TITLE: Bottom of the Abyss AUTHOR: Aero
EMAIL: aerogrrl (at) gmail (dot) com
ARCHIVE: Of course (email)
DISCLAIMER: Digimon doesn't belong to me.
WARNINGS: Shounen-ai, angst, taito
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hm…(blows away the collected dust) It's been way too long, na? Gomen. But, no, I haven't dropped this fic or any of my fics—just taking me a while to update. No worries though, okay? If I ever do drop (highly unlikely) any of my fics…I'll let y'all know. But, thanks for sticking around—and reviewing…It's really not a complete waste of time—'cause they keep my memory in check…Y'know, I need reminding that I have things to write and finish. And, if all else fails…threatening me with a spork is the next best thing. XD

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Chapter Five

When the world almost stopped, Taichi tried his hardest not to freak-out again. With Daisuke there he was on the edge of his seat. He didn't know what to expect, and the images of the mahogany–haired boy sitting out in the hallway, beaten and bloody made him a little paranoid.

He noticed that everything was in slow-motion once again. He could feel his tongue swelling, but tried his hardest to ignore that too. 'Everything's normal, there's nothing to worry about,' he kept thinking. He wasn't used to the feelings of fear and paranoia. This was all so new to him, so of course he was scared. But, wasn't he supposed to be courageous and have lots of courage? What happened when all that courage withered and died? What was he supposed to do then?

The air thickened and it took everything Taichi had not to gasp for air. It was like he was underwater, and there was no sign of the surface.

"Hey, Taichi, are you okay?" Daisuke asked; he shifted where he was sitting—obviously a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. Taichi's head snapped in Daisuke's direction, making the younger boy jump.

"I'm fine," he said quickly, still trying not to gasp for the air he so desperately needed. "I'm fine."

'This is all so crazy,' he thought. 'You're starting to go absolutely insane.' But, how could that be? You can't just 'go insane', can you? You don't just wake up being insane, right? Just something else to add to his list of things to tell his mother…

"Hey mom, I'm crazy and gay, would you ever of thought it?" he mutter to himself under his breath. "Gimme a minute, I'll think of something else too."

Finally the air thinned a bit, enabling Taichi to breathe normally. 'This is okay,' he decided. 'I'm okay.'

"Uh…Taichi? Are you okay?"

The shaking was uncontrollable. He couldn't stop himself—he wished Yamato hadn't left. It would be an understatement if he said he was worried about the blonde.

Daisuke's voice was distant, and Taichi could barely hear it. He looked up at the younger boy and froze. His eyes grew wide as he stared at him. The blood was everywhere—it was all over the living room. Taichi blinked hard; maybe it would all go away. Maybe Daisuke wouldn't look like a rabid dog had attacked him. That was probably the worst—the state Daisuke was in.

"Taichi?" his voice was so agonizing. Taichi shook his head. This wasn't happening, it was all a dream…it had to be.

When Daisuke reached out for him, Taichi jumped back. This was all too real for the brunet, and he couldn't handle it. He closed his eyes tightly, willing Daisuke away…out of his head. The images. It didn't take long for the stench from before to hit him once again. He wondered if it was worse now because Daisuke was so close, but he couldn't quite remember it from before.

He opened his eyes a few moments later just as Daisuke grabbed his shoulder. 'But,' Taichi thought. 'That was a little firm for a simple grab.' Then he was staring at the white and red-splattered ceiling of his living room. It took a few minutes for it to register that Daisuke had pushed him. It was like Taichi was only able to see bits and pieces of things that were happening. It didn't make any sense.

It was like it was one big dream. A big dream that felt real. That was the thing…when you know you're dreaming; can't you usually control that dream? Wasn't there like…some theory about that somewhere? He'd make sure to ask Koushirou or something.

Taichi opened his eyes…he hadn't realized he had closed them though. He also wasn't lying on the floor anymore. He was in his room, on his bed. 'When did I go to bed?' he thought, sitting up. He glanced around the room, but Daisuke was nowhere in sight. 'I wonder if that was all a dream,' he thought. 'I wonder if Yamato is still here then.'

He moved to get out of bed—his feet swinging out to land on the floor, but he stopped abruptly. Getting a weird feeling of déjà vu, he pulled his feet back under the covers. His door was open…Taichi wasn't sure he should be relieved or worried. He stared out into the hallway—waiting. After a few minutes he'd forgotten what he'd been waiting for. Finally, he sighed and moved to lay back down. There was a knock on his front door a minute later that made him jump, but he just pulled the covers tighter around his body…Willing himself to go back to sleep.

When Taichi awoke in the morning, he laid in bed for a few minutes. He was lost in his thoughts. Finally, he peeked over the covers to scope out the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Taichi knew that nothing ever did. So, Taichi pushed the covers off his body and got out of bed. He tip-toed to his bedroom door and looked out into the living room.

"Everything seems normal," he said. "But, something could pop up…"

"Why're you talking to yourself?" Yamato asked, giving Taichi a strange look. Taichi sighed.

"I see you're back—good."

"What'd you mean, I'm back…? Did I go somewhere?"

Taichi laughed, but he realized it sounded a little more nervous than he'd intended. He wasn't quite sure what to think. Could he just be joking around—trying to get a rise outta him? 'Would Yamato really do something so low…?' Taichi thought. 'I'd think he'd have a little more compassion than that.'

"Didn't you leave?" he asked, finally. Yamato just stared at him.

"Was I supposed to?"

Taichi took a step back into his room. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed now…I'm still a little tired. Don't…go into the bathroom or anything while I'm asleep, okay?" Yamato raised an eyebrow.

"Don't go into the bathroom? Why?" Taichi shrugged.

"'Cause…I said not to…just don't, okay? And, I'm gonna go back to bed…Hopefully I'll wake up and everything will be back to normal…" With that, Taichi was back into bed—covering his head with the blanket.

"Back to…? Normal…?" Yamato wondered aloud. "I wonder if he's getting sick or something…"

Yamato couldn't help but wonder why Taichi had told him not to go into the bathroom. He couldn't help but think of that stupid person in a movie who was told not to press the red button, but did it anyway. 'Curiosity kills the cat, right?' He wasn't too sure he wanted to 'die'.

He shook his head and said to himself, "You're being stupid."

Trying to busy himself with other things, Yamato was determined to forget about his curiosity. Though he'd catch himself looking down the hallway at the closed bathroom door. He cursed Taichi for ever saying not to go in the bathroom.

He made his way down the hallway, but glanced into Taichi's bedroom first—to make sure he was still sleeping. When he realized he was standing in front of the bathroom door a moment later, he took a deep breath. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. Opening it a crack, he peeked inside…everything was normal…so, what was the big deal? That's when a figure behind the shower curtain caught his eye, and the sound of running water filled the small room.

"If Taichi's sleeping…who's that?" he said under his breath. "Taichi didn't say anything about anyone being here…did he?"

Curiosity winning him over again, Yamato opened the door completely. He stared at the shadow behind the curtain. Did he really want to know who it was? He was sure that Taichi would have told him if he had any…visitors…over. That's what struck Yamato as odd—Taichi hadn't mentioned anyone.

"Screw this," he finally said. He took two strides towards the curtain, and threw it open. "Who the hell—Aah!"

"What the hell? What're you doing? I don't recall you being one to just randomly come into a bathroom and decide to take a look!"

Yamato stared at Taichi, his bottom-jaw resting on the floor. "I thought you were in bed…asleep!"

Turning off the running water, Taichi stepped out of the bathtub. "Well, I decided that I'd take a shower. Didn't I tell you not to come into the bathroom?"

"I saw you in bed in your room… You couldn't possibly be here—you're…nevermind." Yamato figured that he'd just made a mistake—though, he found it kind of ironic that Taichi would be in the bathroom when he finally let curiosity get the best of him. "Was that the reason you told me not to come into the bathroom?"

"Huh?"

"You never gave me a reason not to come into the bathroom—so, you had to of known that my curiosity would get the best of me…is this some kind of sick plan of some sort?"

Taichi stared at his best friend for a good thirty seconds. "What're you accusing me of? 'Sick plan'?" Then Taichi got an idea… He gave Yamato a sly grin, and the blonde raised an eyebrow. Though, before Taichi could do anything, Yamato's eyes narrowed in realization.

"Don't even think about it," he said. "And, put some clothes on."

With that, Yamato left the bathroom. A smirk played across his face, and a laugh emerged from this mouth. He shook his head as he sat down on the couch.

Taichi stood in the bathroom with a towel around his waist. "That was the first relatively normal thing that's happened to me recently," he mused. "Kinda refreshing in a way." He hoped that things would stay normal…He fought the urge to knock on wood—since, y'know; he didn't want to jinx himself.

After awhile, Taichi emerged from his bedroom fully dressed. Thoughts raced through his mind—questions that he couldn't figure out solutions to. Finally, he decided he'd ask Yamato for help…Maybe he'd feel better talking to someone else about it…

The brunet sat next to Yamato on the couch—Taichi stared at him for a few minutes. Yamato shifted uncomfortably under the gaze.

"Why're you staring at me like that?" he asked. Taichi shrugged.

"I'm just thinking…you're my best friend an all." Yamato gave Taichi a suspicious look.

"Yeah…so? Is there something you wanna tell me?" Taichi nodded, and Yamato swallowed. "What is it?"

"Can I ask you something first?" Yamato nodded. "Were you here when I fell off the couch? Um…Did I freak out and not let you go to the bathroom?"

Yamato stared at Taichi for a few seconds, contemplating what he said. "You fell off the couch…? Are you hurt?"

That pretty much answered Taichi's questions.

"Hm…so, I dreamed that up, too?" he asked out loud.

"Dreamed 'what' up, exactly?"

Taichi shrugged. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Yamato about the dreams he'd been having…After all, they were only dreams…it wasn't like they were actually real. He stared at Yamato for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

"I'm not sure…just weird crap that doesn't make sense. Lots of blood and guts." Taichi thought about the last sentence for a few seconds then laughed. "Like, I was in a samurai movie or something." Yamato nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Blood and guts? Who's blood and guts?" Yamato had a vague idea where this conversation was going, and he wasn't completely sure if he wanted to know about Taichi's gory dreams. Taichi shrugged again.

"It doesn't matter now, anyway. It was only a couple of dreams…no big deal."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Yamato decided to let it slide…he figured he'd get it out of the brunet later anyway. He always did. Then he remembered, "Oh, Taichi…Daisuke called earlier…you guys are supposed to get together today or something…? I told him I didn't know, and I wasn't about to attempt to wake you up." He grinned at the brunet, but didn't notice the flash of anxiety that crossed Taichi's face.

"Is that right? Well, I don't think I'll be able to hang with him today…I'm not feeling all that well right now, but if I feel better later…maybe." Yamato nodded.

"Well, then you can call him back…He said he needed to talk to you anyway."

Taichi didn't end up calling Daisuke back. He didn't think he could handle talking to the mahogany-haired boy at the moment, but he did feel bad about it. He knew that Daisuke always looked forward to hanging out, but Taichi just didn't feel up to it today…and, he really didn't feel like explaining why that was.

Though, he wondered what the younger boy wanted to talk to him about. Taichi searched his memory, but the only thing that he could remember was the images of a bloody Daisuke sitting on the floor in the hallway, and the stench that followed. Just thinking about it made Taichi want to gag.

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Updated - 06.02.2005

The end! Ha, just kidding. XD Lookit, I updated...Be happy! And, make me happy by reviewing! Does anyone else hate this QuickEdit crap? It's gonna make me go insane! It totally screws up my formatting. Oh well. Review!