Disclaimer: digimon does not belong to me!
I was waiting outside, debating whether I should risk looking through the windows when I heard a scream. A loud, terrible scream of torment and agony. Yama. I had heard that scream in my apartment. Abandoning all caution, I raced for the windows but they were barred. I ran around the back of the house, looking for an opening, anything. Hidden by bushes, I found a window, a small window and peered through. What I witnessed made me see red. Yama was tied to a bed, his father and two other men were hurting him. He was crying, screaming in pain and I wanted to help. They hit him, beat him and then they stripped him of his clothes and touched him. I couldn't bear to see anymore. I turned away and threw up in the bushes. That was what he was trying to keep me from. They were hurting him, laughing at his pain. He was bleeding and they only made it worse. I had to help. But how? They were three grown men, probably drunk. But all my good judgement flew out the window when I heard Yama.
"No. Please, don't hurt me. Please." Then he let out another shriek, one worse than before. I had to help. In a rage, I flew at the door but it was locked. I searched in the bushes, under his welcome mat, anywhere I could think of when I finally found it, hidden in a planter hanging from the doorway. I opened the door, careful not to make any noise and followed the sounds of sick laughter. I came to a door that was partially opened; in their eagerness, they had forgotten to close it properly. I threw that one open, they would hear or see me whether or not I was careful. But they were having too much fun to notice me. They finally got tired and dressed before heading upstairs to have a smoke and some beer. I dived behind some boxes as they were passing me but it took all of my self-control because they just left Yama there. He was hurt and bleeding, bruised even more now, fresh ones covering older ones and those handcuffs had to be uncomfortable. When they were gone, I emerged from my hiding spot and crept towards him.
"Tai?" Yama shrunk away from me. I reached over and unlocked the handcuffs. As soon as he was free, he tried to stand but sprawled to the floor, gasping in pain.
"Let me-" I reached for him but he seemed to curl up inside himself.
"No. Leave me alone." He hissed, waving me away from him, and stood, shaking. He swayed and I caught him but he stiffened and twisted away from me, crying. "Noooo," he moaned quietly, "No, you aren't seeing this, you can't know about this." I approached him but he backed away, refusing to meet my eyes. I forced myself to focus only on his face, not the mottled purple skin or the fact that he was naked.
"Yama." At the sound of my voice, he cowered and I cursed those who had hurt him so badly, he cringed when his name was called. "Yama, look at me." He lifted his head and met my gaze for a second before averting his eyes back to the floor. It was painful to see him so broken; his eyes were filled with hurt, betrayal, fear, and anger all battling within him. I backed him into a corner and now he was scrabbling at the wall, much like a cornered animal. "It's okay Yama. I won't hurt you, I promise." I was getting closer and he was pressing himself as close to the wall as humanly possible.
"Promises mean shit," he spat, still trying to get away from me. His eyes were darting around the room, looking for an escape route. "You make promises when you know you won't keep them. You lie to gain my trust and then you violate me. How can you expect me to trust you when you've hurt me so badly?" His words stung and I suppose he had a point but why was he talking to me? I hoped fervently that I hadn't done anything to let him down. I was speechless so I did the only thing I could think of: I pulled him into a hug. He struggled with me, trying to push me away but I held on. He needed help and I wasn't about to let go.
"Shhhh. Yama, listen to me. I would never hurt you. I'm your best friend. I would never hurt you. I would never, ever do anything to hurt you. You have to understand that." I rocked him and finally felt him relax a little. "Come on, you need something to wear." I led him to his room, making sure that the men didn't see us and we stepped inside, closing and locking the door firmly behind us. He collapsed onto his bed, exhausted both emotionally and physically and I pulled his blankets over him feeling that maybe he would be more comfortable covered up, besides the sun was setting and the night air was frigid.
"Tai," he mumbled sleepily, allowing his head to sink into his pillow.
"Hmm?" I looked up from a jumble of already worn clothes.
"Promise- promise me- that- that you won't tell anyone. Please? Don't tell anyone, okay?" He sounded so like a little child begging someone not to tell his parents of his wrongdoings that the corners of my mouth lifted into a small smile. I didn't want to break his trust but this was one thing that could not stay a secret. His dad deserved to be in jail and Yama deserved a better life. But if I told him that I didn't promise, I didn't know what he would do.
"Yama, you know I can't do that." I shook my head. He made a small, frightened noise in his throat. I sat down on the edge of the bed next to him but he turned his back on me, flinching in pain as he did so. "You deserve so much better. You can't keep living life like this. It's not fair to you." I massaged his back as I spoke. "I can't just keep this a secret." I lay down next to him.
"But what if he said it was all my fault? What if I did something to deserve what he did to me? What if they don't believe me?" He turned to face me and embraced my waist in his thin arms. "What if I was bad and that's why he hurt me?" I looked at him watching me with liquid blue eyes. For some odd reason, I didn't even care that he was holding my waist; it just felt right and the thought scared me.
"You can't believe that you deserved that treatment. You, Yamato Ishida, deserve so much better." I held his head in my hands and kissed his forehead. "And no one in their right minds would possibly think you're lying, especially since you have a witness." He broke into a smile, the first real one that I'd seen in a long time and clutched me tighter. It took him a while but pretty soon his breathing was regular and I eased out from his embrace. When I found suitable clothes for him, I waited ten minutes before I gently prodded him with a finger and handed him the clothes. He rolled gingerly off the bed and I bit back a gasp. Where he had lain, there was a pool of blood. He saw it and bit his lip, watching me anxiously for my reaction. I looked at him and there was a trickle of dark red running down the back of his leg. "Does it hurt to move?" My voice cracked and I cleared my throat, trying to regain my composure. He nodded and I gulped. How were we going to walk all the way to my home if he was in agony every step of the way? And with those goons still in the house and blocking our only exit, it was beginning to look as if I'd gotten myself into a hopeless situation.
A/N: t.v. announcer voice What will Tai do now? How are they going to get out of the house? Will Yamato's father find them? Find out when you tune in next time on Hurts and Healings! (Reviews are highly welcomed)