Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon. Just a rotting brain. XP Yeah, I'm thinking I'm that stupid.

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Domino Effect

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"Il vaut mieux que j'aille...jaille...okay, I don't remember," Kako muttered. "Any word of the French language we learned has drained from my head. Um...what was it? Comment dit-on 'It's better that I go home?'"

Kouichi sighed. "Il vaut mieux que j'aille à ma maison, or Il vaut mieux que j'aille chez moi," he murmured.

"Right! Um...what you said...I still can't believe Izumi told me to leave! Well...where are you going?"

"I've...got...uh...practice."

"What practice?" Kako asked curiously.

Kouichi turned red as he stuttered, "J-just practice! It's...nothing!"

Kako raised an eyebrow. "Tell me-er…dites-moi, ou...ou die is morte, right?"

"Yes, it's morte."

"Sweet! Okay, dites-moi ou morte?"

Sighing, Kouichi pulled out the slip of paper Kanaye had given him and glanced at it. The list seemed endless. "Kako," he murmured, crumpling the paper and stuffing it back in his pocket, "I...um...I better go. Do you mind?"

Kako shook her head and closed her eyes as she answered, "Nope. I'm not heading home anyway."

"What? No! Go home!"

"No...I'm bored...d'you mind if I go with you?"

"I...uh..." Kouichi began to stutter, turning a deeper shade of crimson. "S-sure...I mean! Oh...whatever...I was just going to the bookstore, anyway..."

Opening her eyes, Kako giggled. "Okay!"

So much for lessons, Kouichi thought dismally.

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"What are you doing in the bookstore, anyway?" Kako asked, walking in and stopping beside Kouichi. Looking at the front desk, she waved and called out, "Hi, Mr. Saito!"

Mr. Saito nodded to her with a smile before continuing his business. Kouichi stared around quietly before walking deeper into the store. "In the bookstore, there are books. What else?"

Kako frowned and asked, "So...are you going to buy a book?"

Walking towards one of the nearby shelves, Kouichi shook his head. "Nope, but brilliant deduction, Einstein. That would apply to the common shopper."

"What?" Kako ran after him as he passed through the bookshelves. "Eww...pre-calc attack."

"Hmm...maybe I should get...nah...okay, this should be interesting," Kouichi muttered, picking two books off the shelf. "Two books, two bets. And I get money off the very first one."

Kako stared at the books in disbelief as she tried to comprehend Kouichi's manner of thinking. "What? How...? They're just...pre-calc..."

"Precisely. I can bet pretty well myself, you know. Ad I don't plan on telling you what I'm doing, so shush! Don't even ask!" he warned as she opened her mouth.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, TELL ME!" Kako yelled, jumping up and down, yanking on Kouichi's sleeve. "Please? Oh, come on! Do I have to stuff a banana in your mouth or something?"

Raising an eyebrow, Kouichi turned to her. "What's wrong with bananas?"

"They're disgusting."

"True...but they're good for you...unlike chocolate."

"Hey!"

Chuckling, Kouichi headed to the counter to buy the books. "But yes, I'll agree. Chocolate is good for the soul."

Kako cackled. "Of course it is. And you forgot to take half of my Halloween candy."

Kouichi merely smiled to himself as Kako began to laugh triumphantly. Turning to Mr. Saito who stood behind the counter, staring off into space, Kouichi said, "Hey, Mr. Saito. Um...are you okay?"

Mr. Saito looked down at Kouichi. There was a look of surprise in his eyes, which he closed a second later as he nodded. "Well, Kouichi," he murmured with a small sigh. "What can I do for you today?"

"These two. No, they aren't both for me," Kouichi quickly added, noting the twinkle in the bookstore owner's eyes as soon as they opened. "It's for two bets."

"Oh really?" Mr. Saito suddenly frowned. "Be careful..."

Grinning, Kouichi replied, "Considering one's a bet with Kouji, I'll be fine!"

"HUH?" A startled look turned into a glare and Kako whacked Kouichi's shoulder. "Stop it!"

Now confused, Kouichi rubbed his shoulder and whined, "What? He owes me money..."

"B-but! That's so mean!"

Kouichi merely shrugged. "No, it's a pretty nice way to get him to pay up considering it'll only be twenty dollars. Besides, I could do worse..."

"LIKE?"

He frowned and shrugged again, muttering, "I can't think of anything else. Maybe...I don't know."

"Maybe...?"

"Maybe I'd beat him up for it...? That was what I was going to say, but I don't really see how I could or would want to. It just wouldn't...oh, thanks, Mr. Saito," Kouichi sighed thankfully, taking his books.

Mr. Saito nodded. "And yes, tomorrow would be fine."

"What?" It took the boy several seconds before he realized what Mr. Saito had just said. When the words finally took full effect and sunk into his head, he bowed gratefully and murmured, "Right, thank you, sir."

A puzzled look flashed over Kako's face. Poking Kouichi's shoulder, she suddenly exclaimed eagerly, "I wanna know! I wanna, I wanna, please? Oh, come on, Kouichi, please? Bye, Mr. Saito!" As soon as Kouichi said his goodbye, Kako continued to pester him.

Eventually annoyed, Kouichi stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Kako. "I'm not telling you anything, Kako, so shut up! And stop following me! It's...creepy..." Shuddering, Kouichi continued walking, now at a quicker pace.

Kako ran after him, unfazed. "But I wanna hear you practice the songs!"

"NO!" yelled the boy, breaking into a run as he took a shortcut through an alleyway. Realizing his mistake, Kouichi yelled, "I'm not singing, remember? Just...stop following me!"

"LIAR! Hah! I'll make Kouji force you!"

"No! Just because you're going out with him, doesn't mean you can overpower him!" I think...I HOPE!

Sticking out her tongue, Kako returned hotly, "Yes I can! Just you wait and-Ack, what the-" She swore silently as she nearly bumped into Kouichi, who had suddenly stopped.

"Shush," Kouichi muttered, holding up a finger to silence her. "Just...one...out of the way!" he suddenly yelped, dropping his books and pushing Kako out of the way as the sword whizzed past and cut down his shoulder, stopping inches away from his wrist. Wincing, Kouichi fell on a knee, hand over his bleeding left shoulder. "What...who...the..."

As the sword bearer stepped of the shadows, Kako scrambled to her feet and ran to Kouichi's side. "Idiot! Are you okay?" she asked, examining his shoulder, a half-worried, half-panicked look on her face.

He stood up and nodded, glaring at the figure. "So you're going as far as to murdering people? Really, Kanaye, you don't seem the type."

Laughing, Kanaye lowered his sword. "Oh, not killing, just scaring." Bushing his bangs out of his eyes, he included, "It's fun when I'm bored. Really, you should try it sometime. All those stupid humans, running away and screaming..."

As Kako found Kanaye's gaze resting on her, she squeaked and edged behind Kouichi. "Kouichi...what's your brilliant plan?" she asked in a small, praying he had a plan. "You have a plan, right?"

Kouichi shook his head and murmured back, "Not really...school would have been the better battleground."

"Wait-did you just call humans stupid? That's just...stupid!" Kako suddenly blurted, looking at Kanaye. "You're human, FYI!" She pointed to Kanaye at this point, her confusion evident.

Kanaye chuckled before bursting into full out laughter. "Fool...I'm amused you don't realize. But you would, wouldn't you?" he turned to Kouichi as he said this, "Eh, Duskmon?"

"Sh-shut up!" Kouichi growled, struggling to stay standing. "What do you want?"

"Two days," Kanaye sneered. "And that's it."

Kouichi glared in defiance, but said nothing as Kanaye turned around and walked off. "Stupid Sephiroth wanna-be," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut to ignore the pain. "G-god, I need to wrap this up," gasped Kouichi weakly, opening his eyes. "Let's go..."

Kako bit her lip and nodded, walking besides Kouichi and hoping he wouldn't fall. There was no chance she could carry him.

As the two made their way off into the distance, a figure silently walked up to the books, picking them up and dusting them off. "It seems," the person murmured, "that he is in greater danger than we imagined."

A second figure remained in the shadows, merely nodding.

"And something must be done."

"We will leave it to him. He will be able to handle it."

"But she doesn't believe so..."

"There is much she does not understand yet. In time," the second figure murmured, walking away, "you will both see."

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"Where's the key?" Kako frantically asked, as Kouichi nearly yelled in pain. The walk hadn't been so long, but Kouichi had still lost a lot of blood. "Or-I-is Kouji home?"

"No...he's...got practice...it's under the doormat," whispered Kouichi, breathless and wishing he could faint on the spot. Of course, that would be incredibly inconvenient to many people, mostly Kako, and he didn't think falling on the ground would be very pleasant.

Kako fumbled with the mat before picking up the key, opening the door, and running inside. "No one...home? Ack! Kouichi, not now!" she yelled, running back before he collapsed.

Kouichi staggered up the steps, feeling nauseous and dizzy, eventually leaning forward and shutting his eyes as he braced for the impact against the cold floor. Kako yelped as she managed to stop him from falling, but whimpered at the weight. "Sorry," he murmured, crying as he tried to regain his balance.

Watching as he staggered and fell on the couch, Kako sighed in relief. The worst part was over.

Or so she thought.

"Oh...no...Kouichi, how do I stop the bleeding? I need to call the hospital!" she yelled, running to the telephone.

Kouichi sat up as he yelled, "No! J-just...there...I...ugh...fine..." His voice lowered into a bare murmur as he slowly felt his eyelids grow heavy and his vision blur with bright white spots.

He needed a lot more strength than he had expected.

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"Kouichi? Are you awake?"

Kouichi opened his eyes, welcomed by the worried faces of his mother, Kouji, and his friends, all except Takuya and Kako. "Who...what...?"

"You're alive!" Kouji sighed in relief, resting his head on the bed as he sank into a chair. Under his breath, the younger twin added, "Idiot...the second time..."

Looking around, Kouichi slowly sat up. "No Takuya?" he asked, blinking a few times. Everything seemed so out of place…so…distorted. It was when he received no answer that Kouichi grew worried. "Kouji, what happened to-"

"Relax," Kouji murmured, "he's fine. But…you know, that whole thing with Kanaye…and…Shinya's giving us info now."

Kouichi made an effort to stand up, but stopped as soon as his eyes fell on his mother. "M-mom…I…I'm sorry, really, I am," he murmured, gripping the sheets around him tightly and looking down as a wave of shame and guilt washed over him.

Ms. Kimura nodded quietly. "I don't know what you kids do, but whatever it is, I don't want you hurt, anymore," she told him firmly.

"Mom, I-that's just not possible," the boy replied, swallowing as he met his mother's gaze with his own troubled one.

His mother frowned as she simply said, "You'll have to make it so, then."

"I can't!" Kouichi snapped, "I'm sorry, but I can't, okay? I swear, I know what I'm doing!"

"You're killing yourself, that's what!"

"But…" Biting his lip, Kouichi stepped out of bed, took his shirt, and quickly pulled it on. "You'll always have Kouji. I have to go somewhere, now." After a pause, he looked down and added in a low voice, "I'm sorry. I really am, but I need to do this."

As his twin walked out the door, Kouji frowned. This wasn't his fault…was it?

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As he shut the door, Kouichi winced. It had been the first time in a long time that he had talked back to his mother, even snapped at her like that. He didn't mean it, but if that was what it would take to keep everyone else safe, it would have to happen.

For now, thought Kouichi, shutting his eyes and walking down the corridor. Only for now. He would make it up to her later. Kouichi sat down in a nearby chair, sighing and digging into his pockets for the lyrics Kouji had given him. "So…" he murmured, "These two, I've never heard of, but the last one seems pretty familiar. It's like that tune they played during Christmas, only that was different. But they both seem so…" Kouichi stopped, noticing the figure hovering in front of him. "Uh…Kako…"

"What are you doing out of your room? Get back in there!" the girl yelled frantically, throwing his jacket up in the air.

In turn, Kouichi yelped and made a dive for his jacket, barely catching it in time. As he caught it, his arm burst into pain. "How…long have I been in here?" asked Kouichi, cringing as he slowly put on his jacket, adjusting his arm to prevent it from hurting anymore than it already did.

"I…well, uhm…lemme think. About…a day…"

"Where are my books?" Kouichi suddenly questioned in alarm, attempting to make a dash for the door. Kako, however, grabbed his arm, whacking his injured shoulder. "Left shoulder's off limits!"

Kako glared at him. "'Off limits?'" she repeated, placing her hands on her hips. "Going outside is 'off limits' for you! I went back and got the books."

Kouichi's eyes widened. "Alone?"

"N-no…"

"Don't lie to me! You did, didn't you?" growled the boy, his eyes fierce.

"Well…I met Kouji halfway there," Kako murmured, suddenly blushing a furious shade of red.

Kouichi blinked several times before he looked back at the lyrics. "I'll have Kouji sing these two. He's got a good voice, anyway. Nah…he said two songs. Maybe he'll sing these two and leave me alone…"

"Ah-ha! You are singing!"

"Not if I get my way…I can only connect to one of these songs. I refuse to sing the others…" Kouichi replied bluntly.

"Get back in your room! You have to rest!" Kako snapped. "Ugh, I need to talk to…Kouji…"

Kouichi stared at the three papers in his hand. "Oreta Tsubasa de. 'With Broken Wings.' If it were possible to fly with such wings, I'd soar to the ends of the earth and back," he murmured to himself.

"You'll be soaring, all right, all through the hospital. Get back in the room, Kouichi," the younger twin growled, pushing Kako aside. "You had no right to talk to Mom like that. What the hell possessed you, huh? I swear, if you ever do that again…"

Kouichi shoved the papers at his brother. "Oreta Tsubasa de. I wrote that while I was recovering from the fall, didn't I? And the music from Christmas…I randomly made that up, too," he murmured, a stolid gaze meeting Kouji's furious glare.

Kouji snatched the papers and threw them aside. A murderous glare on his face, the younger twin whispered threateningly, "You realize I'll make you if you don't come of your own will…?" When his brother shrugged, staring indifferently, Kouji sighed and adjusted his sleeves. "Fine," he muttered, hitting the older twin straight in the stomach. "Sorry."

Kako squealed as Kouichi fell against Kouji, slowly losing consciousness as he tried to recover his breath, coughing as he did. "Kouji!" she whispered quietly. "That…wasn't needed!"

Turning to her with a forced grin, he replied in a murmur, "Can't go for complicated, can I? And…heh…about yesterday…? Sorry…"

"O-oh, um, th-that's…okay," Kako excused him with a blush, looking away and coughing. "S-so, uh…shouldn't you put him back in the room?"

"Er…about that…?" Kouji inhaled deeply before yelling, "JUNPEI, TOMOKI! SOMEONE, HELP!"

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For the second time that day, Kouichi found himself lying down on the hospital bed. "Darn…it…Kouji, you didn't have to knock the wind out of me," he muttered, sitting up and finding Kako sitting in a chair, math book open on the bed. Curiously, Kouichi asked, "So you're going to study now?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

Jumping, Kako shut the book and looked up. "I'm supposed to yell for Kouji if you try anything funny to get out of the room. So just…lie back down," she instructed.

Kouichi nodded and lay back down. "Hey, Kako…? Why were you blushing when Kouji…uh…Kako?"

"N-no reason!" blurted Kako, blushing again. "Just…nothing…"

Suddenly smiling, Kouichi decided to guess. "What, intense make-out session?" he teased. Slowly, he pushed himself up into a slight sitting position.

"NO!"

"…uh-huh. He didn't hurt you, did he? Ever?"

Blushing even deeper than before, Kako shook her head. "He was acting weird…though. And then he snapped out of it after…"

"Well, I've still got a brother. No legitimate reason for Hideki to kill him."

"Hideki…? Wh-OOH, THAT JERK!"

"Well, he was right about one thing. Your voice is better!"

Kako stood up. "I need to go talk to that dork of a brother of mine. Stay here, okay?"

There was a silence as Kouichi contemplated whether he should promise or not. He rather enjoyed company if he was in the room, but if no one was going to be there…

Then there was the fact that he would be disappoint Kako. Not only Kako, but his mother even more than he had already, and his friends. How else do I stop Kanaye? Kouichi grumbled and nodded. "Fine, but you owe me."

Laughing, the girl nodded. "As long as you stay."

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A/N-Originally titled 'Dominoes,' this chapter was meant to be posted sometime last week.

I'm so sorry for the delay. There have been several factors that caused this. For one, my fanfic notebook's bottom got wet, and it had to dry out. It was only the bottom line of a few pages that got wet, but my art journal...XP. Then, I was upset because my brother played videogames while I was gone and ruined my digimon recordings. I thought I missed a movie, but I don't know now. My AOL version 8.0 screwed up, so now, I can't thank you people formally...

YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY SUCKS! panics I SAVED ALL YOUR PEOPLE'S REVIEWS THERE! ON 8.0! So now, I can't access all I saved there. Something about it's MAIN.IDX file being messed up. .:sigh:. And quite obviously, the last factor is, in fact...homework!

.:sniffles:. All your really cool reviews...I'm gonna have to copy and paste my review pages in emails and send them to my gmail. Grr. But I am sooo sorry! Things have been really hectic these past weeks, and they aren't letting up this week either. They don't plan to give me a break anytime soon. (I lost many valuable MP3 download sites, along with a good Japanese/Romaji - English translator. NOT TO MENTION THE (SEMI) REALLY GOOD MP3 DOWNLOAD SITE! But I can bring it up again...just...not the first one. Gah...but the annoyance of it all)

I have a black belt thesis to finish before Christmas break, a math test to study and pass if I want Generations booster packs for Digimon, Christmas/late b-day presents to get, and...

Fanfics to write. I'm sorry, but the Takumi I planned to post may have to be posted in place of Not The Bandanas if things turn out really bad. I won't be ditching, it's just I've got lots of chapters of that story, and I'm not ahead in chapters in NTB 2, here. XP But I don't plan to have to do that.

Sooo...I'm pretty stupid, here. My chapters are starting to get crappier as school comes to Christmas break. In real life, I mean. As for in the story...well, I'm sure, although the chapters will get stupider, the plot will heighten. Before I forget, I need to thank several people, who I can't name at the moment from loss of memory, for many ideas in my story. They help me when I get stuck in stupid writer's block, and might as well be the authors of this story. Now...as for reviews, I love you all, and your reviews are motivational, but...I need tough critics here. Cut me no slack (especially about being late with the chapter).

Review or Flame.