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A Second Chance chapter 9

"GAH!" Taichi's scream of pain rang through Takeru's ears as he was blasted by a digimon called Shellmon. There was a sickening crack as his body slammed against a building wall and crumpled to the ground.

"Taichi!" Willis yelled, jumping over the digimon's leg. Takeru ran a few steps, only to be stopped by the shell smashing against another building between them. Willis' cry of pain was heard, and Takeru tried desperately to see. However, the tight space and Shellmon's massive size made it impossible.

"Air Shot!" Patamon spat his attack at Shellmon, who was slowly crawling away from Takeru. The large digimon turned, creating an opening between it and the space between buildings to catch a glimpse of Taichi and Willis.

Willis was bleeding from the right shoulder. He was holding Taichi up with his good arm. The brunet was holding his head, which meant at least he was conscious.

A tentacle reached out and grabbed Patamon, whose screams were strangled by the fat tentacle closing over his mouth. Takeru stumbled, grasping his own head as images flashed through his memory. He couldn't get distracted.

With a defiant yell, Takeru lunged, jumping onto Shellmon's back and started climbing the spikes. Agumon's Baby Flame attacks were sufficient enough to distract Shellmon from the human climbing up his body. Even with help, Takeru still paused to dodge stray flying tentacles. He was getting more frustrated by the second. He could see Patamon's eyes roll to the back of his head.

He weighed his options. There was no time. He jumped, catching the tentacle with his arms and clutched to it tightly. Climbing up slowly, grasping at the appendage desperately with his legs, he reached toward Patamon. A few desperate tugs proved ineffective. Without thinking, Takeru opened his mouth and bit.

Shellmon shrieked, the tentacle loosening and Patamon fell to the ground. Tentomon swooped in, catching the unconscious digimon. With nothing to keep him there, Takeru dropped to the ground, narrowly missing being picked up himself.

Lopmon and Terriermon joined Agumon in attacking Shellmon. After setting Patamon on the ground to recover, Tentomon added to the assault. Slowly, the clumsy mollusc digimon stepped backward, ever so slowly inching back toward the breach it came from.

Takeru gently picked up Patamon, cradling him in his arms and jogged toward Willis and Taichi. Taichi was leaned up against the building. Willis was sitting away from the wall, trembling as he tried peeling his clothes off of his wound. Takeru bent down, helping to pull his shirt off.

It was a bite mark. Shellmon's jaws were more deadly than they looked. "Lay still." Takeru said, lengthening the shirt out and wrapping it around the wound. Willis' face scrunched and a grunt of pain growled in his throat.

"You need to go to a hospital." Koushiro said, bending down in front of Taichi. "Both of you."

"What?" Taichi leaned forward slightly. It was a mistake, as Taichi groaned and doubled over. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"He can't hear well. He might have double vision. My guess is a concussion." Koushiro said.

"No hospitals." Willis said. "I'm a foreigner. They'd need to see my medical card. If I go there I'll be held there until I'm arrested."

"You still need to get that shoulder treated." Koushiro huffed.

"The only thing I'm worried about right now is the lack of noise. The military are finished with their own fight and are coming over here. Let's go." Willis stood up, helping Taichi to his feet.

"I still think they should get some kind of help. Willis probably needs stitching." Koushiro whispered to Takeru as they followed behind. "Unfortunately the only solo medical personnel are military medics."

"Well, why don't we just get one of them over here?" Takeru asked. "I'm not sure how, but at least Willis' shoulder can be treated."

"The only way we can get a medic over here is if we pass off as civilians caught in the crossfire, or if we were to kidnap someone."

Takeru paused. "We do what we have to, right?"

"You're not serious." Koushiro said, his voice raising slightly. Willis looked back at them.

"What are you two muttering about?"

"Willis," Takeru jogged up to him, standing opposite to Taichi. "What if we get a military medic to treat you? We could pass you off as just people caught in the battle."

"I don't think that's a safe idea." Willis said. "As much as I'd like my shoulder to get treated properly, there's still the matter of our digimon. We need to get them out of here as well. We have to wait to get Patamon treated."

Takeru looked down at Patamon. He had fallen asleep in his arms. "Yeah, but Willis..."

"If you're that concerned, I won't stop you, Takeru." Willis said. "I just want you to be careful."

"R-right." Takeru gave Patamon to Koushiro and let them walk back to the breach they created. He faced the general direction they had seen the military fighting from and felt his heart thud hard in his chest.

The thudding would become more frequent as he spotted the uniforms and briefly wondered if he'd accidentally run into his father or Yamato. There was no sign of the digimon. There were soldiers laying or sitting, getting aid from the medical team. It was likely they also drove back the digimon they were fighting, or they destroyed it. A lump formed in Takeru's throat at the thought.

Willis said before their numbers were cut they used to face the military head on in battles like they did with digimon. He wondered if since they were growing again if they would be facing three-way battles instead of trying to force digimon back to the Digital World.

A tall, lanky man in a white coat looked up as Takeru approached. He adjusted his glasses. "Hey! This is a restricted area. You shouldn't be over here!"

Takeru shook himself to his senses. "Please, help! A friend of mine was attacked by a digimon. He needs medical help!"

The man stood up, grabbing a large bag of medical supplies and strode quickly over to Takeru. "Didn't you hear the evacuation order?" The name on his name tag read 'Jou Kido.'

"Yes, but there was a large digimon in an alleyway. It trapped us." Takeru said as he started back over to Willis and the others.

"Do you know where it went?" Jou asked.

"Not really. I think it ran off."

Jou sighed. "I should have asked for backup. Well, you'll just have to play lookout for me while I look at your friend." He dug in his pocket and took out a radio. "This is Medical Officer Jou Kido. A civilian has been injured. I'm leaving the area to tend to them. Please stand by if I need assistance."

Something moved out of the corner of their eyes. Jou stopped and turned around, squinting into the poorly lit alley. "Stay close. That might be trouble."

Takeru stepped closer to Jou. "It's this way." Another corner, and they arrived at the tear. The entrance to the Digital World was gone now. Patamon and the other digimon seemed to have gone through. Willis was leaning against a chain link fence. Taichi was hunched over, head in his hands.

Jou bent down in front of Willis, taking off his medical bag. Koushiro and Takeru stood behind Jou, looking out for any digimon that might still be roaming around as Jou cleaned and sterilized the wound area.

"Are you afraid of needles?" Takeru heard Jou ask.

"No." Willis said. "I'm not allergic, either."

"Good. Please bear with me, I'll work once the anaesthetic kicks in."

Takeru tried not to listen, and kept his mind and ears tuned for any noises besides the ones behind him. There was nothing but the litter of broken buildings and damaged boxes, bins and other alley debris.

Scanning his eyes for a third time, he now noticed a glint in the darkness. Takeru frowned, squinting his eyes to try and view it better. They were eyes. Large, round eyes staring back at him. Takeru took a step closer to Koushiro, not taking his eyes off the creature. He could barely make out a silhouette of a head; round with long ears and fur.

"How fast is it going?" Takeru asked.

Koushiro looked back at Jou and Willis. "He just started. They'll be a while yet. Why?"

Takeru frowned, jerking his chin slightly in the direction of the eyes, which hadn't moved. They did blink twice now. Koushiro moved his eyes roughly in the general direction until they settled on the eyes.

"What should we do?" Koushiro whispered.

Takeru shook his head. He didn't know. It was clearly a digimon. It was small, likely a weaker rank. He didn't know how hostile it was, or if it was scared. If they tried to approach it, would it attack or run away? Either option would be troublesome.

Takeru glanced back only for a moment, but when he did, the eyes were gone. Panic filled him as he searched desperately for the eyes. He walked over to the boxes and debris, searching closely. Nothing even resembling a digimon or other animal, just a trail in the dust that quickly disappeared.

"Shellmon really got you good, huh, human?" Jou's scream echoed off the walls of the alley. Takeru and Koushiro ran back to the others. Jou, holding his medical tools as weapons was beside Willisalong the wall. Willis was looking at the small digimon with mild surprise, sitting there with a large sanitized sleeve on his shoulder, which was bloodied from the wound dripping. His shoulder was only a quarter stitched, and the hook and thread dangled from his flesh where Jou dropped them.

The digimon was small and white with purple marks. It closely resembled a sea lion. It seemed to have no fear of Jou at all despite his military uniform, or Taichi and Willis for that matter. Willis leaned forward slightly, wincing from his shoulder.

"You're far away from home, little guy. I wouldn't think you'd want to show your face with all of us here."

"Why are you talking to it so casually!" Jou yelled. He fumbled for his radio and gun, his medical tools falling into his lap. Taichi grabbed Jou by the wrist, squeezing it until it was easy to pull the gun out.

"I'm known for being a bit of a violent guy, I admit." Taichi said, his voice light. "But even I have limits. No guns, army boy. I'll take the radio, too."

Jou hesitated, but eventually relinquished the radio at Taichi's prodding. He glared at the brunet, who tossed the radio to Koushiro. Taichi sat down immediately, still holding his head.

"Are you traitors? Rebels?" Jou asked. "Why in the world would you defend that thing?"

"Hey, that 'thing' has a name, you know." The little digimon huffed indignantly. "I'm called Gomamon."

"Something like that." Willis said. "We just won't stand for violence from a medical officer. Now, if you'd be so kind, I'd rather have my arm fixed up before the numbing goes away."

Jou didn't move, merely glaring at Willis. But upon prodding with Taichi at gunpoint, he went back to work.

"So, if you're not going to attack us, what are you doing here, Gomamon?" Willis asked, turning his attention to the digimon instead of the gore of his shoulder.

"Well, it was my job to do some reconnaissance. A little spy work. But I went through the wrong doorway. So I thought I'd just mind my own business, have a little fun. I've never been to the real world before. It's weird. Then I saw you all with other digimon so I figured if they weren't scared of you, why should I be?"

"How clever of you." Willis said. "However, it would have been better if you didn't come out to play until later."

"Eh, it's just one guy." Gomamon said, looking at Jou. "Even I could take on someone like that."

"I'm not a fighter. I'm a doctor." Jou said curtly.

"For a doctor, you sure shake a lot." Gomamon lifted his clawed flipper. Jou was shaking slightly as he worked on Willis' wound. "Scared, are you?"

"I'm not one for blood." Jou said. He kept his eyes focused on his work. "But I wanted to help people. So I became a doctor even if some aspects made me queasy. I figured I'd get over it eventually. It's a lot more rewarding actually going out there and learning by on the job experience than sitting at home wishing."

"That's actually laudable of you." Gomamon said.

"If you don't mind, I'm trying to concentrate. It will be your fault if I poke the needle through unevenly and my patient doesn't heal properly."

"Okay, okay. Just trying to relieve tension." Gomamon crawled away from Jou. Takeru laughed softly.

"He's got a firey spirit, that Gomamon." Takeru said. He watched as Gomamon turned around and started walking over to him, likely hearing his comment.

"Hey, buddy." Gomamon said, looking up at Takeru. He bent down to better face the small digimon. "You know where the water is from here?"

Takeru blinked. "We're in Ginza now. So you'd have to go through two firewall tolls to get to the Sumida River."

Gomamon's head sank. "It's not just the mission. I'm a water-based digimon. I do my best in the water."

"We'll find a way to get you to some water, Gomamon." Koushiro said. "Though we might have to take you back to the Digital World."

Gomamon backed up. "No, I don't want to go back there! I'd rather play here!"

"Okay, okay. We'll see." Koushiro said, hands gesturing downward as he looked around. "We're on the outskirts of Ginza. I think that's a twelve minute walk, even for a person walking normally. It might take you twice as long or more by yourself."

"But wait, I think the Ginza firewall still stretches to the Sumida River if we go in the direction of Shiodome." Takeru said. "So it's possible to get Gomamon to water if we head that way."

"We can do that, and on the way get rid of this guy." Willis said, gesturing to Jou.

"Wh-what?" Jou leaned back, his wide eyes fearful underneath his glasses.

"Calm down, I just meant we'd part ways with you. I want to be far away from a military group so you don't go running after us." Willis sighed. "Besides, we still have to take care of that guy over there, and make sure his concussion heals properly."

It was another twenty minutes before Willis' wounds were stitched up. Gomamon helped wash the blood off with a bottle of water. Willis put his shirt back on with slight difficulty after it was bandaged.

"Okay, we head toward the Sumida River. Watch out for anyone that might be trouble."

They kept as much to the back alleys and low traffic routes as possible, though there were't many people around. Most of them evacuated with the announcement of a digimon rampage. Down along the Inner Circular Route, Jou eventually bent over and picked up Gomamon.

"What are you doing?" Gomamon asked, trying his best to look up at the human despite the angle he was being held.

"We're going too slowly. I'd feel more comfortable if we could go at a faster pace." Jou said, keeping his voice low. "Besides, it's not going to stay this empty for long and I'd rather not be seen walking with a digimon."

"Oh, well, thanks I guess." Gomamon said, tucking himself in as Jou fitted the digimon inside his medical bag. They picked up their pace, heading toward the Hamarikyu Gardens.

Willis and Taichi stopped in their tracks just before they ran over the footpath to the forested area. Takeru, Koushiro and Jou stopped behind them.

"What's wrong?" Takeru asked. He looked around nervously. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Gomamon jump out of the medical bag and start crawling toward the footpath, slipping between and falling into the river with a plunk.

"The barrier's broken." Taichi said. "Looks like we've got trouble."

No sooner had Taichi said this when a large figure swooped down. The group ducked, but talons still picked Jou up by the shoulders, carrying him into the skies.

The digimon itself was brown and white, with goggles over its eyes, and a heart-shaped symbol on its forehead. It looked like it had some strange armour along its body.

Jou's yells were futile as the bird digimon flew higher and higher with him in tow. It was flying further away from the group and even the gardens. It picked up altitude, flying ever farther toward the centre of the river. Takeru watched, eyes wide and cursing that he couldn't do anything. It looked like the bird was going to drop Jou into the river and have the hard water's surface smash Jou's body.

Grasping desperately at his medical bag, Jou took a pair of medical scissors and stabbed the digimon's feet. There was a cry of pain and the talon let go. Jou cried out as half his body dropped. His medical bag slipped off his shoulders, plummeting toward the river below.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and stabbed the scissors into the other claw. The digimon let go, and Jou fell. At this height, he'd likely survive the fall. However, surviving the impact was the least of his worries.

Hitting the water with a large splash, Jou was nearly knocked out. Taichi leaned over the railing as though he was going to jump, but thought better of it when he clutched his head. Jou's head surfaced momentarily, taking a big gulp of water before sinking. Takeru looked around desperately, looking for an easy way to get in. Dragging Jou out would be impossible if the only option was jumping.

He removed his jacket and shoes, running barefoot into the gardens. From the bushes he could see Jou's head pop up again, this time with the round white head with a streak of red fur, which Takeru could only guess was Gomamon. He and Koushiro, who was trailing behind, ran waist deep into the river holding their arms out for Jou as Gomamon pushed with a moderate amount of difficulty to the shore.

They hauled him onto the bank, their hands slipping off his wet clothes and sat down in the tall grass, panting. Gomamon crawled out, sitting beside Jou, who was sputtering and coughing, but otherwise breathing. He looked over at the small digimon.

"Thank you." He whispered underneath a laboured breath. Gomamon smiled.

"It was no big deal." He said cheerily. "I decided I like you."

Jou laughed weakly, followed by another round of coughing. "You're not bad yourself, Gomamon."

Willis and Taichi made their way down to the slope, stopping behind the three of them.

"Good. Looks like you made it out alive." Taichi said. "We can leave without feeling guilty."

"Leaving?" Jou said, looking up at the brunet. Taichi nodded.

"Well, being seen around you wouldn't be good for either party. We'll just leave quietly and you can go back to your section." Jou looked down at Gomamon.

"What about him?"

"What about me?" Gomamon asked. "I'm not exactly a fighter. I'll hang about in the water and keep watch on things. Unless another opening forms around here I'm going nowhere fast."

"I never thought a digimon would save my life." Jou said, sitting up and leaning his arms against his knees. "Is this what the rebel group is fighting for?"

"Yeah, it is." Willis said. "We don't care what you do after this. As long as you remember what Gomamon did for you and keep that in mind as you make your decisions."

"I'm a doctor. I don't fight. I am not going to quit my job just because of this. There are people who need medical attention and that's what's important to me. But if you don't mind, I would like to visit you occasionally."

Visit. Right. That was something he discussed last week, too. Takeru nodded to Jou, with Gomamon agreeing. Willis left with a general direction of west of Shinjuku station if he ever wanted to meet up with the group. Takeru and the others followed. He walked with Taichi as they made their way to the train station. He thought about bringing it up several times over the trip. Keeping quiet until they were at least back in the hideout was the best option after all.

"Taichi?" Takeru's voice was tentative.

"What is it?"

"Um, how should I say this... What about Hikari?"

Taichi stopped. Takeru stopped and turned back to face Taichi, giving a worried, questioning look. "What about Hikari?"

"Well, I was wondering if you missed her. Of course you do but, I guess what I'm trying to say is how did you feel about leaving her?" Takeru flinched. Yeah this was going to go well.

Taichi made a grab for Takeru, who ducked out of the older man's reach. "Where do you get off asking something like that?" He growled through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry!" Takeru said, holding his hands up defensively. "It's just... I was talking with Hikari last week. After seeing that news report about Mimi she was really upset. She told me how hard it was on her that you never talked to her about why you made the decisions you did. So I was wondering your feelings."

Taichi lowered his hands, eyes cast down to the ground. Takeru lowered his guard. Willis and Koushiro were nowhere to be seen. Likely they saw the fight and left for them to sort things out, or moved on without hearing the skirmish.

"I was lonely." Taichi admitted. "And I felt guilty that I left like I did. I wish there was a calmer atmosphere that I could explain myself, or at least ease a bit of her heartache. I know she is bullied because of me, and I can't do anything to help her."

"What if you now have that chance?" Takeru asked. "Talk to Hikari for as long as you like?"

"What are you saying?" Taichi narrowed his eyes.

"I'm bringing Hikari here tomorrow. I promised her she'd meet my friend. I just never told her Patamon was a digimon."

"DON'T INVOLVE HER IN THIS!" Taichi screamed. Takeru stumbled backward. Taichi advanced on him. "Don't you dare get my baby sister wrapped up in this! It's exactly why I left like I did in the first place!"

"That's not your decision to make!" Takeru yelled back, standing his ground. Taichi glared. More calmly, quietly this time, Takeru tried to elaborate, carefully watching Taichi's movements in case he started throwing punches. "Hikari is her own person, isn't she? I'm not trying to recruit her. Inviting her to meet Patamon was a mistake, but it would be suspicious if I said no after. Hikari told me she wouldn't care about running into digimon if she got to see you again. Well, why not talk to her tomorrow?"

Taichi's rage ebbed and his stiff stance relaxed. His hands were balled into fists. "I don't know. I want to talk with her. But I won't forgive myself if she gets hurt."

"Why not wait and talk with her when she gets here tomorrow?" Takeru suggested. "I'm sure things will work out."

"Did you plan this?" Taichi asked, scratching the back of his neck. Takeru chuckled nervously.

"Well, no. But I figured that if Hikari was going to come here, she could visit you, too."

"You know it's not just me, right?" Taichi said. He walked over to the couch and sat down, holding his head in his hands. "Willis is worried. Ever since you joined we've been growing rapidly. There's more people, more secrets. A greater risk every time we come into contact with someone."

"It's only Koushiro and Mimi. Jou never said he'd join us." Takeru said, leaning against the wall. "That was all Gomamon, it had nothing to do with me."

"I guess not."

Takeru walked over to the fridge, taking out a bottle of water and an ice pack from the freezer. He handed them both to Taichi.

"Thanks." Taichi mumbled, his voice weary. "When's she coming?"

"Tomorrow."

"Alright. I just hope you know what you're doing."

Takeru had no idea what he was doing, or even if this was a good idea. He realized this the moment he met with Hikari at the train station. He kept mostly silent when on the train, talking with Hikari when she initiated conversation, but rarely took initiative himself to be social. Perhaps it was because he'd be afraid of what kind of things he'd say. At least Hikari didn't seem like she minded.

They arrived at Shinjuku station and Takeru led Hikari by the hand through the busy crowd and into the emptier streets. Most people avoided the areas near the attacked areas, or even places near the outskirts of barriers. Hikari looked increasingly nervous the closer they got to the hideout.

"Takeru, are you sure it's fine for us to go all the way over here?" Hikari asked, walking closer to him.

"Yeah, it's fine." Takeru said. He glanced down at her.

"I didn't know your friend lived outside the barrier."

"Some people have to." Takeru said. "It can be hard sometimes, but there hasn't been much activity around here at all."

"That's good." Hikari murmured. He led her to the hideout. Willis and Koushiro would be in the Digital World, along with Terriermon, Lopmon, Tentomon and Agumon. Taichi would be in the living room with Patamon. Takeru knew Taichi wouldn't likely make his presence known until he needed to. He only hoped Hikari would keep her mild manner after opening the door.

Hikari looked around, examining with her mouth slightly ajar at the run down look of the building. She took off her shoes, leaving them clumsily at the door and barely remembering to put on slippers. Takeru glanced into the living room, beckoning Patamon over. He took a deep breath.

"Hikari... I'd like you to meet my friend." Takeru said, holding his breath. Patamon flew into the hallway, landing on his shoulder. Hikari froze, her smile faltering as she stared at the digimon.

"T-Takeru, what...?" Hikari took a step toward the door. Takeru held his hand out to her.

"Please don't be scared." Takeru said. "He's harmless, I assure you."

"Your friend is a digimon? How did- why... Takeru?" Her eyes were darting wildly, looking at Takeru's face, glancing at Patamon and back to Takeru.

"It's really a long story. We'd be happy to tell you, though!" Patamon said. Hikari's eyes grew wide and for a moment he was scared she'd faint.

"Hikari." Taichi's voice called gently from the other room. Slowly, he walked in, leaning his arm against the frame. He gave his sister a soft, apologetic smile. Hikari was leaning against the door now, and her face twisted as her eyes teared up.

"T-Taichi?" Her voice broke as she strangled back a sob. He had an uncomfortable look on his face and leaned forward as if he was going to embrace her. Hikari ran past Takeru and Patamon, tackling Taichi in a hug. He caught himself with his leg, and wrapped her arms around him. Taichi held her close. "I missed you." Takeru heard her whisper.

He leaned back, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the Yagami siblings reunite. A small smile graced his lips. Patamon was watching curiously, leaning far on Takeru's shoulders to get a good look.

Hikari broke the hug, wiping her eyes of tears and sniffed. She looked at Taichi and then at Takeru. "But this means Takeru is working with you?"

"Well, yes." Taichi said. "But he only came to us after meeting Patamon. Come sit down. Would you like some tea?"

They spent the next half an hour telling Hikari about how Takeru met Patamon, and how that got Taichi's attention. Taichi explained that he always felt the military was a little too brutal with how they handled digimon. He met Willis over online forum discussions when Willis posted a handful of critical posts about society's view of digimon. They planned on finding out how everything came together.

"I still didn't trust digimon." Taichi said. "I didn't understand how Willis and his partners could be so close. But after seeing Patamon and Takeru, I thought maybe it wasn't just an isolated incident. That maybe more people could understand digimon."

"But why all the way out in Shinjuku?" Hikari asked. "It's so far away from Odaiba."

"Well, this is around where those kids disappeared ten years ago." Taichi said. "This area has a lot of tears opening between this world and the Digital World. We figured that if we were going to get any answers, it would be here."

"Were you able to find anything?" Hikari asked. Taichi shook his head.

"Not much. We've been kept busy since it was just the two of us for the longest time. But I think we'll find more information soon now that our numbers are growing."

"There's more than just the three of you?" Hikari asked. The boys nodded.

"There's two more down in the Digital World, actually" Patamon said. "They became friends with us only a little while ago."

"I see." Hikari said. "So you guys have actually been to the Digital World?"

"Yeah. We're working with digimon there right now. Trying to see if we can help them." Taichi said.

There was a knock on the wall. The three of them turned to see Koushiro at the entrance way to the living room. "Sorry for interrupting. But I think I've finished working with the deletion devices Mimi brought us."