Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed.

More More Happy Christmas

Chapter 4: Troublemaking

"Do you guys ever get déjà vu?"

"De ja what?"

"You know, doing something or being somewhere you know you've never been before, but you feel like you have?"

"You know…"

"Now that you mention it…"

"Sometimes…"

"Yeah."

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District

December 23rd, 1996 - 7:32 AM

The sunlight filtered silently, peacefully through the window, illuminating the room with soft, peaceful contrast. Illuminated, too, were the two small forms that lay curled in their respective futons, their identical faces filled with the peace of one who is not completely out of dreamland just yet. They lay on opposite sides so that they faced each other, each clutching their favorite toy as they slept.

Not too far away, two soccer-ball-sized blobs began to stir. The white dog-head shifted first, opening his bright blue eyes. He slid over and nudged the black cat-like creature with his nose, prompting the opening of his golden-yellow eyes. They looked at each other, then at the little boys, and grinned.

With a resounding whoop, Karuimon leapt onto the long-haired boy's futon, bouncing happily on the human's chest. "Hey, Kouji!" He shouted brightly, giggling. "It's morning! It's morning! Get up get up get up!"

Kuroimon jumped into the other sleeping palled, nudging Kouichi's cheek with the top of his fuzzy head. "Come'on, Kouichi! Up up up!"

Both boys groaned and opened their eyes blurrily, blinking at their friends in confusion. Kouichi snuggled back deep into his pillow, pulling his blanket back over his head. Kouji groaned, sitting up only to catch the white doggy-head in midair. "Karuimon." He groaned, yawning sleepily. "It's still early…"

"But the sun's up!" Karuimon whined.

"Yeah!" Added Kuroimon, nuzzling down to tickle Kouichi with a tiny, chilly, wet nose. "And you said we'd play until you parents wake up!"

"You did, you did!"

"Nmmph…all right, all right!" Kouji groaned and stretched with another wide yawn. He glance over at Kouichi, who was much more slowly rubbing his eyes. "We better humor 'em, Nii-san."

"Mm…" Kouichi muttered, rubbing one eye tiredly. He looked down at Kuroimon and patted the little thing kindly, scratching him behind the ear before mumbling something about a glass of water and crawling out of bed.

Kuroimon curled up slightly and made a sad kind of purr. Kouji looked down at him as he set Karuimon on the ground. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The black Digimon looked over at the older of the two twins sadly. "I don't think Kouichi-kun likes me every much…"

Kouji sighed, glancing over at his brother, who now looked somewhat guilty as he searched their dresser drawer. The younger twin settled next to the Digimon, scratching Kuroimon behind the ear. "He doesn't not like you. It's just…you scared him."

Kuroimon blinked up at him. "I scared Kouichi-kun?"

"When you changed." Kouji nodded towards the closet as a reminder. "Nii-san's scared of the dark. You scared him."

Kouichi came back over, tossing Kouji some clothes and starting to wiggle out of his pajamas. Kuroimon hopped over to him as Karuimon started tugging at Kouji's waistband in an attempt to help.

The little cat-like creature looked up at Kouichi. "You're scared of the dark?"

"…Kinda." The boy muttered, shifting slightly in a nervous manner as he pulled his shirt on.

Kuroimon watched him a moment, then set his face in determination. "All right then!" He jumped into Kouichi's lap, turning to face the boy. "You don't got to be scared anymore, Kouichi-kun! I'll protect you!"

The little boy gaped at him. "Uh…what?"

"I won't let the darkness-things scare you no more!" Kuroimon exclaimed again. "I'll take good care of you, and I won't let nothin' hurt you, Kouichi-kun!"

"Sounds good to me!" Karuimon piped, bouncing as well. "The I'll take care of you, Kouji!"

"But I'm not scared of anything." Kouji blinked at the creatures and wondered blurrily where the energy came from.

Karuimon stopped a moment, then started up again. "Well, if you ever find anything to be scared of, just call me!"

"Okay, okay…" Kouji laughed, groaning a little. "You can do that, I guess. I'll… count on you."

"Yea!" Karuimon cheered, and started bouncing again.

Kuroimon hopped over to Kouichi and looked up at him with big, pleading yellow eyes. "I really real take care of you." He whispered. "I promise."

Kouichi reached down and picked him up, smiling just a little bit. "…Thanks."

( - )

Chiemon yawned sleepily, blinking lazily out the lower corner of the sliding glass door. His view consisted of the gloomy balcony, the dulled gray and silver buildings across the way, and the cover of clouds over the sky, looking very cold and heavy with snow, waiting only for the right trigger to release its load.

"So quiet…" He muttered with a sigh. "I wish something would happen."

Tomoki came waddling up behind him, a broad smile on his face and something clutched in his cute little hands. "Chiemon-mon!"

The Digimon turned to him. "What is it?"

Tomoki's grin broadened more as he held out his hands. Clutched between them was a large paper napkin, filled with a large handful of dry cereal. Chiemon blinked at the boy as he deposited the cereal in a pile in front of him.

"For me?" Asked the Digimon.

Tomoki smiled brightly and nodded. "Wow…" Chiemon looked down at it. "Thanks, I guess."

With that, he started in on the offering like a very hungry cat. Tomoki sat down and stared at him, watching intently though it only took a few minutes for him to finish.

Chiemon sat back up with a sigh. "That hit the spot." He grinned at Tomoki happily. "Thanks a lot. I need that!"

Tomoki smiled broadly, pulling himself somewhat unsteadily to his wobbly little three-year-old feet. As soon as he was steady, he reached don to pick Chiemon up and waddle out of the living room.

( - )

When encountering a dog, loud barking is very rarely a good thing. Especially when said barks are accompanied by a loud, high-pitched screams of fear.

"Takuyaaaaaaaa, make it sooooooo!" Takibimon screamed, bounding from place to place in a desperate run. Right on his proverbial tail was Chou-chou, the Kanbara family dog, yip-yip-yapping his happy little head off and charging after the Digimon in a joyous hunt. And right on his tail, literally and figuratively, was Takuya, scrambling to get ahold of either his pet or his little hatchling friend, before something else got wrecked.

"Bad dog! Chou-chou, heel!" The six-year-old shouted, loosing his grip on the dog's tail again. "Chou-chou, leave Takibimon alone! Chou-chou!"

The Digimon in question jumped onto the couch, bouncing across it at high speeds as the dog followed after him. "B-Bad woof-woof! Leave me alone! Bad!"

Chou-chou barked happily, leaping after Takibimon and jumping over the coffee table to do so. Takuya scrambled around to the other side, a burst of speed pushing him ahead of the animal.

He slid forward, planting himself firmly between the dog and the Digimon. "Chou-chou, that's enough!…WHOA!"

Chou-chou, being a dog and not a bird, was naturally enough unable to cancel his momentum in mid-air. As such, it really wasn't his fault that he knocked Takuya to the floor. It just happened, and as a result, Takuya found himself flat on his back, lightly winded and with tiny little clawed puppy-feet on either shoulder.

Chou-chou was momentarily surprised to have found himself hunting his master, but with a happy bark he set in to licking the little boy's face excitedly.

"ACK! Chou-chou, no!" Takuya squealed, trying futilely to push the slobbering dog away. "Cut it out! That tickles! Chou-choooou!"

Takibimon's bouncing suddenly drew closer, stopped just above where Takuya was pinned. His pipe-like voice followed, sounding determined. "Bad dog!" He shouted. "Leave Takuya alone! Bubble blow!"

A stream of red-pink bubbles shot from his mouth, popping one after another right between Chou-chou's eyes. The didn't actually hurt the pooch, of course, but they were annoying enough one after another to stop his kicking and cause him to back off after a moment.

Takuya sat up, rubbing his face off on his sleeves. "Yuck…"

Takibimon bounced up to him. "Are you okay, Takuya?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Takuya made a face, rubbing one cheek with his shirt. "Just sticky."

"Wow…" Takibimon looked up at him with a strange kind of awe. "You're so brave, Takuya! You saved me!"

"Aw…" Takuya grinned cheekily. "It was just Chou-chou. He wouldn't hurt me!"

"Yeah, but he wanted to use me as a chew toy!" Takibimon piped, bouncing again. "But you saved me, Taku-kun! You're so brave-brave!"

"Shucks, I'm not all that great." Takuya laughed, standing and scooping up Takibimon into his arms. "Come on, buddy. Whattya say we get away from the breakables for a while."

( - )

Izumi took a deep breath, pulling her coat around herself a bit more warmly. She looked up at the cloudy gray sigh and sighed a puff of white-gray breath into the air. "Looks like it's gonna snow."

"Y-Yeah." Shivered Makumon from her place nestled deep inside the little girl's hoodie. He blue eyes blinked up at the blonde sleepily from the shadows of the coat. "Wh-What're we doing out here, Z-Zumi? It's c-c-cold!"

"Don't worry." Izumi bundled up the little Digimon a bit more. It won't take long. I want you to see something really cool!"

"C-Cooler than this?" Makumon shivered again, curling down into her warm pocket. In the Digital World, she remember, she'd lived in a tropical area with lots of pretty trees and heavily-scented flowers that filled the wind with deliciously sweet aromas, where the sky was always bright and blue and clear and oh-so-warm and sunny…

And then somewhat had come and asked her to follow him, and she did, but try as she might she couldn't remember who it had been or why she'd been so happy to leave with him.

"Here we are!" Izumi giggled brightly. "Lookie, Makumon!"

The bird-like Digimon wiggle out of the neck of the purple jacket, blinking at the sight in front of her in awe. It was a small house-like structure made entirely of slightly green-tinted glass. Through the pale tint you could see the leaves and blossoms of various large, lush tropical plants.

"What is it, Zumi-chan?" Makumon asked with a slightly awed tone.

"It's a green house, silly." Izumi giggled as she pushed opened the glass door with the minute jingle of a bell announcing their arrival. "It's nice and warm in here, see?"

She unzipped her hoodie to let the Digimon float out on the warm breeze. Makumon let out a content sigh when her light, sensitive feathers hit the delightfully warm air. She stretched her wings and yawned sleepily as she bobbed along.

"Oooh…Izumi, this is wonderful!" Makumon sighed, a smile spreading over her beak as she took a deep breath. "And it smells so good!"

Izumi smiled broadly. "You really like it?"

"Like it, I love it!"

"Yea!" Izumi's blue eyes scrunched up cutely as she smile even wider. "I'm glad! Now we cam have fun here all day, right, Makumon?"

The Digimon floated into her arms. "You bet!"

"Then let's go!" Izumi giggled, and they ran off together through the aisles of sweet-scented trees.

( - )

Mrs. Shibuyama hummed to herself as she folded a stack of freshly-dry clothes. It was a load of blues, which was striking regular in her household, and it made her feel calm to know she was doing something nice and familiar.

She tut-tutted to herself, folding one of Junpei's adorable-looking blue jumpsuits to finish off the pile of her son's clothes. Her boy was at the store right now, on and errand, naturally. It was nice to have a capable child, even if he did go a little overboard sometimes.

Mrs. Shibuyama picked up the basket of clothes and headed back to her son's room. It was a mess, as usual. She'd be the first to admit that Junpei was not a mother's ultimate dream of the perfect son, but he was her son and that was what mattered. At the very least, he was polite and kind and her life was certainly never boring.

As she closed the chest of drawers, something odd from the direction of the closet caught her eyes. When she turned her eyes to it, it did it again: the door shook suddenly and from within there was the rustle of clothes being knocked to the floor.

"Oh, Junpei." She sighed, setting the basket down and moving to the strange door. "Let's see what you've rigged up this time, my boy."

She opened the door, flicking on the light as she did, and froze on the spot.

Sitting on a shelf that was just about eye-level with her was something big and smooth and blue. From under it blinked a pair of wide blue eyes, staring at her hesitantly. For a moment, they just stared at each other, then the little mouth opened slightly with a smile.

"Hi!"

Mrs. Shibuyama screamed. Just screamed, for quite a while. Then her sense of reason cut out completely and she fell over in a dead faint.

"Uh-oh." Raiumon gulped, looking down at her. "This is bad…"

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

"That's right. The first time I Spirit Evolved, it was…was…"

"Amazing?"

"Mind-blowing?"

"Totally awesome?"

"Well, yeah, but it was something else, too. Something different, but still…"

"I think I know what he's talking about. I felt it, too."

"Yeah, I get it now…"

"The first time it ever happened…"

"I remember, it felt…"

"Familiar."

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District

December 23rd, 1996 - 2:47 PM

"Mom, I'm home!" Junpei called, pushing the door closed behind him and toeing off his shoes. He held plastic bags stuffed full of groceries in each hand, which is why he didn't bother with his slippers as he entered the house.

"Mom?" He called again as he set the bags on the kitchen table. "I'm home, Mom! Mom!"

No answer. Junpei scratched his head. Her shoes were sitting in the entry hall, so she must have been home. Maybe she was sleeping, or…

"Junpei! Junpei!"

The boy turned to find a certain blue-and-yellow creature coming towards him, 'running' in the sense of long leaps and fast bouncing down the hall.

"What is it, Raiumon?" He asked, coming around to slid in front of the Digimon. "You're not supposed to be out! If mom sees you, she'll…"

"But she did see me!" Raiumon shrieked, bouncing again. "She opened the closet and saw me and…oh please come on!"

He leapt down the hall once again with Junpei scrambling at his heels. When he saw his mother splayed out on the floor, the boy's eyes widened. "Mom!" He exclaimed, racing over and finding her out cold. "Raiumon, what happened?"

"I don't know!" The Digimon shrieked, looking close to tears. "She saw me and stared at me and then she started screaming and she just fell over! I tired to wake her up, I really did, but I c-couldn't!"

He burst into tears and long wails. "Okay, it's okay!" Junpei exclaimed, scooping him up and scratching him behind the ear. "It's okay!"

"B-But I broke your mom!" The Digimon blubbered guiltily.

"No you didn't!" Junpei sighed. "Raiumon, it's okay, really. You just scared her, that's all. She just fainted. She'll be okay."

Raiumon sniffed. "A-Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." Junpei grinned. "Old folks are like that sometimes, especially old girls like my mom. Just wait, she'll be…"

A low groan came from the adult in question, cutting Junpei off. "She's waking up! You were right!" Raiumon cheered.

"Shhh!" Junpei jumped up and tossed the Digimon under the bed. "You gotta hide! Keep quiet!"

His mother groaned, sitting up painfully with a hand to her head. "What a dream…"

"You okay, Mom?" Junpei asked, running over.

"Oh…yes, of course I am, dear." Mrs. Shibuyama smiled, shaking her head. "I must've hit something…but I had the strangest dream, that a huge blue talking bug was hiding in your closet."

Junpei laughed nervously, glancing at Raiumon out of the corner of his eye." Yeah, mom. Totally…crazy."

( - )

"Makumon!" Izumi called, wandering through the aisles of multi-colored ferns taller than she was. "Where did you go?"

She curled in on herself with a bit of a worried noise. She and her little friend and been separated during one of their chase-games, and now Izumi found herself very much alone in the huge greenhouse.

The little blonde girl looked around worriedly. "Makumon!" She called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Where are you? Makumon!"

Echoing through the plants came a sudden voice. "Izumi! Zumi-chan, help me!"

"Makumon!" Izumi muscles suddenly burst into a run down the aisle. "Makumon, where are you?"

"I'm here!"

"Where?" Izumi took a sharp corner to get closer to the sound.

"Here!"

"Where's…oomph!"

Izumi toppled over backwards, running into the glass wall. Makumon's voice floated down from above her. "Right here."

The little girl looked up at her friend. Makumon had gotten herself profoundly tangled in a mop of long green vines, several orange blossoms clinging to them as well. The Digimon fluttered her wings uselessly, trying to get loose.

"Help me, Izumi!" She begged, slightly teary-eyed. "It's got me! I'm stuck!"

Izumi fought the urge to giggle, standing to stretch up and grab her friend. "Don't worry." She soothed, moving to untangle the vines around the Digimon's wings. "How'd you get into this tuff, anyway?"

"It attacked me!" Makumon cried, twitching ever so slightly as she started to come loose. "It changed the air and sucked me in! This Digimon's mean, Izumi!"

"It's not a Digimon." The little blonde girl laughed, pulling her friend free. "It's just a plant, and the air conditioner, Makumon. You're so floaty, you blew right in!"

She giggled happily at the adorably-confused look on her companion's face. "So it's not a Digimon?"

"Nope!" Izumi laughed, skipping back down the aisle happily. "You don't have to worry, Makumon. You're the only Digimon 'round here!"

( - )

Icy cold air wafted out of the glowing white box, filling the already 'nippy' kitchen with a heavy chill. The two Digimon looked up at it with identical expressions of pure awe.

"Wow…" Kuroimon whispered, a puff of visible breath hovering near his lips.

"What is it?" Karuimon asked, the same awe in his tone.

"It's a refrigerator." Kouji looked down at him. He and Kouichi blinked at the two Digimon, still staring in shock, then glanced at one another and shrugged.

Kouichi leaned over into the ice box to get a better look at the food. "What do you think we should make, Kouji?"

"Something simple." Kouji leaned over next to his brother. "So we don't have to bother Daddy…"

Kouichi craned his head up. "Cereal and milk?"

"Had that for breakfast. Fried rice?"

"The rice cooker's broken. Pizza?"

"Mama doesn't want us to use the oven without her or Daddy."

The two thought a moment, their little faces scrunching up into adorably-thoughtful expressions. Karuimon and Kuroimon looked up at them, then scrunched their faces up thoughtfully as well.

After several long minutes, Karuimon couldn't take it anymore. "Let's make this!" He shouted, leaping up and grabbing a random item from the stacks of frozen food in the freezer.

Kouji and Kouichi stared at the little creature, then at the package in his mouth. Finally, Kouji saw it fit to speak. "Why is there a cup of instant ramen in the freezer?"

"I dunno." Kouichi bent down and took the plastic bowl from the Digimon. "But it does still look good. We've got more in the pantry, too."

"Hey, yeah." Kouji grinned, closing the refrigerator doors and racing across the kitchen. "Nii-san, you go get those out, and I'll get the hot water going, okay?"

Kouichi smiled. "Okay!" He giggled, and hurried off to the pantry.

"I'll come with you, Kouichi-kun!" Kuroimon piped eagerly, and bounced after the slightly-elder twin.

Karuimon bounded over to blink up at Kouji, who was standing on a chair to set the kettle on the stove. "What're you doing, Kouji?"

"Gettin' the water hot." Kouji reached over and turned the burner on.

"Why?" Karuimon jumped up onto the chair with him.

"To make the ramen, silly." Kouji nodded towards the pantry, where Kouichi and Kuroimon were rummaging through the dry goods. "You can't make ramen without hot water!"

Karuimon blinked, jumping up on the counter top. "What kind of Digimon is Rah-mon? And why're you gonna make ones, Kouji-kun?"

"No! Not Rah-mon!" Kouji laughed as Kouichi and Kuroimon returned with three more beef-flavored cups. "Ramen. You'll see, you'll like it."

"If you say so." Karuimon frowned a bit, then started hopping up and down excitedly. "What's taking so long? I wanna eaaat!"

Kuroimon blinked up at his friend. "Uh, Karuimon…"

"Be careful!" Kouichi warned, watching the dog-like creature get closer to the stove edge. "You're a gonna…"

Too late. With one slightly mis-fired bounce, Karuimon's side came in contact with the red-hot burner beneath the slowly-boiling water. "OOOOOOOOOWIIIIIIIIE!" Screamed the Digimon, and leapt into the air. "IT'S HOOOOOOOOOT!"

He landed in Kouji's arms, still yelling in pain. "It's okay!" Kouji exclaimed, jumping down and racing to the sink. "It's just a little burn, Karuimon!"

He dumped the Digimon into the sink and yanked at the faucet to pour icy-cold water over the burned side. The Digimon whimpered a bit and rectified, but stayed otherwise still.

Kuroimon cooed worriedly. "He's gonna be okay, right?"

"Don't worry." Kouichi said kindly, picking the kitty-head up. "He'll be fine."

"Will I, Kouji?" Karuimon whimpered, blinking up at him.

"It's just an itty-bitty burn." Kouji smiled, reminded momentarily of all the times his mother had told him the exact same thing. "Everything's gonna be okay…"

( - )

Takuya groaned, hauling the absolutely huge bag of doggie kibbles out onto the back balcony. Chou-chou was waiting for him, tail wagging in excitement, and yip-yipped excitedly.

"Okay, okay." Takuya sighed, tearing open a corner of the bag and dumping its contents into the big silver bowl. "Here you go, Chou-chou. Dig in."

The puppy barked happily and did as he'd said without pause. The boy sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands, fronting at the dog with only a slight pout. "Man, you really cause a lot of trouble sometimes, you know that?" He sighed, shaking his head. "And it wasn't very nice to chase Takibimon around like that, you know."

The dog simply continued to gobble his food with nary a pause for breath. Takuya sighed, leaning back to look up at the sky, and at the city around him. "…I guess Mom and Shinya are going to be home soon. What a pain."

Inside the apartment, the phone rang. Takuya hopped up and scrambled in to answer it. "Hello?"

"Beepity bleep bink-bink beeeeeeeep." Said the phone.

"Huh?" Takuya looked at the phone in confusion. "What's going on?"

It was then that he noticed that the oven's timer was flashing random numbers as it screeched, as did the microwave, and the lights above him were flashing on and off. It all looked familiar…very familiar…

"Takibimon!" Takuya shouted, racing back to his room. Slowly, all the electronics return to normal just as he reached his room…and froze.

Sitting there on the floor was a tall, brown, furry creature covered in tribal-ish markings. His eyes were wide and green, a short pair of horn-like prongs sticking out of the long, spiky red hair. His feet were adorned with thick claws, while his hands wore red glove-like coverings, and he was dressed in a red vest and baggy red pants, held up by a black belt with a large, decorative belt buckle. A dog-like, yellow tail flicked in the back of him, seaming a bit anxious in all-fours sitting position on the floor.

"Oh, man." The boy whispered in shock. "How am I gonna hide this from mom?"

TBC.,.

No, Tomoki and Chiemon did not appear in the second half. The reason is because everything else flowed together so nicely, and that part was just mindless, unentertaining