I've got another chapter for this one! It might be less then two weeks, we're not sure how long yet, but I figured I'd play it safe. We'll see though. Don't worry, I'll be back to my fics in no time!

To, Shi Rurouni: We'll just have to see! Truthfully I don't write the story, it writes itself and I go along with the ride!

To, Azure Rose: It's hot in Canada! Don't believe the stories about living in igloos. I'm sweating to death! Actually, I wish I did live in an igloo. That would be so nice right about now! As for Ken and T.K., you can make them anything you want to make them!

To, Helena: Again some help with then and than please! Thanks, you're a lifesaver!

To, tabbycat: I hope you had a great time in DC! I love this next chapter and I hope you do, too!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Please review! I promise I don't bite!

One World Away From Darkness

Chapter 9: Walking Shadows

Ken Ichijouji

"Can you believe Mr. Ono actually gave me another detention?" Davis ranted.

Ken rubbed his eyes, trying to keep them open, as he and Davis headed towards the cafeteria.

"I'm telling you, it was just revenge because he couldn't get me for the frog incident."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been playing soccer indoors and he wouldn't have. You're just giving him ammunition to use against you," he replied, doing his best to pay attention.

"Yeah, to top it off, he's making me do that worm dissection again. Do you think I could practice on Wormon?" Davis asked.

"Don't even think about it," he retorted. "You're lucky Wormon didn't see what you did the last time! He would have had a heart attack! I'm outraged for his sake!"

"Whatever." Davis rolled his eyes and grinned at him. The two of them entered the lunch room and found Kari, Cody, and Yolei already seated.

"Hey, dudes," Davis said, plopping into a chair. Yolei crossed her arms and made a point of ignoring him. She had practically had a seizure when she had found out about his latest detention.

Ken glanced around and frowned. I wonder where T.K. is. There was no basketball meeting that day. He was itching to ask, but he was afraid of how the others might react. After all, normally he didn't go around asking after the blond. It was strange, but he couldn't explain his sudden awareness of his blond friend. Ever since T.K. had started to show a sudden interest in him, he had not been able to help it. Then again, maybe he was only seeing what he wanted to see.

After a moment, T.K. appeared in the lunch room and headed towards them. Ken quickly lowered his eyes to the table and proceeded to watch T.K. from beneath his lashes.

"Hey, T.K. Where have you been?" Cody asked.

T.K. blinked at the younger boy as if confused. Finally he seemed to realize that Cody was talking to him, and he smiled rather weakly. "Oh...nowhere. I was just finishing up something for class."

Ken raised his eyebrows as his blond friend sat down in the seat beside him.

"Dude, you've got to be joking. We do enough school work in this place and now you're doing it at lunch, too?" Davis snorted loudly. "Whatever, T.B."

T.K. sat staring at his hands and did not reply.

Ken looked up at him in surprise. T.K. was usually a lot more talkative at the lunch table. Kari, who sat on T.K.'s other side, gave the blond a look of concern. Ken couldn't blame her. He felt concerned for T.K., too. It looks like I'm not the only one who thinks there's something wrong with this picture.

"Homework, I bet," he muttered to himself. But if he wasn't doing homework then...what in the Digiworld was he doing?

Davis suddenly turned to him and gave him a look. "Speaking of running off, how come you weren't playing soccer in the Digiworld with us yesterday?" His friend demanded.

Ken stared off across the cafeteria unable to meet his friend's gaze. "I didn't...feel like it." Well that was convincing. I'm sure Davis is really going to believe that! Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw T.K.'s gaze flick over in his direction, but when he turned towards the other boy, T.K.'s eyes were hidden by a veil of thick, gold lashes.

Davis's eyes narrowed into an expression of deep suspicion. Ken couldn't blame him. His excuse had sounded pretty lame even to him.

"What were you and T.J. doing?" Davis asked, and he glanced between the two of them.

"Nothing. We ran into each other, that's all." T.K.'s expression looked strained, and Ken glanced at him feeling uneasy. Something odd was going on here.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Davis asked.

Ken looked down and found himself trying to scramble out of his seat. "I...um...have to do something," he stammered, refusing to meet his friend's steady gaze. He sprinted towards the door, his heart pounding, and purposely avoided looking at T.K. He could hear Davis shouting something after him, but he did not bother to stop and listen.

T.K. Takaishi

"Where does he think he's going?" Yolei demanded. She sent a dirty look at the door Ken had just exited and frowned. "We're not even finished eating yet!"

T.K. stared at the door and did his best not to panic. Something was wrong with Ken, and if he didn't get out of here soon, the others were going to figure out that there was something going on between them. He didn't think Ken wanted them to know, and he was willing to stay silent for his friend's sake. Besides, it would take a lot of explaining on his part about why he had not said anything sooner, and he didn't have the patience to deal with that right now. What he wanted was to be alone. Either that, or find Ken and figure out what was wrong with him. I'm not going to let him get himself hurt.

He quickly stood up and Kari stared at him in surprise. "T.K., what's wrong?" She asked.

He managed to give her a reassuring smile and glanced at the door again. "Nothing. I...um...there's something I have to do. I'll catch you guys later, okay?"

"Excuse me?" Yolei glared at him. "First Ken and now you? What ever happened to having some manners! We're suppose to be having a nice friendly lunch here!"

T.K. shrugged and sent her an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'll make it up to you guys another time. See you later." Before anyone else had a chance to speak, he quickly left the lunch room and went searching for Ken.

Ken Ichijouji

Breathing hard, Ken collapsed against a sink in the boy's bathroom and closed his eyes. What had that been about? Why did T.K. seem so uneasy? He sighed and turned on the tap splashing cold water on his face. The sweat on his forehead cooled, but it did not help as much as he thought it would. Now I'm just being stupid. For all I know, T.K. could have been worried about an upcoming test or something.

"Not everyone is as crazy as you are," he muttered to himself. I guess Davis and the others had noticed I was missing yesterday after all. Unfortunately, they also seemed to have caught on that something was wrong. It looked like Wormon wasn't the only one to notice anymore.

He reached forward to turn the tap back on, and he blinked in surprise when nothing came out. "That's strange," he murmured. He tried it again and still nothing happened. Just as he was about to turn away, that strange muffled static sound filled the air and the tap started to drip. Ken felt an icy hand close around his heart.

"No," he whispered, backing up. Not again. Please not again!

Something moved out of the corner of his eyes, and he jerked around in fear. He spotted two glowing red eyes gazing at him from one of the stalls. Those eyes were peeking through a partially opened door, and Ken realized in horror that there was another red eyed shadow behind the first one. Suddenly, the creature's long black arm snaked it's way towards him, and his blood froze.

Letting out a strangled cry, Ken raced down the aisle and hurtled himself into the last stall. He slammed the door behind himself, and he quickly locked it. Then, he banged the lid of the seat down and collapsed onto the toilet. He pulled up his legs, shivering, and did his best not to cry. "Go away," he whispered tearfully, and buried his face against his knees. Why is this happening to me? Why can't they just leave me alone? Over the pounding of his own heart, he could still hear that horrible scratching noise ringing in his ears. The back of his neck hurt, and he felt like he was going to faint from pure terror. "Stop!" He sobbed, tears running down his cheeks. He looked down and almost choked on his own tears. The hands were still reaching towards him. He could see their shadowy forms slithering along the floor beneath the stalls with their fingers flexing. It was only a matter of time before they grabbed him...

Ken jumped a mile high at the sound of the bathroom door opening. To his complete shock, the dark creatures disappeared and the static noise abruptly stopped. He froze and held his breath. Footsteps sounded on the tile floor as whoever it was stepped over to the sinks. Thankfully, the stall he was hiding in couldn't be seen from the sink so the guy would think the bathroom was empty. There was no way he wanted anyone to see him in his current condition or even know he was there. He sat as still as he could and strained his ears to listen. I'll just have to wait it out until the guy leaves.

He blinked in surprise as the guy let out a soft sigh and turned on the tap. He closed his eyes and felt a sudden irrational hatred towards the other boy. Oh sure, the taps work perfectly for him. He doesn't have to worry about static or evil hands. It's a regular tap for him just like it should be for me!

"What am I going to do?" A male voice said softly. It sounded rather loud in the silence that followed after he shut off the water.

Ken clapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from gasping aloud. The voice belonged to T.K. What is he doing here? He's suppose to be at the lunch table! If T.K. catches me like this, there's no telling what might happen! T.K. would think he was going nuts for sure, and at this point, he was about ready to agree. There was no way he was going to be able to face that kind of humiliation. He did not want T.K. to know how scared he was. Truthfully, he did not think T.K. would even care. A sense of panic filled him again, and it was all he could do not to flee from the bathroom as fast as his legs would carry him.

T.K. let out a sudden soft moan, and Ken leaned forward to listen. He felt curious in spite of himself. What's wrong with him?

"Why is this happening to me?" T.K. whispered to himself.

What could T.K. possibly have to feel upset about? Sadly, there was no denying that his friend sounded sad and worried.

Concerned, Ken moved closer stiil and heard another soft sigh escape his friend's lips. There was a sound of rustling clothes as T.K. leaned against the sink, or so he assumed since he couldn't actually see the other boy.

"How am I going to figure out what's wrong with him if I can't even find him?" T.K. murmured. "What if it's...no...it can't be. We couldn't...it just doesn't make sense. But...I have to know." T.K. fell silent. Ken sat there as if he had been turned to stone. There's no way. T.K. can't be talking about me...can he? No. Even if by some miracle T.K. had figured it out, there's no way he can know exactly what it is.

T.K.'s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Why don't you just ask him like Angemon said," the blond muttered to himself. "What harm could it do?" T.K. fell silent for a moment and then spoke softly. "That's what I'm afraid of."

He's not talking about me. He's not! The same words kept echoing through his head as if chanting them would somehow make it true. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. He waited in silence as T.K. used the facilities, washed his hands, and left the bathroom closing the door behind him.

Ken waited what seemed like hours, and was probably only a few muinutes, before stepping out of the stall. His chest felt tight, and he couldn't seem to stop swallowing the lumps in his throat. T.K. must have been talking about someone else. He would never be afraid to ask me anything. Besides, T.K. could care less how I feel. He would never make so much of an effort for my sake. The thought made him relieved, and yet, at the same time, it made him sad. Remembering the black hands, he quickly left the bathroom determind not to look back.