Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos Rising: Chaotic Evolutions ❯ Introductions, Gennai, and Confusion ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Chaos Rising: Chaotic Evolutions

Author: Katreal

Category: Digimon Seasons II and IV Crossover

Genre: General

Timeline: Frontier-AU after Lucemon's defeat. 02- AU after the Holy Stones Arc. Oikawa and the Dark Seeds never happened ;)

Notes: Mostly Kouji and Kouichi-centric

Disclaimer: …I don't own anything that has to do with any seasons of digimon.

Chapter 3

Taichi shielded his eyes with his arm as the various particles of dust and dirt flew from the area where his partner was fighting. Taichi risked a glimpse of the area, ignoring the stinging caused by getting dust in his eye.

“Ken…” He managed to rasp out, “We need to move.”

The other boy nodded, holding Wormmon even tighter in his arms as he tried to see through half-closed eyes. Ken flinched as he felt Taichi grip his arm and pull him away from the fight, behind the towering grey stone which had shielded the area behind it.

Once safely behind the stone formation Taichi dissolved into a fit of coughing, having inhaled too much of the dirt and dust on the way out of the cloud. Ken ignored the irritation in his eyes, “Taichi…are you alright?”

A second later the coughing subsided, “Yes..” He managed to say, “Where's Agumon?”

Ken didn't say anything, instead walking to the edge of the stone and peering around it. A light breeze picked up, ruffling the two teen's hair as it began to blow the dust away, clearing the view. In the center were three figures. Taichi's attention went straight for Agumon, hoping against hope that his partner hadn't been hurt by whatever had caused that small explosion.

At first glance Agumon seemed unhurt. He was crouched down; eyes squeezed shut and his arms protecting his head. But when one looked closer they could see the dark red line that ran across his left arm(1). Taichi nearly yelled in outrage and worry as he realized the wound on Agumon's arm. He scrambled over and tore a strip of cloth from his jacket, beginning to wrap it around the wound.

While Taichi fretted over Agumon, Ken's attention was elsewhere. The boy he had spotted upon entering the clearing had his arms wrapped around the neck of the wolf digimon. Ken's eyes widen slightly in understanding, the boy had thrown the attack off target, causing the digimon's claw to only graze Agumon's arm and allowing most of the power in the attack to impact the nearby ground, thus kicking up the cloud of dust.

The boy's presence also explained the digimon's hostility toward Agumon. The wolf had only been trying to protect its partner. That revelation brought up yet another question. Who were these two? Neither the digimon nor the boy had been seen before. Also, what had the boy yelled before he rushed toward the digimon? `Kouichi'? It sounded Japanese, but seemed more like a name then anything else. How could a digimon's name be `Kouichi'? All the digimon they had ever met(which I might add was quite a lot) had names that ended with `mon' . Ken shrugged; he guessed he would find out soon enough.

“Ken?” Wormmon's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, “Maybe we should go help Taichi?”

Ken nods, “We should make sure Agumon is fine.”

The holder of the Crest of Kindness left the shadow of the stone and made his way toward where Taichi was bandaging Agumon's wound.

Kouji held on tightly to his brother's neck, “Kouichi…stop…”

He felt the warrior of Darkness calm after those two words, the low growl slowly fading away to nothing. Kouji sighed in relief and let go, “You were really starting to scare me you know…”

Kouichi just hung his head, not meeting his twin's eyes, “Kouji…I…”

“Shhh…” Kouji ran his hand through his brother's silky black fur, trying to calm the trembling that wracked Kouichi's wolf-like frame, “I understand. You never had to deal with the instincts before…”

“But…I…didn't mean…”

“Kouichi…It wasn't your fault. You were the only one out of all of us who hadn't had to conquer your Beast Spirit. You had no experience dealing with these before. Your reaction wasn't nearly as bad as mine…or Takuya's. Remind me to tell you about mine sometime…I kept running into things…” He trailed off, thinking fondly back on the memory. He might have been scared then, but after three years he actually found it funny. “Just be ready for it next time…”

Kouichi looked over to where the other two boys were making sure that the orange-yellow digimon was alright, “I'll try Kouji…I'll try.”

Kouji managed a small smile before rising from his kneeling position, “Well…lets go apologize…”

Kouichi waited until his younger brother had gone ahead before trailing after him. No matter what Kouji said…the warrior of darkness felt ashamed for acting like that.

“For the last time…I'M FINE!”

Taichi winced at the annoyed tone in Agumon's voice, “But…But…You're hurt!”

Agumon snorts and crosses his arms, “Geez…Sometimes you are such a worry wart. That was nothing more then a scratch. It'll be gone before too long.”

Taichi mutters, “And you call us stubborn.” Louder he says, “Why did that digimon attack you anyway? It was unprovoked!”

Agumon looks at the ground sheepishly, “Uh…actually…I kinda…uh…”

“Hmm…?”

“I kinda…attacked it first…”

Taichi falls over, “Eeehhh…! What were you thinking!”

The orange-yellow dinosaur cringed, “It was acting sort of hostile as soon as it saw me…I didn't want it to attack you so I attacked first.”

“Why was it hostile?” Taichi asked.

“That might be because he was protecting me.” Came a slightly amused reply.

Both Agumon and Taichi turn to the sound of the voice. They came face to face with a teenager of about Ken's age and height. Both Agumon and Taichi were surprised, having not noticed the boy earlier. Ken and Wormmon however had noticed the boy and the wolf approaching so they weren't startled. Ken regarded the pair coolly, “And you are…?”

“Kouji.” The boy replied automatically, he glanced down at the wolf who had settled near his side, looking down at the ground sadly, “And this is my…partner Anyamon.”

Anyamon looked up and locked gazes with Agumon, the wolf's eyes lingered on the wound before whispering, “Sorry…about that…”

Agumon grins toothily, “Don't worry about it. I admire those who are so protective of their partners.”

The black and purple digimon looked relieved slightly at being forgiven. The boy - Kouji looked at each of the others in turn, “You know who I am…now who are you?”

Taichi bristled at the rude sounding question only to find Ken's hand on his arm. The digidestined of kindness regards the brunette, “It is a valid question.” Turning back to the new pair he replies, “I am Ichijouji Ken and my partner is Wormmon.”

Taichi spoke up, “I'm the leader of original digidestined. Yagami Taichi, holder of the Crest of Courage. My partner is Agumon.”

Kouji looked thoughtful, “So you are the chosen…”

Ken shook his head, “No. There are others. We were the only ones that were available to come to the digital world today.”

Kouji raised an eyebrow, “Wait a minute…Available? You can pass between worlds at will?”

Taichi was confused, “Yeah…What of it?”

Anyamon muttered softly, Ken had to strain to hear it, “Lucky…We had to worry our parents…”

Ken was skeptical at that comment. What did Anyamon mean `our'? Digimon didn't have parents; and if they did then they would be in the digital world anyway. These two were hiding something, that Ken recognized. But what? And why were they hiding it?

Kouji was feeling a little bit jealous, when they had been forced into the digital world they had been stuck there until the adventure was over…why did these `Chosen' get to travel between the worlds at will? It was not fair. The Warriors had to defeat this insanely powerful guy and save the digital and real worlds from complete and utter destruction and then come back to find their parents almost given up hope of ever seeing their children again. Kouji cringed at that thought; he and Kouichi were doing that very thing again.

He pushed those painful thoughts away and returned to the conversation at hand, currently the brunette, Taichi was asking a question, “So where are you from?”

Kouji winced, he wanted to lie as little as possible…so how about a half-truth? “It doesn't matter. I can't go home.”

Kouji closed his eyes, fearing the question that would come next. Yes, the question that parents and older siblings everywhere hate. “Why?”

Kouji didn't answer, instead looking at the ground. Kouichi glanced up at his brother, he knew why Kouji was refusing to answer; Kouji couldn't tell a convincing lie unless his life depended on it. It must have been one of the things that caused the spirits of Light to choose him. Light was open, illuminating. Nothing could be hidden by light, only shown. Thus deception was not easy. Light was honesty. That was why Kouji was usually so cold toward others. If they don't talk to you then you didn't have to worry about lying…right? It was the opposite for dark. Kouichi himself was a very convincing liar…not that he liked lying in the first place.

Kouichi sighed and shook his head, deciding to reply for his brother, “Just leave him alone. Its not something he likes to talk about.”

“Oh…” Taichi fell silent, feeling uncomfortable.

Ken narrowed his eyes suspiciously, apparently guessing that something was being left untold, “So…If you cannot return home…What are you going to do?”

Kouji shrugged, “I dunno.”

Taichi looked thoughtful, “Why don't we take them to Gennai? I'm sure he'll know what to do.”

“Hmm…That's actually a good idea.”

Taichi grins, “What did I tell ya? I'm smarter then you all take me for!”

“Um…one problem…”

Both Ken and Taichi's attention was turned to Kouji, “Yes?”

Kouji looked away sheepishly, trying to hide the faint tinge of pink that colored his cheeks, “Who is Gennai?”

“Who is Gennai?” Ken repeated softly, “To tell you the truth…none of us know exactly who or even what he is.”

Kouji leaned back against the cool grey stone, his arms crossed, “Then how can you trust him?”

Taichi scratched his head, “We just do. Ever since the beginning he has helped us. First by getting our digivices to us, then the crests and yet again by giving V-mon and Wormmon the ability to evolve to Imperialdramon through the digi-core…”

“I guess we never really questioned who he was before. It didn't seem important.” Ken finished, glancing at the new pair, “So are you willing to come? I don't think it's that far from here…”

“It isn't.” Wormmon spoke up, shifting in Ken's arms, “He is in the northern part of this area.”

Kouji looked down at Anyamon, “What do you think?”

“I don't see any problem with it.” The wolf replied softly, “We need to find out why we are here. This guy might know something about it.”

The blue eyed teen nods before looking back over at the other Chosen, “We'll go.”

A couple hours later found the group at the edge of a large lake. A smallish cozy looking house was built on the shore. Kouji hung back with his brother and watched Taichi knock, well…actually bang on the door. The brunette hollered at the top of his lungs, “Oi! Gennai!”

“You don't have to shout Taichi.” Said a young brown-haired man in a white robe as he eased the door open, “What do you need?”

Taichi and Ken, as well as their digimon turn to look at Kouji and Kouichi, “Well…”

Kouji stared back. He did not like the looks they were giving him. The warrior of light fidgeted slightly, raising an eyebrow, “What?”

Gennai followed the Chosen's gazes. A look of relief quickly crosses his face, “Finally! I was wondering when you'd show up.”

Kouji stared at the young looking man, “Excuse me?”

“You are the ones that Ophanimon sent correct?”

Kouji glanced at Taichi and Ken before replying hesitantly, “Yes…”

Gennai claps his hands together, “Good. Good. Now come inside. I need to get some things straightened out. You know records and things.”

Kouji glanced down at his brother. Kouichi just shrugs, “Why not? He seems to know why we are here.”

The warrior of light nods and enters the house, Kouichi followed close behind. Taichi and Agumon entered next, oblivious to Kouji's hesitant answers. Ken however, being the insightful person he was, noticed it right away. The chosen of kindness frowned before shrugging his shoulders and walking in. Wormmon was fast asleep in his arms.

“Sit. Sit.” Gennai gestures to the various pieces of furniture in the room. Chairs of all sizes and shapes littered the room, clearly having been made to accommodate the various types of digimon. Kouji, Taichi and Ken all found some relatively human sized chairs. Agumon plopped down on a beanbag, and Kouichi was content on the floor next to his brother. Kouichi yawned, bearing sharp fangs. He was getting used to the beast-type form and it scared him. He was beginning to get comfortable walking around on all fours and seeing things from a lower level was no longer daunting. It frightened him because he still feared the underlying instincts, if he got too comfortable what would stop them from resurfacing without warning?

Gennai cleared his throat and turned to Kouji, seating himself in a large puffy chair near the front of the room, “Now. First things first. You do know that you cannot get home correct?”

Kouji nods, “Yes…”

The white-robed man crosses his arms, “Then you will need a place to stay.” He turns to the chosen of kindness, “Ken, your parents signed up for the student exchange program correct?”

Ken was startled; apparently he hadn't been expecting the question, “Y-yes…”

Kouji, guessing where the conversation was going, quickly cut in, “We're fine. We'll just stay in the Digital World. We've done it before.”

Gennai shook his head, “Nonsense Minamoto. I'll have you enrolled in the Student Exchange Program and assigned before you can say `Digivolve'.”

The warrior of light shook his head, “No. I do not wish to impose on Ichijouji's family.”

Ken cut in, “It's fine Kouji. We're going to get stuck with someone anyway; it might as well be someone who already knows about digimon. That way I won't have to hide Wormmon.” Silently he added, `Besides. I can keep my eye on you.'

Now what was our favorite brunette doing during this time? As we all know Taichi couldn't have lasted that long without saying something. Surprisingly Taichi had remained silent, his eyes half-lidded as if he was bored. Agumon would have raised an eyebrow at that, if he had one, “Taichi?”

No answer. Agumon frowned and poked the brunette. Still no answer; Agumon got up and peered into Taichi's face, what he saw nearly made him face fault. Taichi's breathing was soft, a quiet noise reached Agumon's ears; Taichi was...snoring?

A bead of perspiration formed on the back of Agumon's head, Taichi was sleeping.

Oookay…now back to Gennai, Kouji and Ken.

Kouji crossed his arms stubbornly and leans back in his chair. He did not like imposing on people he hardly knew. He didn't even like imposing on people he did know. One of the reasons Kouji hardly ever asked for anything was because of this fact. He was used to looking out for himself and felt uncomfortable depending on anyone else. Of course his adventure with the other Warriors had changed that slightly. He trusted the others with his life and would do anything for them, but trusting people he had not gone through at least one life or death situation with was a hard task for him.

Kouichi glanced up at his brother's stony face, he shook his head, “Kouji…I know how you feel about things like this. But we came here to help them; wouldn't it be easier to do that if we were with one of them all the time?”

The Warrior of Darkness spoke softly, none other then Kouji could hear the words. Kouji's lips twitched, trust Kouichi to be the logical one. He was right after all. In the events following their arrival Kouji had completely forgotten the reason they were here. They had to stop some sort of evil with the Chosen, only then could they return home. He sighs in defeat, “Fine. I don't like imposing on people but I can see the logic in your decision.”

Gennai smiles, “Good. Now to draw up some school records for you.”

He pulls out two pieces of paper. One blank and the other all filled in. Kouji blinks at the contents of the filled one and looks at Gennai questioningly. Gennai caught his look and explained, “Ophanimon copied your real records and sent them to me. I must just change a few things.” He starts to fill out the blank paper, “Name…Minamoto Kouji…”

“Wait.” The Warrior of Light interrupted, “Put down Kimura Kouji.”

“Hmm…?” The guardian glanced up, “Why would I…”

Kouji cut him off again, “Just do it.”

Gennai shrugs, “Suit yourself. I still don't see why…”

Kouji glanced down at Kouichi. The logic behind his reasoning was that Kouichi would be the one that needed to go to school so the name had to be partially his. It was too late to change the first name; Taichi and Ken would get suspicious if he did. Besides teachers tend to refer to students by their last names, so at least Kouichi would be able to realize when someone was talking to him.

The warrior of darkness realized all this and nodded his thanks. Kouji's lips quirked into a slight smile, but it was gone the minute Gennai announced that he was finished. The white robed guardian whistled softly, a moment later a familiar bird type digimon walked in. Gennai spoke to it softly for a moment before giving it the now completed papers. The bird-digimon took it in its wings and started to walk away. As it passed Kouji he spoke up, “Are you…Swanmon?”

The digimon stops walking, “Yes. Have we met?”

Kouji shook his head, “No. I just thought that you were someone I knew.”

Swanmon smiles, “Ah. You are Kouji right?” At his hesitant nod she continues, “Stop by Primary Village sometime. I'd love to talk to you about the other Swanmon. I've never met another of my kind.”

Kouji smiles slightly, “Sure.”

The bird type digimon smiles back, “See you then.”

After Swanmon left Ken spoke, “Who was that? I thought that Elecmon looked after Primary Village?” Ken wondered.

“Hmm..?” Gennai glanced at Ken, “He still does. Swanmon is helping. She is one of the few Champion level digimon that can travel to the real world's internet so she helps out a lot if one of the babies somehow gets in there. That's why I gave the records to her. She's going to slip into the School's Database and put the records there. The weird thing is…Digivolving to a Swanmon should only be possible by using the digimental of love on a Tailmon. It is strange.”

Ken falls silent. Gennai continues, “However, a lot of digimon that should only be attainable through the digimentals have been appearing. I fear that something has been affecting the digimentals. Have any of your group had any trouble with them?”

The chosen of kindness shook his head, “No. Not that I've heard. But then again with the digital world so peaceful we haven't needed to use them. Also with the….Dark Spires…destroyed we don't need to armor digivolve. We can go champion.”

Gennai sighed, “I guess the answer to this riddle will have to wait for another day. I'll contact you if I find anything relevant.” He turned his attention to Kouji, “I'm sorry but our chat about your mission will have to wait for another day. Pressing duty calls. Go with Ken and Taichi, just about now Ken's parents should be receiving notification about the student exchange assignments. I'll contact you when I'll be ready to explain.”

Kouji nods silently.

Ken sighs and glances at Taichi, whom Agumon was till trying to wake. He shook his head and walked over to the chosen of courage. He bent over and whispered something in Taichi ear. Taichi awoke with a start and yelled, running out the door as soon as he got to his feet. Agumon looked up at Ken in awe, “How'd you do that?”

Ken shrugged, “I just told him that his mother wanted him to try her new recipes.”

Agumon was confused, “I thought he hated those…”

A small smile flicked on Ken's face, “Exactly.”

The former Digimon Kaiser walks over to the door, glancing back and Kouji and Kouichi, “Coming?”

Without waiting for an answer Ken left, the twins close behind.

Izumi “Izzy” Koushiro sat before his computer, working silently on whatever it was that geniuses work on. It had been many, many, hours since Taichi and Ken had left, and Izzy was getting worried. They were only supposed to be gathering data on the new digimon to be added to Izzy's growing encyclopedia of digimon. Worst case scenarios began playing in his mind, maybe the digimon was a new evil out to take over the world and had deleted them, or at least seriously injure them. Maybe the digimon hadn't enjoyed their presence and had just tried to maim or kill them anyway. Izzy was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to notice the flashing light that signaled the opening of the Digiport. He let out a startled yell as he felt three heavy objects fall on him, knocking over the chair and sending all of them tumbling to the floor.

The red-head pushes one of the objects off of him and sits up, groaning and massaging his now sore back. Finally the pain dulled and Izzy was able to take in the world around him. Piled a mere couple feet from him was three teenagers. One Izzy recognized right away, Taichi the brown-haired leader of the original digidestined. The other two made Izzy take a double take. One of them was Ken all right, but the other looked like a near carbon copy of the Chosen of kindness. The same blue-black hair, the same blue-grey eyes, the same height; they could have passed as twins except for the fact that the newcomer's hair was shorter and slightly thicker then Ken's. He was dressed in a teal short-sleeved jacket overtop a magenta long-sleeved shirt and beige jeans. He was rubbing his head, apparently having hit it against either the wall of the computer desk; Izzy winced in sympathy, he had done that once or twice. Off to the side of the pile of kids were two digimon, one was the familiar green insect digimon, Wormmon. The other was unfamiliar to the computer genius.

It was a white wolf pup, about the size of an average sized dog. The pure white color of its fur faded to a metallic silver near the paws, tail, and ears. On it' side was a navy blue design, one that was vaguely familiar to Izzy. Around its neck a blue and brown bandanna was tied, its blue-grey eyes (Izzy couldn't help but notice that they were almost the exact same shade as the new kid's eyes) were filled with silent amusement as it regarded the pile of teens.

Izzy turned back to the pile and coughed, “Ahem…”

Taichi was the first to untangle himself, he looked at Izzy sheepishly, “Heh, heh, hi Izzy.”

Izzy crossed his arms, “What took you so long? I was worried.”

The brunette winced, “Well…you see…”

His reply was cut off by a strangled cry. The two older digidestined turned to see Ken staring at the new kid in disbelief, as if he had never seen him before. The other teen stopped rubbing his head and looked at Ken with confusion written all over his face, “Ken…What?”

Ken just continued to stare, trying to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. “Osamu…” He mumbled to himself, “Oniisan…”

Right after that he promptly fainted, leaving the rest of the confused chosen and digimon to their own thoughts.

Taichi was the first to recover from surprise. The brunette, who was the closest to the Chosen of Kindness, poked Ken in the side. Getting no response he glances at Izzy, “What happened?”

The resident genius ran a hand through his short red hair, “I don't know. Did either of you hear what he said?”

“I did…” The blue-eyed teen spoke up softly, his eyes focused on the floor.

Izzy glanced over at the new arrival, seeing that whatever Ken had said was bothering him, “What was it?”

Kimura looked up, his gaze shifting from the floor to something behind Izzy, “He said a name…And then…”

The blue-eyed teen took a deep breath, his words soft, “He called me his brother…”

Kouji went ridged. His twin's words struck a cord deep within him. The warrior of Light heard the last two words echo through his mind, `his brother'. A low growl threatened to build within his throat; it took every bit of will power Kouji had to squash the offending sound.

It seems silly doesn't it? Why would that innocent statement upset Kouji so much? Well, the truth is, Kouji was rather possessive of his brother. He had only found Kouichi three years before, and then almost right after finding him, he lost him. He still remembered the anger and grief he had felt as Lucemon absorbed Kouichi's data. Kouji could recall the joy when Löwemon informed them that Kouichi was still alive. But the most vivid moment of all was when he was gazing into Kouichi's lifeless eyes. The fear that he was gone for good was forever etched into his mind.

Now…I suppose you are asking what this has to do with Ken's words…correct? Well, as I said Kouji was possessive. In his mind, Kouichi was his brother, his twin, and no one else's. Heck, he had even gotten upset when Tomoki, the warrior of ice had started to look up to Kouichi as a brotherly figure. Kouji hadn't minded when Tomoki called him an older brother…but calling Kouichi an older brother…well…lets just say that both Tomoki and Kouichi had refused to speak to the Warrior of Light for a week.

I guess that deep down inside, Kouji was afraid of someone taking his place in Kouichi's eyes. It was understandable really…Kouji, having been a loner for the most part of his life, finally had someone closer than an acquaintance, closer than a friend…a brother. Most people don't appreciate their siblings. Always fighting, always squabbling, and always wishing to be an only child. They don't ever understand that being an only child was lonely. They don't understand the wish to have someone who will always be there for you, the wish to have someone who understands you, to have someone beside you ever since the beginning, to have someone who actually cares that you exist.

Of course parents care, but it's not the same. Siblings may not agree all the time, but there is always something underneath the fights, underneath the arguments, something different then the affection of a parent.

Back, before the Digital World, Kouji used to always watch the interaction between brothers and sisters enviously. Deep down, despite the cold façade he showed the world, Kouji had always wished for a brother, or even a sister. He went through life growing even bitterer towards people around him because he never had anyone who actually cared. His father had cared, but Kouji saw his father's second marriage as a betrayal and didn't pay any attention to the man's attempts to form a father/son bond. The people at school hadn't cared either. The girls only were paying attention to him because he was smart and `cute'; the boys thinking he was a snobbish stuck up kid. Kouji had even begun to dislike people in general by the time he had turned 10.

But at Age 10 came the Digital world, forcing him to discard his mask of indifference and work with others and save the world in order to get home. Meeting Takuya and the others had made Kouji question his judgment of the human race. Eventually he found himself opening up to them. Then, when all his emotional defenses were down, Kouichi was thrown into the mix. How do you think Kouji felt when he discovered that he had a brother? Discovering that his own father had failed to mention that he had a twin? To have the very thing he had been wanting for the entire ten years of his life and then to lose him mere days after? That had shaken Kouji to the core; the pain that had come from those events had haunted him for months afterwards.

Now that wound had just been torn open. Kouji wouldn't meet his twin's eyes. In an instant he was on his feet and dashing out of the room. Kouji ignored Kouichi's shout and jumped out an open window, onto the balcony. He glanced around franticly, realizing that he was about 10 floors up in one of the apartment buildings that were rather common in many cities around Japan. He hopped onto the rail of the balcony and glanced down, sure enough there was another balcony below. He jumped off, utilizing his wolf-like form's reflexes to land safely on the lower balcony. Kouji jumped down another floor, glancing back up to find Kouichi staring down at him, “K- Akemon!”

Kouji turned away and continued his way down; he didn't see Kouichi dash back inside and head for the stairwell. He didn't see Taichi run after Kouichi. He didn't particularly care either. He knew he was acting foolish by running away, but Kouji needed some time to think, he needed to be alone. Reaching the first floor Kouji hops onto the ground level, startling some passerby out of their wits. He dashed away, heading toward the only `forested' place that he could see, the park.

Izzy watched as Kimura ran out of the apartment, followed closely by Taichi. The red-head himself was tempted to follow, but he decided to stay behind and watch Ken. The former Digimon Kaiser was still out cold, though he seemed closer to waking up then before. Izzy sighed and looked at Wormmon, “Do you have any idea what just happened?”

The green insect digimon was silent for a moment, “About Ken fainting…yes…about what happened after…no.”

The Chosen of Knowledge nodded, “I see…care to elaborate?”

Wormmon sighed, closing his sky blue eyes, “Well…I've only seen pictures…but the new kid…Kimura Kouji I believe…looks a lot like Ken's brother Osamu who died years ago. Ken has been missing his brother a lot lately…”

“Soo…” Izzy pondered, “His unconscious desire to see his brother must have fooled him into thinking that this…Kimura…was his brother. Then he fainted from shock.”

“Correct.” The insect digimon confirmed.

“What I don't understand…” Izzy began. “Is why it happened now? Why not when you all first met up?”

Wormmon cracked one eye open, “Well, like Daisuke, Iori, and Miyako, Kimura looks different in the Digital World. He had a bandana covering his hair. Ken didn't notice the similarities until he had seen Kimura without the bandana.”

The red-haired genius nodded, “I see…”

Kouichi practically flew down the stairs, startling many others that were using them. But the Warrior of Darkness didn't care; the only thing on his mind was his brother. He understood why Kouji had reacted like that. Normally Kouichi would leave him alone until he solved the problem himself, but normally this happened in a place they knew. Parallel worlds do not count as familiar places.

Upon reaching the ground floor, Kouichi pushed the door open, pausing slightly when he heard a muffled yelp. Sprawled on the floor was a familiar brunette. Kouichi winced and offered his hand to the fallen teen, “Sorry Taichi.”

Taichi took Kouichi's offered hand and got to his feet, rubbing his nose where the door had hit it, “No problem. What happened up there anyway?”

“No time to explain.” Kouichi murmured, “I have to find him.”

Taichi nodded, “Let me help. I know Odaiba better then you.”

The warrior of darkness inclined his head, “Thanks…um Taichi…how did you get down here before me?”

The brunette grins, “The elevator.”

Kouichi resisted the temptation to whack himself on the head for not thinking of that. Instead he just nods and heads out into the city.

Yagami Hikari sighed as the doors of the train opened, hefting her heavy pack onto her shoulder. She glanced around to see that the others were also preparing to get off the train. Takaishi Takeru also shouldered his bag, glancing at her, “Are you sure you'll be alright heading home by yourself?”

“Yeah!” Motomiya Daisuke interjected, “'Cause if not I'll walk you home!”

Hikari smiled, “Yeah, I'll be fine. I have Tailmon with me, remember?”

She pointed to her heavy backpack to emphasize her point. Daisuke pouted, “I guess…”

Inoue Miyako sighed, “Sheesh…when will you ever give up Daisuke?”

“Uh guys?” The youngest Chosen, Hida Iori spoke up, “We'll miss our stop if we don't disembark.”

With no more delay the Chosen Children quickly left the train, watching as it rolled on down the track. Takeru left Hikari's side and went to stand with Miyako and Iori; they all lived in the same apartment complex. He smiled slightly, “See you at school Hikari.”

The brown-haired girl nods, “Yeah.”

She turns and starts to walk down the street, before glancing behind and waving, “See ya later guys…”

Hikari sighs and glanced at her watch. It was getting late, almost 7pm. She walked in silence, the daylight dimming as night approached. The Chosen of Light choose a less traveled route to her home, passing by a park that her brother often frequented. As she passed the entrance she felt her bag shift. Frowning she glanced over her shoulder only to find her digimon partner climbing out, “What is it Tailmon?”

The cat digimon didn't answer; instead she began sniffing the air. After a few minutes she narrowed her blue eyes, “I smell a digimon.”

Hikari frowned, “Are you sure it's not one of the others?”

The white cat nodded, her purple tipped ears lying back against her head, “Positive. It's in the park.”

The brown-haired girl nods, “Understood. Let's check it out.”

Tailmon grabbed a lock of Hikari's hair and used it to steady herself as the girl headed into the park.