Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

Dedication: To everyone who waited patiently for this chapter, especially GemmaniGirl.

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From One To Another

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Kako threw herself on her bed, ignoring the silent sobs that racked through her body. Dust could be spotted in the few spears of light that managed to flow through the shut blinds. Clothes lay on the floor, mingling with stuffed animals, papers, and other items. But it didn't matter. Immediately her hands grabbed for her pillow and she tightly pressed her face against it. Silence. She wanted silence.

The sobs ceased to exist as her fingers brushed against a rectangular item beneath her pillow. The diary, Kako realized, sitting up. He's my dad...that's his diary. The flow was slow and sticky but everything began to connect. The thought that she had known him the entire time, but only as another shopkeeper who was a friend of Hideki suddenly hit Kako full force. She hated him, and she didn't know a thing about him.

She wanted to know. She wanted to understand.

"I guess," Kako whispered to herself, sitting up and clutching the pillow to her stomach. One hand left the pillow and reached for the diary. "I guess I should start here."

Dropping the pillow and turning around so her back was to the wall, Kako squeezed her eyes shut. The covers were pulled above her knees. And on her lap lay the diary. Finally, she opened her eyes and the book at the same time.

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'Some things have come to my attention. It is only fair that as my daughter, Kako doesn't remain ignorant of at least our family situation. As her father...although at this time, she should be hating me...I have decided that if she ever finds out, she shall read this, and all will be explained.'

'Note to self: Make sure this function is only enabled if she finds out.'

'The Family Situation:

'Harumi Aizawa, my wife and more...there was a moment where she hated me with a passion. She claimed, "You're weak and hopeless. You realize you'll never be able to live this through? Why would I like you? You're hopeless, Saito, and besides, I wouldn't love you unless the world depended on it." I wonder if it is a trait of all women to declare that to the men they love. Harumi was more than anything to me. A source of happiness, the very embodiment of all I loved...She was my comfort, she was my cure. Being sickly from a young age, I began to wonder if that was why she hated me. I didn't love her for being Ophanimon's shadow. I could have cared less. If she was just another person, I would have loved her. I love her...

'Perhaps I should censor this.'

'Taishi Aizawa was a tough father-in-law. "You'll ruin it for the children," he told me. "You'll hurt them by going through with this marriage." I suppose we did. Perhaps that's why Cherubimon went crazy? Harumi would say that it was because Cherubimon went crazy that Taishi did. She always did seem to-that is, well, because this is about Taishi...like father, like daughter. Taishi hated me, precisely because I was Seraphimon's shadow. I have to admit, I wish I was as stubborn as him sometimes. So easily moved by a puppy face...but I return those with one of my own.'

'Midori Aizawa, now known as "Mrs. Orimoto," or Izumi's mother, is Harumi's sister. Younger I believe. If I get this fact wrong, Harumi will kill me. Ten months of difference, so...ah, yes, anyway, I was write, so Harumi cannot kill me. She fully supported my intentions. "Harumi needs a boyfriend. Please, take her and leave," she told me when I attempted to sneak into the house through the front door. Why the front door? Everyone uses windows. Sneaking through windows is expected. I'll never forget her help. More than ever now, I wish I could have left you and Hideki with her, Kako. You will never know all the stories she could have told you had Harumi made that decision. An oath is an oath, no matter the situation. Midori agreed to forget all these happenings. They are on the surface, ready to be spilled, but so is the promise she made to me. Forgive me. Perhaps when this over.'

'Those would be the most important relatives. Harumi's mother, I never met. My parents, somewhat rich, vanished without a trace, leaving me with a caretaker at the age of two. Did I love them? Yes, I suppose I did. They were kind to me, it was only right. However, Youko was the one who took care of me the most. Everything I amounted to came from her. You would be surprised...the very reason I know all of this...

'That is a story for another day.'

'Around the end of our college years and the entrance of our careers, I stumbled upon Harumi in the park. Her reaction was immediate. She insulted me straight out and claimed I was sick and weakly. I would never amount to anything. Yet around her, there was an unmistakable aura. I found her rather intriguing. I began to accidentally bump into her more often. She continued to insult me.

'I met Taishi when I came over to Harumi's house for a tutoring session. No, I wasn't being tutored. It seems the weak mathematic skills Hideki has comes from her and not me. I wonder if they're psychics sometimes, because they both knew of my intentions from the start. Taishi began to hate me, but my obvious charm worked on Harumi. I am of the male species. Of course I'm egotistical. And so, Taishi hated me all the more.

'We were married a year before Hideki was born with the support of Youko and Midori. Taishi threatened to disown Harumi at the news of Hideki's appearance. But as I said before, like father, like daughter. The two were truly stubborn in making their decisions. Harumi won out. It was more that Hideki won out. He was an angel when he was born. I can't say much now.

'It was as you came into the picture that we realized what awaited us. The years between the birth of Hideki and you, I began doing extensive research on the Digital World and intertwining my predictions into silly little stories. Because of this, though, Taishi's old hatred of our marriage returned, far more intense than before. There was reason behind this. You were born Kako, and a month later, I left. It wasn't because of Harumi or anyone else. It was simply because had I continued to live with you, you would have known me, I would have died, and the knowledge of two parents dying is worse than one.

'But we are all meant to die. Harumi knew this and quickly remarried, pretending as if Gen Sakai was your actual father. It was rather amusing to torture him by coming over. I don't think you remember that, Kako. Nevertheless, time came and went, and Harumi completely cut her connections with me, much to Taishi and Gen's approval. She feared I would accidentally reveal this secret. Hideki was far too influenced by me as it was. So, not knowing who to send to the Digital World, she sent as many children as possible. She knew very well I knew exactly who would be going, but because of our promise to never meet, she refused to ask.

'At the same time, Hideki, my former heir as Seraphimon's shadow, was also caught in the crossfire. So he was demoted to Neemon and I believe it was Ryuusei's grandfather who finally died. Why this switch was made, I have no knowledge of. Harumi died, Gen moved, in all technicalities, I died, but because Seraphimon didn't have an experienced shadow, he was stuck in a sort of Limbo. I remained alive because of this, balance was thrown off, and Lucemon carefully plotted his next attack.'

'Piximon's Role:

'On a trip to Hawaii before your birth, I stumbled into the forest as you did and discovered an egg on a bush a few feet away from the tree. I took it and, with further research, discovered it was a guardian of the Hawaiian gate. So when it hatched, the digi-egg would theoretically be able to control the gate between the Real and Digital World. Before Duskmon (Kouji couldn't harm Piximon anymore than knocking him out) further damaged Piximon, Piximon was supposed to secure the gate for emergency entry. I had assumed by them that Lucemon would have opened his artificial gate, but Takuya interfered and Piximon left us too quickly.

'Piximon also swore to me that he would make sure that all plans went accordingly when it came to you. Originally, you were supposed to learn everything from the default diary, not this special section. Piximon was also to brief you on certain points not emphasized in this diary. You were never supposed to know I was your father. You were also supposed to discover the other fact that will be revised in an upcoming section. Overall, Piximon was your guardian angel in a way. If ever a time came when you were in trouble alone, he would protect you.

'As your father, I'm extremely discomforted at his disappearance, I'll have you know. Kouichi can't be there all the time for you (unfortunately).'

'The Role Of Chaos:

'After reading through all my diary entries from years ago, you wonder what Chaos has anything to do with this. Chaos is key to the creation of worlds. It exists to balance everything. Without Chaos, a world will cease to exist. You know the core of the Digital World holds a great amount of Chaos. This Chaos, manipulated by Lucemon in the past, has a mind of it's own. Lucemon was able to take control of it to open a gate to the real world during the occupation of the Digi-destined. If he had not been stopped, he would have eventually lost control, and Chaos would have distorted the same balance that it protected.

'Our own world holds little Chaos in the core. There is just enough for us to exist, but too little to stop this 'shadow system' established by Chaos of the Digital World. We are overpowered by the mass amount, and so we are stuck in this cycle. There are many possibilities of breaking free of it. It all amounts to the same thing: the destruction of the Digital World.'

'An Explanation For Kouichi:

'The poor boy is speechless. He really ought to speak up. Kouichi plays an important part in all of this. I don't think he even knows. Whatever happens is dependent on his choices. You two are cute together, and you may be a couple, but keep your eyes open, Kako. Your mother would tell you boys aren't to be trusted. Of course, she ended up marrying me, but that's another story. Not all are as innocent as they seem. You will understand this better in the end. For now, whatever happens, do not be angry with Kouichi. Or his brother for that matter.'

'Hideki's Entry:

'Since Dad's letting me write at the moment, Kako, I'm telling you, if you laugh at me because I'm Neemon, your diary is going public. So I guess you know the truth now. Rai isn't meant to die. I'm the lucky guy who gets to. Doesn't matter. You will not do anything about it, because if you do, and I'm still alive in the end of this all, your diary is doomed. If you're going to go out with Twerp one, make sure he doesn't hurt you. Give idiots a good kick in the shin. Do not interfere in my life. Why can I interfere in yours? Stupid question, Kako. I'm your older brother. If you're mad at Dad, you're pretty stupid. It's not his fault this happened. Gramps got annoyed. Blame him. And I don't wanna catch you and Twerp one doing something stupid like fighting over...something.

'I'm not going to tell you anything else. I can't really tell you anything else anyway. We're all really sticking our necks out there to help you, and if you don't respect this, don't expect any help anymore. I'm sick of hearing, "If Mom were here-" Mom isn't here at the moment. Mom can't do anything for us right now. If you want to play Mom, don't say what she would do, do it.

'Because Dad thinks you'll go through with this if I say it, just don't get angry with Twerp one or two. They're boys. They're idiots. They're young. They're stupid, too. I'm actually starting to like this job! No, wait-that would mean that when I was their age I was all of that. I'll have you know, that isn't true.

'Whatever you choose to do, make sure you're positive of your choice. Indecision isn't bad, but it can lead you to making the wrong choice, even if it was a good choice. Trust in your friends and help them pull through. They can't do this alone, Kako.'

'The Good, The Bad, The Mon:

'I will make this short. This is by far the most important advice I can give you, Kako. Be careful in who you place trust in and who you choose as your enemy. For you see, darkness is not always bad and light not always good. Pay close attention: There are things you can only see in the dark while light may blind. Whatever you make of either, make sure to make it count. Find this 'thing,' because it will be your friend. Furthermore you will find that the most unlikely people will come to your aid and you will come to theirs.'

'What The Future Holds:

'You would be surprised (or perhaps not) to know that after this, I don't know a single second of what will happen. There are so many things involved in the outcome, that there are literally thousands of possibilities. Even the action of the most insignificant counts. Your future is definite, made by your hands. Do not be hesitant. Start with mending relations, and you will go farther than you ever imagined. However, what I guess is that you'll find what I have to say at the moment rather strange and frightening. All the more reason not to say it.'

'The Egg:

'Another one of Piximon's jobs was to make sure you retrieved the egg from Hawaii. It's role is far more important than all of ours combined. I can tell you it is not Piximon's egg. Make sure you keep it out of the wrong hands. It holds incredible power. Think of it as your little secret you share with Kouichi. Something to start with. Ah, you two will be wonderful! I'm sure Hideki will be, too. And Rai once she stops being angry. No one else may know about the egg. In truth, Hideki really shouldn't see it either. I'm afraid he'll accidentally cook it for dinner.'

'Current Status:

'All spirits but Lobomon have been discovered, belonging in the order of Fire, Wind, Ice, Thunder, Water, Earth, Wood, Steel, and Darkness to Takuya, Izumi, Tomoki, Junpei, Naoko, Shinya, Ritsuo, Fujitaka, and Kouichi. Neemon, Bokomon and Sorcermon and their shadows Hideki, Ichiro and Ryuusei have been found. Two of the three angels, Ophanimon and Cherubimon, Rai and Taishi, and the current servants of Lucemon, Devimon and LadyDevimon, Kanaye and Ai, have been revealed. Seraphimon's shadow remains unknown. D-Tectors of the former Digi-destined have been passed to all but Kouji. Lucemon remains unknown.'

'Kako, know that I did not go into great detail in any of this. There is much, much more to know. I have summarized everything for you in these few pages. Do not expect to find anything else in the rest of the diary. Everything else, you must discover yourself.'

'In your journey, I wish you luck.'

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"Kako, I'm home," Hideki called out, tossing the keys carelessly onto the floor and shutting the door gently behind him. No one answered him.

Curiously he ventured further into the house, carefully pushing the door to Kako's room open. Fast asleep on the bed lay Kako, the diary between her arms. Hideki smiled slightly as he walked up to the bed and picked up the diary. "Stupid," he muttered, pulling the covers over his sister and exiting the room.

It occurred to him that she would never forgive them. He highly doubted she would. Hideki made his way to his own room and placed the diary on his table. Quietly muttering to himself, he wondered aloud, "Is Rai still annoyed at me? She and Kako have the worst tempers ever...I'm amazed they aren't related."

He chuckled a little at this before gazing at the picture frame on his desk. Kako, his father, his mother and himself, together in only this picture. In a way, it was a laughable matter. The month after Kako's birth, the only time his father had been home was for that picture. Every other day, from early morning to late night, Marise was busy.

"You'd be amazed how much everything's changed, Mom," Hideki whispered, taking the picture into his hand and placing it face down on the table. "I guess we'll have to start all over."

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Kouichi walked into the room silently, ignoring the strange looks he received. Kouji was busy figuring out what he needed and what he didn't need at his locker, and Izumi and Takuya were talking about Shinya by Takuya's locker. The last thing Kouichi wanted to do was go into the room he had hated from the first moment he had set foot into it. The only thing he was grateful for was that Ogata hadn't arrived yet.

He took his seat and pulled out a book. Hideki had a point when he was talking about Marise's books. Never once had Kouichi come across a book as deep and draining as Marise's. Many times in the year, he had put off reading it for that reason. He was so easily taken into the character. In a way, it made Kouichi wonder if it was based off of something real.

Kouji walked in just as Kouichi opened his book. "You should really talk to Rai about this," the younger twin commented, dropping his backpack by his desk and the books on his desk. Noticing the unusual silence that emanated from his brother on the matter, Kouji frowned. One hand supported him as he leaned against the desk and said, "Don't tell me you're still upset about yesterday..."

There was a struggle to get out the words. With some difficulty, Kouichi managed, "I'm not...upset." He made sure not to meet Kouji's gaze. At least Kako isn't here yet, he told himself in an attempt to show the positive aspects of his situation. A sigh escaped him and he looked out the window that he found he missed greatly. I guess I shouldn't have told Kouji. He'll rub this into my face.

"Kouichi, you should just talk to her," Kouji told him, taking his seat.

"You make it sound so easy."

Laughing, the younger boy insisted, "It really could be." He leaned back in his seat and awaited Kouichi's answer.

Slamming his hand down on the desk, Kouichi snapped, "It isn't!" He locked eyes with his twin, who was surprisingly calm. Kouichi felt himself burning. "That's two marks against me, Kouji. First, Duskmon killing Piximon, and now this. I could have told her the truth. I could have gone up to her and instead of giving her the diary, told her, 'Hey, Kako, you know Mr. Saito? He's your dad!' It doesn't matter! She would still hate me!" he hissed in a low voice so no one else could hear. The will to scream was suppressed by the want to be rid of the guilt inside of him.

"Stop drowning in self-pity," Kouji spat. He was about to continue when the door was shoved open, allowing the last few students to scramble in before the bell rang and Mr. Ogata entered the room.

Calmly walking to the front, Mr. Ogata said in a loud voice, "Settle down class. Get your pencil out for the quiz."

Kouichi shot his brother a confused look. Shaking his head, Kouji muttered, "Bad time for you. We have a quiz on our reading. Secrets of Yuto."

"Good thing Marise had me read that ages ago," Kouichi breathed out, sighing as he slumped over his desk.

A sharp voice called out, "Kimura!"

Immediately, Kouichi sat up. Oh no...wait, it's just Ogata, he told himself, slouching back in his seat a little. He locked gazes with his teacher for a while before the man continued, "I take it you didn't know about the reading?"

Might as well lead him on. "Nope," Kouichi confessed. "Didn't know anything about the reading or the book." The remainder of the year just might be fun.

"Too bad. You'll be taking the quiz too."

And I'll ace it and laugh at you endlessly. Kouichi sat up in his seat, eyes focused in a piercing glare after taking out a pencil. He would make sure he got the last laugh. The papers were passed out and Kouichi began to twitch in anticipation. He almost turned around but remembered Kako hadn't come. Sighing, Kouichi felt himself fall as he stared blankly at the paper. Just as his pencil touched the paper to answer the first question, the door burst open and Kako stumbled in, bright red.

"Ms. Sakai...nice of you to join us. Take your seat," Mr. Ogata commanded, motioning in the direction of her seat behind Kouichi.

Trembling, Kako quickly strode to her seat and sat down automatically, taking the paper from Mr. Ogata and a pencil from her backpack.

Kouichi didn't have to turn around to guess she was having a nervous breakdown. He could guess several reasons why, but wasn't sure if any of them were correct. Instead, he did his very best to drown out the shaky breaths that came from behind him and the mutterings from Kanaye who had engaged in a rather serious discussion with Mr. Ogata.

It only took him a few minutes to complete the quiz. He kept an innocent face as Ogata took his paper, scanning the answers with a furious look on his own face. Another job well done, Kouichi. Now figure out how to patch things up with Kako and not screw up again, he told himself, gazing out the window.

Thirty minutes later, the last quiz was passed in with a loud groan. Mr. Ogata had a dissatisfied look on his face as he scanned through the paper. Shaking his head, he told the class, "I'm severely disappointed that not one of you who actually read the book got a passing grade. There was only one 'A' in this class and...Kimura, don't give me that look!"

Shutting his eyes and leaning back in his chair, Kouichi just shook his head and yawned. "Wake me up when he's got something to teach," he muttered so Kouji could hear.

Behind Kouichi there was a stifled sob. Wide-eyed, Kouichi sat up and turned around, half-worried, half-scared. Kako's hair hid her expression as she bowed her head, but it didn't take a genius to tell she was crying. "Kako-" Kouichi started, forcing himself to keep his hands by his side.

No words were exchanged as the entire class watched Kako run out of the classroom. As soon as the door was shut, all eyes turned to Kouichi. The wheels began to slow in Kouichi's mind as he realized this. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen, and yet...

Quietly, he stood up and bowed politely. "If you'll excuse me," he murmured with great annoyance. He could practically see the smug face on Ogata's class. But none of it mattered. If just this once, he could set things right, it would be worth it. Standing up straight, Kouichi walked out, remaining stoic.

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Silence remained as he walked down the hall. An exasperated sigh left his lips and Kouichi murmured, "Kako...I'm...sorry for all of this." He wasn't sure exactly as to why he was apologizing. It only seemed to matter that he did.

By now Kako had stopped running and had begun to walk, occasionally stopping to cry. In those times, Kouichi respectfully came to a stop and maintained his distance.

"Listen, I know you probably hate me for not telling you," Kouichi began again, "but it really wasn't my choice to tell you! You have to understand, they didn't want you to-"

"J-just...just leave me alone," Kako cried. Her arm rose to brush the tears away. More firmly, she told him, "I...I don't...w-want another explanation." Kako came to a stop and finally turned to face Kouichi. "I don't care."

Kouichi remained silent for a while as he ran her words over again and again in his head. "You don't care...?" he asked slowly, taking a step towards her. When she didn't move, his confidence grew. Taking another step forward, Kouichi told her, "You're lying. If you didn't care..." Another step. "...you would just turn around and leave right now." Another step. Kouichi stopped, feeling pressured by some unknown force to just run forward.

Again, Kako repeated, "I don't care," this time louder and with a slightly more angry tone. Her fists were clenched by her sides, Kouichi noted, something to watch out for.

He took several steps forward until they was only a yard between them. "Turn around, Kako. Turn around if you don't care," Kouichi told her. Two more steps were taken. "Show me you don't care." In the back of his head, he began to worry that she would do exactly that.

"You could have told me, Kouichi," Kako murmured. "You're...you're the one who doesn't care."

A grim smile appeared on his face. In a calm voice he told her, "You don't see me turning away."

There was a panicked look in her eyes that told Kouichi she realized her defeat. "You're afraid to."

The distance between them was closed quickly. "And why is that?" he pressed. They were now standing with an inch between them. Tell yourself, Kako.

"B-because...you're afraid I'll do the same right after!" Kako shouted, bringing up her fist.

Kouichi anticipated it and stepped back, bringing up his hands to catch her fist. "Now repeat all that to yourself, Kako. I couldn't have told you. I was afraid you would do exactly this. And so were Hideki and your father. You think they don't care? They're waiting for you to come back so they can apologize. Kako...I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean for Duskmon to hurt Piximon, and I didn't mean for the diary to cause all of this. I didn't want you to lose Piximon, I didn't want you to wonder what else Hideki was hiding from you, and I didn't want you to realize that you've known your dad the entire time! So please," he growled, tightening his grip on her fist painfully, "just come back..."

The silence from before came back as Kako squeezed her eyes shut. Without warning, she threw herself forward. Kouichi stumbled back as he let go of her fist to catch her. "Y-you...stupid idiot," Kako muttered, crying softly into his shoulder blade. "I hate you..." Her voice cracked as she repeated the sentence over and over as if trying to convince herself.

Somewhat relieved at the words coming out of her mouth, Kouichi relaxed and let out a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her. "Nice to have you back," he whispered, allowing his eyes to slip shut.

Missing class was more than worth it.

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Half of the school day was spent in the principal's office. Apparently Ms. Kawai had taken over the class and Mr. Ogata had come to rant while Mr. Aizawa sat behind his desk, smiling pleasantly. Kako and Kouichi sat in chairs situated side by side, both gazing blankly at their principal. Whatever Ogata was rambling about went over their heads.

"...which is forbidden as stated in the school rules," Mr. Ogata lectured, glaring menacingly at Kouichi. "Your parents will be notified immediately-"

"If you're going to bother my mom, do so after she comes home. If it's alright, Mr. Aizawa, I think I can tell her myself," Kouichi interrupted, his eyes not leaving the elderly man. Out of view from either of the adults, Kouichi slipped his hand down to grab a hold of Kako's, squeezing it in a reassuring manner.

Startled, Mr. Ogata turned to the principal. Still smiling, Mr. Aizawa nodded. "Very well. Thank you, Mr. Ogata. I'll take it from here," he murmured, inclining his head in the direction of the teacher.

Blabbering nonsense, Mr. Ogata tried to protest, but turned around and left as Mr. Aizawa waved a dismissive hand in his direction. Then turning to the children, Mr. Aizawa allowed a stern look to appear on his face. "Hideki and Miss Kimura will be notified, whether you meant it or not. The next order of business will arrive soon if he keeps his word..." Shaking his head, Taishi rose to his feet and walked to the portrait to the left of his desk. "It's a beautiful piece of art, don't you think?"

"It's...a bunch of scribbles," Kako said pointedly. Her eyes followed her grandfather as he moved around the room rather restlessly.

Stopping at the window behind his desk, the man told her, "Your mother drew it. She was a born artist...like her own mother. You should see some of her other works. Your...father...she gave most of them to him." His hands were clasped behind his back. "He's here."

The door opened, revealing a tired looking Marise. Hideki, grinning widely, was about to walk into the office as well, when Marise slammed the door shut behind him. "I never thought I'd do that," Mr. Saito muttered, looking behind him warily as he leaned against the door.

"I would appreciate it if you respected my furniture," said Taishi in an icy voice.

Smiling brightly, Marise withheld a chuckle as he pushed off the door and walked up to Mr. Aizawa. "Oh...of course, excuse me," he murmured, taking the old man's hand and shaking it heartily. "Now let's settle this-"

Quickly, Kouichi rose to his feet and let go of Kako's hand, reddening considerably. "Uh-...uhm, uh...h-hello sir..." he stuttered, standing stiffly.

"Sit, Kouichi."

Kouichi did as he was told and jumped at the sound of someone banging on the door. "LEMME IN!" Hideki yelled, hitting the door again.

"SHUT UP," Kako retorted, stomping her foot down.

Hideki continued to whine, "How come I'm not included in this stuff?" There was another hit on the door.

Sighing, Marise allowed a hand to rise to his forehead. Massaging his temple, the man murmured, "Hideki, I do believe Rai needs an assistant in her classroom..."

"Bad lie! She hates my guts!"

"No, Hideki, she hates me, now please leave."

Footsteps leading away from the door could be heard along with annoyed muttering. After all was silent, Marise looked up at his father-in-law. "You don't mind, do you? No? Good," he said quickly, turning to Kako and Kouichi. "You two...I have no idea where to start. Kako, would you happen to have the egg?" asked Marise, his eyes glued to his daughter.

Kouichi anxiously turned his gaze to Kako. Her eyes were staring impassively at the desk in front of her. "No," she finally mumbled.

Marise clapped his hands together once. "Good! Not the diary either, I hope?" Kako shook her head. "The locket?"

Kouichi spoke up here, "No."

"Tomoki has Bokomon's book?"

"Yes."

"And Shinya's school has computers?"

"I-...uh...yes?"

In a sarcastic voice, Marise remarked, "Wonderful..."

"I see you're reverting back to your old self already, Marise," Taishi snapped.

"Nonsense, I was always like this!" insisted the younger of the two. He beamed down at Kako and Kouichi, ignoring the glum look on his daughter's face. "If all goes well, this will be over soon. Kouichi, do you have what Ryuusei gave you?"

"Yes," Kouichi said slowly, gazing up with childish eyes.

Laughing, Marise turned to face the window. "Perfect, perfect...Taishi, could you call Kouji, Takuya and Izumi in? No, no, I mean Junpei, Takuya and Izumi," he corrected himself quickly, impatiently tapping his foot.

Scowling, Mr. Aizawa reached for the phone and dialed a few numbers. In the meantime, Marise pulled up a chair on the other side of Kako and sat down, gazing at the girl with a sad expression on his face. Several minutes later, when the door opened, he rose to his feet and an impatient look dominated once more.

Takuya, Izumi and Junpei walked in with confused looks on their faces. At the sight of Marise, Kako and Kouichi, Izumi let out a squeak and covered her mouth. Takuya and Junpei exchanged grave looks.

"Take a seat," ordered Marise. He began to pace once more, furrowing his eyebrows as he told them, "It will be starting very soon. Keep your D-Tector with you at all times, and make sure your respective digimon aren't wandering off. This is mostly aimed at you, Kouichi. Lowemon and Duskmon are away from you too often. Kako, for the moment you'll be the one in charge of watching Shinya. I don't want you to restrict him from anything. Let him do whatever, so long as he gets an adequate amount of sleep and doesn't do anything too drastic. Kouichi, you'll be in charge of Kako. Izumi, you and Takuya will be on alert for Kouji and Junpei, you will be watching Ritsuo. Kanaye and Ai are the least of our worries at the moment. Any questions? No? Good. Get back to class." He said this all very quickly, not once meeting their eyes. Kouichi was greatly reminded of a commander of an army.

"Well I've got a question!" Izumi retorted, raising her hand. Pausing, she added, "Uncle Marise. Anyway, why do we need two people to watch Kouji? And why do we need to watch him at all?" She folded her arms and stood rooted to the spot, despite Takuya's feeble attempts to drag her out of the room.

Junpei was paused at the door. Slowly, he turned around and questioned, "She has a point. Why aren't we worried about Kanaye and the others but instead Kouji?" He looked to Marise for an answer.

Growling irritably, Marise stopped and looked at them. "You will discover in time. Now leave-no, not you, Kouichi. You and Kako are to stay," he snapped, stopping and folding his arms in annoyance. "Hurry up."

Before leaving, Izumi stuck her tongue out childishly and slammed the door. Marise broke into a smile at that and shook his head. "Kako, you are not only in charge of Shinya, but the egg as well. I'm sure you know what it is."

"Uh...not Piximon?" Kako blurted, looking up somewhat distractedly.

Running his fingers through his black hair, Marise exhaled slowly. "No, Kako, not Piximon. Try again," he murmured, turning to the window and looking out calmly.

This time, Kouichi answered, "Lobomon. It's Lobomon, isn't it?" He rose to his feet and placed his hands palms down on the table in front of him gently. "There wasn't any need to call the others, was there? You could have just as easily told us. What's the deal?" he questioned, swallowing nervously.

"Very perceptive, but sometimes it's better to not get commands from peers. They aren't taken as seriously. Also, this way you two were more informed and comfortable. They're eavesdropping from the outside, but that matters little," Marise murmured, waving a hand towards the door while still looking out the window. His hands dropped to his sides. "Duskmon will be leaving us soon. What was injured will slightly heal. But still, the hurt will remain. Kako, have you discovered the answer to my question?" he inquired softly, turning around.

Before Kako could answer, Mr. Aizawa cleared his throat. "Lunch is in five minutes," he announced, directing his gaze towards Kako.

Nodding, Kako rose to her feet. Gazing down at the floor, she murmured, "It was...nice talking to you." With a stiff bow, she exited the room.

Kako, Kouichi thought, heartbroken by the scene. Just accept it, please. Letting out a sigh, Kouichi was about to head to the door when Marise told him, "Almost like you."

"What?" Kouichi asked in a startled voice.

Smiling, Marise asked gently, "It takes time to accept a parent who has always been in your life, yet a mystery to you, does it not, Kouichi? Last I checked, you were in the same situation."

With an dazed look on his face, Kouichi gazed up at Mr. Aizawa. In the same situation...we're all in the same situation-at least, we're at least in a common situation with one other person. So if that's the case, I...guess it's like Kouji and Duskmon. Thoughtfully, Kouichi murmured aloud, "Maybe that's why Duskmon's trying to help everyone..."

"I suggest you use this time to call Duskmon and Lowemon," Marise suggested, inclining his head in Kouichi's direction as the boy bowed.

Nodding, Kouichi exited the room. We're in a common situation with at least one other person. At least one other person...

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Duskmon hissed in pain. He hated it. Weak, emotional, and he was in pain. A loud curse escaped him as he pulled his blade out of his arm. An explosion of a warm, fuzzy feeling he disliked greatly ran through his veins. Damn that boy, the digimon thought, slipping through the cold shadows and concentrating on where Kouichi was.

Seconds later, he reappeared in the shadows of a maple tree. In front of him sat Kouichi, staring off into the far distance with his back to the digimon.

"Duskmon," Kouichi whispered softly.

There were a few seconds of silence. A loud hiss escaped Duskmon as he felt a searing pain crawl down to his feet. Not now, he thought, eyes narrowing on Kouichi.

The boy looked over his shoulder. "You're fading," was all he said.

Duskmon suppressed an annoyed growl. Good job, Sherlock.

Surprised, Kouichi asked, "Can't talk?"

A shrug came before Duskmon thought, How did you guess?

Shaking his head, Kouichi turned the rest of his body to face Duskmon. "Thank you," he murmured, rising to his feet. One hand slipped into his pocket and fingered his D-Tector. He had no idea what he was doing, but he felt as if he needed to do it. The other hand extended itself in Duskmon's direction. "I'm really, really sorry about this, Duskmon," Kouichi murmured.

I know, Duskmon returned, eyeing the hand with a blank look on his face. Go ahead.

"I don't want t-"

Go, or I'll kill that girl. To back his threat, Duskmon held up a blade. I may just be a ghost of myself, but I can still deal damage through you.

The boy dropped his hand to his side and pulled out his D-Tector. "Will I...still be able to digivolve into you?" he asked, running his thumb over the smooth screen.

I don't know. It may depend. For instance, if you completely lose control, you may digivolve into me. As to whether you can by will, we have yet to see, don't we? There was a wry smile on Duskmon's face. Don't worry about it too much, Kouichi. You'll see me soon whether you want to or not.

"I hope," Kouichi whispered, pointing his D-Tector at Duskmon. There was a blinding light as Duskmon's fractal code burst through. Slowly, it entered the D-Tector. Good-bye, Duskmon, Kouichi thought. Aloud, he murmured again, "I hope..."

The last thing Kouichi expected that day had happened. As the last of the code entered the D-Tector, a half-smile appeared on Duskmon's face. "Soon," he mouthed, before disappearing in a burst of light.

"I hope...someday soon," Kouichi murmured to himself, allowing his arms to drop slack to his sides. Someday soon, I will repent for all of this regret.

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A/N-

Back! I cut my hair and did my pre-test. Thank you all for being so patient about that! I was itching to type all week, lost track at the beginning (a lot of the diary was me blanking out, i.e. Hideki's section), I promise to get back on track.

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS- GemmaniGirl

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