Words: 4, 597
Note: For future reference, I'm using their Japanese names as a base, but Yamato is still called Matt by everyone (because he needed a nickname, and no one takes "Yama" but Tai. We'll just say they gave him that name because he looks American.) Also, thanks for all the reviews so far~! It definitely motivates me to update!
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Chapter Two: The Wound
They were walking again, moving forward to a destination they could only hope was right. Tai had asked Sora to lead, under the pretence that she knew their area the best, having flown over it with Birdramon. Really, he just wanted to stay back and go at his own, pained pace. Sleep had been terrible, arriving only when the sun was beginning to peak over the hills in the distance.
They had woken him up two hours later.
It was not a pleasant awakening, either. After all, how wonderful is it to wake up and realise your entire right arm, your dominant arm, was unmoveable? Not that wonderful, Tai could tell you. Not to mention the occasional twinges from his side and the sudden spasms of pain in his shoulder. No, waking up to that almost made him wish he'd never gone to sleep.
Eating was another problem. His stomach protested anything even remotely edible, something the boy couldn't understand. He was always hungry! So he'd told the others that he would check around the area and eat whatever he found along the way. Tai could have sworn Matt had given him a suspicious look, but he'd let it pass. As usual, Agumon had accompanied him faithfully, worried but not sure what to do.
That led them to where they were now; walking towards an unnamed goal. With each step, a jolt would tear its way through his injury, blurring his vision for a moment. He didn't know how long he could handle it, but he would try. It was no use stopping now to take a look at it, after all. So, with his vision fuzzy and his mind jumbled, he continued.
Unfortunately, in such a condition he couldn't see the root that all of the others had carefully stepped over. His mind couldn't process what was happening as his body fell forward. He did, however, realise what had happened when the impact with the ground sent a wrenching pain through his shoulder.
Shuddering and gasping, Tai tried to curl into himself, wanting only for the pain to stop. He didn't think about anyone seeing him, or thinking he was weak, or even that he had failed them. In fact, he didn't think, period. He couldn't. The pain was too intense, strong enough that he began to feel sick to the stomach as well. He tried very hard to hold it down...
Suddenly, a soothing voice broke through the pain, accompanied by a soft touch anchoring him to the world once more. Sensing that touch as one that was getting rid of the pain, Tai tried to go toward it, pushing himself up with one arm. A gentle hand guided him and before he knew what was happening, he was on his feet, leaning against something warm. His eyes remained tightly closed as he fought the last of the sharp pain.
"Take it slow, Tai. It'll pass. Just breathe."
It wasn't the words that Tai needed so much as the voice. Something to keep him from falling into his world of pain alone. As reality caught up to him, shame made him forget he was even injured. He didn't want to be so weak, he didn't want the others to see him fall. What kind of leader would he be then? Still, the soothing voice continued, and he realised he was walking forward.
"One step at a time, alright? Tell me if you need to stop."
"Yama," Tai moaned softly, recognising the voice.
Tai felt his support freeze, and he had to stop with it. Slowly, he forced his eyes open, glad for the trees overhead that blocked out the sun. Looking over tiredly at Matt, his gaze was caught and held by intense blue eyes. Though he couldn't place the emotion in them, Tai figured it couldn't be good.
Finally, Matt sighed, "Yeah, I'm here. I'm not leaving, either, so just relax, okay?"
Tai looked down in shame, "Sorry Yama."
The blond chuckled lightly, nervously, brushing off the apology, "You've never called me that, you know."
Tai froze, "I..."
"Just walk. It's fine, I'm just not used to it. None of the others really call me Yamato, other than Sora."
Tai frowned as he started walking again, "The others..."
Again, Matt sighed, "They don't know. Kari's up there keeping their attention."
"Thank you," Tai whispered, straightening up a little. The pain was once more just a throbbing pulse in his shoulder, manageable apart from the fact that walking still caused jolts to sear through him.
Seeing Tai's effort to walk on his own, Matt slowly let him go, ignoring the sense of loss he felt because of it. Tai inwardly sighed and kept going, grateful for the help despite the embarrassment. Ahead, he saw the rest of the group gathered around what he guessed was his sister. As if she sensed his mere presence, she poked her head up to meet Tai's eyes, a silent question there. When Tai nodded, Kari smiled softly and returned to whatever she was doing.
"Are you sure it's not poisonous, Jyou?" Kari's worried voice rang out. It was an act, Tai could tell, but it was a very convincing one. The group were all staring down at something.
Jyou coughed, "Well, I can't be positive. I mean, I don't want to touch it. I'm probably allergic to it, you know."
Tai grinned, finally joining the group to see what they were staring at. A bug-like digimon was in the middle, almost tiny compared to all the other digimon they'd seen so far. Of course, it was still much bigger than any of the bugs back in their world. TK had a stick that he used to gently prod the digimon, making it flutter its wings but not take flight.
"I think it's kind of cute!" He declared, poking it once more.
"But what if Kari's right? What if it is poisonous? Or rabid? Or hungry?!" Mimi was working herself into a panic, so Tai broke into their conversation.
"It hasn't hurt us yet, has it?"
The group paused to contemplate this, slowly nodding in acceptance. Kari's eyes twinkled; she had never been afraid of the bug in the first place, but her brother's confidence could make anyone suddenly brave. Matt just grunted, keeping up the appearance of a moody rebel even though his concerned blue eyes constantly glanced over at Tai.
"Let's just take a break if you're all so fascinated with a bug," Matt said in an annoyed voice. In truth, he just wanted Tai to have a chance to sit down; he was still looking paler than ever before.
Tai grinned gratefully, "Sure. And then we can have lunch!"
The group groaned affectionately, having grown used to Tai's antics. Feeling his shoulder throb warningly, the wild-haired boy casually walked up to a nearby boulder and sat down, leaning his back gingerly against it. From there he could watch everyone in the group; the most he could do as leader at the moment.
Agumon walked up to him, climbing in his lap in an attempt to comfort his partner. Sighing slightly, Tai wrapped an arm around his digimon, glad to have someone who cared so much. He didn't like being alone at all. Deep down, he wondered if that was the real reason he didn't want to look weak in front of everyone, because then why would they need him?
"You're not going to eat lunch again, are you," Agumon said sadly, breaking through Tai's thoughts.
Tai nearly groaned at the thought, "I don't know, Agumon."
The dinosaur digimon let the conversation drop, not wanting to aggravate his partner further.
Eyelids drooping, Tai struggled to stay awake and alert. His shoulder throbbed dully, but he had almost grown so used to it that sleep would be inviting. Silence began to build between the human and his partner, but neither looked about to stop it. Tai let his eyes close.
Finally, after what felt like ages, Agumon spoke, "Kari's coming."
"Thanks," the boy whispered as he blinked his chocolate brown eyes open once more.
"Tai?"
"Hey, Kar. What's up?"
The young digidestined of light sat worriedly in front of her brother, honey-coloured eyes filled with concern. Tai was beginning to feel really guilty about worrying his friends.
"We got the food out," Kari suggested hopefully, not entirely understanding what was wrong with her brother.
Tai put on a smile, "Really? Why don't you go get some?"
Kari ignored the question, "What's wrong, Tai?"
"What do you mean?"
A flash of hurt flittered through honey eyes, "Why won't you tell me? What hurts? Why won't you eat?"
Too many questions, too much guilt. Tai closed his eyes to block it all out, "Sorry, Kari. I'm just not feeling all that great." He felt small arms wrap around him, crushing his partner in between.
"Do you feel like I did when I got sick?" Kari asked worriedly, her voice soft and scared. Her head was buried in Tai's shirt, so she didn't see the sudden pain in his eyes.
Choking on the words and the guilt, Tai just shook his head, "N-no. Only a little tired." He could feel Agumon let out a sigh against his chest, but the little dinosaur said nothing. "Go on and get some food, Kar," Tai said softly, after a few seconds of silence. With a tiny nod and one last worried glance, Kari ran off to do as she was told, only because she didn't want to hurt her brother further.
"You didn't tell her?" a light voice asked in a tone that Tai couldn't place. Tilting his head back a bit, he took in Matt's impassive face, focusing a little longer than necessary on his bright blue eyes.
"No, there wasn't anything important to say."
Matt snorted, a look of disapproval on his face, "How about the fact that you couldn't even move because of pain? Or that you look like you got no sleep or food since the others got captured? Or—"
"Alright," Tai winced, "I get it, I get it."
Matt sighed, "No, Tai, I don't think you do. If you want to be our leader, than we have to know that you'll do what's best for us."
Tai looked down, shame written in his features as all of his self-doubts caught up to him, "I do, Matt. I try, but I—nevermind, forget it."
"You're missing my point," Matt stated with annoyance, walking around the boulder to sit in front of Tai in much the same position as Kari had.
Seeing that Tai looked ready to answer, Matt cut in quickly, "What's best for us right now is that you get better. Even if we don't know the details, we can see that something's wrong with you. By not telling us, it makes us doubt you."
It was the harsh truth, but Matt figured the other needed to hear it. Tai's grip on his digimon tightened, but Agumon didn't protest. Instead, he rubbed his head affectionately against the other in a sign of encouragement.
"I don't want... to," Tai whispered, trying to keep the insecurity out of his voice.
Matt resisted the urge to shake some sense into the other, "Why not?"
Tai shrugged, regretting the movement when it sent a new jolt through his shoulder.
"You wouldn't be weak, you know," Matt tried, hesitantly reaching out to put a hand on Tai's shoulder in comfort. The reaction he got, however, was anything but what he expected. The wild-haired boy gasped, and whipped his head up, looking to the sky in an attempt to keep tears of pain in while biting down on his lip. I will not scream, I will not scream, I will not—
"Tai?" the blond asked fearfully, snatching his hand back as if he'd been burned. Agumon, who had been silent since Kari's arrival long minutes ago, wiggled a bit to get Tai to let him go. Unconsciously, Tai did so, allowing the digimon to climb up on the rock and look down into pained brown eyes.
"Will you show him?"
Wide blue eyes looked confused, "Show me...?"
"Please Tai?" Agumon begged, not liking the way Tai was shaking. Tai knew he could deny his partner nothing.
Slowly, painfully, he turned around, once more pulling down his sleeve. He still had no idea what it looked like, but he couldn't imagine it was all that bad. The blond let out shaky noise and before he knew it, Tai was alone again, staring at Agumon sadly. Why did he run? Tai asked himself, not bothering to turn around again but instead resting his good arm atop the boulder and closing his eyes.
Suddenly, something cool pressed up again his heated skin, sending a jolt through him and making his whole body spasm. Trying to turn to see what was going on, he felt a hand in his hair, stopping his progress. He let out a noise of protest and was surprised to feel the hand moving gently, soothingly.
"Sorry, Tai. I just have to clean it off."
Matt's voice was almost like a blanket to Tai, draping over him and covering him with a sense of safety. It calmed him down and sent him into a dazed state. The coolness continued to dab around his wound, bringing an odd sense of relief to it. He slowly felt himself drifting, thankful that he was not alone anymore.
"Tai?"
The boy in question let out a soft "hmm?", momentarily forgetting about everything other than the cool sensation on his back and the comforting fingers in his hair.
"How did this happen?" Unfortunately, his blond friend would not let him just sleep. "It looks like you were stabbed or something. It's hard to see beneath the blood."
"Sorry," Tai whispered, feeling the dark of sleep come to claim him.
Matt shook his head even though the other couldn't see it, "Forget about that, just tell me how."
Not fully in his right mind, Tai answered truthfully, "Ninja-mon wannabe had a weapon. You wouldn't listen. Jumped on you." His fading mind could only produce half sentences, but it was clear that they made sense enough for the other, because Matt froze.
He could see the whole scene playing out in his mind as if it was a play and he was watching from the audience. He remembered charging blindly, wanting to hurt the enemy digimon for threatening his little brother. He could see himself falling, pushed from behind by what he found out was Tai. He could almost feel Tai's weight pinning him down once more, stopping his struggles to get free. He could even remember the other's tone of urgency when he'd begged for Matt to be more careful. Of course! That was why Tai acted that way, because he had...
"Oh heavens," Matt whispered shakily, realising Tai had probably saved his life, and he didn't even know. Not only that, but he'd been angry with the other, and Tai had gotten hurt for him!
Tai's pleading voice broke through his panicked thoughts, "Don't stop, Yama."
Matt wasn't quite sure what exactly the wild-haired boy was talking about, but he put the guilt to the back of his mind and resumed his gentle washing none the less. The blood was all but gone, but the festering wound beneath wasn't what Matt had been hoping to see. Shaking his head to clear it, he also continued to run his fingers through the soft brown hair, feeling the boy's breathing begin to even out. Matt turned to the silent digimon watching him.
"How much will he hate me if I take him to Jyou?" he asked softly, even though he didn't think the answer would make a difference.
Agumon gave a dinosaur-style shrug, "He wouldn't hate you, Matt, but he'd be angry, I think. And sad. He would be angry and sad with himself."
Matt winced, seeing that the digimon was probably right. Still, Tai needed medical attention; yellow, repulsive liquid seeping out of a puffy red stab wound couldn't be good, right? Thinking it over, Matt put his wet cloth on the ground and pulled Tai's sleeve back over the injury. He didn't have anything to wrap it in; another reason he felt the need to tell Jyou.
Groaning at the thought, Matt buried his head into his hands, "What do I do, Agumon? I've gotta help him, but he doesn't want help!"
Agumon seemed to consider the question for a moment before he suddenly brightened up, "Ask him!"
Matt blinked. "Huh?"
"Ask him to show Jyou! For you and Kari!"
"But we've asked him before—"
Agumon insistently shook his head, "No, we told him to. We didn't ask him to."
"But what difference would it—" and then realisation struck, "Oh! He would do it for us, wouldn't he? Just not for himself." Agumon nodded vigorously, a hopeful light in his eyes. Although he didn't like using Tai's kindness against him, he had to do something.
"It's his own fault for being stubborn," the digimon stated with finality, not realising he was voicing his thoughts. The confused blond just let it pass, instead debating whether or not he should wake the other up.
Seeing the brunet moan in pain was answer enough. Instantly, his hands were gently hoisting Tai up, pulling him into a half-embrace in an attempt to keep him steady. He wanted to get him to Jyou as soon as possible, and he had quickly found out that Tai hated to be weak. Matt wasn't sure if he was helping or hurting his friend by waking him up while standing, but it was worth a shot.
"Tai, c'mon, you gotta wake up," he called softly, keeping one arm firmly around Tai's waist. The boy groaned before opening his brown eyes once again, though he was unable to see anything other than dark green.
"Wasup? 'Vryone okay?" His words were muffled and slurred with sleep, but the message was clear.
Matt shook his head in slight exasperation, "Yeah, Tai. Everyone's fine other than you."
Fine brown eyebrows drew together and Tai pulled back just enough to look into concerned but determined blue eyes. He wanted to protest, to say that he was fine, but Matt had already seen him surrender to the pain. Or at least, that's what he told himself when his body slumped tiredly against the other. It was becoming a favourite position of his.
He worked his mouth to form words, clearer than before, "I'll be okay, Yama. So let's go, alright?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"No, Tai," Matt repeated, "I don't want to worry about you for every step we take!"
Torn between feeling guilty—again—and feeling angry, Tai opted for the easier emotion, "What do you want me to do, Matt? Say some magic words and make everything disappear?!"
"No Tai," the blond gritted out, clenching his hand into a tight fist to control his own anger, "What I want is for you to show Jyou."
Tai let out an annoyed noise, pushing himself off of Matt to glare properly, "I'm telling you, I'll be—"
"Please."
"—perfectly fi-... wait, what?"
"Please," Matt tried once more, his voice softer than before, "We're all worried about you. At least if Jyou looks at it, we'll know you'll be okay, right? So stop arguing with me."
Biting down on his already abused lower lip, Tai finally nodded, the fire in his eyes dimming, "Alright." With all of the fight drained out of him, his balance was unsteady but instantly Matt's pale arms were holding him up once again.
"Good," Matt stated softly, "because Agumon's already on his way to get him."
A flash of some unknown emotion passed through deep brown eyes, but it went unnoticed. Tai simply sighed and allowed Matt to put him back on the ground. Tucking his legs underneath him despite the spasm of pain it caused, he leaned forward to rest all his weight on his left arm. His right still hung uselessly at his side, numb from the elbow down.
"Just follow me, Jyou!" Agumon's insistent voice called, making Tai turn his head in the direction of the sound.
"Alright! Alright, I'm coming!"
"Don't forget about me!" That was Gomamon's voice; Jyou's reliable digimon partner.
"Matt? Tai? What are you two doing?" Jyou questioned once he reached the seemingly "lazy" pair. Tai remained in his cross-legged position, staring at Agumon, while Matt looked up at Jyou meaningfully.
"...Tai's hurt," Matt finally said after a moment of silent communication.
Jyou's eyes widened slightly as he turned his gaze onto their leader, "Where? When? How?"
The pained brunet let out a sigh, "It happened back in the castle. I guess I got... stabbed or something."
Though Jyou's first reaction was to go into a panic, he quickly reigned in on his emotions and threw them to the side, putting on an impartial mask. He knelt down to be level with his patient and gave him a kind but demanding look.
"Where?" He repeated his question from earlier, this time in a much calmer voice.
"Right shoulder."
"That's it?"
"...Something got me in the side, but it doesn't really hurt all that much."
Jyou nodded, accepting Tai's word for it. Matt blinked once in surprise but otherwise seemed unmoved by the confession. He sat down in front of the wild-haired boy when Jyou stood to get medical supplies.
"See? That wasn't so bad."
Tai just shrugged, not holding his friend's intent gaze. His head was starting to hurt, a completely different kind of ache from his still-throbbing shoulder. He vaguely felt inquisitive fingers adjusting his sleeve, but he ignored it, at least until Jyou's next command.
"Help me take off his shirt, Matt."
"What?!" Two shocked voices called out simultaneously, creating a two-part harmony.
Gomamon and Agumon snickered from the sidelines, earning them a sharp glare from an embarrassed blond. Jyou just repeated his request, seemingly with the utmost patience. It was a stunning change from his usual nervousness. After another moment's hesitation, Matt complied, a bright tinge of pink colouring his normally pale face.
Tai couldn't help but giggle when he saw this, his mind becoming a little fuzzy, "Yama's brighter than a tomato!"
Jyou froze for a second, looking over at Matt to see his reaction and was surprised to see an expression of relief. What was going on? When had everyone gone crazy?
"First Kari, and now you two," he mumbled under his breath, returning to the task at hand.
Matt, meanwhile, was simply glad to see Tai's normally open and exuberant personality coming back, even if it was at his expense. This moment of peace wouldn't last long, however, because as soon as the shirt was off, Tai was shivering uncontrollably.
"When did it get so cold?" he complained, his eyes taking on a glazed look.
Matt and Jyou shared a worried glance before the upcoming doctor gently began his cleansing of the wound. Tai hissed as he felt a cold liquid stinging at his tender shoulder, but made no move to pull away. His mind began to drift, the mixture of hot and cold that was attacking his body too much for the already weakened boy. He barely registered when the stinging in his shoulder was replaced by what felt like a soft cloth. Slowly, his world was fading to a comforting black.
***
"He's definitely running a fever."
"Is it bad?"
Jyou made a contemplative noise, "It isn't too bad right now, but I'm worried about the shoulder wound. Already there is an inflammatory response to foreign cells, a classic sign of wound contamination. More than that, though, is what looks to be the second stages of wound infection, which doesn't make sense if he only got the injury a day ago."
Matt blinked, "Uh... english?"
"The cut on his shoulder is infected and I don't know why it happened so fast."
"Oh. Wait, that's bad!"
Jyou sweatdropped. "Yes, having an infection in the middle of a medicine-free world could be classified as bad."
Nearby, lying down at the foot of his rock, Tai twitched slightly, almost as if he had heard Jyou's comment. Nonetheless, his unconsciousness was far too deep for him to wake so easily. Matt's sweater was draped over him in an effort to stave off the cold that only he could feel, but the shivers still continued.
"So what do we do?" Matt finally asked softly, his eyes focused solely on the sleeping brunet.
Jyou tugged at his already matted hair, "I don't know! It's not like we can just go 'poof' and make medicine appear! I've never studied '101 Ways to Cure Fever in a Digital World'! Have you seen any courses on that? No? I didn't think so! What on earth am I even talking about?!" His voice was a strangled cry of annoyance and desperation and it silenced Matt entirely.
He stood stock still, frozen apart from his pulse racing with the fear of losing Tai. He didn't fully understand the situation—was he that terribly sick?—but still he couldn't help but be overcome by worry. It didn't make any sense to him; when did he start caring so much about the loud, cocky, argumentative boy? All they ever did was fight, up until now.
I can't fight with him when he's sick, Matt tried to tell himself, failing miserably. He knew it was a lie. He had never liked fighting with him in the first place, but it was always easier to be angry than show any other emotion. No, in truth, Matt just couldn't stand to see the brunet in so much pain. He was so still. So cold. It didn't suit his bright personality one bit.
"—att? Matt?! Yamato!!"
"Huh?" Jyou's sharp voice, coupled with the use of his full name, brought Matt out of his dazed stupor, reminding him that there were things to be done.
"I asked if you would keep an eye on him while I talked to the others," Jyou repeated, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Oh, sure. But... I don't think he wants the others to know."
"Wha-? Why not? What's wrong with—ohhh. Right. I guess I can just talk to the digimon. But if they can't help—" Jyou let the warning hang, knowing that Matt had already decided the same thing. With a final shared look, the two went their separate ways; Jyou towards the digimon and Matt towards Tai.
Before he had even reached the shivering boy, Matt found himself faced with a panicking dinosaur digimon.
"Is he gonna be alright, Matt? Did Jyou say he'll be fine?"
The blond didn't know how to answer, so he said nothing—the future was too uncertain for him to be tempting fate already. As he once more sat in front of Tai, a familiar urge to protect swept over him; the same he always felt around his younger brother.
Weird, he thought to himself, shaking his head to clear it of its confusing thoughts.
"Matt?" Agumon whispered worriedly, still expecting an answer.
For a moment, the blond hesitated. Then fire flashed through his now-determined blue eyes, "Tai will be fine. We'll make sure of it." The digimon nodded in understanding, returning to his curled up position at Tai's side. Matt settled down, as comfortable as possible, and persistently watched the rise and fall of the brunet's chest. It would be a long day.