Hey guys. Got another chapter for you, though it's a little on the short side. Hope you guys don't mind. But trust me, we're leading up to a whole lot of stuff. Anyway, I know some of you are curious about the Takumi thing but I can just tell you that you'll have to wait and see. You'll see soon enough. And with that, I'll leave you to read. Enjoy guys.

Chapter 10: Safe and Sound

"Takuya?"

He opened his eyes slowly, shapes slowly coming to clarity. Takuya could make out his friends… and he could make out his friends' mother. "G-guys?"

"He's awake!" Kouichi called out happily, almost jumping with joy. "Thank goodness!"

"Kouichi… w-what happened?" Takuya asked weakly, he was cured of all the pain but he still felt worn.

"We were hoping you'd tell us." Kouji said, interjecting himself, "You had us so worried Takuya! What happened?"

Takuya shrank back, trying to avoid the inevitable lecture Kouji was about to give. He glanced at Ms. Kimura, feeling slightly exposed. Was he that sick? "I... I don't remember much to be honest."

"Don't stress yourself," Tomoko said kindly, "You need to rest and recover. You gave us all quite a scare."

Bad choice of words. Takuya lowered his head, feeling ashamed of himself again "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You've been put through quite an ordeal." Tomoko replied as she tried to reassure the boy. "You still need to recover."

Takuya bit his lip but nodded and laid back down on the bed. "…how long have I been like this?"

"All day yesterday…" Kouichi answered and then recalled the incident before the attack, feeling a great pang of guilt. He had yet to apologize to the boy but wasn't sure about doing so when his mother was still in the room. She would be so disappointed with him.

Kouji saw the look in his brother's eyes and sighed. "How about we get you some breakfast Takuya? Kouichi started up on breakfast a little while ago. Should still be good."

Tomoko nodded with him. "Some food will do you some good."

Takuya's stomach growled on cue. He blushed. Tomoko smiled at him. She helped him up, the twins going to his aid. He stood weakly with their help. They ushered him into the kitchen, Kouji helping him into a chair.

Kouichi served everyone something to eat. Takuya picked at his food, still feeling queasy.

"You should really try to eat something Takuya." Tomoko insisted upon seeing the boy only pick at his food.

Takuya nodded numbly and tried to eat but found that the effort was in vain. He still felt nauseous. "I'm sorry, I just don't feel so good right now. I'm not sure if I can eat anything right now."

"Just take your time. You can eat when you feel like you can stomach it." Kouji told him and dropped his plate in the sink. "No hurry."

He nodded his head in thanks and kept his gaze low. He didn't say a word after that.

"Takuya? What's wrong?" Kouji asked, concerned for his friend. He reached out laying a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Takuya flinched away, "Leave me alone Kouji..."

Kouji pulled away, giving the boy his space. "Okay."

Tomoko stood, "It's okay Takuya. Take your time. You just take all the time you need."

The twins looked to each other. Takuya was isolating himself again. They weren't sure what to do next. Their friend had recovered from the ordeal but he was still far from being okay. The former human looked down at his hands. Still Digimon and he didn't have the strength to will himself back to his human form.

Kouji sighed. "I'll go ahead and call Zoe and the others." He told his brother low enough in hopes Takuya won't hear him after seeing how he reacted when their mother had told him how worried they were. He didn't want to upset Takuya any further. "They'll want to know what's going on."

Takuya heard them, but made no indication he did. He still felt like an outsider.

Tomoko moved beside him, gently rubbing his back. Takuya looked up at her. She smiled softly. "It'll be okay." Her touch was soothing.

Kouichi nudged Kouji, nodded to their mother working her motherly charm on Takuya. He seemed to be relaxing. The younger twin sighed in relief. Their mother was really working wonders in getting Takuya to relax and finally be at ease. He nodded in approval and stepped out of the room to call the others.

Takuya couldn't help but feel himself purr as she rubbed his back. It was relaxing. Takuya had to admit the twins had a really nice mother. His eyes widen when he came to realization that his own mother hadn't heard from him all day yesterday and was probably worried sick. "Oh crap…"

"What's wrong?" Tomoko asked.

"My mom… she must be worried sick… oh man… I am in SO much trouble." Takuya whined, knowing he was in for the tongue lashing of his life.

"I called her last night- I told her where you were and that you had fallen asleep. There's no need to worry." He looked up at her, eyes wide. "I didn't say a word about your... condition." she added delicately.

Takuya breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

She smiled, "If it were my boys, I'd want to know where they were." She paused, "Takuya, you should- let your parents know about your ability. They'll still love you."

Takuya shook his head. "You don't know my dad… he's… if he knew about this… or Mom… she'd have a heart attack! They can't know about this!"

Tomoko held up a hand as a gesture for him to calm down. "Look, I'm not going to force you. Whether or not you tell them it's up to you. I just think it'd be a good idea to tell them the truth. I'm sure they'll be able to understand."

The boy lowered his gaze, and took in everything she said. "I don't know… I-I think they'd be better if they didn't know…"

"It's okay Takuya. Your secret is safe with me- though I am quite curious I'll admit. You are one certainly fascinating creature." Her smile was genuine. She wasn't afraid of him.

"Why aren't you afraid?" he asked softly.

She tilted her head, "Why would I be?"

Takuya flexed his claws, staring at his hands, "Because I look like a monster..."

"Why would you say that?" Tomoko asked, feeling sorry for the boy after seeing how he felt about his condition. "I don't see a monster Takuya."

"That's really nice of you Mrs. Kimura but… well… just look at me… I've got horns, claws, a freaking tail… I even breathe fire…" And to further prove his point he sighed, blowing a faint flame right in front of his face. "Who wouldn't see a monster?"

The mother was startled by the flame but that quickly subsided when sympathy took root. "Your friends don't. Your friends care about you Takuya. I know Kouji and Kouichi do. And like I said, I don't see a monster. Just a boy who's in pain."

Takuya bit his lip. He didn't know what to say. Tomoko was being so nice to him. He would have figured an adult would have freaked out and called the police or animal control. The last time people saw him they were completely bewildered and frightened by the Digimon's appearance.

"Give it time, You'll know when is the right time to tell them- if you choose to do so at all." she said confidently. She patted his shoulder as the twins returned. "It'll be okay Takuya."

He smiled at her weakly. "The others are coming- well Tommy can't. His brother is home for the weekend and he wants to spend time with him. But Zoe and JP are both on their way." Kouichi informed the former brunette with a smile.

"Have you tried to change back yet?" Kouji asked, taking a seat beside Takuya.

He shook his head mumbling, "Can't yet... 'm not strong enough."

"Well, there's no need to hurry. Just take your time to gather your strength." Kouichi told him and sat down at the table with them.

After making sure the boys were okay Tomoko decided to get up. "Well boys, I have a few errands to run. I'll be back soon. I hope you'll be able to take care of yourselves while I'm gone."

"We'll be okay Mom. You don't have to worry about us." Kouji answered for them. "Zoe'll make sure to keep all of us in check."

Kouichi snorted in amusement. Zoe will keep them in check alright. She'll give them hell for the catnip incident yesterday and do a damn good job making sure it doesn't happen again. She'll probably even have them groveling at her feet begging for forgiveness.

The twins sent Takuya back to bed until JP and Zoe would arrive, allowing him more time to rest and recover. He happily obliged, falling right back asleep.

It took Zoe and JP another two hours to show up, mostly because they hadn't been to Kouichi's home more than once and had difficulties remembering how to get there. Zoe had arrived irritated at Kouichi and JP for yesterday but dropping it seeing Takuya was still sound asleep.

"The poor boy... He's suffered so much lately..." she whispered once they were seated in the living room, waiting on JP. "Another Digimon- in the real world- made him sick?"

"Yeah… there were three of them; weird bats that looked like bowling balls." Kouji answered recalling the events that transpired. "They were using darts… it looked like they were after him…"

"Why would a bunch of Digimon be after Takuya…?" Zoe asked feeling scared for her friend. "And you're sure he's okay?"

Kouichi nodded. "Yeah. The poison was definitely gone earlier. It just disappeared suddenly."

The blonde nodded. She was relieved to hear that he wasn't exactly sick anymore. If only there were a way to help him through his grief. "Do you think more Digimon are going to come after him?"

"Given our history and knowledge, Yes. A lot more dangerous ones too." Kouji said darkly.

The three collectively sighed. There wasn't much else they could do a this stage. Until JP got there, Takuya needed to rest and get better. He'd been through a lot in a short few days.

"So what do we do? We can't help him without being Digimon ourselves..." Zoe asked, concerned for Takuya's safety and sanity. It wasn't good for him to be so alone.

Kouji shrugged, "Well, unless we spontaneously turn into Digimon too, I doubt there's much we can do."

There was another round of collective sighs. They felt useless. There wasn't much their group could do to help their friend. They would stand no chance against rogue Digimon. It would be all on Takuya's shoulders. They could barely even help him through his illness.

The blond bit her lip. She didn't like feeling so useless. She wished there was something she could do to help her friend. Zoe felt aggravated with the situation.

There was a knock at the door and JP had arrived, a solemn look on his face. He felt bad leaving the previous day when Takuya was still in grave condition. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. How's Takuya looking?"

"He fell asleep a while ago. The poor guy really needs the rest." Kouji answered, taking the group back up to check up on Takuya.

Takuya moaned in his sleep as he slowly began to wake up from his slumber. "W-what?"

"Hey, he's awake!" JP exclaimed, glad to see the boy waking up. He yelped when Zoe grabbed a hold of his ear. "Owww… Zoe!"

"You're being loud." Zoe answered curtly, giving a yank for every loud noise he made which was counterproductive considering JP would yelp with every sharp tug.

Takuya had heard JP's yelps of pain and had his gaze follow the sound to the poor boy as he tried to keep his ear intact. "Guys? What's going on?"

Zoe released JP's ear. "Hey Takuya. How're you feeling?" she asked with a soft smile.

Takuya blinked a few times, trying to shake the sleep from his eyes. He stretched and rolled his shoulders, noting the wounded one felt a lot better than it did earlier. "Better now," he ran his hand through his tangled mane, "still not great though."

"Just take it easy okay?" Kouichi said with a smile.

Kouji nodded in agreement, "one step at a time."

Zoe prodded JP and Kouichi in the back, pushing them before Takuya. "Don't you two have something to say?" she asked, giving them a warning look.

Takuya could already tell what she was referring to. He saw the shamed looks on their faces and sighed. "Look guys… don't worry about it… all water under the bridge."

The two looked conflicted due to shame making them fearful about their confession. They yelped when Zoe pinched them hard in the backs of their arms.

"You're not off the hook that easy." Zoe muttered to them, her pinch becoming much sharper making the boys whimper and obey.

"We're really sorry Takuya…" Kouichi said and kept his gaze low to keep the shame and the pain hidden.

JP nodded vigorously. "We weren't thinking… we were acting like… like jerks. We really are sorry Takuya."

Zoe tightened her pinch, not feeling satisfied. "And?"

"We'll never do it again! We promise we'll be better friends to you from now on!" the two said at once. They sighed when Zoe finally relented on her assault.

As Zoe released them, he looked to JP and Kouichi, "Apology accepted." Kouichi and JP immediately got out of arm's reach from The blonde girl. Zoe sighed, huffing something that sounded like 'boys' under her breath.

Takuya leaned over to Kouji, "Remind me not to get on her bad side."

"I heard that," she shot at the flame Digimon.

Kouji decided to spare Takuya her wrath and change the subject, "think you have the energy to change back yet?"

Takuya shrugged, "I dunno, maybe."

Takuya took a breath and concentrated on transforming. It took him a moment to gather his strength until he was finally covered in a bright light. After a few seconds the light died down and Takuya was back to his human form. He sighed in relief from his success.

The others couldn't help but sigh as well when the gogglehead was finally human again. Takuya felt weak though he was already exhausted from the whole entire ordeal.

"Are you okay Takuya?" Zoe asked after seeing the look on his face.

He nodded slowly and tried smiling. "Yeah… just… just a little tired still… whatever those Digimon did to me…"

"You could have died." Kouji said bluntly, "Those Digimon specifically said 'humans weren't as resistant to the toxin.' You're only half Digimon."

"I know Kouji." Takuya replied gruffly. "They won't be the last ones either."

JP sat back, thinking, "How is it possible though? Bokomon said Digimon who enter our world lose their minds."

"It could be our fault." Kouichi said softly, "We became data while in the Digital World. If humans could become data, then there's a chance Digimon can exist in the real world."

Zoe crossed her arms, "That still doesn't explain HOW they get here. I thought the gate was closed."

"Well… I didn't see them come through…" Takuya stated and recalled what had happened. "I just felt their presence and then those things attacked me. Hell, I don't even know what they were."

The twins shrugged with him. They weren't familiar with the type of Digimon that attacked them.

"They used an attack called Demi Dart but it doesn't sound familiar."

"Takuya took care of them so maybe we don't have to worry what those things were." JP suggested.

"What about the D-Tector?" Zoe brought up. "Maybe that has something that can help us.'

Deciding it was worth a shot Takuya removed the D-Tector from his pocket and examined the small device in his hand. His memories of the Digivice's functions were still hazy. "So… what now?"

"Oh honestly Takuya." Zoe said rolling her eyes, "Press the buttons."

Takuya sighed and did as she said and began to push random buttons. Nothing happened. The screen flickered to life briefly, but like powered by a dead battery, it dimmed and remained dark once more. He stopped. A name came to him. "DemiDevimon," he whispered.

The others looked at him curiously. "What did you say?" Kouichi asked.

"DemiDevimon... It's a virus Digimon, It's not very strong but that syringe- the Demi Dart, that has a poison in it that's lethal to humans." Takuya rattled off like he was an expert on the Digimon in question.

The other four looked completely stunned, not doubting his words. "How...? how do you know that?" JP asked, still in shock.

"I... It... It just came to me..." Takuya admitted.

Takuya looked back down at the D-Tector and tried to get it working again but the screen had stayed dark. He shrugged and pocketed the device deciding that he knew enough about his assailants.

"What else can that thing do?" JP asked curiously. "That's like… the miracle device of the world."

The twins sighed collectively. "JP, maybe it's not best if you mess with that thing."

"Especially if Takuya's connected to it." Zoe added, not liking the fascinated look on his face.

"Come on guys. I was able to make it work to send a message to the Digital World." JP said to defend himself. He was competent with technology. He could make the Digivice work somehow.

"Maybe once we have a better idea of what's going on." Kouji offered.

Takuya shook his head, "No- I need this thing to work. It's useless to me right now dead." He held out the device to JP, "if you can get it started up again, that would be great."

JP smiled, thankful that Takuya still trusted him, despite the catnip prank. He took the red and black D-Tector from Takuya, holding it carefully. "I'll do my best."

"Guard it with your life buddy!" Takuya added, grinning. He was clearly feeling much better now.

"Thanks Takky! You won't regret it!" JP replied, grinning as well.

"Good to hear." Takuya stretched, hearing a few cracks and pops in his back and shoulders. He had been in a bed all day for the last two days. His back had been stiff from the experience. "Man… I am so stiff!"

"Jeez Takuya." Kouji snorted in amusement though he was glad that his friend was doing better now.

He chuckled with the others after hearing the gogglehead's stomach growl like before. "You think you'll actually eat something this time?"

Takuya laughed awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed about how his stomach sounded its opinion. "Damn thing has a mind of its own."

Kouji snorted, "At least it works."

The brunette shot Kouji a dirty look for the insult, but said nothing. "Can we eat, please?" The others laughed agreeing to go out and find a place to eat.