A.C.: A little something I wrote in school. Definitely AU but I'm not going to explain the 'how's and 'why's of it just yet as I believe the later chapters will write out the timeline of their accord.

I have entirely too much time on my hands.

Watch out for grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: Nahh, I don't own Digimon.


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"They say that the smallest will destroy me."

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"TK!"

"I'm sorry Matt! But I have to stay!"

"TK!!"

"Matt stop! You're going to fall!"

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"Matt?"

"How... I... I thought... TK..."

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"What are you going to do now TK?"

"I don't know..."

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"Takeru?"

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He sees the light at the end of the tunnel and breaks out into a run.

He exits the cavernous halls with the air blasting past him with a roar.

He is scared but tries hard not to cry.

His fingers are torn and bleeding. But the incisive cuts reveal a more terrifying experience than tumbling into thorns.

Inevitably, a tear falls like a shooting star past his dirty cheeks. The sky his clear tonight; he sees the water-logged stars and the makings of gray waves forming across the dark horizon.

-x-

He wakes up and immediately makes a beeline for the toilet. He retches loudly into it, loud enough that his brother sleepily enters the bathroom. The elder rubs soothing circles into the younger's back as violent heaving ripples through thin body beneath his fingers. Finally finished, he begins to shake in exhaustion as his father groggily asks if they're alright.

He doesn't know why this is happening, doesn't know why he sees the little boy running for his life.

He looks up and catches the image of his reflection in the mirror.

He imagines that the boy might look like his reflection when he grows up. His reflection is pinched, pained; spit and foam dripping down his lips.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall..." His brother looks worried.

"Takeru."

Takeru gives his brother a shaky smile.

"Who is the truest of them all?"

-x-

He does not look forward to his first day of school.

Their mother is back in Paris typing up one article after another.

They followed their father to Odaiba on his current project at the news station.

The Odaiba they live in is different from the home they had once known. Things change after eight years –their father said- but it seems unreal. He feels floaty –his mind faithfully supplies- like as if there is a mass of transparent bubbles settled on top of his head.

His brother is hiding something but he doesn't push it. His brother followed because it was winter break and to promote his band in Japan. Takeru followed because, because, because... he doesn't know why.

He does not look forward to going to school at all.

The last of buttered toast disappears into his father's mouth.

It's time to go

-x-

He follows the trail of students headed towards the same direction.

His father's too busy to take him and his brother had other things to do. Yamato only had time to see him off at the cross section 100 meters away from the school before waving good bye.

People whisper around him, about him, and he wonders if others know that he knows what they're saying. His Japanese is rusty and at best serviceable. But he does pick up words like 'blonde' and 'new'. He ducks his head when a group of girls go by chattering amongst themselves.

The morning sun sets a blaze across the glass windows.

He remembers something big and green.

He shakes his head and nearly gets hit by a soccer ball.

His quick reflex saves him as he throws his hands up to catch the black-and-white soccer ball from colliding with his head.

A familiar looking brunette jogs up to him apologizing.

The light reflects off of the goggles around the boy's forehead and he remembers something fiery and strong.

He shakes his head again.

The other boy frowns at him.

It's quiet.

Slightly embarrassed, Takeru excuses himself and goes into the school building looking for the main office.

His bright-as-daisy-yellow hair could easily be explained as hair dye –many students attending have already dyed their hair in a similar way- but blue eyes?

He feels sick as his stomach churns.

He faithfully follows the broad arrows with 'office' written in block print.

His appearance elicits yet more murmurs within the crowd of students.

He hastily closes the door behind his back breathing out in relief.

Slightly doe-eyed at the chaos ensuing in the office, he watches the teachers –some, he noted with mild amusement, were shorter than him- when a plump-faced woman comes up to him and says something in rapid Japanese.

His confusion must have shown upon his face for the teacher repeats slower this time,

"Are you the new student?"

Takeru nods relieved.

The woman briskly bids him to follow –later he finds that this was the vice principal of the school- and introduces him to a woman perhaps in her mid 40s. The woman smiles –her ponytail bobs slightly as she shifts her head- and introduces herself as 'Sato Naoko' and claps him on his shoulders.

Takeru frowns at the casual contact but she never notices as she turns and gathers up various files and folders scattered across her desk. She grabs him by his wrist and begins half-pulling, half-dragging him out the door as if he were incapable of following by himself.

The halls are empty now but voices of children spill through the windows as the first lesson of the day begins. Here and there, few tardy students dart up and down the stairs earning hearty shouts from the meek looking woman beside him.

As he enters his classroom, he can't help but feel a sense of doom as if he were on a train set for a crash into the back of a mountain.

He realizes that he is...

Afraid


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A.C.: Constructive criticism is welcome. Reviews make me update faster :P