Hello! I'm back with chapter six! The end is kind of..ehh, but the next chapter we find out why Matt was adopted! Hurray! And there's going to be a fairly BIG Matt/Tai bond! Thanks for all the reviews/story favorites/alerts. It made me feel good. This chapter's up because my sister requested I hurry, so Court, this ones for you ;]. The more reviews I get, the faster I update, so keep that in mind! Sorry in advance for any spelling. All the Japanese names are on my laptop, which I am still without! I'll fix spelling/grammar when I'm back on my computer, so, enjoy!

Yamato

I'm not sure if it was my screaming, again, or the bright sunlight that woke me up. Takeru was standing at my door, eyes wide.

"What did I say?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

"Nothing. You were just..loud." I yawn. The light's too bright to be 7.

"What time is it?"

"Almost noon, why?"

"No school?"

"Mum said we didn't need to go, because of your nightmares."

"Oh." My heart was attacking my chest viciously. It felt like it was going to smash through my rib cage. I pulled myself into a sitting position. I felt..gross. Dirty. I got up and out of bed, and pushed gently past Takeru, right to the shower. The water was hot enough to burn my skin. I watched it turn bright red. I stayed in the water until it went cold. I got dressed, and went to find Takeru. He was in the kitchen, looking for food.

"Hmm. We need to go shopping.." He said.

"Really?" He jumped, and hit his head on an open cupboard door.

"Don't do that!" He snapped, rubbing his head. I couldn't help but smile.

"Not funny!" He said, pouting.

"I thought it was." I began helping him search for food. There really wasn't much.

"Well, mom left us money to go out and eat, I guess I see why." Takeru said after searching for nearly ten minutes, and only finding things I couldn't eat, or he didn't like. I looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"Why didn't you say that BEFORE we started looking?" I grumbled. He shrugged. He disappeared for a minute, and handed me money. I counted it, and knew, that I had enough to get what my body wanted, and still have enough to eat out with Takeru. I bit my lip, thinking about how much I wanted to spend on something that was slowly killing me, but I knew even before I thought it over that it would be close to everything in my hand. I watched Takeru slide his shoes on.

"You coming?"

"Uh..Yea, yea.." My shoes were on my feet and we were out the door within ten minutes. Takeru insisted we go to his favorite restaurant. Alright. Whatever makes the kid happy. It took us about fifteen minutes to walk there. We waited to be seated for about thirty seconds. As I read through the menu, all I could eat was salad. Takeru noticed, too.

"Oh.." He said, to no one.

"It's fine. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? I need to get something else with this money."

"Uh.."

"School bag." Takeru nodded, and I was gone. I did plan on buying a school bag, I just also planned on having it filled with alcohol and whatever drug I could find that would get me high enough to ignore my dreams. Alcohol? Easy. Drugs? Not so much. It took be longer then normal, but whatever. I had enough coke on me to keep me going for two weeks. I slid back into the booth with Takeru half an hour later, and right as I sat down, food was placed in front of us. Takeru ate slowly, watching me eat. I tried not to eat too fast, knowing I'd choke. I really wanted to get home. Hide out in my room, and drink. I finished first, I had barely tasted the salad.

"Are you sure that's enough, cause I'm sure we can still go shopping.." Takeru voiced. I shrugged.

"I'm fine. I'm just not feeling good. Want to go lay down." I said. He nodded, and finished eating. We paid, and left. We ambled home, not really sure what to do with the rest of our day.

"Do you like movies?" Takeru asked me.

"Not really."

"Oh..." He was quiet for a few minutes, and then..

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"About girls?" I froze, my heart stopping.

"No. Girls are gross, boys are worse, and sex is just fucking disgusting." He kept his eyes down, and said nothing. My tone meant conversation over. Period. We walked in silence the rest of the way home. I kicked my shoes off and went straight to my room. Takeru said my name, but I ignored him. I began drinking immediately. It took me a little longer to get the coke into my system, but eventually I got that, too. I've been home for two hours, and I'm drunk. And high. Life is okay, for today. I venture out of my room to find Takeru. He's sitting on a chair in the living room, watching TV. I stretch out on the couch.

"Aren't you a little old for cartoons?" Takeru doesn't answer me. My voice isn't that slurred, so he must be mad at me.

"What's the matter?" I ask, the silence is bugging me. It always does.

"Nothing." He says. He tries to keep his voice steady, but it wavers. I stare at him, and wait for him to notice. It takes about two minutes before he glances over at me. His eyes are red and puffy. He's been crying.

"I didn't make you cry, did I?" I ask, suddenly way to sober. He shakes his head. I'd missed something this morning, but it wasn't my family, so I didn't ask about it. I let my eyes drift back to the TV.

"Taichi and Hikari should be here soon," He told me. I notice the way his voice changed when he said her name. I pretend I didn't hear him. I did not want to see Taichi today. Not at all. I became antsy. I jumped up, scaring Takeru.

"I'mma go take Baby for a walk."

"Kay.." I ran up to my room to grab her leash. The little dog was my shadow, and she followed me everywhere, so I didn't really need it. Baby and I took off down the street, running. I was in such a hurry, I had almost forgot my shoes. I took her to the park, and we played for almost two hours, me running just as much as her. By the time we left, I had to carry her she was so tired, and I knew how she felt. I got home and dropped her on the floor, gently. I was greeted by Taichi's laugh. I groaned. They hadn't heard me come in.

"He's weird." I heard Takeru say. I listened, I knew they were talking about me.

"How is he weird?" Hikari.

"He just..is. Last night he had such bad nightmares he kept everyone up with his screaming."

"That doesn't make him weird, Takeru! That just means that he's obviously had some bad experiences in his life."

"He's always drinking," Hikari and Taichi both became still. They didn't know what to say to that.

"He got..high during third yesterday, too." Taichi added after a few minutes.

"You guys are being too hard on him! We don't know what he went through." Hikari says, her voice growing. That's when Baby decided to run into the room they were in, barking. They all fell silent, and I opened the door quietly, then shut it loud enough they could hear.

"Yamato!" Three voices ring out.

"Hello." I said, toneless. Just as always around Taichi. I appear in the room, both Taichi and Takeru look away. Hikari smiles at me.

"Where'd you go?"

"Puppy had to pee." I sit next to Hikari on the floor. I like her. She's no where near as annoying as Taichi, and she really does make you feel calm. Taichi looks at me. He can tell I'm high, but he says nothing. I hold his gaze, and he looks away, blushing. We sit in silence for a few minutes.

"Can I call you Matt?" Hikari asks out of no where. Taichi turns to look at his sister.

"Only if I can call you Kari," I say, without looking at her.

"Of course you can!" I can hear the smile in her voice. Taichi looks away again, and I know I've won. He won't be telling anyone else about my drug use during school hours. Or..any time at all, for that matter. I sit and listen to Takeru and Hikari talk. Eventually Taichi joins, and I just sit and listen to them talk about..everything. Friends they miss, people they used to know. School. I sit quietly. They take for almost four hours. They only stop because Takeru's parents come home, with food. Takeru leaps up.

"Hi mom, dad!" They have take out, and from the looks of it, none I can eat. Hiroaki must have been the one to buy, because Natsuko shoots me an apologetic glance.

"Taichi and Hikari here?" Hiroaki asks.

"Hello!"They say together.

"Where's Yamato?" Hiroaki again.

"I'm right here." I say from the door way to the kitchen.

"Oh. Have a good sleep in, did you?"

"Yes."

"He slept until lunch, then we went and got him a new school bag. Then we ate out. Then watched TV, and he left to take Baby for a walk before they got here, but we've been together since he got back." My whole day covered. In three sentences. Thank you baby brother. I will never doubt having one again. Natsuko smiles. Hiroaki looks at me for a minute, then he smiles to. I offer a weak one in return, but I know there's something about me that bothers him. What it is, however, is something I'll probably never know unless I outright ask him. He hates me though, so I won't. Yet.

"Staying for dinner?" Plates are being pulled out. I begin the trek to my room, to eat the crackers I had also bought earlier.

"Yes, please." I hear, two voices, one deep and faster then the other. When I get to my room, my cell phone is ringing. I dive for it.

"Hello?" I answer, without looking at the number.

"Hey. How're you doing?" Vincent.

"Alright.." The toneless, strong facade drops.

"Matt?"

"I'm having nightmares." I admit.

"Well, that's to be expect. No other problems, though?"

"You already know what problems I have."

"Are you sober?"

"No. When am I ever?"

"Matt.."

"I know, I know.."

"How's school?"

"Yesterday was okay, I guess. The Biology teacher kept staring at my dick, and my gym teacher gives me goosebumps. I think I know him." I hear Vincent sigh, as he tries to work out what I'm saying. I realize after the words were half English, the other half Japanese. I repeat myself in English as I begin to look for my crackers.

"Really? From where?"

"I don't know, that's the problem."

"Well, if you figure it out, let me know, okay?"

"I will."

"And if you need me, j-"

"Just call, I know."

"I'll talk to you soon, Matt."

"Bye." I hang up and look at my phone for a minute. I debate on calling Billy, but change my mind. I grab my crackers, and head back to the kitchen. Taichi and Hikari are telling my parents about their last few days, and Takeru adds his opinion here or there. I stand and in the doorway, and watch. They laugh and talk. It makes me realize how much I don't belong here. I'm not normal, I'm not okay. The thought stings, but I push it away. I've never fit in, so who cares if I don't now? Hikari is the first to notice me. She looks at me, and smiles.

"Crackers for dinner?" She asks noticing the box in my hand. I shrug.

"He's a vegan." Takeru says.

"A WHAT?" Taichi asks.

"V-E-G-A-N. Vegan. I don't eat meat or dairy..or animal by products.." I say. His mouth drops.

"You don't eat ice cream?"

"Or chocolate." He looks at me like I'm stupid. I glare at him.

"Is that a problem?" He shakes his head, and looks away. I almost think about smashing him in the nose, but change my mind. The rest of dinner goes well.


Yamato

Wednesday and Thursday fly by. I'm on a mix of coke and speed through them, and before I know it, it's Friday, last class of the day. Gym. We're still playing hockey. I'm dreading it. I've done terrible so far, and the coach put Taichi on a separate team today, so I'm lost. The puck flies past my face and my eyes widen.

"Yamato!" Three people yell at me. I turn my head, and there's a body running towards me. He looks means. He looks angry. I realize he's purposely trying to run into me. I move, away from him. The only problem? He's an athlete, and I'm not, he catches up to me, and his hockey stick is at my feet, I avoid it the first time. He takes a swing at me and I duck.

"Coach!" Three or four people call for the teacher, whose watching us, smiling. The fucking asshole, I forget what I'm doing for a minute, and the stick hits my legs. I go towards a wall, and I'm thrown backwards inside my head before I can connect with it. A self defense my body came up with. I can see, I can hear, I can smell, I can even taste, I just can't feel. I'm more then aware of people screaming my name, and my limp body against the floor.

"Yamato?" Taichi is by my side before anyone else.

"You killed him!" My eyes are open, and I try to pull my self up, so I can speak, but the pain in my body is immense, and I sink back down. I can hear footsteps as the class gathers, and I let my eyes slip closed. I'm still breathing, so I can't be dead. Can I?