-2-

The Ishida's apartment was all dark when Yamato opened the door for them – clear sign that Mr. Ishida wasn't home yet. Yamato was all quiet while leaving his shoes and putting his pair of slippers on. Taichi did the same while still holding Koromon. He had his own pair of house slippers here too, just like Takeru every time he came to his brother's apartment for a visit. Tsunomon followed Yamato to the kitchen where the blonde started to pull out a lot of snacks and beverages for the digimon.

"FOOD!" was all the warning Koromon gave Taichi before jumping to catch up with his buddy Tsunomon and all the food he so desperately wanted.

Yamato just laughed before pinning Taichi with a look "You. Bathroom. Now"

Taichi just shrugged and went to the bathroom. He knew Yamato and his friend was just as stubborn as he was and he wouldn't let it go until he felt like he did something to fix the situation at hand. Taichi took a seat at the border of the bathtub and Yamato came to him with several first-aid kits and took a seat on the floor in front of Taichi.

"Take your shirt off" was the only thing the blonde said while he focused on the boxes he had with him. He didn't look at Taichi once.

"Dude, if you want me to undress for you, at least take me out on a date first, would you?" Taichi always got away with humor from most situations, but his best friend just arched an eyebrow and waited "Jeez, you could at least smile, Ishida" but he did just as Yamato had asked.

He winced at the bruised and cut-up part of his torso. At least the cuts weren't that bad. He was stupid enough to try to push the glass part of the pod away with his side. Those were the consequences.

"Take these" Yamato gave him two white pills and a glass of water. He knew better than argue with him so he took all without saying a word.

Of course Taichi did his best to try and ignore the fact that his best friend was taking glass shards out of his body with little tweezers, but he couldn't suppress a wince every now and then. Yamato would always say sorry every time that happened, like it was his fault that Taichi was in pain. He was patching him up in no time and Taichi was really impressed.

"You are really good at this, you know? Better than Jyou, even. How did you get so good at treating cuts and stuff?"

Yamato's smile was humorless when he answered "Well, you weren't the only one I used to fight all the time, you know? And when you get in lots of fights, you eventually learn to patch yourself up too" Taichi just looked at him while he was packing everything where it belonged "Besides, while I was learning to play bass and guitar, I used to make my fingers bleed so badly every day. You know how stubborn I can be… everyone told me I had to rest my hands because I was hurting them more while practicing every day, but I didn't give a damn" Yamato then laughed and shook his head "Remember those two days I spent in the hospital while I was learning? Back in middle school?" Taichi nodded "Well, I managed to get the cuts in my hands infected and got a mild fever"

"Your father never told us why you were in the hospital, just that you had a fever and had to stay there for a while"

"I was mostly out of it, but I clearly remember Takeru throwing a tantrum because Okāsan wanted to take him home. That's one of the few time I've seen Takeru act out in front of Okāsan"

"I also made a spectacle to Otōsan at the reception that day" Yamato looked at him, shocked. "What? He wanted me to go home while my best friend was at the hospital. He was so surprised at how I behaved that Okāsan let me stay with you and Ishida-san. But as soon as you were better and out of the hospital, I was grounded"

Yamato laughed then. Taichi loved to make him laugh because it was so rare that, when it happened, the brunette wanted to cherish every single one of those moments.

"You didn't have to do that, you know?" Yamato's voice had an edge to it that let Taichi know that they weren't just talking about that incident years ago.

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to" Taichi said while placing a hand on top of Yamato's. The blonde didn't look at him even once "You are my best friend, Yamato. I had to be sure you were okay"

Yamato stood up so quickly that Taichi didn't really have time to process what had just happened when the blonde left the bathroom in a hurry. Taichi put his shirt back on, noticing that it was still kind of wet in places, and left to find Yamato. His friend was in front of the couch trying to gather all the papers that were on the table into his arms. Taichi could feel and edge to Yamato's acting that he didn't know how to acknowledge.

Yamato was like a time bomb. He could carry the world on his shoulders but, when he had enough, he would explode and say everything he had inside. He usually tried to hurt those around him with his words so he could feel guilty instead of hurt. Taichi was used to those episodes. When they were kids they used to end up throwing fists and bleeding all over until he learned to deal with Yamato's temper in tune with his own. Yamato preferred to feel anything but hurt.

"Yamato… talk to me, please"

The blonde let all the papers on his arms fall back to the table. He kept his back to Taichi. The tension on his shoulders didn't ease and his breathing was too quick.

"You… left me"

The whispered words reached the brunette and he tried to touch Yamato's forearm but the blonde moved before he could "What are you talking about, Yamato?" That was a stupid question, Taichi knew, but it was the definite move to make Yamato explode.

The fury on the blue eyes that suddenly were really close to his own face was just a mask, a mask Taichi knew to identify for a few years now…

3…

2…

1…

"You told Omegamon to leave you there! You made our partners chose!" Taichi knew better than to interrupt Yamato now "I had to watch while you fell on that chasm without knowing if you were even…! Omegamon didn't obey my orders! I had to watch you fall while thinking you were GOING TO DIE!" Taichi kept silent. He knew this was going to happen as soon as he gave that order to Omegamon. He knew his friend "I had to find your goggles lying there on the dirt! I had to tell Koromon not to mourn you because you made that choice! I had to watch what despair make Hikari do with her digimon! I had to make the team keep going! I had to try to glue a team that didn't have its leader back together! I had to do all that while I was dying inside too! I had to do that while all I wanted was jump on that chasm and find you!"

Taichi saw Gabumon made a move to do to his partner and Agumon stopping him with a claw. He sighed "Yamato… I…"

"No, Taichi! Do you know how that felt like?! You died! I felt that! We were still connected through Omegamon and I felt that bond break! I could feel myself breaking little by little too" Yamato took a seat on the couch and put his head on his hands "I wanted to stay there and tear the Digital World apart until I found you… but then I saw Hikari and that thing that Tailmon evolved to, and I knew… I knew I had to keep going. I had to do something. I couldn't break down. I had a team on my back now"

Taichi took a seat beside him and put a hand on his back. He could feel the tension in Yamato's body. "I didn't think of anything else in that moment but making sure you were safe. You jumped to protect Meiko and I thought I would get too late there so… I had to make sure you were safe. You get that, right?"

"I get that… I know I would have done the same if I were in your place. But I almost wish I was there, falling alongside you on that chasm. The feeling of the bond breaking… I don't want to feel like that ever again, Taichi"

Taichi then stiffened. He could imagine Yamato falling by his side. He could see Yamato and Nijishima-sensei at that weird lab in the digital world. Gennai saying only one of them could escape or all the younger chosen would die on that lab. Fighting with Yamato because he wanted the blonde on the pod and Yamato wanted him to escape. Yamato tricking him into stepping inside the pod. Nijishima-sensei's hand all bloodied and falling Dream big! And Yamato's face in the outside of the pod mouthing Tell Takeru I love him and then all falling apart on top of his best friend and he screaming until his throat was raw. Trying to explain to Gabumon that Yamato didn't make it. Watching Takeru wilt away with sorrow…

"NO!" he was on his feet in a second, ignoring the protests from his injuries. "NO, YAMATO!"

"Taichi… what…"

"You had to stay here. You had to stay safe. You couldn't be with me in that chasm. You didn't have to be by my side. You were safe. You are safe"

Yamato was watching him closely while tears ran down Taichi's face. The brunette kept repeating the same thing over and over again "Taichi… it's okay. I'm safe. I'm here. We both are safe. Okay?" he moved to hug his friend and kept whispering on his ear "We both are safe, okay. It's okay. I'm sorry. I let my temper ran out. I shouldn't have done that"

Taichi was still crying silently with fused in a hug with his best friend. Yamato was always a little taller than him and it was often annoying but, in that moment, he felt safer than ever in his friend's arms.

Yamato then seemed to remember something and he let go to look at Taichi's face "Nijishima-sensei?" Taichi just shook his head no and kept crying. "I'm so sorry, Taichi"

There wasn't anything more to say. They took a seat in the couch, Yamato's arm still wrapped around Taichi's shoulders while he cried. Agumon and Gabumon came and sat at his partners' feet, silently supporting them. They were silent all of them. The only sound was the tinkering of rain outside the window and Taichi's crying.

The ringing of the phone made him jump out of Yamato's arm on his shoulders. He realized there was sunlight streaming through the windows. They had fallen asleep on the couch the night before and Yamato was still asleep. He could see Agumon and Gabumon asleep on the floor. Agumon was snoring softly and Gabumon had his hands as a pillow while laying on his side. The phone kept ringing and Taichi shook Yamato.

"Yamato… the house phone is ringing"

"Pick it up, then. Let me sleep, Baka!"

Taichi sighed and went to answer the phone, knowing that Yamato was dead to the world until he managed to wake up by himself. "Moshi-moshi. Ishida's residence"

"Onii-chan?" Takeru's voice was clear through the phone.

Taichi's sleep fog cleared right way "Takeru? It's me, Taichi. Yamato's asleep"

"Oh, hello, Taichi-san! I was just calling to let you guys know that Miyako-san and Iori-kun are awake. If you wanted to stop by"

Taichi sighed in relief. At least two of the youngsters were awake already. "What about Daisuke and Ken-kun?"

Takeru hesitated on the line and Taichi felt a cold shiver down his back "Uh… the doctors don't know what's wrong with them. Daisuke was silent as soon as he was on the way to the hospital and neither of them have woken again. The doctors say they're in a sort of coma. They can't explain what's the matter with them. Ken's parents are here, same as Daisuke's. Even Jun is here. The doctors don't let us get inside but…"

"But what, Takeru?"

"I managed to sneak into Ken-kun's room, and… he's not responding to anything, Taichi-san. I even tried to talk to him… see if he at least could hear me but… nothing. It's as if he weren't there at all"

Taichi didn't want to let the kid know how scared he actually was. He felt terribly guilty that he had forgotten about the youngsters until he found them on that lab "As soon as Yamato's awake, I'll be there with you guys, okay…" Takeru made an affirmative noise and Taichi stopped before asking "Uh, Takeru? How's Hikari?"

Takeru hesitated before replying "Uh, she's here. She's… getting there. Do you want to talk to her?"

I'll probably never forgive you for this "Uh, no… just… thanks for taking care of her, Takeru"

"No problem, Taichi-san. Please tell my brother to not be so grumpy with you, okay?" Takeru giggled a little and Taichi smiled "Bye bye!"

Taichi put the phone back in the receiver and sighed. He didn't know how to acknowledge the words Hikari had said to him before Omegamon destroyed Ordinemon. He knew his sister and knew that she meant anything she said. He could feel a wall separating him from his sister and didn't know what to do.

A smell of eggs made him realize that Yamato was probably awake and cooking breakfast. He went to find his friend and saw him at the stove, Agumon and Gabumon by his feet making suggestions for breakfast – especially Agumon, who kept asking for different stuff and Yamato ignoring both of them.

"What did Takeru say?"

"Uh… Miyako and Iori are awake now. Takeru called to let us know." Yamato kept silent and Taichi knew he was waiting for him to finish relying information "Daisuke and Ken are still unconscious. The doctors told them they are technically in a coma-like state" Taichi took a seat on the breakfast table in the kitchen so he could watch Yamato cook "I feel guilty…"

"They're gonna be okay. You'll see. Daisuke's too stubborn to stay unconscious for too long and what Daisuke does, Ken follows. They're gonna be fine, you'll see" Yamato put a plate of eggs and bread in front of Taichi and looked at his face "You're not only worried about Daisuke and Ken, right?" Taichi didn't say anything but, he didn't have to "Hikari is going to forgive you, Taichi."

"She said she won't"

"She said that in the heat of the moment. She was still in shock that Tailmon was inside whatever that was and could have been destroyed." Taichi just smiled sadly "Besides, she should be angry and disappointed with both of us then. It was Omegamon that destroyed that thing. Omegamon obeys both of us"

"I thought you said Omegamon wasn't following your orders"

"When you told him to save me instead of you, yeah. He didn't obey me because we were giving him mixed orders. I know that now. But yesterday… he didn't hesitate because we were both on the same page with that. We wanted to end everything. And being honest, if you hadn't appear I probably wouldn't give a damn if Tailmon was still inside that thing" Taichi watched his friend closely. He could see the closed expression on Yamato's face "If that makes me a monster, so be it"

"You're not a monster, Yamato"

"And you're not alone, Taichi. We're together in this… okay?" Taichi nodded and Yamato smiled "I'm gonna change so we can go to the hospital. When you finish with breakfast, then you can do the same and we'll leave"

"I don't have any clothes here…"

"Yes you have… remember you left your bag here the other day? I washed your clothes and put them back inside. So, you have clothes. Finish your breakfast. Agumon and Gabumon are in my room playing games"

Yamato left him in the kitchen and Taichi could only hope his best friend was right. Even if he didn't want to admit Yamato was right a lot of the times they fought about anything…

He wanted him to be right this time.