(August 17th, 2010)
So I got my computer back a few days ago, and I was SO excited to finally be back writing. I had all this ideas built up in my head, different scenarios. Like I said before I'm trying to wrap this up. Hopefully I don't screw up the ending. Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! I wuv you guys! Enjoy!

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

Disclamier: As usual, I don't own Digimon or any of its characters. As well as any other brand name, magazine name, people, celebrities, objects etc.

Chapter 20: Confrontation

~TPOV~

That evening Takeru sat at the bar, whisky in hand. For the past two hours he'd sat there, just staring at the amber liquid in the glass in front of him, untouched. He'd had every intention of drinking his way to forgetting; forgetting his father. Forgetting his past, his pain. But everytime he looked at that glass there was a voice inside his head telling him that if he drank, he'd be just as bad as his father. That voice belonged to a certain female he'd told to get lost two hours ago when she was just trying to help him. Girls had floated up beside him, whispering sweet promises in his ear, begging him to come home with them but he shook them off rather brutally; although new ones kept trying their luck.

One girl slid into the chair next to him; she didn't talk to to him at first just tilted her head to the side and spoke in a sweet voice, tinted with a Spanish accent.

"Hey stranger, want to buy me a drink?" Takeru looked up from his full glass to see that she was Hispanic, dark skin with dark features, and honestly, quite stunning. He looked back down at his drink ready to wave her off just like the others when he snapped his head back up.

"Rosa?" He croaked; she flashed him a grin and raised her eyebrows.

"Nice to see you too TK, it's not like we haven't seen each other in months, thanks for being so enthusiastic." He placed his drink down for the first time that night and turned his whole body towards her; she scooted her chair forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"No, I'm just surprised; what are you doing in Odaiba?"

"I'm here on a basketball trip with the school, although this little detour to the bar isn't on the school's schedule." She laughed and he joined her; it was so typical of Rosa. "So how's your life here? I heard you've settled in really nicely. Still playing basketball I hope."

"Yeah it's great here; I made the team, I'm now center forward and the team captian. People here are friendly enough. Now don't tell me you're by yourself here, that would be very out of character." He ran a hand through his hair, smiling for the first time since he arrived.

"You know me all too well." She gestured to a group of girls sitting in a booth and they all ambled over. "Here's the rest of the team." Rosa turned to the girls as they all squealed in delight when they saw him. They rushed over and one by one gave him a hug and pecks on the cheek; the girls from the Gosen High basketball team flocked him asking numerous questions and telling him about life back at his old high school. They all pulled up chairs, bringing their drinks with them and soon Takeru had temporarily forgotten about his worries from earlier that evening; it felt like he was back at his old high school just chatting with his friends. He sent the whiskey back and ordered a beer instead, drinking socially instead of irresponsibly. He didn't even notice when one of the girls hit him playfully or when Rosa rested her hand on his knee. He just wrapped an arm around the back of her chair and she leaned into him ever so slightly, lifting her mouth so she could whisper into his ear.

"I've missed you." It was so quiet he was sure he hadn't heard correctly. He looked at her and she smiled at him, and then continued in their group conversation like nothing had happened at all. He shook it off thinking it was just the loud noise in the room. Finally it was getting towards three in the morning and the bartender was shooing them out. Takeru said goodbye to the girls, they were a little drunk at that point so they were upset that he was leaving them again. He just laughed and promised to keep in touch; after many more hugs he turned in the opposite direction and headed for his subway station. He heard heels behind him and turned to see Rosa catching up to him.

"Where do you think you're going? Your hotel is in the opposite direction of my place." She grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop and look at her.

"What's wrong with spending a little alone time with you?" She purred, sliding closer to him. He froze as her hand trailed up his arm and tangled in his hair. He shook his head, trying to clear it as she started to place breezy kisses on his neck. Then he took her hands and placed them in front of her.

"Look I'm sorry Rose, but I have a girlfriend I love and I don't want to mess that up. If I was still at home we might be having this conversation, but I'm not." He tried to sound firm but his voice was deeper than usual and huskier. "You really should get back to your friends. We'll keep in touch though. You're here for a few more days? Maybe we can go for coffee before you leave. I still want to be friends." Rosa shook her head and laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Always the good guy, through and through. Well I hope she's worth it TK; because she's lucky to have you. I always regretted letting you go." She pecked him on the cheek before walking away; turning once to wave at him. He waved back then descended the stairs to the station; then remembered that his apartment may still contain his father and he didn't want to deal with that. Instead he took the number eight and made his way to the village outside of Tokyo University.

Forty minutes later he arrived a small house with a few lights still on. He knocked on the door and ten seconds later his brother Yamato opened it in sweatpants and no shirt with a guitar stung over his back.

"Little late to be visiting isn't it TK?" He asked chuckled, motioning him inside. Takeru shrugged off his jacket, throwing it onto a hook.

"Yeah, except when dad's at home. Sorry, to ask but can I crash here tonight? We've got some shit to talk about in the morning." Matt yawned and nodded, starting to pull out the sofa bed in the living room. Sora emerged from the bathroom, hair wet from a shower wearing one of Matt's shirts. She saw Takeru and smiled making her way over as she towel dried her hair.

"Hey TK, little early in the morning don't you think?" She joked, pulling her jacket on. She turned to Matt and leaned in to peck him on the cheek. "I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?" Matt nodded and she left, shutting the door quietly behind her. Takeru lifted a curious eyebrow at his brother and Matt waved a hand.

"Okay do we really want to be getting into this now? Or can it wait until breakfast?" Takeru laughed and Matt left the room after setting up the bed. Takeru pulled off his shirt and pants slipping into the bed in his underwear. As soon as his head touched the pillow he was out cold.

~KPOV~

As soon as Hikari had driven away she felt guilty; she knew she ought to go back and at least stay with him. She was worried he might do something stupid and get himself into a fight or something. She went home anyways, changed and for almost two hours she sat on her bed or paced. Finally she decided to go back; even though he had told her he needed time she couldn't risk him getting hurt. She sped along the streets and found parking not far from the pub. She entered the busy dwelling, ignoring the jeers and whistles from men around her. She made her way through the crowd looking for a tall, blond in the sea of heads. Eventually she saw him sitting at the bar, staring in deep thought at a full glass of whiskey. She tried to make her way over but people were pushy.

She stopped when a gorgeous exotic girl wearing dark jeans and a red shirt that rode above her belly button, exposing a jewelled piercing sat down next to Takeru. He didn't look up at her at first then she spoke to him; he looked at her then back at his drink. Then his head snapped up and his mouth moved; the girl raised a shaped eyebrow and laughed. They exchanged more words then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Jealously boiled under Hikari's skin as she continued to watch them talk, then the girl motioned a group of pretty girls in the corner to join them. They all squealed and embraced Takeru, pulling up chairs and chatting away.

Hikari couldn't help it, she watched as they gossiped, hanging on every word he was saying. He looked more relaxed and soon he switched his full glass for a bottle of beer. The girls flirted as they talked, batting their eyelashes and exposing more cleavage than necessary. Finally the Spanish girl beside him rubbed her hand above his knee and he put his arm around the back of her chair; she leaned in and whispered in his ear, his concentration diverted temporarily from the conversation as he listen to what she was saying. He looked at her and she smiled seductively at him; that was when Hikari had desided she'd had enough. She spun around and marched out the door to her car. She raced home, tears falling silently down her cheeks as she did so. She couldn't believe that Takeru would be one of those guys, he had given her a promise ring not a few hours earlier; did that mean nothing to him? She flung the door open to see a surprised Tai holding a fresh bag of popcorn.

"Kar? Is everything okay?" She threw her jacket off with more force than needed and kicked off her shoes.

"Just dandy. Everything's fantastic." She tramped down to her room and shut the door. Hikari crawled underneath the covers still in her clothes and cried, thoughts whirling about in her head; it took her another twenty minutes to fall into a dreamless slumber.

~TPOV~

Takeru woke up to the smell of something delicious cooking in the kitchen. He stood up and stretched, pulling on his clothes. Wandering over he saw Matt by the stove scrambling some eggs; he looked over as he took a seat.

"Morning little bro" Matt turned off the stove and slid half the eggs onto a plate in front of Takeru. "So you want to tell me why you came over here at four in the morning?" Toast popped up and Matt threw them on his plate as well. Takeru temporaily diverted the question with one of his own.

"You want to tell me why Tai's girlfriend was over here when I arrived? Coming out of a shower none-the-less." Matt sighed and shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth. "Seriously Matt, I know you've had a thing for her since… well forever… but isn't Tai your best friend? Don't you know he would kill you if anything happened between you two."

"Look I appreciate your concern, but there's nothing for Tai to overreact about. She came over to talk." Takeru gave him a look. "Hey come on! I'm serious! She and Tai have been fighting a lot lately and she needed someone to talk with. We were watching a movie and she fell asleep, spilling her beer all over her shirt. So she took one of mine and had a shower." His little brother brother gave him another look and Matt laughed. "Alone. You know I wouldn't make a move unless they were split and Tai was okay with it." He took a large gulp of orange juice. "Alright. Now are you going to tell me what shit we need to talk about?"Takeru took a coupld bites trying to decide how to frase his words.

"Dad came home yesterday. He says that he a mum are going to give it another shot." His voice was hard and icy.

"Yeah I know." Matt said as he brought his plate over to the chair across from Takeru. Takeru's head shot up in surprise and glared at him, his voice raising.

"You knew? And you didn't think to tell me?" Matt raised his hands in an effort to calm him down. "You didn't think to give me a heads up? To call me and tell me?"

"Look I know I probably should have said something but I was hoping myself that mum would think better of it."

"How long have they been back together?" Matt sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his blond hair.

"According to mum, he found her at work a month ago and asked to talk. He told her that he regretted his ways and wanted another shot. She thought about for a few weeks before she told him yes." Takeru grimaced and he looked disgusted.

"Look Matt, there's something you don't know about dad. He's not a good person. Honestly, I hate him. I want nothing more than for him to crawl back into the hell hole he came from." Matt was silent; he had waited for Takeru to tell him what really happened for years. Everytime he had asked before, Takeru would just say nothing and keep to himself. Then as Takeru pushed around his eggs with his fork, staring intently as his plate, he told Matt. Once he started he couldn't stop; it felt so good to finally tell him. He had wanted to for years, but everytime he started to say something he'd chicken out. Matt's face was composed as Takeru told him about the drinking, the violence, the threats. He waited for him to finish before talking again.

"So what are we going to do about this? Are you going to tell mum?"Takeru sighed and took a few bites from his toast. He shrugged.

"I want to, but it's hard to talk when dad's around. I have a feeling that he wouldn't let me finish; he scares the shit of me Matt. Half the time I want to cower in a corner and the other half I want to kill him." Matt nodded, looking pensive.

"Okay I can't say I like the guy either but how about at dinner tonight I take him away somewhere, to show him my album or something, while you talk to mum. I don't know if it'll work but it's worth a shot." Matt gave him a smile and Takeru weakly returned it. They ate after that, talking about various subjects then cleaned up together. Just as they were finishing up Matt asked,

"So how's everything with Kari? You two seem pretty tight." Takeru slapped his forehead and groaned.

"Shit! Kari!" He dropped the pan on the counter and ran out the room to rummage his jacket for his phone. He produced it and hit speed dial one. "Come on please pick up. Please pick up."

"Hey you've reached Kari's cell phone, you know what to do!" The answering machine chimed through the phone and Takeru rushed to leave a message.

"Hi Kari, it's me. Look I'm sorry about last night I was a total asshole. Please call me when you get this, it's really important." He pushed the end button and rubbed his head, walking back into the kitchen.

"Trouble in paradise?" Matt chuckled; he had finished the dishes and now was leaning against the counter. Takeru threw a cloth at him and scowled.

"I was a jackass last night and she's probably mad at me now. Any chance you could drop me in town?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"Sure, I actually need to get a new guitar string. Let's go then." They scrambled into Matt's silver Yaris and half an hour later he was dropped at the front of Hikari's building. He buzzed the button and Yuuko answered and buzzed him through the door. He knocked on their door a couple minutes later. It opened and a large mass hurtled at him. He was knocked to the ground as Tai sat on him, grabbing fitfuls of his shirt.

"What the hell did you do to my sister?" He hissed, shaking him by the shirt. "So help me god TK, if you don't tell me what you did I'll smash your face." Takeru was startled.

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything to her. Why? Is she okay?"

"No she's not okay. She's been crying all night. Now tell me what you did!" Takeru threw Tai off, standing up; Tai scrambled up as well, blocking the door.

"Why do you assume that it was something I did? I didn't do anything to her."

"Because you're the only thing she cares enough about to cry about."

"Let me see her."

"Not until you tell me what you did to upset her"

"Tai" Takeru spoke quietly, his patience running thin. "Now is not the the time to try me. Now let me see her." Tai shook his head and pushed him backwards. Takeru snapped his balled fist into Tai's face and not pausing, he strode into the condo, making his way down the hall. He stopped at Hikari's closed door, then opened it.

"Kari? wha-" His arms shot up protecting his face as a shoe hurtled past him. "What the hell Kari!" He dodged another shoe, and looked at Hikari; she was in jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt, like she's slept in it.

"Get out! Get Out!" She yelled as she threw another shoe, which nearly hit his head.

"What did I do?" She growled as she let a bag fly across the room.

"Don't you come in here and pretend like nothing's wrong. How dare you even show your face after being with that… that skank!" A box tore past his arm, nicking it.

"What are you talking about? There was no girl!"

"Oh really? So there was no tall, dark haired exotic gorgeous girl from the pub last night? You're telling me that was a figment of my imagination?" A book skimmed his head this time, clipping his cheek.

"You mean Rosa? She's just an old friend, we went to school in Gosen together." He could now understand the similarities between Tai and Hikari; their tempers. He rose in hands in surrender. "She came over to say hello with the other girls from the basketball team. They're here for a tournament."

"Oh yeah she seemed like a great 'friend', her hands all over you, whispering things in your ear. Yes, it all looked 'friendly' to me! How was she TK? Was she any good?" Takeru shook his head in disbelief; another pair of shoes flew at him.

"Nothing happened between us! Jesus Kari, don't you trust me at all? We just spent the evening catching up. I swear on your brother's life. No, I swear on Matt's life." She stood there with a textbook in hand, her ruby eyes skepitical.

"So you're telling me nothing happened. Absolutely nothing?" Takeru rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look, she wanted something to happen after, wait!" He put a finger out as she lifted her arm, preparing to throw the book at him. "But I told her I was with you, and that I loved you more than anything. So I told her to go home." She stood blinking for a second; silence filled the room for ten long seconds. When she spoke her voice was quiet, barely audible.

"You love me?" He laughed and moved towards her cautiously.

"Of course I love you, you ill-tempered girl. I thought you already knew that."

"But you never actually said it." Her voice was shocked.

"Well I'm saying it now. When I gave you that ring yesterday I meant it. I love you." She dropped the book and it slammed into the floor. She walked over to him and hugged him, tossing her arms around his neck. He squeezed her back, lifting her off the ground.

"I love you too." She mummered into his shoulder and he kissed her neck.

"Are we okay now?" He asked carefully, unsure if the temper would come back.

"I think so. But I'm still mad at you." She smiled weakly at him, pecking his lips. "So did you think anything through last night? Any ideas about your dad?" He placed her on her bed and they sat down.

"I told Matt everything, he's going to help me tonight talk to my mum."

"I want to be there too." Takeru was outraged, shaking his head violently.

"No. Completely out of the question."

"You're telling after everything we've been through you're not going to let me help you?"

"Look, best case scenario I tell my mother and he doesn't find out. But I'm guessing he won't take it lightly."

"I'll go whether you approve it or not. I'm not leaving you alone through this." He hesitated and she took his hand in both of hers, looking at him pleadingly. He sighed and rubbed his temples with the fingers of his free hand.

"Fine. I give up! You can come tonight." She beamed at him and pulled him in for a hug.

"Thank you."

"Don't make me regret my decision! Now I think you should take a shower and freshen up, then we'll wait it out until dinner." She slipped off the bed and closed the door. She stripped off her clothes and wrapped a white fluffy towel around her body, ignoring Takeru's bold staring. She re-opened the door, and sauntered down the hallway to her bathroom. Takeru lay on her bed; hands behind his head as he contemplated how this evening would go. He shut his eyes and let himself drift off into a slumber. He was awakened by Hikari gently stroking his hair.

"Hey sleepy head." Her brown hair was dry and she wore a pair of black Lululemon pants and light blue top. "It's almost time for dinner."

"But… dinner's not until six." She giggled and sat down beside him.

"You've been asleep for the past few hours. You looked pretty exhausted earlier, I didn't have the heart to wake you." He stretched his arms above his head then wrapped them around her waist crushing her to his chest. She let out a small giggly scream and struggled to pull herself up again. "TK! Stop it!" He started to tickle her mercilessly. "Come on, we have to go." She panted breathlessly and he stopped, allowing her to drag him to his feet. Takeru looked into a mirror and patted down his wild blond hair, sighing in the process.

"Well let's go get this over with." They drove in silence to Takeru's apartment; he drummed his finger on the dashboard scenarios running through his mind. They parked the car and made their way up the elevator, Hikari bore a bouquet of stargazer lilies in her hand. Takeru stopped in front of his door, took a deep breath, and then opened it ushering Hikari inside. Natsuko squealed in delight when Hikari gave the flowers to her, hugging her tightly, exclaiming what a wonderful girlfriend Takeru had. Hiroaki leaned against the living room doorframe watching the whole exchange with guarded eyes. No later than five minutes later Matt and Sora showed up; Sora bringing a plate of her wonderful brownies. More hugging and squealing ensued until Hiroaki pointed out that her pasta was done cooking and they went to the kitchen. Matt and Takeru exchanged words in quiet whispers.

"So I'll take him to the den after dinner to show him a DVD I brought of one of my concerts, that should give you about ten minutes." Takeru rubbed his head, trying to relieve the growing migraine. He grumbled and followed Matt to the dining room table where the girls were helping set the food out. Within minutes everyone was sitting around the table eyeing the steaming food. Unlike Hikari's mother, Natsuko was a fanominal cook; she always joked that she should've gone to culinary school instead of university. Takeru didn't realize how much he missed her until now. Sure he could manage by himself, but nothing was as good as having his mother back and fussing over him.

Everyone tried to keep the topics neutral; Natsuko was thrilled to hear about him becoming basketball captian. Hiroaki just sat at the head of the table listening, occaisionally laughing or asking the odd question. Soon the bowls of food were empty and stomachs were full, leaving everyone with food-coma syndrome. Takeru and Hikari immediately started to clear the table and Matt turned to his father.

"Hey dad I was telling you about that concert in Tokyo and I brought a video to show you, want to see?" He made his face light up with eager excitement and Hiroaki hesistated looking at Natsuko.

"Wouldn't you're mother like to see it as well?" Takeru's mother waved her hand shaking her head.

"Oh I've seen it so many times already, you go and I'll start to clean up." Sora, Matt and his father left the room leaving Takeru alone with his mother; Hikari had gone back to the dining room to wipe the table. He walked over from the sink where he was washing the knives to the dishwasher where she was loading the dishes.

"Um… hey mum? I need to talk to you about something." She continued to pick up dishes.

"Mmhmm sweetie? What about?" Takeru sighed and put down the knife he was holding; he leaned against the counter, arms crossed.

"It's about dad." Natsuko faltered and looked up to his serious face; she too stopped what she was doing and stood up.

"Now TK…" She started to lecture but Takeru held up a hand to stop her.

"Look I know that you think he's changed and you want to give him a second chance but there's something you don't know about him… He's… mean and manipulative…" Natsuko just blinked at him for a moment before she started to scold him.

"I know that you and your father never got along but that gives you no right to talk about him that way." Takeru's temperature started to rise and he drew up to his full height; all signs of chickening out left him.

"I'm not just saying these things to spite him. They're true. He's abusive and violent."

"No… not Hiroaki… he just has a temper…." She said quietly as she shrank back.

"You thinking I'm lying? You're siding with the man that cheated on you? You're telling me that these marks are just figments of my imagination?" He turned around and ripped up his shirt showing years of scars trailing down his back. Natsuko gasped, covering her mouth and fumbled for words.

"I… Takeru… What happened? Have you been getting into fights again?" She said more sternly now; he just laughed, letting his shirt fall.

"No mum, I haven't been in any fights; I never fought with anyone as a child. That was dad covering up his tracks when he would get drunk and beat me when you were out of town." She just stared at him and he watched as she pieced the information together, forming the truth. Tears sprung to her eyes and she moved towards him.

"But… what about Matt?"

"Matt only got the screaming; I got the full impact." He watched her carefully then moved forward, lowering his voice. "Mum, you can't get back together with him. I can say with full confidence that if you do, the chances of me being around anymore will drop signifigantly." She just nodded, standing frozen in the kitchen. Takeru didn't hear approaching footsteps and soon Matt and everyone else was back in the kitchen. Hiroaki froze in the doorway looking from Natsuko's tearful face to Takeru's stony one.

"What's going on here?" Natsuko's head snapped to him from the patch of wall she was staring at. She strode across the small room and her hand whipped across his face with a defining crack. She pointed to the door; hands shaking and eyes hard. Hiroaki's face turned menancing and he grabbed her arm, shaking her.

"Leave. Now. And don't ever come back."

"You believe him? Over your own husband?" He hissed and Takeru stepped in pulling his grip off of her.

"Just leave." Hiroaki glared at him, nostrils flared. Everyone was still; there were no sounds as they watched the scene before them.

"You seem to have forgotten what I told you" He hissed, then his fist flew forward, contacting with Takeru's jaw scraping him as a ring cut into him. He stumbled back and Matt came forward to restrain Hiroaki but he was thrown down. Takeru launched forward tackling him to the ground. The women screamed and tried to help, Matt threw his hand out.

"Get back! " He yelled and got up to try to pull Hiroaki off him, but he was knocked down again. Hikari fumbled for her phone, dialing the police. Her words were muffled by grunts by the men fighting and Sora held Natsuko in horror. Hiroaki was under Takeru as he attempted to hit him; Takeru's eyes were black with rage. Hiroaki rolled and he was standing up again, his son followed, eyeing his movements. Hiroaki's back was to the counter and he grabbed the nearest plate, throwing it at Takeru. He ducked at moved forward; his father panicked and grappled behind him for anything. His hand landed on a filleting knife; Hikari cried out a warning and Takeru grabbed the knife wielding hand.

Muscles bulged as he attempted to stop the knife from plunging into him. Matt catapulted himself at his father knocking both to the ground. More screaming for the women as they watched Hiroaki on top of Takeru, blade inches away from his stomach; Matt pulled as Hiroaki's arm trying to release the blade. Then Takeru made a sudden movement, everyone collided together and there was a cry of pain and red began to pool on the floor. Takeru looked up from his continued struggle to see Matt lying on the floor grasping his bloody thigh where the black knife handle protruded. Sora rushed across the room grabbing a tea towel and knelt beside him. The sane part in Takeru's mind snapped and he shoved Hiroaki off and grabbed the glass serving plate from the sink. Hiroaki lumbered forward and he swung the plate as hard as he could. It smashed over his head rendering him unconscious as he fell into a heap on the floor.

He stood there panting, looking at his mother and Hikari grasping each other both crying. Sora bent over Matt tying the blood soaked towel around his leg above the knife; she had his back propped up against the counters. Matt's eyes flickered closed and Takeru's eyes travelled to the growing pool of blood on the floor. He moved to Matt's side looking at Sora.

"Is he going to be okay?" She gave a sigh and continued to hold pressure above the wound.

"I think it's hit the femoral artery and he's obviously lost a lot of blood." She gestured to the blood pool with her head. "Is help on the way?" She asked Hikari who nodded, eyes wide. "It's best not to move him until the medics get here, I haven't started med school yet so I don't know what other injuries he might have." The only sounds were panting and deep breaths as everyone stared at Matt. Takeru stood up and walked over to his mother who seemed to be rooted to the spot, just staring at the blood on the floor.

"Mum? Are you alright?" Her far off gaze found him and she nodded robotically. There was a bang on the door, then footsteps as police filed in, followed by paramedics. A medic rushed over to Matt, talking with Sora and the other to their father lying crumbled on the floor. The police started to ask questions and take statements when the paramedics took the two unconscious men out on strechers followed by Sora. A few minutes later the police followed telling them which hospital they were taking them to and telling Takeru to get checked out at the same time. Then they were alone again. "Mum maybe you should get some rest, Kari and I will go to the hospital to wait for Matt. We'll call you when we hear some news." She continued to stare off into the distance. "Mum?" She nodded slowly and he led her to her bedroom. A few minutes later he returned to a pale Hikari in the entranceway.

"Are you alright?" She raised her hand to his cut cheek; he took it from his face and pulled her into a hug instead. She buried her face into him. "God, that was terrifying." She mumbled, squeezing him harder. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well I feel fine but let's get going to the hospital, I want to make sure Matt's going to be fine…" His voice trailed off as he thought about the blood he lost. Hikari took his large hand and towed him out the door to the parking lot.

Author's Note:

Okay so? I try really hard not to make it cliché and cheesy, because I kinda hate cliché; I hope I succeeded. Sorry for the violence but I promise it'll be nice from now on. :D Btw in case it wasn't clear, this is not the end of the story.

PLEASE REVIEW! YOU KNOW YOU WAAAAAAANT TO!