Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Digimon. If I did, it would be filled with Takouji fluff!

Ayeka: Hello once again! I'm back and ready to deliver another hopefully amazing chapter. Sorry about the long wait. I had it finished at one point but then I re-read it and found a lot of things I needed to change, but I went out of town before I could change them. I can only hope that I made the wait worthwhile.

Thanks to all those who reviewed!

Also, about the names for my Digimon… I actually got the name Kuraimon from my English/Japanese dictionary. I wanted a name that fits him, so I found the name "kurai" in my dictionary (which means "without light") and added 'mon' to it. Original, eh? Lol. I did the same for Himon. ("hi" means "fire" in Japanese).

Lastly, I'd like to give a special thanks to AngelSpirit for being my beta reading this chapter for me! hugs You're such a lifesaver! Thanks so much!

And now I'll stop blabbing and get on with the story…

WARNING: Contains shounen-ai (guy/guy relationships). If you don't like it, then I suggest you turn back now...

Thoughts

Thoughts during dreams

"Speaking"

P.O.V.

Frozen

Chapter 2: Life Gets Worse

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Takuya's P.O.V.

I paced back and forth under a tree in the middle of the park. Where are they? They were supposed to be here a half an hour ago. I continued my pacing, wondering whether or not I should go looking for the twins who I was waiting for. I hope something didn't happen to them.

"Takuya!"

My pacing stopped as I heard my name being called. Looking around, I spotted Kouichi running towards me and smiled, relieved that Kouichi had finally showed up. However, my smile quickly turned into a frown as I noticed that Kouji wasn't with him.

"Hey Kouichi. Where's Kouji?" I asked as Kouichi caught up to me. Panting, he looked up at me, confusion written on his face.

"He's not here with you?" Kouichi asked. I shook my head and Kouichi sighed. "I was late because I'd been calling his house over and over for about 15 minutes. Mrs. Minamoto finally picked up, and said he wasn't home-so I just assumed he was already here even though he was supposed to come over to my house first and walk with me."

"Where do you think he is?"

"I dunno, but I'm gonna try his house again and see if he's shown up there."

Kouichi pulled out his cell phone and dialed Kouji's home while I went back to pacing. Please let him be home. Please let him be okay. I was worried about my best friend. It definitely wasn't like Kouji to ditch us like this. He was considerate enough, that he would at least let us know that he wasn't going to show up. He also had many other qualities that I adored, like the fact that he's kind, caring, and extremely sexy. Whoa. Let's not go there. Kouji's just a friend…a very cute friend…a very hot friend. Gah! Stop right there! Find Kouji now, discuss this later. I stopped pacing again as Kouichi hung up the phone, his face pale.

"What's wrong?"

Kouichi pocketed his cell phone. "Kouji took off last night. His step mom says she went in to check on him and he flipped out. I guess he started yelling at her, saying it was her fault that Dad went to Hong Kong for the next week or two. Then, it seemed like he got so mad that he ended up kicking her hard in the shin and taking off around 10 last night. He hasn't been back since."

Now I was really worried. "So he's been out there on his own for 14 hours already? We have to go find him!"

Kouichi nodded, following me as I took off in the direction of Kouji's house. "We'll start at his house and see if we can trace his steps from there." I shouted over my shoulder.

"Good idea." He replied, as we made our way towards Kouji's house, I couldn't help but wonder about what Mrs. Minamoto had said. That doesn't sound like Kouji at all. I wonder what really happened.

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Kouji's P.O.V.

My whole body is in pain. I try to move, but chains hold me tightly against a wall. I'd scream, but when I open my mouth, no sound comes out. There's some sort of wet sticky stuff running down by body from various sore spots on me. I glance out of the corner of my eye and see blood pouring from many cuts. Everything hurts so badly that I pray Death will take me away. I feel myself losing consciousness as a voice floats out from the darkness. "You will be mine, child of light. Stop struggling, give me your power, and become mine. You have nothing left. Your friends are dead, so give up and give yourself to me."

My eyes widened at the mention of my friends. No. They can't be dead. Junpei, Izumi, Tomoki, Kouichi, Takuya! Tears fell from my eyes. Please don't let Takuya be dead! Takuya!

I woke up to the sound of voices. Sweating and shaking lightly from my dream, I hugged myself, trying to calm down. It was just a nightmare. Takuya's not dead. They are all perfectly safe at home or out somewhere. My head was pounding, and there was pain coming from my right arm. I closed my eyes, trying to shut the bright daylight out. How long have I been out? If I took off last night, then today must be Friday. Why do I have the feeling there was something I was supposed to do today?

My eyes snapped open as I remembered that I was supposed to meet Kouichi at his house and walk with him to the park so we could go and hang out with Takuya. Sitting up immediately, I instantly regretted waking up at all from my peaceful-okay, not so peaceful-slumber as a wave of dizziness almost knocked me back out. I reached up with my left hand and felt the sore spot on my head. My hand grazed a huge spot of crusted blood, but it was a good thing the wound didn't seem to deep. Now examining my right hand, I discovered a nice, big black and blue bruise forming around my wrist like a bracelet. It was swollen and red, but the swelling didn't seem too bad compared to what it must have looked like during the night. Several other places on my body hurt like hell, but at the moment I didn't feel like checking the rest of my injuries.

It was then that I heard the voices again, and they seemed to be getting louder…or maybe closer. Looking over my little pile of boxes that were hiding me for the moment, I noticed a group of guys in their early twenties smoking and speaking to each other as they walked past me and towards the back of the alley. From their black clothing, similar skull tattoos, and the guns tucked in their coat pockets with the handles sticking out, I could tell they were part of a gang. I pressed myself down and huddled against the wall of the building I was sitting against, hoping they wouldn't notice me. The last thing I needed at a time like this, was even more trouble.

My plan seemed to work, because as they passed me, not a single one of them glanced my way. I breathed a sigh of relief once they had passed and waited until I thought they were far enough away from me so I could make my getaway. After watching too many late-night gangster movies with Takuya, I figured the best thing to do when gangs with guns are around is to get as far away as possible before a showdown of some kind broke out. Besides, I was already probably late enough meeting up with Takuya and Kouichi and they were probably getting worried. Once I was sure that I was safe, I climbed out from behind my box pile and raced towards the street, ignoring the pain that seemed to be trying to rip my body apart.

Just when I thought I was safe, as the sidewalk was only three steps away, I crashed into a figure that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

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Takuya's P.O.V.

"Well, as expected, he's not home yet." Kouichi sighed, closing the Minamoto's door behind him before walking over to where I was sitting, waiting for him. "And she's got one hell of a bruise on her leg where she said Kouji kicked her."

I stood up from my place on the sidewalk, brushing myself off. "So, do you really think Kouji did what she says he did?"

Kouichi sighed again. "It just doesn't sound like something Kouji would do. But then again, lately he's been acting more distant. Especially after he finally told Dad about Mom and me. I'm not sure what's been bugging him lately, but as soon as we find him, he's going to spill whether he wants to or not."

I nodded. "I suppose we'd better find him fast, then." Grabbing Kouichi's sleeve, I led the dark haired boy down the walkway towards the main sidewalk. "So, which way do we go?" Turning to the older twin, I noticed the strange look of horror in Kouichi's eyes. "Kouichi?"

Raising his arm, Kouichi pointed to something on his right. I gasped as I saw Kouji's bandana, covered in a dark substance, lying on the sidewalk a little ways down from where we were standing. Walking over and picking it up, I realized what the substance covering the bandana really was. "Blood." I whispered.

A small gasp came from where I had left Kouichi. "We've got to find him now. He's hurt. Oh Takuya! What if he's—"

"No." I cut the dark haired boy off. Standing up, I pocketed the bandana. "He's still alive and we're going to find him." With that, I took off down the sidewalk, heading in the direction we had found Kouji's bandana. Please let him be alright. Kouichi followed me, praying for his brother's safety.

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Kouji's P.O.V.

"Where are you running off to in such a hurry, pretty boy?" A voice above me asked, as strong hands gripped each of my shoulders and pulled me away from the figure, holding me in place at arm's length. Through a wave of dizziness, I saw a muscular man about an inch or two taller than me looking at me strangely. He seemed to be around his early 20's or so. I bit my lip, unsure of how to answer his question. His grip on me was strong, ensuring that I wasn't leaving anytime soon.

"Not going to answer, eh? That's kind of rude." He pushed me hard backwards, making crash into a wall and causing me to cry out in pain, as my already bruised back came in contact with the brick wall. Smirking, he quickly closed the distance between us, pinning my arms above my head with one of his hands. My mind finally seemed to register what was happening, and I struggled against his grip, but the pain screaming throughout my body and the blackness that once again threatened to take over my vision made me weak. I thought of kicking him like I had kicked my stepmother, but he suddenly moved impossibly close to me, crushing my body with his as though he had read my thoughts and known was I had been planning to do.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to wander into alleys by yourself, pretty boy? I suppose you'll just have to learn the hard way." His face was just inches from mine and I turned my head, trying to prevent what I knew was going to happen.

Using his free hand, he took this opportunity to remove my ponytail, allowing my hair to cascade down around my shoulders. Whistling lowly, he roughly grabbed my chin and forced my head to turn, so I was once again face to face with him.

"Such a pretty boy." He whispered, before placing his mouth hungrily upon mine, kissing me fiercely.

Blinking back tears, I tried to resist, but it was no use. The hand he was using to hold my head in place slowly slid downwards, reaching under my shirt as he rubbed it against my stomach. I took this opportunity to try and move my head, but he immediately moved his hand, so that it was back to holding my head still. I was about to give up all hope of being saved when...

"KOUJI!"

The man quickly stopped kissing me and looked at the source of the voice. Tears slid down my cheeks when I saw Takuya and my brother standing in the entrance to the alley, both of them fuming. "Ta…kuya…Kou…ichi…" I whispered weakly, surprised at the hoarseness of my voice.

"Kouji…" Takuya whispered. The man stepped away from me, allowing my weak body to slide down the wall into a sitting position. I tried not to cry, but I couldn't stop a few tears from escaping my eyes. Through my blurry vision, I could see Takuya and Kouichi moving towards me, each of them looking incredibly pissed off and worried at the same time. I couldn't tell which one of them seemed angrier.

The man still stood in front of me, not moving as Takuya and Kouichi cautiously moved closer to us. By comparing him to them, I noticed that he was must've been short for his age, as he looked around his 20's but was a little shorter than Takuya and about the same height as Kouichi. But even though there was a height difference, the man didn't budge, seeming pretty confident of his strength.

"Hey pretty boy, you didn't mention you had a twin. And the one with the goggles doesn't look so bad either." The man chuckled to himself, and I could barely see Takuya's eyes as they grew fiery, anger radiating furiously off of him as he suddenly rushed forward, aiming a punch at the guy's head.

Kouichi took this opportunity to run to me, kneeling down and looking me over as the man dodged Takuya's punch and retaliated with one of his own. Takuya barely dodged the blow and soon the two were a mess of punches that never seemed to come in contact with the other person.

I watched Takuya as he dodged and threw punches. He was too slow. Sooner or later, he wasn't going to be able to dodge anymore. I turned my head to look at Kouichi, who was fussing over me. "Go…" I ordered Kouichi, glancing back at the fight. "Help…Takuya…" Kouichi started to protest, but got up quickly as Takuya let out a yelp, having finally been hit by a punch in the face. He staggered back a few steps, and then proceeded to return to throwing punches at the man, growling lowly.

Kouichi looked at Takuya, than back at me, unsure of who to help. "Go…help him…please…" I gave him a pleading look and he finally nodded. Kouichi's the only person who knows how I feel about Takuya, and he also knows what I'd do to him if anything happened to the brunette.

Kouichi had the perfect opportunity to attack the man, since he had seemed to have forgotten that Kouichi and I were here as well. Takuya noticed this and moved, knowing the man would follow him, leaving his back to Kouichi. After nodding for Takuya to move out of the way, Kouichi hit the man with an extra-hard karate kick to his back, causing him to go flying forward into the wall. The man hit the wall face first, his head making contact with the bricks and a sickening thud sounded loudly throughout the alley.

Takuya walked over and stood by Kouichi, his eyes never leaving the man, who slid down into a crumpled heap on the ground. "Remind me to always stay on your good side." Kouichi chuckled at Takuya's statement. I also tried to smile, but suddenly my head started throbbing as the darkness covered my vision. I moaned in pain, and immediately through the coming darkness I heard Takuya and Kouichi's worried voices. I couldn't make out what they were saying for a loud ringing sound had taken over my hearing.

The last thing I remember was being picked up by a pair of strong arms and inhaling Takuya's sweet scent, resting my head against his chest, before I surrendered to the darkness that threatened to consume me whole.

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Ayeka: Finally! I finished chapter 2! This one seemed to take me forever. Probably because I wrote it on all these random pieces of paper (literally ranging from filler paper to napkins… whatever I could find at the time…lol), then I had to type it up. I'm a fast typist, but for some reason I become really slow when I'm typing something from a sheet of paper, rather than straight from my head. Oh well, at least this one's done and now I can go work on chapter 3!

Poor Kouji…just can't get a break, now can he? He had just better be happy that he's my favorite bishounen…who knows what I'd do to him if he wasn't laughs evilly…

Now I suppose that's all I have to say for now…Oh, wait…I knew there was something I forgot…

Don't forget to review! Have a great day filled with Takouji daydreams!