Wow, the next chapter comes relatively fast...fast for me, I know that there are writers who manage a new chapter every week, but I'm just not that quick^^ However, I hope you like this. I realised that this story develops to a monster-story; now that he's woken up, it *isn't* over, because my dear Dai-chan has to learn to deal with all this stuff....O.o I hope I managed it to write the emotions okay...it's pretty difficult to think like him. Argh.

Broken Wings

by Kaeera

Part Six: Sparrows in the sunlight


Hmm.

Sleeping.

Sleeping was good.

Jun twitched her nose. It was itching, but she was too lazy to scratch it. She wanted to continue sleeping, wanted to return to the peaceful dreams she was having. But once she woke up, she found it incredibly difficult to fall asleep again, especially because voices were interrupting her peace. Someone in the room was talking.

Groggily the girl blinked, seeing only blurred images at first. Then her vision became clearer and out of the blurry view the silhouette of her brother crystallised. "Davis?", whispered Jun softly, carefully avoiding to frighten the younger boy.

The talking stopped and he moved his head towards her. Jun found herself looking into deep brown orbs, and found something in them which had been missing for days. Her brother.

Daisuke was looking straight at her, uncertainty and fear evident in these chocolate brown eyes of his, but there was a soul behind these eyes and that was what counted!

"Davis..." she repeated, this time eyes wide with shock and - yeah, what? Relief? Joy? She didn't know it.

Daisuke looked at her, as if not knowing what to do. "H'lo," he then shyly said.

For Jun, it was the sweetest sound she ever heard. For days the room had been silent, never mind how much she talked, and she had nearly forgotten the sound of her brother's voice. Now he was there, looked at her, resembling the old Davis so much that she nearly started crying. A smile crept on her face. "Hello," she replied. "I missed you."

Her brother just tilted his head and stared at her, confused. Jun stretched her back and smiled at him.

"Well, you were kinda away over the last days. Where did you stay?"

Obviously she had asked the wrong questions, because his eyes darkened at the mention of the past days. He looked to the window with a far away expression on his pale face. She followed his gaze and could see a few sparrows in the tree outside.

Slowly the girl shook her head and sent a pleading glance at Veemon. "I'm going to look for a doctor, okay, Davis? I had to promise the staff to notify them as soon as your state changes...I won't be away for long, okay? Just...wait?"

He nodded, and she hurried out of the room. Jun knew that there was always a nurse behind the desk in the front hall. And right, an elderly woman was working on some papers.

"Excuse me", the tall girl spoke breathlessly, "Could you do me a favour, please?"

She looked up and a look of sympathy crossed her face when she recognised the girl who never went away from her brother's side over the last days. The whole staff had felt pity for the two siblings, and anger against parents who could let this happen - like everyone did who was confronted with events like these ones.

"Of course, my dear," she replied, smiling slightly, "What do you need?"

"Could you please inform our doctor that my brother - Davis - started speaking again? He told me to tell him as soon as something differently happened..."

"I will call him over loudspeaker," the woman promised. "It's nice to hear that the little fellow has made some steps forward!"

"Yeah," a weak smile appeared on Jun's face, and suddenly she felt as if the weight of ages had been lifted of her shoulders. "It is. Thanks!"

She turned back and ran towards the hospital room she knew so well. The girl knew that her brother was far away from being okay, but at least it was a beginning, and she had the strong belief that they could do it if they stick together. Like Davis, Jun had a spirit which would never let her give up, and that made the Motomiya siblings so special.

********************

No doubt, he was in a hospital room. He was here, Veemon was here and Jun had been here as well...Daisuke felt strange, as if he just woke up of a long, long dream. And only slowly memories were coming back to his mind, images of past scenes coming in his head. The boy felt that he was hurt, felt the aching pain in his chest, but when he tried to remember what had happened, all he got was a blur. It had been bad, and he had been very frightened...

The fear was still in him, he could sense it. Daisuke felt so small and alone, and so weak...

He tried to remember, tried the best he could, but some part inside him didn't *want* to remember.

Veemon patted him reassuringly on his hand. "I'm glad that you made the right choice, Davis," he smiled and watched him with big eyes. "I'm glad that you came back."

Daisuke wanted to speak, wanted to ask what happened, but his tongue seemed to be frozen. Something was very, very wrong. He tried it again, this time managing it to croak something which wasn't understandable at all. Veemon's eyes perked up, and he tilted his head. "What?"

"What....happened?" He finally managed to cough. God, why was it so difficult to speak? It didn't hurt, but it was like...like being mute. Something was trying to prevent him from speaking. But what?

"You don't remember?" The digimon's eyes became wide.

Daisuke shook his head. "Just....images....pain...."

Veemon shifted uncomfortably around. What should he do? Tell his friend what really had happened? Wasn't it better if he forgot the whole ordeal? Then he could live in peace and wouldn't be blaming himself or something like that...and he wouldn't have to cry at night.
"You were hurt...," he finally replied, choosing his words carefully.

"How?"

"Ehm..." Veemon looked away, unable to resist the gaze of his partner. Should he say it? On one hand, it would probably better not to say anything because he could live without all the problems then. But then, on the other hand, didn't Davis deserve the truth? And what if he remembered, one day? It would crash down on him and destroy the rest of his sanity. And could someone really be lucky with all the emotions and memories stored somewhere in his head? He needed to deal with it, needed to face it....the digimon sighed, realising that he really didn't have an option.

"You were stabbed," he whispered sadly.

Daisuke's eyes grew wide and he stared at his digimon partner. "Who?" Was all he could get out.

The look in Veemon's eyes was telling him enough, as suddenly faint memories popped up in his head. The digimon's eyes were dwelling with tears. "Your father."

Your.
Father.
Stabbed.
You.

And then the memories crashed down on him, causing the boy to gasp in horror. His father...his father screaming at him, beating him, trying to get him out of the cupboard - his only place in safety, in the darkness where nobody could get him - crying at his sister and finally grabbing the kitchen knife with this furious look in his eyes.

"Oh my god," stammered Davis and covered his eyes, feeling burning tears behind his eyelids. Every scene came back to haunt him with an intense clarity, the numerous times he had cried himself to sleep after he had received a beating, the shouts of his father, insulting him, making him flinch and the fear, this incredible fear, freezing him, destroying him.

His shoulders shook as he tried to suppress the upcoming memories.

He.
Despised.
You.

A concerned Veemon crawled on his lap, hugging his friend as tightly as he could. Tears were spilling down Daisuke's face as he remembered the incredible pain he had felt on this particular day...

He had backed against the wall, while his father was screaming at him, again. His gaze was fixed on the furious face of the older man, eyes wide open with fear. Daisuke's hands were trembling and all he wanted to do was to run away, but his legs wouldn't move. He was frozen.

"Are you afraid of me? Are you trying to run away?"

His father's face was a mask of hatred. He didn't resemble the man who had guided the boy throughout his childhood anymore. He was...a monster! Daisuke pressed himself against the wall, trying his best to suppress the sobs, because he knew that it would only get worse if he showed any fear. But his eyes were already watering, a single tear slipping down his cheek. His father grabbed him by the collar and started shouting at him. Suddenly a long, sharp piece of metal appeared in his hand. Daisuke's eyes widened when he recognised the big kitchen knife his mother usually used for cutting meat and onions. It was as long as his hand, no, even longer! He gasped.

"Afraid? What? Because I am holding a knife? Are you frightened, son? You'd better be...Oh, backing away from your father? And crying...like always, huh? Can't you fight for once? You are weak, too weak, Daisuke..." An evil glint appeared in his father's eyes, and the boy immediately knew that he was in danger. Frantically he looked around, trying to find an escape, but there was none. His scream was dying even before it reached his lips...And his father approached him with the knife, the shining, metallic knife in his hand....

"You have to become stronger if you want to survive...the knife is nice, isn't it? It will be even nicer when it's covered...with your blood!"

The next movement was a blur to him. His father jumped forward and he felt a sudden pain in his stomach. His knees weren't supporting his weight any longer and he realised that he was falling to the ground, back still leaning against the wall. Daisuke's gaze wandered to his father and to the knife, noticing that the knife had changed its colour - it was red.

At first he didn't understand what that meant. His brain worked only slowly, partly paralysed by fear, partly disturbed by the increasing pain in his stomach. But then the boy watched closely, saw the red drops falling to the ground, a thick, shimmering liquid. His hand moved to his stomach and came back covered with exactly the same, red liquid. Blood!

Unbelieving Davis stared at his father and then down on his body. There was a huge spot of redness, soaking through his shirt and dripping on the ground. Blood. His blood.

"No...", he whispered, tears in his eyes. The pain was incredible, but the shock was even worse - the shock that his father had deliberately stabbed him!

His. Father.

A soft chuckle interrupted the eerie silence, and then the knife shattered to the ground. Footsteps echoed through the apartment when his father left the house. Then Daisuke was alone. He slumped to the ground, lying in a pool of his own blood, still not believing what had just happened. Tears were streaming down his face while he clutched his stomach.

He didn't want this to happen. Why? Why did he do this? Was it his mistake? Had he been that bad? Or why?....He started to become tired, his eyelids heavily dropping. Staying awake was too much effort.

Going away....leaving everything behind me...

The darkness caught him in a welcoming embrace.


His fingers brushed over the bandage wrapped around his stomach. So it really had happened. He, Daisuke Motomiya, had been stabbed by his own father, because he didn't want him. Because he thought of him as worthless and weak. He was a victim of child abuse.

It sounded so...strange to say that. Child abuse. It had happened for so long, and still he couldn't accept it. Didn't want to accept it. Wished that it had never happened, that maybe he had never been born....

The door opened and Jun entered again. "Hi," she greeted cheerfully and came to sit on his bed. "The doctor will be here soon. What did you two talk about?" Daisuke turned his head and the tearstained face of her brother told her enough. Immediately she was by his side and took the younger boy into a hug. "It will be okay", she whispered, patting his back. "I know that it's hard, but it will be okay. I promise you!"

He sniffed and looked up. "Where is....", he asked, unable to speak the name of the person who had destroyed his life.

"Father?" He flinched as Jun pronounced the word carefully. A look of anger crossed her face and she said with a certain satisfaction in her voice:

"He's in jail. He was taken to court because of child abuse, and he won't see the daylight any time soon. Serves him right!"

"And Mom?"

"I don't know yet, she was taken to court, too, because she neglected us and indirectly helped him, but they didn't decide yet. Although it's kinda sure that the judges will take her custody away. She's not allowed to live with us again."

"But....where do we live then?" Daisuke held Veemon closer to his body.

"Well...currently I'm living at the orphanage. It's probably the place where we'll both stay until I have finished school and can earn enough money to afford an own apartment for us." She noticed the shocked look on his face when she mentioned the orphanage and smiled. "It's really not that bad there. Okay, I've only been there for a few days, but the people are nice, the food isn't that bad either and you have everything you need. I share my room with a really nice girl, which is kinda cool, because you can always chat in the night, like in a slumber party!"

"I don't want to go to an orphanage," he sniffed, "I want to have a home!"

Her heart ached when she heard his spoken words, expressing her very own feelings. But Jun continued smiling, trying to reassure her brother. "It won't be that bad, believe me. And you still have your friends! They will be there for you, no matter what!"

*********************

"Hey sis', where are the cookies?" Tai shouted, inspecting the kitchen.

"Dunno," was the grumpy reply. The boy sighed. In truth he didn't feel like eating cookies - more like going out and strangling a certain person. But the years as a leader of the digidestined had told him to have patience, although it was pretty difficult.

His thoughts trailed back to the conversation Yamato and he had held in the park, back then, on this warm, sunny day...He had felt so miserable and didn't want to talk, but in the end it had helped. Although he still felt guilty...the hell, Daisuke had been like a brother for him, like someone to teach to. He had been so full of life, and then they hadn't noticed when suddenly his spirit dampened. None of them. Taichi knew that the others were feeling exactly the same, and that it didn't help at all, but it was like always - he couldn't stop it.

The older boy sighed and took a glass with water. Why had life have to be that damn difficult? He glanced through the apartment, suddenly feeling very alone.

Hikari was in her room, the door closed. The girl lay on her bed, brown hair falling over the pillows, shimmering softly in the light. She couldn't concentrate, couldn't feel...normal. It was annoying her and....she wanted it to stop.

Gatomon was sleeping on her stomach. The cat-digimon hat curled herself together, claiming that too much worrying wouldn't help at all and that Kari should probably do something instead of sitting here and thinking. But it didn't matter how hard she tried, she didn't want to go to the hospital and see Daisuke...she was afraid. Afraid of his current state, afraid that she would only make things worse.

And she felt bad because of this. Like a coward. Hikari knew that *he* would have always visited her if it had been her...

The soft melody of 'Pachebel's Canon' interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up. It was her cellphone, lying on the table - she had received a sms. For a moment she closed her eyes, considering the idea of not getting up and reading the message, but in the end her sense of duty won and she groggily stood up, placing Gatomon on the blanket.

Her fingers brushed over the buttons and she opened the message. It was from Jun. Hikari frowned. What did Jun want?

Maybe...maybe something had happened to Davis...maybe he became ill or he freaked or...

Thoughts swirled through her head. One side of her didn't want to read the message because she feared the bad news, the other side nudged her forward, telling that she would never be calm again if she hadn't read it...and in the end, this side won. Hikari looked at the tiny screen.

He talked with us! ~Jun

Minutes of silence passed as Hikari blinked at the message, not getting the meaning at first. She immediately knew that the 'he' could only be one person, namely Daisuke...he talked?

Davis had talked?

And that meant...

A small smile appeared on her lips. If he talked, then he was getting better! Then Veemon had actually managed it to get through him, and maybe her friend would be able to regain his old, cheerful self back! Hope began to grow in her heart, a hope she had nearly forgotten.

"Taichi!" she called. "I have great news for you!"


************

The former digimon kaizer stared at the screen. In disbelief. Only four words. Four. Words. But they meant so much...

He talked with us.

He had never received an sms with more joy. Daisuke had finally regained his sense and spoken with his sister. Ken wasn't stupid, he knew that that didn't mean too much, but nonetheless it was an improvement, and he was happy about every even-so-small step. Wormmon was sitting on his lab, staring at the screen like himself, a glint of hope in his large eyes.

"I knew that he would be strong enough," the digimon murmured relieved.

"The strongest of us all," Ken agreed, smiling slightly. "I guess it's time for a visit."

**************

Daisuke frowned at the tray. A plate with undefined grey and green things was on it as well as a glass with water. It didn't look very good.

"That, my dear brother, is your food!" Jun told him sweetly. "Your body isn't ready for solid food yet, so you get this....."

He slowly took a spoon of the food and made a disgusted face - but he ate it, and Jun inwardly sighed in relief. She had been afraid that her brother wouldn't eat, like the doctor had warned the girl.

Her thoughts wandered back to the conversation she had had with the doctor after he had examined Davis. Very carefully the man had explained to her what Daisuke needed now, and how they could help him to start a normal life again.

"Your brother will stay in the hospital for twelve more days, until his wounds are healed," the tall doctor had said, looking sympathetically through his glasses. "You don't have to worry about money - right now everything is paid by the account of your father. The police told me that there will be the trial, soon, but Daisuke doesn't have to go there, only you. However, Mrs.Seto, the social worker, will talk with you later about this."

Jun had just nodded, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility she had to bear.

"During the next days," the doc had continued, "Your brother has to go to our local psychiatrist where he will learn how to deal with this problems. I have to warn you that this was only the first step in a long, enduring procedure. Abused children are usually haunted by their fears, and it's extremely difficult to give them enough strength and self-consciousness to start a normal life again. Your brother will be very dependant on you and his friends, but especially on you, since he doesn't have any parents anymore and you're the closest family member. I'm aware that this is a great, a too great responsibility for a teenage girl, but you're not alone. Mrs. Seto is a very kind person, and you can always come to her and talk about your problems. It will be a hard time for everyone, and it won't be over in a few weeks - it'll probably take years, but I'm certain that you can manage it."

And now, when she found herself in the hospital room again - her second home by now - and watched her silent brother, Jun realised that the doctor was very right. It had only been a small step and many more had to follow. Daisuke looked thin and fragile, as if he would start crying every moment, and the haunted look in his eyes hadn't quite disappeared. How long would it take for the psychical wounds to heal?

That brought her to another question: what was with her? What would she do? Would she go to school again, looking after Daisuke in her free time, while living in the orphanage? Or what else? The events had affected her as well, although not that bad - after all, their father had never hit Jun, no idea why. But nonetheless it wasn't the same....she didn't feel ready for it. They were alone now. Totally alone. And Daisuke was her responsibility....she had to take care of him...

Jun rubbed her temples, feeling very alone at this moment and far too young for the whole thing. The girl desperately wished to be young again, when her biggest problems had been that she hadn't done her homework or something like that. Not such...big stuff!

She closely watched how her brother ate, Veemon sitting on his lap. The room was silent, only the sparrows on the outside could be heard. Jun didn't know what to say. Everytime she looked at Davis, he avoided her gaze, as if he was hiding something, and it troubled her. She wanted to talk with him, wanted to hug him while he cried - but he didn't cry. Just a few strangled sobs, but that was all.

Maybe he just needed time. Yeah. Maybe.

*****************

The food was horrible. Or was it just horrible because he wasn't hungry? Daisuke didn't know. Every spoon with the slimy stuff took him much effort to eat. But Jun wanted him to eat, so he did it. He didn't want her to feel bad. No. Not at all.

He himself was feeling....what? He didn't know. His chest hurt, his head hurt, and he felt very exhausted, but that wasn't all. He felt....lifeless. Worthless. Weak. Why? He couldn't find an answer. He just wanted to curl together and wanted it to stop, but he knew that it wasn't possible.

Pounding headache. And the doctor who had visited him. Davis hadn't admitted it, but he had been afraid. Of the doctor. Immediately the image of his father had popped into his head, screaming at him, lunging at him, insulting him. He had known that this wasn't his father, hell, he wasn't that stupid, but the boy hadn't been able to stop the trembling of his body.

I'm so screwed up...

He wanted to sleep. He didn't want to face all this. He didn't want to talk with the psychiatrist. He didn't want to eat this food just to stay alive. And he didn't want to live a life in an orphanage. He had parents, after all, parents who....didn't care about him. Darn.

His gaze wandered to Veemon who was currently nibbling a cookie. Good ol'Veemon, he had stayed the same - only he, only Daisuke had changed. He didn't want to feel like that! He wanted to be like before...before...before what? The truth is, Davis didn't really know when he had changed, when his cheerful behaviour became an act, a masquerade. Five months? Six? Or seven? There was no exact point of time, it had changed gradually. With every beating he had been more depressed, and more determined not to show it. Inside he had felt torn and alone, while he had continued to laugh on the outside. Scared.

Davis laid the spoon back on the plate, suddenly feeling sick. He was so confused and, well, helpless...it annoyed him. What if the others saw him like that? His friends? Would they despise him because he wasn't the strong Daisuke anymore? Would they feel pity for him? Anything but that! Daisuke hated pity, especially when he himself was in the center of it. No pity. Please not.

Forcefully he shoved the tablet away and looked outside the window, again. He didn't want to speak.

To be continued...

A.I. - Wow, seems that you really like this story *blushes* Your review let me feel great! Thanks a lot!

Skywolf - *lol* I'm planning to involve the DD's more in the next chapter(s). They shall meet Daisuke in the hospitals, and of course everybody shows different reactions. Any ideas?? *g*

Next chapter won't be out soon, I guess. Like always...*sighs* I'm such a terribly slow writer!