Summary: Taichi—every time he "uses" magic, his body grows weaker. Can Yamato save him before it's too late? Yamachi/Taito
Cursed
By: splintered
--
"For further news, the unidentified brunette boy of about seven or eight is still in severe critical condition at the Odaiba Hospital. As many may recall, the boy was found in the middle of the Odaiba intersection last week. Spectators have said that they have seen the boy fall from a four story building, but police have not been able to place anyone at the crime... If anyone has more information of the identity of the boy or more information concerning the unseen assailant, please call..."
The strange brunette boy was still on the six o'clock news. The blond news lady always said the same thing. It wasn't her fault, Yamato figured. But couldn't the police do anything? Didn't the boy have anybody to care for him? Yamato shivered at the thought. He could still remember the haunted golden brown eyes from weeks ago.
"Yamato, it's okay," Hiroaki sighed and he ruffled his son's blond hair. He felt his son's hand painfully tighten around his arm. For an eight-year-old, Yamato sure had a strong grip, Hiroki thought absently. "Yamato," Hiroki sighed again, shaking his head ever so slightly. If he had it his way, Yamato wouldn't even be watching the six o'clock news. There was some scary stuff out there. But Yamato was insistent. And Hiroki was a huge softie. So Yamato sat next to him and watched the news.
But for some strange reason that Hiroki didn't understand, Yamato was fixated on that boy. At first, Hiroaki figured that since the other boy was about the same age as his son, Yamato was scared. Hell, Hiroaki was uneasy as well, but for another reason. He was a parent. He had every right to be... This case hit too close to home... But the questions that Yamato was asking... They were out-of-character for the stoic boy he knew. Yes, Yamato might be scared, but there was another aspect to it. It was almost like Yamato cared deeply for the boy. He cared what would happen to the child. He needed to know. And he was obsessive over it. Yamato would stop watching cartoons as soon as the news came on---watching and listening attentively. This was very peculiar for a boy his age, right? Hiroaki didn't start "tuning in" to the news until he was at least three years older than Yamato was.
So then Hiroaki assumed that the brunette went to Yamato's school. Yamato must have known this boy from somewhere. After all, Yamato didn't take too keenly to strangers. Hiroaki knew that much about his son. But when Hiroaki mentioned the case to the teachers at last night's parent teacher conferences, the teacher just looked at him strangely. "Yes, it's a sad, tragic thing to happen to any eight-year-old, but that boy on the news doesn't go to our school," the teacher had said. "But poor boy...to think that there's a child out there---hurt---and there's not even a parent there to stand by him." Yamato seemed to share similar thoughts.
Hiroaki felt tugging on his sleeve, realizing that he had been ignoring his son. "Hey, daddy...do you think that we could visit him?" Hiroaki almost choked.
"Visit him?" Hiroaki repeated. The next thing he knew, Hiroaki was at the Odaiba Hospital asking for the brunette boy on the news.
---
The green squiggly lines moved up and down, almost forming little triangles, as Yamato watched in fascination. He knew that somehow, the moving lines and the periodic beepings of the machine stood for life, no matter how mechanic everything looked. And if the green squiggly line stopped moving up and down, that meant something very bad. That meant, the boy was—
"Mmmngg." A muffled groan muffled interrupted Yamato's thoughts as he looked for the source of the sound. His blue eyes shifted to the small lump wrapped in the white hospital sheets. Could it be...? The blankets shifted again. The strange boy... The blonde leaned in—closer and closer. Did that mean? The strange brunette's breath tickled his blonde felt his heartbeat grow louder and louder in anticipation. Suddenly, his throat felt very dry. ...but he had to see. He had to see if the boy was...
And suddenly, Yamato found himself staring into the very large, honey-brown eyes that had haunted his dreams.
--
The next thing he knew, Yamato found himself in front of the nurse's station where his father seemed to be talking to one of the nurses. "The boy," Yamato pulled on his father's arm. "He just woke up." The nurse's green eyes widened in surprise.
"Really?" she smiled. It was a nice smile, Yamato decided. Not like some of the other smiles grown-ups gave to children.
Yamato nodded.
"Your father was right. You are a little miracle," the nurse said, affectionately tugging on Yamato's cheeks. And then she left with a flurry of activity. Somewhere in there, Yamato felt his father's embrace, but still, Yamato felt very alone. His sad blue eyes watched as the nurses fussed over the boy. The strange brunette wasn't solely his anymore.
TBC?
--
Author's Notes: O.o Poor Yama! I'm so mean! Anyways, you guys are glad I updated right? Sorta? Yeah, I know, the writing was horrible and confusing, right? If it helps, I'm still continuing with the flashback scene I started from Chapter 3. Well, thank you anyways for reading, and hopefully, you'll review. Please? Yeah, things should get more exciting now that Tai woke up, right? Thank you krad, BeautifullyBrokenx and Courage Sun for reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad you guys liked it. And just 'cuz you guys are awesome, here's a few more words.
--
Con'td...
As it turned out, it was just a false alarm. "It happens sometime," the nurses explained to them. "When a patient is in a coma, sometimes a person's muscles momentarily move."
"You mean, the boy didn't wake up," Yamato asked.
The nurse shook her head sadly, her green eyes showing sympathy. "I know...it must be hard...He's you're best friend, right?"
Friend? I suppose so... Yamato thought. Of course, Yamato still didn't know the boy's name. But he supposed that the boy was a friend...
"Sometimes, it helps talking to the patient," the nice nurse continued.
Yamato felt himself nod. He came back to the hospital every single day for the next three weeks. The strange brunette still didn't wake up.
TBC?
--
Author's Note: Yeah, I know. I'm a horrible person who likes torture Yama, right? But it seemed too easy and coincidental to me...you know, with Tai just waking up when Yama was there. Aren't writers awesome, though...I mean, the fact that we can do that whenever we feel like it. It's absurd—the amount of power we have. Yeah, so please review?