Hey guys here's the next chapter for ya. Hope you all enjoy it cuz things are gettin' intense. Hope to hear from all you guys and get your take on it. Well, I won't waste anymore of your time so enjoy.
Chapter 6: Animal I've Become
The rising sun's light shown through the curtain blinds, gently waking the brunette from his peaceful slumber.
Takuya mumbled and sat up in his place, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced to his friends, a smile forming on his face. He felt lucky to have friends like them. His gaze wandered over to the claws on his hands and he noticed something. Was his skin really this tanned? Maybe it was just the lighting of the house that made it seem that way.
He turned his attention to his friends as they were slowly beginning to rise from their slumber as well. He decided to drop the deeper color of his skin and smiles at the group. "Good morning everyone."
"Someone's feeling better." Kouji teased, yawning slightly. Takuya stuck out his tongue, careful not to pierce it on his sharp teeth.
Zoe yawned, "Already? You two seriously bicker like an old married couple."
Kouji didn't dignify a response. "Did everyone sleep well?"
"You bet, The floor is such a comfortable place to sleep," Kouichi said with a sarcastic grin. Kouji threw a pillow at him.
"Well, it's better than those leaf beds we made back at the Digital World. Or sleeping on those benches or on Trailmon." JP offered up and stretched.
Tommy nodded with JP. "JP's right. I didn't like sleeping on the Trailmon. Remember when they would hit a bump and we would all just fall out of our seats?"
"That wasn't fun at all." Takuya remarked with a chuckle and stretched his back out. "I remember being so stiff during the rides and then just falling flat on my face whenever we hit a bump."
"Don't get me started- remember the loops in the track? The ones that went upside down!?" Zoe asked, grimacing at the thought of the roller-coaster Trailmon track.
"That was the worst!" JP said with a laugh.
Takuya shook his head, "The vertical climb after it was worse."
Kouichi stared at them blankly, missing out on the majority of their experiences of Trailmon travel. "If you guys say so."
Kouji stood up, changing the subject. "Okay- who wants breakfast?"
Takuya's ears perked from the word. Now that it was mentioned he was pretty hungry. "I'd kill for some breakfast."
"Let's go get something to eat then." Tommy said in agreement. "Do we have to make it ourselves?"
Takuya patted Tommy on his shoulder "Don't you remember the last time we were in the kitchen? I think the kitchen's suffered enough from our flour war as it is." He said with a grin getting Tommy to snicker with him.
"Takuya- You really shouldn't go out into public..." Zoe started, his expression faltered."Um... I'll make something. No problem!"
Takuya looked at her, "Zoe you don't have to do that."
"Nonsense, I love to cook!" She waved her hand dismissively. She headed into the kitchen to begin making something for them to eat. Kouji followed her.
"Here, I'll help you out," he offered, "It'll be easier since I know where everything is."
Takuya sank back on the makeshift bed, running a hand through his hair. He paused. It felt- different than he remembered- thicker... longer? He tugged at his bangs, noticing they had indeed gotten longer. "Oh no..." He went for a mirror, sprinting to the bathroom. It wasn't his imagination- his skin had gotten darker, becoming a dusty brown color. His hair had grown out by a few inches as well- the roots of his once dark brown hair now a vivd orange.
"No… no, no, no…" Takuya shook his head in disbelief. The dusty brown skin, the bright orange hair, the claws, the fangs. He truly understood what he was becoming. He was becoming that creature. The one DarkTrailmon turned him into.
Flamon…
Takuya ran out of the bathroom and tumbled into the living room, startling his friend with his actions.
"Takuya, what's wrong?" Tommy asked as he tried to approach his friend without scaring him.
"I… I…" Takuya was freaking out, his hands clasped over the top of his head.
Zoe and Kouji came running out of the kitchen, hearing their commotion. "What the heck is going on in here?" Kouji demanded.
Takuya looked up at them fearfully. His mind was screaming "run!" but he remained rooted to the spot. Then it started.
A wave of pain hit him, forcing him to double over. He cried out, falling to his hands and knees. His friends' concerned voices became distant. He could feel the fire welling in his chest, eager to burst free. He couldn't allow it- He wouldn't- Pain struck him again. He was at the mercy of his Digimon half.
He was panting, his body shook as it began to change. His feet became larger, with three toes each bearing a bright red claw. His hair grew out into a vibrant orange mane. His eyes turned bright green, becoming larger and catlike. He yelped in pain as a bright orange tail sprouted at the base of his spine. He cried out once more, his body glowing with a blinding bright light. It flashed, sitting in Takuya's place, was Flamon.
"T-Takuya?" Zoe called to him hesitantly upon seeing Flamon taking Takuya's place.
The small fire Digimon stayed quiet for a moment before looking up at the group. His eyes had a feral look to them, completely unrecognizable from everyone's point of view. He let out a small growl, a warning for none of them to get any closer.
Kouji took a defensive stance in front of Zoe as to not give the Digimon a chance to hurt her.
"Takuya… you don't want to do this. We're your friends… remember?"
Flamon growled at Kouji, teeth bared. "Takuya! Please!" Zoe called out, trying reach to Takuya's conscious.
His mind was clouded. He just had to run, he had to get away. He needed to hide- anywhere he could hide. He held his head. The digimon snarled, backing into the wall. He jumped in fright, body rigid. He glanced at the five people before him. Everything was telling him to run away, but he just couldn't.
"Takuya! It's us!"
"We're your friends."
"Don't you recognize us?"
They moved closer, he felt trapped. One of them grabbed his arm. He twisted and pulled, wrenching his arm away from the boy.
"Don't let it control you Takuya!"
He looked at the youngest, eyes wide... That voice... Those words... He remembered this pain from before... this fear... BurningGreymon... He'd suffered like this before... They... They had saved him.
His eyes softened, shame replacing the fear in them. He turned, bolting for the door. He wrenched it open and disappeared before they could register what just happened.
Flamon ran as fast as he could, anything to get away. He couldn't let them see him like this. He fought back tears as he ran down the street. He was going to attack them; he could have hurt one of them. 'Monster…' Takuya ran into the park. The grass was wet and muddy, probably from the storm before. Maybe that would discourage anyone from walking into the park. Maybe no one would find him there.
He yelped, slipping on the mud, and fell flat on his face, getting mud everywhere. He quickly got up and wiped his face before running again. God he was a pathetic sight. 'Please, let this torture end…'
The group of friends did their best to chase after their companion but Flamon's had been too much for them to even try to keep up. He was quickly lost from their sight.
"We lost him!" Kouji growled, upset about not being able to keep up.
"What're we going to do?"
"We have to split up and look for him." Kouji answered, taking position as their leader. "We need to find him before something happens to him."
Takuya continued to run until he just couldn't run anymore. He collapsed next to a tree, curling up into a tight ball, crying softly. He felt cold, wet, miserable, and alone. His friends look terrified at the sight of him. He doubted he had the courage to face them. He was a freak in their eyes...
His friends on the other hand fanned out and began to search high and low for the frightened gogglehead turned Digimon. Splitting up proved to fruitless, seeing as Takuya seemed wilder than a human should be. They regroup after an hour of no trace of the poor boy.
"Oh... He looked so scared... I hope he's okay." Zoe said aloud, nervously wringing her cold hands as the five stood outside Kouji's house, trying to come up with a plan.
Kouji nodded, "We have to find him- somehow..."
"He doesn't want to be found..." Kouichi said softly, "He's a Digimon now- if he's hiding we may never find him."
"But where would he hide? This is all urban! There isn't much of a place to hide!" Kouji argued back.
JP got between them, "Fighting isn't going to help us find Takuya!"
"Takuya... Where did you go?" Tommy asked sadly.
"How're we going to find him?" Kouichi asked with a hand over his chin as a sign to show that he was thinking. "It's hard to think what he would do in the state of mind he's in."
"He wouldn't go into the city would he?" Tommy asked in hopes to narrow down their options.
"I don't know if he would. I would think he would try to avoid any populated areas." JP answered after giving it some thought. "Where else is there?"
Kouji shook his head, "I should know this... Takuya is my best friend- I just... I've never seen this side of him before!"
"Where is Takuya the most comfortable then Kouji? It's a place to start." Zoe suggested.
"Well, he's always bugging me to play soccer..." Kouji started.
JP interjected his theory, "Maybe the school? It's not in session."
The blonde put her hands on her hips, annoyed. "I said comfortable JP, Takuya hates school."
"But it's the last place we would look!" JP argued back, "Right? So he might have gone there!"
"There's a soccer field nearby too," Tommy added.
Zoe sighed, "Alright- Let's check Takuya's school."
"Maybe it's best if we split up. Three of us go to the school and the other two try other places we think Takuya might be." Kouji added making sure they cover as much ground as possible. He wanted to find Takuya as fast as possible. "Hopefully we'll be able to find him before anything happens."
"Alright. I'll take Zoe and Tommy to Takuya's school." JP suggested.
"Then Kouji and I will look around here and see if we can figure out any other places he could be." Kouichi added.
The group nodded with agreement on the plan. "Be sure to text the other group if you have sight of him."
"And make sure not to upset him… he might run away again if we do." Zoe added the final details to the plan.
With that the group had split up in search of their friend. Zoe, JP, and Tommy made their way to Takuya's school and stopped before the soccer field, scanning the whole premises for the small fire Digimon.
Kouji and Kouichi headed towards the train station and the park, having a better understanding what happened the last time Takuya became this Digimon. He told them how he had run away and that an apparition of Duskmon chased him. He told them about the people he'd frightened- some of them close to him personally.
"Please Takuya- Just give us a sign..." Kouji whispered as he and Kouichi raced towards their destination.
Takuya, meanwhile, sat beneath the tree, shivering from the cool damp air. He glared at his muddied, clawed hands and feet, loathing the creature he'd become. He turned, raking his claws across the tree's trunk, trying to dull them. It only succeeded in sharpening them, like a cat.
He shivered again. The mud he'd fallen into earlier chilled his body to his core. He felt weak and nauseous. He just wanted to curl up and die on the spot. His friends surely hated him- hell, he hated himself. He shook his head wildly, pulling at his thick orange hair.
He threw his head back in frustration, unleashing a pained howl. He drew his knees to his chest. Monster... Freak... Beast... cursed to be an outcast.
Kouji stopped, hearing a sound. "Hey, you hear that Kouichi?"
"Yeah, I heard it. It sounded like something was in real pain." Kouichi answered, having heard the howl loud and clear. "You think maybe it's him?"
"It's our best shot." Kouji said while looking in the direction the howl came from. "Let's check it out."
The twins jogged towards the spot where the howls seemed to originate while doing their best not to make too much sound as to not possibly alert Takuya to their presence and scare him off again.
Takuya dug his claws into his arms and scratched and rubbed them furiously as if there were bugs under his skin. Freak… abomination… demon… He howled out again, with just as much pain and frustration as before.
"There is is again!" Kouichi observed as the got near the park entrance. He stopped, "Look there!" he pointed a mud puddle. It looked like something had fallen into it, splashing it all over.
Kouji smiled a bit, "Brilliant! He must be here."
They entered the park slowly, knowing full well that Takuya could be gone before they ever saw him. They stuck to the path, half hoping to hear another cry to help them pinpoint the boy's location. "Let's check by our tree, It has a good vantage point." Kouichi suggested, leading the way.
"Wait." Kouji stopped. Something was telling him they were close. He could have sworn he could feel the pain Takuya was experiencing. He looked to a small cluster of trees, surrounded by shrubs. A good place to hide provided you can squeeze between the bushes.
They approached the little grove, holding their breath. Choked sobs emanated from the cluster of shrubs. The twins nodded to each other. Kouichi quickly texted Zoe while Kouji tried to peer through the branches.
Sure enough, there was the dejected Digimon, covered in blood and mud. Takuya's clawed hands were buried in his own arms as tears poured down his face. The sight was heartbreaking. Kouji didn't wait for Kouichi to ready himself. He pushed through the bushes into the small opening.
"Takuya..."
Takuya's eyes widen and snapped out of his gaze when he heard Kouji's voice from behind him. The fire Digimon pulled away from him, pressing himself up against the shrubs. "S-stay away!"
"Takuya… please, I'm your friend." Kouji called out to him with a calm voice and he continued to push himself through the opening. "You don't have to be afraid."
"No… I…" Takuya covered his face with his armored arms, small flames flickering around them in tune with his emotions. If his emotions grew any stronger he could possibly burn everything down with his flames.
Kouji saw the flames and stopped in his place. As much as he hated to admit it, one wrong move and it would really be the BurningGreymon incident all over again. "Takuya, I'm your friend. I can help you. Please, you don't have to do this to yourself. Please, just give us a chance."
"Stay away! Just stay away from me!" Takuya wailed, flames building around his body. Kouji instinctively flinched back into someone else. Kouichi stood behind Kouji, peering over his brother's shoulder.
"Let me talk to him," the elder twin insisted. Kouji nodded numbly and switch places with him. Kouichi knelt low to the ground, getting to Takuya's level. "Kouji- Back away." Kouji did as he was told, backing into the bushes. Kouichi inched closer to Takuya.
Takuya scrambled back, flames glowing brighter around him. "Easy Takuya- I'm not going to hurt you."
The former brunette stared at Kouichi, eyes wide with shame and terror. They were talking to him like he was a spooked animal. Monster... Beast... He lashed out at Kouichi, trying to force him away.
The elder twin stood firm, not flinching. "Takuya. I know what you're feeling. I understand. When you guys saved me from Cherubimon, I thought you would hate me, resent me- but you guys didn't. You weren't afraid of me, and I'm not afraid of you. It's okay now."
"N-no… I'm a… look at me I'm a…" Takuya looked to his hands, blood and mud splattered together on his palms and fingers. "I'm nothing but a freak…"
"Takuya, look at me." Kouichi told him firmly, having the former human look up to meet his gaze. "I was exactly the same way… I became something I never wanted to be but… you did save me. If you can help me… then I know we can help you. You just need to give us a chance."
Takuya lowered his gaze. He was still frightened. Still disgusted with himself. But he did hear what his friend was saying. 'God I'm pathetic…'
"Takuya." Kouichi called out, getting his attention again. "We can help you. We all care about you. None of us think any less of you. You're still the same person we've come to respect. You don't have to hate yourself… you don't need this kind of self loathing. I know what that's like… but please, let us help. You can like yourself again. You can be you."
He hung his head sadly, defeated. He backed up against the tree, so ashamed of himself- of his behavior- Everything! Before he realized it, The twins had encircled him, pulling him carefully to his feet.
"God Takuya... what did you do?" Kouji asked, looking at the deep gashing in the boy's arms. He didn't respond. Kouji sighed, "Let's get you home so we can clean you up."
Kouichi helped support the boy gently as they made their way out of the bushes. The others arrived at the entrance just as they emerged from the bushes. Zoe gasped. JP and Tommy looked too stunned for words.
"He's hurt pretty bad- we need to get him patched up before those cuts get infected," Kouichi instructed.
JP stepped forward, "I'll carry him. He's in no shape to walk."
With that, the eldest boy lifted the injured Digimon into his arms. He was startled by how badly injured he was from close up. The group huddled closely together as they made their way back to the Minamoto residence.
