Let's go back in time a few hours…
"Ready to go home Koromon?"
"Sure thing Tai," the pink in-training digimon replied drowsily. Tai grinned at him, pulling his bag over his shoulder before picking up his partner. Koromon felt completely at ease as Tai walked, and the lull of his gait was putting him to sleep.
The teen hummed as he went, occasionally smiling down. Koromon wasn't quite asleep, but it sure seemed like it. All in all, it was rather endearing. Normally Agumon was the one who looked after Tai, but now, he had a chance to do the opposite. Sure, Koromon was still a force to be reckoned with, but…
"Just don't drool on me, ok buddy? Mom just cleaned my uniform." Tai joked, looking up again. Soccer had run late, and it was starting to get dark. The sunset was beginning to fade. It had been awesome, kicking a goal with the fiery backdrop. If it had been a game, it would have been the perfect final goal.
Continuing his humming, he kept walking, dodging the few people that were still out and about. He hated the walk home these days. It was so quiet. And even though he held his partner in his arms, this was probably the loneliest stretch of the walk home. He could never shake that dark feeling of being alone.
Visions of tennis gear and a red headed teen with burning amber eyes filled his mind's eye, and he tried to keep his sigh internal.
He felt like he'd gone through a break up or something. But he didn't even have that as an excuse. Sora was never his to begin with. But now that she never walked home with him anymore, he couldn't help the idea. She suddenly started avoiding him, and it stung a lot more than he wanted to admit. He missed their walk home. And it was their walk home. Only they ever walked this way… the others would branch off by now.
He missed their talks. They would talk about anything and everything. The events of their day, family stuff, and later on, even Matt and her relationship. They would joke, chat, or just stay silent. Now, Matt picked her up from tennis practice, or she was always busy. Taichi shook his head, trying to clear the dark thoughts from his mind. She was gone, and he had no room to complain. Time to move on.
"Why can't girls be easier to understand?" he whispered, trying not to disturb Koromon. Even Kari wasn't making sense any more. They had gotten into an argument last night over some guy his sister was apparently going to see a movie with tomorrow. She hadn't spoken to him all day. Before soccer, he'd texted his apology to her, but he was fairly certain she was still ignoring him.
His sister, who cared more about everyone else around her except for her, was truly mad at him for once. He hated it. His hand played with the ring around his thumb as he cursed to himself. Everything about that just didn't sound right, and he was living it!
He was tempted to pull his phone out and see if she'd miraculously forgiven him. But he hadn't felt his phone buzz since he looked at it last, and he didn't really want to stoop and try to fish it out of his sock while holding a sleeping Koromon. His partner wasn't as light as he looked after all, and he didn't want to wake him up.
All thoughts went out the window a moment later. There was a sharp sting at the base of his shoulder, and he felt like he was hit by a car. He felt his bag slip off of his shoulder, and Koromon was suddenly gone from his arms. Hands grabbed at him, and time suddenly snapped back into place, and he struggled for all he was worth.
Four people. There were two pulling him toward what looked like an SUV, one was getting in the driver side, and the largest was back a ways. "K… Koro…" Taichi tried calling out to his partner, but everything suddenly went black, and he felt conscious thought leave him completely.
Koromon shivered, watching the car disappear down the road. He'd been completely useless right there. 'What just… happened?' Taichi was gone… and he had no idea what to do.
His eyes had snapped open when Tai gasped, and he'd seen the needle in his arm. The people had yanked Koromon from Tai's hold, and he couldn't focus when he felt himself connect with a wall at a very fast pace. Another few hits rained down on him, and when it stopped, he opened his eyes to see the car was gone. And so was Tai.
"I'm sorry Taichi!" he sobbed, rocking back and forth. Why hadn't he Digivolved. He hadn't even thought about it at that moment. He should have done something! Anything. He should have attacked at the very least! His partner was in trouble and all he'd done was to be thrown around like a rag doll! He'd been so helpless!
He had to get to someone. They would know how to find him.
A glimmer of familiar streamline silver caught his attention, and he felt all hope plummet. "Tai's Digivice…" Hopping over, he examined the gadget carefully. "Maybe… maybe it's not his! Maybe one of the others dropped it earlier or something!" he knew it wasn't so. Matt drove now, and Sora was the only one who would walk this far, and she'd stopped walking months ago.
Devastated, Koromon snatched it in his mouth and hopped in the direction of the closest Digidestined's home.
A/N : Short. We'll show the others starting next chapter. Hope you enjoy!