Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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Initiation

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Arata had been taken home by the two boys from earlier, Daisuke and Itsuma. That left Kouichi alone with Yumena to wonder what he had gotten himself into.

The very first place Yumena stopped was a bedroom. "This," she murmured with a sweep of her arm, "is your room. We'll be getting your cards shortly after. For now, take a seat and I'll explain everything." She turned to Kouichi, who was already lying down on the bed. Or...not, the girl thought. Annoyed, she cleared her throat and told him, "You're in the lair of Baku's World-"

Kouichi turned over on his side, propping his elbow on the bed with his palm supporting his tilted head. "What school do you go to?" he asked, frowning at her. "Or are you younger than I think you are?"

Irritated, Yumena snapped, "I'm in your class, now shut up." She tried to collect herself, but found it difficult. It was completely unlike her to be set off by someone such as him. Even so, she couldn't ignore him.

"Really? So...did you drop out or something?" He was silently laughing. She was far easier to annoy than Hotaru. Taro girl'll be glad to hear that, thought Kouichi, suppressing a grin.

Yumena drew a breath and let it out slowly in hopes of calming herself down. She shut her eyes and continued explaining, "Baku's World is the one and only elite group of digital sorcery. We were founded about three years ago. Baku is our leader. Our main goal at the moment is to uncover several...artifacts." She said this quickly, opening her eyes. Yumena stopped.

Rummaging through the drawers of the table beside his bed, Kouichi began to hum to himself in an act to ignore Yumena's every word. When at last he finished, he turned to Yumena and smirked. "You were saying?" he asked in a mockingly innocent voice. Quietly, he sat up on the bed and stared into her eyes, a plan formulating in his mind.

Yumena undid her cloak and threw it to the side as she sat down in a nearby chair and crossed her legs. Clearing her throat, she told him, "These artifacts will allow us to merge digital and real into one world, making it easier for Baku to rise up and claim the worlds."

The boy smirked. "So...he's just a guy who wants to rule both worlds?" Kouichi summarized. When Yumena nodded, he slowly lowered himself back on the bed. "Big deal. So does every other loser out there."

Yumena stood up, eyes flashing once before she walked over and sat on the bed beside Kouichi. "And we only have one artifact to go," she added, lying down as well.

Kouichi's mind was racing. Dare I try? Ah, why not? He rolled over and placed the palms of his hands by her sides, hovering over the girl. "Close to world domination, hm? What did he promise you? A kingdom?" he joked.

Much to his disappointment, Yumena seemed to be playing along. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. Both were trying to keep calm, though occasionally, their breath gave them away. Breathlessly, she whispered, "You'll be serving under my talon. Around the others, you will address me as Lady Yumena. However, in private...I will allow you to call me Yume." She seemed to be fighting to keep a hold of herself.

Kouichi wanted to laugh as she continued to pull him closer. So she doesn't get it? Kouichi hid a smirk. "So, Yume," he murmured in a low voice, "how do I serve you?"

The blush on her face confirmed his suspicions. Girls, thought Kouichi disgustedly. His face held a calm look, a perfect poker face.

Yume finally replied, "You can tell me if you're going out with Hotaru..." One of her hands trailed from his shoulder to his cheek.

"Hotaru?" Kouichi was tempted to stop his act at that moment. How does she know Hotaru? "Maybe...would it bother you if I was?" A smirk accompanied the question. I'll get it out of her some other day.

She was struggling to reach up to him. Whimpering in protest as Kouichi moved his hands to pin down her arms, Yume answered, "Yes."

He chuckled, "Well I'm not anywhere close to Hotaru. You know..." Kouichi leaned closer. "You never told me what he promised you..."

Yume let out a clear laugh. It was almost friendly. "Isn't it obvious? I get to inherit the kingdom," she told him.

"I see..." Kouichi leaned closer until they were a mere inch or two apart. "You aren't in my class. What's with the lie?"

Laughing, the girl sighed, "Why go to some stupid school when Baku has tutors for me?"

Surprise hit Kouichi like a punch to the gut, but he managed to keep his composure. Slowly, he licked his lips, staying in the position until Yume tried to bring her head up. It as at that moment that Kouichi pushed away, chuckling. He rolled to the side and stood up. "Are all girls so easy like you?" he taunted, seeing Yume's face redden considerably. Satisfied with her humiliation, Kouichi averted his gaze to look around the room.

Yume stood up. Not meeting his eyes, she instructed, "Take a bath. The initiation is an hour from now."

A bath? What is with these people? There's a bathroom? Kouichi's face showed his confusion, amusement, and disgust at the same time. Nevertheless, he headed to the bathroom and made sure to lock the door behind him.

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Kouichi came out of the bathroom as he had gone in (there were no change of clothes), the only difference being his wet hair and a discontent look upon his face. "One, why are you on my bed?" he asked sourly. For some odd reason, he found himself incredibly annoyed after he came out of the shower, not sure of the reason himself (it was contrary to usual-a shower was supposed to be relaxing for him).

Yawning, Yumena stretched and slowly stood up. Her hair was undone from the tight bun it had been in, falling just past her shoulders. She sighed and walked over to Kouichi, an innocent smile on her face. "Do all guys take such a long time in the shower? I just got tired," she replied.

An amused look replaced his annoyance. She won't get her revenge like that. "I'm sorry," he apologized, taking her right hand into his. He lifted it up and placed a mocking kiss on the back of her hand. His eyes were open, alert, glued to her face to see her reaction. "Did it inconvenience you, Lady Yumena?" Kouichi made sure he strongly emphasized the last two words.

Yumena yanked her hand away, looking positively furious with him. After a minute or two of glaring at him, she turned around and walked over to her fallen cloak. Picking up the item, she murmured, "Daisuke and Itsuma will be with you soon."

He wasn't sorry to see her leave. In fact, if anything, Kouichi was relieved. Just as he headed towards his bed, he heard a boy's voice advise him, "Don't. She probably put one of those Ranamon love potion things on the bed."

Kouichi winced and stared at the sheets. "I'd like to go home, thanks, if it's to sleep," he replied in a mutter.

Itsuma, Kouichi guessed, walked in followed by the shorter Daisuke. Comparing one to another, as their hoods were both off, Itsuma and Daisuke looked completely alike, save for their heights. "Brothers?" Kouichi guessed aloud.

Daisuke nodded. Brushing his black bangs out of his eyes, he murmured, "You shouldn't do that to Lady Yumena. She's really nice. And whenever we get in trouble, she sorts it out with Baku-"

"Stop babbling, Dai," Itsuma snapped. "We need to get him to the initiation."

The younger boy glanced at his shoes. Kouichi shook his head. "Don't tell me you two came into this willingly," he muttered.

Itsuma laughed, "Why? Do you realize how many dreams this world has crushed for us? With the unity of the two-"

"Itsuma, stop! Remember what Lady Yumena said?" Daisuke's tone was frantic.

He's so young...probably younger than Tomoki. "How old are you, kid?" Kouichi asked, walking over to Daisuke. "And why are you two here in this?"

Daisuke sent a hesitant glance to his brother. Itsuma nodded in approval and the boy murmured, "I'm ten."

Kouichi's gaze hardened. "Why are you two here?" he repeated. He was getting slightly annoyed that the facts weren't coming out as smooth as he wanted them to.

Itsuma pushed his sleeve up and glanced at his watch. "We'll explain on the way. We need to start getting you over to the main hall."

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The three boys were silent for the first half of the walk. It was when they passed a kitchen that Itsuma murmured, "Yume ran away. Baku found her and took her in. That was slightly before this all started, I think. I don't really know much about Yume's family, but she has a picture of them in her room. She hides it though, after the last time I snuck a look at it. Arata, Daisuke and I came in about last year. For some reason, Arata just went completely paranoid a few months ago. He just wouldn't do anything. So we resorted to our back up plan. He's a coward like-HEY!"

Kouichi lost his temper, although he hadn't intended to. Angrily, he grabbed Itsuma by the collar with both hands and slammed him against the wall nearby. "So you resorted to an attempt to murder his mother?" he snapped in a disgusted voice.

Itsuma shook his head. "You've got it all wrong," he said hastily, bringing his hands up in defense. "We don't murder people. That's not our wing. Baku has other people for that." He let out a relieved sigh when Kouichi released him. "What's your deal, anyway? It wouldn't matter if she lived or died." The boy smoothed down his ruffled clothes.

Kouichi wanted to wake up. He wanted to stop dreaming. He wanted to pinch himself so hard he'd bleed to death. "Is that...what you think of your own mother?" he whispered. It hurt that they couldn't understand. And yet, he couldn't say anything. It wasn't like he knew anything about them or vice versa.

They fell quiet again, but the tension in the air was suffocating. Finally Daisuke, eyes hidden behind his bangs, asked, "What's it like to have a mom?"

It was that innocent question that brought Kouichi back to his senses. For the first time in a long time, a true, unhidden smile, formed on Kouichi's lips. Sighing, he murmured, "You know, a kid owes a lot to their parents. It just so happens that mothers deserve more credit. At least, mine does. But...she died a year ago. What happened to your mother?" he asked softly. It was strange, but he felt he could connect to the two, despite the fact that he hated the fact that they came into whatever Yumena had called it -Baku's World- willingly. Daisuke, especially. The younger boy reminded Kouichi a lot of his first impression of Tomoki back in the Digital World.

Daisuke looked a lot younger than Kouichi had initially realized. "Mom died when I was little. Dad's drunk...and-"

"Dai, we're here," Itsuma said loudly.

Uncomfortably, Kouichi murmured an apology to both boys before walking into the room.

"Welcome, Kouichi. I take it, though, you won't be staying with us? What with your...familial ties..."

Kouichi froze. The voice was cold and forbidding. Baku? Glaring fiercely, Kouichi looked up, mouth open and ready for a retort. A middle-aged man met his eyes with a smirk on his lips. Kouichi shut his mouth and opened it again to ask, "So what'll you do about it? And who are you?" It couldn't be Baku, but he had to keep on his guard, nevertheless.

The man smiled, but there was an aura that told Kouichi there was more to him. "Heima, advisor to Baku himself as well as tutor to our dear Yumena. As for what I could do about it...well, possibly kill them..." He waited for the angry response of Kouichi.

The boy was on his toes, fists clenched. He was ready to lunge at Heima and rip his throat out, but for some reason, Kouichi urged himself to exercise control. Violently stomping his foot down, he snapped, "Kill them? Pathetic. It would only prove you're a coward. Hurry up and get this over with. I have math homework to finish." It was a little white lie-he finished his homework at school. There was pure fire running through Kouichi's veins, and he couldn't do much to put it out. He'll pay later, the boy decided, memorizing Heima's face.

Chuckling, the advisor inclined his head. "Yumena."

Yumena walked in from the door to the right, gazing at Heima, then shooting a cold glare at Kouichi. "Itsuma, the cards," she said aloud.

"You turned them into cards? That's stupid," Kouichi muttered, folding his arms and leaning against the door behind him. "I mean, how overly used are cards? Why not marbles, or stones, or-"

"Shut up," Yumena snapped. "Pick a deck," she ordered as Itsuma came in through the door opposite that she had come in, pushing a large cart forward.

"Now, Yume, remember what we discussed earlier with Baku?" Heima murmured.

They should have put them in marbles. Unoriginal morons…and wannabes. Kouichi walked over and picked up a binder, flipping through. "Nope...nu-uh...hah, what crappy cards!" he laughed, tossing the binder to the floor (he did this quite reluctantly. Still, what can a person do when they're annoyed?). Itsuma stepped away, startled by this. A frown appeared on Kouichi's face as he turned to Heima. "I have to choose from a pile of crap?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yumena struggling to keep calm.

"Shall I get the other cards, Master Heima?" Itsuma suggested, bowing his head out of respect.

Heima chuckled, stepping back to take a seat in the chair behind him. "Indeed. Do not forget the last three."

"And the Dark One?"

"That would be wise."

Kouichi absentmindedly sorted through a few binders, taking out a few cards. Doggymon looks annoying. Monodramon and Penguinmon. Heh, I could use these, too. A Cerberusmon. Dai has this. Kouichi chose around twenty or so cards, throwing the binders to the floor as he finished. He could see Yumena flinch each time he took out a card or dropped a binder. Kouichi wasn't sure if being amused by that was necessarily healthy.

Itsuma came in rolling another cart just as Kouichi dropped the last binder to the floor with a loud thud. Heima chuckled as Kouichi began sorting through binders of the new cart, his eyes slowly widening. Bokomon and Neemon...! Furiously, Kouichi tore the cards out, silently panicking at no sign of Patamon, Salamon or Lopmon or any of the legendary Warriors' spirits. "How many cards can I take?" Kouichi asked. Masking the fear in his voice was harder than he expected.

"We limit it to fifty. How about we double it for you?" laughed Heima, obviously amused.

"Works for me," the boy muttered, taking out more cards from the binders. What was really minutes seemed like hours to Kouichi as he chose his cards wisely, sometimes having to put some cards back to get others. He finally sorted through all the binders and chose his one hundred cards, stacked neatly in his left hand. Please tell me I made the right choices. "Done."

Heima chuckled and Kouichi frowned. He didn't like not being able to understand what was going on. "Ah, are you sure you want to finish?" asked the advisor, playing with a loose string in the arm of his dark gray robe.

Angrily, Kouichi snapped, "What are you getting at?"

"Itsuma, the four," Yumena murmured.

Drawing a breath, Itsuma pulled a box out of his sleeve and handed it to Yumena, not meeting Kouichi's furious eyes. Smiling in a satisfactory manner, Yumena turned to Heima. "I can take it from here," she announced, a hand clenching around the box tightly.

"Very well..." Heima rose out of his seat and opened the door to the left of his seat, disappearing behind with a quiet click of the door.

Yumena turned to Itsuma. "Dismissed," she whispered softly. After a curt nod, Itsuma ran out, leaving Yumena alone with Kouichi. "You know," Yumena said, voice still soft, "Master Baku told me you took part in the Digital World escapade a few years back." She walked up to him, box in one hand. The other slowly placed itself on Kouichi's cheek. "And I'm sure you'd enjoy the company of friends."

Releasing an impatient sigh, Kouichi pushed the hand away. "I'm claustrophobic. Get back and speak in a language that I can preferably understand."

Yumena took a step back, brought the box in front of her, and opened it. Kouichi's eyes widened. A low growl escaped his throat as he attempted to grab the box out of her hands. Yumena shut the box and slipped it behind her back. "You know, Kouichi," she commented, "you have to summon one card for your initiation. Maybe if you're lucky, that card won't work and you can take at least one in the box."

Kouichi allowed himself to calm down. I need to think instead of acting impulsively, he told himself again and again. The very first glance inside the box had startled him. Inside were Cherubimon, Ophanimon and Seraphimon. Kouichi guessed the other forms of the three angels were in there as well. He also caught sight of Duskmon above a stack of other cards.

"So, you have the angels and the legendary warriors. Bravo," he murmured, regaining his composure and acting completely uninterested. Silence before the storm, I hope she realizes. Which card, which card...? He took a single card out of his deck and hid it from the girl's view. "Do show me how to summon, Lady Yumena," Kouichi declared with a mocking bow. He didn't bother to hide the smirk on his face. It was far too entertaining to miss Yumena's furious reaction.

"Just say the card's name," replied the girl somewhat irritably. She brought the box in front of her and took several steps back.

Perfect. Gotcha, sucker. "Doggymon!" Kouichi called out, bringing the card forward and revealing it with a smirk to Yumena. Her eyes widened. Placing the card on the top of the deck, Kouichi sneered, "Get me that box." As he commanded, the digimon ran over to Yumena on all fours, managed to snatch the box away and place it in Kouichi's hands.

Yumena took a step forward, fury radiating from her. "Kimura," she growled. Kouichi supposed she was trying to sound menacing. Her hands were clenched into fists by her sides.

At that, he laughed and opened the box. "A card for a card," he told her casually. Duskmon will do, I suppose, the boy thought. Kouichi took out Duskmon's card, shut the box, then took Doggymon's card from the deck, replacing it with Duskmon. Smiling, he pocketed his deck and brought the card up in front of Yumena, slowly and mercilessly tearing it in two and letting the ripped pieces float to the ground.

Letting out a strangled cry, Yumena rushed forward to pick up the torn card. Angrily she gazed up at Kouichi and then the Doggymon by his feet, who didn't seem to care that his card had been ripped. "You just freed him," Yumena snapped, rising to her feet.

"Say, Doggymon, what do you wanna do?" Kouichi asked, turning to the golden-furred digimon who had begun to scratch his purple ears.

The answer was as Kouichi expected: "Fun!" the dog replied, jumping up and down with a mischievous grin on his face, "Fun and fun and fun and fun!"

A smirk appeared on Kouichi's face. He looked at Yumena and handed her the box, wishing he could just rip all of the cards that were in the mansion or castle or whatever they called their hideout. Aloud, he commanded, "Doggymon, you'll be staying here. Have as much fun as possible, and make sure no one gets into my room without my permission. And if they do, well...feel free to have fun." He could see Yumena flinch before him as she took the box in her own hands. "Now, where's the way out?"

"I'll be happy to show you out," spat the girl.

"I know you will."

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"In any case of needing to enter the mansion, you just go through the front door. Not that hard to remember, is it? No? Good," Yumena snapped. She opened the front door. After Kouichi walked out, she shoved a small, round item into his hands. "The device I just gave you is essential to summoning the digimon from the cards outside of the mansion. Don't lose it. Now get out. You'll be reporting in tomorrow."

Kouichi snorted as she shut the door in his face. "Yes ma'am," he muttered sarcastically, covering the cool metal in his hands. I really ought to find a loophole to this all...

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It was a shorter walk than Kouichi expected. So close. Kind of weird, he thought, throwing open the door. "I'm home. Dinner ready?" he yelled, removing his soaking jacket. The rain hadn't let up the least bit since his little adventure, resulting in him becoming soaked even more.

There was a crash. Noting the fact that the sound came from the kitchen, Kouichi guessed Satomi dropped a plate. Time seemed to cease its function in the entire house. Kouichi was utterly confused. There was nothing wrong with being hungry, and yet they were making such a big deal over it. Shrugging, Kouichi walked into the kitchen and found three pairs of eyes on him. "Oh, you started without me?" He casually took a seat and stared at his brother. "Kouji," murmured Kouichi, "why do you have two plates?"

Kouji could only stare wide-eyed as his older twin reached across the table to grab the extra plate. Standing up and swallowing, the younger boy mumbled, "Er...I think Kouichi's lack of appetite transferred to me...I'm going to sleep now..."

"Did you finish your homework?" Kouichi asked, beginning to pile food on his plate absentmindedly.

Kouji nodded. Staring at the food, Kouji turned around and ran up the stairs. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

Kouichi stared from his food to where his brother had run off. "Is he okay?" the boy asked his father.

Kousei stared at his son and dropped his fork in response.

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Hotaru stared at Kouji in amazement. "Sumi...is he okay?"

The other girl shrugged, a worried look on her face. "Kouji?" she called out softly.

"H-he ate...he did his homework...he actually watched TV, even if it was a documentary...Sumi...he slept on time!" Kouji uttered, eyes still wide in shock. Slowly, he grinned. "Takuya! Favor!"

A groan echoed through the halls. A reluctant Takuya slumped over and folded his arms. "What's so important that I had to get my foot stomped on by Izumi for?" the goggle boy mumbled, glaring at his friend.

"I need you to watch Kouichi for me. Examine any unusual behavior, yada yada..." A wide grin spread across Kouji's face. "And then you don't have to worry about doing the other thing I had in mind to pay me back."

"YES!" Takuya jumped up and cheered. "This was totally worth getting my foot stomped on!"

It was only then that Takuya noticed the odd silence that met his cheer instead of the usual laughter and dismissals of him being a total idiot. He swallowed and froze. "She's behind me, huh?" he asked, voice nearly cracking from the nervous feeling that bubbled through him.

A horrified scream echoed throughout the school that morning mere seconds after Takuya turned around.

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"Mr. Kanbara, please remove your goggles. We've gone over this many times," Mr. Kanemaru said. The class erupted into sighs, having heard the same command every single day since the beginning of the school year now.

Grumbling, Takuya did so with great care, placing the goggles on the upper left corner of his desk. Mr. Kanemaru continued, "We have a new student. Although it's unusual, I expect all of you to be on your best behavior." He paused as his eyes fell on a few people, then stopped on Kouichi. "Mr. Kimura, I suggest you pay attention. Yumena, would you come in?"

It only took a second for Kouichi to go from perfectly carefree to nearly choking. He fell out of his seat as the door opened, dropping his pencil in the process. Seething, he thought, Good, an excuse to hide from her. Why couldn't she just stick with her damn tutor? Gotta be on my guard...

Yumena walked in, a smirk on her face (it was a smirk to Kouichi; to everyone else, it was a smile). Mr. Kanemaru motioned to her. "Class, this is Yumena Imai. Yumena, you'll be sitting...in the seat behind Kouichi. Kimura! What are you doing?" Mr. Kanemaru asked sharply.

Kouichi, who had finally reached his pencil and crawled back under his desk, jumped with a start, hitting his head against the desk. Wincing and rubbing his head, he snapped, "Getting my pencil so I can write. Do you expect me to spit out my notes?" He didn't care of the repercussions he could face. He just didn't want her to be in his class. Why can't she bug Kouji? Oh, he has Sumi, the boy realized. Izumi apparently doesn't stop Takuya from drooling. "Takuya, I think Izumi's ready to slap you again. What did you do this morning, anyway?" he asked the goggle boy in a whisper.

Quickly catching himself, Takuya turned to the front. In a whisper, he said, "First, I offered to help her carry her books, then I was about to kiss her and then Kouji called and she got annoyed, said something about how I was leading her on, stepped on my foot with her heel. I mean, of all days, she picked today to wear high heels!"

The first boy rolled his eyes, tensing as Yumena walked past to her seat. "Kouichi," he heard her murmur in her acknowledgement. In response, he ignored her existence.

And so began a very vexing day at school.

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Kouichi walked towards his brother quickly, pushing aside slower people and eventually running to rid himself of the persistent girl behind him. "Kouji!" he called to his twin, barely skidding to a stop before the lockers. "No Taro girl yet? Hey, Sumi. I need you to help me, my dear and only younger twin brother whose name happens to be Kouji Minamoto. Get her off my back," Kouichi said in an almost desperate voice as he pointed to Yumena.

"If you introduce me, n-I mean, I was joking, Sumi!" Kouji blurted when Sumi's smile turned into an accusing glare. He turned to his brother and chuckled, "Why? Afraid of girls?"

"No, just this one. I'll throw in a week's worth of allowance."

"DONE!" Kouji yelled immediately. "I needed to get my guitar fixed, anyway!" Before he could so much as say a word, another voice interfered.

"Hey, Itsuma, isn't that your girlfriend?"

Behind Kouichi, Yumena froze, whirling around with a look of pure disgust on her face. "Oh, great, them," she muttered.

Kouichi followed her eyes to the source. "ITSUMA?" he found himself yelling, pointing at the older boy. HIM TOO?

A surprised Itsuma looked around before waving at them somewhat awkwardly. "Uh...Yumena...and...Kouichi...what are you two doing here?" he asked, stiffly walking over.

Annoyance flooded through Kouichi. It's bad enough with the people I know here, but now them? Soon, I'll find that the entire school belongs to Baku. He rolled his eyes and snapped, "I happen to go to school here, in case you haven't noticed. Say, why don't you show HER around, seeing as how she's your girlfriend?" As he made the suggestion, Kouichi pushed Yumena into Itsuma and waved. "Have fun." Please, don't come back.

Kouji and Sumi were having their own conversation about Kouichi as this was taking place.

"I'm telling you," Kouji insisted. "Aliens! It's gotta be aliens!"

Sumi hit the bandana boy upside the head. "Get a grip! If it's aliens, then I'm one of them, too!" she hissed.

"You could always let me ch-"

"PERVERT!"

Kouichi looked behind his shoulder to find Kouji cowering as Sumi held a math book up threateningly. Thoughtfully, he muttered, "And so it's proven that math does kill. Congratulations on helping prove that, Kouji."

The younger boy scowled. "Now that you've gotten rid of her and aren't going to give me a week's worth of allowance, would you just save me?" he snapped, holding his hands up to stop the weight of the book if it ever came.

Smiling slightly, Kouichi took the textbook out of Sumi's hands. Before he could say anything to Sumi, though, Hotaru walked over. "Oh, Taro girl. You'll be glad to know I'm not going to bug you anymore. No, instead, I have to draw u-" He stopped. The resemblance. Of course! Duh, Taro girl looks like her! Looking around, he grabbed Hotaru's arm and dragged her around the corner, leaving a stunned Sumi and an even more surprised Kouji who thought better than to open his mouth at the moment.

"Hey," Kouichi whispered, letting go of Hotaru. "Do you have an evil sister or something?"

Hotaru opened her mouth, trying to say something. Instead, she shut her mouth and fixed her eyes into a glare. "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

Kouichi shrugged. "Asking you a question?"

She fell into silence, her mouth opening and closing as she was trying to make a decision. Finally, the girl yelled, "No, I don't have a sister! Stop bugging me!" Hotaru pushed Kouichi back and stomped away.

Surprised, Kouichi staggered back, staring at Hotaru as she returned to Sumi and a laughing Kouji. What's her deal? He shook his head as a flood of worry threatened to overcome him. Get a grip Kouichi. You? Worried about her? Hah, that's funny, he told himself. But although Kouichi wouldn't admit it openly or to himself, he got the feeling that there was something else to worry about.

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Arata was shaking again. Kouichi guessed the boy couldn't help it, but it had started to become annoying. Of course it was mainly Yumena's fault. Ah, Yume, remember, Kouichi? He smiled at the correction. He had remembered that Mr. Kanemaru had been corrected by her.

"Yume's fine," Yumena told the man, sitting back in her seat.

At this point, Kouichi snorted. "Yume, or Queen Yume?" he joked.

That of course resulted in Mr. Kanemaru going on another lengthy tirade, one which, as usual, Kouichi ignored. And all the while during class, Takuya made note of even the slightest behavior (which hadn't gone unnoticed by Kouichi, as he was only a seat away from the goggle boy). By five minutes before the end of class, he had filled five papers back and forth, top to bottom in writing. Even the margins were written in.

"Why don't you stop taking notes on Kouichi and actually help with this worksheet?" Izumi snapped. Since that morning, she hadn't felt like talking to Takuya in a civilized manner at all.

Absentmindedly, Takuya put away his papers and tried focusing his attention on the worksheet. But for some reason, his attention was captured by Kouichi. There was something more going on, and Takuya wanted to know what it was.

Kouichi sighed. "Would you stop glaring at him? That might help, stupid," he snapped at Yume, sending a glare in her direction.

The girl rolled her eyes. Sarcastically, she replied, "Yes, oh dear knight."

"Shut up. You're worse than Taro girl and you're getting on my nerves. I don't know, I just might spill a lot of facts right now," Kouichi commented, turning the worksheet to Arata. "Here. Work on this problem," he instructed the boy, hoping it would cease his shakings.

It didn't. Yume snatched the paper away. "I think you two have no idea what you're doing," she replied hotly. "And do not compare me to her."

Kouichi placed a hand on the paper and slid it towards him. "I just did."

Smirking, Yume took the paper back, eyes widening slightly when Kouichi grabbed the other end. She tugged gently at first. Her eyes widened a bit more out of surprise that he wouldn't let go. "What are you doing?" the girl hissed. "You're going to rip it!"

"I don't care." There was no emotion that could be found on his face. "Now," Kouichi murmured smoothly when Yume let go of the paper, "Arata, work on the problem. We've got a minute."

Takuya leaned on the desk slightly, careful not to apply all his weight. "That's weird," he muttered, a frown on his face. Kouichi had always been one to do all the work, not trusting anyone else for fear they would deal damage to his grade. In the end, it resulted in most of his group members flunking the individual assessment if they didn't cooperate. But here Kouichi was, actually letting someone else work on the assignment.

"Takuya! You haven't done a single problem!" Izumi snapped, shoving the paper in his direction. "Would you at least do one?"

Grinning, Takuya accepted the paper. "Sure, Izumi," he replied sheepishly.

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A/N-

I know. It sounds stupid, I guess. Bear with me? The idea's pretty good if you stick around for the entire thing. I'll spend more time editing next time, promise. Reason for icky-ish chapter would be the horrid amount of homework and sudden computer problems. Our main computer went KABOOM, and my dad's laptop is icky, and the Imac is…only used for first drafts.

Yeah! So…gomengomengomen! I'll try to review this and post Chapter 5 up ASAP. Taking APUSH was a bigigi mistake. Yes, bigigi. I need to stop being so…so…competitive.