Hi guys. We're back with another chapter. I really hope you guys enjoy it since it's going to be the last one for a little while.
Just as a reminder, FernClaw and I are taking a much needed vacation and break from the story so we can come back feeling rejuvenated and ready to keep going to see this sucker through to the end. We've been going nonstop for almost a whole year now and we just a little break to recharge our batteries so I hope you all can be patient with us.
With that said, I want to thank everyone who took the time to read and enjoy what we've given you so far and hope that you guys continue to read when we get back. It's difficult to list you all personally but we seriously do appreciate you guys. We love know that you guys enjoy our stuff. We hope to see you guys again soon. We'll be back, I promise.
Now let's get on the road, shall we?
Chapter 46: A Mother's Warmth.
"Damn it…"
The boy sniffled, trying to hold back any tears that had welled up in his eyes but he just couldn't hold them in anymore. They streaked down his cheeks as he stifled back a sob, making sure to not get JP's attention.
Why couldn't things just go back to the way they were? Back to normal life where his mother cared about him, being over protective over the slightest things or scolding him and his brother whenever they have a fight. It wasn't perfect but it was his life.
Now it feels like those times will never come back. And it hurt. It hurt so much.
After a while there was a knock at the door. "Hey Takky, just wanted to tell you that dinner was ready."
Takuya sniffled and wiped his eyes quickly. "I-I'm not really hungry right now, thank you…" he tried speaking up with a shaky voice. He then cleared his throat hoping to strengthen his voice. "I think I'll just… get some more rest…"
"Everything okay in there?"
"Y-yeah! Everything's fine." Takuya insisted, praying that JP wouldn't peak in to check up on him. He didn't want JP to see him like this and make him worry. He was imposing on him enough as it is. "I'm just… really tired still… I'm fine though… really."
"Are you sure? You really don't sound okay…" JP replied and started to open the door.
Thinking fast, Takuya buried himself under the covers, effectively hiding himself as his friend stepped in.
JP raised an eyebrow at the boy under the covers, befuddled by his sudden behavior. "Takuya? What're you doing under the covers like that?" he asked as he approached the bed.
Takuya hid his face as JP pulled the covers back slightly. The elder boy wasn't buying his act at all. There was definitely something wrong here. He completely pulled the blankets away, exposing Takuya. The boy whimpered and curled up tightly.
"Takky," JP sat beside the distressed Digimon. A quick glance over told him that Takuya had been crying for a while. "What's wrong?"
"Who said anything was wrong?" Takuya mumbled in denial, not looking up.
The elder brunette huffed, "Takuya. Look at yourself. Something is seriously bothering you."
The sullen boy sighed, and sat up slowly. He kept his head down, not meeting his friend's gaze. "I... It's..." He sighed shakily, feeling tears well up in his eyes again.
"Easy Takky," JP said softly, sensing his friend's pain, "It's okay." He gently pulled Takuya next to him and wrapped an arm around the smaller boy.
Takuya couldn't hold it in anymore. Before JP could realize it, Takuya had broken down to a pitiful sob against his friend's embrace.
JP patted his friend gently on the back, not sure of what else he could do for the boy. He had some idea of why Takuya was upset. It was obviously over this ordeal with his mother. He doubt anyone could get over that okay, let alone the one kid who went through hell.
"Why does she… w-why can't I…" Takuya tried to speak but it was all choked out by his sobs.
The elder boy bit his lip. "I'm sure she'll come around…"
"I was gone for months!" Takuya snapped. "A-after all that time… w-when I finally come home… she doesn't… she wasn't even happy to see me! I was gone for almost a year… and she didn't even look happy to have me in the house!"
JP held the boy's shoulders in his hands, trying to calm the boy down. "Takuya… it's not like that…"
"Then what is it like?!" Takuya asked desperately, interrupting his friend. "Why doesn't she care about me!?"
"It's not like that Takuya..." JP tried to counter again, though he wasn't so sure about his argument anymore.
Takuya shook his head. "You didn't see the look she had… s-she… she didn't want me anywhere near her…" He; completely distraught. He felt so alone. He felt abandoned by his mother.
JP meanwhile felt at a complete loss. He had no idea what to do for Takuya, he couldn't help him overcome his sadness or help with the boy's present home situation.
Finding nothing he could do to help, JP retreated and let Takuya cry out his pain. He slipped into the kitchen and pulled out his cellphone, dialing Zoe.
"Hello?"
JP breathed a sigh of relief, "Zoe- I have a situation."
The blonde paused, "Is it Takuya?"
"How did you-?"
"JP you sound worried, and Tommy called me earlier," she explained quickly, "He's having trouble adjusting at home... right?"
The boy sighed, "He's in my bedroom crying- completely fell to pieces... I'm starting to think he has some kind of stress disorder..."
"Do you know what it is exactly that's bothering him?" she asked feeling nervous with JP's mentioning of a possible disorder.
"It's a lot of crap Z… first his mom's being really hostile towards him then there's the thing with the new baby…" JP started, and winced after hearing another cry from the other room.
"New baby?! They had a new baby?!"
JP nodded. "Yeah, I was really surprised to but… god, I just don't know anymore Z. All I can tell is that it just made him feel like he was being replaced."
There was a long pause before Zoe spoke again. "Okay, I'm coming over. JP, just stick with him and try to make him feel better. I'll be there as fast as I can."
The boy nodded. "Okay… hurry, Takuya's really upset about this…" He sighed as Zoe hung up and turned back to his room, hearing Takuya's cries even louder. "Oh man Takky…"
Takuya sniffled and looked down at his hands, a faint flame flickering between his fingers. If he weren't like this then none of this crap would have happened. He wouldn't have been kicked out of the house, he wouldn't have been tortured by the military, he wouldn't be suffering like this.
He growled bitterly and clenched his fists. Takuya didn't ask for any of this crap. If there was anyone to blame… it was the Warrior Spirit. For all his talk of being there for him, Takuya still suffered alone when he needed him most.
"Damn it… this is all your fault…" He muttered resentfully, trying to shift all of his anger and emotion onto Agunimon but that did nothing for him… it just made him feel like he lost someone else… someone important to him; just like his mother.
JP sighed and crashed on the couch, taking a breather to relax before Zoe would arrive. He leaned his head and tried to see if he could still hear Takuya's sobs.
He couldn't hear anything. The teen didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned. With the way Takuya was crying, JP wasn't expecting him to have quieted down so quickly. "Takky? Everything okay in there?" he called out.
There was a long moment of silence. JP frowned and got up from his spot on the couch. "Takuya?" he called out again as he made his way to the door. "Hey Takky, you okay in there?" he asked again before opening the door.
The room was empty, the sheets pulled back and the window open.
"Oh no…" JP rushed to the window and looked outside, trying to find the Digimon boy. "Oh crap… Takuya?! Takuya?!"
Takuya huffed, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He couldn't stay there any longer. After everything that happened, he felt like he would just spontaneously combust and set the whole apartment ablaze.
He'd hoped another train back towards his home, not intending to actually go home. Immense pain coursed through his mind. He shook his head, stopping in the middle of a high rise. He couldn't bear it anymore. A pained howl pierced the peaceful evening as Takuya fell to his knees. Everything felt hopeless.
The boy shook his head, feeling lost and heartbroken. Why did this happen to him?
Takuya collapsed, lying on his back and stared up at the evening sky. It offered him little but Takuya just didn't care anymore. He felt tired, drained, and miserable. He just wanted one moment of peace from all his turmoil.
One peaceful moment.
He closed his eyes and tried to block out the rest of the world.
Something then caught his attention. The air felt oddly still for such a pleasant evening. It disturbed him deeply as he got back to his feet. He could feel something big coming, something bad...
Home.
Takuya started running, darting across the rooftops at high speed. He had to get home, and fast.
With each passing moment, the stillness grew more and more unsettling. Worry continually ebbed at his mind and that drew Takuya to move faster; to push each jump harder. He had to get there faster.
He couldn't place it but it felt familiar. Takuya didn't dwell on it for long though. He couldn't waste his time trying to figure this out when he knew that there was potential danger.
Even after everything that happened, after the way his mother treated him, he still didn't want any harm to come to her or the baby. He didn't even want to consider the possibility of them getting hurt.
What mattered right now, is making sure that no one gets hurt.
The house came to view but Takuya's sense of dread didn't settle. Takuya quickly jumped down, into the tree near the house and surveyed the area. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and there was no one out in the street.
Takuya bit his lip and peered into the window nearby. He could make out his mother on the couch with the baby. It hurt seeing the content look on her face but that impending sense of dread nipped at his mind again. He wouldn't let anything hurt them.
"What in the world…" The Digimon boy groaned weakly but stopped when he felt a sudden jolt. He saw the ground shake before him and the trees and telephone poles threatened to fall over and crash into the streets and households.
The boy yelped and fell off the branch. He blinked and started to register what had happened. The ground wasn't really shaking. None of what he saw really happened. It was a premonition. "I remember now!"
Back when he came back to the Digital World on Dark Trailmon he had those premonitions. He remembered predicting the snow and the storm and using it to defeat Mercurymon and Ranamon when his friends were captured.
This was just like that but now instead of a storm it was…
An earthquake! He was sensing an impending earthquake! His eyes widened with terror. He could feel the ground begin to tremble beneath his bare feet.
"Mom!" Takuya bolted towards the front door, wrenching it open. He ran into the living room eyes wide with fear, "Get down!"
His mother looked at him like Takuya posed a threat. She opened her mouth to shout at him when the tremors struck. The house began to shake horribly. She cried out as Takuya went to push his mother and sister to the floor, away from the neighboring bookcase.
Takuya used his own body as a shield while his mother shielded Yuuko. Books fell from the shelves, drinking glasses shattered in the kitchen as they hit the floor. His mother yelped in fear and Yuuko began to cry in terror.
Books and other clattering objects fell on the boy but he didn't budge. He wouldn't let anything hurt his family, no matter what happened.
No matter what.
The shaking only lasted a few brief and terrifying moments but to Takuya it lasted forever. Finally the tremors subsided. Takuya slowly got off of his mother and helped her sit up and not letting go of Yuuko. The baby continued to cry as Yuriko tried to soothe the child. Takuya sat back, breathing hard.
"A-are you okay?" he asked tentatively as Yuuko quieted down.
Yuriko looked that he boy, "Takuya...you... you..." she looked speechless.
Takuya smiled weakly, paying no mind to the small aches on his back. "It's okay Mom..."
Yuriko just stared at him in disbelief. She was still on edge after the earthquake shook. That was one of the most terrifying experiences she had ever gone through. And Takuya came in and saved her and Yuuko. If it weren't for him, they both could have seriously been hurt.
Takuya scratched the back of his neck nervously, feeling uncomfortable under his mother's stare.
"Takuya… I…I…" she was at a complete loss of words. After everything had happened, she never thought Takuya would do something like this. She thought her son was dangerous but just looking at him right now he looked anything but dangerous.
"I-is the baby okay?" the boy ventured to ask, looking at the bundle in her arms.
The mother nodded slowly and looked down at the calmed child to make sure. She looked back up at Takuya, feeling her eyes water up. She just couldn't get over how he just saved them. "You… saved us… but… how did you…"
"Well… I don't really know but… I guess I just had a feeling." Takuya explained hesitantly. "I knew something was going to happen and… I just had to make sure you were okay."
That did it for her. Seeing that look on his face and hearing the concern in his voice, it shattered the image she had of him.
The thing she saw when he was fighting Dracmon; the snarling blazing beast that terrified her… it looked nothing like the boy in front of her now.
He wasn't a monster; he wasn't dangerous as she was made to believe. He was her son; the boy she raised. And that made her remember the fear and the grief she had suffered when this happened. It made her feel guilty for the way she treated him when he returned. Made her feel guilty of the fear she felt when he walked into that door; the fear that the beast would hurt her family. And all these feelings had built up and exploded into loud sobs.
"M-mom…? W-why are you…" Takuya stammered, almost jumping up in his seat when she started to cry.
She carefully pulled the flame Digimon close with one arm still supporting Yuuko in the other. She held him, stroking his thick mane gently. "I'm so sorry Takuya... I... I…"
"Mom..." Takuya said softly, "Mom don't cry..." He carefully wrapped his arms around her, sandwiching his baby sister between them. Yuuko made a soft cry of protest.
"Yuuko..." their mother whispered. She pulled away and gazed down at the baby in her arms. The baby had settled down and looked up at the two faces in front of her. Yuriko continued to watch her daughter and glanced up at Takuya, seeing that he was looking at the baby as well.
"Would you like to hold her Takuya?"
Takuya blinked and looked back to his mother. "W-what?" He was taken by surprise by the gesture and wasn't sure what to make of it. He wasn't sure if what she said was real.
"Would you like to hold her?" She repeated softly.
Takuya wasn't so sure about this, especially while he remained trapped in his Digimon state. "I-I don't know… I-I mean…"
Before Takuya could protest any further, he found the baby girl in his arms. She squirmed and reached for his face. Takuya couldn't help but smile and brought his sister closer to his face. Yuuko giggled and grabbed at his nose and bangs.
Yuuko placed her tiny hand on the boy's cheek, smiling brightly. Takuya smiled back, a soft purr rising from his chest. His mother tilted her head to the side hearing Takuya's purrs.
It took Takuya a moment to realize he was purring before his face flushed bright red. He looked up sheepishly at his mother. "I uh… tend to do that when I'm happy. I don't really notice half the time."
"It's cute." Yuriko responded, trying to smile at her son. She felt a strained tension between them, not that she couldn't understand why. After the way she treated Takuya, she wouldn't blame him for feeling a little uncomfortable. She would just have to try and make things better. "Yuuko really seems to like it." The mother gestured to the giggling baby in Takuya's arms.
Takuya nodded, smiling happily at his new sister. "She's really cute too."
Yuuko reached up at Takuya's hair again, grabbing onto the locks as tight as her little fists could get.
"She really likes you." Yuriko smiled at her children as the baby tugged at his mane.
The boy winced each time the small child tugged at his mane. "I can tell." He touched his damp black nose to his sister's, smiling softly.
"Takuya?"
"Yeah Mom?"
Yuriko leaned forward and pulled her eldest into her arms and hugged him gently. "I'm so glad to have you back."
"I'm glad to be home..." The half Digimon whispered, snuggling up closer to her. "It just feels so good to be home."
"I'm sorry we made you leave in the first place... I was being stupid… I should have known you would never hurt us. I'm so sorry… s-so sorry…"
Takuya nodded his head into her shoulder and sniffled, feeling tears sting at his eyes. He never felt more relieved to have his mother back on his side. It felt like everything was finally going right for him. "You have no idea how much I missed this…"
The mother only held her son even closer to her as he started to cry. "I never should have treated you like that…"
"I just… e-everything just went to hell… after I left…" The boy muttered, feeling his voice quiver as he tried to keep from breaking down. "I… I… lost everything and… and I…" he stopped, recalling his painful memories of the lab. "I-I was hurt…"
"Takuya… w-what happened?" Yuriko asked, her heart aching at the distraught look on Takuya's face.
He curled up tighter against her, his body shaking. "I… when I disappeared I… after what happened in the city… t-these people found me… they… they treated me like an animal… t-they prodded me and… hurt me… god it was a nightmare!" Takuya looked up at her. "They made me kill a rabbit for food…"
Yuriko felt her blood grow cold at his words. She looked at the way her son shook, shaken to his very being. Yuriko could see pain beyond her years in Takuya's eyes. Yuuko whined, sensing her brother's distress.
"Takuya..." the mother tried to sooth him at a complete loss for words, stroking the boy's mane gently.
She didn't want to believe someone could be so cruel. She recalled something Shinya had said earlier, about Takuya having so many scars and being hurt really bad. And she blamed herself for it. Maybe if he could have come home, none of that would have happened. Takuya would still be the carefree, spirited boy she knew and loved. It was their fault he was forced into this situation.
Yuuko whined again, making Takuya hold her closer to his chest. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he tried to fight his emotions off. A soft sob escaped him. Takuya gently pushed his sister into their mother's arms again. He rose making a break for his room.
Yuriko wanted to call to him, but found she had to put Yuuko down in her crib before she could truly ease her eldest's pain. She followed Takuya up the stairs, detouring for a moment to lay Yuuko in her crib. "I'll be right back," she whispered before she went to Takuya and Shinya's room.
She knocked gently, "Takuya?" the mother could hear him sobbing from the other side of the door. She opened it slowly, spying the boy on his bed, hugging a pillow to his chest tightly.
Takuya whined, feeling his body heat up with his rising emotions. He felt like how he did before in JP's apartment; like he could combust at any moment.
"Takuya…" Yuriko reached out to her son and felt the heat radiating from him, yet despite that she continued to reach out to him. She wouldn't abandon him again. The mother pulled her son close to her, ignoring the rising heat. She could do this much for him. "I'm here for you Takuya. I'm here for you now…"
The boy didn't resist. Being in his mother's arms was an all too good feeling. Takuya wrapped his arms around her and sobbed in her embrace.
"My poor boy… I'm so sorry…" she mumbled and stroke the boy's mane gently, tears running down her face and dampening the boy's hair.
He didn't move as pained cries wracked his body. "Mom..." he choked out quietly, burying his face into her shoulder.
She hugged his tighter. "It's okay Takuya... I'm here... I'm right here..." she soothed, "I won't leave you again… I-I swear I won't… I-I won't let anything hurt you again…"
Takuya shivered in her embrace, still crying. The heat his body gave off started to dissipate and weaken as he went limp in her arms. He needed this. He needed his mother, his family in his life, and now Takuya had that back; things seemed to being coming together after months of hell. Despite the torture, the depression, and the heartbreak, he had survived and felt at peace inside.
He felt safe, and at home.
His body began to glow brightly for a moment, startling his mother. She almost pulled away as a frightened gasp escaped her. It died away, leaving Takuya in his human state once more.
Later guys! We'll be back before you know it!
