Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

---------------------------------------------

Adaptation

---------------------------------------------

Kouichi slammed his locker shut. Will she get lost anytime soon? Gritting his teeth angrily, he turned around to face Yumena. "And when will you be leaving?" he demanded, wishing more than anything that she wasn't a girl.

She was smiling as sweet as a honey's bee, but all Kouichi saw was the venom of the sting. Closing the distance in between them, Yume whispered, "You know you'll pay for that."

"Ouch. Listen, I know I'm hot and all, but give me some room, would you? One fan at a time, please," Kouichi said aloud, waving the girl away before returning his attention to his locker, which he realized contained a certain math book he needed.

Yume slammed the locker beside him with her palm. He still didn't pay her any attention. Instead, Kouichi turned to the side to find his brother.

"Kouji, where's Taro girl?" Kouichi demanded, staring at his brother with a blank look on his face.

Startled, Kouji looked up. "Huh?"

"Taro girl."

"Hotaru?"

"Yeah. Where's Taro girl?"

"Um...I think she's dragging Sumi over to her house," the younger twin mumbled, obviously trying to piece something together. "Right now they're in the classroom, I think. Why?" Brother stared at brother, leaning forward somewhat, as if the answer would come easier if he did.

Kouichi just pushed Kouji out of the way. "Okay, great. Thanks. I'll catch you later." Quickly, he walked towards Hotaru's classroom for all his legs were worth. If all went well, Kouji would be blurting out nonsense in a few seconds. Just to make sure it would happen, Kouichi broke into a run, attempting to whistle, but failing due to the laughter that tried to bubble out.

"WAIT! You aren't seriously going to ask her out, are you?" Kouji yelled, racing after his brother. "What I said before was a joke!"

From his hiding place behind a row of lockers, Kouichi could clearly see (despite the fact that he was covering Kouji's mouth and forcing the bandana boy to hide as well) the look of annoyance on Yume's face.

---------------------------------------------

He made sure to wait well after Yume had left before he even dared to go off school grounds. It suddenly occurred to him that Yumena had mentioned something about a meeting the day before, and so Kouichi was stuck with a predicament.

Yeah, way to go, he thought to himself. You forgot the weird disc thing and the crap cards. Scowling inwardly, Kouichi opened his math book, revealing Duskmon's card. The digimon looked as dark as ever, and Kouichi felt a shudder run down his spine. The math book shut quickly in his hands. Yep. Every stinking card, save the scariest of them all.

The walk to the mansion (or prison, as he liked to call it) was shorter than he liked. Damn girl and her girly-ness, Kouichi thought disgustedly, kicking at the door. "Hey, open up!"

"Uh...Kouichi..."

"Yeah, whaddya wa-" Kouichi stopped and turned around in surprise. His eyes widened for a mere second before he snorted and turned back around. "What do you want?" he mumbled, not really caring.

Itsuma stared at him hesitantly. "You know, you could just twist the doorknob to open the door, right...?" the older boy asked.

He went stiff. Kouichi reached out for the doorknob, making sure Itsuma couldn't see his face as he reddened slightly. "I...I knew that," he snapped, throwing the door open and walking in.

Smiling slightly, Itsuma walked in behind Kouichi and shut the door. "The only reason Baku's so loose about security is because there's nothing anyone could really steal. Plus, all the special rooms are off limits even to some members," he explained. "That's where keycards come into play."

Keycards. Got it. As he placed his books and his backpack down beside Itsuma's, Kouichi took a mental note of this, storing it away as he caught sight of familiar golden fur. A small grin appeared on his lips. "Doggymon," he called out, waving the digimon over.

The dog ran full speed at Kouichi, then leaped onto him, knocking the boy backward onto the floor. "Fun, fun, fun!"

"A...Doggymon?" Itsuma asked in confusion. "Why not another digimon?"

Kouichi just rolled his eyes. "As long as I can irk the enemy, I'm happy. And as the enemy is Yumena, that's easy." He grinned as he turned back to the digimon, scratching him behind the ears. "So, anyone try to break into my room?" he asked.

"The weird girl!" Doggymon answered, standing up on his hind legs and doing a sort of dance.

Itsuma twitched. "Of all the digimon...Doggymon is the most annoying. That's why Dai traded him in for a Cerberusmon."

"Go pick on your own digimon," Kouichi scowled, rising to his feet and looking down at Doggymon. "So Ms. Queen-of-the-World tried sneaking into my room?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Doggymon stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes around. He stopped, not seeing Kouichi laugh, then stared up at the boy to await a new order.

Ignoring Doggymon and Itsuma, Kouichi continued to the large door. "Say...Itsuma," he called out. "This leads to the big labyrinth, right?" Kouichi turned his head around, awaiting his answer impatiently.

"Uh...yeah..."

"Good. Doggymon, let's go," Kouichi said, pushing the doors open and walking through. Yume in my room...disgusting. Maybe I should have another digimon guard my room instead, he thought, navigating his way through the corridors with the help of Doggymon. They eventually stopped in front of Kouichi's room, which he could distinguish easily with the nameplate on it and the many scratches that existed on the very bottom. A true dog to the end. "We need to get you a doggy door," Kouichi joked, hand on the doorknob.

Without another word, Kouichi threw the door open, gaping at the room in a wide-eyed wonder. "What the...digimon is this?" he demanded, storming into the room and frowning at the bed, which held several musty looking blankets and various other items. "What if I decide to sleep here today? I'll have allergies for life! You don't put...put this junk on a bed! Beds are for sleeping! What idiot can-ew...it's you." Kouichi cut his rant short and snorted, seeing a sour-faced Yumena come out of the bathroom, gloves on her hands.

"Just shut up," Yumena snapped, tugging on the top blanket of the bed. She yanked it towards her, sending everything that had been lying on it flying forward. "I'm no maid. Stupid Heima..."

Kouichi just snickered, picking up one of the fallen items. "Cards? More cards? Oh...is this some sort of card case?" he asked, examining a small metal item in his hand with a slot along the side.

"Remember the disc I gave you before you left?"

"Uh..."

"Stupid!" she shrieked. "That's it! No meeting today!" Angrily, she threw the blanket down and stormed towards the door. "Hawkmon," she yelled, pulling out a card. "Go inform Heima that I'm done." After seeing the bird digimon fly out of the room, Yume picked up the metal item and several cards from the group, then proceeded past Kouichi and Doggymon, chin lifted up in the air. She may have been trying to act her position, but...

Kouichi thought she couldn't look any snobbier. And of course, he did detest snobby people.

Effortlessly, he caught her wrist, not even turning as he heard the rushed footsteps and groans of Itsuma and Daisuke. "Hold it," Kouichi muttered as she stared at him in shock. "I think you ought to clean up your mess here." The tight-lipped girl remained silent, glaring at him with all her fury. Kouichi ignored the glare easily and continued, "Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's not polite to make a mess in someone else's house?"

"Shut up and let me go!" Yumena suddenly snapped, struggling to remove her wrist from Kouichi's grip. "Just wait until I-"

"You what?" Kouichi sneered, twisting her arm and forcing her to turn around so she wouldn't be able to yank free. "Piece of advice: don't come into my room with a mess unless you plan to clean before leaving. In other words..." His eyes narrowed on her as she cried out in pain. Roughly, he pushed her towards Itsuma (Daisuke jumped out of the way) and let go of her wrist, no remorse of any kind evident on his face. "Stay out of my room."

Itsuma, red-faced at the sudden contact with Yume, gazed at Kouichi in a mix of confusion and annoyance. "Don't tell me you hit girls..."

Snorting, Kouichi shook his head. "One, I didn't hit...her. Two, that's no girl in your arms. That's a monster," the boy murmured, picking up the fallen items he deemed, 'junk.' He raised his head up to watch as Itsuma accompanied Yume out, then grinned sheepishly at Daisuke, who had apparently made friends with Doggymon. "Well," Kouichi murmured, dropping the 'junk' aside. "You two seem to be hitting it off well."

Daisuke laughed as Doggymon proceeded to lick his face relentlessly. "I used to have a Doggymon card," the boy murmured, "but Daddy and Itsuma would always get annoyed, because I kept him out of his card. So Itsuma had me trade him for a Cerberusmon. Sure, he's a dog, but...normal kids don't have three-headed man-eating dogs." Daisuke stood up and gazed at Kouichi. "Right?"

"Unless a sibling counts," Kouichi joked with a smile. Yeesh...or a classmate. Taro girl's being vicious all of the sudden now that I think about it...never had the guts to attempt to trip me in the hall even once before. But now...five times? Kouichi shook his head, realizing Daisuke was still there. "Tell you what: you can hang out in my room with Doggymon whenever you want, as long as you've got your homework done. Deal?" Kouichi put on his most stern face and folded his arms across his chest.

Daisuke was silent for a while, obviously contemplating the details. "Well...can I do my homework in your room?"

"No asking Doggymon for help...or to eat your homework, for that matter."

"Deal!" the boy laughed.

Kouichi hid a smile of his own as he stepped forward and ruffled Daisuke's hair. "Deal," he murmured. "You heard, Doggymon. You can let Daisuke in, but no 'fun' until he finished his homework. Got it?"

The dog jumped at Kouichi, causing the older boy to stumble back onto the bed. Jumping up and down in front of Kouichi's feet, Doggymon exclaimed, "Got it! Fun after homework!" After panting some, the dog scratched behind his ears as he asked, "What's homework?"

"Oh! Could I show him, Kouichi?" Daisuke asked, running up behind the digimon. Kouichi nodded, watching silently as both raced out of his room to find Daisuke's backpack.

With a sigh, Kouichi fell back onto his bed. "I really...need a new room guard," he muttered, shutting his eyes. But first, a nap.

---------------------------------------------

"I just wanna know when you'll be sober again," the boy asked.

His father snorted, and instead of answering, downed another bottle. Furious, the boy snatched the next bottle away before the man could do anything about it. "What kind of father are you? Daisuke's wanted to come home all week, and you...you're a slobbering drunk!"

"Give me back the bottle." He was serious, his eyes held a dangerous glint in them.

"Forget it."

"Little brat...you'll regret that!"

Kouichi groaned and turned over. No...not again...NO! His eyes widened, snapping him out of his comatose state. "Mom," he gasped, sitting up. Mom...what do I do?

"Uh...are you okay, Kouichi?"

Startled, the boy turned his head right and left, trying to locate the speaker. He spotted Daisuke and Doggymon, sitting by the door with Daisuke's homework in front of them. With a sigh, Kouichi hauled himself out of bed. "Don't sit on the floor and do your work. It's bad for your back, and I haven't cleaned the floor yet," he murmured, helping the younger boy to his feet. "Go over to that table. You can put that junk on the floor."

"But that guy put your stuff there!"

Kouichi frowned. My stuff? Curiously, he walked over to the small table beside his bed, discovering his math book on the table and his backpack on the chair, sitting on top of another pile of his textbooks. Turning pale, Kouichi flipped open the math book quickly, jumping back a split second later. A sigh of relief escaped him when nothing happened. Self-assured, Kouichi turned to Daisuke with a small smile. "Sure it wasn't Heima?"

Daisuke shook his head. "Nope. Heima...saw him. I think he knew who it was, but he walked off in the opposite direction really quick, so I couldn't ask him."

The cold chill of terror caught hold of Kouichi once more, constricting his throat painfully. "Are you...do...what did he look like?" he inquired, trying not to sound too harsh or too curious.

Shaking his head again, Daisuke told the older boy, "I couldn't see him because he was in the shadows. And Doggymon..." Daisuke trailed off and frowned as the golden-furred digimon whimpered and crawled behind him.

Duskmon? No...it couldn't be...could it? "S-say, Daisuke," Kouichi tried again, "Could...let's say in this example...could Arata summon your Cerberusmon?"

Daisuke shook his head and gazed at Kouichi with a childish curiosity. "Yume told me once that once you summon a card on your reader, it's yours forever unless Baku takes it away from you. Then he does something special, and the card isn't yours unless you summon it again." He gazed at the ground. "That's what happened to my Doggymon."

He let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding back. Good to know, Kouichi thought to himself, walking forward and slamming the math book shut. I better summon all of my cards soon, then. Carefully, he placed the book on the floor with the rest of his books and bag. "Here, Daisuke."

"Are you sure? But don't you have homework? Itsuma always has lots of homework," Daisuke told him, looking guilty as Doggymon nudged him into the chair, obviously understanding Kouichi wanted him to do so. But Kouichi just laughed.

"Listen, Daisuke, I'm not Kimura Kouichi for no reason. I'll be fine. Work away. Besides, I can get creative." Kouichi stopped and watched for a while, seeing Daisuke absorbed in his homework while Daisuke was making a bed out of the blanket Yumena hadn't picked up. Might as well get started, he realized, rolling up the blankets Yumena had kept on his bed. "Alrighty," Kouichi muttered, "What to do with these...?"

---------------------------------------------

Two hours and eighteen minutes later, Kouichi let out a curse as he nearly hammered a nail through his thumb. He sat back with a sigh, gazing at the door with an eyebrow raised. Folding his arms, he remarked, "Digimon, this entire doggy door thing is harder than it looks. Hope Dad doesn't mind me borrowing the wood..." More like wasting wood.

A tired mumble interrupted him from his work. Kouichi placed everything in his hands down and walked over to Daisuke. Don't tell me you're heavy, he thought, reaching down to pick the boy up and place him on the bed. Kouichi nearly dropped him down in surprise. He's so light.

Kouichi walked back to the door, starting on the doggy door once more. "This room needs a lot more," he muttered, holding the nail tightly and angling himself to make it easier to hammer the nail in. I've cleaned the floors, the bathroom, and washed the sheets, but just how the hell do I install a kitchen? As if making Doggymon's bed and whatnot wasn't hard enough. And I still need to paint the place, too...

While Kouichi was hammering away, hesitant footsteps approached his door. The owner of the feet knocked on the wall beside the doorway. "Uh...exactly what are you doing...Kouichi?"

"Oh, Itsuma," Kouichi murmured, recognizing the voice. Scooting aside, he pulled the door open. "Daisuke's asleep."

"What are you doing to your room?" Itsuma asked, a look of horror crossing his face. "It's-"

"Interior decoration prior to this was boring. I decided to spruce things up...make this place a bit more...efficient." Still squatting, Kouichi hopped over to the door after Itsuma decided to wander inside. "Have you ever made a doggy door?" he asked.

Itsuma turned around and looked down at Kouichi, a strange look on his face. "A 'doggy door'?"

"Yeah." Kouichi waved to the door. "You know, the flaps on the door that the dogs run through. And I need to install a lot and a kitchen. The bathroom needs a bit more cleaning, too, now that I think about it. Seriously, what kind of maintenance do you guys have here?" Kouichi snorted before he continued nailing in another board.

Observing Kouichi's work, Itsuma frowned. "You know," he commented, squatting down beside Kouichi. Pointing to the top of the square of nothingness in the door, Itsuma told him, "You could just drill a door bolt thing here and attach the wood to it instead of making the border."

"Oh, I know that. The border makes it look nice."

"Ahh. High standards?"

"Yep."

"Very nice."

"What do you two think you're doing?" The icy voice was easy to recognize. Kouichi looked up and waved, hammer in hand. "Well?" Yume snapped.

"Doggymon needs a doggy door."

Itsuma snorted. "We're so technical with the terms. Say, you going to paint the place later?"

"Of course!"

"Holy digimon. Well, in that case, ask Dai for colors. He's great with 'em."

"Itsuma!" Yumena barked. "What are you doing?"

Itsuma, who had planned to continue, shut his mouth and stood up quickly. "Uh..."

Yumena pushed him out of the way. Her eyes fell on the unconscious form of Daisuke on the bed. "And why is Daisuke sleeping? And-that...thing has its own bed?" Furiously, Yumena stormed over to Daisuke and yanked on his arm. "Why am I in charge of a bunch of imbeciles?" she snapped. "Daisuke!"

Helplessly, Itsuma turned to Kouichi, hoping he would make one of his sharp-tongued comments, but the younger boy was too preoccupied with hammering the nails into the 'doggy door.' Instead, Itsuma turned to Yumena and murmured, "Just let him alone. He's still a kid-"

"Ten year-olds don't need naps," Yumena returned rudely, throwing Daisuke's hand down and storming towards the door. "Get him up. We've got a meeting in five with Heima." As Yumena started out of the room, she let out a scream, tripping over the hammer Kouichi had conveniently placed in her path while he examined his handiwork a bit too obviously (sound effects included). "Kimura! I'll see you there, too!"

Kouichi rose to his feet, digging his hands in his pockets and yawning as he looked over his shoulder at Yumena. "Nope. Sorry, I've got homework. Oh, but don't worry. I still have a lot more business to take of here, so I'll be back someday. Now shoo, shoo, or do you need an escort? I'm sure Doggymon would love to see you out."

Shrieking, Yumena stormed off. Kouichi chuckled to himself as he picked up the hammer as well as the unused (and badly misshapen) nails. He walked over to the toolbox and sorted through it, returning each item to its respective spot as he did. Hope Dad doesn't look through the nails. "How's your arm, Daisuke?" Kouichi asked in a casual manner as he shut the toolbox.

Daisuke sat up, clutching his left arm. "I-it's not that bad," he murmured, getting out of bed. "Lady Yume's just...um...stressed."

In that case, she's always stressed. "Yeah, yeah..." Kouichi motioned for the young boy to show him the injured arm. "No nails, right? Girl nails are vicious. If I remember correctly, Taro girl tried scratching me a few times, too. What is it with these girls. I thought the Umi's were bad enough..."

Daisuke giggled. "Nope, no nails!" he announced happily. Then, after a pause, he asked in a whisper, "Can I give you some advice?"

"Shoot away."

"Pink better names. 'Umi's sounds weird," Daisuke declared in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kouichi snorted, lightly hitting the boy's arm. "Izumi, Sumi...Umi. It works for me," he declared aloud. Then, in a mutter: "No matter how lame it is."

Itsuma watched as his younger brother burst out into laughter, falling back on the bed and clutching his stomach. And, very faintly, he could make out a smile on Kouichi's face. Feeling slightly awkward to break the mood, Itsuma rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh...Daisuke...get your things."

The laughter stopped. Daisuke sat up immediately and nodded quietly, all traces of a smile vanishing from his lips.

"Listen, Kouichi...if it isn't too much trouble..." Itsuma sighed and gazed at the floor, unable to bring himself to say the words.

Kouichi cut in before Itsuma had the chance to say anymore. "You want me to take Daisuke to my house. Done. But...only if you stay here. Don't go home. I don't want to play hero more than necessary."

"How-"

"Your dad's drunk again. You know, you should really break him out of the habit when he's sober."

Itsuma tried again, "But-"

"Shut up. Go to that meeting and make the dear Queen Yume pay, would you? I've got a few connections, so Daisuke'll be fine." Kouichi turned and smiled at the younger boy. "Ready?"

"Yup! Can we take Doggymon...?" Daisuke asked.

Itsuma frowned. "Dai-"

A hand silenced him. "Go. You're going to be late," Kouichi snapped. He waited until Itsuma, although tentatively and excruciatingly slow, finally turned and ran out of the door to where ever Kouichi guessed the meeting was held. Grinning, Kouichi turned to Daisuke.

"How much do you think you can carry?"

---------------------------------------------

A/N-

So many more chapters to type up. I've written well past chapter eleven. If I can just type them up, I can keep to the update deadlines (speaking of which I am sorry for the late post!), but I'm already failing to do so. Multitasking on stories is like multitasking on videogames.

Wada Kouji returns to Digimon with Hirari! Hah! I always knew he would! (It's a lie. I was worried he got abducted by aliens).

Thank you, everyone who reviewed! I'm much obliged. If there's anything you'd like me to do, ask! I've also decided to go against deleting this story for several reasons. I'm not sure how many people actually read it, and I honestly don't care. If you enjoy it, and if you smile, I shall be happy! If only one person enjoys it, I will still be happy. I will do my best!

Please review, PM, or flame!