Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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Startling Truths

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Kouji stumbled away from the punch bowl, bumping into several people before he regained his balance. A shiver ran down his spine, but he couldn't place the feeling.

He couldn't see straight, either.

But it didn't matter. He was floating along...nice and warm in the waters.

Kouichi, the lucky bastard, he thought, fighting the urge to vomit. "G-gah, why'd I have to have twenty cups and not pass out in the first five?" he muttered to himself. Kouji shouldered someone and mumbled an incoherent apology before attempting to push through the crowd again and head to his unknown destination. No sooner had he taken a step forward than he found himself yanked backwards. Angrily, he whirled around wildly, planning to lash out at whoever had grabbed his arm. Instead he saw a goggle-less Takuya. "Takuya?" he murmured in confusion. He looked around and found a worried Tomoki conversing with Takuya. That's...not right. Takuya shouldn't be shorter than Tomoki! What is going on?

"Kouji," Tomoki asked, "what did you do to yourself?"

"I...I go...got drunk," replied Kouji. His voice was slightly slurred.

It took Tomoki several minutes to process the facts. Then: "How many glasses?"

"'bout twenny."

'Takuya' let out a sigh. "Kouji, you shouldn't get drunk on your birthday. Oh, and I'll say happy birthday now. Happy birthday, Kouji!"

His voice sounds different. Kouji let out a laugh, nearly falling forward as he tripped. "Well thanks, Takuya. Where're we goin'?" asked the bandana-less boy, still laughing lightly.

'Takuya' and Tomoki exchanged a quiet conversation that ended with both boys erupting into a synchronized sigh. Tomoki then turned to the drunk boy and murmured, "Kouji, he's..."

"I'm not Takuya! I'm Shinya!" the younger boy snapped.

The ice broke. Kouji's eyes widened as he gasped for air. He rubbed his eyes and found a discontent Shinya glaring up at him. The oldest boy groaned, realizing what the earlier feeling was. "Where's Kouichi? Something's not right..." he whispered weakly.

Shinya and Tomoki exchanged glances before Shinya asked in a tentative voice, "You sober now?"

"I was drunk?" Kouji asked, confusion plain in his voice.

"It's a miracle! Kouji's drunk attitude lasts for mere minutes! He's invincible to the deadly poisons of alcohol!" the young boy sang, skipping ahead of the other two.

Tomoki continued to push Kouji. "Keep moving. They're all this way. It would help if you could run..."

"Right," Kouji murmured, brushing Tomoki away. "Lead the way."

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Kako finally shut her eyes, ending the glaring contest between Duskmon and herself. "Alright. Name it."

Smirking, Duskmon replied, "Do whatever I ask for a week. You'll be...oh, well, my personal slave in a way."

"FINE!" hollered Kako. "Now get out of him!"

Duskmon withdrew his presence from Kouichi, causing the boy to fall onto his knees. Once more, Kouichi was physically drained. He stood up only to fall back down again. Groaning, he rolled onto his back and stuck a hand up. "Anyone?" he asked in a small voice.

Kako walked over to Kouichi, an all too sweet smile on her face. She looked down at the relieved Kouichi before kicking his side. "You made me lose dammit! God, have better control of Duskmon! I thought you'd be able to control him after he possessed you last time! And he didn't possess you right away! I had faith in you! Weak! Unfocused! I swear, I'll make Kouji train you if I have to!" she ranted.

Kouichi's hand flew down to clutch his side. With a sigh, he muttered, "See, I told you. One minute, we're civilized and talking, the next, you're yelling. Or hitting my arm. Or-"

"Are you ever paying attention?" Kako screamed. "If you can't control Duskmon, you're as good as dead!"

Everyone fell silent. Kouichi held up his hand again. This time, however, Takuya helped him up. Izumi and Junpei made their way around the unconscious bodies and all turned to Kako in askance. "Dead?" Takuya repeated, eyebrow raised.

"Ophanimon doesn't completely trust Duskmon. And I don't either!" Kako snapped childishly.

Duskmon snorted, "Oh, and I trust you two so much. Now, starting from today, you'll address me as 'Master.'" After a pause, he added, "Slave."

"Duskmon," Kouichi murmured, shaking his head. "Okay, you two. Start explaining..."

"Well, see, Ol' Dusky here-" Kako started. When Duskmon cleared his throat, she muttered in annoyance, "It was a bet."

Takuya folded his arms. Tapping his foot impatiently, he exhaled sharply. "We know that! What about them?" He pointed to the unconscious boys on the floor.

Kako and Duskmon shrugged. Before Takuya could open his mouth again, Duskmon said, "Gizamon."

The goggle boy turned to Izumi, then Junpei. They, too, were just as confused. Exasperated, Kako sighed. "Izumi, drop the act now. I need help explaining."

Her cousin frowned. "Kako, maybe we should-" Izumi started. Kako stomped on Takuya's foot, emitting a howl from the boy. Izumi complied, "Fine."

"See, first of all, there's the shadow system," Kako murmured. "And then there's Lucemon being resurrected or reborn or something." She stopped, noticing the confused looks from everyone but Duskmon. "Er, okay, shadow system first..."

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"OH! I GET IT!" Takuya cheered, jumping up happily.

Everyone else was still seated, paying heed to Kako's every word.

"Right. And then there's Lucemon," Kako whispered. "See, I think he wanted to impersonate Kouji at first..."

Kouichi's eyes widened. "What? Why?" he exclaimed.

Rolling her eyes, Kako was about to whack Kouichi's arm when Duskmon ordered, "Bow, slave."

The girl stopped and turned to Duskmon. Punching Kouichi's arm, she growled, "What?"

"Bow to the fool." Duskmon smirked as Kouichi's face reddened considerably.

"WHAT?"

Kako turned to the wincing Kouichi. She crossed her arms and glared back at Duskmon. "I'm explaining." She returned her attention to the circle. "So, anyway, something about the bandana being cool. He even sent Rai a letter-"

Izumi interrupted, "Seriously?"

"Well...yeah. Basically, he didn't want to bother with surprise attacks. It takes a while for a digimon to regain its strength after being reborn. He wanted us to know he was back. He knew it would take us just as long to prepare. And so, Kouichi got to be the first with a digimon! Oh, but before that, for some odd reason, Duskmon appeared. But that makes no sense, because Lowemon is Duskmon purified and Duskmon is Lowemon corrupted..."

As Kako continued to talk, Kouichi realized something he hadn't before. If Duskmon couldn't exist because Lowemon did, then there must have been something in him that caused this to happen. After all, he was their shadow.

"Kako," Kouichi murmured quietly, "is it possible that-uh-um, hi, Shinya."

Everyone turned to face Shinya, who stood beside his older brother, nodding. His eyes were shut and he seemed to be in a thinking pose. Behind him, Tomoki and Kouji were shaking their heads. Shinya opened his eyes. Putting on a Takuya-like grin, he waved. "Hey. What'd I miss? Kako and Kouichi making out? Or maybe brother dear here kissing Izumi like crazy? Oh, but there's unconscious weirdos that are tied up. Did I miss a fight?"

Takuya began to growl, "You didn't miss anything. Now scram."

Laughing, Shinya patted his older brother's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "No worries!" he declared. "Kouji's resistant!"

"SHADDUP!" Kouji thundered. Flushing red, he ran over and began pulling on the young boy's ears. "I told you to keep shut."

"Owowowowow!" Shinya yelled in pain. "Takuya! Help!"

With a smile, Tomoki reminded the younger boy, "If you don't recall, he did say he was the 'Kouji' type of brother."

Shinya screamed as Takuya began to tickle him. "No! Come on! If you don't-" The goggle boy's brother burst into fits of laughter, writhing as Kouji, too, began to tickle him.

Izumi did her best not to laugh, while Junpei went on ahead to giggle madly. Kouichi shook his head with a sigh.

"Um, Kouichi?" Kako whispered, tapping on his shoulder.

He turned to her, confused. "Huh?"

Kako swallowed her pride and bowed down quickly. "I feel like an idiot," she muttered, rising up.

Kouichi felt his cheeks warm up. Lifting a hand to his forehead, he let out a sigh. He didn't have a fever. But then, why do I feel so sick? He turned to Takuya and Kouji and called out, "Hey! Duo of Destruction! Mind stopping? We ought to head back before those nine wake up. If they can digivolve, that doesn't really bode well for us. Besides, Shinya and Tomoki shouldn't be here."

Everyone stood up and began the walk. Kouichi quickly walked up to Kako and murmured, "You didn't have to. Bow, I mean."

Smiling, Kako shook her head. "Yeah, well...unfortunately, though he looks like a mere spirit, Duskmon can make himself...well, I suppose you could say real. He could become physical, you know? So, it's best not to even test it. It's the same with the rest of the digimon. But they have to be careful. If they completely become physically real, that means everyone can see them. And...they wouldn't be able to hide. Well, Duskmon might, with all the shadows, but Agunimon and the rest couldn't simply walk through walls or anything."

"So they're like ghosts?" Kouichi asked.

She nodded. "In a way."

"Why could those nine...digivolve?"

Kako let out a sigh and rested her head on his shoulder for a second before standing up straight and murmuring, "See, about that...Lucemon was able to rip through the gateway from the Digital World to the Real World. And now, there's a whole bunch of tears that occasionally pop up. So, any digimon could hop through one of those windows, and due to the fact that you guys are the only ones with D-Tectors, their human shadows would automatically digivolve into the respective digimon."

"Oh..." Kouichi fell silent. Conversations from everyone else could be heard.

"So, Takuya, who did you go to the dance with?" Izumi asked, hugging the goggles boy's arm.

Takuya shivered. "Ai. But I lost her. Thank gods for the masquerade. It attracted a huge crowd, and with that mask...well, it was pretty easy to lose her!" the goggle boy laughed.

Kouichi let out a laughed, "The mask saved me, too." He smiled. "But the masquerade was pretty smart. Sheesh, I don't think I could've survived without either the crowd or the mask."

"And the mask was great in place of my goggles," Takuya added, patting his goggles.

Kouichi paused. With a laugh, he added, "Oh, right, because all the cool kids wear goggles."

Turning to him, the goggle boy insisted, "They will! One day!"

"Ooh, ooh, I want goggles! Come on, Takuya, lemme wear them sometime!" Shinya begged, jumping up and down in front of his brother.

Glaring at his little brother, Takuya snapped, "No. NOW MOVE IT, YOU LITTLE SHRIMP!"

"I'm not a shrimp! Kouichi says I'm krill!"

Izumi stifled a laugh. "That's even smaller," she told the boy.

Takuya turned to Kouichi. Shrugging, Kouichi replied, "He asked what was smaller. I answered plankton. He asked what was bigger than plankton. I answered krill."

"Besides, krill sounds cool," Shinya commented.

The goggle boy let out a sigh. He turned from one twin to the other. Turning to Tomoki, who was walking on the other side of him, Takuya asked, "What's up with Kouji?"

Tomoki looked around before whispering quietly, "He got drunk."

In a loud whisper, Shinya added, "And he's really alcohol resistant!"

"DRUNK?" Takuya repeated. His eyes were wide. Horrified, he turned to Kouji. "DRUNK? YOU GOT DRUNK?"

Kouji winced and slouched a bit more. "Shut up, dammit," he muttered, looking away from everyone.

Swallowing, Kako turned to Kouichi. This...would be my fault, she thought, pulling away from Kouichi's side and placing a hand on the younger twin's shoulder. Quietly, she murmured, "Hey...Kouji..."

"Go away."

"Wait!" Kouichi suddenly blurted, a hand flying to his forehead. He blinked, squinted at the ground. Finally, he sighed in relief, and his hand dropped to his side. As if he remembered something, he murmured, "Oh, whatever. I already did say happy birthday. But, hey, Kouji. Happy birthday."

Kouji turned to his brother. "Shut. Up. I have half a mind to punch you right now."

"What...?"

"YOU LET ME GET DRUNK, DAMMIT!"

Kouichi scratched his head. Finally, he shook his head. "Hey," the older boy muttered, "You didn't get hurt. Although, that kinda does ruin your reputation."

Angrily, Kouji screamed, "YOU THINK?"

"Sorry, sorry. But like Shinya said, you're pretty resistant. I promise not to let that happen again?" Kouichi looked at his brother from his peripheral vision, hoping his words would make him feel better, at least make him smile. Nothing. Kouji still had the same glum look on his face.

Letting out a sigh, Kouji shrugged Kako's hand off. "I'm heading home. Tomorrow's a busy day," he mumbled, breaking away from the rest of the group.

Kouichi frowned. Before he could open his mouth or say anything, Kouji interjected, "No. You stay here. Just...don't...do anything you'll regret."

WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? Kouichi's head screamed angrily while Kouji walked off. No one said a word.

"W-wait! Kouji!" Kako blurted, running up to the younger twin and pulling him back. "What...did you do to Kanaye?"

Kouji stopped and placed a hand on the side of his head. "I...I think I beat him up." Everyone's jaw dropped. Soon, Kouji found him surrounded by several amazed faces. Questions were thrown at him. Blinking, the boy stepped away and fell back onto the floor. "Uh...h-hey...do you mind giving me a little space?" he snapped. Kouji scowled as they continued to pester him.

"Come on, come on, how'd you do it?" Takuya asked before Izumi tried pushing him out of the way to ask her own question.

Junpei laughed, "Wish I could've seen it!"

Shinya jumped up and down. "Oh, oh, who's Kanaye?" Tomoki pulled him away, much to Kouji's relief.

Finally, Kouichi dragged them all back and walked up to Kouji. "Come on, we should all head home," he murmured, offering a hand.

Blinking, Kouji looked at the hand, not knowing what to do. I don't deserve this, he panicked. He stood up and pushed Kouichi back. "Idiot," he muttered. "Why do you help me, still?"

Kouichi exhaled sharply after catching himself and stepped forward, punching his brother. "I told you, ten billion times. And now, I'm not answering that," he snapped. After seeing Kouji had fallen to the ground, he held out his hand again. "Do you plan on pushing me away this time?"

Letting out a laugh, Kouji shook his head and accepted Kouichi's hand. Rubbing his jaw, he muttered, "You punch hard..."

"Slave," Duskmon hissed to Kako, "go kiss Kouji."

Kako's eyes widened. Angrily, she turned to Duskmon and growled, "What?"

"Go. Kiss. Kouji."

Everyone turned to Duskmon and the furious Kako.

"I REFUSE!"

"Then..." Duskmon drew out his blade and pointed it at Kako. Squealing, Kako nodded and scurried over to Kouji. Duskmon sneered, "Better make it on the lips."

Rolling her eyes, Kako walked up to Kouji. "Sorry, Kouichi," she muttered as she leaned up to kiss Kouji, but stopped halfway. Suddenly, she turned and pointed an accusing finger at Duskmon. "Oh, I see what you're doing! You're trying to ruin my relationship! FORGET IT! THE DEAL'S OFF!" Kako yelled angrily, slapping Kouji instead.

Kouichi slapped his forehead and held Kako back as she attempted to run over to Duskmon, threatening to poke all of his eyes out. "Kako...KAKO!" he yelled above her screaming.

Kako stopped and looked up at him. Confusion filled her eyes as she answered, "Hm? Oh, yes? W-wait..." Turning red, she pushed him away. "Why are you so close?"

"WHAT?" Kouichi exclaimed. "Excuse me, but you were trying to murder Duskmon!"

She nodded. "True. But no one would have really cared."

His mouth was open, but nothing came out. Kouichi fell silent and looked away. "Uh, yeah. Let's go," he muttered, not bothering to wait for anyone else as he made his way out.

Confused, Kako turned to Izumi. "What did I do?" she asked. "Duskmon...?"

Duskmon snorted. "I believe," he told her, "it was the comment, 'But no one would have really cared.' As true as it is, he does know slightly more than you in certain areas. And this is one area he completely knows. You couldn't begin to imagine it."

Guiltily, Kako turned to Kouji. "Um, sorry about slapping you."

Kouji let out a nervous laugh. Smiling, he commented, "On the same side as Kouichi's punch. You two make quite a couple." With that comment, he smiled slyly and added, "Quite a couple. Much like TAKUYA and Izumi."

"Oh shut up!" Izumi snapped, pulling away from her kiss with Takuya and glaring at Kouji.

Shinya burst out into laughter. "Thanks, Kouji!" he laughed, camera in hand as he ran away from his red faced brother.

Tomoki snatched the camera from Shinya and allowed the boy to hide behind him as Junpei held back Takuya. Nevertheless, Takuya managed to break free and lunged for his brother.

With a sigh, Shinya ran straight to Izumi and hid behind her. Startled, Izumi looked to Kako for help, but found her cousin and Kouji making their way out of the building. "Kako!" she exclaimed, running after the younger girl. "You still have my dress!"

Shinya screamed as Takuya managed to tackle him. Tomoki and Junpei exchanged unsure glances and headed to the two brothers to prevent any broken limbs.

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"Later!" Kouji yelled, waving to everyone else as he opened the door. He sighed and found his mother and Kouichi on the couch, talking quietly to each other. "Mom...?"

Ms. Kimura looked up and beckoned her son over. "Kouji, I...well," she stuttered, looking to her other son for help.

Kouichi held up an envelope. Quietly, he mumbled, "Tickets. To Hawaii. For both of us."

"N-not Mom?"

"I have a job," Ms. Kimura whispered. "Anyway, you two discuss what you want to take." She stood up and smiled, then walked off.

Disgusted, Kouichi threw the envelope onto the table. Kouji fell onto the couch beside his brother, eyes wide in shock. "Wh-why...?"

"Read the letter. Oh, he's brilliant," sneered Kouichi, "'I'd appreciate it if you and your brother could come over so we could discuss certain family matters.' Obviously, he thinks Mom isn't family."

Kouji sighed, "So you aren't going?"

"I don't know," Kouichi confessed after a pause. Even softer, he whispered, "Mom wants us to go, though."

"When is it scheduled for?"

"Spring break."

"Great..."

Kouichi stood up. "Kouji, you have to go. No matter what, you have to. By then, I should be able to control Duskmon," he murmured, the last part mainly to himself.

The younger twin nodded. Standing up as well, he declared, "I'll sleep on it."

"Me too. Cut your hair."

"WHAT?"

"It's too long," Kouichi replied, heading to his room.

"Yeah? Well yours is too short!" Kouji snapped lamely. Great comeback, bandana boy.

Smiling, Kouichi tossed a bandana to his brother. "I figured you'd lose the other one. Happy birthday," he told his brother. Kouichi walked into his room, not bothering to look back to see his brother's reaction.

Kouji caught the bandana with ease. He quickly examined it for any wet paint or anything else Kouichi could have done to embarrass him. Finding nothing, he sighed and was about to put it on when he noticed something on a corner of the bandana. To himself, he read, "'Kouji. The most pathetic, but trustworthy twin on the Earth. Nevertheless, pathetic.' Oh, gee, thanks, Kouichi." He turned it around and found more writing. 'Never give up. Never look down. Lose this and you'll lose a lot more.' Kouji shivered as he headed into his room. Crazy twin. He'll get his presents tomorrow.

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A/N-

Well, anyway, that was all over the place! Second chapter done! It's still short. Oh, if I happen to not update for over a week or something (but I have the third chapter done), you can guess it's either one of the following:

Homework, Writer's Block, Parents

Because honestly, this entire break has been spent on fanfics, and...I might get in trouble when it comes to school. .:sweatdrop:. Sorry. Haha...I'm an idiot. Anyway! NEXT CHAPTER YOU'LL LOVE, I'M SURE! (I mean, isn't reading someone's diary fun?)

I know that some of you might find the shadow theory a bit…stupid, or weird, but I assure you, there's more to it than that. So if you'd allow me the chance to get deeper into the story, you may find a lot of your questions answered, and hopefully you'll come to accept the made up idea. If you don't, that's okay! Opinions, opinions, yes?

Thank you for the reviews-

WithBrokenWings, Catwarrior, PrincessKaze, GemmaniGirl, Dragons Ark, Snowy Leopardess

Review or Flame.