I got back a while ago from camping, and I've just been finishing up this chapter. It's kinda rushed, and there's a bit of Japanese in it. (I'll have explainations at the bottom) BTW, the first hint of Kensuke is in this chapter… so if you utterly hate shounen ai, go away.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. If I did, there would be a lot more Junzumi and Takouji in Frontier!!! o_

*Chapter 4 – What's wrong?*

Dark, wet, sand…

Sand.  The sand was everywhere.  Smeared all over his face and body.  He could feel it in his mouth, in between his teeth, up his nose, under his nails, in his clothes. It was feeling, touching, scraping him with its disgusting, gritty feeling.

The smell caught him too.  It was horrible, smelling of just… just dead stuff.  He also caught a whiff of something that reminded him of old gym socks and dead fish…  But there was something more.  Something worse.  It was even worse than the smell of those disgusting socks…

It was the smell of emotion. Sorrow, rage, hate…

Takaishi Takeru lifted his head slowly and wiped the sand away from his eyes.  He opened them slowly, and peered around.  Everywhere he looked were stretches of sand. Dark, wet, damp sand.  The sky, by its color, seemed to be filled with large depressing clouds. But as he looked closer, he saw that the sky actually was that gloomy gray color.

The Blonde stood up slowly, but as soon as he got to his feet, was overcome by a wave of nausea. His knees buckled beneath him and he fell back to the ground. His hands lunged for his chest, which felt like it was going to burst. His lungs were gasping for oxygen; for some reason his mouth had trouble opening. Wait, it was open. What was wrong with the air here?

He slowly caught his breath, and glanced around, staying at his knees. He didn't want another one of those little 'I can't breath' predicaments.

Something caught his attention.

That 'Something' was nothing. His eyes scanned the sands around him as he realized something. Where were the animals? There would at least have to be birds, or maybe even some kind of scorpion or a snake. He had read that there were animals in every environment on earth, so they had to be here too. But they were missing.

"Damn…" Takeru muttered in a harsh crackled voice that didn't seem his own. The sound echoed for a moment before fading off. He cleared his throat once or twice, and looked again at his surroundings. Still nothing alive, breathing, living, or moving.

A lone question came to mind.

Where am I?

---

Daisuke ran through the streets as the thunder boomed overhead. The storm had come up so fast, and he was about to be caught in it. Not wanting to go back to the Yagami's apartment, the best place he could think of was Ken's place. His own apartment was too far away to walk; he had had his sister Jun drop him off at the Yagami's on her way to the mall. He didn't want to explain to the talkative girl, Miyako. Iori was still too little to understand. Ken was definitely his best choice. The former Kaiser knew when to listen, when to talk, and also when to ask questions.

A single raindrop splattered on his nose. The goggled boy looked up at the sky and saw the dark clouds, heavy with wet merciless rain. He sped up. He did not want to be caught in the storm. A few more raindrops fell into the mass of red hair on his head. The smell of rain was strong in the air.

"Shitshitshitshitshit…" he said under his breath as he began running at his near full speed. By now, anyone sane was inside at the sight of the thunderhead, and he had nearly the whole entire sidewalk to sprint down. His legs began to take even longer strides as he dashed down the street. A street sign zoomed past him, allowing him just enough to time glance at the name. He took a quick right, and was rewarded with the sight of a few houses in which he knew Ken's was located.

The rain began to come down in a light shower. Daisuke's eyes opened wide as he began to feel the raindrops splattering all over his clothing.  He wasn't going to make it…

At least, not at this rate.

The chosen of courage and friendship began running the fastest sprint he had ever done in his life. He began to notice a few things as he caught sight of Ken's house. He was well aware of how is lungs seemed to gulp down air in conjunction with his legs moving and his arms pumping back at forth. His heart beat steadily, and he could feel the blood rushing through him, pulsing loudly in his ears. It amazed him that he wasn't that tired yet. Maybe I'm in better shape than I thought.

With one last giant flying leap, he landed right in front of Ken's door, under the roof, out of the rain.

He sighed with relief, and nearly collapsed onto the pavement, exhausted. Okay, I'm in shape for sure, but I'm no Superman. He breathed in deeply once or twice before his shaky fingers pushed the doorbell, though he missed the first try. His body was too focused on regaining its regular composure. As he waited for someone to open the door, he placed his hands upon his head and tried to regain his breath, which still seemed to be missing from his lungs.

The door swung inward, and Daisuke could see Ken's pale face and long blue hair. The boy's surprised, purple eyes gazed out at the exhausted boy, sweeping over him in one quick questioning, patronizing glance.

"Koni...chiwa… Ken-kun…" Daisuke wheezed, a jaunty smile quirking to his lips.

---

"Daisuke-kun, do you need anything? A drink or something? Coke, Water-"

"Water sounds great to me."

"'K. I'll be right back."

Ken quickly left the room, leaving Daisuke sprawled out on the couch. His muscles were aching like mad. Having been playing soccer for quite a few years now, he knew that it was because he hadn't properly cooled down. Usually he would take a walk after a game, just to get his heart and breathing settled. As a result of not doing so, he had involuntarily pumped his stomach over Ken-kun's toilet. Now all he wanted was to get that disgusting burning feeling out of his mouth and his throat.

He sighed heavily, content with just laying on the soft couch. His body seemed to sink into the cool cushions, making the sweat that slicked over his body seem so much colder and refreshing. He would of course need a shower. In fact, he could smell himself now.

"Urg… that's just too gross," he muttered to himself, putting his arms down to his sides. A repulsed look spread over his face. How could Ken stand him?

"What's gross?" Ken asked as he walked back into the room with two glasses.

"The smell I'm making right now," the boy said as he sat up. He gladly accepted the cup that Ken passed to him and gulped down its contents. Ken smiled softly.

"Well, you can go take a shower," The purple-haired boy said as Daisuke placed the empty glass on the coffee table.

"I think I will," He stated as he stood up.

"You remember where the bathroom is, right?" Ken asked as the other boy sauntered off down the hall.

"Yes yes… Ken-kun, I've been in your house enough to know where I'm going."

"Just checking. I don't want you getting lost."

"Ha ha. I'm so afraid of your stupid house with one hallway."

Ken smiled warmly at Daisuke's back as it disappeared down the hall, but stopped when he realized what he was doing. He usually reserved that little smile for any of the girls he felt could use a little self-esteem or whatever. Daisuke sure wasn't a girl, and the goggle-head was the most genki person he knew. Then what in the world was he doing?

The boy sank deeply into the couch, so many thoughts running through his head. He began playing with his long hair. Something was definitely different with him ever since puberty. Of course, something's different with every guy after puberty, but this was something he was sure not many guys experienced. A memory of the other day came to mind…

-Flashback-

Ken walked slowly through the school to his locker. He had stayed late to help with tutoring a few kids that came to the private school once in a while. It had been a pretty hectic session since everyone but himself was a bit on the wild side, and he just couldn't get control. All that he knew was that he was exhausted, and he was keen on getting back to his house and resting.

"Some sleep would be really ni-Umph!"

"Oh, gomen!"

Ken looked forward, expecting to see someone there, but was faced with another guy's chest. He was surprised that he had to look up to meet with the other boy's eyes. He himself was pretty tall, and it was rare to find anyone that was taller than he was.

"I didn't mean to bump into you like that," The other boy said, his big blue eyes in a deep look of concern. Ken felt as if he were trapped in them. He could make out the lights from the ceiling shining in them, and also the way his own reflection stared back at him with a blank expression. The chosen child suddenly realized that the other boy's hands were on his shoulders. He felt a shiver scramble over his body at the warm touch.

Wait. What the hell was he thinking?

"Oh no, it's my fault. I wasn't watching were I was going!" Ken said quickly, noticing his voice was a higher pitch than usual. The other boy removed his hands from Ken's shoulders.

"Okay. I'm glad you're all right. I gotta go, maybe I'll see you around. Your name's Ichijouji, right?"

Ken was already imagining running his hand through the other boy's spiked brown hair. He was snapped out of it at the sound of his name.

"Ha-hai!! I mean… Ichijouji Ken," He stuttered.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Ken-san," The brunette said happily.  He turned to go down the hall.

"Wait… Kimi wa?" Ken asked quickly. The boy turned around slowly.

"Makino Shigeru. Now I really have to leave. I'll be late for the advanced computer session," he said, lifting his wrist to look at his watch.

"Yeah yeah… you should leave. I'll see ya though! Ja ne."

"Ja ne."

-End-

Ken sat for a moment as the memory fully sunk in. Why was he attracted to another boy? Boy. B-O-Y. Not girl… There were a lot of differences between just those two words. He sighed deeply.

"What's going on with me?" Ken asked the air, a grim smile on his face.

Translations and crap…

Kimi wa - Who are you/What's your name? (I've been watching too much Japanese Digimon Frontier o_O)

Genki - Energetic

Gomen – Sorry

Wheeeeeee… Review please!

~Riachu64