Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
What's Left of You
Chapter: 4
Slowly, Takato felt himself rising from the darkness that had swallowed him and toward a growing, welcoming light. He shied from the light briefly, a part of him recalling tales of its meaning of death, leaving him floating there between the two, until the sound of familiar voices reached his ears. Finding him drawn to their tone, worried and anxious, he followed them to their source. The light grew about him, and as the voices steadily began to grow clearer, his vision began to resolve into more readily recognizable sights and sounds; people he knew, and the gentle pressure of a hand in his own, a silent refusal to relinquish him to either shadow or light.
With a groan, he tightened his grip around the hand – his mother's touch – and lifted his right arm to ward off the light that assaulted his vision.
No arm however rose to protect him, and he clenched his eyes shut painfully.
"…need to check his injury for any signs of infection over the next few days," spoke up a voice from the far end of the bed. "We're confident though that he'll make a full recov…"
"Takato!"
Mie Matsuki's voice broke across the doctor's explanations as she bolted out of her seat with a cry, almost knocking her chair over in the process. Almost at once, the others – his father and his friends – began to crowd around him, an avalanche of questions already hitting him.
"Are you all right?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Buh-wha…?" Takato stammered out with wide eyes, taken aback by everything happening all at once. His memories were a jumbled mess, and this was just too much, too fast for him to sort through. He tried to adjust himself in the bed using his free arm so he could sit up…
His arm wasn't there.
"Easy there!" came Rika's voice, her hand suddenly catching him by the shoulder as he slipped, and he caught sight of the bandaged stump where his arm used to be. For the briefest of moments, all vision went pitch black, the shock of the sight hitting him like a truck before he became conscious of Rika's voice calling out to him worriedly. The soft, yet firm pressure of her hand rooted him and with a shake, he fell out of the darkness once more, a tremor running through his body. Memories… Memories came back to him. Armageddamon beating down the others; plowing Ryo into a building and knocking Henry and Rika out of their Mega forms. He remembered rushing up and thrusting his lance into the monster's mouth, hoping beyond hope that he could strike its digi-core or at least cause some serious internal damage. And then, Armageddamon's jaws crushing down on his arm brutally just as he fired off his Lightning Joust, the power erupting out of control, ripping through its head before detonating explosively, sending him and Gigimon flying backwards.
That's…That's right. I was hurt. Hurt bad, and I…
His stump moved, and he felt the ghost of his missing hand press against his head to steady himself. His hand! Fingers now gone were crying out, and the tremors he felt began to grow.
"Takato?" came Takehiro's voice, breaking him out of his silence, and he looked up, seeing that everyone had grown quiet as the doctor made his way past them to check on him.
"S-Sorry," he replied quickly, forcing himself to focus on the others. "I'm…uh…h-how am I doing? I'm doing fine, right?"
Ignore the trembling. Ignore the missing hand. Ignore it all. Focus on the others. That's what he hammered home over and over in his mind as he brought himself back down to reality. The tremors subsided and he forced a smile on his face to show them that he meant what he said, but unbeknownst to him, Jeri and Rika both exchanged looks, the two hearing the stammer in his voice and the way his eyes had suddenly become evasive. Takato, they knew, rarely lied, and even when he did, he couldn't make it convincing if his life depended on it. They also knew that when he wanted to hide something, he would panic from being put on the spot and end up obfuscating the whole thing behind a clumsy stammering of truths that never answered quite questions.
"Ah! Guilmon!" Takato exploded suddenly as the doctor shone a light in his right eye. He sat up suddenly, only to fall back as he suddenly became very dizzy.
"Nurse!" the doctor called as Takato groaned, his breathing suddenly feeling very shallow. He heard the others cry out in panic, but the dizzy spell soon passed, leaving him panting on the pillow.
"You lost a great deal of blood when you were brought in," the doctor explained, as he began to recover and reorient himself. "Fortunately, we were able to give you some transfusions, but until you've recovered a bit more, these spells are to be expected."
He shone the light in Takato's left eye before lifting his stethoscope, checking his heart rhythm. Takato shivered as he felt it press against his chest, and after a few moments, he nodded and drew back.
"I would advise against causing any further excitement for him," he said to everyone gathered around as the nurse came in, her expression full of concern.
"But…what about Guilmon?" he asked, his remaining arm drawing up over himself, grabbing hold of the bedsheet. "I…I need to know…"
"He's at my place, sleeping the fight off," Rika assured him, giving his shoulder another squeeze, having never left him once in all the excitement. "Don't worry. He's doing okay."
Takato looked up at her, his red-eyes meeting her violet ones and he smiled with relief.
"Thanks," he replied, relaxing. He suddenly felt so tired. In spite of that, he forced his remaining hand up and brushed the tips of his fingers over hers before they fell back, sleep threatening to claim him. He caught wind of the doctor saying something about checking his blood pressure and he pushed the siren call of rest away, at least for the moment.
"E-Everyone else?" he asked. "You're all okay, right?"
"Hey, Chumley! Why don't you try worrying about yourself for a change?" crowed a voice from the other side of the room, startling the teen. Turning his head as the others did likewise, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face lying in a bed, his left leg all done up in a cast and suspended in the air. His grey eyes were glazed over slightly from pain medication, yet they shone fiercely beneath a tangled mane of brown hair, and he had an expression on his face that made Takato think of a wolf. Yet his gaze held a powerful concern for him that blazed openly like a bonfire.
"K-Kazu!"
Kazu narrowed his eyes at him, his eyes darting downward before returning to Takato's. Their glazed look deepened and his head fell back onto his pillow with an annoyed grunt.
"Rika Jeri somebody tell that dork to look care for himself for once," he slurred irritably, the medication causing his words to jumble a bit. "Ooohhh…maaan…"
There came a faint hiss as the blood pressure meter finished taking its measurements. Takato blinked, having not noticed when it had gone on.
"He does have a good point," Takehiro spoke up from next to Mie, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder as she wiped at her eyes. "For right now, you should be taking care of yourself and get some rest." He glanced at the doctor worriedly. "You're sure that he'll make a full recovery?"
"For the time being, yes," the doctor replied with a nod as the nurse unstrapped the blood pressure meter. "As I said though, we'll be keeping him over for a few days for observation, as it's going to be important to keep an eye on his injury for infection. But so far, everything checks out."
Takehiro breathed a sigh of relief, giving Mie's shoulder a soft squeeze before he turned to Rika.
"It's not going to be any trouble if we pick Guilmon up from your place, is it?"
"Hm?" Rika blinked. "Oh. No, it won't be. I…" She trailed off for a moment, her gaze drifting back over to Takato, whose eyes were closing once more on him. "I…just wish that he were here right now so he could see his partner."
"I'm afraid the hospital rules must stand," the doctor insisted. "I realize that not all digimon will cause problems for electronics, but we can't afford to take any chances with people's lives. Not at the present." He looked at the Tamers each in their turn, his expression sympathetic. "Maybe someday, but not now."
"We got it," Ryo said, tipping the man a salute. The doctor merely frowned before turning to Takehiro and Mie.
"If you'll excuse me," he said, bowing his head politely before he turned and exited the room, the nurse following quickly behind him. Alone now, Kenta glanced over his shoulder before drawing back his shirt, and at once, a pink, teardrop-shaped creature with wide eyes, a heart emblazoned on its chest and fairy-like wings emerged, growing in size until it was as long as the teen's head. At the sight, Mie jumped and the other Tamers looked at him in surprise.
"Wha…? Kenta… Your partner! What is he doing here?!" she exclaimed, all the while trying to keep her voice down.
"I snuck him in," Kenta admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "I know, hospital rules. Not even Yamaki could make them bend on it, but…I couldn't just stand there and not try to help Takato get better. It's the least I could do anyway."
Jeri's expression brightened at that as next to her Mie took a quick look at the door to assure herself that the doctor wasn't coming back straight away before allowing a small, relieved smile to touch the corners of her face. Reaching out once more, she brushed her hand against Takato's remaining arm.
"It can't…fix him all the way though, can it?"
"We're not really sure about everythingMarineAngemon can do with humans except that he can't help them if they're not part digital," Henry admitted. "And since Takato has digital properties, at the very least, he'll help Takato get better a little bit faster."
"Every little bit helps," Ryo nodded, a part of him wishing that he could ask for some help with regards to his own injury.
Too bad my own adventures made that a little bit…complicated, he thought as Kenta looked over at Mie and Takehiro questioningly. The two parents exchanged a look and Mie nodded, granting permission.
"Okay, buddy," Kenta said to his partner. "A single 'puh' and let's see what happens, okay?"
Bobbing his pink head up and down, the diminutive digimon quickly flew over and with a smile, spat a floating, blue, glowing heart-shaped bubble at the brown-haired teen whereupon it promptly burst, sending a cloud of tiny, sparkling shards floating over him, where they came to rest upon him and vanished. Almost at once, Takato's breathing began to ease and some color returned to his face. His eyes fluttered open once more and he squawked upon finding MarineAngemon unexpectedly hovering inches in front of him.
"I think that's your cue, buddy," Kenta said worriedly, shooting a quick look over his shoulder in the direction of the door just in time to see a nurse pause, lifting a curious eyebrow in their direction. Drawing back his shirt once more, MarineAngemon flew back over and shrank down, disappearing within its confines.
"S-Sorry," Takato gasped, patting his chest. "I just…" He took a deep breath. "Wow. I feel…"
"How about we keep a lid on it for now," Ryo said suggestively, winking at the teen as the nurse poked her head in.
"Is everything all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, our friend is just a little excitable, that's all," Ryo replied with an apologetic grin. "We should probably get going so he can get some rest."
"It is getting late," Takehiro sighed, looking out the window, spying that the last of the daylight was rapidly vanishing behind the edge of the horizon and knowing that visiting hours were almost over. Admittedly, he didn't want to leave his son so soon, but at this point the more rest his son got, the better. "Mie?"
The elder Matsuki matriarch hesitated, clearly less willing than he to leave Takato behind. Seeing this, Takato, feeling much stronger now, used his remaining hand to get into a better seated position – both Jeri and Rika tensing up in the event that he slipped as he did earlier – and once he was properly situated, smiled at his mother.
"Don't worry about me, Mom," he said, only for the woman to give him a sharp look while Jeri's eyes went wide with surprise. He winced, feeling even Rika's eyes boring a hole somewhere on the back of his head and he held up his hand in a placating manner.
"Okay. Not…exactly my best suggestion. Sorry. Wow. See? I am feeling better…"
"Takato?" This from Jeri, who was presently smiling sweetly at him, but in a manner that he wasn't used to seeing, but quickly, for a wonder, managed to translate.
Stop talking.
Getting up from her seat, Mie swept her son up into a tight, powerful hug, all at once letting all the tension and fear that she had been keeping in her out.
"Oh Takato…!" she choked out, and Takato felt his heart break at that, tears springing to life in his own eyes. He hated it when his mother cried. He always felt horrible whenever she did, regardless of whether it was his fault or not. He wrapped his arm about her as best he could while his stump attempted to join it, returning her hug, trying his best to help her feel better and knowing that nothing he could do right now would help.
It's not fair… Why is it that I always end up causing problems for her? Why… Why can't I do anything right?
He felt the ghost of his arm tighten and he bit his lower lip, feeling the muscles along where it should have been throb and ache in their attempts to respond. He ignored it though, a part of him grateful that the missing limb remembered his love for his mother enough to visit, even though it couldn't do anything.
His father soon joined them, wrapping his arms about the two of them and rocking them in his arms. No one dared to interrupt them. No one even wanted to.
However, all things needed an end, and eventually Takehiro and Mie drew away from their son, Mie's face a portrait of pain as she mouthed a silent cry to her son, tears streaming down her face before she buried herself in her husband's arms. Massaging her back tenderly, Takehiro nodded to the teen.
"Get some rest after we leave," he said. "That's an order."
"Y-Yeah," Takato sniffed, wiping at his eyes. "No problem."
The others bid their goodbyes one at a time afterward, keeping it to a few words. Kenta promised to visit and to bring MarineAngemon to help him along if tonight's treatment showed further positive results.
Rika gazed at Takato thoughtfully for a moment while he and Henry made their goodbyes before digging into her pocket, producing her cell phone. It was presently off, but it held a full charge, having charged it before leaving the house.
"Here," she said, setting it by his side on the bed. "If…you know. You ever need to talk or something… One of us is just a call away. Don't worry about the minutes."
"Um…Rika?" began Kenta from the doorway. "That's…not a good idea. Hospital rules are pretty strict about cellphones. They might cause problems with the equipment. If they find it here…"
Rika felt her face flush at that and she looked away.
"Right," she said, reaching down to take her phone back. "Forget it then."
"Sorry," Takato apologized, picking it up for her and handing it back. Rika frowned as she took it and jammed it back into her pocket with more force than was needed.
"What are you apologizing for? It's not like you made the rules or anything."
"I know, but…" Takato scratched the back of his head. "You know how I am."
Rika met his eyes for a moment before looking away.
"Yeah," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "Yeah, I do."
Seeing how worked up Rika was getting, Jeri gave the girl an understanding look before getting to her feet. Making her way over to the boy, she leaned in and gave him a tight hug before, seized suddenly by an impulse driven by her fears, she gave Takato a quick kiss on the cheek, earning her a surprised look from all around as she drew back, blushing furiously.
"J-J-Jeri…? I… Bu…you…wha…?" Takato stammered out, his left hand rising to his cheek, but the girl only beamed at him, her face colored a ferocious red while tears shone at the corners of her eyes.
"Get some rest, okay?" she asked. "We'll see you tomorrow. And you too, Kazu!"
"It's fine," Kazu mumbled, lifting up one hand and giving them all a thumbs-up. "Everybody get some rest. We'll make it a dream party or something."
"Too bad MarineAngemon can't fix his mouth so that he make more sense," Rika muttered, giving Takato's shoulder another quick squeeze before starting toward the door, Jeri following quickly behind. Takato watched them go, waving dumbly at them until they disappeared around the corner, leaving him alone with Kazu. His hand drew to his flushed cheek, still buzzing from the kiss Jeri had given him. Kissed… Jeri had kissed him!
Why…? I thought…I thought she… She couldn't… That she wasn't…
He shook his head, his thoughts not making any sense. The day had been too full of things happening. He needed time to digest it all. Time he now had quite a bit of.
Maybe she was just being nice, he thought, his hand slowly lowering into his lap where it lay, alone and without its companion. He gazed at it, thoughts of Jeri's kiss evaporating like so much morning mist.
So much for drawing, he thought, his mind falling into a haze. He curled his remaining fingers into his palm and felt his stump wince in turn, throbbing slightly. Clasping hold of it, he clenched his teeth, rocking against it. It struck him that the day still hadn't hit him. He felt a wave of unreality wash over him, causing the muscles in his body to tense up.
Dead… Shouldn't I be dead? I should be dead, right? Maybe I'm just dreaming? Or maybe it's both and my ghost just hasn't realized it yet. I… Ah… Ah nuts…
He suddenly felt dizzy and he fell back against his pillow, breathing heavily. From off to the side, Kazu's glazed eyes watched him, a worried look on his face.
"Hey, Chumley?"
"Y-Yeah?" he asked, rooting himself to his friend's voice as the dizziness subsided.
"You're going to be okay, got it? We're all here for you."
Takato tightened his grip around the remains of his right arm and nodded, forcing a smile onto his face.
"Yeah. Just…Just like always, right?"
A pall of silence fell upon the air as Takato's breathing normalized, though the tension remained.
"Kazu?" he asked, breaking the quiet. "How're you doing?"
The other teen made a grunting noise, shifting in bed as best he could.
"I've got a hell of an itch that I can't touch and I'm worrying about my best friend. I'm perfectly fine. How about you?"
With an effort, Takato forced himself to relinquish his grasp around his stump and take a shaky breath.
"Well… You know how I am."
"Yeah," Kazu nodded. "Yeah, we do."
###
Rika, Jeri and the Matsuki's found Gigimon in the yard of the Nonaka residence, busily pacing about with a stuffed toy fox in his mouth while seated on the porch, Rumiko watched. Rika blinked, not sure which she was more surprised about. Her mother being home and watching over the tiny digimon, or the fact that said digimon had one of her old – and only – stuffed toys from when she had been a really little girl, back before her father had left home.
Where did Mom find that? she wondered, glancing at the woman in question. I thought I got rid of it a long time ago. I'm pretty sure I remember tossing it in the trash.
She blinked, realizing that was likely how it had been found.
"Rikamon!" Gigimon exclaimed, dropping the stuffed fox to the ground before snatching it back up and scampering on over to her. Rika raised an eyebrow at this. Guilmon had never referred to her in such a manner before, and only called Takato such when stressed or tired.
"Hey there," she greeted as he pounced against her leg urgently. Leaning down, she caught him up in her arms and drew him to her tight. "Glad to see you're up."
"Takato was pretty worried about you," Jeri added as Gigimon nestled in Rika's grasp. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm awa… Oh!" Gigimon was interrupted in his reply upon realizing that he dropped the fox toy again. A white paw with purple armguards snatched it out of the air before it could get very far however as Renamon – now back in her fox form – materialized out of thin air. Gigimon's large, gold eyes looked at the kitsune with adoration and gratitude before looking at the others expectantly, his tiny stump of a tail twitching in an attempt to wag.
"Takatomon! Is he doing okay? Your grandmamon said he had been hurt!"
Grandmamon? Rika felt a bit worried about that. It was almost as if Gigimon had regressed completely in his behavior.
I hope that's just because he's at the In-training level and not because Armageddamon scrambled his data.
"We'll fill you in on that as we head home," Takehiro replied, his voice grave as Rumiko approached, her expression tense. "Are you okay with leaving now?"
Gigimon made a small, keening, whine, clearly not happy with the lack of answers, but he gave a reluctant nod. Giving him a tight squeeze, Rika passed him off to Mie, who accepted him gratefully.
"Gigimon…" she choked out, her voice muffled as she pressed him to her. "As soon as we get home, we're getting you some Guilmon Bread and then…then we'll talk about Takato."
"Is he all right?!" Gigimon pressed, his anxiety becoming quite plain.
"He's fine for the most part," Takehiro answered as Rumiko drew to a halt next to Rika, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Seeing her, Takehiro bowed politely. "Thank you for letting him stay here."
"It's no trouble," Rumiko replied, giving the Matsuki's a small, understanding smile. "Take care Gigimon."
"Do you want this?" Renamon asked, presenting the fox toy to the tiny In-Training. Gigimon's mouth opened and looked at Rika and Rumiko questioningly. Rika shrugged, trying to ignore the blush growing on her face as Rumiko nodded.
"We'd be happy to let him have it if that's what he wants. Trust me, it's no trouble as long as it helps him feel better."
With tears brimming in his eyes, Gigimon took hold of the stuffed fox with his teeth and snuggled back against Mie, a loud, purring noise emanating from him. Rika's eyebrows rose, realizing that Gigimon's purr was to the same tune of the lullaby that she hummed to him earlier. Feeling a sudden rush of emotion, she swallowed, shifting in her place.
"M-Mrs. Matsuki? It won't be a problem if I help out tomorrow, will it? I mean, I know you have me scheduled to be off, but…"
Rika cut off as Mie shook her head, but not without an appreciative look on her face.
"I think we're going to be closed for tomorrow. But thanks for asking." She paused. "Although…if it wouldn't be too much trouble to keep an eye on Gigimon while we're visiting Takato at the hospital…"
"I'll be there," Rika bowed, to which Mie smiled. With nothing more to be said, the Matsuki's and Gigimon bid Rika, Renamon, Rumiko and Jeri their final goodbyes – Jeri receiving a smile from Mie in particular – and headed off, leaving the four alone now.
"R-Rika…?" Rumiko stammered out, and at once Rika felt the tension running in her mother's hand. Turning about, Rika hugged her mother tightly, sensing that she needed it far more than she did after everything that happened today.
"Mom…" she whispered hoarsely as Rumiko held onto her with all her strength.
"I helped with dinner. It…It might be a little cold now, but we have all of your favorites."
Rika clenched her eyes back against the tears. She was so sick and tired of crying today, but no matter what, it felt like she couldn't find an end to it all.
Rumiko threaded a hand through her daughter's hand and smoothed it out while Seiko stepped out onto the porch, having come to investigate the sound of voices. Her eyes fell on Jeri, who was presently standing off to the side, watching patiently as Rika and Rumiko comforted one another, guessing with little prompting as to why she was here.
"Hello, Jeri," she greeted, folding her hands together. "Would you care to join us? We have more than enough if you'd like. I'm sure it would give the two of you time to catch up."
Jeri jumped, having not expected that. After a moment of flummoxed stammering, she quickly regained her composure and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you, Ms. Hata," she replied. "I just need to give my parents a call."
###
Night found Rika sitting at her, a book in front of her and open, but she found that she couldn't really focus on the words on the page. Dinner had been good, though it didn't improve her mood in the least. She was grateful at least for Jeri's presence, as she currently remained her sole reason for not snapping or doing something rash, instead keeping her grounded.
It didn't stop her from itching to do something though. Itching to act.
Absently, she noted that the book she was reading had been a birthday present from about two years ago that she never got around to reading and he never once asked about her enjoyment of.
She heard the sounds of soft footsteps approaching from behind, and she glanced to the side to see Jeri's shadow rising along her floor before the girl came up next to her and sat down.
"My parents gave me permission to stay overnight," she said, brushing at her hair. Rika nodded numbly, turning the page absently.
"You don't have to, you know," Rika replied. Jeri tilted her head to one side questioningly.
"I know, but I want to." She paused, pressing her lips together tightly before looking away. They had already been through this earlier, during dinner when Rumiko suggested it, no doubt guessing that her wayward daughter and her best female friend would be in need of each other's company, all things considered. "I…I want to thank you for being there for Takato."
Rika's hand angrily curled around the page as she turned it again, wrinkling it. She felt a flash of frustration, but quickly stilled it. Jeri of all people didn't deserve getting lashed out at.
"Hm," she grunted noncommittally instead, looking away.
Jeri, making a note of this reached out and placed a hand over Rika's, giving it a soft squeeze.
"Rika? Could you tell me what you're feeling?"
The fire-haired girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Jeri? If you make me cry again, I'm going to be very angry with you." Opening her eyes, she turned them towards Jeri. "And right now, I don't think I could take it if I got mad at you just for being concerned."
Jeri regarded her compassionately for a moment before giving her hand one more squeeze and withdrawing.
"All right," she nodded. "But if you ever want to talk…"
"I know. You'll be there."
8