hand. "I really wish I were a thief now..."

Her companion chuckled as he looked at her, "Why?"

"Then I wouldn't be stuck in this stupid town! I want...I want to see my mom again..."

"You sound a lot like Jing, only more whiney."

"Hey!"

"Come on, we're here..."

Kako froze as she stared up at Izumi's house. "I don't want to go..."

"Well, you're going to have to. Come on," Kouichi ordered, dragging her by the hand and ringing the doorbell.

Silence dawned over them for several seconds before footsteps were heard and the door opened. Izumi stood before them, red-eyed and confused.

"Izumi, are you okay?" Kouichi asked gently, frowning as he scrutinized her. "You look...like..."

Kako suppressed a giggle as she guessed, "You fell out of bed, right?"

Izumi nodded and Kouichi raised an eyebrow. "Literally?" he asked, surprised when she nodded again.

Noting Kouichi's confused look, Izumi explained, "I sleep late on Saturdays."

"Mind if we come in?"

"Sure...and Kouichi, are you and Kako..." Izumi stared at the two as they reddened and edged away from each other. "Okay, so I guess not..."

"ANYWAY," Kako said loudly before clutching her throat. Softer, she muttered, "I mean, anyway..."

Seeing as how no one was getting to the point, Kouichi walked in and dragged Kako along. "Well, I want to know what happened between you and Takuya yesterday."

"THAT IS SO STRAIGHTFORWARD! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GO AROUND THE MATTER!" Kako screamed, whacking Kouichi's shoulder.

Ow, Kouichi thought, wincing as he rubbed his shoulder. "What would the point be, then?"

"It's not as...impolite!"

Sighing, Izumi rubbed her head and waved a hand at the couch. "Sit down...I'll go change. Call for Yuna if you want anything to eat or drink."

Her two guests nodded and sat down on opposite ends of the couch, Kako looking away from Kouichi and glaring while the boy merely shut his eyes and folded his arms.

Quietly, Kako turned her head, catching a small glimpse of Kouichi. Biting her lip, she crawled towards him, listening to his breathing. "K-" she stopped herself before she said his name, a hand flying to her mouth just in case. Dropping her hand, she leaned towards him some more, only a few inches lay between them...

"Kako, what are you doing?"

Kako yelped and fell off the couch, rolling under the table. "Dammit, Izumi! You're really lucky the table's high enough."

Kouichi's eyes flew open and he gazed down at Kako. "What happened?" he asked, looking up at Izumi.

Izumi grinned. "Oh...nothing. Nothing at all."

Glaring at her cousin, Kako stood up, brushed herself off and sat down, even further away from Kouichi. "So...mind telling us?"

"Uh...right, but first...I need my breakfast!"

"It's well past lunch," Kouichi informed her.

"Well, lunch, then. I've been thinking a lot...and sleep seems so essential nowadays..."

Kako took off her scarf and rubbed her throat. "Hey, Izumi," she murmured, "Do you have any peppermints? And...could I have honey with tea?"

Izumi nodded and walked into the kitchen. Kouichi turned to Kako, an amused smile on his face. "So, what did you do that ended up with you rolled under the table? I missed it all, unfortunately."

A good thing you did, too, Kako thought, reddening. "Umm...I was looking up at the ceiling," she lied. "Er...it was...well...okay, so I've never been to Izumi's house in a long time and it's bigger than I remember!" Kako finally confessed, glaring at Kouichi.

"Oh. Okay," Kouichi said indifferently, looking around. Under his breath, he muttered, "Definitely larger than Kouji's house."

"What?"

"Nothing..."

Silence befell them for a few more seconds, and Kouichi shut his eyes again, his lips moving as if he were conversing with someone. Kako tilted her head to the side as she examined him before throwing her scarf in his direction.

Kouichi opened his eyes, feeling the cloth brush against his hand. Looking up at Kako, he shook his head as he guessed, "Don't tell me...you threw the scarf?"

"I was bored," came the casual reply.

"Okay! Peppermints and tea for all of us!" Izumi called out cheerfully as she placed the tray she was holding on the table and sat down on the couch opposite of her friends. "So...why'd you come, again?"

"I knew you were half asleep," Kako muttered, snatching her tea cup and bringing it up to her face. "Oooh...warm..."

Her cousin shot her a glare. "Hush, I'm still angry with you. So," she said sweetly as she turned to Kouichi, "what was this about?"

"You and Takuya, yesterday," Kouichi replied, picking up a peppermint and unwrapping it.

Izumi's face fell as she gazed into her tea. "I...well...it started with the debate in the morning. Takuya had to debate Kanaye...and...so, for some reason, I was talking to Takuya, and Kanaye...he...he..."

"He made a bet," Kako whispered softly, "That's what happened, right?"

Through tears, Izumi nodded. "Yeah...but before that, he asked me to the dance."

Both Kako and Kouichi's jaws dropped as they yelled, "WHAT?"

"And Takuya said no, and then they made a bet! Whoever won would take me to the dance, and Takuya didn't want to accept, but...but...but Kanaye...and..."

As Izumi withheld tears, Kako placed down her tea. "Well...I guess we're in the same boat. Hah...so what else was part of the deal?"

"And...Takuya's his servant for a month. And he has to 'ditch all his friends and his girlfriend.' That..."

"Bastard, yeah..." Kako muttered, popping a peppermint in her mouth. "Wish I could beat him up without getting in trouble."

Kouichi fingered the paper Kanaye had given him earlier. "So...that's his game, is it?"

"Kouichi, don't even try getting into a bet with him! He'll think up something horrible for you, like...like...um...I don't know! I don't have a stupid m-oh..." Kako muttered. "I know what he'd do to you! He'd have you torture Kouji! Not that you wouldn't mind, but-"

"Don't be stupid! Of course he'd mind!" Izumi snapped.

Sticking out her tongue, Kako countered, "Says you!"

"And my army!"

"Well I don't see any army! Do you, Kouichi?"

Kouichi sighed and closed his eyes. "Kanaye...bets...there's got to be some bet I can win...I bet..." He clenched his hands into fists, squeezing his eyes shut. "Of course," he murmured, opening his eyes. "It's the only way. I have to go, now," he murmured, getting up. "Kako, I'll walk you home, unless you two cousins plan on arguing more...?"

Kako shook her head. "No...I'll stay with Izumi. I-"

"No, go," Izumi interrupted, standing up. "I have piano lessons, homework, then violin lessons. Mom's not letting me off that easy."

"Okay," Kako murmured. "Thanks for the peppermints, though..."

"YOU ATE THEM ALL?" Izumi shrieked.

"No, I stuffed them in my pocket. I was running out."

Rolling her eyes, Izumi muttered, "Typical. Kouichi, whatever you're planning...be careful."

Kouichi nodded. "Okay. Later, Izumi."

Kako gave Izumi a quick hug, murmuring something in her ear before dashing out the door with Kouichi. She could only hope that things wouldn't get any worse.

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A/N-

Okay! Answered some cliffhangers, but made some more. Kouichi, you're totally brilliant! And right now, I wanna be Kako...she gets mint.

Well, I'm off to go to Southern California for a Marching Band trip. And since Friday's going to be a busy day for me, and I won't be here Saturday or Sunday, I'm leaving you here with these two chapters. Now do me a favor...?

Just a small one, okay? Pick a new story you want me to put up:
-Depressed Kouichi
-Power-hungry possessed Izzy
-Cursed Kouji
-Takumi (TakuyaxIzumi)

Of course, those aren't the titles, because that would be...interesting, but those are just two to four word explanations. So please pick, and when I come back on Monday, I'll be ahead in homework and fanfics, I swear!

Thank you, everyone who reviewed. I will thank you formally next chapter, unfortunately I'm in a hurry.

Review or Flame.