Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, this story is just for fun!

One World Away From Darkness

Chapter 4: Early Morning Blues

Ken Ichijouji

"Ken, honey, you had better hurry up or you're going to be late for school!"

Ken's eyes blinked open, and he let out a groan at the sound of his mother's voice. Slowly he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. Going to school is the last thing I feel like doing. Last night he had slept fitfully, waking up several times, and he was pretty sure he had had a nightmare, but for the life of him he could not remember what it had been about. It's probably better if I don't know.

"Ken, are you up yet?"

His mother's voice drifted through the door, and he let out a sigh. He was tempted to tell her he was sick, but there was no gaurantee she would believe him if he did. He stumbled out of bed and took a quick look in the mirror. The sight of his own face made him grimace. Dark circles ringed his midnight blue eyes, and his face was even paler than usual. I look about as bad as I feel. The back of his neck ached, and he rubbed a hand across it, frowning. It was that dream I had. That's why I feel so bad. I wish I could remember what it was about.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it now," he mumbled to himself. Quickly he grabbed a towel from the linen closet and shuffled into the bathroom. With another sigh, he stripped off his sweaty night clothes and stepped into the shower. He started to shiver from the cool, morning breeze stirring through the open window and sniffed. I hope Davis stays out of trouble today because I really need to talk to Wormmon. Maybe he'll be able to figure out why I feel so weird today. He turned on the shower and closed his eyes, letting the hot spray sooth his rattled nerves. He felt oddly jumpy this morning, and he was pretty sure he knew why. Don't think about it! That voice you heard yesterday meant nothing. It was just your imagination.

"Then why can't I stop thinking about it? Maybe that was what my dream had been about," he whispered, his voice becoming lost in the noise from the water streaming down over his body. I have to stop thinking about this otherwise I'm going to end up driving myself crazy! His hair was tangled with sweat, and he vigorously rubbed some shampoo into it. With any luck, his anxieties would disappear with the evidence of troubled sleep.

Ken let out a sudden yelp and jumped backwards in surprise. He flattened himself against the wall, trying to avoid the spray from the shower. "What the-" He broke off and reached out a tentative hand to find that the water had turned freezing cold. That's odd. He reached over and flinching at the cold spray, he twisted the hot water knob. Nothing happened.

"What the heck is going on?" He frowned in confusion.

"...Ken..."

Ken gasped and staggered over the edge of the bathtub, nearly falling on his face. Dripping wet, he quickly wrapped a towel around his naked body and stared at the shower in fear. He gazed in horror as the spray from the shower head began to fade out, growing misty with static. The lights flickered, and Ken let out a whimper of fear. This isn't happening. It can't be! Heart pounding, he raced for the door, almost tripping in his effort to get away from the tub.

A knock at the door made him skid to a halt. It was his father. "Ken, what are you doing in there? You'd better hurry up."

"I'm almost done," he called back and managed just barely to keep the tremor out of his voice. His father's footsteps faded away, and he slowly turned back towards the shower. The spray had returned to normal and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. "There's nothing wrong with me; there's nothing wrong with me," he chanted to himself in a whisper until it became almost a prayer. Hesitantly, he straightened up and pushed his dark, wet hair out of his eyes. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he was shock to see the look of utter terror in his eyes. The sound of his racing heart echoed loudly in his ears, and he shivered violently.

"Lack of sleep," he managed to choke out, glancing nervously around the room. "That's all it is. Nothing bad is going to happen. Just relax." If I really believe that, then why am I trying so hard to convince myself? He decided to ignore that thought and whirled around at his mother's loud shout.

"Ken, I mean it! Hurry up and get out here!"

Quickly, he dried himself off and pulled on his clothes. Turning off the shower, he raced for the door, determined not to look back.

T.K. Takaishi

T.K. woke with a gasp and sat up, breathng hard. That dream again. He let out a soft sigh and fell back against the pillows. What am I going to do? I wish there was someone I could talk to...

He jerked up again and winced at the sudden headache behind his eyes. "Patamon," he mumbled. "Maybe he'll know what I can do about these dreams."

He stripped off his clothes and sighed again. "I feel horrible," he murmured. Getting to his feet, he grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom where he stared gloomily at himself in the mirror. His normally bright eyes were dull, and there were dark circles beneath them.

"Now there's a scary sight in the morning." T.K. made a face at his reflection and managed a weak laugh. His hair was a tangled mess.

Quickly, he climbed into the shower and turned the hot water on full blast. I can't believe this is happening to me. I haven't had an experience like this since Devimon... He glared down at his toes, feeling angry with himself. Stop it, his mind scolded, Devimon is gone. He's nothing but ancient history. The darkness left you alone a long time ago. Quit asking for more trouble! "Don't be dumb," he muttered to himself. "I'm not that stupid, and I don't care if I am talking to myself!"

He ran his fingers through his wet, freshly shampooed hair, and stepped out of the tub. Physically he was clean, but deep inside he could not ignore the fact that his skin felt like it was crawling with bugs.

He grabbed his towel and jumped at the sound of the phone ringing.

"T.K.," his mom called out, "Matt's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

Hastily, he wrapped the towel around his waist and hurried out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Matt," he said softly into the phone.

"Hey, squirt. How's it going?"

T.K. clutched the receiver tightly in his hand and almost cried in relief. He had never been so glad to hear his brother's voice before.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked. "You sound really tired." There was deep concern in his older brother's voice. T.K. squeezed his eyes shut and tried desperately not to sob into the phone.

"I'm okay." His voice came out barely above a whisper. There was silence on the other end of the phone. Obviously Matt did not believe him for a second.

Finally Matt spoke again, and he sounded suspicious. "Are you still planning to come to my concert next week with Kari and the others?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for anything."

His mother Nancy happened to walk by, and she frowned at him. "T.K., honey, you're dripping all over the floor."

"Sorry," he replied.

His mom just rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen.

"Hey, T.K.? I just wanted to let you know the concert has been moved up to seven p.m. instead of eight. We've added some new songs, and we want to try them out."

T.K. sighed miserably. "Alright. I'll let the others know."

A sudden knock on the door startled him, and he looked up to see Yolei and Davis race into the room.

T.K. almost dropped the phone and blinked at them in surprise. "What are you guys doing here so early in the morning?" he asked, staring at them in confusion.

Yolei went pink in the face and started giggling. "T.K., it's eight-thirty in the morning already. Judging by the look of you I'd say someone slept in late!" She started giggling even louder and eyed his athletic frame.

He suddenly realized he was sitting in his living room in a towel and went bright red in the face. "Yolei!" He shouted, blushing furiously. "I'm in a towel!"

"Yeah, I noticed," Yolei giggled.

Davis just shrugged and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Who are you talking to anyway?" Yolei asked curiously.

"Matt," he managed to say. They're never going to let me forget this! And I thought the day couldn't get any worse!

Yolei grabbed the receiver from him and hit the speaker phone button. "Hi, Matt," she giggled.

"Yolei, stop embarrassing my baby brother or I'm going to have to come over there and teach you some manners!" Matt's words were not very convincing considering the fact that he was laughing so hard he could barely speak.

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Nothing I haven't seen before!"

"What!" T.K.'s face turned an even darker shade of red, and he glared at her. She can't be serious!

Yolei fell into a fit of hysterical laughter, and Davis snickered loudly.

"Don't you remember that time we went to the beach and I accidentally walked in on you and Davis when you guys were changing?"

"Oh yeah," he said thoughtfully. "I'd forgotten about that!"

"You what!" Davis shouted at Yolei. His face turned an unusual shade of pink.

"I certainly had a nice view. It was perfecto! It's too bad Kari wasn't with me," she sighed.

She did not just say that! His face felt like it was on fire. "Yolei. out. Now," he ordered and pointed his finger towards the door.

She crossed her arms and went into the kitchen grumbling about her fun being ruined.

"I tried to warn you," his mother said to Yolei.

Just great. Even his mom sounded like she was laughing at him.

On the other end of the phone Matt was struggling to breathe between laughs.

"Thanks a lot big brother. I love you, too," he said sarcastically.

"Sorry," Matt managed to say. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, Matt." He hung up the phone and realized with all the commotion, he had forgotten to tell Matt he wanted to talk to him. Oh well. It's probably for the best. I'd just end up worrying him, and then he'd never leave me alone!

"Come on," Davis said, grabbing his arm. T.K. tried to protest but Davis dragged him into his room and slammed the door behind them.

"What-"

"Hurry up," Davis interrupted and threw some clothes at him.

T.K. pulled his towel off and began drying his hair with a slight frown on his face. "Why?"

"If I get another detention because we're late, Yolei will freak," he muttered.

T.K. hid his smile behind his towel and began drying himself off. No kidding. Yolei will flip out, and she's scary when she's mad!

He pulled on a pair of underwear and studied Davis from beneath his lashes. The goggle headed leader was sitting on the edge of his bed, glancing anxiously at the clock, and looking rather nervous.

I could tell him about my dreams. He might not be able to help, but at least I'd finally be able to tell someone. I know he won't tell Kari. There's no way Davis wants her worrying about me!

He bagan to pull on the jeans Davis had thrown him and gazed at his friend with uncertainty. "Hey, Davis?"

Davis dragged his eyes away from the clock and stared curiously at him. "Yeah?"

He won't believe you, a little voice in his mind whispered. He'll just laugh and say you're being an idiot. "Nothing," he muttered and angrily yanked up the zipper on his jeans.

He had just finished buttoning them up when the door burst open. T.K. jumped a mile high and blushed as Cody and Kari entered the room."Doesn't anyone know how to knock around here?" he complained.

Cody blinked at him. "What's wrong, T.K.?"

"Nothing," Yolei snorted from behind the youngest member of the Digidestined. "He's just embarrassed because I saw him in a towel!"

T.K. yanked a brush through his hair and made a point of ignoring her.

"Yolei!" Kari scolded.

"It was an accident, I swear!" Yolei grinned at her. "Wait till you hear about the time I walked in on him and Davis at the beach. Trust me, what's under the towel is just as cute as the rest of him!"

"Yolei!" Kari gasped, looking shocked. Then she blushed and started to giggle.

Please kill me now. "Yolei!" He shouted. "If you don't be quiet, I will personally kick you out of this apartment myself!"

"You're no fun," Yolei pouted. She smiled at Kari who had turned a bright pink.

"Hey, guys? As much as I enjoy a conversation about T.K. being naked, can we please go? School won't wait forever," Davis said sarcastically.

T.K. placed a well aimed glare in Davis's direction and pulled his shirt on over his head.

"He's right," Cody said. "We had better get moving."

They started towards the door, and T.K. jumped at the sudden feel of Kari's arm around his waist.

"Yolei's right about one thing," she said softly. "You are awfully cute."

He stumbled at her words and ducked his head so she would not see him blushing. Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a really crummy day?