A/n: I don't have an apology this time guys. It's been a long, long few weeks for me. I've been under a lot of stress lately. I'm going to try and focus more on my fics now though, I'm hoping it'll be a stress reliever for me so I don't do something stupid. Anyway, thank you to Akira Nishikawa for reviewing this story. Also, I would like to give a thank you to tragicduck95, Tyoushiro, and Sweet Fay for adding A Life to Live to your favorite stories list; thanks to Wnterfroest999 and Lunarshade29 for adding one of my older fics Broccoli to your favorite lists. As always, I send a huge thank you to my beta chronocontract.
Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own digimon.
"Would you like to start the conversation in our group meeting today, Yamato?" Dr. Satoshi asked looking patiently at Yamato. The blonde's head jerked up and blue eyes stared at the doctor in shock. Never had he been put on spot in the few weeks of his time here. Usually he was just left alone in his corner (well… they were sitting in a circle so it's wasn't so much a corner as a personal bubble.) with his thoughts to himself.
"Uhm" He stuttered looking around. He knew that he would have to talk to these people eventually but the prospect of actually speaking was making him jittery. Luckily, even though the group sessions had been met with his silence, his roommate and he had formed a sort of bond over the past four weeks. Hideaki piped up from his left to help the blonde start his conversation up.
"Didn't Ken come to see you yesterday?" the brunet asked propping his head up on his arm so that his brunet hair fell across his face. Yamato nodded at his roommate, "Well, tell us how that went. Anything fun happen?"
"Not really, I mean we just kind of talked and walked around the grounds." Yamato said his eyes fixed on the linoleum tiling under his feet. He blushed when a collection of "awws" circled around him. Even Doctor Satoshi made an approving sound in the back of his throat.
"Is he cute?" Denji asked from the other side of the circle. Feeling more confident, Yamato looked at the boy with a bland expression.
"You met him when he came yesterday Den. You had a couple of conversations with him." Yamato accused rolling his eyes at the now bouncing boy. Denji just smiled and waited to hear Yamato's answer. Realizing with a groan that Denji would wait forever grudgingly Yamato complied with his silent demands. "He's very cute." The blush returned and Doctor Satoshi just chuckled and shook his head.
"What about your other friends, Yamato?" Haruto asked from the other side of his roommate. "What are they like?"
"They're all pretty cool. Right now my favorites are Daisuke, my brother, and Ken. They all have actually tried to help me through all of this. The rest just kind of stayed on the outskirts trying not to upset me in anyway."
"There is a topic, what response did you have to your friends when they wouldn't talk to you in fear of upsetting you? Yamato, you start and we'll go around and hear everyone's opinion."
"I guess it was really annoying at first. I hated the fact that they wouldn't just act like themselves. I felt as if the world was ignoring me and no one actually wanted me to get better. I suppose that's the reason I… started in the first place." Yamato said. Unlike his nightmares of speaking to the people around him most weren't looking at him with pity or disgust. They were looking at him with a look that said they'd all been in the same situation.
"Yeah close friends are all the same. It's like they think you're this unbreakable person, and then when you do break you feel as if they think you are weak or something." All of the boys nodded in agreement and Doctor Satoshi leaned back in his chair and simply wrote down some notes on the conversation as it progressed.
"Did you hear about Takashi's older brother?" The whispers circled Takeru's ears as he rounded the corner nearing the schools exist for the day. He stopped dead in his track staring at the two boys who were so openly talking about him and his family.
"What do you mean? What happened to Takeru's brother?" The one on the left asked. Takeru recognized him as Akiio, Genkei a boy in the grade below him. The first boy to speak had been a boy named Habaki. They both looked up and spotted the blonde as he rounded the corner. Habaki simply smirked at Takeru before continuing what he was going to say.
"Apparently he went completely insane. The family had him locked up in a psych ward because they were afraid he'd kill someone. The whole family is just pathetic." The words sliced through Takeru. In all of the years he'd known Habaki he had never done anything to upset the other boy and didn't know why he was being attacked so cruelly. Anger seeped through him and before he knew what he was doing a scream ripped his throat and he pounced on Habaki the two rolled around on the ground for a good few minutes after Genkei had run to grab a teacher. They were pulled apart and sent to the office.
Takeru was nursing his wounds which consisted of a black eye, several cuts and bruises along with a possible broken finger. He felt better looking proudly at the damage he'd caused to Habaki as the principal scolded him and suspended them from school. Takeru left as Habaki was escorted out with a possible broken nose. As he left the principal's office he was met with an angry looking version of his mother and a worried looking Daisuke behind her. He smiled softly and Daisuke and mouthed that he would call him later before taking off with his mother to go home for the next three days.
"What on earth were you thinking?" She asked as soon as they got into the car. "A fist fight? Neither you nor your brother has ever gotten into a fist fight!" Takeru snorted thinking of the many fights Taichi and Yamato had in the digital world all of those years ago. Not to mention the fist fight he'd gotten into with Ken after the creation of Kimeramon(1). His mother mistook the snort and continued her lecture.
"This is serious Takeru don't laugh! I'm so disappointed. Suspended for three days! What even provoked you to hit that poor boy?"
"He said that we sent Yamato away because he was crazy and was going to kill someone. Then he called us all pathetic." Natsuko sat in silence thinking about what to say.
"I don't blame you for being angry with him Takeru, but fighting is never the answer. Violence doesn't solve anything, and now that man that verbally attached your brother and this family only has more fuel for his fire. Imagine what he'll think now that he provoked you far enough to hit him." Takeru only growled in response and turned his body to stare out of the window at the passing buildings as they made their way back to their apartment.
"I'm sorry that he was saying those things. Would you like to go visit your brother?" Takeru's head shot up at the question and he turned to stare at his mother. "Oh, you're still in trouble and you'll be grounded. Don't expect to be able to tell Daisuke anything tonight. However, I think it'll make you feel better to go and see your brother and see what he has to say on this whole deal.
"Uh sure. Will Yama even be up to seeing us right now?" Takeru asked, his mother only smiled and continued on the way to the hospital.
"Takeru punched someone?" Ken asked his eyes the size of dinner plates. Daisuke nodded. After he hadn't received a call from his blonde counterpart, he only assumed the rumors were true and the call wouldn't come. He'd run to Ken to see what the boy thought. They both currently sat in Ken's room.
"Well, he does have one hell of a right hook." Daisuke rolled his eyes at the dry humor Ken used.
"Takeru has never been so angry before. I mean even when he's having a good time I can see all of the tension build up in him. Habaki really picked a bad time to start talking trash about Yamato. Takeru is so…"
"Vulnerable?" Ken questioned. The question got him only a glare and he held up his hands in mock defeat. "I only call them as I see them. What is it with all of you chosen children and being seen as weak?"
"Hey, you better watch what you say Kenny-boy, you're one of us now." Daisuke said tossing a pillow at the offending boy.
"How long until you can see Takeru again?" Ken asked changing the subject back to the original conversation. Daisuke only shrugged before grabbing a remote control off the floor.
"Who knows but until then- since the chosen children are all in a shambles, you'll be seeing much more of me Ken."
"Whats wrong with the rest of the chosen? I thought the problem was only between you, Takeru, Taichi, myself, and Yamato?" Ken asked.
"Oh you are so naive Ken. Right now, Hikari isn't talking to Sora because of what her brother and Sora did, by default then Miyako isn't talking to either. She won't speak to 'Kari because Sora is her mentor. She won't talk to Sora because 'Kari is her friend, Miyako has basically taken up refuge in her families store. Taichi is obviously not talking to Sora, because they haven't spoken since...that night. Mimi isn't talking to anyone because she's in America; however I heard from Kari that Sora got a rather nasty e-mail from Mimi and the two were and may still be fighting over the internet. Takeru is going around punching people and skipping the meetings us Chosen are having and basically avoiding everyone. Even me on occasion. You know that Yamato is in the ward. Iori is just hiding from everyone because he has no idea where to stand."
"'Kari is still upset with Taichi and I've heard that the family meals are still incredibly frosty. Sora isn't talking to me because I took Yamato's side after she went and visited him. Jou and Koushiro have become virtually nonexistent- I personally think it's because they really haven't known what has been going on since the beginning and they don't want to take sides."
Ken could do nothing but blink as the news of the chosen falling apart reached his ears. "So… when I was evil this is all I had to do to tear you apart? Too bad I like Yamato so much." He said dryly after a few minutes of silence. Daisuke gave a humorless laugh.
"We'll it has to get better doesn't it? I mean it's not like it can stay this bad forever. You've all made it through worse haven't you?"
Daisuke nodded, and waited as Ken picked up his controller. "Yeah we have, let's just hope that by the time that happens these friendships aren't damaged beyond repair."
"So, you punched some kind at school, Take?" Yamato said staring his younger brother down. The younger blonde did nothing but nod at him. "And you think mom was wrong to punish you because he was making fun of me?" Another nod. "Well, sorry Take, but she's right. You should have learned that in the digital world. Antagonizing fights isn't what being strong is about. It's realizing what battles you should pick, and where you need to accept your losses."
"You really think that I should have let that kid get away with what he said about you?" Takeru asked, the pain clear in his voice. Yamato sighed and rubbed his face. "You want me to let him get away with calling you a psycho?"
"No. You should have reported him, Take. You getting in trouble is no way to deal with this. Talk to me, Daisuke, mom, or, hell even Taichi is better then punching the kid...on second thought maybe not… he probably would have gone and done it for you. The point I'm trying to make kid, is that violence isn't always the answer okay?"
"You have grown up a lot from coming in here y'know that? A month and a half ago you would have beat that kid down yourself."
"Nah, maybe a year ago. A month and a half ago I would have sliced open my skin because I thought he was right." The somber change made Takeru lose his smile and he grabbed his brother's hand.
"Is everything ever going to be fixed in this broken group of ours? Or is this going to be the end of all the friendships we've started?"
Yamato stared at his little brother for the longest time. Not once in his life had he seen the smaller blue eyed boy so lacking of hope. He smiled softly and patted his brother's hand.
"If there is something I have learned over the years about friendship squirt, is even the worst things that tear someone apart can be mended. It just takes time, understanding, and the ability to talk thighs through."
"Sunsets are usually prettier when you don't have your eyes closed."
Sora opened her eyes quickly, the light hitting them and making her flinch. She gaped at who was standing in front of her. Words failed her as her mouth opened and closed like a fish.
"Yeah, it's me. I think we need to have that conversation now. We've been avoiding it since…"
1: This is a slight AU (obviously) so basically, they got into that fight but it did nothing to change Ken. Daisuke didn't push to have him join the team. Everything went on, except they defeated Kimeramon and then Taichi's plan came into effect. So imagine "Darkest Before Dawn" being kind of a prequel without the Ken turning good part… if that makes any sense whatsoever...
A/n: Anyway here is the latest installment of A Life to Live, only the epilogue left and this story will be officially over. However, I have the first chapter of my next fic written and hope to publish it at the same time. Ta ta for now.