First of all, I'm sorry this took so long to come out…Fanfiction.net was down when I finished, and…well…I added. So sue me! Actually, please don't, see look there's the disclaimer…
Disclaimer: I don't own ANY anime/manga series. Don't sue, I don't have any money…*sob*
Onto what really counts…THE STORY!
Trust
By OmoideKeeper
"Yama…" Taichi whispered as he gazed into the Ishida's window, tears filling his caramel eyes. He couldn't believe the gruesome sight that met his searching look, or that anyone could want to hurt another human being in the way that Yamato was being hurt.
"Get up, you lazy son of a bitch!" Mr. Ishida's voice cut through the air as he kicked Yamato in the ribs, bringing forth a sickening crack and another sob from Yamato. "Get up and clean up this damn mess!"
A tear slipped down Taichi's face as he watched Yamato laboriously pull himself to his feet, choking back tears that threatened to fall once again. "Otousama…" Yamato mumbled as he held himself upright by a chair, trying to staunch the blood flow from the various slashes adorning his chest. "Onegai…" he whispered softly, trying to gather his strength.
Masaheru Ishida slapped Yamato and knocked him to the ground again. Taichi winced watching, and stopped trying to hold back the tears. He let them fall for Yamato and his pain. "Didn't I tell you not to talk back to me, you fucking bastard? Didn't I?" He pulled Yamato up and threw him against the wall, and Taichi heard a sickening crack of a bone breaking. "Now get to your damn room and stay there until I tell you to come out!"
Yamato limped to his room, stumbling over his feet, and got punched for his trouble. Blood dripped to the floor, marking the path he walked. A whimper of pain escaped from his lips as he reached the wooden frame, and he leaned against it for a moment before opening it and walking inside. The door swung shut behind him, its thud sounding ominous in the cool, tainted, evening air. Masaheru looked annoyed for a moment, but shrugged and stormed off to his own room to contemplate what to do next.
Taichi moved swiftly towards the shaded window where Yamato's room was after watching Masaheru disappear into another room. "Yama," he called softly, trying to avoid being detected by the general public, while trying to get Yamato's attention. Not an easy task, not even for the leader of the Digidestined.
Yamato stiffened inside his room, barely hearing Taichi over his own muffled sobs. Panic overtook him for a moment, blocking out the pain. He couldn't let Taichi see him like this! What would he say? He certainly wouldn't think of him with the respect he'd shown him earlier. After tasting that respect, Yamato wasn't sure he could do without it.
"Yama…please, talk to me," Taichi pleaded with the shade. He wiped his tears away, knowing that Yamato would never take to being pitied.
"Go away, Taichi," came the muffled response from behind the glass, in a place so far away it seemed like a crueler, harsher world. Indeed, it was. Behind the window was Masaheru's domain, and everything in it belonged to him and him alone. Everything included Yamato.
"No, Yama. I can't." Firm resolve entered Taichi's voice as he realized Yamato wasn't going to let him in without a fight. He knew too much rode on this, and he couldn't leave Yamato to face the pain alone. "I promised you I'd be your friend, and friends don't let things like that happen," he whispered, more to himself than to Yamato. Flashbacks of memories from the Digiworld ran rampant through his mind, from the time he and Yamato had fought, to the time the Keeper of Friendship and his Digi-partner had saved them from the evil Puppetmon.
"Just go away, Taichi!" The reply was choked with sobs, and Taichi's heart almost broke listening to the stalwart Yamato reduced to this. It was so unfair! Anger rose up in him, and he tapped again on the window, trying to get Yamato's attention.
But Taichi couldn't bear to leave his friend, even while being requested to. "No, Yama. Let me in." Taichi's voice became one of authority.
Inside, Yamato shivered at the strength of Taichi's voice, and drew the shade aside for the first time in many years.
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Takeru paced around his room. He hadn't been able to go to sleep since his mom had left, and he desperately wanted Yamato to call. He knew there was something Yamato had been on the verge of telling him before they'd gotten back to the house, and he needed to know what it was.
"Oniichan...you promised you'd call," Takeru whispered to the phone. Was it possible he'd misjudged that afternoon? Was Yamato still mad at him? Was there something he'd done wrong? Something he'd said?
No, Yamato couldn't still be angry. If he had been, he wouldn't have invited Takeru to spend the night. Something about seeing their father had scared Yamato, just as much as the moment at which Takeru had told Yamato their parents were seeing each other again.
"Oniichan…what's wrong? Why won't you call? Why won't you tell me?" Takeru asked the phone again.
He froze in place for a second, contemplating what he was doing. "I'm talking to a phone." The words sounded so hollow, drifting on the air in the deserted apartment. Takeru shivered, suddenly feeling cold and alone. He needed to go out.
He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. There had to be someone he could talk to about Yamato…but who? Who cared enough to listen? Who wouldn't mind being woken up at twelve in the morning?
Certainly not Hikari. She seemed so stressed lately, Takeru couldn't bear to break into her time of peace. Taichi was out for the same reason…but he seemed to be worried about Yamato too. Maybe…just maybe…Yamato had a way back. Through Taichi.
Takeru knew he couldn't do anything, but walked outside anyway, subconsciously walking toward the Kamiya residence.
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Sora's eyes flew open. There was something going on, and she wanted to know about it. "Taichi, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?" she asked the ceiling with a groan. These feelings only came if Taichi was in trouble, and that was why she'd kept breaking up with him.
It wasn't really fair to him, he had his own fair share of problems, but she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in such a long time, she was beginning to wonder if he didn't do this on purpose. She knew that thought wasn't fair, but she was more than annoyed. It was August, and she hadn't had a decent night's sleep since before January.
Her mind kept returning to Taichi and the Digiworld, where she and Taichi walked hand in hand, surrounded by a little dinosaur and a pink bird. Those dreams were not ones she could afford. She needed to keep her mind on her studies.
She slowly dragged herself out of bed and groggily walked over to the lamp. The bright light hitting her eyes reminded her of the time they'd all been turned into little bits of data, and had been sent to that…place.
Tears filled her eyes as the memories threatened to consume her. No, she'd promised herself she'd stay focused. It wasn't time to be thinking of the other Digidestined, especially now that everyone was going their own separate ways.
Koushirou had skipped several grades upon their return, and was heading to a college in another city within the next year. Jyou was now going to a boarding school in England, where he stayed year round, and never wrote to anyone. And Mimi was in America on a fashion shoot. She'd return every few months, but she never stopped to see her old friends anymore.
Takeru was growing up, and he was very close to Hikari. Sora saw him on a regular basis if she was seeing Taichi, but that wasn't always. Hikari and Taichi were the same as ever. It was a relief to see them sometimes, but it was also painful. They were a constant reminder of how everyone else was changing.
And there was Yamato. Sora pulled on her clothes on and sunk into a chair at the thought of Yamato. He was so difficult! So distant since they'd come back, and so wary while they were there. There was always something strange about Yamato, and she couldn't understand why Taichi insisted on being his friend.
Sora sighed and wrote a note to her mother, warning her she'd gone out. She rose from her seat and walked outside, hoping for some fresh air before anything else happened. She knew she'd get no more sleep tonight.
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Koushirou paced around his room. He couldn't believe it. He'd lied. Not only had he lied, he'd lied to his FRIENDS. To make matters worse, he hadn't been telling a lie that would help them, nor a lie he hadn't been aware of.
He'd known perfectly well it was a lie that he was moving to another town to go to college. True, he was going to college, but he was going here, in the same town.
That brought up the question, why had he done it? Koushirou knew the answer to that question too. He wished he didn't, that it wasn't true, but he was afraid.
He was afraid all his friends had changed. Actually, to be frank, he was afraid of how MUCH everyone had changed. He knew most of them had changed.
Jyou had promised they'd stay in touch after he went to England, but there'd been no word from him, and Koushirou couldn't find any trace of him anywhere. Now, Koushirou didn't look anymore. He knew he wasn't wanted. He didn't force friendship on anyone who didn't want it.
Mimi was…Mimi. She avoided people in the same way as Koushirou, by telling lie after lie to cover up other lies. She and Koushirou still talked, brought together by their common fear of everyone's changes. Together they supported one another's lies, and thought up ways to cover old ones.
Sora and Taichi still tried to keep the others together, but everyone was drifting away. It was only natural, but Koushirou regretted how much it hurt the pair, even to the point where they spoke to few other people other than the Digidestined.
Koushirou had heard Takeru and Hikari had gotten together, and wished them well. The younger pair deserved some happiness. Two innocents had been thrust into the Digiworld, and all its pain and struggles had been transferred to those two.
And Yamato. Well, to tell the truth, Koushirou hadn't heard anything about Yamato. He knew Yamato was as distant as ever, but that was all.
And because Koushirou didn't know anything about him, he decided to find out. He walked to his computer and turned it on. He began frantically searching the internet for a trace of what might have happened to Yamato…and, after a second of thought, what might have happened to Jyou.
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