"There you go." Yamato whispered warmly, holding a small cup to Taichi's lips, letting him drink. Taichi had been substantially weakened by their enemy's attack a few days back, and trying to transport their wounded safely had considerably slowed their purpose. Takeru had almost gotten used to dealing with things with only the use of his left hand. Every time he tried to strain the hand, sharp pains shot through it and he heard those terrible waves. He was beginning to wonder what the nature of this wound really was.
"Thanks, Yama chan." Taichi said softly. He wasn't thrilled with having to be taken care of, but at least it was by Yamato and that meant he got to spend some time allow with the big lug. Anyway, he was pretty much back on his feet now. He just had to take it easy. Yamato smiled back and gave him a gentle kiss.
"No prob."
"We're almost a week late. We're going to miss the others." Jyou worried. "I hope they wait for us."
"I'm sure they will." Iori said. Yamato got up and walked over to the river again to wet a cloth for Taichi's head.
"Hn."
Yamato looked up to see another strange child. He certainly wasn't in the mood to deal with these brats right now, considering how badly his friend had hurt Taichi.
"What do you want kid?"
Green eyes stared passively.
"I don't have time for this. Attack or don't, I don't care." Yamato got up and began to walk away, feeling the annoying tug of the child's hand on his leg. The fathomless eyes caught his again.
"I am Doko the Hunter." The child said flatly. "And you are my prey."
"Good for you." Yamato shook the child off his leg and headed back toward the others. The child raised his bauble.
"You have until sundown. Then the Hunt begins."
Yamato rolled his eyes and continued walking.
"Who was that kid?" Iori asked apprehensively. Yamato placed the cloth on Taichi's brow and sat next to him.
"One of those idiot summoners. He said he was going to start hunting us at sundown."
"We should get out of the woods then." Mimi concluded. Palmon was sitting on her lap. She'd found her the other day and was much relieved.
"So he can hunt us easier?" Jyou said sarcastically. Mimi made a little sneer.
"So we can give him an open fight. I don't want to be creeping around the woods while some kid is trying to hunt us down. It would be better to skirt the woods anyway so we don't get lost."
"Can we get Tai kun that far before sundown?" Yamato asked aggressively. His first priority was to get Taichi to a place where he could heal safely. He didn't see any point of going out of his way to avoid a fight.
"I can walk, Yama chan. I'll be fine."
Yamato shook his head. "We need to get back to the meeting point, and make sure the others are alright. Period. Plus I don't want to rush Tai kun around when it could make him worse. I don't care what Doko has in store for us."
"Okay, we can't get out by sundown, but we can prepare for a fight." Jyou suggested. Iori nodded.
"We should feed our Digimon now to prepare." He said sensibly. Armadillomon smiled and nodded.
"Sounds like a plan to me."
Sundown came and no monsters had appeared, so the group set camp and started a fire. The wind was strong, and the flames flapped around like a wounded bird. Takeru sat quietly rubbing his hand, wondering if those black marks had lessened any, or if Patamon had died in his attempt to find them.
"Little brat chickened out?" Mimi suggested. Jyou sat next to her and shrugged.
"I don't know. You think he was just trying to scare us?"
"No one got scared." Takeru pointed out. "He just gave us a chance to prepare. Why would he do that?"
"Whatever happens, stick together." Iori warned. "A hunt suggests he may try to take us down one by one, and he can't do that if we all stick together."
"He might not be as strong a summoner as his little friend Gally." Takeru remarked bitterly. Yamato shook his head.
"Don't know and don't care. I don't know what he expected us to do, but we obviously didn't do it. You guys should get some sleep. Me and Gabumon will take the first watch."
The others laid down around the fire and attempted to get their various thoughts calm enough to sleep.
Maybe Patamon knows how terrible I am now. He doesn't want to be found. Takeru thought to himself. The scolded himself for the thought. He hasn't even seen you, you idiot! The Digital World is huge and no one knew we were coming. He's probably just far away and hasn't been able to get back to File Island.
Yamato looked over at his brother, who was tossing a bit and resisted the urge to get out his harmonica. It would wake the others.
Maybe... that kid is just hunting me. The thought struck him suddenly and at first he tried to dismiss it, but it made more sense the more he thought about it. After all, he didn't come up to the group and introduce himself like Gally did. Maybe he is only interested in hunting us one by one. And I'm first.
"Yamato chan, wasn't Taichi kun sleeping right there?"
"What?" Yamato turned his head over to the side of the fire he'd prepared for himself and Taichi to discover in horror that the brunette was gone. He bolted to the bedding and looked through it frantically. Then without another word, he ran into the forest to look for him.
"Yamato chan, wait!" Gabumon cried running after him. In the bushes, giggling could be heard.
"Thanks, Maze chan." The sandy-haired hunter whispered. A devious little girl crouched beside him.
"No problem." She replied. "I have to go check on my toys. Let me play with the pink-haired one when you're done with her, okay?"
"Oh, she doesn't have a dark spirit at all!" Doko complained. Maze shrugged.
"She's cute though. Go on and get him before he gets the sense to get the others."
Doko nodded vigorously as Maze disappeared.
"Yamato chan, are you crazy?" Gabumon demanded as Yamato fell flat on his face. He'd tripped over something in the dark and was already jumping up to keep looking for Taichi.
"He's out there somewhere, and I have to find him!"
"Haven't we covered this already?" Gabumon demanded running after him. "Come on, Yamato chan, we'll have a better chance of getting to him if we let the others help. Not to mention you could get yourself killed!!"
Yamato stopped short and Gabumon ran into the back of his legs. He turned around, tears in his eyes. "It was my watch. I wasn't supposed to let anything happen!"
"Yamato chan, we would have heard something if Taichi kun was taken away normally. It wasn't your fault!"
"There has got to be some way I can protect him!"
"There is! Go back and tell the others what happened so we can find him. It's the best thing you can do for him right now." Gabumon reasoned. It wasn't easy to get Yamato to listen the best of times, and this was the worst, though Gabumon had to admit he had an advantage over anyone else trying to beat some sense into the stubborn man's head.
"Okay." Yamato agreed, but before he could follow him a familiar voice rang in the air.
"I told you the hunt began at sundown. Why did you make me kill your little boyfriend in order to get you alone?" Doko stared at him savagely, bow and arrows ready on his back, a long cruel knife in his hand.
"What? You killed Taichi?!" Yamato lunged for the boy. Mid-stride he stopped and looked down. The kid had shot an arrow into his leg. He starred in cold realization at the spreading red stain on his jeans.
"I smell your blood." The child grinned aiming his bow at Gabumon. "Why don't you run along and tell the others what's going on, like a good little dog? Don't make me kill you, too. Hunting is such an intimate experience between hunter and prey. I hate to share."
"Go on, Gabumon." Yamato said stiffly. Gabumon began to protest. "Go now!! Tell the others to get the fuck out of here! He'll go after them next when he's done with me."
"I'm your partner, and I'm not going to let you get killed!"
"It doesn't matter anymore." Yamato replied softly. "Taichi kun's dead and I'm not letting anything else happen to my friends. Please, Gabumon. If you're my friend, leave now and don't make me watch you die. This isn't a Digimon you're fighting. It's a child. And it has weapons that hurt and wound. He might kill you easily. Please. Go."
Gabumon considered his options. If he died, Yamato would most likely give up and let this kid kill him. If he thought he had friends to come back to, he might survive. Plus, he could always bring the others to find them and save Yamato. Off he ran.
"Good dog!" Doko yelled gleefully. His eyes focused on Yamato again. He was breaking off the shaft to the arrow so he could run better. "I'll give you some time. It'll make the hunt more fun. But I can still smell your blood."
Yamato nodded seriously and took heel into the forest, thinking as he went.
He doesn't know I have my knife. He doesn't know I have my harmonica. How's that going to help?? Knife. I have the knife. My legs are longer. But I'm injured. Eto etoo....
He stopped behind a tree for a moment to dig the knife out of his pocket and opened it. He's slit that kid's throat if it kept him from hunting down the rest of his friends. And Taichi...
I've failed you. The person I loved the most... but I won't fail the others Tai kun, I promise. I'll do this for you.
Yamato wiped the tears from his face and honed his senses as he began to run again.
This is gonna be a night.
Gabumon starred in surprise at the sleeping forms by the fire.
"Taichi kun wake up!" He shook Yamato's sleeping lover vigorously. Agumon woke up and held his arm.
"Be more gentle, Gabumon!"
"Wha? What's wrong?" Taichi pushed his way into a sitting position, ignoring his aching ribs. "Where's Yama chan?"
"In big trouble. Doko is hunting him in the woods as we speak!"
"What?" Takeru pulled on his hat and jumped to his feet. "What happened to sticking together?"
"He must have pulled some kind of illusion because when we looked over at Taichi kun it appeared as though he weren't there! Yamato chan believes that Doko killed you to get him alone for the hunt."
"We've got to find him!" Taichi declared. Agumon put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hold on, Taichi chan."
"I'm not going to sit around while Yamato gets himself killed! We've got to go, now, and find him before Doko does."
"That child was armed. Other than ourselves, do we have any weapons?" Gabumon asked.
"Yama chan has a switchblade." Taichi told him. Gabumon looked surprised.
"I thought Yamato chan only carried his harmonica."
"What's a harmonica going to do for you in a dark ally?"
"I have some hypodermic needles." Jyou suggested. "Oh, and something that could put Doko to sleep if I stuck it in his ass."
"Nice, Jyou kun." Takeru muttered, feeling his anger rise. First Taichi, now his brother. These children were getting out of hand, and pretty soon, if they didn't do something the bodies could be piling up. He had to do something.
"Takeru.. your arm." Iori gasped.
Takeru looked down to see some black liquid oozing out of his bandage and even worse, long black strips of something were circling his hand. He recoiled from himself to no avail. The wound pulsated unnaturally, bulging outside the realm of his normal flesh.
"Eww." Takeru said angrily, holding his arm as far as he could from his body. "Dammit. I'm going after Anikun. I have I knife, too."
"Takeru kun, you don't even have your Digimon," Iori warned, following him.
"I can show him my arm and make him puke." He replied acerbically stalking out of the camp. Taichi stood up.
"Gabumon, Agumon, come with me. We're going to look, too."
"But-" Agumon protested. Taichi held his hand out.
"No buts. We're finding Yama chan.. And if we do, both of you can warp Digivolve."
"He's just a child, Taichi chan." Mimi protested as she and Jyou followed them.
"He's just a child that plans on killing us one by one. I'm not going out of my way to kill him, but I won't hesitate if that's what it takes."
"Jyou chan..."
"I know, Mimi san." He held her closed to him as they walked briskly in their search.
Doko licked his lips ecstatically. Yamato was better prey than he'd thought. Well built and in shape, he'd manage not only to avoid his arrows, but to fend him off well enough to go on the run again when he'd met up with him and had a small knife fight. Doko would revere the scar Yamato had given him on his cheek and chest. Good prey was so hard to find, he would almost regret having to kill him in the end.
Doko wondered what trophy he should take as he scampered along sniffing for Yamato's scent. An ear? His perfect nose? Those beautiful blue eyes preserved into a pendant or sorts? Ah, that one was worth considering. And perhaps to make a hat out of that silky blond hair of his. It was much more full and luxurious than his own hair. Doko smirked. A Yamato-skin cap.
All delicious possibilities. Or he could just have him stuffed. Perfect and his, forever.
The prey in question was still darting in between trees, intentionally leaving his blood in areas where he didn't plan to stay to throw off the scent of that little monster, hoping his friends had been able to get away by now. His eyes were now well accustomed to the dark and he moved through it as though he we a creature of the wild himself. He didn't have the advantage of whatever strange kind of canine senses the boy had, but he knew he'd wounded him, and perhaps some vicious virus Digimon would show up and eat him.
He was hoping also that Doko didn't realize how badly he'd been injured himself in that knife fight. One hand was held tightly against his abdomen, trying to force the bleeding to stop. I'll be with you pretty soon, Taichi kun. But not yet. I have to finish him. He'll come after the others.
My brother... oh little brother... I hope you find a way to get along with father when I'm gone. And my friends... Jyou kun, Mimi chan, Sora chan, Kou kun, Ken kun and Dai kun... Survive this. Live.
Yamato saw a low branch and began frantically climbing upward, deliberately smearing the base of the trunk with his blood. He'd stayed low to the ground, and if Doko suspected him injured, he might not think to look for him in the tree. Hopefully, Yamato could get the drop on him and end this nightmare for both of them.
"Do you see anything?"
"No, Taichi kun, but I can smell him." Gabumon replied. "I hope you have more bandages, Jyou. He's bleeding more than he was before."
"I've got it covered." Jyou said, trying to hurry Mimi along. She didn't seem to want to come, but he couldn't let her be alone, and Yamato would need him when they finally found him.
"Yamato chan..." She whispered. "I knew we should have gotten out of this forest."
"It's okay, Mimi san. We'll find him." Jyou assured her.
"Hopefully while he's still alive. Have Take chan and Iori chan gotten ahead of us?"
"I think so." Taichi said, trying to see better. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw them up ahead. He could have been wrong, though.
"Takeru kun I think you should sit down and rest." Iori told him gravely. Takeru arm had been moving so strangely, that Iori was afraid. He didn't know what to think, especially when he noted the plants that were near Takeru seemed to be backing away.
"No." He answered flatly. His arm pulsed wildly, almost as if reacting to his anger, and Takeru stopped walking. Iori drew closer to Takeru, trying to determine what was going on.
"Iori chan," Armadillomon looked at him with concern, not quite wanting him to get near Takeru in case it was contagious. Takeru was clenching the fist hard, his face squinced up in concentration.
"What's happening to me?" He asked softly.
"I don't know, Takeru kun. But you can beat it, whatever it is."
"I'm not so sure." Takeru drew in a breath and paled, watching his arm pulsate and writhe completely independent of his will. It made the oddest sound when it did, a "blurble," noise. And he was beginning to wonder how long it would be before this drove him insane. "We've... got to keep moving, Iori kun. I..."
"I know. Let's go."
They moved quickly through the forest, Armadillomon in the lead so they wouldn't get lost in the dark, though Takeru's arm seemed to be glowing brightly enough to serve as a pretty good nightlight.
Crouched up in the tree, Yamato removed his shirt and began making a bandage out of it. If he couldn't subdue Doko right away, he'd have to be able to fight him again.
Hearing someone coming past his sanctuary, Yamato leaped out of the tree and swiftly held his knife to his neck.
"Anikun??"
"Take kun?" Yamato let him go and leaned against the tree. "What are you doing here?!"
"Looking for you, you idiot. No way we're letting you do this alone."
"Stupid kids." Doko's cruel voice came from behind them. "I only want your brother right now. You should leave and let me finish this."
"Back off, Take kun." Yamato warned, bringing his knife up again. Doko took a swipe at him. Yamato dodged, barely. It was getting difficult for him to move quickly. Blocking another jab with his knife, Yamato kicked the boy from underneath. Once he had him off balance, he slashed at the boy's neck. Doko snarled and winced, but continued to breath.
"Nice try." He muttered, reaching in his pocket. He pulled out his bauble, and Yamato watched in disgust as the wound healed before his eyes, leaving a thick scar. He let it go, allowing his bauble to float until he needed it again. "I suppose you've learned not to touch those, hm?"
Doko launched another attack. Takeru clenched his fists and looked to Iori who was also watching the fight and trying to decide how best to intervene without hurting Yamato in the process. Takeru pulled out his own knife and readied himself. Iori called for Armadillomon to digivolve.
"If you get a clear shot, Ankylomon, take it." He instructed. Takeru on the other hand pulled out his own knife and readied himself.
"You're such good prey." Doko panted eagerly. "The best I've had so far."
"And your a pretty good enemy. Too bad you have to die." Yamato yelled as he blocked another attack.
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you." Doko cried as he plunged his knife into Yamato's side. Yamato gasped as he reeled back. This wasn't too far from what he'd been expecting. Only he'd been expecting his friends to be well out of the area when it happened.
"Yah!" Takeru yelled as he came flying forward, knife in hand. With one violent swoop he lashed against Doko's arm.
Blood splattered everywhere as the arm went flying off. Takeru starred at the child for a moment.
How? It's only a little knife... how did hurt him so badly??
"D-d-demon!" Doko shrieked in disbelief, grabbing his bauble with his remaining hand and running backwards as fast as he could.
"I... ano..." Takeru considered handing the boy his arm but wondered how sick it would seem to actually do that. Doko snarled.
"Fine. You don't want to play?" Doko raised his bauble to the sky. He paled when he realized that his prey was behind him with a knife to his neck.
"Call your black beast and see how long you live." Yamato said fiercely. "How long can you keep it here with your head detached?"
"I'll heal." Doko warned.
"And I'll cut you again." Yamato said, feeding his knife a bit of Doko's tender neck. He coughed, and Takeru saw the blood coating his lips. "I know you can't heal fast enough right now, because your arm is still bleeding. I should just take your goddam life after what you did to Tai kun!"
"No!" Takeru cried. "Tai chan's alright! It was a trick."
"What?" Yamato didn't release the boy. "He's really? Is he alive?"
"Yes!" Iori yelled. He couldn't imagine what Yamato would put himself though if he killed that boy and it turned out he didn't really need to wreak revenge.
Yamato dropped back. "Tai...chi..."
"Black beast-"
Takeru ran over to his brother to get him out of the way when his arm decided to act of it's own accord and grabbed the neck of the boy. He was surrounded by the ugly black strips that had been circling his arm and his bauble stopped glowing.
"No." Doko tried to shake the black mist away from his bauble but failed. "NO! My bauble must work!"
"You're such a failure, Doko kun."
Gally came walking out of the forest.
"Hey, I came close to killing one of them!"
"Close isn't good enough. The Hunt is over." Gally hissed opening her hand and drawing the boy to herself. She looked over at Yamato and Takeru dismissively. "See you later, worm meat." They both vanished.
"I'm getting tired of they kids just disappearing. Can't they stay to finish a battle?" Yamato complained weakly. Takeru wiggled his arm, glad for the moment it was behaving normally.
"Let's find the others. They're worried about you."
Ankylomon lifted them onto his back. "Nice to know I'm good for something these days. You seem to be running the show, Takeru kun"
"I think I need to stop interfering." He muttered, trying to keep Yamato looking at him. "Hold on."
"Jyou san! We have another patient for you!" Iori called, seeing the others down there. Ankylomon let the boys off and Yamato went running out of Takeru's grasp and collided with Taichi.
"You're alive. You're alive." Yamato cried, feeling Taichi's face to be sure it was real. Taichi gave him a strong hug.
"Yeah, I am, but you might not be if you don't stay still and let Jyou kun take a look at you."
Taichi slid under Yamato's arm and laid him on the ground for Jyou to look at. Yamato simply panted and starred at him happily, rubbing Taichi's hand against his face, still amazed at the good fortune of his love still being alive.
"Anyone got a flashlight?" The doctor muttered reaching into his bag. Takeru shrugged and held his arm over them and concentrated. A relatively bright light shone down on them. "Funny."
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