The six human children, bearing the spirits of the Ten Legendary Warriors, and their Digimon travel companions finally escaped the interchanging tunnel system and were making their way straight to Cherubimon's castle under the Venus Rose. The tunnel they currently took was just as dark as the others, but at least they didn't have to worry so much about being separated again.

Even though the path they took was a straight one, there were so many other tunnel systems connecting to the one they were using. However, there was something unusual about the openings, it was easy to see that there was something else waiting on the other side, but at the same time no one could see anything at all.

But everyone ignored the strange caverns, until Junpei detected a tempting aroma, while his stomach was growling.

"What is that smell?" he said, clearly pleased.

The others began to smell it too, also tempted, it was the scent of food although what kind they couldn't tell. Junpei wanted to investigate the smell even further but Kouichi didn't think it was a good idea.

"We should keep going," he said, determined to keep the others away from the strange tunnels, "this isn't the best place to be for this sort of thing."

"But," Junpei inhaled as if he were in a deep trance, "it smells so good," he whined. "I want to see where it's coming from."

And with that he ran off in search of the source of this enticing smell, leading him to one of the void like openings. The others followed him, to make sure he didn't get into any serious trouble, but Kouichi, who knew the layout of the Dark Continent better than any of his traveling companions, always understood that some things, while alluring could lead to the most unpleasant surprises.

The team found themselves in a lush green forest, sunlight gleaming everywhere, with trees bearing all sorts of delectable foods. There seemed to be a tree for everything, tress for fruit, meat buns, hamburgers, even candies were hanging from the branches. The tantalizing smell from the trees reminded everyone of their hunger, so they all eagerly grabbed as much as they could from the trees and celebrated the end of their starvation with their winnings.

While Kouichi was still skeptical, he too could not ignore the hunger tormenting him, so he took a little bit of food from the trees and sat down in a cool, shady spot to eat whereas the others enjoyed their feast in the warm sunlight. Kouichi watched as the others enjoyed themselves, always smiling, no matter the outcome of any situation. Sometimes he wished he could be more like them but he wasn't born with the same privileges as his comrades, his side of the family had and is still suffering.

"Um… Kouichi," said a gentle voice that cut him from his thoughts, it was Izumi. She was standing in front of him with the same sweet smile she always had.

"What is it?" He tried to sound as polite as he could, but his eyes did not quite meet hers.

"I was hoping you'd help me with something."

Kouichi was confused but agreed to her request. He followed her to the tallest tree in the forest, this tree was bearing tiny cakes in its branches. These cakes gave off the most delectable aroma as if it were freshly baked. Izumi and Kouichi both licked their lips at the thought of tasting one of the pastries.

"We all went out to find more food and I found these, but I need your help to get them out of the trees."

She was right, she did need help, even if she could become Fairymon and fly to the tree, the branches were much too tightly interwoven with each other to reach the cakes from the air, since most of them were found deep inside the foliage. Izumi suggested that she would climb up the tree and drop some of the pastries to Kouichi.

"Why don't you ask the other?" Kouichi still didn't meet Izumi's eyes, he still felt nervous around the group.

"Because their all too busy getting food from the other trees," she replied with a somewhat cheerful tone, "So, if you please."

Kouichi was not one to deny her request but he thought it would be best if he climbed the tree instead, still skeptic about coming through the strange caverns.

"Don't worry about it," Izumi assured her voice still cheerful as she already started climbing, "Just be ready to catch the cakes."

She continued to climb, Kouichi kept a constant vigil on her footing as he was still strongly concerned. While the climb wasn't easy she managed to reach the branches. They seemed strong enough to support her weight, so she sat on one of them as she grabbed some cakes in her hands and gently dropped them where Kouichi was waiting to catch them, with each one he caught he would pile up on the ground.

Kouichi thought they had more than enough cakes, so he quickly asked Izumi to come back down. But suddenly, she saw another of the enticing cakes hanging on the branches. It was by far the biggest one in the whole tree, she was tempted to pick it. After all, what harm could one more do? Unfortunately, it was somewhat beyond her reach, but that didn't stop her from trying. She stood up from the branch she was sitting on practically forcing herself to grab it, then suddenly she felt something pushing at her. Overcome by surprise, Izumi slipped from the branch screaming at the thought of hitting the ground. And she was too shocked to Spirit Evolve. As she prepared for the end of her fall she felt something catching her. She turned to see what had stopped her from falling and saw KaiserLeomon, Kouichi's Beast Spirit, had jumped up to catch her. The two fell back down, KaiserLeomon landing gracefully on his feet, with a still shocked Izumi.

The others had heard her screams and rushed over to see what had happened, only to find Kouichi holding Izumi in his arms.

"Are you alright?" He asked with genuine concern.

Izumi nodded nervously, blushing slightly.

When Junpei saw the scene he was filled with rage and jealousy, it was bad enough that Takuya and Kouji were alone with her, but now he had to worry about Kouichi stealing his chance to impress the girl of his dreams. But, despite his red raged face, he was just relieved that she wasn't hurt just like all the others were.

The sun seemed to be setting in the forest and everyone, whose stomachs were filled with delicious foods, had grown sleepy. But before they prepared to sleep Izumi went up to Kouichi, who had once again isolated himself from the others.

He soon noticed her presence, slightly confused at it. "What are you doing?"

She was blushing with her lips gently curved into the same cheerful smile she was so renowned for. "I wanted to thank you about before."

"Don't mention it," he replied with a gentle smile, "I'm just glad everything turned out okay."

At a distance, the others were watching them, Junpei was still enraged. In fact, steam was practically bursting from his ears.

"Aaargh," he screamed, "why couldn't I've been there to save her?"

"Calm down," Tomoki said, slightly nervous from his friend's rage.

"I'm a little glad," Takuya said coolly. Everyone ignored their personal quarrels to stare at their leader. "This proves that he's a really nice guy."

Everyone began to return their attention to Kouichi with new thoughts, Kouji in particular.

"I knew it all along," said Izumi.

"Knew what?" asked Kouichi.

"You really are a kind and gentle person." Kouichi looked at her, confused. "After everything we've been through you still look out for us, even though we hardly know you."

Kouichi wanted to return her compliments but found himself unable to.

Izumi looked at him, concerned, and continued. "You know you and Kouji are a lot alike." Kouichi stared at her somewhat shocked. "It's true, you both like to isolate yourselves but you're reliable when we need you most. The only difference is while Kouji likes to act tough you're always gentle."

Kouichi blushed at the compliment, but Izumi didn't understand his reasons for being so gentle. He and his family were going through a delicate situation. His grandmother had passed away and his mother was working so hard that she looked like she might collapse, and all Kouichi could do was sit back and watch. He had to act like everything was fine, even though things said otherwise, if he didn't he felt like he was burdening his mother. He had to hide all of his bitterness underneath a gentle soul, so that those he cared wouldn't have to suffer. As he thought of this, he wondered if his brother had other reasons to isolate himself.

Lost in thought, Kouichi didn't notice that Izumi was holding his hand. "So," she asked, "why don't you join us?" She didn't wait for an answer she just pulled him by his hands and dragged to the rest of the group.

He always felt strange being near the others but tried not to show it. He just sat down quietly and listened to the different conversations, only joining in when he absolutely had to.

"Hey Kouichi," Takuya asked, "Would you mind watching the fire with me?"

Kouichi was momentarily confused, wondering why Takuya would ask him that, but signaled that he would agree to do so with a nod.

That night, when everyone else was asleep, Takuya and Kouichi were left to tend to the fire. While Takuya was poking at the embers with a stick, Kouichi was quietly staring at the star filled sky.

"Why did you ask me to stay up with you?" Kouichi asked, his eyes still facing the sky.

"Isn't it obvious?" Takuya turned away from the embers and smiled. "We all want to know more about you. After all you are part of the team."

Kouichi looked at him, unsure of what to say. It seemed strange to be surrounded by people so heavily concerned with. Of course there were a lot of people in his who were concerned, but no one tried as hard as they did.

"Besides," he continued, "I want things to work out between the two of you."

Kouichi didn't have to guess to know who he was talking about. He looked at his brother, still sleeping, for years he believed that he was an only child, and while he never knew his father he was quite content with his current life. But, at the discovery of his long-lost brother, he could not contain his curiosity. He had hoped to talk to Kouji the first time he saw him, but saw how differently the two lived.

Kouichi's mother had to work so hard just to make ends meet, even though she was sick, while Kouji's half of the family didn't have to worry about financial troubles as much as he did. In Kouichi's eyes, his brother's life was perfect. If he had revealed himself on that day, he felt like he would've burdened them for disrupting their happiness and troubled his mother, who was just managing to get by.

Takuya interrupted his thoughts. "He thinks about you too. He may not show it, but he's worried about you too."

Kouichi smiled at his brother's sleeping form, maybe one day the two will learn to fully open up to each other.

Suddenly, Kouichi heard something in the distance, it sounded like it was moving really fast, but he couldn't tell.

"What's wrong?" Takuya asked.

"I think something's out there."

"What!" The two boys prepared their Digivices, ready to evolve, but they couldn't see anything. "Are you sure you weren't imagining it?"

"I'm sure."

The commotion caused everyone to wake up. "What's going on?" Junpei asked, obviously still tired.

"Kouichi says that there's something out there."

Hearing this, the team sharpened their senses but detected nothing.

"I think he's just paranoid," Junpei stated, who was still in desperate need of sleep.

"No," Kouichi retorted, "There's something out there I'm sure."

"At any rate, I think it's gone now," Tomoki assured.

"In that case," Junpei whined, "Let's go back to sleep."

"Is that all you can think about right now." Izumi glared at him.

"I can't help it," he rubbed his right eye, "I'm so tired."

While the others slept peacefully, Kouichi still kept a silent vigil. He was so sure that something would come out.

"Are you sure you sensed something?" Kouji asked.

Kouichi was a bit surprised, his brother was not much for conversation, considering there somewhat estranged relationship. But he replied to him with a sturdy, confident nod.

"But even if there was something there," Kouji continued, "wouldn't Patamon be able to sense it too."

Since Patamon was once a powerful Celestial Digimon, he had an unfathomable intuition. It would only make sense that if the team was in any real danger Patamon would've warned them instantly.

"You might be right," the elder twin replied, "Still…"

Kouji looked at his brother, who was clearly convinced of otherwise. "Then, shall we look for it together." Kouichi stared at his twin, shocked. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to anyone," he continued.

Kouichi was unsure but happily agreed, he wanted the opportunity to spend some time with his younger twin brother, even though they weren't able to properly communicate.

The two brothers split themselves from the group, in search of whatever was lurking in the forest. They came across a stream, where they decided to rest for a bit. Kouichi splashed some of the cold water on his face, while his brother stood guard.

As they were resting, the twins heard a low grumbling sound. The two readied themselves for an attack only to realize that the noise was coming from Kouichi's stomach. He hadn't eaten as much as the others and now his hunger was getting the better of him.

Kouji laughed a little, while Kouichi blushed in embarrassment. They had been walking for a while, so a snack would do them both good. Only there were no trees in sight bearing any sort of food.

Neither twin could ignore the sounds of their stomachs, as their hunger grew. Then Kouichi remembered something. He reached inside his pockets and pulled out a small bag with two cookies inside. He took one for himself and offered the second one to his brother.

"Is it alright?" Kouji asked.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm really not that hungry anyway."

Still somewhat hesitant, Kouji carefully grabbed the cookie from his brother's hand and took a small bite. "It's good," he noticed. "Where did you get these?"

"They're homemade." Kouichi smiled.

"I see. Then did you make them yourself."

Kouichi shook his head. "I only helped make them."

Kouji didn't need to ask to know who made them, he was more than sure that it was his mother who had baked them. He wanted to say more to his brother, but talking about her was too delicate a subject to start a conversation.

Once they finished their snack, the two set back out to find whatever was lurking in the woods. They searched and searched but still found nothing. In the end, they couldn't find anything and returned to their camp.

"I was sure I felt something." Kouichi's voice hinted his despair, but he was still certain that they were being watched.

As the boys neared their destination they saw an explosion coming from the camp. After seeing that, they rushed to see what was happening and they didn't like what they saw.

A giant Digimon had attacked them. This Digimon had a snake's body and three heads, each head roaring with rage. Its brightly scales were gleaming in the starlight like a raging inferno, and its roar had caused all of the leaves from the trees to be blown away in a single breath.

The rest of the Legendary Warriors were attacking the three-headed serpent, while the twins stared at it in amazement.

"How dare you enter my territory?" The serpent cried.

"Who is that?" Kouji panicked slightly at the sight of the giant. It was strange that they didn't notice something that big before,

"That Hydramon," said Bokomon, who was hiding behind a tree to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, "He's an extremely territorial Digimon, with surprising speed, and who's angriest when all three of his heads are displeased."

All three heads breathed fire at the Warriors, who managed to dodge the attack just in in time. Shutumon and Borgmon prepared to strike back, but it dodged them at an incredible speed.

Blizarmon tried to fight it in close combat, but Hydramon's strength surpassed him, even with the other Warriors help.

Ardahmon blasted it with his most powerful attack, but his opponent quickly countered it with another as the fires of all three heads was equal to that of the Legendary Warrior of Fire.

The battle raged on and the Warriors were halfway near exhaustion.

"We should help!" Kouji cried while his brother nodded in agreement.

Kouichi evolved into KaiserLeomon while his twin evolved in Beowulfmon, but despite all of their best efforts Hydramon's strength was nearly impossible to compete with.

"What should we do?" Ardahmon muttered. He hated the sense of hopelessness, as he was the most stubborn member of the team.

Suddenly, the gems on KaiserLeomon's body began to glow brighter than ever. A strong surge of power overcame him to the point where he charged Hydramon without warning. The serpent Digimon tried to counter the lion Digimon as all three heads breathed fire, but KaiserLeomon somehow managed to push back the flames and unleashed a direct blow one of the serpent's heads leaving the other two to tend to their injured self.

With Hydramon momentarily distracted, the other Warriors charged in to finish the brute, revealing his Digicode.

KasiseLeomon quickly slide evolved into Löwemon and scanned Hydramon, who- like every other scanned Digimon- turned back into an egg.

With the battle over all of the Warriors returned to their human forms, drained from the battle. They laid their heads on the cool grass, relaxing at its soothing touch. The one who used up the most energy however was Kouichi, who had fallen asleep the second he changed back.

The others watched him.

"You can't say he doesn't deserve it." Izumi gave a tired smiled.

"Yeah," Takuya sympathised, "he was the one who knew all along that something was there."

"Still," Junpei breathed, "It kind of scares me that he knew before Patamon."

"Well, the Darkness Continent is his territory," Tomoki argued.

It was true as the Warrior of Darkness, Kouichi would know more about it than the rest of them. Not to mention the fact that, while the other Warriors were exploring the rest of the Digital World he spent his time in the Dark Continent.

"Either way," Takuya said, as his breath relaxed a bit more, "he's an amazing person."

Kouji silently agreed, he might not know his brother as well as he would've liked, but Kouichi had shown great strength and prowess, despite his troubles.

Maybe one day, they would share their troubles together.

A/N: It's a long chapter, I know, but it was the hardest one yet. What do you thing? Please review.