Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.
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Eraba Yashi Kotobuki...Zutto!
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"Move," Kouichi muttered, shutting the front door behind him. His eyes gleamed as he walked between Agunimon and Kazemon to enter a sort of circle his digivolved friends had formed around his brother. They narrowed.
Kouji smirked in his direction and sneered, "I assume you've got something up your sleeve. Or are you just going to stare at me and keep me cooped up, like these idiots?" His voice was strangely cold, and distant.
Shaking his head, Kouichi replied, "Does it matter? What do you want?"
"Does it matter?" the boy returned mockingly.
Brother or no...he's annoying. Kouichi twitched. "You...are...getting on my nerves," he spat.
"The baby can talk."
"That's it!" Without warning, Kouichi drew out his D-Tector, withdrawing his sword, then throwing jacket and D-Tector over Agunimon. "Not even Kouji was this immature!" he growled, getting into a defensive position.
It was a wise choice.
Kouji made the first move, drawing the bokuto out of nowhere. It flashed before Kouichi's eyes, and he barely had time to bring his blade up to block the downward strike. In retaliation, he swung his sword out to catch his brother's torso, but Kouji leaped back, grinning.
"Slow," he said, before charging in again, aiming to thrust through Kouichi.
The adrenaline rushed, and Kouichi rolled to the side, quickly scrambling onto his feet. Their strikes were true, but their defense was equally strong. Neither seemed to be gaining anything, nor losing anything. It was an equal match, and Kouichi desperately sought a way to break the stalemate.
Almost blindly, he lashed his sword out, knocking the bokuto out of his brother's hands. With that done, he slammed the blade down on the weapon, hoping to break through the wood. Why won't it break? Kouichi's breath hitched in his throat. Kouji took a step towards the bokuto. Instinctively, Kouichi kicked it to the side and aimed the tip of his blade at his brother's throat, although it was several inches away.
He took several breaths, in hope of calming the rush that had run through him. "Slow," Kouichi echoed his brother's previous words. "Slow. You said I was slow...but what about you?" A grim smile lit his face.
To his surprise, Kouji just laughed. When the laughter subsided into chuckles and less, he took a step forward and pushed aside the blade, which fell out of Kouichi's hands and onto the ground with a clatter. "You don't have the heart to kill me," the boy scoffed, stepping towards the older twin.
Kouichi nearly choked, seeing his brother before him. What surprised him even more was the hazy image behind his brother. He leaned forward to get a closer look, and as he did, felt Kouji drive his fist into his stomach. Coughing, Kouichi stepped back and fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"And what's more..." A smirk. "You're slow."
A haze overcame his vision, but Kouichi could make out everyone rushing towards him to see if he was alright. Kouji, he thought furiously. What about Kouji? I don't matter, just get him! He wanted so badly to say that out loud, but all that could come out of his mouth was groans of pain and gasps for breath.
He managed to sit up with great difficulty. The first thing that saw made him cry out in pain. The hazy image behind his brother was all too familiar, especially from the back. It wasn't Kouji that Kouichi saw walking away, bokuto in hand, but none other than Duskmon.
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"Are any of you listening?" Kanaye growled, driving his fist into the wall. His eyes narrowed on the people in front of him. "Shut. Up." His voice was quiet.
Things quickly fell into a dead silence, and all eyes were on him. Yes, this what he had wanted and he finally had it. It was strangely sickening.
He cleared his throat. Sweat beaded on his forehead, underneath the hairs of his head. "As you know, Lucemon has called us to prepare," he said in a soft voice. That fact didn't detract from the attention he was receiving. He was positive they would take in his every word. "Because of this..." Kanaye drew a breath. "All of you are dismissed," he finally uttered, keeping his eyes glued towards the legendary warriors at hand. From behind them, he could see Ai jump to her feet in protest. "Now leave."
Kanaye could have cried out happily, seeing them do as he asked. It was the first time he felt as he wanted: calm, vicious, lethal...respected. Very soon, the room was empty, save the four seats on his left. "You four...stay here," he muttered, walking to the door and kicking it shut.
"What's the last job, Captain?" He felt Naoko's eyes regarding him with amusement.
The question was returned with a smile. "How very perceptive of you," he murmured, turning around. An excited glint was shown in his eyes. Kanaye walked briskly to the podium where he had stood behind before and kept his eyes glued on them as he said, voice lowered in case of eavesdroppers, "As you know, Lucemon expects us to prepare for his takeover. However..."
"We have other plans?" As Kanaye shot her a glare, Naoko grinned. It was a bad habit of hers to guess what he intended to say. Especially considering she had caught him in the act a multitude of times, he wasn't all that surprised as much as irritated that she knew this.
Is this why no one listened to me before? Kanaye hid a smile and instead growled in annoyance. "Yes, we have other plans. We'll be aiding the other legendary warriors. That is, on a majority vote," he added quickly, noticing the stares he received. It unnerved him greatly. He exhaled sharply. "Well?"
Ritsuo and Naoko rose their hands. Kanaye had expected this would happen many times before. Although they could put up a good act at being evil, neither Ritsuo nor Naoko wanted the job they had, and would have switched sides the first chance they got. Ai and Fujitaka on the other hand...
Snorting, Fujitaka sat back in his chair and folded his arms, glaring crossly at Kanaye. He suddenly sneered as a thought passed through his head, "What, Kanaye? Afraid of losing? You just don't have the guts!" Triumphant, he held his chin up and waited for the counter.
"Come off it, Fujita," Naoko murmured, hitting her boyfriend's shoulder. "I know you want this too."
Much to Kanaye's amusement, the boy began to sputter. Naturally, he's going to go wherever she does. That leaves Ai...
While everyone had been paying attention to Kanaye, Ai had decided to stand up and place her hands on her hips. Compared to her, Fujitaka was nothing. "So...?" he said quietly, gazing straight at her.
Ai let out a hiss, reminding Kanaye very much of a snake. "You're all fools," she growled, backing away from everyone, heading towards the door. "Lucemon's wrath will be upon you, and don't expect me to save you idiots!" All eyes were on her as she threw the door open and stormed out.
Now Kanaye was worried. A grim look shadowed his face as he turned to the remaining three. "Well then, I suggest we use this time to meet up with the others." He stopped. Something wasn't right. Letting out a silent curse, Kanaye shrugged the feeling away and motioned towards the door. "Move out."
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She stared at him quietly. "You did fine."
"It wasn't enough," he returned with a hint of bitterness. He wished they had just stayed there instead of rushing towards him. A few more seconds, and he would have had Kouji sitting with them at this moment, arguing about some idiotic moment or another.
"You did fine," she repeated firmly, turning away from him.
Before he could restrain himself, his voice rose. "It wasn't-" He stopped. Breath hitched in his throat, Kouichi clenched his fists, turning his head to the side as she looked over her shoulder to glance at him.
"Kouichi, you're making the kitchen a pretty dreary place. Go with everyone else. Maybe then you'll cheer up." Kako pressed her lips together and looked in front of her as she continued to raid the cabinets for anything edible. "Say...Kouichi?" she suddenly murmured, dropping her hands to her side.
Stupid idiot. Izumi warned you, Kouichi thought, mentally kicking himself. Why did you do that? She'll hate you forever now.
Kako bit her lip. "Kouichi, the diary mentioned...he said...well, I've been thinking about us. I want to know. Where do I stand?" She risked a look over her shoulder.
Kouichi was expressionless. It was his usual poker face.
She hated it.
What...? A small smile lit Kouichi's face, curling into a smirk. Where...? Good question. "Right in front of me," he whispered, taking a few steps forward as she turned around.
Angrily, she pushed him back when he tried to step closer to her. "I'm serious!" she insisted. Tears were brimming in her eyes, though Kako did her best to hold them back. Stupid jerk, she yelled in her head, but did nothing otherwise.
For a second, Kouichi could have sworn his arms moved of their own accord. Very soon, he felt himself comply, finally coming to a conclusion. So it's true. Kouichi just smiled and pulled her into an embrace, whispering into her ear, "So am I. You stand right in front of me." He bent down, catching her lips in a kiss, a movement which felt almost robotic, if not automatic.
"How very touching."
Kouichi pulled away, slightly annoyed. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, where Kanaye stood, smirking. "Kanaye, we were expecting you," he said calmly. What's that loser doing here? I was enjoying the moment, the boy thought, resisting the urge to lunge at Kanaye there and then.
"You forgot to invite me to the party," Kanaye laughed.
"But you see, we never did. We knew you'd come anyway. No one would invite you to their wedding."
Kako choked. Wedding? she thought.
Kanaye paused to observe the look on Kako's face. "I do believe we scared her," he said pointedly.
"I agree. Why are you here, though? Moreover, how did you get in?" Kouichi asked, twitching nervously. It was incredibly unnerving to have a polite conversation with the enemy for a second time.
The second boy cleared his throat and spun around. "Actually...see for yourself," he mumbled almost incomprehensibly.
Kako jumped. "What?" she exclaimed, racing out of the kitchen and pushing aside the two boys in the process. At the sight in the living room she shrieked, "What is this?"
"People eating?" Kanaye suggested.
He and Kouichi made their way to the living room, stopping behind Kako. Kouichi shook his head. "This is weird. But what...?" He looked to Kanaye in askance.
Rolling his eyes, Kanaye waved a lazy hand towards Rai, who was glaring at a pouting Hideki. "Ask her, please. I've lost my breath."
In front of him, Kako whirled around. Both hands dug themselves into his shirt to yank the collar up. The entire action looked incredibly strange, the girl being shorter. "You'll be losing more if you don't explain what happened!" Kako snapped.
Kanaye was hardly worried. Turning to Kouichi, he muttered, "I'm so sorry."
"I'll live," Kouichi muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the two awkwardly.
If Kanaye had been worried, he was saved from Kako's pathetic attempts at strangling by Marise, who descended down the stairs at stopped at the last step, staring at his daughter with a raised eyebrow. "Kako," he reprimanded, "leave the guests alone."
"GUESTS?" she shrieked, pushing Kanaye away and staring wide-eyed at her father.
For the first time, Kouichi saw the makings of a scowl on Marise's face. It surprised him greatly. The man waved an impatient hand towards his daughter. "Yes, now everyone have a seat," he ordered, continuing to walk towards his seat.
Everyone obliged, dropping their food onto their plates and spilling off the couches onto the floor in the case of limited space.
Marise's eyes gleamed with excitement. In a hushed voice, he told them, "I'm sure you're all very confused by the arrivals of Kanaye and the others, but that's hardly anything to worry about, because with Kanaye comes the knowledge of the activation points of the Area and the possibility to secure these points. If we succeed in securing these points, we're sure to have an easier time with battling Lucemon."
There was a silence until someone asked out of the blue, "How?"
"It will be easier to collapse the Area after Lucemon's defeat."
"How?"
"You'll see."
"HOW?" Kouichi found himself snapping, irritated with the obvious avoidance of the questions. Quieter, he mumbled, "We deserve an explanation. At least, they do..." He waved a hand to the others behind him.
The alien scowl was back on Marise's face. "You. Will. See. When. You. Need. To," he said, pausing between each word. He clapped his hands together and smiled again. "Which is why our first mission will be to secure these areas. Once this is done, we can focus our attack at the core of the Area," he told them. "We'll be sending our three groups of three to each point. To our very own Japan point, Junpei, Fujitaka, Ritsuo; the sea point, Izumi, Naoko, Tomoki; the Hawaii point, Kouichi, Takuya, Shinya. I suggest you eat up now," he added lightly. "It's going to be one long battle."
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Marise had been gone for a good hour or so, Kanaye observed, and the room had long since erupted into a heated debate about the uses of what seemed like a pointless securing.
They obviously don't understand, Kanaye thought, the importance of this. I suppose I should tell them, but...
He sighed and leaned back into his seat, shutting his eyes and listening to the loud cacophony that met his ears.
"I'm telling you, this is just stupid," Fujitaka snapped, pessimistic as usual. "I know everything about Lucemon's plans-"
"As much as Kanaye decided to tell you," Naoko added.
"-and securing the points will do nothing."
Before anyone else could give their input, Kako snapped, "Yeah, what do you know? For all anyone knows, Kanaye could have lied to you! And my dad does not lie-"
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat. All eyes drifted towards Hideki.
"R-right...?" Kako asked, twitching.
Clearing his throat again, Hideki said, "Dad doesn't lie. He tends to...stretch details, but he doesn't lie...I mean, sure, he fabricates a few details, but he doesn't-"
"HE LIES?"
Kanaye's eyes snapped open.
"No, Kako. Lie is a very offensive term." Hideki reprimanded his sister in a stern tone. "He stretches details."
Groaning, Kako lay back on the floor with her arms spread to the side. "Great. Who knows what he lied about. Go figure," she muttered. No wonder Hideki is so strange.
Kouichi snapped, "That isn't what matters here. Marise wasn't lying. Why would he lie about something like this? He's as bad as Hideki, maybe even worse..." At this point, he avoided all eye contact with Hideki. "But it makes sense to secure the points. What if Lucemon could expand with the control of these points? What would we do then?" He held his breath, preparing a rebuttal in the back of his head in the case of any arguments. There were none, except a cold glare from Fujitaka, which was mirrored back to him on Kouichi's face.
Noticing the awkward tension, Takuya let out a nervous laugh. "So...why aren't you guys with Lucemon anymore?" he asked Kanaye conversationally.
The boy shrugged, pushing his hair out of his eyes. This did nothing to avert the accumulating gazes focused on him. Scowling, Kanaye muttered, "Lucemon was a goddamn pain. I'm not so undignified as Ai as to stick with an uncivilized demon like him." He suddenly glared, and everyone looked away from him.
"Lover's spat," Kako whispered quietly.
A little ways away, Junpei winced. "Ouch."
There was a snigger from Ritsuo. "You have no idea," he told Junpei, and began relating the tale of Ai's ferocity when Kanaye announced his plan.
Kanaye's eyes narrowed on the boy. Traitor.
The entire room burst into a series of mini conversations. By the staircase were Hideki and Rai, seated on the last step. Kanaye sat where Marise had, gazing at the sight before him. To his right, Fujitaka, Naoko, and Ritsuo were seated. Junpei was on the floor to the left of Ritsuo, the connection of the two couches. On the left couch were Takuya, Izumi, Kako, and Tomoki crawling around randomly, obviously unable to hide his excitement.
What caught Kanaye's eyes the most was Kouichi. Still locked in a glaring battle against Fujitaka, he sat to Kako's right, on the floor, unmoving save his arm, which steadily brought the food to his mouth. Fujitaka was doing the very same, speeding up slightly.
What are they doing...? Kanaye shook his head, amused by this. The two continued to speed up, not caring it the food fell out of their chopsticks or onto the side of their face. The bowl was lifted just below eye-level, tilted towards their mouth. The food poured in.
"I'LL TAKE MORE!" the two shouted, holding out their bowls. Glares were exchanged. They jumped to their feet and raced towards the kitchen. At the threshold of the kitchen, however, both boys rammed their heads against each other and fell back onto the floor.
Ignoring this, Takuya shot his hand up into the air and waved it around. "I've got another question!" he exclaimed.
Irritably, Kanaye snapped, "What is it now?"
"How do you digivolve?"
"We...have our ways," he replied evasively, leaning back in the chair and smiling widely.
"What?" Takuya bellowed, outraged. "Is that all you're going to say?" He stood up, clenching his fists by his side, and took a step forward, raising one arm as he did.
Izumi immediately dragged the boy back as her cousin ran to check on Fujitaka and Kouichi. "What are you doing?" she demanded. With almost no effort at all, she pulled Takuya back into his seat.
The goggle boy just grinned at her as he fell back down. "Well," he commented, rubbing the back of his neck, "I was trying to ask Kouji-like questions. It's harder than it seems, especially if you have to add the after reactions, too."
"Takuya, you're so lame," Tomoki snorted, hopping into the spot beside the goggle boy.
Takuya just laughed. "I know."
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They had time. A good hour or so. Kouichi eyed the clock wearily. There were so many things he wanted to get done, but Marise had forbidden them to leave the house.
Who will tell Mom? Then I have to tell her about Kouji, Kouichi realized, letting out a frustrated sigh. He wanted to do something.
"I...just realized something," Takuya muttered, rolling off the couch and beside Kouichi. A lump formed in the goggle boy's throat. "Uh...Sh-Shinya..."
Kouichi's eyes widened with realization.
"Oh...shoot," the two boys chorused.
Junpei, who had just come out of the kitchen, rose an eyebrow at the two. "What?" he said dumbly.
"Shinya," Takuya said, flustered. "We have to take Shinya. Mom would skin me alive if I did!"
"She's skin you alive if she knew about Agunimon. Most probably because you'd have digivolved into Agunimon and she'd have thought Agunimon was a monster who ate you," Kouichi mumbled in turn.
"Hey, she's not that crazy...she's worse."
"Takuya!" Izumi cried, rising to her feet.
Miserably looking over his shoulder, Takuya insisted, "It's true! Come on, Izumi. Think about it. We're doomed. Thirty minutes till noon and we haven't thought of any way to save the Digital World, for all we know Kanaye might betray us like he did Lucemon, we don't even know if these guys can digivolve, and I have to work with Shinya of all people." His said this last part with a hint of bitterness. "Shinya," he continued, "the same boy who..." Who really hated my guts once.
"He's your brother."
"It doesn't matter!" Takuya shouted.
The room fell silent.
Letting out a sigh, Kouichi rose to his feet and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes slipped shut. "Takuya."
"What?" the goggle boy snapped.
"We better get a head start. Getting Shinya, then going to Hawaii...that'll take...a while. But exactly how are we getting to Hawaii? I don't have Velgemon, and...Shinya...w-well, Grumblemon doesn't exactly have wings."
"True..."
Gloomy sighs escaped a few.
With a sigh of her own, Izumi sat down and mumbled, "It would be a lot more easier if we were just in the Digital World again."
Nods followed this statement.
"Yeah...the Digital Worl-" Takuya stopped in mid-sentence, allowing a crazed look to glaze his eyes as he stood up. "OF COURSE!" he exclaimed, slamming a fist in his palm.
Kouichi craned his neck to look up at Takuya. "What's it?" he asked, feeling slightly stupid that he hadn't thought of whatever idea Takuya was about to propose. To reassure himself, he thought, Then again, it might just be another stupid idea...like the one he had on the Digital World's moon.
Laughing without reason, Takuya hissed excitedly, "Don't you see? It would be easier in the Digital World. Think about it, Kouichi! We only have a few choices."
"Yeah. Rent a jet or swim," Kouichi grumbled under his breath.
Takuya frowned. "Where's your head?" he demanded, lifting his foot and kicking Kouichi's head mercilessly. "I thought you were smarter than Kouji!"
The boy paused to regain his balance. As he tipped over to the side from the hit, he pushed off the floor with an arm and looked back up at Takuya. "Run all this by me again."
Trying to control his anger, Takuya drew a breath between gritted teeth. Slowly, he said, "It would be easier for KaiserLeomon and Grumblemon to travel in the Digital World."
Now I really feel stupid, Kouichi thought glumly, rising to his feet. "But it would depend on the terrain of the Area. Then again...there might be some alternate..." Kouichi trailed off and shook his head. "No. No, this is what we'll do," he said, turning around and looking at everyone else. Junpei, Ritsuo, Fujitaka...you three...you head out first." A bit of a smile returned to his face, and he relaxed. "Then the girls and Tomoki can easily make their way by digivolving. Tomoki just has to ice his way, Naoko's Ranamon...and Izumi can fly. In the meantime, we'll get Shinya." Kouichi drew a breath and looked around the room.
Silence.
"Should we leave now, then?" Junpei asked slowly, blinking and trying to take in what Kouichi had said (very quickly, one might add).
"YES, GET GOING!" Kouichi shouted, glaring at the boy.
There were a few mumbles and scuffles until the first group made it out of the door. Shuddering, Naoko murmured to Kako, "He's so weird..."
The other girl just shrugged. "I agree," she replied simply.
This went unheard by Kouichi. "We'll wait five minutes, and then the next group can leave. I have this bet that no one knows what they're doing," he muttered under his breath.
Takuya rose an eyebrow. "What?"
"Marise won't tell us anything. Maybe he doesn't know anything. Either way...well, I'm not waiting." Kouichi sent a glance towards the clock. "Forget it. Next group, go," he said, staring straight at Tomoki, almost menacingly.
Swallowing, Tomoki nodded and jumped off the couch. What's with him? And why am I stuck with girls...? Even if it is Izumi, he thought, wincing as the two girls followed him.
A thought suddenly entered Kanaye's head. "W-wait," he sputtered, rising to his feet.
The door shut, and the remainder of the room (with the exception of Hideki and Rai who were completely oblivious to their surroundings) stared at him. It was odd to see a normally calm Kanaye so flustered, especially for Takuya and Kouichi, as the two boys had constantly been tormented by him in the past.
"What am I supposed to do? I'm not staying here!" snapped Kanaye. He gritted his teeth and drew a breath. "Especially with her," he added, pointing to Kako with a shaking finger.
Takuya and Kouichi exchanged glances, each raising an eyebrow. Turning back to Kanaye, they grinned. "What a shame you haven't got a group of three," Takuya snickered.
Chuckling a little, Kouichi finished, "Because then you could head for the heart of the area with Kako screaming all the while."
"HEY!" Kako snapped, throwing a fork in Kouichi's direction. He barely dodged it, letting out a yell as it glided past his left shoulder.
"See what I mean?" Kanaye muttered pointedly.
Kouichi shrugged. "It's better with three if you ask me. Why don't you...uh...amuse Kako in the meantime...like...show off your sword or something," he suggested.
Scowling, Kanaye folded his arms and looked away, glaring at the innocent wall.
"Should we go now?" Takuya asked, looking at Kouichi. All sign of a smile disappeared from his face.
He opened his mouth to answer, but his eyes caught sight of Kako. Shifting nervously, Kouichi turned around and nodded. "Let's...let's just go," he mumbled, racing towards the door.
What the hell? We all left in the same five minutes, Takuya thought, scowling as he looked up at the clock. He waved carelessly behind him and yelled, "Have fun!" ignoring the string of curses Kanaye let out at him.
The door shut for the third time in those minutes. Kako stood up and went to pick up the fork she had previously thrown. "Alright," she said with a sigh, "what do you want to do?"
Kanaye averted his eyes to look at her. "So, did that kiss mean anything to you, then?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You still haven't figured out anything?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kako repeated again in a firmer voice.
"So was that what the look was about? A 'come back alive so we can talk about this' look?"
"So, what are Lucemon's plans?" Kako asked, turning to look at Kanaye with a pained expression on her face.
The boy shrugged and motioned to the couch. "Shall we take a seat?"
Her eyes regarded him warily. After a few seconds, she asked in the timid voice so unlike her, "Is it that bad...?"
Kanaye shrugged again.
Kako forgot the fork and made her way back to the couch, sitting down in the couch opposite Kanaye. Instead of meeting his eyes, she looked down thoughtfully at the rug.
"Lucemon obviously plans to take over both worlds," she began, "but there's more, right?"
Kanaye nodded. "The 'shadow' system as you call it, has its base in the Chaos of the Digital World. Lucemon plans to conquer all the worlds under the control of the Digital World's Chaos and join all the Chaos for some stupid 'control the universe' plan. He decided to start with Earth," he confirmed.
"Isn't there some other way to stop Chaos...? Other than the destruction of the Digital World...?" Kako's voice was soft and barely audible.
Speak louder. You always used to yell in my ear, he thought grumpily. After a few seconds of guessing what she said from bits of what he heard, Kanaye replied, "If there's another way, no one has thought of it. There's a larger cost than the destruction of the Digital World in the process of eliminating Chaos." His face darkened.
Kako looked up, surprise evident in her eyes. Breathing slowed, and she waited for him to continue.
"Whoever destroys Chaos...will be destroyed as well."
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Takuya swallowed and looked behind his shoulder to make sure Kouichi was still with him. He felt absolutely pathetic. In his own house, and afraid of being left alone...in his own house.
Kouichi seemed to understand this. Scowling, he reassured Takuya, "I'm still here, goggle brain. I'm not going anywhere until we get Shinya. And why are you tiptoeing into his room?"
The goggle boy winced as a groggy voice called out, "Takuya...?"
"Now you've done it," Takuya hissed, glaring at Kouichi before he turned around, laughing and waving to his younger brother. "Hey! Shinya...! I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk, you know, to get your strength back and all...?" he asked his brother, nervously tugging on his goggle straps.
Looking at Kouichi, Shinya waved and murmured, "So are we going somewhere?"
Kouichi nodded. Takuya shook his head.
The two exchanged glances.
Kouichi shook his head. Takuya nodded.
Again, the two exchanged glances.
Exasperated, Kouichi asked, "What do you want to tell him? Are you going to lie?"
"NO!" Takuya shouted, reddening.
The other boy rolled his eyes. He pushed the older Kanbara out of the way and locked eyes with Shinya. "Can you get out of bed?" When Shinya nodded, Kouichi continued, "We're going to Hawaii to secure the opening point for the Area. I know this means nothing to you, but we'll tell you on the way. Get Grumblemon back in your head and let's go."
For the first time that day, Shinya's eyes gleamed with excitement. "I get to help save the world?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.
Kouichi nodded.
The boy jumped out of bed, and raced to his closet. "This is something worth waking up for!" he exclaimed, before kicking Takuya and Kouichi out to get ready.
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"You don't mind?" Rai asked, eyeing Kako and Kanaye as they conversed in low voices.
Marise shook his head. "They're free to do as they will. It's probably better that way. Besides, Kouichi's right." He let out a small laugh. "For all they know, I might not know a thing."
"You don't," Hideki added sourly.
A shrug. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Hideki scowled. "You're a lousy dad," he muttered. "Sometimes I wonder why Mom married you."
"There are better things to worry about," Marise told him softly.
Rai smiled softly as she turned back to the two. Standing up, she asked Marise, "What should we worry about?"
"It will be tricky to leave our future in the hands our children, but the chances are better than leaving it in the hands of adults. When wings of hope begin to sprout, they must be tended carefully, else they will fail to work," Marise said softly, allowing his eyes to drift to Kanaye, then past the boy, to his daughter. "In this case, the new wings must be looked after with utmost care. They were forced to grow quickly...I'm not sure how they will function..." He broke off, sounding troubled.
"You mean..." Rai's eyes widened slightly with understanding as Marise nodded.
Confused, Hideki looked from his father to Rai. "What? What does he mean? I don't get it!" When no one addressed him, Hideki exhaled sharply and folded his arms. "No one tells me anything..."
"Probably because you blab it out to other people," Rai told him with a snort.
"HEY!"
Marise straightened his posture and descended the two steps below to reach the floor. "We should be ready any time now for the gate to open," he murmured softly. It wouldn't be long before darkness descended upon them all. And in that darkness, all he could do was hope.
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Ranamon scowled. "You're making the water cold!" she complained, glaring at Kumamon.
Kumamon paused from creating his ice bridge. With an apologetic look on his face, he replied, "Sorry. You can swim away from the ice, if that would help."
"Are you telling me what to do?"
Forget it. This is pointless, Kumamon thought, continuing with his ice bridge.
Flying close to Kumamon, Kazemon asked, "Want me to carry you a while, Kumamon?"
But the ice warrior shook his head. "She'll just have to deal with it," he replied firmly. Then: "Any news about where we're supposed to head?"
"It's just a short way from here. We'll get there in no time," she told him. "Hey, what's up ahead?" Kazemon suddenly asked.
Kumamon continued icing his way through the ocean. "I don't know..." He paused and looked up, paling his he did. "Kazemon, that's a..."
"Shark!"
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Junpei looked around the now busy streets of Shibuya. "Where are we supposed to go...?" he groaned, scratching the back of his neck. He didn't want to be the leader of his squad, but he didn't trust the other two to lead.
"You don't know where to go?" Ritsuo asked, looking around as well.
Troubled, Junpei met the boy's eyes. "Well, I know it's somewhere in Japan...I mean, it's got to be somewhere in Shibuya, but...that's hardly specific," he admitted.
The two boys looked at Fujitaka. "Any idea?" Ritsuo asked.
The younger boy smirked.
"That's a yes?" Junpei guessed.
Ritsuo shrugged, doing his best not to glare at Fujitaka. I knew I should have paid more attention during those meetings, he thought, wishing he could receive the glory.
Fujitaka opened his mouth: "Kanaye's house."
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Kouichi dedigivolved and inhaled slowly as a sharp, salty breeze blew in his face. "Well, here we are," he murmured, swallowing. "How much time do we have until the Area opens?" he asked Takuya.
The two Kanbaras exchanged glances. Shinya looked at his watch. "Two minutes," he squeaked.
Groans escaped all three boys.
"Hey, Takuya..." Shinya started.
Takuya looked at his brother in askance.
"I'm hungry," Shinya whined, clutching his stomach.
Twitching, the goggle boy snapped, "You should have said that before we left!"
"I wasn't hungry then!"
"Go dive and catch a fish! Here, allow me to help you!"
Kouichi winced as he saw Takuya and Shinya wrestling one another, veering close to the waves. So long as they don't get pulled in, he thought, it's all just a brotherly fight. He chose to ignore the pains he felt at the last two words of that string of thought.
"Hey, look!"
Kouichi looked up to find Shinya pointing into the distance, where a black swirling cloud was beginning to form.
He walked up beside the two brothers. "What is that...?" he muttered in disbelief.
They all held their breath, watching as the clouds stretched and extended, covering the waters before them in a murky fog. The winds picked up speed. There was howling, thunder...sounds of creatures laughing at them. Kouichi shielded his eyes as a blinding flash appeared before them.
When everything cleared again, he discovered he had been holding his breath. Letting out a sputtering cough, he inhaled several times before he could make up for the lack of oxygen.
"Is that...?" he heard Takuya utter.
Kouichi moved his hand out of the way of his eyes and blinked several times to make sure it wasn't a dream.
"The Dark Area," he confirmed, stepping forward, above the two feet of water between the Area and home soil.
Behind him, Takuya and Shinya followed his example.
Turning around, Kouichi looked at Shinya with a crooked smile. "Welcome to the Digital World."
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A/N-
Sorry. SORRY! Sunday I lost data, so I was depressed. I couldn't write for some reason. It hurt. I read something Monday that made me feel tenfold better, but the motivation was hard to get back. I was inspired, but the words were lost. I'm so sorry for making you wait. It's not even a good chapter, because a lot of the points were forced out and misplaced in the story and chapter. There'll be problems getting the next chapter up. I have an annoying Lit paper to write (and normally I like Lit. But I hate cultural projects that deal with my own culture).
Thank you for the reviews! Really helped me- GemmaniGirl, x.XWeirdxnxwiseX.x
Review or PM or Flame.