Disclaimer-Almost done, but still don't own Digimon.

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Confusion

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Kouichi kicked a nearby can angrily before his face softened and he picked it up. Walking over to a nearby trashcan, he threw it in and sighed. "Kouji...is a bad influence. I pity any little sibling of his," he muttered, taking out his D-Tector and gazing at it for the longest time.

He didn't want to be in the real world anymore. He hated it. With all the digimon that had come, it might as well be the Digital World.

But it wasn't.

Kouichi sighed again and looked up at the darkening sky. No ray of light poked through, only large, gray, ominous clouds. What I wouldn't do for one of Saito's lessons, he thought glumly. Lessons, a good book, or the Digital World. Preferably the last option.

Making his way into the Saito bookshop, Kouichi bit his lower lip, suddenly worried. It looked emptier than usual. Books were knocked off the shelves, lying astray on the floor. There wasn't a faint sound of chatter from the cafe, either.

"Mr. Saito?" Kouichi called out, straining his ears to hear any sound of anything, even a mouse.

"...Where is it, old man?"

"Not in my possession. It never was."

"I told you, my patience wears thin. Where is it?"

"Ah, Kouichi, nice of you to join us," Mr. Saito greeted him with a smile. "How are you, today?"

Kanaye whirled around, eyes narrowing on Kouichi angrily. Smirking, he pulled the sword away from Mr. Saito and pointed it at Kouichi, sneering, "Flukes don't happen twice."

"I'm not in the mood, Kanaye. Now bug off before-" Kouichi tried to think of something in his head, but nothing came.

Kanaye interrupted him right away, "Empty threat. You can't do much."

The second boy shrugged. "Never said I could. Now if you don't mind, I need to find something to read," Kouichi said casually, heading off towards the nearest shelf.

"Like a diary?"

Kouichi halted and turned his head back. "Whose?"

Flipping out a notebook, Kanaye stared at the ceiling, a smirk still glued on his face as he said with mock innocence, "Oh, I don't know...Kako's?"

A frown appeared on Kouichi's face. Curiously, he stepped towards Kanaye, asking, "Where did you get it?"

"Somewhere."

"Hm. And I can be sure it's hers?" Out of his peripheral vision, Kouichi could see Mr. Saito frown. Makes sense. Not everyday you see me trying to get a hold of someone's diary, Kouichi thought, amused by his own odd behavior. "What would I have to do for it?"

"Nothing. Just make sure you read it," Kanaye said airily, tossing it to Kouichi. Making his way for the door, he added, "Oh, make sure you read the latest entry. You'll love it."

Kouichi's grip tightened around the notebook as he turned to Mr. Saito. "Sir."

"Kouichi..."

"No, I'm not going to read it."

But Mr. Saito shook his head vigorously. "No, he's right. You should."

Kouichi was surprised. Shaking his head in a hope to better understand, he blurted, "What? Read it?"

The man sighed, "Yes. A surprise, I know, but you have to. Don't even think of giving it back, either. She'll know you read it."

Staring at the diary in his hands, Kouichi swallowed, pondering his choices. Either give the diary back without reading it, read it and never give it back, or read it and give it back, but suffer the consequences. "I..."

Mr. Saito waited for Kouichi to finish, gazing at his shoes quietly.

"I can't," Kouichi finished miserably, his hand dropping to his side. "If it's hers, she wouldn't want me to know, right? And it belongs to her, so I have to give it back. So..."

Sighing, Mr. Saito nodded in understanding. "If you say so."

"But, anyway, book!" Kouichi confirmed, marching to the nearest bookshelf and picking a book off. "Here, this one."

"Are you sure...?"

"Huh?"

An amused smile appeared on Mr. Saito's face. "You seem to be out of it today, Kouichi. You want to read a romance novel?"

Kouichi looked down at the book and whacked his head. "Um...on second thought," he said, laughing nervously as he put the book back. Come on, good book, good book!

He sighed and walked past a few more bookshelves, all containing books of genres he didn't read. "Hey, Mr. Saito," he suddenly called out, stopping at a bookshelf. Picking a book off of it, he asked, "You said your cousin...Marise...he writes?"

"He did. He died."

"Oh, right...was he good?"

"Yes, a wonderful writer. I'm sure you would love his works."

Kouichi smiled to himself and picked the nearest book. Walking over to the counter, he handed the book to Mr. Saito and said, "This one, then!"

Mr. Saito opened his mouth, but shut it a second later, smiling. "Alright..."

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Junpei knocked on the door, staring at the button with a sigh. "Darn, maybe I should have put it in a box? Oh well..."

Kouji opened the door, glaring at Junpei. "What?"

"Kouichi home?"

"No, that bastard isn't home."

Junpei blinked as Kouji slammed the door shut. "When...did this happen?" Knocking on the door again, Junpei yelled, "Did you two have some sibling fights? Because I just happen to know a great therapist-"

"WE DON'T NEED ONE!"Kouji yelled from inside.

Dazed, Junpei was about to head back home when he found Kouichi in front of him.

"Hey Junpei. You have the button?" Kouichi asked, book in hand.

"Uh...you know," Junpei started sheepishly, "you should really tell Kouji to be more polite."

Kouichi shrugged and held out his hand. "Button?"

Junpei handed him the button and walked off, grumbling, "Some people just won't change."

At this, Kouichi smiled slightly, reverting back poker face as he entered the house. "What was that about?" he asked his brother, heading straight into the kitchen.

"Nothing," Kouji snapped, sitting on the couch, arms folded across his chest. Under his breath, he added, "Bastard."

Kako sighed and stood up. "I'm going home. Do you want me to take the project, Kouichi?"

"No, I got it," he replied, coming out of the kitchen, cookie in hand. Eyes resting on his younger twin, he asked, "What's his problem?"

"Um...no clue!" Kako laughed nervously, edging towards the door. "I'll...see you both tomorrow, bye!"

Kouichi frowned and turned to his brother. He quickly put Kako's diary in his room before marching out into the living room. "Okay, so what's your problem, Kouji? I thought I was bad...but you're worse," declared the older twin, taking a bite of the cookie. "Or...oh, never mind, then..."

"Now you realize?"

Sighing, Kouichi shrugged, sitting beside his brother and opening the book. "Well...I didn't do anything to her, okay?"

"Now I really wonder," Kouji growled, glaring at his brother. Angrily, he snapped, "Can't you stop reading for a second?"

"What's wrong with reading?"

"You aren't listening!"

"I can multitask."

"That isn't the point, dammit!"

Placing down the book, Kouichi turned to glare at his brother, saying calmly, "Listen, I'd really like to read. I haven't been able to get past the first word, okay? Now would you shut up and go tell someone who really cares."

Kouji's face hardened. "So you don't care about her?"

The older twin was surprised. Shaking his head, he muttered, "She's your girlfriend. I didn't do anything, I already told you. You know that, too. Do you really think I would?" Kouji fell silent, looking away. "Glad you have at least that much faith in me. Really though, Kouji, I wouldn't," Kouichi assured him softly.

That's not the point, Kouji realized, letting out a silent groan as he stood up. I'm jealous that she likes him and not me. Yanking off his bandana and throwing it on the ground, Kouji headed to his room, feeling drained. "Bastard," he muttered, shutting the door and falling back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Dammit, Kouji...why are you such an idiot?"

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"Well, Marise sure knew how to write," Kouichi chuckled, reading the part over again. "Naoto never saw that coming, did he?"

"GODDAMMIT!"

Twitching, Kouichi yelled, "KOUJI STOP CURSING! It's getting annoying..."

In turn, there was silence.

Now I'm definitely worried. Why is he acting like this? Letting out a sigh, Kouichi shrugged. "Well, whatever it is, Kouji," he murmured, flipping the page, "you better get better, soon."

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"GAAAAAh!" Kouji yelled, running around in a frenzy. "Don't tell me I-"

"It's in my locker," Kouichi responded, book in hand. Eyes glued to the page, he fumbled around with his lock before he sighed, put the book down and opened it properly. "Here," he muttered, handing the project to Kouji. Handing his own model, he instructed, "And give Kako this one. And make sure Ogata's tortured properly."

Raising an eyebrow, Kouji nodded, took both models and ran off to find Kako. Now alone, Kouichi sighed, shut his locker and picked the book up once more.

"-Takuya!"

"The project?"

"Um, yeah, I have it."

"Okay. Later."

"W-Wait!"

Kouichi froze and stopped in his tracks. Peeking around the corner, he found Izumi and Takuya. Wait...when did this happen? Frowning, he lowered the book and listened.

"What?" Takuya asked with a sigh.

Izumi was trembling. "U-uhm," she murmured, blushing. "W-well, uh...a-"

Takuya frowned. "I don't have time for random stutters."

"What about yesterday!" Izumi yelled in question. "You-"

He snorted and simply replied, "I don't know what you're talking about, okay? We did the project. So what? Do you mind? I don't want to be late to class."

Izumi suddenly fell on her knees, choked sobs escaping her mouth. Wincing, Kouichi walked over, trying to ignore the passing Takuya. "Izumi?" he asked softly, bending to her level. "Don't take what he said into heart."

"I-it hurts!" she cried, leaning forward to hug Kouichi. Sighing, he nodded, rubbing her back soothingly. "Kouichi...what do I do?"

"Go with it. I told you, I still have my plan, right?"

Pulling back, Izumi nodded, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "O-okay. I'll trust you."

"Glad to know it. Now hurry up. You'll be late to class," he told her softly, a smile on his face.

Hugging him once more, Izumi nodded and ran off. Kouichi let out a sigh and headed to his own classroom, thinking about his conversation with Kouji yesterday. "He didn't really think I'd try anything, did he? I mean...what could I try?" he wondered aloud, opening the door.

How dense are you? Duskmon growled.

Not very. I just don't get it, Kouichi replied, sitting down and sighing. "I'll never get the concept of love. It makes no sense," he declared aloud, flipping open his book.

"And that leads to thousands of heartbreaks a year! How are you, Kouichi?" Ms. Kawai asked, taking a bite of an apple.

"Fine, thanks. You?"

"Could be better. What book is that?" she suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kouichi showed her the cover, then said, "Secrets of Yuto."

"Nice choice. Now put it away and listen."

Refraining from grumbling, Kouichi did so and asked, "So...do I get an assignment?"

"Twenty proverbs by tomorrow."

"Twenty?" Kouichi repeated. "My own?"

Ms. Kawai smiled and nodded, "Oh, go ahead! But not all of them have to be your own. Maybe one or two?"

"Random?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Any other assignments?"

"Glad you asked!" Ms. Kawai said, taking a math book and dropping it in front of him. "Finish chapter ten by the end of this week."

"Just the written exercises? None of the tests?"

"Just the written exercises," Rai confirmed. "And now, to drown myself in coffee..."

Kouichi wrinkled his nose as she walked off. Coffee's disgusting.

No really? Duskmon glanced at the book. "Marise..."

"Hm?"

"He's annoying, too."

"Who?"

"Marise. Marise...Saito...all of them. They're annoying, pesky vermin."

"Duskmon..."

Growling, Duskmon declared loudly, "They are!"

Lowemon appeared as well. "You mean you are," he corrected the first digimon.

"No, you both are!" Agunimon chirped happily. "Damn, Izumi and Takuya were so cute yesterday."

"You spied on them?" Kouichi demanded, glaring at the fire spirit.

Agunimon shook his head. "Observed for trouble, Kouichi! 'Spied' is so...vulgar!" he said, mocking offense.

Rolling his eyes, Kouichi went back to the book.

"Hah, you should have seen Kouji and Kako. They were getting things heated up!" Blitzmon laughed.

The other three digimon glared at him as Kouichi slammed his book down. "I really could care less about my brother's love life. Do you mind?"

Blitzmon grumbled, but said nothing more. Instead, Duskmon suggested, "Let's hunt Kanaye down and you can digivolve and we'll tear him to shreds!" Kouichi ignored him and went back to his book.

"FYI, blood-thirsty creep, he's missing his fractal code!" Agunimon snapped.

Lowemon bashed the other three over the head. "Let him work. And let us plot alone."

"Wait-plot what?" Kouichi exclaimed, slamming his book down again.

"Nothing...much."

"Tell me!"

"Uh..."

Agunimon twitched. "You weren't supposed to tell! You're about as reliable as Bokomon!"

Kouichi frowned and repeated, "Weren't supposed to tell what? Tell me! Or I'll let Duskmon possess me and go on a rampage!" Not really, Kouichi thought in the back of his mind.

Lowemon grumbled and muttered, "Fine, fine...it's for the party."

"Party?"

"DANCE," Agunimon corrected loudly. "There is no party!"

"Well, masquerade, party, same thing!" Duskmon snapped. "Stop being so-"

"No one asked you!"

"No one wants to talk to you!"

"Say what?" Agunimon screamed, lunging at Duskmon as Kouichi returned to his book with a sigh. "Say that again, loser!"

"NO ONE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" Duskmon yelled louder, blade drawn out.

What's the damage they could inflict? Harmless, Kouichi thought, flipping the page. He shook his head and wiped his watery eyes. "D-digimon, why am I crying?" he croaked to himself as the spirits began to whack each other. Why can't I stop?

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"Weeeeh! It's so double helix-ish!" Kako squealed, tracing the model with a finger. "Dang, Izumi, yours looks good...to eat, anyway."

Izumi flashed a glare at her cousin. "No way." As an afterthought, she added, "Though maybe Shinya took one when I wasn't looking..."

Kouji sighed and looked at his brother's empty seat. He'll always get the last laugh, he thought glumly. Always. Whether he means it or not. It isn't fair...

"Kouji?"

Kouji looked up at Kako, blinking in confusion. "Oh...yeah?"

"Are you okay? You look spacey..."

"OF COURSE I'M OKAY!" Kouji yelled loudly, kicking the chair in front of him and then placing his feet up on his desk while leaning back with a loud sigh. Grinning, he muttered, "Life is good."

Mr. Ogata hovered over him. "Mr. Minamoto..."

"Yessir!"

"Put your feet down now."

"Ooh, is this the part where I get kicked out of class?"

"No," Mr. Ogata snapped, "this is the part where you and the rest of the class get ready for PE and you do pushups until the entire class finishes their mile."

Kouji sighed grumpily. "Whatever," he muttered as the entire class began to groan.

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"Eh...I need to go for a walk," Kouichi muttered with a sigh, sitting back and leaning in his chair. As if on cue, Ms. Kawai entered the room, downing a cup of coffee. Before she could get out to get more, Kouichi yelled, "Wait! Ms. Kawai, can I...um...get out for a while?"

Turning to him, Rai nodded. "Yeah...hurry, before I pass out because of coffee overdose. Ugh, this stinks."

Kouichi smiled gratefully and raced out, book in hand. No bickering digimon, no teachers drunk off coffee, no stupid teachers, no over-possessive brothers, no annoying girls, no blackmailed friends, no crying girls...man, life is great right now, Kouichi thought with a sigh. "Now w-woah...is...Kouji doing pushups alone?"

Heading over, Kouichi squatted down in front of his brother. "Oy."

Kouji looked up, an annoyed glare plastered on his face. "WHAT?"

"Chill down," Kouichi muttered, spotting Ogata on the field. Luckily, the trashcan hid him from view. "Okay, so why's everyone else running while you're doing pushups?"

"A punishment, I guess," Kouji muttered in disgust. "I hate that freaking..."

"Kouji..."

"What? You got out lucky! I had to ask if I could be kicked out of class!"

Kouichi sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to make a dramatic exit, not ask. Honestly, you can be stupider than I think you are sometimes."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing." Kouichi took a seat beside his brother. "You know...you might as well do pushups to keep your muscles warm instead of just stay there like that," he commented.

"I can take it!" snapped the younger boy.

Kouichi shrugged and muttered, "If you say so..."

Tell that stupid Lowemon that I'm the better of us! Duskmon's voice cut through his head.

Groaning, Kouichi looked up at Duskmon. "Solve it yourself and stop acting like a three year old!"

"Hey...I just remember something Lobomon told me!" Agunimon suddenly exclaimed, looking at Kouji.

Kouji looked up. "Ugh...what?"

"If I quote correctly, 'Kouichi, when you suffer, I suffer with you.' Something like that! It was funny. But then...when I started laughing...he muttered about me being an idiot." The warrior of fire's face fell. "I don't really remember."

Kouji grumbled some more and Kouichi bit his lip. "Oh...that..."

"That?" Kouji asked, glaring at his brother.

"Yeah...that," Kouichi replied softly.

Agunimon frowned and asked, "Wait...so...why did he laugh at me?"

Duskmon, Lowemon and Blitzmon shot him a glare. "SHUT UP, AGUNIMON!" they yelled, hitting him on the head.

Agunimon fell on the ground, dizzily staring up at the clouds. "Kouichi...why...do you have to have...two spirits?"

Kouichi shrugged, smiling slightly.

"SEVEN MINUTES!" the twins heard Ogata yell.

Standing up immediately, Kouichi looked at his brother, then Duskmon. "Hey...can you help him cheat?"

"Why are you asking me?" Duskmon inquired crossly.

"Because Agunimon's too Takuya, Blitzmon'll take forever to decide, Lowemon's my good side, and you're the only one who'll actually cheat. So?"

"I don't need help," Kouji stated flatly. "ESPECIALLY from that."

Duskmon snorted, "I'm not helping anyway."

Kouichi's face fell, but he nodded. "If you're both sure..." he muttered, slumping his shoulders. "Well...I'm heading back, then. I'm supposed to stay out of Ogata's sight."

Kouji nodded, doing a pushup. "Have fun doing nothing," he muttered bitterly.

Thanks for the guilt, both of you, Kouichi thought, angry and hurt as he headed back to the room. What had ever happened to all those days when he and Kouji would help each other? It didn't seem fair. Four years wasn't long enough for both of them to start hating each other, was it? Kouichi didn't even hate his brother.

"Sorry," Duskmon muttered.

Kouichi looked up in surprise. "Sorry?"

Duskmon snorted, "Yes, I'm sorry. But it's not like he deserves help, anyway."

"Duskmon...you don't know him. He...Kouji's not bad...I'm sure he's just going through a tough time," Kouichi said slowly. "Like he said on the Digimoon...he feels my pain and I can feel his. I think..." Or is it just because...I'm having a hard time too?

"You're too nice for your own good," Duskmon muttered. "Stop it. You'll get used too often."

Lowemon nodded and affirmed, "He has a point. Kako was right, yesterday."

"I'm fine now, right? No one's used me, have they?" Kouichi demanded in return. The digimon fell silent. "What, am I being used right now? Because-"

"Of course you are, you stupid boy," Duskmon hissed. "This entire plot is using you, and you continue with it as if everything is fine! What kind of idiot does that?"

Lowemon shook his head sadly as Duskmon disappeared in a cloud of black. "This is one of the times when Duskmon is right, Kouichi," he murmured.

But, forcing a smile, Kouichi continued, "As I was saying, I don't care. They can use me, as long as they don't use anyone else."

"...You really are an idiot," Agunimon muttered, shaking his head and walking off. Blitzmon stared a while before following Agunimon.

"Well, aren't you going to leave, too?" Kouichi asked, opening the book.

"No...Kanaye..."

Kouichi looked up from the book, whirling around in time to avoid a hit from Kanaye. "What the-" he started, falling back and scrambling to his feet before Kanaye attempted to kick him. "What do you want?"

"Well? Did you read it?" Kanaye asked, eyes glittering.

"N-no..."

"Do you plan to?"

Kouichi stopped. 'Do you plan to?' Do I? I don't know myself, he thought, eyes misting over. "I..."

"Yes or no, Kimura. A simple question."

"I...I don't know," he confessed softly, shutting his eyes. "It all depends, I guess."

Kanaye laughed, "On what? Kako's life?"

"What are you saying?" Kouichi growled, eyes now open and narrowing in on Kanaye.

"Nothing, but if I have to, her life will be at stake," Kanaye said airily. "So...read it before something really happens."

Turning around, Kouichi stormed back to the room, ignoring Kanaye's laughter. Pulling out Kako's diary, he stared at it for the longest time, his eyes glazing over. "N-no...I can't...but..."

Do you really love her? Duskmon questioned, appearing by his side.

Kouichi blinked back tears. "It's...I can't open it. It isn't right..."

"So...you'd risk her life?" another voice asked.

Kouichi looked up and found Ms. Kawai staring down at the diary. "M-Ms. Kawai, you aren't saying that I sh-"

"Actually, yes, I am. I'm positive Kako prefers her life to the diary. She'll understand. Now shut up and read it. It's class work," Rai ordered.

What are they teaching these days? Swallowing, Kouichi prayed to be forgiven as he opened the notebook.

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A/N-

Yey! Okay, from this chapter on, a mix of Japanese and English Digimon names. Aw, I feel like crying. Poor Kouji...having to stay in pushup position for over seven minutes. I believe that should be equivalent to my hundred pushups that I never complete (maybe that would take me twenty five minutes?). .:frown:. Huh. Sorry, Kouji.

I was listening to 'Stand by Me Hito Natsu no Bouken (A Day In The Boy's Life VersionPromised Land).' Maeda Ai sings it, and it's really depressing in my opinion (because I haven't bothered checking the lyrics), so Kouichi gets depression! I just realized...I've been listening to music all day! Wow.

So, how was the chapter? I don't mean for the Kouichi and Kouji torture, but it's needed for the plot to move on. Oh, and the quote's from 'The Brother's Yin And Yang' episode. Depressing episode, I recorded the rerun Saturday.

Thank You for the reviews-

The Light's Refrain, Winter's Light, Lady Hikari-Yami, K.K., Snowy Leopardess, GemmaniGirl

I hope you're having fun reading this? About...hopefully only five-ish chapters to go.

Review or Flame.