Author's Note: Each chapter will focus on one of the Chosen as he/she deals with the situation. Because of that, the days/timeline kind of jumps around a bit. I'll post an updated timeline at the beginning of each chapter.
Day 1: Taichi is paralyzed following a battle in the Digital World. Jyou brings him to the hospital and has to explain to him his condition.
Day 2: Mimi visits Taichi and finds him depressed and angry. She decides to throw a picnic to cheer him up.
Day 3: At the picnic, Taichi's still distant. He gets angry when the rest of the Chosen start talking about their future plans. Yamato calls Taichi a baby. Taichi leaves with Hikari running after him. Jyou explains why Yamato's insult was so offensive to Taichi. Sora makes Yamato chase after Taichi to apologize. Mimi doesn't understand why her picnic failed and Jyou told her that Taichi just needs to remember that his friends care for him.
Day 4: Mimi delivers a present of her home-made pork buns for Taichi, along with a note telling him that she's there for him. Taichi responds later via text to thank her.
Fragments
Chapter 3 of 8
Yamato
Day 1
When Yamato arrived at the hospital, he could hardly get the words out to the woman behind the reception desk. "Um, I'm here to see, uh, Taichi Yagami."
"One moment," she said as she scrolled through her computer. Yamato wrung his hands through the bottom of his shirt so hard that he almost tore it apart.
"Yes," she said, "Room 512."
He thanked her and walked into the elevator. He thought of Taichi again. The ascension of the elevator made his head hurt and his stomach churn. The justling and bumping of the cab didn't help.
The doors opened and he breathed out, heavy and deep. Sora let him know via text that she and Hikari were already there. He couldn't lose whatever was in his stomach was now; he needed to be strong for them.
His heart raced as the doors opened. He stepped out and saw Sora leaning against the wall further down the hall. "Sora?"
She spun around. "Oh, Yamato, hi."
Her face was pale. "You okay?"
She swallowed and then shook her head. "No, I'm just feeling a little flush."
"It's that bad?"
Sora bit her lip. "Yeah, it is. Hikari's already fainted and I almost did."
"Are you okay? Is Hikari alright?"
"Jyou's tending to her but…" She glanced at the closed door with the painted number 512. She grabbed his hand. "But I'm ready to go back in."
Yamato's heart raced faster. Sora wasn't one to let her worry or sadness show. If she was holding him for strength, then it really was bad. He swallowed. "All right, let's go."
He pushed open the door and his heart almost raced through his chest. He saw Taichi, asleep, lying in the bed, wires attached everywhere, with piles of blankets over his lower body. He felt Sora squeezed his hand tight. He turned to her. "He's…"
She opened her mouth but only sounds emerged. She nodded slowly. Yamato turned back to Taichi.
He squeezed Sora's hand back.
Day 3
Yamato followed Sora out of the park while she shouted for Taichi. He ignored them as he pushed his wheelchair into the crowd on the sidewalk. "Taichi!" she screamed, "Would you please just stop? We just need to talk!"
Yamato winced; she meant he needed to apologize. Yeah, it was a messed up thing he said, but how could he have known? He should have. He should have realized even a stupid insult like that was too much.
He opened his mouth to call out to Taichi but his friend vanished into the crowd. Sora slowed to a stop and tried to catch her breath. "He's really fast in that thing," Yamato commented.
Sora glared at him. "Don't make this any worse." She nodded to herself. "You're just gonna have to call him."
"All right, all right."
She crossed her arms and stared. He blinked. "Right now? He's not gonna answer."
She looked back in Taichi's direction and then frowned. "Yeah, all right," she sighed, "But you're calling him later."
"I know, I know," he said as he turned to follow her. He caught sight of Hikari running towards them.
"I'm sorry," she apologized as she ran past.
Yamato was not certain whether she meant for herself or Taichi, though he suspected the latter. "Tell him I'll call him later."
Hikari nodded before she turned and vanished into the crowd.
Day 4
Yamato frowned as he walked down the sidewalk, his mind replaying the picnic over and over. He should have realized that Taichi had more problems than just being stuck in that chair. He should have realized, if only he cared enough.
He winced and rubbed his eyes. He did care; he would have slept better if he didn't. As it was, he had spent most of the night digging a rut into his mattress. He called Taichi last night but he didn't answer, not that Yamato really excepted to. If things were the other way around, he wouldn't answer Taichi's calls either.
Sora was waiting outside of the high school. "Good morning," she said, giving him a light kiss on the cheek, "Did you call Taichi?"
He frowned; first thing in the morning and she asked about Taichi. "Um, I tried to, but he wouldn't answer me and he ignored my texts."
Sora frowned. "Well, you'll just have to try later. You'll try again during lunch."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he sighed. Maybe she would cut him a break.
Sora didn't. Even though his stomach growled like some creature from a horror movie, she dragged him out to the large tree outside the building. "Try again."
"Sora, can't I at least eat first? I'm starving here."
"You'll live," she said, handing him his phone.
He sighed and auto-dialed Taichi. He waited for the five rings and then held the phone up to Sora so she could hear. "Hey, this is Taichi. Leave a message."
He disconnected and Sora frowned. "I told you," Yamato said, "He's just brushing me off."
Sora sighed and rubbed her forehead. "What am I gonna do with the two of you?"
He figured she didn't want him to answer. His stomach growled again. "So, can we eat now?"
She nodded and sat beneath the tree. Yamato joined her and ripped open the lid on his box. His mouth had been watering all day thinking of the seafood omelet he made last night.
"He's depressed," Sora said.
Yamato paused with a chunk of omelet near his mouth. "What?"
"Taichi," she said, "He probably thinks he's alone in this. We need to spend more time with him."
Yamato frowned. "Yeah. I don't think any of us can even come close to understanding what he's going through." He shook his head, "But how can we if he won't let us?"
Sora stared at her food. "I know. He's closed himself off from everyone."
"Here you two are!" a familiar voice chirped, "I thought I was going to have to eat lunch alone."
The two looked up as Mimi walked over. She must have seen the expression on their faces. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
Sora shook her head and gestured to a spot beside her. "We were just talking about Taichi."
Mimi turned to Yamato and he frowned in annoyance. "Yes, I'm trying to apologize."
"You should," she said. Then she smiled, "But I went over there before school this morning."
Sora's face lit up. "You did?"
Mimi nodded. "I gave him a gift and just told him how much we all care for him and that we're here for him."
Yamato snorted. "What'd he? Slam the door in your face?"
"No, not really. I mean, he was still grouchy, but he did talk to me." She fished her phone out of her bag. "And he texted me to say thanks."
Yamato chuckled. "Maybe you can get him to answer my texts."
"Sure!" Mimi nodded, "I'll see what I can do."
Yamato blinked. He was just being sarcastic, but…"Really? Tell him that I need to talk."
Mimi nodded but Sora shook her head. "No. Thanks, Mimi, but you shouldn't have to get in the middle of this. I'll go over there after school and talk to him in person."
"Sora, really, it's no problem."
Sora shook her head. "Taichi's not really talking to me either right now. I need to see him."
Yamato didn't hear from Sora until later that night. He was trying to focus on his homework when she called him. "I spoke to Taichi," she said, "He said he'll talk to you next time you call him."
"All right, great. I'll call him tomorrow."
Sora paused. "You're not calling now?"
He rubbed his eyes. "I need to talk to him, I know, but I've got to get through my homework."
"All right, all right," she said, "But Taichi's really depressed. He even told me that his life was over."
The chill crept up Yamato's spine. Did that mean…? "Are we going to have to keep an eye on him? In case he…you know…"
"No!" Sora replied, "At least, I don't think so. But he said that he wasn't going to bother going to university. I told him that he should go into politics and I think that he's considering it." She paused. "I'm still worried about him. You need to talk to him."
"Yeah, I will, I promise."
Day 5
Yamato had even less reason to pay attention in history class. Sora thought Taichi could go into politics. He supposed he could see Taichi as a military leader or something like that but a politician? Maybe that was not too far from what he always assumed Taichi would do; CEO of some company, sports captain, military commander, something like that.
Yamato frowned; the last two were probably out of the question now. Was Koshiro right? Had Taichi just gone into politics as a way to compensate?
Yamato knew he probably should have just let it go at that; if Taichi wanted to go into politics, he should just let him, but something tugged at his mind. He would need to visit the computer lab during the afternoon break.
Of course, nothing changed the fact that he still needed to apologize to Taichi. He called him again after lunch and, surprisingly, Taichi answered. "What?"
"Um, I…" Despite what Sora told him, he still hadn't expected to get this far, "I want to talk. Can I, um, meet with you later?"
There was silence until Taichi sighed. "Fine. Meet me in the park at 6."
Yamato took a breath, now or never. "Actually, why don't we meet at the basketball court."
Yamato tried to concentrate on his history textbook, but his mind rebelled at the list of dates and names. He finally gave up and shoved the book into his backpack, choosing instead to stare at the evening sky. When had their lives gotten so complicated?
The sound of wheels creaking along the pavement filled the night air. He turned to the entrance; Taichi was pushing himself inside. The two stared at each other for a moment before Taichi sighed. "Alright, I'm here. What do you want?"
Yamato ignored Taichi's tone and repeated to himself that his friend was still dealing with this. "I'm sorry about what I said the other day. It was cruel and pretty f-ed up. I'm sorry."
He held his breath while Taichi. "All right, fine. Accepted." He maneuvered his chair around but Yamato grabbed the back.
"I'm not done," Yamato said, "Just wait a second."
Taichi grunted but twisted his chair back around. Yamato walked to the bench and pulled a basketball out of his bag. "What the hell is that for?" Taichi asked.
"You ever think about joining a special needs sports team?" he asked, dribbling the ball as he paced in front of Taichi, "I looked some teams up online. There's one nearby."
"Yeah, so?" Taichi asked with a snort, "You think I'm really gonna parade myself around like that?"
Yamato shrugged. "Why not? Other people in your condition do." He tossed the ball and Taichi caught it. "Go ahead."
Taichi threw it back. Yamato caught it but it still felt like Taichi launched it from a cannon. "Why bother?" Taichi spat, "My life's over, let's just accept it."
"Why do you think that? Other people are in worse shape than you and they live their lives."
Taichi rolled his eyes. "You gonna give me the same bull-shit speech as my mom and Hikari?"
"It's the truth!" Yamato barked. He promised himself he wasn't going to let Taichi get to him again, but it was getting harder to hold back his temper. "So you can't walk anymore, you can still use your arms, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
He threw the ball back and waved at the basket. "Come on, make a shot."
Taichi looked up at the basket and shook his head. "No, forget it."
Yamato crossed his arms. "Your problem is that you can't see how you can still live your life. You can still go to university. You wanna go into politics? There's no reason you can't. You miss play soccer, don't you?" He gestured to the basket again. "Change sports!"
Taichi stared at the basket and then shook his head. "I can't."
Yamato sighed. "You know what? This time you really are acting like a baby. What happened to you sucks but you need to get on with your life! I'm…all of your friends, just want to help you." He waved to the basket, "Now come on!"
He screamed it that time, hoping to get a reaction out of Taichi, and his friend did not disappoint. Taichi glared and Yamato thought he could see flames in his eyes. Yet, the ball remained in Taichi's hand.
Yamato crossed his arms. "I'll wait here all night."
The bushy-haired teen gave Yamato another stare before launching the ball with a shout.
Yamato held his breath as the ball sailed through the air. It bounced off the backboard but caught the outer rim of the basket. It bounced again, balanced on the steel rim before falling through the basket.
Yamato trotted over to catch the ball before it hit the ground. "There," he said, turning to Taichi, "See? Not so hard, right?"
Taichi shrugged and mumbled, "That was just a lucky shot, that's all."
Yamato sighed and rolled his eyes. He threw Taichi the ball. "Then make another one." He smiled slightly. "I've only got a pile of history schoolwork that I need to do, so, like I told you before, I'll wait here all night."
Taichi stared at him, the edges of his lips twitching upward as he shot the ball again. Yamato made a promise to himself that he was going to get that full smile back again.
End chapter 3
Did you enjoy it? Any criticism? Thanks for the read and please remember to review.
