"Wait!" The digimon said said.

Koji glared at him, daring the Aciesmon to stop them.

"Let me transfer you," He quickly explained.

Koij frowned. He wasn't too fond of the idea of being, well, blasted with a white light (Tommy could probably have explain it better!) but he could clearly see that Takuya was dead on his feet and hurting. A march back to Ophanimon's castle would not be the best medicine right now. He nodded his affirmation to the digimon and waited for that tingling sensation.

(o)o(o)o(o)

Everyone was waiting for Takuya as he emerged from the hospital changing rooms. "Well? Doesn't the Doctors want to talk to you?"

Koji shook his head, "Nope. We've finished explainning the miracalus recovery for now. He doesn't want us back 'til tomorrow, something about getting some sleep."

Takuya couldn't help but yawn, acutely aware that none of them had got much, if any, sleep in the last thirty or so hours.

J.P. smiled at the young man's reaction and added, "Has the doc finished with you?"

Takuya nodded, pulling the shirt sleeve up to show the heavy support bandage on the lower half of his left arm and wrist, "He says it's not broken but I've pulled some sort of leg-- liger-- lie-- "

"Ligaments?" Zoe suggested.

" Yeah! That was is. Ligaments. So I have to wear this for a few days."

"What about your...other injury?" Kouichi dared to ask.

"Oh! Fine. Well, things are still a bit blurry at the edges but it's all on the mend apparently."

Tommy frowned, "Why the glasses, then?"

A wry smile crossed Takuya's lips, "'Cause I just discovered I'm slightly short sighted!" Noticing that his friend was still frowning, he added, "Doc said that the damage and then repair was centred around the optic nerves and my poor eyesight is due to the muscles around the lenses in my eyes not working properly to adjust the focal point of the images I see. In fact, he went to great lengths to explain how the eye works and was in positive fits of excitement at all the test results he kept running on my optic nerves, half of which I didn't follow. I barely got out of there before he started on a whole load more!"

Everyone laughed, "So, the doc rambled on and on about something that didn't interest you and/or you didn't understand?" Koji summerized.

"Yeah. What's so funny?"

Everyone laughed again, "It just sounds so familiar!" Zoe chimed.

This time Takuya laughed too, then added, "Hungry?"

Everyone nodded, Takuya was indeed starving. They'd got back at around 7 a.m. and had been waiting to be discharged since. It was now way past breakfast and well on the way to lunch.

"Good," Takuya replied, "Let's get the heck out of this place!."

Ten minutes later and the pair were in Zoe's convertable heading down a road less traveled. "Where are we going?" Takuya asked, "And aren't the others joining us?"

"Aha!" Zoe said, rather cryptically and continued driving. When they reach the end of the road, she swung the car away from the town and back up into the hills surrounding Shibuya. Takuya remained silent knowing that when Zoe was up to something and disinclined to talk about there was no point pushing it. Instead, he stared out of the window watching the world float by, enjoying the simple but priceless pleasure of sight.

Zoe glanced across at her companion and smiled to herself. The look of wonder and peace on Takuya's face told her more than words ever could that this little plan of hers was so the right call.

After several miles of winding roads, Takuya could see that they were very near the top of one of the hills and, just as the road reached a dead-end, Zoe pulled the convertable to the left onto an old dirt track. They bumped their way down the track until it too ended. "Isn't that Koji's Landrover?" Takuya asked.

Zoe nodded and pulled up next to it. "Come on," she said, jumping down from the vehicle.

Takuya followed, his curiosity truly piqued. The path rose up the final few yards to the top of the hill and as they neared the top, they came out of the tree line and into a large grassy clearing. Takuya smiled, for there at the very top were Koji, Kouchi, Tommy, J.P. and, even, Scaff, all sat around what looked like a picnic.

(o)o(o)o(o)

Takuya sat at the edge of the clearing, looking out over the breath-taking view that lay before him. The sun was setting making the scene even more beautiful and in just a few moments helped so dramatically to demonstrate the true value of his recovered sight. Sometimes his friends could be incredibly sensitive and understanding. Takuya laughed to himself, What a scary thought!

The picnic, though he hadn't known it at the time, had been everything Takuya had needed. The easy company of his friends, good food (though he didn't like to ask where the guys had scammed it from) and a place to rest (and doze) not with the cold, grey walls of the hospital but with the open blue skies of a warm afternoon in Japan.

"Takuya?" Koji's not-so-gentle enquiry bought Takuya's thoughts back. "We're packing up. You ready to go?"

He nodded, stretched and stood up, patting the top of Scaff's head as he did so. Sighing with an inner peace, he took one last look at the view laid out in the orange glow of the sunset and said, "Wonderful, isn't it?"

Koji watched Takuya's face as he stared out across the vista, his bright brown eyes sparkling with energy and reflecting the huge range of nature's colours before them. "Yeah. It could be, but I'm over it." He said sarcasticly, with a smirk to match.

"Geebus, Koji. You jerk. You really do know how to kill the moment don't 'cha?"

Everyone laughed as they head to their cars, ending the most... exciting, to say the least... story that will ever be told.

The End

Finally! I got it done! YAY!

I'm so terribly sorry... It took a kick in the ass from someone named Kaimi, in order for me to get off my ass and finish this.

Since I got back from Florida, things have been just a little hectic... --U

I've taken my GED, erm-- Got my first boyfriend (my best friend asked me out. O.O!), and have gotten grounded more than one time...((smiles slyly))

Again, I'm so sorry for it takingsofrickin' long for me to finish this. I really hope you'll forgive me, and be sure to e-mail me some suggestions for new stories! I apprecaite allyour reviews, and thanks a bunch for reading Through the Eyes of Friendship! ((big smiles))