Warnings: Future yaoi/shounen ai, child/sexual abuse issues, angst,
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Digimon show, only some of the original characters found in the story and the story plot itself.
~*~
State of Mind
"Perhaps even these things, one day, will be pleasing to remember." - Virgil, Aenid
Part 3: Fear of the Unknown
It was very strange, how in such a short period of time the entire outlook on life could change so extremely. One moment, the only problems there were consisted of passing the day's Math exam, coming up with new routine ideas during cheerleading practice, picking out the best birthday present for her best friend Miyako, and similarly solvable situations. But now everything seemed to have turned upside down and inside out. The dark part of reality had hit hard and fast, leaving her with a slight breathlessness.
An hour after she had arrived home from school, Hikari had left again with her family to go down to the Children's Home in Tamachi. The entire trip had seemed completely surreal, and no matter how hard she tried to imagine it, she just couldn't convince herself that she really did have a brother. Never in her life had anyone mentioned anything of this sort to her, but suddenly they were on their way to pick up a supposedly deceased older boy of the family. It was impossible to grasp the existence of the situation. Once they had arrived, they had been quickly escorted through the busy building to see one of the doctors. The place was packed with families from all over city, many of them crying or just staring into space with the shock of what was happening.
The next hour and a half had been a nightmare as Hikari slowly learned the truth of the matter. The doctor needed to make sure that they understood completely what had happened so that when they met the long lost boy they would know why he had become who he was. The story had filled Hikari with horror, even though most of it was speculation as they couldn't possibly know everything that had went on in the past eleven and a half years. Male prostitution... that had sickened her the most. All these young boys, some even as young as only two years old, being forced to work in an oppressed state to fill the sickening needs of older men and make some money for their 'Masters'. They had lived their entire past life like this, never allowed to come out of the building 'lest someone recognized the children and called the police on the bad men. But it seemed that someone did that anyway, most likely an angered customer of the 'business'.
After that explanation, Hikari hadn't been the least surprised to find the teenager so submissive when they finally were able to meet him. Taichi had just stood where he had been led to, only answering direct questions with nods or simple words. His body seemed so lifeless, so worn out by the life he had been forced to lead. But though he had kept his impassive brown eyes on the floor, Hikari could sense the fright and confusion surrounding him. Sympathy tugged at her heart as she tried her best not to seem threatening in any way, feeling sorrow at the way he flinched when someone's voice raised a little too much. He must have undergone so much in the years in which she had never known he'd even existed.
It had been over an hour since then, and now Hikari was just waiting with her new found big brother for her parents to come back and take them home. She had been surprised that Taichi would be allowed to leave so soon, but she understood once she realized just how many kids had been taken in. They probably would have been home by now, but another good friend of hers had intercepted them and insisted on talking to her parents about a matter concerning another of the children here. Hikari knew well that if Ken Ichijouji was set enough on getting his way with the matter, nothing would stop him.
From her position in one of the waiting room seats, Hikari spotted a familiar blonde over by the desk. Ken had already explained why he was here and how Yamato was taking everything. She knew how hard this must be on everyone, especially Yamato who had at least known his brother before the young boy had disappeared. Ken wasn't the only one who had helped to bring Yamato back from the frighteningly strong depression. With a sigh, Hikari turned away, deciding that now wouldn't be the best of times to go over there and talk to him. Yamato had always been the type who needed time to himself to sort things out. Instead her attention turned to the other boy standing beside her.
Taichi was still staring at the ground, his hands clenched at his sides. She still couldn't believe that this really was her brother. "Um... Taichi?" His expression became a little more alert as he nodded slightly to the question. But other than that he didn't move. "You can sit down. You're probably tired of standing by now." She told him kindly, patting the seat next to her. Even if he was a stranger to her right now, she still wanted to get to know him enough to make this whole 'big brother' thing more real. A surprised look came over him, and she could practically feel the thick confusion and panic seeping from him. Quickly he shook his head a little, but shifted uncertainly. "You don't want to sit down?" Hikari knew the real reason, but she wanted to get him talking. At least a little bit. It was unnerving the way he kept so still and silent, as if trying to blend into the background.
"I... I can't, Mas-" He bit his lip quickly to keep from finishing the word. They had already told him not to call them Masters, and it seemed as though he took those type of requests seriously.
Hikari tilted her head, trying to see his eyes, but they were still keeping carefully away from her. "Call me Hikari, please. And why can't you sit down? You look capable enough of bending your legs to me."
He blinked, seeming even more shocked. "It's just not... right." His head lowered even more, long chestnut bangs shading his face, before whispering, "It would make us seem equals."
"Oh, right." Hikari sighed, shaking her head. She could see already how much work it was going to be to get him back on track with the rest of the world again. It was so sad to see how deeply those bad men had wounded him. Maybe another topic would help, "Do you know Daisuke?"
At this Taichi's eyes widened as his entire body went rigid. He seemed to be trying to keep himself under control, but she could still see the way his breathing rate had increased. Hikari knew she had hit on something here, but she wasn't sure quite what. "Y-yes. He's-" He choked a little, stopping himself from continuing the sentence.
"He's what?" Hikari queried, wondering why he seemed so upset.
He sighed a bit, "He's my brother."
Hikari blinked with shock, then understanding. "Oh... I see. So you two are really close then?"
"Yes." The way he said that one word, so sadly, caused her to feel the need to get up and comfort the poor boy. But she suppressed the urge, realizing that he would probably have a heart attack if she did.
She instead tried to explain what was going on at the moment. "Well, that's great then! See, one of my own friends is trying to convince my parents to adopt him as well. So Daisuke could end up living with us too." She smiled at the sudden elation in his features, but he had had years of practice not to show these feelings. Then she thought of something else, "Taichi? Why are you acting like this around me? I'm even younger than you are."
"Acting like what?" Taichi asked quietly, his eyes focussed on the same spot on the floor.
Hikari sighed, "Nevermind." Then they fell into silence once again. Hikari turned her attention back to the other families in the room, wondering if they were going to be able to handle all this change. She wasn't sure yet if she could herself. It was going to be tough maintaining patience with these boys if they were going to keep acting like this. Not that she blamed them, but it was still hard.
A few minutes later the rest of her own family came out of one of the side doors and headed towards her and Taichi. She smiled when she saw Ken following close behind, keeping in step with another boy of their age. She had had no doubt that he would succeed in winning over her parents. The new boy was so much like Taichi in his manner; meek and ready to obey anything asked of him. She could see his nervous looks at how Ken made sure to stay exactly beside him, not letting the young red-head to get behind like he had been trained to do. When they finally managed to weave through the crowd, the four came to a stop and Hikari stood up.
"Hikari, this is Daisuke, the one I was telling you about earlier." He winked a bright, violet eye at her, looking very happy to be giving this boy a home. Beside her she could feel Taichi become alert again at the name.
Hikari's father just sighed wearily, "I guess Daisuke is going to be part of the family as well now. Ken made some very persuading points."
"Hello Daisuke." Hikari greeted warmly, walking over to the still boy. He was about her height, but seemed so much smaller as he, like Taichi, kept his gaze on the ground. It seemed even stranger to see him like this since was closer to her age than Taichi.
There was a bit of awkward silence as nobody could figure out what to do next, but finally Ken spoke up as he looked over his shoulder. "Well, I guess I'd better go and find Yamato, he'll be needing some support right now. You'll be okay now, Daisuke?"
Hikari watched with interest as Daisuke answered, noticing how his tone didn't seem quite so expressionless as Taichi's. "Yes, Ken-san."
With a grin, Ken nodded, "Good. I'll make sure to tell Takeru that you guys are alright. And I'll come back to visit you soon, okay?"
"Yes, Ken-san." Daisuke answered again, 'though his eyes lightened slightly at the promise of a visit. It was obvious that Ken had gained quite a bit of respect in the boy's heart.
"See you later, Ken." Hikari waved before turning back to her parents. She caught the discreet glance between the two silent boys in the process.
Her mother gave her a shaky smile, "I guess we're ready to go home now." She looked over at Taichi, and then Daisuke, "Oh my... I can't believe this. Two sons in one day..." Her tiny laugh came out choked as she clutched once again at her husband's arm for support.
"Yes... It's quite a big change." Hikari's father responded, starting to lead everyone slowly out of the building. The two boys didn't move. "Ah... Taichi, Daisuke... come on then."
Taichi started forward first, and Daisuke followed closely, angling his stride to fall in place beside his 'brother'. Hikari smiled at the two as the three of them followed her parents out the door. She could easily see the struggle not to stare around as they stepped out into the fresh air. The sky was already almost black with night.
It was going to be hard work to bring Taichi and Daisuke back into a normal life, especially after living so long under the tight control of their 'Masters'. She just hoped that they would be alright in the future. Surely this would leave some permanent scars, but they still had years overcome the instinctive commands drilled into their heads from the past decade. Even if it was going to be strange to suddenly have two brothers, Hikari was going to do her best to help them fit in.
=-=-=-=
Takeru had learned early in his life , as did all the children from his home, that a good memory would save a lot pain from occurring. As a result, he had worked every day to remember everything he heard and saw. Masters would only have to say something once and he would never forget it, which was definitely a good thing when it came to something like this. Names of every person he had ever encountered during his time at work were seared into his memory, as were their personal likes and dislikes, so that when he was sent to someone he had seen before he could please them without worrying about making mistakes. Even now, in all of this confusion and divergence, his mind set to work with what he knew. It was the best way to keep him distracted from what was going on around him.
Although he knew better than to look up, his ears were sharp to pick up anything useful, anything that would help him survive in this new world. It had been a gigantic shock at first to meet his new Masters, they were so different from the last ones. They didn't even seem masterful at all. Well, except for that one boy, the one with those frozen blue eyes. When he had been forced to look upon that man, Takeru had felt the power emanating from the pale body. He had been truly terrified then, afraid that he would make some mess of the situation and be thrown away once again. This boy... Yamato, his attitude was comfortingly familiar. For awhile Takeru had been scared that one of those other strangers were going to be buying him, and he would have no idea how to act around someone weaker than what he was used to. But everything was fitting together better now. Ishida was his Master, he had to be.
Keeping his gaze carefully lowered, Takeru watched another pair of shoes approach, different ones from either of the two Ishidas. Memorizing feet were also very important as he had to be able to tell the difference between masters while not being able to look up.
"Yamato... how is everything?" The voice was soft, questioning.
Takeru heard the soft, tired sigh from beside him, "Not too bad, considering what a mess this all is." Yamato answered in his usual irritated tone that Takeru had picked up on instantly as something to watch out for. "I can't wait until Dad's done with the paper work so we can get out of here."
"Yeah... well. The Yagamis have just left. They agreed to see how things go with Daisuke as well." Takeru's ears perked up at the name. So these boys would know where the others went? Maybe he would see his best friends again. That would be something. Then the black shoes walked over to stand in front of him. "So you're Takeru?" He nodded in response, wondering where this newcomer fit in with everything. Was he also a Master? He couldn't be talking to Yamato if he wasn't, could he? "He sure looks a lot like you, Yamato. Blond hair... blue eyes..."
"Yeah. It's so hard to believe that he's really back though, you know?" Yamato replied, his own shoes shifting closer to the other boy's. "He's so... different. From what I thought he'd be like when he reached this age, I mean."
"I know what you mean." Ken echoed Yamato's earlier sigh, "So Takeru, how old are you?" There they went again with the strange questions. All day these things had been sending Takeru's head into confusion. He just didn't understand what these people expected, or how exactly he was supposed to act around them.
"Fourteen." He answered uncertainly. The problem was that nobody knew their exact age from where he came from, they could only guess. So the way they did it was that the day that they had become part of the family was considered their 'birthday', including of course the age that that they were when they entered.
The boy continued in a friendly voice, "Wow, I'm fourteen too! Almost fifteen. I'm Ken by the way. And please call me that, no Master stuff, okay?" Takeru fought the urge to look up with surprise and shock. Yamato and the other man, Masaharu, had also told him not to use the word 'Master' around them, but it was still a strange request. It didn't help him any either in figuring out what the point of all this was.
He heard Yamato snort softly, "I see you've had experience with that as well. Daisuke?"
"Yeah, but it seems all you have to do is tell them once... except when they freak out over something, then it's 'Master' all over again." He laughed lightly. "I can't wait to see Daisuke again."
"I bet. Just be careful, okay?"
"You know I will, Yama. But you better take your own advice as well. I know how you can get when you're frustrated, and helping Takeru is going to take a lot of patience." Ken warned, his voice turning serious once again. Takeru started to relax as the conversation once again left him out. He wasn't used to having the attention unless being commanded to do something. It was nerve wracking trying not to make a mistake in answering these people.
"Yamato, Ken ... Takeru. Are you boys ready to go?" The two older ones answered with relieved yes's, and Takeru nodded along as the oldest Ishida came up to them.
He instinctively fell back behind the others, following them a couple of paces behind, but this didn't last long as both Yamato and Ken purposely slowed down to walk on either side of him. This of course, confused him to no ends. This was definitely not right, making them seem like equals! It was impossible to explain this, though, without their permission to speak.
It wasn't until they reached the car that Takeru finally felt the entire day's anxiety overtake his mind. He stopped a few feet from the vehicle, unable to keep his legs moving without collapsing on the pavement. What were they expecting from him? Who were these people? Did they actually want him to get in that thing with them? What was he supposed to do?! All these questions and more circled inside his head like a whirlpool of chaos, causing him to stand there in stupor. Oh... if only Daisuke or Taichi were here, or any of the others. They'd know what to do. He just couldn't do this alone! Always, even through the tough times at home, he had had the others for support. Taichi with his advice, Daisuke with his optimism, Aito with his stories of the outside world. What would happen now, without them?
"Takeru?" He tried to gulp in more air, but to no avail. It felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of air. Spots danced before his eyes as he tried to stay upright, afraid to fall in front of these strangers. This was bad... so, so wrong. Why was this happening? He was just fine at his own home with all of the others. Nothing made sense anymore. Everything was screwed up!
"Shit, he's having a panic attack!" Faintly he wondered what all the yelling was about. Oh no, what if he was making them mad? Blinking madly, trying to clear the darkness that threatened his vision, he tried to take a dazed step forward, hoping that it wasn't too late to fix things. But someone grabbed him from behind, holding him up as he almost collapsed to the ground, "Hold still, Takeru. Breathe, okay? Just breathe..." The comforting voice whispered soothing words in his ear, easing away some of the blind fear. The arms warmed him, making him feel safe once again. This all seemed so familiar somehow, as he if had experienced it before, a long time ago.
"G-gomen...I'm sorry... I'm sorry Master..." He managed to get out in a breathless whisper, scared out of his mind that this was it, that he had shown them how useless he was. They weren't going to want him now, he was going to have to go back to that scary big room and have more strangers poke at him.
"Shhh... Stop it. Calm down, it's all going to be okay." Again he was soothed by the strangely familiar voice.
Finally, after a few more moments of bewilderment, Takeru let the darkness overtake him, slipping off into unconsciousness. Just before sleep took control of his exhausted mind completely, he found a word that he had been looking for, lost in a sea of memories, "Oniichan..."
=-=-=-=
The apartment was silent, even with the five people all sitting together in the lounge. It was an uncomfortable silence, the kind where everyone just awkwardly stares at someone else, not knowing quite what to say. It was disturbing for the two unknowing teens who sat stiffly at the edge of the couch, ready to jump up at a moment's notice. It had taken much convincing just to get them there but once they had been certain that it was definitely an order, they had been quick to oblige. Taichi had no idea what to do now, though. The three strangers, two adults and a younger girl, made no move to tell them about what was going on. It was if they were just as confused, which made no sense to him. The Masters had always known what to do before and they never hesitated to make their wishes known.
Knowing that he would just have to be patient, no matter how long this took, Taichi shifted his eyes sideways a little, trying to make sure that his brother was still okay. It had been a miracle in his opinion that the other boy was able to come with them at all. He had been sure that when he had left the huge room that that was the last time they would ever see each other. If only Takeru had somehow been able to come as well, then he would be able to handle all of this with no difficulty. As it was, he had to have his hands tightly clenched together to keep them from trembling.
Finally he heard someone shift on the chair across from him, perking up his ears for whatever was to come. It was the woman who spoke, her voice shaky and full of disbelief. It was strange, he had never really been in the company of women before, it had always been the men who were the masterful ones. "I... This is such a big shock, to all of us." She commented out of the blue, "But I want you two to feel at... at home here. I'm sure you must be full of questions?"
Taichi didn't know whether to answer or not, not even sure if she had been speaking to him and Daisuke. It really didn't make any sense, so he assumed the question was directed at the other two in the room. There was a lot of things he wanted to know, but he knew better than to ask, as did his brother. So they just ended up falling back into that silence again until the man finally spoke up, "Taichi... Do you know who we are?" He asked softly, staring at the boy in a strange manner.
Thinking carefully, Taichi wondered if this was some sort of test. There was the obvious answer, to him at least, but this situation could be something else entirely. Of course, it was always best to just be safe, "No, Mast... Yagami-san" Shit, he had almost let it slip again. It was so hard to suddenly stop something that had been drilled into his head from the moment he had been introduced to the first Master. But these people seemed to hate being called that for some reason, and it was important not to upset them, not when they had such control over what happened to both himself and Daisuke.
The man only sighed, "I didn't think you did, but I hoped..."
"Are you boys thirsty? Hungry? I'm sure you must be after everything that happened today." The woman cut in quickly, her face tight with worry and controlled grief. Strangely enough, she sounded as if she was trying to please them.
Afraid of what would happen if he actually asked for something, even a glass of water for his drying throat, Taichi just shook his head. He knew that Daisuke would just follow his lead. At his home... well ex-home... there had always been meals twice a day. Once in the morning to give the boys some energy, and then again at night after the day's work. Sometimes, if a customer commented on an exceptionally well done job, they could get something in between as well. The food was never very good, usually just broth or porridge, sometimes some leftovers from the Masters' meals if they were lucky. But they were used to it after so many years and so it didn't seem like a big deal anymore. He was hungry at the moment though, seeing how late it was already.
"Mum..." Out of the corner of his eye Taichi noticed Hikari give Mrs. Yagami a strange look, causing the older woman to immediately blush and stand up.
"Oh I'm sorry," She apologized as she stood, smiling at the boys, "You're probably not used to being... being asked, are you? I'll go make some dinner." She promptly left the room, leaving Taichi in even more confusion than before. What did she mean about that 'asking' bit? Taichi had never been 'asked' to do a thing in his life, everything was just demanded of him. It was the way things had always been, why the sudden change?
With a start, Taichi realized that he was staring and quickly lowered his eyes again. This was really bad. He was forgetting the easiest codes of conduct in all this confusion. Taking a calming breath, he forced himself to clear his mind and just focus on acting the way he had been taught. He wished desperately that they would just stick them in one of the rooms so that he could relax again, and talk to Daisuke. He was sure that the younger boy was probably even more scared than he was right now.
"Well... I guess the best thing to do is to tell you why you're here." Mr. Yagami finally said, leaning back wearily. Taichi almost let out a loud sigh at this; at last they would find out their duties. "And the easiest way to do that is for you to know who you are." Feeling a warning flicker through him, Taichi just held his breath and hoped to everything holy that he'd be able to understand whatever it was they wanted of him. His hand unconsciously tightened around Daisuke's, seeking to comfort and be comforted. "Taichi... I'm your father, Susumu, and Yuuko is your mother. Hikari, here, is our daughter and your sister. We're your family." He paused, possibly waiting for the other to catch up with what was being said.
Taichi didn't know what to think. Why was it necessary that this man tell him something so obvious as that. They had known from the beginning that they were being transferred to a new family, though it would never be his real home. He cleared his throat nervously, wondering if they were waiting for some type of response. Finally he nodded and quietly answered, "I know, Yagami-san."
"What?" Susumu's voice was full of shock, "Well... I didn't think they had told you." He fidgeted nervously for a few seconds before turning to his daughter, "Hikari, why don't you show them their bedroom. I guess they'll have to share, since that's the only extra room we have. You don't mind, do you?" His last question was directed to the two of them, who were trying not to do anything that would anger the others. They shook their heads together, not even trying to puzzle out why their opinion mattered so much to these strange people. The entire thing would be so much easier if the Yagami's would just act like they were supposed to!
Hikari smiled kindly, standing up as she nodded, "It's this way, guys. Follow me." Taichi and Daisuke obediently did as they were told. Following one of the many rules that had been forced so deeply into their minds, they waited for her to start walking before following at a two pace distance. "We had an old bunk bed in storage that we brought up here for you to use before we left. Everything is cleaned up. Oh, there's the bathroom, just so you don't get lost looking for it at night," She pointed to a door as they walked by. Taichi took careful note of everything she said, just in case it was important in the future. There were so many questions he wanted to ask as she continued, but he was afraid to open his mouth. Were they allowed to just walk to the bathroom without a guard escort? What were bunk beds? What was the schedule for wake up, breakfast, working, dinner, etc.? What were they expected to do? The main problem was that they had no clue what these people were like, what they considered to be insubordination and fit for punishment. He decided it would just be best to keep quiet until he was sure.
They stopped at a door at the end of the hall and Hikari beckoned them inside. The room was nothing at all what Taichi had been expecting. Daisuke let out a small gasp from beside him. The room was small, but brightly lit with lamps. A large window was set in one wall and beside another was what looked like two stacked beds. There was even a desk and chair, and a small bookcase. Surely this couldn't be where they were going to be sleeping? It didn't look at thing like the cold, empty and dark room that they had lived in all their lives.
"Well, this is it." Hikari confirmed the place. Then she frowned a little when she noticed that neither of the boys had moved out of the doorway. "You can come in, it's okay. I know it's probably nothing like you're used to, but it's a lot more comfortable."
Taichi quickly turned his gaze from her unnerving concerned stare, and looked over at his brother. The younger boy looked up at him with wide questioning, scared cinnamon eyes. He sighed quietly and bowed to Hikari, feeling strange at doing such a thing to a girl, "May I have permission to speak?"
Hikari blinked, then shrugged awkwardly, "Of course... Taichi. You don't have to ask, really."
Ignoring the last part, Taichi went ahead with an important question, "Will business take place here?" It was the only reason he could think of for getting such a nice room, though the bed seemed a little small and cramped to do much with.
There was a moment of shocked silence before Hikari stuttered, "B-business? As in... No! Kami-sama, no! I'd forgotten for a while that you..." She trailed off, sounding sick to her stomach.
"Then... then what are we supposed to do?" Taichi asked, forgetting himself for a moment in confusion as he stared at her paling face. Why did she seem so upset over the question? It hadn't been that bad of one, in fact it would have helped to straighten things out a lot if she had just explained how it all was going to work.
"Do?" She blinked, still looking a little too pale, before she sighed and sat down on the edge of the lower bed. "I thought you said you knew?" Cringing internally at this last bit, Taichi just lowered his eyes respectfully once again and hoped that they really hadn't been expecting him to know everything. "Don't you guys understand? You don't have 'Masters' anymore."
No masters? What was she talking about? Maybe it was all a joke, or a trick to see if they were really well trained or not. It had to be. How the hell could they live without the Masters? Never had a day gone by in their lives when there wasn't someone telling them what to do, where to go, when they could eat or sleep or work. Without this, he had no idea what to do! No... this wasn't right. Resolutely, he kept his eyes on the ground, squeezing his brother's hand to make sure the younger boy did the same. He wasn't going to give them any reason for punishment.
"Please... Taichi, Daisuke, you have to believe me. I know this must be hard on you, but we're your family, your real one. From before you were kidnapped." She sounded so sincere and desperate that it startled Taichi.
Daisuke quietly spoke up, for the first time, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "If I can ask a question, what do you mean by 'kidnapped'?"
Her face went blank as she stared wide eyed at the two of them, full of disbelief. "You mean... you think that... that they were your family?"
They nodded as one, determined to pass this test. There was no doubt in either of their minds that their previous home was their family. It was what they had been taught, what had been painstakingly pounded into their minds everyday since becoming a part of it all. Why didn't she understand this?
"But... but that's not right! This is your family, Taichi. And Daisuke, you used to have a real one as well but... well, we're also yours now." Her watery brown eyes glared at their bowed heads, neither of them feeling the need to respond. No matter what they said now, there was a very real possibility of getting hurt. Everything the girl was saying was too hard to comprehend and so it just washed right over their heads. Too long had they lived the way they had. "You'll see, in time. I guess this is a little too much all at once." Hikari went on, her voice softening into a sigh when still there was no response. "Do you want to be alone for a little while?"
Taichi nodded, almost too quickly, at this. It was what he had been waiting for since they arrived, some time to themselves. He needed to make sure that Daisuke was okay, and they just needed to recollect themselves, to calm down their racing minds.
With a smile, Hikari stood up, "Okay then. I'll just be in the kitchen helping with dinner if you need anything." When they nodded again, she quietly walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Both Taichi and Daisuke immediately slumped to the floor, completely exhausted after everything that had gone on that day. For awhile they didn't say anything, just tried to get their thoughts in order, staring blankly at one another. Never in their lives had they experienced anything quite like this. It was discouraging, the way they just couldn't seem to please these strangers, couldn't satisfy the little mind games being played.
Daisuke was the first to move, slowly crawling over to his older brother until he was curled up on his lap, "'Chi?"
Taichi sighed, wrapping his arms comfortingly around the smaller boy and placing his chin on the reddish unruly head. He could feel Daisuke shaking slightly against him, most likely feeling just as perplexed and frightened as himself. "What is it, Dais-chan?"
"If we're not allowed to do anything... how're we gonna get food?" His voice was muffled as his face burrowed into Taichi's shoulder.
"Well... maybe it works differently here." Was all he could come up with. Really, Taichi hadn't a clue as to how they were going to live if these strangers kept holding back the details of what was going to happen. Right then his stomach let out an aching growl, letting him know just what it's opinion was on this issue. "They have to feed us in the morning anyway, right?" It wouldn't be the first time they'd gone hungry for the night.
With a small nod, Daisuke mumbled, "'guess so. Where d'you think the others are?"
Taichi hesitated, "I'm... I'm not sure. Probably in other places like this." He hoped that the others were faring better than they were. Especially Takeru, who had gone off all by himself. Like Daisuke, Takeru had always hated to be left alone and Taichi knew he was going to have a hard time where ever he had gone.
"Oh." There was a few minutes of silence where neither one of them knew what to say. They didn't need to talk to know that the other was feeling the same helplessness and bewilderment. Taichi once again wished that none of this had ever happened, that he was back where he belonged, safe and sure of what was going to happen next. Before all of this, the future wasn't something to worry about. They'd get up, eat, 'work', eat again and then sleep. It was simple, no complications if it was all done without a fuss. But now these strangers had to come and ruin everything.
Slowly Taichi lay down on the floor, bringing Daisuke with him so that they were curled up together. There was no way they were going to touch those strange beds without permission. The younger one had already fallen fast asleep, only whimpering a little in protest at the movement before settling down once again. It was going to be a long night, full of sudden wakenings to this new environment. The brightness and warmth was going to cause a lot of confusion, but at least the thinly carpeted floor was just as hard as their old bed. Taichi sighed and closed his eyes, tightening his hold on his brother to gain some of the familiarity of home. As his mind started to wander, he slowly let himself forget where he was, pretending that everything that had just happened was only a dream.
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(A/N) Yup, that's it for this chapter. My mind has just been
too slow these days to get much done, but hopefully I get some inspiration
soon for the next part! Thanks for the reviews!