Oh my, it feels good to be back and wriing again! I enjoyed writing Gentle Boy so much, and I loved the kind reviews even more, that I decided to start another Takeru/Iori fic. This fic comes complete with a shota warning. Also an angst warning. And a dark fic warning. And a noncon warning (in later chapters) It probably needs a few more warnings, that I just can't think of right now. But, if you're familiar with my works, you know what to expect from my dark fics. Before I ramble on even more in self-service, may I present to you: The Dark Spore.

Disclaimer: Takeru, Iori, Digmon, Digital World, and all other trademarks are property of Akiyoshi Hongo. I claim no rights to this story, except that of the original plot behind it. No profit is being made from this work.

This had gone all wrong. It was just supposed to be a two day hike in the mountains. He and Iori were supposed to have hiked to the mountains and camped, and foiled Arukeniomon's plans the next morning. At first the trip had gone seamlessly, it had been a beautiful day in the digital world, and the two of them had laughed and joked, and marveled at their surroundings. But when they neared the base of the mountain, a terribly cold wind blew across the land and snow clouds began to cover the sky. Takeru decided that they had best stop and set up camp, and by the time they'd finished, the snow was ankle deep all around them. Despite their thick clothing, they'd had to snuggle with one another and their digimon to keep warm through the night.

The next day was when the trouble really set in. When they awoke, there was a full meter of snow covering every piece of landscape in sight. The two boys and their digimon partners conversed, and decided that they were ill-equipped to handle such conditions, and started to head back towards the gate. But the problem was that everything around looked the same, and even though they knew the direction they came, they were soon hopelessly lost. With only enough food to last one more day, young Iori began to tremble and panic. Takeru wasn't exactly worried at that point, he knew the digimon were foragers, by nature, and he was sure that they wouldn't go hungry.

When nightfall came again, Takeru began to get concerned. They had not seen any familiar surroundings, and it was still spitting snow. The two boys set up their tent again, a little slower this time. They were exhausted and frozen to the bone, from trekking in the snow all day. They were hungry and down to the last of the food rations, and Takeru swore there was a strange chill in the air, beyond that of the winter conditions outside the tent. It made his head fuzzy and sent a chill up and down his spine. Iori quickly fell into a fitful sleep, perpetually shivering. Takeru instructed Patamon to join Upamon in snuggling into Iori's front, and Takeru would sleep behind him, effectively wrapping Iori in body heat. When Takeru lifted the coverings of the blankets and slid into Iori's back, he felt electricity surge through him as his body touched Iori's.

The slight shuffle of the bedding woke Iori from his light sleep, and he turned over to face Takeru. Iori wrapped his arms around Takeru, and snuggled in close to his chest.

"I'm cold, Takeru, really cold. Is it okay if I sleep close to you like this?" There was an, almost, pleading undertone in Iori's voice.

"Of course, Iori, I don't mind at all." Takeru embraced Iori, as well, and was filled with a warmth that shouldn't have been possible in such low temperatures. Iori even commented that he felt feverish, but couldn't inquire further. The newfound heat soon soothed him into a sleep far more restful than before. Takeru fought for sleep against strange heat and feelings coursing through his body. Something dark within his mind continued to wander towards the boy in his grasp. He shook these thoughts from his head; he had never even considered thinking about Iori in such a way before. He knew something was wrong with the area they were in, but he was in no position to do anything about it currently.

Malicious dreams plagued Takeru when he finally succumbed to sleep. He dreamed that he was surrounded-no, cloaked- in darkness, and saw Iori kneeling before him. He had tears in his eyes as he looked up at Takeru. He screamed when Takeru slapped him hard across the face. Iori pleaded for release, but Takeru had no intention of letting him go. He picked Iori up, roughly, by the arm and drug him through a place he had never seen before. He led the small boy to the center of a dark room, and restrained his arms above him in shackles hanging from the ceiling high up in the darkness. Iori began to whimper and plead to Takeru as he raised a small blade up to his neck. The tears rolling down Iori's cheeks only succeeded in whetting Takeru's appetite further. He quickly sliced down through Iori's shirt, leaving the front laid open. He sliced the sleeves of the shirt, and it fell to the floor.

The chill of the darkened room caused Iori's bare flesh to tremble and shiver. His light pink nipples hardened in the cold; Takeru noticed and gave Iori's right nipple a rough twist between his thumb and index finger, enjoying the sharp cry it brought forth from Iori's throat. The cry was stifled when Takeru leaned down and sucked very hard on Iori's neck, causing his breath to hitch. Iori begged for him to stop as Takeru caressed the boy's bare chest and stomach. Takeru shushed his pleas with a deep, hard kiss, and ran his hands up Iori's back.

Takeru woke with a gasp. It was still dark out, and Iori was still clutching into his chest. No matter how hard Takeru tried, he couldn't shake the dream from the forefront of his mind. He also couldn't ignore the glorious warmth that radiated from Iori's body. Iori's rhythmic breathing became music that wouldn't leave his ears. He found a sudden itch to know what the white silk draping across his ribs really felt like. It was all Takeru could do not to run his fingers up the fair skin. These feelings troubled him, but not half as much as the dream did. Even as he pondered it, he remained aroused from the terrible scene from his dream.

Takeru laid for most of the remaining night, fighting for sleep against the thoughts of the boy beside him. He could feel Iori's soft breath on his clavicle, it was a warm spring breeze in the middle of the cold, barren snowscape. He thought of how sweet he knew that breath would taste, and wondered how he knew. Why was he having such carnal thoughts about such an innocent child? Iori was like his little brother; he had tried to watch over Iori like Matt had watched over him. But this...this was totally new. It was new and disturbing, he had never even thought of Iori being attractive. However, now that he HAD thought about it, he couldn't deny it. Iori was an angel, as pale seraph that graced Takeru with his presence, and Takeru had failed him.

A great pain shot through him as he thought of that. He was the older one, he should have made sure Iori was safe, yet they were stranded in the middle of a blizzard in the foothills of a mountain in the digital world. Takeru began to sob as he began to realize the extent of his failure. A darkness, as if a shadow, was spreading through Takeru's mind. It was infecting him and he could feel it, spreading through his soul and destroying his morale. He was losing his grip on the situation, and fast. His breaths were coming labored and fast as his mental stability began to slip. Iori's touch began to burn him up, and he jumped from under the blankets and zipped open the tent.

In bare feet and heavy pajamas, Takeru dashed out into the meter of snow. The frigid temperature quickly chilled the feverish heat of Takeru's skin. The darkness, however, did no receding of its own. On the contrary, the darkness crept before Takeru's eyes, tunneling in slowly, at first, before fading quickly into black. His consciousness followed suit, and he fell, first onto his knees, then face down in the snow. When he regained consciousness, he had no idea how long he was out. All he knew was he was absolutely frozen, and he felt weightless, as if he were floating. Wait a minute, he was floating. He opened his eyes and saw that he was three meters above the ground, and in front of him, he saw, not only darkness, but a void so black, it seemed to devour any light it came in contact with. He began to struggle, but realized that he no longer held control of his muscles.

"Don't worry, my child," a velvet voice spoke into his own mind, "I mean to cause you no harm."

"Wha..What do you want with me?" Takeru tried to sound gruff, but his voice broke, and betrayed him.

"I want you to have whatever it is you want, Takeru, my own needs are meaningless."

"What it is I want...Hey! How did you know my name?" Takeru began to panic again. He was floating in midair, with no control over his muscles, and this being was is his head. He could feel the dark tendrils exploring his mind. He didn't know what the voice wanted, but he understood how dangerous it might be.

"What is it you want, my child?" Takeru was in a bad place, he was weak, hungry, exhausted and frozen; he was in no sort of mental shape to fight off the voice.

"There has to be something you want, Boy. Everyone wants something." The voice was reaching deep within his mind now, down to the primal regions, where he found anger, fear, hate, and lust. He found none of them, save for the last. In the boy's mind he found an image of a smaller, more delicate child, and he knew he had him. He saw the two boys walking along a warm beach, hand in hand. He felt the gentle seed of lust sprouting within the older boy.

"And so it shall be."

Takeru awoke the following morning, in his tent, under the blankets. He had been stirred from his slumber by the sound of his companion laughing outside. In a moment, said companion, Iori, burst through the tent and practically jumped on top of Takeru.

"It's gone, Takeru! The snow, it's all gone!" Iori grabbed him by the hand, and pulled him outside. Takeru could hardly believe his eyes; not a flake of snow could be seen anywhere around, it was like it had never been at all. That was strange, even for the digital world. But Takeru felt such elation that he didn't give it another thought. When he looked around, and recognized his surroundings, he picked Iori up into a big hug, and jumped around. The two boys shouted and laughed with relief until Takeru's legs gave out, and they toppled to the ground. Their spirits did not join them in their fall, however, and both boys rolled around, chuckling in one another's arms until their digimon woke and joined the two in their elation.

Much to Takeru's surprise, they had made camp about sixty meters from the gate back to their world. And while he was almost sure they hadn't walked far enough, he was in no mood to question. The previous night he hadn't been sure they would make it at all, and only a fool would scoff at such luck. It was clear that Iori had the same doubts, for on the entire way back, Iori held Takeru's hand with a vice-like grip. The two of them, and their 'mon partners walked through the digital world with the highest spirits they'd had in days.

Even so, Takeru knew there was something wrong. Although he had woken up in the tent, he knew that voice hadn't been a dream, and he would swear they should be further from the gate. It didn't add up in his mind, and he had learned to trust what he was feeling. But then again, the previous night had made him weary of those, as well. As the gate came into view, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, as he was pulled quickly towards the gate. When Iori had reached the gate, he halted for a moment and turned towards Takeru.

"Takeru..." Iori spoke softly, with tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over onto his smooth cheeks. "Last night...I wasn't...I wasn't sure we were going to make it."

Iori threw his arms around Takeru again, and pulled himself close, into the older boys chest tightly. The feeling of the younger boy's embrace set Takeru's skin on fire again. Every place the boy touched sent a wave of desire through him. It brought him back to the dream he had the night before. It brought him back to the chains, and the torn shirt. The look in his eyes, the feeling of Iori's tender flesh between his fingers.

"I knew I could trust you, though, Takeru. Even in the blizzard condition, you pointed us in the right direction, and...and you got us home. Thank you, Takeru. Thank you so very much." He looked up into Takeru's eyes, and his eyes shown up with the bright light that could only come from a child's eyes. Those eyes added to the fire burning in Takeru's soul.

"You're very welcome, Iori. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you. As long as I am still breathing, I would do everything in my power to keep you safe, Iori. I promise." Takeru felt it best to leave out the fact that he had been just as unsure as Iori was. Looking down into his eyes, Takeru couldn't bring himself to shatter the boys moment of perfection. Iori looked as if he were so happy he could have jumped out of his skin.

"Thank you so much, Takeru, I love you. You're my best friend!" Iori said, standing up on the tips of his toes to kiss Takeru on the cheek. "You're my best friend, Takeru."

As always:

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(It felt really good to say that again.)