Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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Puzzle Pieces

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At the park, Junpei related a tale to Shinya and Tomoki of some childhood tale neither were interested enough to listen to. Both younger boys were preoccupied, Shinya with his own predicament and Tomoki with Shinya. And so Junpei, unsure of what to do, attempted to liven the air.

"...should have seen the look on my mother's face!" Junpei laughed, slapping his hand on Tomoki's back.

Startled, the boy made a small 'oof' sound and stumbled forward. He was quick to catch himself and send a smile and a nod to Junpei that made it seem as if he was listening.

Shinya didn't care to the least if Junpei was insulted by his lack of interest. That was the least of his worries.

Fool, no one cares about you, a voice repeated insistently into his head. It kept repeating this, and by now, Shinya could confirm what had happened to him that day when Kanaye had knocked him out.

Furiously, he glared daggers at the innocent ground. Who are you? He wanted to know. He wanted to be rid of the voice. He would rather Duskmon snooping around in his head. But Duskmon was gone, and he could not be rid of this annoying, pestering, idiotic, stupid, obtrusive, gosh-darn boisterous presence. Go away! Shinya felt tears spill into his eyes. Pretending something managed to get into his eye, he lifted an arm up to block the tears and wipe them away.

Junpei had finished his story by then. He turned to the youngest boy with a broad smile. "So, Shinya, how's Takuya?" he asked conversationally.

"I..." Shinya's lower lip quivered as his arm dropped and his head lowered. "I hate Takuya," he found himself whispering in a barely audible voice. It was sharp, and almost like a hiss. No matter how quiet, Junpei and Tomoki had heard; Shinya could tell by their shocked expressions.

Often, Shinya had wondered how it must feel like to ride the wind, as a bird, or even more interestingly, as a butterfly. With wings thinner than paper, they managed to adjust to the strong winds and, gracefully, soar and show their unrestrained beauty. Shinya observed a nearby butterfly, feeling tears well up in his eyes once more.

Silent sobs racked through his body, and he choked them back, feeling an overwhelming happiness conflict with his despair. For a moment, it won, and all was normal. For that moment, Shinya would have traded anything to ensure it would last. The next second later, he found himself marching away from Tomoki and Junpei, declaring, "I need to clear my thoughts." Surprisingly, they respected his wishes.

With great worry, Tomoki watched Shinya break into a run when he thought that he wasn't being watched. It hardly seemed fair to Tomoki that the boy was being forced to grow up, but then again, he recalled his own adventures in the Digital World. They had all grown up considerably since then.

"He hates Takuya...?" Junpei scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, well...sibling rivalry took another step," he mused.

Tomoki shook his head. "Not rivalry. Anger," he corrected. "Rivalry would lead to annoyance." He said this almost softly, recalling Yutaka. Memories of Yutaka brought the book to mind. Bokomon's book. It had arrived safely at Hawaii for Ichiro's inspection. For days, Tomoki and Ichiro had been communicating on a constant topic of the content of the book. While Tomoki had thought only the last page to be important, it turned out that several other pages, scattered throughout the book, were just as crucial to know about.

Laughing bitterly, Junpei sighed, "You would know." He looked longingly up at the cloudless sky. "How long will we have to deal with this, Tomoki? I'm afraid to see what will happen if more kids like Shinya have to go through this," he confessed, shutting his eyes and halting beside a bench.

The two boys took a seat and lapsed into silence. There was a chill despite the bright sun. "Any news about the Book?" Junpei asked, turning his head to Tomoki and opening his eyes in one motion.

Understanding perfectly well what Junpei meant, Tomoki replied, "Ichiro's still working on translations. He's too afraid to send it online or any wireless means; he's afraid someone might intercept them. Mail's got the same problem, and so does the phone, but we can't really meet in person. He's actually more paranoid than I originally thought. You'd think Kouichi was suspicious of everyone, but he's not only suspicious but also superstitious. It's almost ridiculous. We have to wait until a new moon day to talk over the phone, apparently. I don't have the slightest idea why, and I don't think he knows why either." Tomoki paused in his rant and turned to Junpei. "Sorry about that," he added, noticing the slightly amused and surprised look on Junpei's face.

But it melted into a smile. "It's alright. Truth be told, I'm more worried about Shinya. I keep thinking there's something we can do to make him think otherwise," he admitted.

"Me too."

"Should we-"

"No..."

"Yeah..."

"But then again-"

"Still..."

"Right..."

The two boys exchanged reluctant glances. Their mind made up, they rose to their feet and Tomoki murmured, "Kumamon."

"Got Blitzmon tracking him," came the reply as the short digimon appeared beside Tomoki.

Without acknowledging the digimon, Tomoki nodded slightly and ran forward as Kumamon began giving him and Junpei instructions on where to find Shinya.

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"I hate you," Rai snapped, scowling as Hideki smiled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace she couldn't help but melt into. It's great there's no Duskmon here to laugh at me, but now I feel bad for thinking these thoughts, she thought, shutting her eyes.

Breathing softly into her ear, Hideki murmured, "Told you I always win."

The smugness in his voice didn't go unnoticed by Rai. "That's what you think," she retorted, pushing him away and glaring at him. The entire thing was so convincing she swear she saw him frown. Her cover gave way, and she could never be entirely sure he was frowning, because the second she burst out laughing, he began growling in annoyance.

It was at that moment that an almost dazed Kako entered the kitchen, staring blankly ahead of her. She snapped out of her trance-like state when she saw Hideki and Rai in the position they were in. Too tired to care, however, she turned away and looked instead at the fridge. "I'm going to...make something to eat...ignore me," the girl mumbled, opening the fridge and pulling out a few items.

Youko entered as Kako said this, a small frown on her face. "Kako, you look tired. Maybe you should rest...?" she suggested, grabbing a hold of the girl's hand as she pulled out some chocolate powder.

Indignantly, Kako shook her head and murmured, "I'm fine...I think out of all of us you need the most rest..." She gently removed her hand from Youko's and continued getting out the items she needed.

The elderly lady let out an exasperated sigh before shaking her head and shooting a look at Hideki and Rai, who had frozen, afraid of Kako at the moment. "You two better get a room," she warned, before turning around and walking out of the kitchen.

Hideki sheepishly let go of Rai, who pushed him away and walked up to Kako, smiling down at the girl. "Wearing a dress willingly...? Was it for Kouichi?" Rai asked teasingly, turning Kako around forcefully, but gently, to get a better look at her.

Gazing down at the floor, Kako realized she had gotten herself in quite a silly predicament. "For Kouichi...?" she repeated. "For Kouichi? I don't know," she said. The confusion began showing on her face, and seconds later, Hideki groaned.

"Rai, stop," he begged. "She's overthinking the problem again. I've noticed this for weeks. Especially now, I bet she'll start connecting everything she does with Kouichi. It's ridiculous. I don't see how she makes these connections..." Hideki walked up to his sister and ruffled her hair. "You. Go sleep. Rai and I can make you something to eat if you'd like," he offered.

"You two would just make out," Kako told him pointedly. "Go out to a restaurant, stupid." She brushed his hand away and turned back to her concoction of chocolate powder, flour, salt and baking powder.

Rai clapped her hands together and looked expectantly at Hideki.

Reluctantly, Hideki tore his gaze away from Kako. "If you're sure..." he murmured, grabbing a hold of Rai's arm and leading her outside.

As soon as they left, Kako sank down on the kitchen floor and buried her head into the folds of her dress. Her head hurt just thinking about it. Am I really doing this all for Kouichi? Maybe it's just an unconscious motion. What if this is all for him? How can I be sure? For all I know, I could be...

She let out a frustrated cry and buried her head deeper, pulling her knees in closer. There was no reassurance of someone else to hold her. There was only the uncertainty of the future. Could she be sure she really wanted to adjust her life for Kouichi? Was she unconsciously adjusting her life for him?

Please, someone, just give me an answer, Kako prayed, forcing herself up and concentrating on her food. But for now, just let me bake some decent brownies.

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"She looked so adorable," Rai squealed, clapping her hands in delight. "But...she looked so sad..." The delight in her eyes disappeared.

Rolling his eyes, her companion muttered, "Don't let it get to you. She's just overthinking matters. So, which restaurant?" Hideki looked to Rai for a suggestion.

There was a mischievous gleam evident in Rai's eyes. "Don't feel bad about it," she said slowly, doing her best to hide her laughter, "but I only meant to go to your house to apologize. Things got a bit overemotional, and it seems I'm late for a very important date." She carefully placed her emphasis on the last word.

Hideki's face fell. "Date...?" he repeated, trying his best not to sound jealous or suspicious.

He failed miserably. Noticing this, Rai nodded solemnly, deciding to play the prank a little further. "A date. Oh, what will I do? He probably hates me now..." A dramatic sigh followed and Rai looked away from Hideki, doing her best to swallow back any laughter.

Narrowing his eyes, Hideki murmured, "That so...?"

Immediately, Rai turned around and clasped his hands in her own. "So, would you like to accompany me?" she asked, eyes dancing wildly with laughter.

Again, Hideki rolled his eyes. Pushing her hands away, he muttered, "The worst joke ever."

"You were jealous, admit it!" Rai laughed, grabbing on of his free hands and dragging him out the gate. "It's not too far, we don't need the car," she added, seeing him take out his keys.

Hideki put away his keys and smiled softly. "Right," he said bluntly, tightening his grip on her hand as she did the same.

The walk was a quiet one, but they could almost feel each other's thoughts. Their hands were at war to see who could squeeze the tightest. Just as they approached the restaurant, though, Hideki let out a triumphant laugh that declared himself the winner. Rai stepped on his foot in response and they entered the restaurant with Hideki paling in pain.

"Over here, nitwits," a cold voice called out.

Surprised, Hideki whirled his head in the direction of the speaker. Immediately, he let go of Rai's hand, pushed her behind him and snarled, "You..."

"Me," Kanaye mimicking mockingly, making a face. He waved a hand towards Rai. "Take a seat, would you? And if that bull dog of a boyfriend of yours wants to, he can too." The expression he held changed quickly while he said this, giving Kanaye a tired look.

Rai rolled her eyes and pushed Hideki into the seat before she slid in. Amazingly, Kanaye had chosen the table by the window, and the only closest to the door. She had no idea what he wanted, but as long as she wasn't involved (or Hideki, for that matter), Rai decided it didn't matter.

"You mean you were going to meet this?" Hideki asked. Kanaye noted the disgust plain in his voice but said nothing.

In an attempt to be the peacemaker, Rai grabbed Hideki's hand and squeezed it tightly. When he continued to glare at Kanaye, she kicked his shin and shot him a glare. "Now, how's progress?" she asked Kanaye, ignoring the scowl Hideki wore.

"He found a computer. So far so good, but it's taking longer than expected with those bodyguards of his." When he thought Rai wasn't looking, Kanaye stuck his tongue out at Hideki. Of course he was Devimon's shadow, but he was still a boy, and he was only fourteen.

"I see." Rai fell into a thoughtful silence, tapping the table with a finger. "I suppose...well, they haven't been sticking to their posts all that well," she admitted.

The boy rose an eyebrow. "Their posts?"

Realization hit Hideki and he turned to Rai with his mouth hanging open. In a shocked whisper, he demanded, "You're betraying us?"

All Rai could do was roll her eyes again. Stifling any sound that might give away her amusement, she hit his arm. "Hideki, it's the other way around," she told him.

Someone cleared their throat. "I would actually be the one doing the betraying," Kanaye cut in. He felt immensely awkward with both Hideki and Rai in the room, but he figured it was no worse than Kako and Kouichi.

Rai just smiled. "Maybe you're being betrayed. Who knows? Does it really matter? At his current rate, how long will it be until Shinya finishes the codes for the gate?"

"Another week or so."

"That's fine with m-" Rai let out a sound of protest when her mouth was clapped shut by Hideki.

Curiosity killed the cat, Hideki reminded himself. I just won't let it kill me. "Shinya's the one who's going to open the gate here? The gate Lucemon'll probably use to destroy the entire world?" he inquired Kanaye.

Startled, all the boy could do was nod.

"You're betraying Lucemon?"

A nod.

"And your wristband...the jewel-" His gaze intensified and he continued interrogating Kanaye mercilessly. "That jewel's how you get your sword out of thin air, right? Like the D-Tectors, only smaller."

Again, he received a nod, but Kanaye offered, "Exactly. And I see my showing the jewel to Kouichi did it's job, however thoroughly..."

"You're working for Lucemon." More a statement than a question, but Kanaye nodded. "Lucemon's in Hawaii?"

"Japan," Kanaye corrected. He sounded tired and wasn't afraid to hide it. "If you're done..." The boy stood up.

Hideki stood up as well. "I'm just getting started!" he cried, almost whining when Kanaye took a step away from his seat.

"Well-" Kanaye stopped, eyes widening as he saw two figures at the door. Two more walked by the window and stopped, gazing at him with great shock. And there was one last figure who noticed the other four and stopped to gaze at them curiously.

Rai practically fell out of her seat as she and Hideki stood up and attempted to get away from their seats. However they were too late, and in walked five very familiar people.

Kanaye swallowed, trying to moisten his throat, which had become dry. Naoko...Fujitaka...and Izumi and Takuya? Then there's Shinya...it makes sense. He was just at the arcade, and that's only two stores down, he mused to himself, becoming increasingly nervous. He managed to keep collected as he cleared his throat.

"Well, we have a party here," Hideki muttered, looking away from him. Rai agreed with a miserable nod.

"You're all a bunch of idiots," Shinya declared in a hiss. "Sit down."

Everyone turned to the little boy in surprise.

"SIT," he yelled, storming over to the table and slamming his hand down on the surface.

And they were all too startled NOT to comply.

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Marise paced back and forth in his room, occasionally taking a swig from the beer bottle. He couldn't help it. The sudden rush had been found again, the impatience that he thought he had long forgotten. Everything was back.

It was exhilarating.

"Marise, you'll wear a hole in the carpet! And stop drinking. Taishi is here," Youko scolded him, opening the door and frowning disapprovingly at him.

Smiling merrily, Marise placed the bottle down on his desk and nodded. "Show him in. And thank you, Youko," he said. Happily humming to himself, Marise made his way to the window.

Yes, it was all back. Unfortunately, one might add, if they knew him well, and Youko did.

Casting one last glance at him, Youko shook her head and shut the door to go down to fetch Taishi.

Yes, yes...I really ought to find more of those dresses. Harumi would have loved to see Kako in them. I'll work on that after Taishi leaves. We all need a break, though I hardly call finding dresses a break. It is better than working all day in a bookstore. Perhaps I should have given Kouichi the key; he may have wanted to practice today. Ah, well. The past is the past, and we should learn from it, Marise thought to himself. Indeed, the impatience and the gift of gab were returning.

Taishi walked in and slammed the door behind him. Chuckling, Marise pulled up a chair for himself and sat down, motioning the older man into the chair that had been set in front of the desk, while he pulled his chair behind the desk. "Now, now...do keep in mind that you really ought to respect my furniture," Marise reprimanded his father-in-law good-naturedly.

It was still a jibe and to Marise's expense. Taishi stood firmly rooted in front of the door, glaring coldly at Marise. "You're a bit too happy today, Marise," he simply replied.

"Not in the least!" Marise chortled. He motioned to the chair again. "Do sit."

"I prefer standing."

A dark look crept up Marise's face. The somewhat jubilant atmosphere disappeared. Standing up, Marise murmured, "I see. Very well, what is it you want?" His hands laced together behind his back and he turned around to look out the window, out into the yard, where he found Kako sitting by a rose bush.

Had he turned around he would have seen the triumphant look on Taishi's face. "Kako's future. Hideki is old enough to take care of himself, but once this is over, you will be gone, I will be gone, Hideki will be gone, and there are very few choices for Kako," he murmured icily.

Marise was amused as he looked over his shoulder. "You? Gone? How is this?"

Angrily, Taishi snapped, "We both know I don't have much time." The younger man nodded. "So what will be of Kako?" It didn't take a genius to know Taishi was getting impatient.

"She can choose herself," Marise said softly, placing a hand on the glass of the window and smiling down on the garden. "She has a stronger will than that of Harumi and myself combined. I'm sure you could throw in Hideki in the case of stubbornness. She has all rights to this house should something happen to Hideki, and all rights to Harumi's things, too. She'll be perfectly well off." Although he sounded confident, Marise heard a small voice in the back of his head say meekly, I hope.

Taishi voiced his doubt as well as Marise's. His voice rose and he said, "And if something were to happen to her, despite all this money and wealth?"

"There's Youko."

"She won't always be there."

"Ichiro and Ryuusei are just in Hawaii."

"Bah, they have their own lives."

"If Rai ever makes it out of this-"

"We won't be including her."

"Gen wouldn't dare h-"

"I don't care about that fool."

Marise fell into a furious silence. Fool? The word echoed in his head. His voice turned cold as he reminded Taishi, "I do believe it was you who called me a fool for calling Gen a fool, isn't that right? And yet you turn on him now?" A bitter laugh forced its way out of his throat. "Fool, you just don't want Kako with me while she can be. But keep in mind, Taishi...you and I both know who has every idea of the possibilities the future might hold," hissed Marise, turning the upper half of his body to glare at Taishi.

The uncomfortable silence remained between them. During this time, Marise looked back out the window to find Kako had gone back inside, and the sun had been hidden by clouds. Taishi, on the other hand, took a seat in the chair and turned around a picture frame on the desk.

"She would hate us for this, wouldn't she...?" Marise suddenly asked, drawing the blinds to cover the window.

A wry smile formed on Taishi's face. He allowed a hand to run over the glass of the picture frame in the spot where his daughter stood in the picture, holding Kako and standing beside Marise, behind Hideki. "Of course," he replied. "More than anything." Taishi placed the picture frame back on the desk and admired it from there.

Marise slipped into the chair on the other side of the desk, opposite Taishi. "She should have said something..."

"She told me to stop provoking you."

This struck Marise as odd. "Ah. I always thought I was the provoker," he laughed aloud.

"You are," Taishi told him.

"Why thank you." He was about to say more when someone knocked on the door. He sat up curiously and said, "Come in."

Peeking her head through the door, Kako scanned the room. She caught sight of her father and grandfather seated at the desk. "Um..." she mumbled, "Would you...like brownies...?" She seemed to shrink and redden as she asked this.

The two men gazed at her with amused smiles on their faces, but said nothing.

Kako seemed to shrink even more. "Is...that a yes?"

"Of course!" Marise exclaimed, waving her in with a laugh.

Evil, was all Kako thought as she came into the room, a plate of brownies in hand. She placed the plate on the table and aimed at running out again, but Marise managed to catch her by grabbing the ribbon on the back of her dress. Merely because she didn't want the dress harmed, Kako stopped in her tracks and winced.

"Stay," Marise insisted, grabbing a brownie and taking a bite. "Now, Taishi-"

"Refrain from talking with your mouth full, would you?" Taishi scowled, taking a brownie himself. He paused as he chewed it, then swallowed and told Kako, "Your mother couldn't cook for her life, you know."

Startled, Kako insisted, "Yeah she could! She'd cook for us all the time!"

"Well...she needed the recipe at hand, which is why she never let you into the kitchen."

"That was why? I thought she was afraid I'd cut myself with a knife or something," Kako muttered. It wasn't hard for her to imagine her mother looking at a recipe while she cooked. In fact, it made more sense than anything. Harumi could never memorize anything, much less remember her own daughter's birthday.

Marise smiled as he watched Taishi relate tales of Harumi that revealed facts that Kako hadn't known about. It was amusing to say the very least, and he realized deciding her future wouldn't be that easy. Deciding anyone's future is never easy, Marise reminded himself, unconsciously eating another brownie. His smile softened and he shut his eyes, feeling himself drift off. Of course, Taishi would disapprove, but with Kako there beside him, Marise doubted his father-in-law would notice him taking a small nap...

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The phone rang. Telemarketers, Kouji guessed, ignoring it's insistent ringing. "Go to hell," he muttered instead, continuing to look over the latest picture that had been sent to him.

The ringing eventually stopped, much to his relief. Now able to concentrate without interruption, Kouji compared the recent picture to one of his older ones. The glyphs and writings seemed so similar, but their background was what was different. One on a tree, the other on stone.

"It doesn't even look like stone," Kouji observed, zooming in on the recent picture. "It's like..."

A small beep startled him, and Kouji turned his attention from the pictures to his e-mail. Another...? A grim smile appeared and he opened the new letter. As usual, it was blank, and there was an attachment, but Kouji had become familiar enough to know the sender meant no harm; no viruses were attached.

The attachment was downloaded in mere seconds, and Kouji discovered he had been sent another picture, with a note written down at the bottom.

'Third point: Shibuya, Japan.
Two truths, one lie.'

Again, the prophecy was sketched on something, and Kouji could see that it was in stone. Three points, he told himself, like a triangle. A pencil was in his hand, and he sketched a triangle lazily on his paper. The tree is in Hawaii, the stone in Japan, and the third point...

Ringing distracted him, but he could tell it wasn't the phone. If it were louder, sharper, he could have guessed a wind chime, but there was no wind, and the sound was more faint and dull.

Kouji cursed aloud and turned back to the computer. Stupid noises. That better not be some cat stuck in the house. He chose to ignore it and looked at the second picture he had received. Not stone, not tree, but it was something, and he couldn't seem to guess. Sand, cloth, building...? Kouji groaned and lay his head down on the table. "What is it?" he yelled.

The ringing seemed to sap his energy, his focus. He was distracted, weak, tired...in no mood to be staring at the computer. Groaning, Kouji reluctantly stood up and collapsed backwards on his bed, allowing his eyes to shut and succumbing to unconsciousness.

From his closet, the ringing died out. Instead, the phone rang again.

And had he been awake, he would have heard a faint beep, signaling he had another e-mail.

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Kouichi stood in front of the bookstore, nervously gripping the doorknob. Resolved, he shoved it open, walked in, took the key out of the lock, shut the door, then locked it. Of course, he would return Marise's key...when he saw him next. But for the moment, he wanted to practice.

He needed to practice. Focus, Kouichi told himself. I really ought to meditate or something like that again.

He stole into the back, unlocking the training room and bringing his sword out. It felt heavier than he remembered, after wielding the bokuto for so long, and Kouji felt wistful as memories flew into him at first contact with the sword.

Focus, he repeated in his head, imagining an invisible opponent in front of him. They seemed to be waiting for an attack, so Kouichi lunged forward, aiming to thrust. He was parried off and caught off guard, but managed to block just as the enemy brought their sword down on him. That being done, he set out to slice their side.

And so it continued for several minutes. He sparred his invisible partner, imagining every move to be real, even feeling every move. Eventually, he managed to rid the opponent of their blade and the mind simulation ended.

There was clapping. Kouichi looked up, startled. Lowemon cut his clapping and nodded towards Kouichi. Swallowing, the boy inclined his head in return and walked up to the digimon. "You've been gone long," he murmured. It wasn't an accusation, just a statement.

Lowemon just nodded.

"Duskmon's gone."

"I know."

Awkwardly, Kouichi allowed his sword to return into his D-Tector and sat down against the wall. Shutting his eyes, he asked, "What have you been doing?"

"This and that," Lowemon replied, as blunt as the question had been.

"Oh."

"And you?"

"This and that," Kouichi returned, managing a weak smile.

Lowemon smiled as well, his more grim, however. "You really detest me, don't you?" he inquired curiously. "You might even say that it's my fault Duskmon is gone. I can assure you, Kouichi, I had my reasons of distancing. Duskmon needed the time to complete what he wanted before he left, and if I stayed in his way, he would have disappeared before everything was complete. You know I dislike Duskmon, but I wouldn't deny him that right."

The boy looked down. "I don't mean it," he replied earnestly. "I just...felt..."

"Incomplete," they finished at the same time. Kouichi nodded and Lowemon sighed. "Kouichi," the digimon murmured, "Sometimes, we have to feel incomplete, because that's the only way we can finish what we've started. So, will you finish?"

"I...y-yeah..." he stuttered, looking up to meet Lowemon's eyes. "Partners?"

Lowemon rolled his eyes. "So long as you don't treat me like that thing," he muttered.

Kouichi regarded the digimon with a sharp look as he stood up. "Lowemon," he reprimanded the digimon silently and instead smiled. "Maybe we should return Mr. Saito's keys..."

"Ah, Kouichi, now I must undo all of that thing's influence."

The two burst out into laughter.

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A/N-

Short! Amazing! I'll estimate 2134097 more chapters so I'll finish it under that and feel better about it! My arms hurt because I sleep funny. This chapter is questionable in terms of quality.

Thank You For The REVIEWS- GemmaniGirl, The Light's Refrain

Review or PM or Flame.