Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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Last Chance

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It had been odd. Shinya had forced them to buy him lunch. He ate and ate until he turned blue, when Takuya told him he should stop eating. But Shinya kept eating, and money flew out of their pockets faster than water.

Needless to say, Izumi and Takuya took the boy home and he threw up.

Nothing was said during that hour. The three couples stared wide-eyed at Shinya, and Kanaye was tapping a finger on the table to show his impatience. But nothing happened until Izumi and the Kanbaras left.

"You will not tell this to a soul," Kanaye hissed, directing his threat to Naoko and Fujitaka.

The two exchanged confused glances. "We understand," Naoko said slowly. Kanaye waited patiently as she continued, "You just ran into them, right? And it was just a whole bunch of threats and whatnot exchanged, right...?"

Dense, his head screamed, but Kanaye smiled thinly. "How did you ever guess?" he asked innocently.

After that, Hideki and Rai left, and Kanaye soon after. The last thing he wanted to be caught up in was the lovely night those two had planned. I'd rather eat a live duck, he realized, deciding to pay a visit to Marise's bookstore instead. He could catch up on reading. Since his last visit, Kanaye had cut reading off altogether, deciding to spend his time planning his own demise instead.

It had worked for a while, but he soon found his plan to be so simple and foolproof, that the max number of lives to be lost would only be one or two, and that there wasn't much to do but wait for the plan to be put into action. Kimura and the others would be in the Digital World through the gate Shinya would construct with Lucemon on the other end. They would destroy him; he would surrender if need be, right away. He would change sides if possible, and fight the others if they proved an obstacle. He would get his own way, and Lucemon would not win.

Vulgar pig, Kanaye thought, slamming the door to his room shut. He could hardly stand the half-year he had spent with the man, and ruling a kingdom seemed a hundredfold worse.

He threw himself on his bed, face down. A breath was drawn, and he felt the chains around him wrap tighter. Kanaye moaned and rolled over, allowing a hand to rest on his stomach and his eyes to slip shut. If they would just realize...if they would just hurry up...

It then occurred to him that he was at home, and not at the bookstore. It struck him as odd. So many times, he wanted to get away from the place, and unconsciously, he felt drawn to it. Chuckling to himself, Kanaye rose to his feet and shook his head. Maybe tomorrow.

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Kako sighed in frustration. Monday she had layered herself with jackets galore so as to not get sick from the cold, which she discovered didn't exist. Tuesday she borrowed a jacket from Kouichi so as to not freeze to death when she thought there would be sun. Wednesday she figured the pattern would repeat, and decided to bring a thin jacket in case, but she ended up borrowing Kouichi's jacket again nevertheless. Today she had two jackets in case, and it was sunny.

Cursing the weather and returning her attention to the board, Kako sighed. She could hear the faint taps of Kouji typing and the mutterings from Kouichi as he began to overanalyze the book he was currently reading. Further down the row, Takuya and Izumi were flirting, and Ai was whining to Naoko very loudly in the middle of the room, right beside Kanaye, whom she intended to annoy to death. Fujitaka was glaring at Kouichi, Kako knew he wasn't paying attention, and she was tired.

Mr. Ogata had gone to Hawaii for a 'very important matter.' No one had any idea what it was about. Kako didn't think anyone really cared either.

There must have been miscommunication about who was substituting for Ogata, she guessed, because for the first half of the day, they were left in the room alone, told to be quiet and just sit there. This resulted in everyone doing whatever they pleased with the only rules that it was appropriate and they didn't go out of the room.

Kako had nothing to do except bother people, and she didn't want to do even that. The heat was unbearable and all she wanted to do was sleep. Finally, Kako stood up and stumbled towards Kouji, examining what he had been looking at nonstop for the past hour.

"What do you want?" the bandana boy grumbled immediately, prying his eyes off the computer to glare at her.

The girl just gazed at the picture. "What is that?" she asked interestedly. "It's really pretty."

Typical girl, Kouji thought, almost disgusted as Kako grabbed the laptop and changed the direction it was facing. Her face moved closer to the screen and Kouji tensed while she commented, "Hey, you know, it looks like it's in water."

His eyes widened. "Water...?" he repeated.

Kako looked up at him in confusion. "So...what's it supposed to be if it isn't water...? Rather, a slab of stone in water, but same difference," she said, watching him grab the laptop and take a closer look. He doesn't know what it is...?

"Of course!" Kouji exclaimed, slamming a fist on his desk. He shut his laptop and put it away in its case which he grabbed as he ran out the door.

The entire room fell silent as the sound of the door closing echoed in their ears. A second later, small conversations took place, all discussing Kouji's sudden exit. Kako watched curiously as Kanaye stood up, pushed his chair in, and headed for the door as well. But everyone was too loud to hear him as he quietly shut the door.

Her head was spinning as she returned to her seat. Kako was worried a great deal, but unsure of whether it was justified, she tapped Kouichi's shoulder.

He seemed to be sharing the same thoughts, because he answered softly, "Kouji can take care of himself. Kanaye isn't stupid to start something here." Kouichi's face was void of emotion as he turned around to face her and placed his book down. "Don't worry."

"I'm not worried," Kako replied automatically, slinking down on the desktop and spreading her arms out. Her chin rested on the desk and she murmured again, "I'm not worried. I'm just tired. And Kouji's just acting weird. But he always acts weird. So I guess it isn't that big of a deal..." Sighing, she sat up and met Kouichi's eyes. A smile crept up her face as she did.

Kouichi, confused, looked at her in askance.

Giggling, she lowered her voice. "I brought the egg today. Before this it was at home, but Dad said it ought to get some fresh air, and what better place than school, you know?" she told him, beaming proudly.

"Th-this isn't the place to talk about this," Kouichi sputtered, reddening.

"My, my...Kouichi, I never knew you had such a dirty mind!" Naoko gasped. She slammed a hand on the boy's desk, startling him further. "Just wait until your brother hears!"

He stood up in shock. "What? I wasn't-we weren't-that wasn't-I don't know what you're talking about!" he squeaked indignantly, reddening at the thought.

Kako stuck out her tongue. Snorting, she told Naoko, "Please, Naoko, he's too embarrassed to talk about chicken eggs hatching." She shut her eyes and nodded solemnly as Naoko gasped again.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Naoko asked, "Is that it? Well, that bit of gossip's gone..." Seconds later, she walked off to continue to talk to Ai.

Groaning, Kouichi sank back into his seat and rested his head on his arms. "My reputation," he moaned before looking up and sighing. He propped his elbow on the table and rested a cheek on the palm of his hand as he turned his head to Kako, who sat in Kouji's seat, smiling at him. "Say, are y-" he started, even managing to smile.

He didn't have the chance to finish as Rai came into the room, followed by Kanaye and Kouji. Kako's attention was diverted as well, and when she looked back at him, she seemed troubled. Kouichi frowned when she quietly excused herself and sat back down in her own seat. Something I missed...? He began to wonder, but dismissed it as Kouji sat down, looking triumphant. This alerted Kouichi even more, and he looked over at Kanaye to find the other boy with a perfectly stoic expression on his face. No one's telling me anything...

He wondered if there was good reason.

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This and this and...one more key to press. Now, now...are you going to give up so soon? Grumblemon laughed nastily, forcing Shinya to slowly reach his finger towards the last key. His mind ached, his body ached, he ached. Fighting back did no good. It just seemed to make the moment pass by like eternity.

He was forced into the library during lunch by the possessing digimon, forced in front of a computer, forced to continue the files he had come to be disgusted with as they appeared on whatever computer he was at. But this time was different. This time, his muscles ached to finish. He wanted the torment to be over.

Just a few more keys, Grumblemon continuously laughed at him. And then the digimon would claim he lied and that there were more keys. Shinya didn't see why he had to trust the digimon now, but something told him this was definitely the last key.

He fought for all he was worth, taking control of his hand and driving his finger down hard on the key. There was a loud tapping noise, and silence, dead silence followed for the milliseconds that came.

A flood of light escaped the computer, catching Shinya by surprise. He tried to cry out his pain, but nothing came but light...

The next thing he knew, he sat in his chair, staring at a game of solitaire. His throat was dry, and his legs were rubber. "Takuya," he rasped, standing up in his chair. No matter how much he hated his brother at the moment, it was his brother who he wanted to see.

Did he really hate Takuya...? No, he couldn't do anything for me then, but he wanted to. It's the same thing even now, Shinya realized, feeling large tears well up in his eyes. He tried to brush them away but they kept coming. And when he wandered out of the library to see the blinding light of day, he felt exhausted and drained, that, no matter where he was, the first thing he wanted to do was take a nap.

Curling up on a nearby bench, Shinya sighed at the warmth from the beating sun and absorbed it happily. His eyelids felt heavy and drooped shut; surely no one would notice if he took a nap for a second or two. The sun was agreeing with him. The tears continued out, no matter the obstacle of closed eyes-that didn't really count.

It had been a long time since Shinya had felt so carefree. Let me just enjoy this a bit longer, he begged, allowing himself to lose consciousness as the sun was soon clouded over.

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Kouichi sat in front of Kako with the egg between them. They were on a field behind the school, taking their time to enjoy the sun while it lasted (Kouichi predicted it to be a rainy day because the weather man predicted it to be sunny, and throughout the week, every prediction the weather man had made was false).

"What do you think will hatch from it?" Kako asked, taking the egg into her hands and smiling at it.

The boy just shook his head. She's lost it. "Kako, are you alright?"

She didn't seem to be paying attention. "Maybe a chicken..." murmured Kako, trying to avoid Kouichi's question. Ever since Rai had walked into the classroom, a part of her remembered what her teacher had said. 'Was it for Kouichi?' she had asked. And because she couldn't answer the question, Kako began to wonder.

Kouichi found her spacing out and shook his head in disbelief. He could hardly begin to comprehend what was wrong with her. "Kako...?" he called out, waving a hand directly in front of her face.

Her eyes glazed over. The egg slipped out of her hands and rolled onto the grass. Swaying slightly side to side, Kako mumbled, "Maybe...a dinosaur..."

"Kako, stop it!" Kouichi shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her vigorously. Although he wouldn't admit it, she was scaring him (far more than usual).

Automatically, Kako shouted out, "I'm sane!" but Kouichi was questioning more than her sanity as he let her go and picked up the egg.

"Obviously," he started, regarding her with an eyebrow raised, "Lobomon is going to come out of the egg. Right, Lowemon?" Kouichi looked at the digimon who had appeared behind him. When Lowemon nodded, the boy turned back to Kako and muttered something.

Again, Kako insisted, "I'm sane..." and looked away from Kouichi as a blush formed on her cheeks.

Lowemon smiled, amused by her reaction. In a low voice, he whispered something to Kouichi who paled and muttered, "You really don't need to be so nosy." Reddening even further, Kako turned her back to Kouichi. Lowemon laughed and the boy scowled.

Kouichi pushed himself up to sit by Kako, egg in one hand. He ignored Lowemon's presence furiously and waited for the digimon to disappear. Once the digimon did take his leave, Kouichi broke out into laughter, falling back onto the cool grass. "And he says he's going to undo all of Duskmon's influence," said the boy, laughing harder.

Unable to fail to see the amusement in this, Kako burst into slight giggles, doing her best to hide them. Kouichi sat up and handed Kako the egg, but his hands were still on it. "You know, I'm kind of wondering...about the egg myself. It's Lobomon, I know, but..." He broke off and looked at Kako curiously.

She met his eyes and nodded. "Is it data or what? Or Lobomon...but that would be strange." Kako chuckled at the thought of it.

Smiling warmly, Kouichi nodded in agreement. Unconsciously, he leaned towards her and said, "Kind of strange to think about. Kouji told me Patamon hatched as he was."

Kako felt the egg moving towards her. To stop it's advance, she placed her hand on it and glanced up at Kouichi. "Umm...really?" she asked, not as interested as she tried to sound. She pushed the egg back towards him, suddenly wishing the bell would ring.

"Yeah. But that would be strange for Lobomon," he murmured, stopping as they were just inches apart. "That doesn't matter. Kako, I need to know-" Kouichi started.

They both let out yells of surprise as the egg burst into light, revealing the marks on the digi-egg shining when the blast cleared. Kako and Kouichi both dropped their hold on the egg, both yelping when they realized the other wasn't holding it. In a frantic scramble to recover the egg, which was floating harmlessly in the air while shining, they bumped heads and fell back in pain.

"What is that?" Kako mumbled, rubbing her forehead. She held up a hand in front of her eyes to block the light, which eventually faded. The egg lowered itself in her direction. With outstretched hands, Kako caught it and held it close. "That...was weird," she declared, standing up and walking over to Kouichi.

In response, Kouichi just mumbled something under his breath and felt his forehead. "I think I have a bruise," he finally said, sitting up and looking at Kako, all the while wincing. "Are you made of cement or something?"

She grinned. "I could ask you the same thing."

He let out a laugh and rose to his feet. Kouichi brushed himself off. His eyes were focused on the egg in Kako's hands. What was that about? It was familiar, he realized, but he couldn't quite place the feeling. Instead, he looked at Kako. "We should get back to class, huh?" he suddenly asked.

Nodding, Kako murmured, "We should..." and trailed off. Her gaze was focused steadily on the sky, which had taken on a sudden gray look to it. "It looks like it will rain today after all," she said softly.

No sooner had the words left her lips than raindrops slowly drizzled down to the ground. Muttering under his breath again, Kouichi threw off his jacket and onto Kako's head. "Hurry up, you'll get sick," he snapped, grabbing both their backpacks and racing towards the nearest covered hall.

This really stinks, Kako thought, gazing up at the sky. One hand held the jacket down on her head and the other tightened its hold around the egg as she ran after Kouichi.

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"Kanbara," Kanaye called softly. He stared coldly at the boy who stood beside his locker, looking down at his shoes. "I need to talk to you."

The startled Takuya looked up. His expression turned serious as he nodded and followed Kanaye outside the hall, behind the classrooms, where he discovered the sunny weather had changed on them. Just proves that teachers are trying to take away all our joy, he thought with a wry smile.

Kanaye didn't seem interested in the unusual rain one bit. Locking eyes with Takuya, he said, "As you know, your brother is under Grumblemon's control. We've been using him to create the gha-" Kanaye cut himself off, coughing and choking and mentally cursing himself for standing near the wall he was pinned against.

Glaring murderously at Kanaye, Takuya asked in a low voice, "What are you doing with my brother?"

The other boy scowled. He grabbed Takuya's hands, ready to inflict any pain necessary. His better judgment advised against it. Instead, he let his hands drop to his side. "I was about to tell you, Kanbara," Kanaye snapped.

If he had thought Takuya would loosen his grip, Kanaye thought wrong. Mercilessly, Takuya tightened his grip on Kanaye's collar, pushing him against the wall even more. "I don't care. Just say what you were going to," he spat. Takuya pushed Kanaye further into the wall before he let go and turned away. What...was I doing? Get a hold of yourself, Takuya, he scolded himself. He had almost forgot himself, and promised to never do that again, no matter the case.

Smoothing out his clothes, Kanaye murmured, "You know very well that Grumblemon is Shinya's shadow. For the past few weeks, we've been using Shinya for our purposes of creating a gate to the Digital World. However," he said this quickly, noticing Takuya's fists tense, "however we have no further need for him, and we would like you to know, as of now, signified by this idiotic rainfall, he's perfectly free to do as he pleases.

"That does not change the fact that he is Grumblemon's shadow, nor will anything else. As you are his brother, I found it necessary to alert you. That's all." He stiffened as Takuya turned to him, glaring. One would think after all I said that he would be grateful, that damned idiot. He suppressed a scowl and walked off, deciding it was better if he masked his anger.

"So it's done, then?" Takuya called out, staying where he was.

Kanaye stopped in his tracks. A rare smile appeared, but it was hidden to Takuya, who saw only Kanaye's back. "Yes. It's done. He won't suffer anymore, but he wasn't supposed to suffer at all. You'll have to excuse us for the...irreversible effects. Grumblemon wasn't meant to cause that much trouble." He paused and pursed his lips, trying to swallow the smile as he saw Izumi in front of him. "I'll leave you two, then," he said softly, inclining his head in Izumi's direction before walking away.

He hid out of Takuya and Izumi's sight, listening to them discuss Shinya in a low voice. Kanaye let out a frustrated sigh, one that revealed his fatigue. Rubbing the back of his neck, he muttered, "One down, one to go." Kimura should be somewhere around here. He blinked several times, feeling an overwhelming dizziness overcome him. It was strange; he never thought being himself would be this mentally demanding. I guess it makes sense, after hiding myself behind a guise, he told himself, and made it top priority to find Kouichi.

It didn't take him long. Kanaye found Kouichi by his locker, breathing hard. Beside him stood Kako, with Kouichi's jacket hanging on her head. Both were soaking wet. That was hardly what caught Kanaye's attention. In Kako's arms was a digi-egg, with blue designs on a pale white shell. Lobomon, Kanaye thought immediately. He hid himself behind a row of lockers.

"...does it have to be soaking wet?" he heard Kako mutter. She threw the jacket off towards Kouichi.

The boy caught it with ease, smiling sheepishly as he did. "Yes? Does it matter?"

She whined, "I was going to walk home! Obviously it matters!"

Laughing, Kouichi took a seat on the floor, folding up his jacket and placing it his lap. "You know it really doesn't matter. I told Kouji to bring an umbrella just in case. Whether he did is another matter, though," he added with some thought. "You could just borrow that. That is, if he brought the umbrella..." A contemplative frown appeared.

Kako stiffened. "I'm fine."

What's with her...? Kanaye found himself chuckling in amusement. He caught himself immediately and lowered his laughs, muffling them with a sleeve.

"Well, I guess it makes sense. After all, I'm not sure if he brought the umbrella or not..." Kouichi sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.

Kanaye choked back laughter. He's thinking about an umbrella and she's thinking-...what is she thinking? It occurred to him that even if he was Devimon, girls would forever remain a mystery.

The girl seemed to notice it, too. "Th-this isn't about the umbrella, Kouichi...I'll be fine. It's just a light rain fall," she assured him, sitting down as well. As soon as she did, she leapt forward at the sound of thunder, squeaking loudly.

Kouichi winced at the sudden drop of weight on him. "Kako...?" he muttered, trying not to move (he was as good as immobilized, anyway).

Sputtering out incoherent apologies, Kako helped him to his feet and let out another yelp. "The egg! Where's th-..." She scanned the room and let out another squeak. Pointing at the egg, she yelled, "It's bouncing!"

Kouichi winced as he fell down again, toppled down by Kako (yet again). "Kako..." he murmured again, letting out a sigh. Is she dreaming...? He shook his head and pushed her to the side, feeling his heart stop in cold terror as he did.

"Uh...wow, this is a great dream," he managed to say after several seconds of silence.

"IT'S BOUNCING FOR GOODNESS SAKES! WHAT DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL SAY IF THEY WALK OVER?" Kako shrieked.

"Wow, nice electronic egg! ...right?" He tried to sound calm, but by this time, Kouichi was shaking with nervous laughter.

"W-well..." Kako sat down beside the bouncing egg and laughed. "What do you think will come out of it? A baby digimon?" she asked, turning her head to Kouichi.

Strangely, Kanaye could imagine her expression although he couldn't see it. Scowling, he glared and tried to push the image of a smiling Kako out of his head. He tried instead to focus on the egg. What is this about...?

Kouichi shrugged as he took a seat beside Kako. "Probably. I still think it might be data, and the data'll form Lobomon," he told her, gazing calmly at the egg.

She stared at him in disbelief. Angrily, Kako demanded, "What?" She pushed into his shoulder purposely. "Data? Since when do digi-eggs release data?" A laugh escaped her as she scorned his suggestion.

"When hasn't it? Think about it. Digimon are basically data, and that data forms into something. Who's to say it won't just form Lobomon?" he argued, glaring at her.

Kako glared back. "ME!"

"That's lame, Kako. At least give some random theory you might have yourself!"

"It'll be a baby digimon, I'm telling you! Cherubimon and Ophanimon and Seraphimon were, weren't they? Izumi said they were! And getting Lobomon out of the egg would be like getting an adu-"

"DON'T finish that example!" Kouichi barked, flushing red.

Kako clamped her mouth shut and reddened as well. After a while, she insisted, "Well it's true!"

The boy just scowled. "Data and a full grown digimon are two different things. I mean the data will come out. Sure, for a second, Lobomon might be a baby digimon, but we won't know the difference, will we? It'll just be a shining egg." He paused thoughtfully and looked back at the egg.

"I guess..."

"He's right, you know," Kanaye found himself saying. He nearly cursed aloud when he realized this, but it was too late. Revealing himself, he leaned against the nearby lockers in a manner so he was visible to the two. "Lobomon's egg merely holds his spirit and data. My guess is, instead of a baby, we'll see this data go straight into Kouji's D-Tector, and when the time is right, we'll see Lobomon himself. There is also the possibility that Lobomon will, as Kimura said, for a mere second in our eyes, be a baby digimon. We'll have to wait and see. It depends on the maturity the egg has reached. Why are you both looking at me like that?" he snapped immediately after his explanation.

Defensively, Kako returned, "How long were you standing there?" She noticed the egg and grabbed it, clutching it firmly and close to her as she glared at Kanaye.

He shrugged and smiled thinly. It won't hurt to play along. "Long enough," he replied smugly.

"GAAAAAAH!"

Kako scrambled to her feet, ready to lunge towards Kanaye, but her companion grabbed a hold of her arm. Rolling his eyes, Kouichi muttered, "He's just playing with you, Kako. Why are you letting him get to you?"

Kako pointed at Kanaye and insisted, "He's going to tell everyone!"

"Does...it really matter?" Kouichi suddenly asked.

What are we talking about here? The question seemed to be on everyone's mind.

Nevertheless, Kouichi quickly avoided this. Standing up with his jacket in hand, he asked Kanaye, "Kouji doesn't have his D-Tector, so if, as you said, the egg were to hatch, what would happen?" While asking his question and awaiting an answer, he moved to open his locker and stuff his soaked jacket in it.

"It won't hatch in that case," Kanaye stated matter-of-factly. "That will probably lead to the second option."

Kouichi shut his locker and locked it. "Oh. Okay." He turned to face Kanaye and inclined his head in the other boy's direction politely. "Thank you," he murmured.

Kanaye just shrugged. Turning so his back was to Kouichi, he murmured, "One more day. Use it wisely."

All Kouichi could do was stare in confusion as his nemesis walked off. It was almost strange. More towards the beginning of the year, he viewed Kanaye as hostile, arrogant...a definite Lucemon like figure. In fact, had it not been for Ogata's extreme evil, Kouichi would have thought Kanaye was a more suitable Lucemon. But now the boy just seemed docile...calm...human.

"Kouichi, what did he mean?" he heard Kako ask.

Brushing away her hand that had been tugging his sleeve absentmindedly, Kouichi shrugged. His eyes watched Kanaye fade away before he let them rest on Kako. "I..." One more day...? One more day. I'm supposed to use it well. One more day until what...? He was sure he knew the answer; whatever it was, he was only sure that Kanaye's advice was safe to follow. They do say live every day like your last after all, Kouichi thought, amused.

Kako had begun to wave her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Kouichi?" she called out loudly.

"I'll take you home after school. How does that sound?" Kouichi suddenly asked.

Taken aback, Kako stared at him (and nearly dropped the egg). Bringing the egg up to her chin, she blushed and mumbled, "Sure...um, okay..." and in the back of her head wondered, What's this about...? If she didn't know him so well, she would have assumed he was trying to murder her.

Nodding, Kouichi turned around and walked off in the direction Kanaye had. He held up a hand as he did, waving. "Great, I'll see you after school," he called back, not bothering to wait for her even though they were in the same class.

Noticing this forgotten fact, Kako cried out, "W-Wait for me! I have to put the egg away!" And maybe the talk's long overdue anyway, she realized.

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The two quietly walked side by side under the umbrella Kouji had actually brought. The younger twin had brought two, predicting something like this would happen, and was heading home himself. Kouichi didn't mind much. It just meant that they were free to talk without anyone they knew hearing.

Not that they were talking much. Both were unsure of what to say, but seemingly thinking hard.

"Kouichi," Kako suddenly blurted, quickly covering her mouth with both hands.

He looked at her, puzzled. "Yeah...?"

Swallowing, Kako laughed and looked up at him with a fake smile. "I was...uh...j-just thinking...you know, about what Kanaye said..." She stopped.

Kouichi rose an eyebrow.

"You think...it's got something to do with Lucemon?" Kako asked quietly, her smile fading.

"I..."

She looked at him expectantly.

Kouichi burst out laughing and rubbed the back of his neck. "I have no idea!" he admitted, continuing to laugh.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Visibly wincing, Kouichi rubbed his injured arm. "You say you have no idea, but that's a lie!" Kako snapped accusingly, even pointing.

They had stopped all progress towards Kako's house, and Kouichi was sure people were staring at them. Calmly, he pushed her finger away. "Don't point. It's rude," he told her instead.

"I don't care!"

"Kako, you should. If Lucemon says something, and you point at him and yell, what's going to stop him from killing you on the spot?" Kouichi scolded her, trying not to laugh at the incredibly ridiculous example. Maybe I should have used crazy madman, he mused.

Kako folded her arms and glared at him. "I'm sure Lucemon wouldn't be that rude, so there's nothing to worry about. That isn't the point, Kouichi. I-...um, that is to say, we need to talk." She said the last part slowly, trying to emphasize her point.

I guess I should have used crazy madman. Aloud, Kouichi just shrugged. "We are talking."

She let out a frustrated sigh and insisted, "It isn't the same thing!" Before Kouichi could say anything else, Kako continued, "We've talked before, but nothing was fixed. We're as confused as we were before, as far as I'm concerned! No changes! Nothing significant! If you're trying to run an experiment here, Kouichi, it's not going to work. Where are your variables?" Glaring, she opened her mouth to continue further and stopped when she realized what she said.

Smiling slightly, Kouichi told her, "Nice example, but...it's kind of weird. We have talked. Sure, nothing's changed, but honestly, Kako, I like things the way they are. Christmas...I realized I didn't want anything between us to change. If we couldn't be more, we might as well be friends. I don't want to take unnecessary risks." He shut his eyes, leaned back against a nearby building, and held the umbrella out towards her, seeing the rain catch her sleeve. "Maybe we should take a chance, but for now-"

"Exactly, Kouichi, take a chance-"

"For now," Kouichi said again, opening his eyes and brushing away the raindrops that had fallen and slid down onto his face. He tried to continue, but his mind blanked out. Instead, he stood up straight and grabbed Kako under the umbrella. "Let's just take you home..."

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Takuya sat beside his brother's bed, clutching the sheets in his trembling hands. Please, Shinya, wake up, he begged silently, but said nothing.

"Takuya, would you please get the soup for Shinya?" he heard his mother call out.

His grip tightened. Shutting his eyes, Takuya drew a shaky breath and tried to let it out, but it came out in the form of a sob. One hand left the sheets to close his mouth.

"I've got it," Izumi murmured, placing a hand gently on the boy's shoulder and smiling before she left. She knew very well that Takuya didn't see her smile, but she could feel he knew.

Thank you. "Thank you," Takuya whispered aloud. "Get...get out of him..." He looked at Shinya, glaring at the face he saw just below the surface of his brother's unconscious one.

Sneering, Grumblemon just laughed. Instead of it being eerie or creepy, Takuya found it to be irksome. Clutching his fists and deepening them into the side of the bed, he yelled, "Get...OUT!"

There was a crash somewhere in the hallway, followed by gasps and a muffled conversation. Exhausted, Takuya fell forward, allowing an arm to cushion the fall for his head. Silent cries racked through his body and tears escaped him freely. In the back of his mind, he thought, Please, Shinya, please. Just this once, would you listen to me? And the thought only made him cry harder.

"Ta...Takuya, you're hurting my arm," came a tired voice.

Surprised, the goggle boy looked up, quickly wiping his eyes as he did. He cleared his throat and gazed down awkwardly at his brother. "Uh...Shinya, how are you?" he asked conversationally, looking around the room to avoid his brother's eyes.

Shinya just shook his head. He pointed at his brother and declared, "You were crying."

"I was not!" Takuya shouted.

"Then why do you have tear stains?"

There was growling while he thought of another answer. Takuya shouted a split second later, "Mom had me cut onions for your stupid soup!"

Shinya managed a weak smile as he sat up. "Where's the soup?" he asked.

"I-...where is the soup...?" Takuya questioned as well, looking around.

"Izumi dropped it when you yelled," Agunimon informed him, appearing behind the goggle boy.

Takuya froze. Oh...oops.

Oops won't prevent your murder, Agunimon returned, smiling and waving at Shinya. "You wouldn't believe the stupid things Takuya did while he was waiting for you to wake up. Running back and forth like a girl and screaming..." The digimon burst out into laughter.

"Agunimon!" Takuya scowled.

Nevertheless, the three burst out into a short laughter, until Shinya started coughing. Takuya stopped, a worried look replacing the laughter as he waited anxiously for Shinya to stop (he had no idea what to do, after all, and his brain was too frozen to be functioning).

Gasping weakly as he finished his coughing, Shinya tugged on his brother's sleeve, or attempted to. He barely reached the cloth, but managed to catch Takuya's attention nevertheless. "One more day," he whispered, falling back onto his pillow, exhausted.

Takuya jumped to his feet. Panicking, he said, "Shinya...? Are you okay?"

"He's just exhausted," Izumi told him.

Takuya turned around, pale-faced as he saw her by the doorway, bowl of soup in hand. "Uh...another bowl?" he guessed.

Izumi nodded and walked over, placing the bowl on the desk before stepping on Takuya's foot and hissing, "You idiot. You wasted a perfectly good bowl. What were you yelling about?" She tapped her foot (on his) as she waited for an answer.

Ow, ow, ow. "I saw Grumblemon," Takuya insisted.

The girl stopped and gazed at Shinya. "He said, 'One more day.' Any idea what he meant?" she asked, feeling Shinya's forehead for a temperature.

Takuya shook his head grimly. "I was just about to ask you."

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A/N-

Maybe under ten chapters is more reasonable. .:must get back on track:.

Thanks for the review- GemmaniGirl

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