Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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Now Is The Time

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"Lowemon, Duskmon. You guys can come out," Kouichi called out, wondering why the two digimon kept to the shadows.

Looking slightly embarrassed, Lowemon stepped out of the shadows, kneeling before Marise as he walked into the room, gently shutting the door. The bookstore owner look seemed to flow back into him as he frowned disapprovingly at Lowemon. "Get up, get up," he ordered irritably. Turning to Kouichi, he murmured, "You know we're holding much more from you, don't you, Kouichi? To make up for that fact, we must hone your skills until they cannot be improved further without you having to be reborn. We need you at your full potential, no matter what. Even when Duskmon fades physically, you will still be able to spirit evolve to him. And that is why we must make sure you are ready, no matter what."

Kouichi nodded, ignoring the fact that a grumpy Duskmon had just materialized from the shadow of a table in the corner. He concentrated as Marise pulled out two bokuto from a rack. He tossed one to Kouichi and kept the other resting in a comfortable grip in his right hand. Kouichi caught it, slightly fumbling as he attempted to find his grip.

"What is the purpose of a bokuto?" Marise asked softly. A second later, he appeared in front of Kouichi.

He knew he had no chance of winning. Kouichi swallowed and replied, "To enhance focus in Aikido. It's also used for kendo practice to get used to the curve of a blade and practice strokes. A shinai, on the other hand, are straight and unsuitable for that purpose." He barely blocked the attack. With the speed Marise actually possessed, Kouichi would be lucky to come out unscathed. There was the possibility of trying out Lowemon or Duskmon, but at the moment, Kouichi doubted that Marise wanted him to prove their strength.

The man jumped back, landing lightly on his feet. "Good," he murmured. "From now on, you'll be using this bokuto instead of your actual sword. In the case of fighting an enemy, you will still use the bokuto. You will not digivolve. Give me your D-Tector."

A horrible feeling bubbled in the bottom of Kouichi's stomach. He reluctantly pulled his D-Tector out of his pocket and handed it to Marise. "Okay," he whispered, looking at the floor. Something seemed to be wrenched out of him, something important.

Marise must have noticed Kouichi's discontent. "Now," he told the boy, "don't give me that attitude. This is merely training, Kouichi. In place of your D-Tector, I'll give you a storage device. It's one of our earlier prototypes of the D-Tector. Not suitable for spirit evolution, though. It has just enough space for your bokuto." As he said this, Marise pulled out a white device from his pocket and handed it to Kouichi. "Carry it with you at all times. You'll need it."

Glumly, Kouichi accepted the device and turned to Duskmon and Lowemon. They were too preoccupied with another heated argument to notice. Looking back at Marise, he asked, "So I always have to carry around this..." He searched his mind for a suitable name. "This...digivice?"

"Yes."

"Alright," Kouichi mumbled. "Does this mean I don't have to train with Hideki anymore?" he suddenly asked a bit too eagerly.

At this, Marise chuckled, "No. Saturday lessons with Hideki, weekdays with me." Kouichi sagged his shoulders, slowly falling into laughter along with Marise.

But in the back of his mind, something nagged him. He was sure something wasn't right. But what...? Kouichi could only imagine.

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Kako was about to scream when Kanaye covered her mouth, pinning her against the wall. Why? Why did I have to stumble upon him of all people? Desperately, she raised her foot, preparing to bring it down on Kanaye, somewhere, anywhere. He caught her foot; she was rendered helpless. So much for being the hero for once, Kako thought as he yanked her feet from under her, causing the girl to crash to the floor. Angrily, she stood up and growled, "Didn't anyone ever tell you? Don't hit a girl...they hit harder!" Kako tried another kick, aiming it for his head.

Kanaye dodged it easily. Again, he swept Kako's feet from under her, this time catching her arm and softening her fall. "But I didn't hit you, Kako," he told her in an all too sweet voice. If there was one thing she hated, it was Kanaye's mock innocence. She scowled as he held a hand out to help her up. "Now, Kako," Kanaye murmured, "if you play nice, I will, too."

What the heck. Why not? I'll catch him when his guard's down, she decided, not accepting his hand and instead standing up herself. He just pushed her back down and held out his hand again. "What is with you?" she growled angrily, reluctantly accepting his hand.

He chuckled, turning around sharply after letting go of her hand. "Follow me, and don't think of running away. Did you think that by following me here you could find some information to report back to your beloved Kouichi?" he sneered, walking briskly.

Kako practically had to run to keep up with him. "Maybe," she snapped defensively.

After a moments silence, he confessed, "You very nearly got away with it. I wouldn't have known if Ai hadn't called me. I guess I do owe her that dinner." He fell into a thoughtful silence.

Ai? Ew, so they're going out? Oh, what am I saying? This is perfect, Kako wanted to laugh aloud. Instead, she just smiled. "Oh, so are you two going out?" she asked politely.

"Unfortunately," was the dry answer.

Sorry, Kouichi. Wanting to cringe, Kako placed a hand on Kanaye's back. "You deserve better," she said softly. You deserve a trashcan, that's what you do. And Ai's worse than one, so it's good. "Poor boy..." It took all her self control to keep her eyes on his when Kanaye turned around.

"Sakai, are you feeling well?" Kanaye asked, eyebrow raised.

"Perfectly. Why?" she responded, suddenly snaking both hands around his neck. This is disgusting, Kako thought. He sweats a lot.

Kanaye seemed as if his brain stopped functioning. For once, all Kako could see was a normal boy rather than the annoying rival he had been to her for quite a while. The fact was getting to her, and she was sure that if it kept going, she would be the one off guard. Instead, with the constant chant of 'Kanaye is your rival,' in her head, she managed to keep to her senses. Kanaye, on the other hand, she wasn't sure about.

The boy slowly moved his hands around her waist, pulling her towards him. Kako flinched slightly at the sudden contact of their bodies. It was unexpected, even to him. Slowly, Kanaye drew a breath and turned around, releasing Kako from his grip and forcing himself out of hers. He cleared his throat and continued walking down the endlessly white halls. "Hurry up. You're lagging behind."

Satisfied that her plans were working, Kako skipped beside Kanaye, a wide smile on her face. Oh, I am good.

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"Say, Tomoki, why don't you come with us if you aren't busy for the rest of the day? Izumi and I were going to spy on Hideki and Rai for Kako and Shinya wanted to come along," Takuya told the younger boy, fastening his goggles back up on his head.

Tomoki shrugged. "Sure, why not? If you don't mind, that is. I could keep Shinya off your back if you want me to," he replied, standing up. Not a burden any longer! Just watch-Tomoki Himi's going to get through this, world! That was all he had to do. Keep happy thoughts and he'd be flying to a new Never land.

At this, Takuya laughed, "It's a done deal, then! Man, I've been waiting forever for someone to say that!"

Tomoki suddenly blushed. Modesty flew through his veins. "Y-yeah, well, it's just...in return, you know," he mumbled awkwardly.

"Takuya, hurry up! And if Tomoki isn't coming, I'm going to have Shinya sing on the way there!" Izumi called out.

The two boys exchanged glances before bursting out into laughter.

"So if I wasn't coming," Tomoki cackled, "you'd really be done for."

Still laughing, Takuya affirmed, "Pretty much. That's why you're coming whether you like it or not!"

The laughter died down before the two burst into another wave. It was a pure, carefree feeling, one Tomoki loved. His heart felt lighter, his entire essence fresher. With his newfound wings, however young and small they were, Tomoki would fly to the highest point of the world.

Just wait, Takuya, he thought, beaming up at his idol as they walked to the restaurant. I'll make all of you guys proud. All of you, and Yutaka. And then the world will see...

All his life, Tomoki felt like a spoiled crybaby who always got what he wanted because he was a crybaby. Yutaka had been right. Now, the feeling of being a simple inch of the ground was refreshing. He knew what the real world was like. And he loved that feeling.

...I'm ready.

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As soon as the waiter left, Hideki jumped out of his seat and looked around. There was a tingling that disrupted his senses; something was wrong.

Rai, noticing his discomfort, shifted in her seat. "Sit," she whispered. "People are staring." When he slowly sat back down, she continued, "You feel it too? And not just because those four are watching us?"

"Yeah...Kako-"

Rai cut him off with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. She'll be fine," the biology teacher told him. But she felt it too. Although Hideki was Kako's brother, Rai felt it a thousand times worse. "What do you say we just forget this, get Takuya and Junpei, and go after her?" she suddenly asked.

Frowning, Hideki replied in an accusing voice, "You told me not to be worried. Why are you worried? She's my sister!"

In turn, Rai bit her lip. Why did I agree to this? What ever happened to me? Next time, Rai, don't listen to Marise, she scolded herself. She hated being in this position. She hated having to explain. "Listen, Hideki, I'll explain it later," muttered Rai, looking away.

"No, now," he growled. His voice was rising dangerously. "I'm sick of it, Rai. You ignore all my calls, you don't talk to me unless Kako's grade is involved-all you can think of is your goddamn job. To hell with that! I want to talk now. No more putting this off. Do you love me or do you pity me?" he snapped, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table.

She sat there, unmoving. It took several minutes before Rai slowly met Hideki's gaze with an ice-cold look of her own. "Pity," she answered softly.

Stunned, Hideki stepped back. "Wh-what?" he stuttered.

"I pity you," Rai repeated gently, standing up. "Good day, Hideki. I expect you'll be at our next meeting." Emitting a sigh, she walked out of the restaurant. However much she wanted to turn around, however much she wanted to run back to him, she couldn't. She was positive that, no matter what she did, Hideki's heart would remain fragmented, unable to ever be fully pieced back together.

Doing her best to control her emotions, Rai walked out of the door. She didn't make eye contact with her students. Instead, she shut her eyes and inclined her head in their direction. "Takuya, Izumi," Rai murmured. Her eye opened again, and she looked in front of her. "I'll see you four later. Shinya...and Tomoki, good luck," she whispered, continuing to walk again.

"W-wait! Ms. Kawai!" Takuya yelled, holding his hand out as if to reach for her shoulder. "You can't just dump him! Slap him! Kick him, for goodness sakes! Don't just leave him there!" he pleaded.

Rai stopped in her tracks and hung her head. "It...it hurts less, when you finish a relationship like that. It makes it easier to remember the person. Takuya, if I do that, he'll recover quicker than Lucemon being attacked by an Agumon. Hideki is persistent. It takes this to get a message into his head. I..." Suddenly trailing off, Rai shut her eyes. "I'll see you later," she repeated firmly, breaking into a run.

Before Takuya could run after her, Izumi grabbed her boyfriend's arm. "No," she whispered. "It's enough heartbreak for them already."

"Izumi, they're making a mistake," Takuya cried desperately, trying to force back the tears that began to sting his eyes. A choked sob broke through as he weakly told her, "You know...what he said."

The girl drew a breath. If he isn't going to be the sensible one, I guess I have to, Izumi reasoned, raising her hand and bringing it down on Takuya's cheek. "Pull yourself together. I know what he says, but do you know what she feels? Do something useful and go talk to Hideki instead!" she snapped angrily.

A shadow hovered behind her. Izumi whirled around, surprised at the calm face of Hideki. He quietly placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Nothing will change her mind. You kids are way too young for this. If you're going to do anything useful, try locating Kako. I have a feeling that wherever she is, Kanaye is too," he whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Sheez, adult romance," Shinya muttered in disgust when Hideki walked off. Snorting, the young boy turned to Tomoki. "So dramatic. So Tomoki, I never asked-hey, why are you crying?"

Tomoki, who had tears streaming down his cheek and hands clenched by his sides suddenly found himself yelling, "Why did you have to ruin the moment? God, I feel stupid now..." Sniffing, he wiped his eyes and glanced at Takuya and Izumi. Both gazed at their feet quietly. "H-hey, Shinya, why don't we go...somewhere else. I think they need time alone," Tomoki whispered to the younger boy.

Shinya nodded, and the two quietly walked away, occasionally throwing glances behind their backs, Tomoki in hopes that they would follow and Shinya in hopes they would kiss so he could catch them on camera.

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Cold-blooded murder would have been less painful. Walking down the hall she was in, Kako wondered just how white the place could get.

Obviously, no taste in color, she decided, shivering and edging closer to him absentmindedly. What she had seen before was getting to her, but the effect produced was what she wanted. Kanaye didn't move, but instead seemed to be pulling her towards him. God, if Kouichi was here, what I would do. But he's not here, and I'm weak, she told herself.

All she could do was buy time.

"So, where's Ai?" she asked in an innocent voice, wondering what her next move should be. Haste wasn't the best theme for the moment. Wanting to scream, she pressed closer to him, suddenly feeling a chill overcome her. Kako's eyes widened. She looked up at Kanaye fearfully, trying to pull away. "U-uh, K-Kanaye," she whispered, "it's...cold. Do you guys have the AC on or something?"

Kanaye chuckled, "No. It's a waste of money."

Trembling, Kako pulled closer to him. It wasn't that she wanted to. If anything, she wanted to push him away. But the sudden rush of ice through her veins resulted in the need to be warmed. The closest source of warmth just happened to be Kanaye, much to her disgust. He was enjoying every second of it. It was as if he planned for this all to happen. Deciding it was better to remain cold, Kako pushed him away and kept a small smile. "So, why is it so white? You seem more of a red or blue to me," she commented, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her teeth from chattering.

Returning the smile with a hint of a devious plan, Kanaye pulled her back towards him. "White is reassuring. We'll take this room."

"Wh-what?" Kako tried to keep calm, blinking at Kanaye in an innocently confused manner.

Kanaye's smirk widened. "Oh, you know..." He leaned towards her. "I just wanted to...talk to you," whispered the boy, leaning towards her.

GET AWAY! Oh, great, Kako, her mind screamed, he's going to kiss you! Disgusting! Dodge! Kako found herself immobilized. Damn...sorry, Kouichi, she thought, shutting her eyes as Kanaye pushed her against the wall.

Her reflexes acted instead. A split second later, her foot stuck out, Kanaye two feet away from her shoe. Oh...hell, there goes the wonderful act, she thought miserably, reddening considerably. "Where's a door when you need one?" she muttered, spinning around and racing down the hall. She could hear Kanaye's footsteps right behind her. And whenever you need to run, you tend to run faster than you do in PE. NO! GOD, WHERE'S THE DOOR? Running out of breath, she stopped and whirled around, glaring at Kanaye.

Kanaye paused before bursting out into laughter, "Do you really intend to fight me, Kako? I thought you had more sense than that!"

"Oh shut up! I could beat you ten times over!" Kako spat. With words, anyway.

The amused look on his face quickly faded. "I told you to cooperate so things would be smooth," the boy hissed, grabbing her arm. "I'm not sure your beloved Kouichi would want to see you hurt...or in a very...interesting situation."

Eyes wide, Kako screamed, "YOU'RE ALL PERVERTS!" Swiftly, she released her arm and stepped back. "I'll go nicely if you don't say anything perverted! In fact, don't talk to me unless you need to! And don't touch me, either," she added.

"Deal..." Smirking, Kanaye held a hand out in front of him. "After you, Kako," he said, bowing slightly in a mocking manner.

Kako stormed ahead, determined not to be beaten.

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"What's this place?" Kako snapped, staring around at the blank room.

White, white, white. She was beginning to hate the color.

"Nothing," he replied, shutting the door and locking it.

Oh, great. Where's Kouichi when you need him? Her mind answered the question angrily, Hiding secrets, that's what. It's his fault you're here. There was a certain truth to that, one Kako wished didn't exist. Feeling that the quiet was getting to her, Kako snapped, "Don't you have any rooms that aren't in white?" Mentally, she noted there was no furniture in the room.

"No."

"Any rooms with furniture?" she tried, slowly getting exasperated.

His answer was the same. "No." Kanaye turned to the lone window opposite the door and walked over to it, sighing.

"What do you want?" Kako suddenly snapped. "We aren't doing anything. You might as well let me go!" It irritated her to do absolutely nothing.

Kanaye turned to her, smiling smugly. He must have had some plan, she guessed, because he wasn't glaring at her. "We will be doing something soon. You'll just have to be...patient." His eyes narrowed in on her as he asked, "Unless you have something in mind?"

Beating you up! Kako rolled her eyes and walked up to the window, trying to ignore his presence. The sun was slowly sinking behind the clouds, casting a gray touch to the already gloomy looking area. There were certain areas where sunlight would suddenly peek out, but all traces of light were quickly subdued by an overcast sky. "Yeah, I have something in mind," Kako murmured slowly, arms folded on the windowsill. She leaned forward as if to capture a better view of the sky. "Watching the clouds."

Looking beaten, Kanaye fell silent and turned away. "Good. I'm sure that will keep you occupied by the time Fujitaka comes back. Oh, would you like to know why he's working for me?" Kanaye asked, chuckling darkly.

"Enlighten me," Kako replied. Her voice was filled with sarcasm. She could have cared less. All she wanted was for Kanaye to shut up and leave her alone.

But even when he shut up after talking, his words haunted her. "You remember that pathetic excuse of a boyfriend you have? Well, knowing I'm his greatest enemy, Fujitaka is helping me. And not only will I get rid of Kimura, but maybe have a little fun in the process. After all, time with Ai is quite...droll. But time with you would be ten times more interesting, I'm sure. I can't help it if I like to hear screaming," he commented, walking towards the door.

Wide-eyed, Kako screamed, "GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW! I meant it, Kanaye!" Furiously, she tore off her shoe and threw it at him, managing to hit his knee. The shoe harmlessly bounced off and fell to the floor.

Kanaye burst out into laughter. "You see that," he commented, picking up the shoe and tossing it back to Kako, "was worth every moment of what you plan to do to me when you can."

"Oh, just wait. There's no way you'll survive when I get my hands on you," Kako growled, putting her shoe back on. "And I was serious! Get out of the room right now. I don't intend on sharing the same room with a goddamn pervert!"

A smirk played on Kanaye's lips. "Knowing your boyfriend's going to come gives you hope of successfully beating me up? He doesn't even know you're missing."

"It's not because of Kouichi!" Kako insisted loudly above the slam of the door. There was a click; she guessed he locked the door. Sighing, Kako sank down against the wall, staring at her hands. How much time do I have to kill? Another sigh escaped her and she shut her eyes. The least she could do was catch up on some sleep.

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Shinya frowned, a rare occurrence for him. "Tomoki, where are we going?" he asked the older boy, scratching the back of his head.

Also frowning, Tomoki replied, "No idea. I intended to get to the arcade but...this fog...I can't see anything." He desperately looked around, trying to find a way out of the fog. In his heart, Tomoki was frightened. It seemed impossible to get through. But I have to be confident, he suddenly realized, Takuya's depending on me!

Acknowledging that fact, Tomoki turned to Shinya. "We can't split up. That would be lunacy," he murmured. Although he didn't want to, Tomoki drew a long breath and declared, "We'll just have to wait for it to clear up, then."

"Yeah, that's all great and all, but...what's that?" Shinya asked, pointing to the almost visible form ahead.

Tomoki squinted, not sure what to make of the shadow through the fog. "A person?" he wondered aloud. It might be a sign. Or...or a building, he hoped silently, absentmindedly grabbing Shinya's sleeve. "We have to be...careful."

Cackling, Shinya replied, "Oh, I'm all about being careful! Yep, you know me, always careful!" The carefree attitude dropped. Whimpering, Shinya grabbed a hold of Tomoki's arm. "Don't tell Takuya, please. I'm scared to bits," the young boy admitted in a whisper.

Tomoki wanted to laugh, but found he wasn't able to. He was drowning in fear, unable to speak. Opening his mouth, choking sounds escaped him. Closing his mouth resulted in the want to scream. With his jaw hanging, Tomoki stumbled back, falling on the ground and accidentally dragging Shinya down with him. "I...I think we should-"

The younger boy interrupted with a scream, "Running would be good!"

The figure walked forward, sneering at the two. A boy about Kouichi's age, Tomoki guessed, stood before them and whispered, "I suggest you just surrender the package. We wouldn't want there to be a little...accident."

There was a long silence.

As expected by Tomoki, Shinya was the first to break it with a smart comment. "Boy, are you new at this stuff?" the boy asked, snorting. "Even my brother could do better!"

And Tomoki couldn't help but smile. Shinya was almost in every way like his brother. Both could keep insanely calm in times of danger if they really wanted to. Similarly, both could be frightened to death.

Newfound courage flew through Tomoki. If Shinya could stand up to the likes of their opposition, he could, too. "He's got a point. That scare lasted about a second," Tomoki remarked, winking at Shinya.

The two exchanged grins.

Without warning, Shinya jumped up and charged towards the boy in front of him, arm poised for a punch. It took the same time for him to be flung back by some invisible force. Groaning as he fell to the floor, Shinya looked to Tomoki. "I think we should have just run," he mumbled weakly.

Angrily, Tomoki demanded, "Who are you?" His eyes were glued on the boy as he scooted towards Shinya, who lay only a foot away.

"Doesn't matter," the boy sneered, "you'll be coming with me, whether you like it or not."

There was an incoherent yell from Shinya. That was the last thing Tomoki remembered before complete black.

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A/N-

Not so great of a cliffy and short chapter. Sorry! I get less and less reviews, and though that's not the problem, I begin to wonder if everyone who wanted to actually read the last chapter. I don't want to post too fast, you know?

Another chapter won't be up for quite I while, I think. My mom will be gone for ten days (I told you, yes?) and in those ten days I have to work on homework, clean the house, go to TKD, clean the house, make sure my brother does his homework, clean the house, make sure my brother is ready for his TKD test, clean the house, etc. Pathetic excuse, I know, but if I try writing a chapter during that time, it'll come out forced. And I have a better excuse to couple that. It's from our school newspaper.

"Dear Readers,
The original release date of the Epic, Vol. 41, Issue 5 was February 7, 2006. However, several misprints on the part of our publishing company have forced the release date to be moved back to today, February 8.
We stand by our commitment to the quality of the newspaper, and we refuse to compromise its integrity simply in the interest of timeliness. We hope you enjoy this edition of the newspaper as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Epic Staff"

And that was the note. I would hate to rush the story. This will affect both of us; I'll be losing readers, and you'll be irked from a lack of chapters. I love updating quickly, but now really isn't the time (contradicting chapter to put this A/N in) to rush. I do thank you greatly for your understanding and your tolerance of my excuses, which don't seem so valid. YinYang HikariYami, I pray you won't let loose your hyenas yet. I'll do my best to post if you do your best to patiently wait, but most of all enjoy and please review.

THANK YOU for the reviews and PMs and whatnot that I so very much enjoyed-

Catwarrior, YinYang HikariYami, WithBrokenWings, GemmaniGirl

Review or PM or Flame.