I don't own digimon, nor any of the characters. I just like to mess with them.

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new faces

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"You've got to be kidding me."

Yamato quirked an eyebrow, taking in his surroundings. "I'm afraid not Ishida-kun," The nurse replied, tucking a pencil behind her ear. "Your father said that it is the opinion of the psychiatrist that your 'disappearing stunts' are your way of expressing depression." The blond shot her an icy glare. She was not much older than he was, perhaps in her mid-twenties, but that sympathetic voice was grating on his nerves.

"In any case, the rest will have to be discussed with your doctor." The green-eyed girl motioned to him, beckoning that he follow her. "You will have group therapy twice a day and individual therapy after your second group. Breakfast is at 8, lunch at 12:30, and dinner at 6. You will be required to come to the day room for each."

Yamato stopped, furrowing his brows. "What's a day room?" "This room here," the girl replied, motioning to their left.

Several uncomfortable looking chairs surrounded a television, tables were randomly placed, and the main wall was a window, offering an expansive view of the outside world. "Next door is the rec. room. There are all sorts of games and coloring books and the like, to keep yourself busy with. Down that hall you'll find the bedrooms." She announced, brushing her ponytail over her shoulder.

"All meals will be served in the day room, unless you demonstrate good behavior, in which case you will level up and be allowed down to the cafeteria. Any questions thus far?"

Yamato blinked, trying to process the information.

"Ah…no. " He trailed off, looking down the hall distantly. There was a flurry of activity in the corridor, two nurses moved from door to door, and several chattering voices filtered in from the other rooms.

"Alright" she smiled, leading him to the end of the passageway, earning a few curious looks from the other patients. "Now as I said, these are the rooms, and this one will be yours. There's a bathroom and a shower inside. We run checks every ten minutes, but with time, the nurses will space them out."

Yamato was at a loss. Life had been normal, not necessarily the best, but normal, and now he was locked up in some….some…. nuthouse. He clenched his teeth, anger welling up inside of him. "Listen, I'm not crazy-" His voice was almost pleading, begging this girl to understand.

"Ishida-kun? That's something you need to talk about with your doctor."

Her voice was firm, but compassionate, a sympathetic smile gracing her face. Matt felt abandoned. "You'll get used to it here, everyone does. It really isn't as bad as you think." "It's a mental institution." The boy said coldly, voice even, face devoid of any emotion.

The nurse simply shrugged, reaching out and opening the door before them. "Welcome to Kyoto Hospital-" she said, holding her clipboard in one hand and motioning inside with the other.

"Home to the hopeless and insane!" chirped a new voice. At this, the nurse turned, sending an icy glare at the room's occupant. In the doorway, the blonde quirked an eyebrow, peering inside, overwhelmed with curiosity.

The room was scarcely furnished. A large window covered the wall across from him almost entirely and was framed by a twin pair of desks, one right next to the other. Yamato noted with disdain that the desk nearest the window had drawers so crammed with clothes that they barely closed, and the top itself was littered with miscellaneous papers and coloring pencils.

Across from the desks were two beds, one made with care, sheets crisp white with a thin blue blanket tightly tucked over. The pillow, he noted absently, was missing, and his eye twitched in annoyance. Looking over at the other bed, he grimaced in disgust. The blankets were thrown haphazardly around and clothes were strewn on the floor. It appeared that his roommate had confiscated both pillows, one he was leaning on, the other, beneath this feet.

Speaking of which, blue eyes wandered up from the chaos to the figure hogging his pillow. He looked about Matt's age, perhaps a bit taller, with long, sun-kissed limbs and a casual sort of grace. He wore khaki shorts and a baggy black hoodie, lounging carelessly, tossing a soccer ball into the air and catching it with ease.

When Yamato stepped in, the boy looked up, flashing a disarming smile. Chocolate colored eyes glinted with mischief from beneath a mop of auburn hair.

Sitting up, the boy swung his legs over the side of the bed, slouching slightly. To this, the nurse shook her head. "Ishida-kun, this is your new roommate." The brunette reached up to ruffle his hair before extending his hand.

"Yagami Taichi, nice to meet cha."

Yamato looked down at the hand distastefully, then back to the boy's face before looking back at the nurse.

"Well," the nurse supplied, "I'll leave the two of you to get acquainted. Tai?" At his name, the boy cocked his head, glancing over absently. "Hm?" "Group in 15." She said simply, walking out and quietly closing the door behind her.

In the silence that followed, Yamato walked over to the window, gazing out distractedly. Taichi was quiet, watching the blond. "Where are my things?" The boy asked apathetically, not bothering to turn from the window.

"Oh," the brown-eyed boy chirped. "They'll being getting checked for contraband. The nurses'll probably bring them in while we're in group." At this, the blue-eyed boy interrupted. "Contraband?"

Noting the blank look on the other's face, the other boy stopped, absently rolling the ball in his hands. "Yeah, contraband. You know, stuff that you'll try to hurt yourself with? Cds, pencils, anything with staples, spiral bound notebooks. And then shoelaces and drawstrings and stuff that you'd try to kill yourself with." Taichi waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "After that, they'll be coming in to check vitals, and since you just got here, they'll want samples. Just so you know, you don't have to give them one. Especially if you're using."

The blond turned, brows furrowing in a mixture of anger and interest. "What do you-?" "You know, if you're using drugs or what not." He interrupted. "You look like one of those rock-n-roll types." Matt opened his mouth to protest, but the brunette kept going.

"In any case, I don't like needles much myself, and the first time I was here, I didn't know that you could refuse to give them your blood."

"You've been in here before?" The blond asked dryly. Not comforting.

"Yeah, a few times." He shrugged it off with disinterest. "But what about you? What're you in for?" Warm brown eyes raised an eyebrow, and met an icy blue gaze. The silence stretched out between them while the boys regarded each other carefully. "Ok, fair enough. I mean, we've only known each other for what, 5 minutes?"

The relaxed nature of the brunette left Yamato a little rattled. He wasn't used to someone just shrugging everything off, and it was infuriating. Infuriating, but also intriguing.

"Well, anyhow, we need to get headed to group, then after that, they'll bring your dinner up to the dayroom. The rest of the night's free time."

"You don't eat in the day room?" Tai wasn't sure whether he had really heard a hint of insecurity in that voice, or if he had imagined it. "Yeah, I'm a level three." The boy said, tossing the ball to the side and standing up.

"Oh."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You'll level up in no time." The brunette reassured, but by the look on the blond's face, he didn't want to hear it. "But since we're gonna be room mates for awhile, can you at least tell me your name?"

The other boy looked at him, blue eyes scrutinizing him, trying to look for ulterior motives. Sensing no immediate danger, he looked to the brunette by the door. "Ishida Yamato."

Yamato.

The brown-eyed boy smiled again, a lop-sided grin, as he opened the door for the other. He watched the blond's retreating back, in satisfied silence.

Well, at least we're getting somewhere.

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reviews are nice. It's kind of like Christmas when I get them. WE SHOULD HAVE CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY. (end subliminal messaging)