Author's Note: A quick heads-up here with school starting next week for me, updates won't be s frequent and I would like to thank mahwish1, Azure-Wulfe, and Yuki for reviewing!

Drowned Out

Chapter Three

Matt's blue eyes widened.

He ran a hand up his throat, gently rubbing it and tried to speak again, but still no words were uttered. As a last-ditch effort, he took in a deep breath and tried to scream as loud as he could but that proved to be of no use.

"Matt, come here, now!" The blonde heard his father calling for him again, this time with a hint of impatience in his voice. Not wanting to anger his father, he ran out the door and into the living room.

"Do you want to cook dinner," his father asked, "or do you want me to order takeout instead? That's pretty much what I've lived off while you were in the hospital."

Ending the sentence with a chuckle, Hiroaki waited for an answer but did not get one.

The blonde was at a standstill. Unable to replay or state his problem down on paper and Hiroaki was starting to grow irritated with Matt's silent treatment.

"Matt, I asked you a question." Hiroaki said sternly.

Turning to face him directly, Matt frantically pointed at his throat, hoping that his father would understand his lack of response.

And to Matt's relief, he did.

"What is it, Son?" Hiroaki asked, "What's wrong?"

Matt pointed again at his throat and opened his mouth.

"You…you can't talk?"

Matt nodded.

Seeing the desperation in his son's eyes, Hiroaki immediately realized that this was no joke.

Hiroaki placed a hand on Matt's forehead.

"Well, you don't have a fever, but I'll set up an appointment with the doctor tomorrow."

Matt sadly turned away toward the kitchen to get started on making dinner.

"Matt?"

He stopped and looked back at his father.

"How about I order takeout one more time," the older man suggested, "for us, my treat."

Matt nodded and smiled weakly.

After arriving at the hospital, the following day, the Ishidas were called in by another doctor to follow her into one of the check-up rooms where Hiroaki explained Matt's sudden voice loss.

"It's definitely not laryngitis," she said, taking an electric thermometer out of Matt's mouth, "He would be having other symptoms if he did plus his temperature's normal."

She then pulled out a tongue depressor. "Open."

Matt tried not to grimace as he felt the wooden blade press uncomfortably on his tongue while the doctor shined a flashlight for a better look at his throat.

"Hmmm…his vocal cords appear to be healthy. There are no signs of infection."

Hiroaki was baffled by the doctor's verdict.

"Then, why is Matt mute if there's nothing wrong with his vocal cords?"

She paused and pondered at Hiroaki's question for a moment and asked, "Wasn't your son placed in this hospital following a violent ransom?"

"Yes, he was." Hiroaki replied, "But the doctor who treated him said that he merely suffered a concussion."

"Mr. Ishida, I believe that the trauma from the kidnapping and not the injury could have triggered his muteness."

When Hiroaki didn't answer, the doctor continued. "This type of disorder is known as psychogenic aphonia. It's a coping mechanism in the brain which results in loss of speech following a traumatic event. That's why your son is unable to speak even though he has no physical ailments."

Hiroaki persisted. "Is there any way to treat Matt's condition?"

"Well," she said, "he will need counseling and speech therapy to help get his voice back, but recovery often takes time."

With those words spoken, the reality hit Matt like a ton of bricks.

But that didn't mean that he was willing to accept it.

The drive back home seemed slower as the car trudged down the winding road. Neither father nor son heard the songs being played on the radio or the soft humming of the car engine.

All that they could hear were the doctor's diagnosis, echoing in their minds.

Psychogenic aphonia.

Matt turned his attention out of the car window to ignore it as denial seeped in.

I'm mute because of what happened? This must be a mistake; it just has to be!

Again, he tried to speak. Nothing.

He kept trying, hoping that whatever words he was mouthing would be spoken.

Come on, Matt told himself, Talk! Talk!

But all his efforts proved to be in vain.

How am I going to tell Tai and the others?

How will T.K. handle having a mute older brother?

And Gabumon…

With each thought crossing his mind, Matt felt more and more helpless. Feeling his eyes threatening to water, he pulled his knees up to his chest and pressed his face into them, letting sleep's darkness take him away.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Hiroaki was at a complete loss.

In a way, he felt responsible for his son's condition. But looking back at it now since his divorce from Nancy, Hiroaki was never at home, always working and working just to sustain himself and Matt through a steady paycheck.

He felt ashamed. Ashamed that he let the time he spent at his job swallow him whole. Ashamed that he, as a father, was not there for Matt as the boy was growing up.

And now, Matt's aphonia was the result of that failure.

Hiroaki bit his lip as a new thought set in.

How could he tell his ex-wife of their first child's condition? How would she react?

Then, there was T.K.

He stopped at the traffic lights, as other cars made their way across the intersected street. He stared up at the light's glowing color.

Red. The color associated with love and anger.

A sudden downpour of rain came down, blurring the red light as it cascaded down on the windshield. Turning on the windshield wipers, Hiroaki looked up just in time to see the smudged image of the red-light switch to green as he proceeded on towards home.

"Matt, wake up, Matt."

As his father continued to nudge him, Matt slowly awoke, his body felt stiff and rigid as he moved his legs.

Hiroaki gave a comforting smile. "We're home, Son."

After they got out and locked the car, they were pelted by fat raindrops, leaving the two soaking wet once they made it to the elevator and into their dry apartment.

Taking off and throwing down his wet coat, Hiroaki took notice of his son.

"Aren't you cold in those?"

Matt shook his head in response, but Hiroaki could plainly tell that the teen was shivering.

"You're going to get sick if you don't change into some dry clothes, Matt."

Glaring at the older man, Matt stormed into his room slamming the door behind him.

"I better give him his space to cool off," Hiroaki mumbled, "Then I'll go check on him."

He dug into his pockets, pulling out his cell phone and dialed the Takaishi phone number.

Matt pounded his fist against the door.

WHY? Why did this have to happen?

Turning on the light, he saw papers containing unfinished songs that he wrote scattered all over the wooden floor and his guitar and harmonica lying on top of his bed.

His musical passion was spread out before him in the bedroom but to Matt, it was not a welcoming sight. It only angered him, mocked him, knowing now that his songs would not be heard because of his handicap.

Then, he snapped in a fit of rage.

He tore song after song into tiny bits and pieces, not bothering to stop and read the lyrics, throwing the shredded paper into the trash bin. He chucked his guitar carelessly into the closet, hearing it bang loudly against the wall and again when it landed on the floor.

As he planned to do the same to his harmonica, tender memories of the instrument came pouring in. It was a birthday gift from his mother and following that day, he was almost never seen without it. He practiced, improving each time as the years went by. In the Digital World, it was a source of solace and he would have never seen it again if Joe hadn't picked it up.

His rage simmered down though he still felt it bubble as he stared at the musical instrument in his hand. The blonde walked away from the closet and opened one of the desk drawers and placed the harmonica inside and closed it shut.

Matt then changed into a pair of pajamas, crawled into bed, and fell fast asleep.

-To be continued…