Hey guys. We're back with another chapter for you. I really hope you enjoy this cuz I know we had a lot of fun writing it. Also hope to hear from you guys and see what your take on this is so be sure to leave a review, okay? With that said, let's get on with the show shall we?
Chapter 9: Unwell
The following morning Takuya rose early and jumped out of bed, keen on meeting up with his friends at the park. Today would lack Zoe and Tommy's company because they had other plans with their families. JP, Kouichi and Kouji still planned to meet up and enjoy each other's company.
Takuya slipped out of the house without an full blown interrogation from his mother, and made his way towards his school. The guys had planned to set up an elaborate obstacle course for Takuya to attempt and challenge his abilities further.
Surprisingly, Kouichi and JP were already there, grinning up a storm. Takuya could tell they were up to something. "Hey guys."
Kouichi and JP looked to each other, their grins growing wider. They looked like they were doing their best to hold in laughter. Takuya approached them cautiously, unaware of what they could possibly have up their sleeves.
"Hey there Takky. Glad you could make it." JP replied waving a hand at the gogglehead. "You ready to see what you can do?"
"Um… yeah. I'm ready." Takuya answered, watching the two closely. "So, what do we have planned to test my abilities?"
Kouichi patted the gogglehead on the back, his grin never leaving his face. "Oh you'll see." He answered cheerfully though the smile did not make Takuya feel any less suspicious of the two.
JP grinned, "We're going to test your senses out first. See how sharp they are."
"Alright, What's first?" Takuya asked, dropping his guard a bit. They were up to the usual hijinks as far as he was concerned.
"Well, evolve into Flamon and we'll get to it!" Kouichi said with a giddy laugh. Yup. Hijinks.
Takuya rolled his eyes and became the small flame Digimon. He gave himself a moment to adjust, taking in his surroundings. A strange scent got his attention. It was mystical and alluring. It made him feel relaxed. JP and Kouichi exchanged a grin seeing Takuya's dazed expression.
"W-what is that…?" Takuya asked dreamily, finding it hard to stay on his feet. Whatever he was smelling, it made him feel like he could just melt away in pure bliss.
JP found it hard not to burst out laughing as Kouichi pulled out a small bag from his pocket and dangled it between his fingers. "You know what this is Takuya?"
The Digimon shook his head slowly, still somewhat lost in his daze. He nearly fell flat on the floor when the older twin opened the bag, allowing for the scent to blow strongly in the air.
Kouichi laughed and wiped the tears forming from his eyes. This was absolutely hilarious.
Takuya pounced on the boy, determined to snatch the bag of whatever the sweet scented stuff was from him. The contents- dried, and crushed green leaves- spilled out of the bag as it fell from Kouichi's hand. Takuya lost all interest in the elder twin and instead began to attack the bag like a kitten.
He swatted it around, rolling around in the dried catnip leaves scattered on the ground. JP and Kouichi couldn't contain their laughter. Takuya was acting like an overgrown kitten.
"Do I even want to know?" Kouji asked, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. He surveyed the scene, deducing Kouichi and JP had something to do with Takuya's antics from their laughs.
"C-cat…catnip." JP tried to explain through his laughter, having long since fallen to the floor and holding his sides. "Oh god… this too much… I-I'm gonna… bust a gut!"
"Kouji… quick! You- you have to film this! This is gold!" Kouichi pleaded, still laughing at the poor drug induced Digimon.
Kouji pinched the bridge of his nose at their antics. Such stupidity. Sure the catnip was pretty harmless but they pretty much just drugged their friend. "I can't believe you two."
Takuya was in his own world, purring loudly and rolling around on the ground. He was completely out of it.
"Hey, Takuya. Hey!" Kouji knelt beside the flame wielding Digimon, trying to snap him out of his catnip induced stupor. He tried snapping his fingers, shaking him lightly, and trying to drag Takuya away from the green leaves.
It only succeeded in getting Kouji covered in the catnip and Takuya rubbing up against him like a cat, purring up a storm. "Takuya! Get off! Guys!" JP and Kouichi were beyond helping Kouji pry Takuya off. They had fallen to their knees, roaring with laughter.
"If Takuya doesn't kill you when he snaps out of this, I will!"
It took a good long while before any of them could settle down. Kouichi and JP were heaving, trying to recover from their insane laughter, and Takuya to come to his senses as soon as the catnip's effects wore off.
Takuya moaned and held his head. He didn't remember much of what had happened. He took in his surroundings and saw all three of his friends red in the face; two of them obviously from laughing and Kouji from having his limits pushed from their stupidity.
"What the hell happened?" Takuya asked and shook himself, getting all the grass and dried leaves out of his hair and clothes.
Kouji snorted, still glaring at his brother and JP. "Those two geniuses decided to see if you are affected by catnip- which by the way, is extremely," he explained bluntly.
Takuya looked at them, feeling hurt and shocked. "You guys drugged me?!"
"It was only a little." Kouichi tried to explain, "We weren't even sure you'd react to it."
Kouji swatted his brother, "It was idiotic and mean."
The two looked ashamed of themselves after being called out they way they were. They looked at Takuya to see the reaction on his face. If looks could kill they'd be dead twenty times over. "We're sorry." The duo said simultaneously, keeping their gaze low.
It took Takuya a moment to finally respond; his hands lit ablaze with a great burning fury as he glared at the two. "If you two EVER do that again I will cremate the both of you."
"We're really sorry Takuya. Really, really sorry." JP replied fearfully upon hearing Takuya's threat.
Something told him otherwise. They weren't sorry, they were afraid of his threats. He felt betrayed. He felt angry. They took advantage of them.
Kouji got between them. "Alright, cool it!" He was protecting them. Traitor.
Takuya glared at them all before turning on his heel and jumping up into the nearest tree and taking off. He went to the school's roof, because they wouldn't be able to reach him. He slumped against a wall, trying to get a handle on his emotions.
They weren't intentionally trying to use his Digimon form against him, right? But then they wouldn't have brought the stuff in the first place though...
They took advantage of his situation. They were having fun at his expense. They thought it would be funny. All of these things rang true in his mind. They drugged him to see what would happen and to get a few laughs out of it. Friends don't do that to each other.
…but it was just innocent fun right? That was what they intended, right? Part of him really wanted to believe that so it wouldn't appear so bad but it wasn't so innocent, not in his mind.
Takuya breathed a large plume of flames into the sky to vent out his aggression but it did little for him. No matter how powerful a flame he created, it wouldn't drain away any of his anger or his feelings of betrayal.
He curled up after a while letting his anger fade to sadness. He felt alone. His friends... he trusted them and they let him down. They used him...
Kouji meanwhile chewed Kouichi and JP out. He shouted and scolded, making them feel guilty for using the catnip on Takuya. What's worse though, he called Zoe and put her on speaker. Her rants scared them. She threatened to castrate them- Kouji offering to help- for pulling a prank on Takuya who was still trying to overcome his fear of being half-Digimon.
"When I get my hands on you two you are going to wish you weren't born! Now you go find him and apologize profusely!" She demanded, hell's fury evident in her voice.
Kouji stood over them, his tone more dangerous than Zoe's. "And you better grovel, or he'll incinerate you both."
Kouichi and JP nodded numbly, both deciding to stay quiet and to obey the orders given to them. They admitted what they had done was cruel and heinous. The two felt lower than dirt for their actions especially after the two were lectured by their enraged friends.
Once the call had ended, the trio made their way into the school, knowing that Takuya had landed on the rooftop. They would have to tread carefully unless they invoke the full fury of the Digimon.
Kouji watched the two carefully, not letting the two out of his sight for a moment. He was completely livid. He would make sure that they never forget what happened.
The trio had found their way inside and had found the stairs. They would make their way up to the rooftop somehow and Kouichi and JP would grovel for forgiveness.
"Are all these stupid doors locked?" Kouji asked to no one in particular, growling to himself. They were limited to the ground level of the building. All the stairwell doors had been locked for the holiday, so that meant no roof access.
Kouichi and JP searched for a way to open the locked doors or find someway to the roof; else they had to face Kouji's wraith. And given their predicament, the latter was something no one wanted to face.
"Do you guys have a hair wire or paperclip? Maybe I can pick the lock!"
Kouji raised an eyebrow, "It's a card swipe lock."
"How are we supposed to get up to the roof then?" JP asked looking the locked door over to find a way to open it. He was scared facing Kouji's wrath but there was no way currently to find a way upstairs to the roof. "We can't bust our way up there. We could get in a whole lot of trouble."
Kouji growled. He was already on his last nerve with everything that's happened these last few hours, anything else and he would unleash his full fury.
There had to be a way up to the roof that didn't involve breaking in and possibly getting arrested by the police.
"Hold on, let me try to hack it- This system looks a lot older than the one at my school- and I helped program it!" JP pulled out a small laptop from his backpack. He then fished out a cable, and plugged one end into the computer and the other into the card reader. After fiddling with it for a few minutes the reader beeped and the light turned green.
Kouji smiled a bit, "If I weren't so mad at you, I might have been impressed."
JP took it as a compliment and stowed his computer in his bag. They proceeded to the second floor, which thankfully wasn't locked. "Which way to roof access from here?"
The others shrugged. They weren't entirely sure of where to go from there. They weren't familiar with Takuya's school building. The group would have to search the floor for a way to access the roof. At the least they were one step closer to finding Takuya and attempting to make everything right with him.
Takuya paid no attention to any of the noises they were making. He wanted to be away from them; to just be alone. He wanted the time to come to terms with things by himself. The Digimon sighed and looked up at the sky seeing that it was still somewhere around late morning. He had plenty of time to keep to himself.
Something felt off to him suddenly. He could feel another presence; several of them. He looked around for where the presence was felt. Takuya knew there was something there; something that meant him harm; something dangerous.
"Who's there?" Takuya called out, getting back to his feet.
Something snickered. "Aww lookie boys, he's just a youn'in," a voice mocked.
"The boss will sure get a laugh out of this!" another jeered.
A third cackled, "This is just too easy!"
Takuya growled to himself, "Show yourselves you cowards!" He couldn't pinpoint where they were, or what they were. He could sense their presence.
"Looks like we made him mad!" one of the snickered to the other two voices.
Takuya continued to growl, his tone growing even more vicious. "I said show yourselves!" he barked out as flames formed furiously on his hands.
"Uh oh. Looks like he's really steaming!" one of the voices taunted.
Takuya followed the taunting voices and finally managed to pinpoint one, throwing one of his fireballs in that direction in order to spook the annoying voices. "Take that!"
There was a yelp but no cries of pain. "Hey! He almost hit me!"
"Serves ya right!" one teased as the other snickered. They may have been allies but they showed no
sense of friendship towards each other.
"Will you two ninnies cut it out? We have a job ta do!" the first one barked, "Else the boss will have our heads!"
Takuya's tail lashed angrily as he summoned more fireballs. "Come out here and fight!"
"If you want to fight then be our guest! Evil Whisper!"
Takuya leapt in the air feeling that staying in one place would be a bad idea once he heard the call of the creature's attack. Upon being higher up in the air he was able to glance down and spot his attackers.
There were three of them. They were like balls of dark ragged fur with short clawed feet and wearing blue masks with long bat wings. Each of them had sinister smiles on their faces, but two of them were wielding weapons in their claws; syringes filled with an unknown substance.
They were Digimon. Takuya couldn't believe that actual Digimon were able to enter the Human world but here they were and they were attacking him.
The two Digimon with the syringes launched themselves at Takuya, aiming to inject him with their deadly poison. "Demi Dart!"
Takuya came falling down at them, his fists ablaze and swerved out of the range of their needles but failing to connect with his own attack.
The roof door opened with a bang, Kouji herding JP and Kouichi out into the open. Takuya landed before them, fire engulfing his fists, "Noble Heart!" He rushed at the DemiDevimon, aiming to knock them from the air.
"Takuya!?"
The sound of his friends' voices threw him off guard, making him stop his attack. "Guys?!" One of the DemiDevimon took the opportunity and dive bombed Takuya, slamming into his back. Takuya crashed to the ground at his friends' feet. "Get out of here!"
"Demi Dart!" one of the DemiDevimon took advantage of Takuya's vulnerable position and charged in at him with his syringe.
Takuya saw the attack coming at the last minute and rolled out of the way so the syringe lodged itself into the floor. He then took the opportunity to grab the enemy Digimon by one of its wings and slam it face down into the floor next to him before getting up.
The humans watching the fight stepped back to keep their distance as the fight continued on as to not get in the way though Kouji scanned the area around him for a weapon to help his friend, to even the odds. If he could use a long pipe to take down a whole herd of Pagumon then he could help handle these small fry.
"Aim for the humans! They're not as resistant to the toxin!" The lead DemiDevimon ordered. Takuya paled, he wasn't sure he could protect them and himself from these three. He snarled at the DemiDevimon, launching a volley of mini fireballs. The little bat-ball Digimon yelped, fluttering about to avoid the flames.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" One of them hadn't been so lucky, and was panicking, body ablaze.
The remaining two, set their sights on Kouji, Kouichi, and JP, darts aimed at the humans.
"Oh man! I don't like the look of those needles!" JP whined as the two evil Digimon snickered to each other before diving down at them.
The two DemiDevimon aimed carefully and threw their darts at the children with great speed and aim, intending to take down Kouji and Kouichi seeing how they seemed to be the difficult ones of the three.
Takuya ran to defend his friends, his armored hands raised to block the incoming needles. He had managed to deflect one of them with ease, letting it shatter harmlessly to the side, but the other he wasn't fortunate enough to block. Instead it had lodged itself into his exposed shoulder, the one he used to knock aside the first needle.
He cried out in pain as the toxin surged into his body, emptying the syringe. Takuya tore the syringe from his shoulder and tried to ignore the searing pain he felt. He still needed to defeat these Digimon before they could cause any harm to anyone else.
His vision blurred as he struggled to stay upright. "N-Noble H-Heart!" His fists ignited with white hot flames. He punched the DemiDevimon with as much force as he could muster, destroying them both on contact. The third, the one that had been slammed into the ground, fluttered away in fright.
Takuya collapsed, head pounding and heart racing. He felt like he was going to be sick as his stomach churned. He could hardly see, the world becoming nothing more than blurred shapes and shadows. Kouichi, Kouji, and JP knelt beside him, trying to help them. Their voices sounded incoherent and distant.
"Something's wrong-"
"It was filled with a toxin!"
"Stop it! We need to help Takuya!"
Takuya fought to keep his consciousness but it was a losing battle. His friends voices were completely muted out and his vision had grown completely black when he finally slipped into an unconscious state.
"Oh man… this isn't good." Kouichi muttered after examining Takuya closely. His friend was slick with sweat and shivering. The spot on his arm where he was injected had turned a purplish color and swelled like being stung by a bee, though much larger.
"What're we going to do?" JP asked in a panic.
The eldest twin ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he tried to form an idea. "Okay… we need to get him back to my place. I have some stuff there that might be able to help us."
Kouji nodded slowly seeing that there was no better idea at the moment. He then took a look at the syringe that stuck in the floor. It was left there after the DemiDevimon was incapacitated by Takuya's attack. "Will that help?"
"It could, bring it." Kouichi helped JP lift Takuya into the eldest boy's arms. Takuya's skin was clammy, but his forehead was very warm. 'A fever? Already? This is really bad.'
The trio rushed Takuya to Kouichi's house, which was fortunately not too far from Takuya's school in the next district over. "Mom?" Kouichi called out, receiving no answer, "Good she's not home yet. Lay him down on my bed- so Mom doesn't see him and panic."
JP nodded and laid the shivering boy on Kouichi's bed. He squirmed, faced scrunched up in pain. "Why didn't he change back?" Kouji wondered aloud.
"Well… I'm not sure." Kouichi answered after a while, still trying to assess from everything. "It might have something to do with… the toxin maybe? Like it's his best way to fight whatever's in his body?"
"Those Digimon did say that humans were less resistant to whatever that crap is." JP stated. Kouji looked back at Takuya. He was not looking good at all. "What can we do to help him?"
"Whatever this is, he's already showing signs of a really bad fever." Kouichi stated. He was trying to think of what he could possibly do to help Takuya recover. "I'm going to turn on the computer. Check the internet for anything about toxins or poison. See how that can be treated. Maybe that can get us somewhere."
"And in the meantime?" Kouji pressed. Takuya looked worse for wear.
Kouichi looked thoughtful, "Get the first aid kit from the kitchen- that's the big red and white box on the top of the refrigerator- and treat the injection site."
JP nodded, heading into the kitchen to retrieve the box while Kouji hovered over Takuya worriedly. Kouichi set to work researching toxins, their symptoms and how to treat them. JP returned with the first aid kit. He and Kouji cracked it open and pulled out the stuff to clean and treat the puncture wound.
Kouji quickly proceeded to clean the puncture wound while JP was looking through the first aid kit to see what else they had at their disposal. It wasn't much but it was something. The puncture wound was cleaned but the site was still swollen and the purplish hue in his skin had spread over his arm.
"Kouichi, please tell me you found something. This is looking really bad." Kouji said and looked over to Kouichi to see how he was doing with his research.
The older twin shrugged. "I don't know yet Kouji. There's a lot of information to go through."
"Well hurry up!" Kouji half snapped. Takuya moaned weakly. His skin had become very pale and he was burning up at an alarming rate.
Kouichi turned, surveying the boy for a minute. "Layer a few blankets over him and give him an aspirin to try to break his fever."
They layered a few blankets over Takuya, hoping to warm the boy up from the inside. "How are we supposed to give him a pill?" JP asked, "He's unconscious!"
Kouji rolled his eyes and shook Takuya's shoulder gently, "Hey- I know you're hurting but you need to wake up..."
Takuya moaned painfully as his friend tried to wake him up. He couldn't open his eyes. He was weak and he was in a lot of pain.
"Come on Takuya… I need you to take this…" Kouji told, careful not to cause Takuya any more pain as he tried giving him the pill. He was relieved to see that his friend was able to swallow the pill. Takuya didn't stay awake for long though.
JP helped Takuya back down on the bed. "He's out again. You sure the aspirin's going to help him?"
"It should. It should have the same effect regardless of what form he's in." Kouichi answered and surveyed Takuya's appearance. "At least I hope so."
Kouji restrained himself from slapping Kouichi, "I love how're you just guessing with our friend's life."
"Hey, I'm trying with what I've got- Same as you, so unless you want to involve Mom or something, let me make my educated guesses!" Kouichi shot back heatedly. Kouji backed down, knowing his brother was doing his best and his anxiety was showing. Kouichi never snapped back.
"Cool it both of you! We can't fight now." JP said, taking command, "Takuya's really sick and you two bickering isn't helping."
The twins looked mildly ashamed, but said nothing, returning to their tasks. Then, the front door opened, leaving the three boys frozen in place. "Kouichi? Are you home yet?" his mother's voice sang from the entryway.
"Crap…! What're we going to do?! We can't let Mom see this! She'll freak out!" Kouichi whispered loudly, clearly not expecting his mother home so suddenly.
The trio looked to each other and tried formulating a plan.
"Kouichi?" His mother called out again.
"We have to tell Mom we're here. We can't just hide up in your room all day… especially if Takuya makes a ruckus. She'll come to check what's going on." Kouji explained.
"Then just go and tell her you have some friends over." JP replied.
Kouichi snorted, "I'm so bad at lying! She'll figure me out in a heartbeat... It might sound crazy, but Mom could really help us here. We don't have a clue what we're doing..."
"Even so- how do we explain Takuya?" Kouji countered, "She'll freak!"
"Maybe not... Mom's pretty understanding..."
Kouji raised an eyebrow, "I'm not sure I like this idea..."
"What else can we do?" JP asked, "I mean, Kouichi's right. We don't have a clue how to help Takuya..."
"Kouichi? Are you home?" the twins' mother called out once again.
The trio looked to each other still trying to figure out their course of action. Kouichi sighed and gave in. "We have to tell Mom. We could use her help and… if Takuya's staying here… she'll find out eventually."
"Your mom's a nurse or works in the medical field, right?" JP asked and got a nod from his friends. "Then she should know about how to deal with poison."
Kouji sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Alright. Let's bring her up. I just hope she doesn't freak out."
"Mom?" Kouichi left his room and went to fetch his mother.
JP and Kouji waited in the bedroom, holding their breath. Takuya really needed Ms. Kimura's help to survive.
"Alright Kouichi, let me see already!" Tomoko exclaimed, they were right outside the door. Kouichi took a deep breath and lead her into the room. She glanced around, smiling briefly at JP and Kouji. Then her gaze fell upon Takuya. She gasped, "My gods..."
"Please don't freak out," Kouji said softly.
"K-Kouichi…? What is that?" Tomoko asked, taken back by Takuya for a moment. She stepped a little closer and got a good look at Takuya. She pulled back the sheets and gasped upon seeing the purple lump on his arm. "What happened to him? What is that thing on his shoulder?"
"H-he's a friend. He got injected with some kind of poison…" Kouichi answered, waiting on pins and needles to see whether or not his mother will freak out.
Tomoko took this all in. She was startled by Takuya's appearance but she felt sorry for the poor boy. He looked gravely ill. Compassion swelled up inside her as she further examined the boy. "This is bad… he has a high fever… you said a poison?"
Kouji nodded and took the syringe from the desk. "It's… whatever is in this thing." He answered slowly.
She took the syringe from her youngest son examining the syringe. She looked back at Takuya, "The poor dear..."
The boys breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she was more concerned for his welfare than his looks. She knelt beside Takuya, checking his temperature.
"Can you help him?" Kouichi asked also looking at Takuya, "I don't know how to help him."
"I'll do my best Kouichi, but I need to know everything first."
"Well… we don't really know much. He was injected with that toxin." Kouichi answered, trying his best to give as much information as he could without giving Takuya away. "His arm swelled up pretty bad and turned purple… and he lost consciousness almost instantly."
"What else happened? Kouichi, I need to know everything." She asked with emphasis on everything.
JP scratched the back of his neck. "Well… we brought him here… cleaned the wound and gave him an aspirin to help with the fever."
"Is that everything?" Tomoko asked, feeling that they're hiding something crucial.
She gave them the look, "I know you're keeping something from me boys. I need to know everything about your friend if I'm going to help him."
Kouji looked to Kouichi and JP, "alright... Okay... this might be hard to believe... but... Mom, this is Takuya..."
Tomoko stared at her son, then looked to Kouichi and JP. They all looked incredibly serious. "How...?"
"It's just something he's able to do- he can be this creature or human." Kouichi explained quickly.
"But… how is he able to…" Tomoko just felt even more confused. "I don't understand."
Kouichi shook his head. "We don't know how this happened either. It just did…"
The mother bit her lip and looked down at the syringe. She had more questions but they didn't really seem relative at the moment. "Okay… I'll see what I can do to help him. Do his parents know he's here? Or what's happened?"
"No… but we can't tell them!" JP suddenly realized and looked pleadingly to the woman. "Please don't tell Mr. or Mrs. Kanbara about this. It'd be a really really bad idea."
"So they don't know about this... ability?" she asked carefully. The boys shook their heads. "I see. Alright then, I won't tell them." she said with a sigh.
Takuya shifted in his sleep, moaning softly. His eyelid fluttered. "Kouji, get him a cool cloth for his forehead."
Kouji nodded, running to fetch a cool cloth. He returned and laid it across the sick boy's forehead.
"What else can we do for him?" Kouichi asked once Takuya stopped fidgeting. The sick boy still looked ill and his arm still swollen and purple.
"There's not much we can do about it at the moment. I need to figure out what is in this toxin before I can start treating it." Tomoko answered and examined the toxin. "In the meantime we have to make sure he stays covered and nourished. It'll help him."
The trio of friends nodded in understanding.
She took the syringe and left the room, she called to them from the doorway. "I'm going to run back to work- test this at the lab."
Kouichi left to bid his mother goodbye while Kouji and JP watched over the sick Digimon. The door closed and Kouichi returned. "Mom said to keep a close eye on him. "
Kouji nodded, "We can do that."
"I can't believe this happened- Gods, I feel horrible for the catnip earlier..." JP said softly, his guilt mounting in his chest.
The younger twin sighed, "This isn't your fault- either of you. Those Digimon were looking to hurt Takuya regardless of prior events."
"What the heck are Digimon doing here in the first place?" Kouichi asked. "I thought Digimon weren't able to come into the Human world… Bokomon talked about that all the time."
"That's true but…" JP looked to Takuya. "…nothing really makes sense at the moment…"
Kouji nodded in agreement and looked lost in thought. An idea popped up in his mind. "You think this has something to do with what happened in the Digital World? The war that was mentioned?"
"You think that's what's behind all of this?" JP asked.
"Possibly."
"That could have been Warriors, not war." Kouichi suggested to his brother.
JP nodded, "also true. What were those Digimon- I didn't recognize them."
"Who knows." Kouji muttered bitterly, shoving his hand into his pockets. Kouichi's phone buzzed across the desk. Zoe was calling them, likely to check in.
Kouichi gulped knowing well enough that Zoe would still be pissed at him for the catnip incident so he tossed the cell phone to his brother. "You answer. She's less likely to kill you."
The younger twin grumbled something along the line of 'chicken' and proceeded to answer the phone. "Zoe, its Kouji…"
"What the hell happened? Why are you answering Kouichi's phone?"
Kouji rolled his eyes. "Because he's too much of a chicken to answer himself. Look, we have a problem…"
"What's wrong? Did you find Takuya? Is he still missing?"
"If you waited for me to finish…" Kouji answered impatiently. "We found Takuya but something happened." He waited, feeling like he might be interrupted again. When Zoe didn't reply he decided to continue. "You're not going to believe this but there was a Digimon attack."
"What?! Who was it? Is Takuya okay- Oh gods, he's hurt isn't he!"
Kouji pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed tightly. "Zoe. Breath. In order, yes, we don't know- we didn't recognize it, Takuya is sick-"
She cut him off. "Oh gods! Where is he? Will he be okay-"
"ZOE!" She shut up at Kouji's outburst. Takuya twitched in his sleep. Kouji growled to himself softly, "Zoe please, we're helping him. He's at Kouichi's- Before you overreact again- we got Mom involved, he's really sick. We have it under control, He needsto rest though."
"O-okay," she stuttered softly.
Kouji sighed, "He'll be fine Zoe. Try not to worry okay? We'll keep you posted."
"You'd better Kouji Minamoto or that Catnip incident will seem like a harmless prank when I'm done with you." she warned.
Had it been any other person they'd be terrified by Zoe's threats but luckily for Kouji he wasn't any other person. "Look Zoe, I promise we'll keep you posted. You can even come to check on him if you want. Just try to calm down alright?"
"Alright." Zoe sighed. "I'll try to make it tomorrow. Does anyone else know?"
"Just us four and Mom." Kouji answered. "We should probably tell Tommy. Aside from that we have to make sure no one outside the group knows about this."
"Okay. I'll go ahead and call Tommy and tell him what's happening." Zoe replied.
The younger twin nodded. "We'll see you later Zoe. And seriously, try to relax. We have everything under control." He hung up the phone and tossed it back to Kouichi. "I think our next issue is what the hell we plan to tell Takuya's parents."
"They're bound to call our households to try and find out where he is…" Kouichi brought up and pocketed the cell. "They're going to be so angry…"
JP, who had been monitoring Takuya while Kouji dealt with Zoe turned, "Guys- he's not doing well..."
Takuya's breathing had become labored and the shivering started up again. His fever spiked as well. "His body must burn though the Aspirin faster than a human's..." Kouichi observed.
"Is it safe to give him another?" JP asked.
Kouichi shook his head, "Not until we know more..."
Takuya meanwhile squirmed, a softly whine escaping him. His body was in pain as the poison in his system began to over run it again. He writhed in pain, curling into a ball on his side. Sweat drenched his shivering body.
"What're we going to do…? Mom's not home yet…" Kouichi bit his lip as Takuya's condition worsened. "Guys… we… we need to get a cool towel on his head… something to cool him down…"
Takuya moaned, his body locking up and tense with pain. The purple tone in his skin spread farther up in his arm. He thrashed about as his fever grew; his skin hot to the touch. JP had gotten a cool wet towel and placed it on Takuya's forehead and jumped back as the water started to sizzle and evaporate on contact. "Oh man…"
"This is really bad…" Kouji muttered.
Takuya cried out in pain, his skin tone slowly turning chalky white. He whimpered softly, his body still shaking with sickness.
JP wrapped Takuya up in a blanket, "Kouichi, where's the bathroom- an ice bath is the best we've got right now."
Kouichi lead JP into the bathroom. The elder boy laid Takuya into the tub gently before turning on the coldest water setting they had. The cool water made Takuya flinch and cry in pain more but it seemed to be doing something as the color began to return to the boy' skin.
The group wasn't sure how to take the development; on one hand it looked like Takuya was getting better but on the other the cool water was bringing a lot of pain to the poor boy. It didn't help with the plumes of steam lifting up into the air.
"Damn it…" Kouji muttered, opening the windows and door to keep the room from becoming thick with a mist. "How's he looking?"
"Um… better but he looks like he's still in a bit of pain." JP answered after surveying Takuya's situation. "It's at least better than that crazy high fever…"
"I sure hope Mom comes back soon." Kouichi said softly and sat down on the floor, feeling a little relieved from the positive change in Takuya's condition.
The night wore on slowly. Mrs. Kimura returned with inconclusive findings. She pressed the boys for more details but they didn't give her anything else to go on. JP went home before it got dark and Kouji phoned his step-mother to let her know where he was. The twins set about trying to imitate Takuya's voice so they could call his parents. Neither of them could pull off a believable one and gave up, hoping Takuya's mother wouldn't worry too much about her son.
Takuya slept, now stabilized. His breathing was normal and his fever had gone down. It was still there but just barely. The purplish welt on his shoulder darkened and oozed nasty looking pus for a while- prompting the boys to wrap it in gauze and contain it.
"Poor Takuya..." Kouichi said softly, both he and Kouji sat in the living room, trying to get some rest.
"I wish we had some clue about what we can do… I don't know what that pus meant but… it can't be good." Kouji muttered and leaned back in his seat.
"At least we got it to stop." Kouichi offered though he didn't sound much relieved.
The twins sighed collectively, exhaustion from the day's events finally catching up to them. They had been on edge ever since morning after the catnip incident. As the hours dragged on the boys had felt their strength and were on the verge of collapsing in their seats.
Tomoko came into the living room and saw the drained looks on their faces. "Come on boys, you need to rest up. Get some sleep."
"But mom..." They started before she cut them off.
"No buts. I'll look after him." Tomoko said firmly. "You two need to rest- you're still just kids."
The twins looked to argue but were too tired to even try. Kouichi pulled the couch out into a bed for him and Kouji to share. Neither one complained as they settled into for the night. Tomoko came in and checked on her boys after they'd fallen asleep before checking in on Takuya.
Takuya troubled her. His appearance was... bizarre. She couldn't explain it. He was fascinating very frightening. And he could become this creature at will. She could hardly believe it.
She had always thought Takuya was a typical, hyperactive, boy. What's more, she never expected something like this; something so supernatural and fantastic. Tomoko could guarantee that if she told anyone they would think she was crazy.
The mother sighed to herself and looked Takuya's arm over. It still had an infectious purple color in his skin tone and the bandages were unpleasant to say the least, having been used to keep any more pus from oozing out.
Takuya moaned in his sleep. The purple hue had stopped just beyond his shoulder and enveloped his entire arm. The pus had stopped oozing though but it didn't change anything. He still had a pained look on his face, sweat dripping on his face, and his bad arm fidgeting.
She replaced the cloth on his forehead. Sighing again, she pulled the covers over him, hoping to keep him warm. She retired to her room to read for a bit before she resumed checking on her boys. The night went fairly easy, Takuya slept through the night as did the twins.
Kouichi rose before anyone else, after checking up on Takuya he went to make breakfast for his mother, brother and friend should he wake.
Kouji woke soon after the smell of food wafted through the house, "Morning Kouichi."
"Sleep well?" he asked.
The younger twin swatted at him, "Barely. I was worried sick about Takuya."
"I know what you mean." Kouichi answered and set a plate for Kouji. 'I checked up on him when I woke up. Nothing looked wrong; I think he slept okay-ish through the night."
Kouji accepted the information and nodded, sitting himself at the dining table and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Well, at least he's gotten some sleep."
"Yeah, but that purple color… it completely covered his arm and just barely seeping over his chest." Kouichi added, feeling a sense of dread as he recalled the look it had when he went to check on Takuya.
"You're kidding…" Kouji muttered in disbelief.
"Should we wake him?" Kouichi asked, "It's been a while since he's last eaten."
Kouji glanced at his brother's bedroom door. "I suppose so. It'll probably help him fight whatever that stuff is in his system."
Kouichi nodded, "I'll wake him- you eat." He went to the bedroom, poking his head in first. Takuya was still sound asleep. It seemed almost cruel to wake him. He gently tried to rouse the boy. "Takuya- Hey, wake up."
Takuya moaned slowly waking up. He still couldn't find the strength to move or even speak. He felt sore; his entire left arm felt like it was on fire but not in a way he was used to.
"Hey…Hey Takuya…" Kouichi frowned after seeing the condition his friend was in. "Damn it… Takuya, it's me Kouichi."
Takuya could only moan in reply and he tried to open his eyes to take in his surroundings. His vision was still blurry and all he could do was make up dark shapes. Kouichi's voice was muffled to his ears.
"Takuya?" Kouichi tried talking to his friend but he felt like nothing was getting to the gogglehead. The poor sick boy's condition seemed to be worsening now that he was awake to show them how weak he was.
Tomoko stepped into the room to check on Takuya when she saw her eldest. "Kouichi? Checking on Takuya? How's his condition?"
"…I'm not sure Mom. He looks like he could barely open his eyes." Kouichi answered uneasily. "I don't like this."
Takuya tried desperately to focus on his surroundings. He tried to move his body, finding it unresponsive. His left arm felt numb and heavy like lead. He felt dizzy, like something was covering his ears with a lot of pressure. Blood pounded in his ears, this was terribly wrong. Everything felt wrong. He was literally paralyzed, trapped within his own body.
Tomoko and Kouichi stood at the boy's side, trying desperately to wake him or get some sort of reaction. Kouji joined them after a short time, finding the situation distressing.
"We have to wake him up- somehow- H-he... He could be dying!" Kouji was frantic enough for Kouichi to shoo him from the room.
"Kouji, we're doing our best but you need to calm down and not freak out." His brother told him softly as to not anger is brother.
The younger twin growled but nodded. He knew he couldn't afford to be hysterical. Kouji just stood back as Kouichi went back to help his mother.
Tomoko and Kouichi went to Takuya's side and tried everything they could think of to get a response from the boy though the only response they had was from dabbing a cool wet towel on his forehead which resulted with a pained moan. Nothing was working.
"This is bad… I don't know what to do Mom…" Kouichi stated distressed.
The trapped sensation intensified. He lay, trapped in a void of ever darkening blackness, unable to move, unable to cry out. He felt weak and scared. His body numbed as the temperature dropped significantly.
Freak... monster... You don't belong in this world or the digital one. You're nothing but an abomination...
He could hear something drawing closer. Footsteps. The dull thunks grew louder with each passing step. Takuya swallowed slowly, fear racing through his veins. Whatever approached stopped. He could hear the sound of a familiar blade being drawn.
Takuya's eyes shot open as he cried out suddenly, thrashing wildly. Kouichi and his mother immediately backed away. He crashed to the floor, eyes wide with fear. Kouji reentered the room hearing the commotion.
The boy turned Digimon looked spooked, like he had been the first time he turned into Flamon. He tried to run, but his body as too weak. He collapsed on the floor in pain as the poison in his arm surged to life throughout his body. His D-tector fell from his pocket, hitting the floor. The screen lit up briefly. The world fell dark again as he passed out.
Kouji looked to his mother and brother. They were just as stunned as he was, though more shaken. He knelt beside Takuya and lifted him back into bed. "What's happening to you...?"
Takuya was once more in the dark void, though this time it felt different. It felt... better. Safe even. He could move. He didn't feel sick anymore. A new presence approached. He could see it through the darkness, but he could feel it. It felt good, and warming- like sitting beside a fireplace. He felt a hand touch the spot on his shoulder where the poison entered his body. It grew hot for a moment then faded. The wound and poison was gone.
In almost an instant he felt relieved; like an immense weight was lifted off his shoulders. He could feel his arm. The pain that surged through it had completely faded away almost as if the heat had melted away.
"You're going to be okay Takuya. You're not alone." A comforting voice told the boy. The voice was familiar but after everything Takuya went through, he had found it hard to focus. "You'll always have someone there watching your back."
Takuya couldn't make out the voice as he felt light envelope all of the darkness.
