A/N: Thank you everyone for the continuous support. I've heard my fanfic being promoted around and thank you so much to Shizuka and Superiority for spreading the word around. I do try my best to keep everyone in-character. Thank you! I'd like to dedicate one-shots to each of my loyal reviewers so please mention your favourite pairing of Digimon in your next review. Thanks to Black Angel of the Underworld for betareading this and making it awesome!

Chapter 5: Auxiliary

Tagiru stood there, uncertain, his hands clamped with sweat as he looked back at Yuu. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment before he opened them.

"Heal Yuu first," he said firmly. "Heal him and even if he tries to stop me, I'll go with you."

"Tagiru, don't be crazy!" Arresterdramon cried, his eyes wide as he stared at his partner. "Yuu would never want you to -"

"I know," Tagiru said, cutting him off. "But I'm willing to do this once I can make sure that Yuu is really healed. So..." He stared into Hideaki's eyes, not a hint of fear within them. Right now, the major thing was Yuu's safety and only that alone.

Hideaki smirked but couldn't help feeling surprised. He guessed Yuu and Taiki did have an influence on Tagiru after all. However, he knew Tagiru kept his word and clicked his fingers.

Cutemon appeared, his eyes red, and he moved almost robotically towards Yuu, his hands glowing. It seemed his powers didn't change, even though his eyes were blank; his skin was slowly turning from pink to purple.

"Cutie!" Tagiru cried, rushing towards him to somehow free him from the control he was under; but Hideaki grabbed him around the waist, holding him back.

"You can't do anything," Hideaki whispered in his ear.

Tagiru squirmed, thrashing against Hideaki's hold. The orange-haired boy only tightened his grip.

"Let me go!" Tagiru cried. "I have to save him! That's Taiki-san and Akari-san's partner! How could you?"

He went almost limp in relief, though, when the blood around Yuu's wound disappeared. The bed-ridden boy shifted, opening his eyes groggily.

"Tagiru?" Yuu said, a little dazed.

Hideaki momentarily let Tagiru go, allowing him to rush to Yuu's side.

"Yuu! You okay?" Tagiru asked, concern in his voice.

Yuu nodded, a small smile spreading on his pale lips. "I am now. Thank you."

"Oi, enough with the mush!" Hideaki snapped.

Seeing the two so relieved and happy made a flame light up in his heart. He felt as if someone was branding him from the inside.

"Tagiru, keep your end of the bargain or we can send Yuu back to where he was before!"

Tagiru clenched his hands into fists and stood up. Yuu blinked.

"What bargain?" Yuu asked his best friend, a sinking feeling in his chest.

Tagiru sighed. "Hideaki had Cutemon heal you, but I have to go with him. That was part of the deal. If I don't go, he'll do worse than what he's done. It's okay. Just get back to Nene-san and the others! We'll come out of this alive somehow!"

He placed a hand on Yuu's shoulder. He struggled to stay calm and composed. If Yuu got worried, he didn't know how much longer he would keep up with his cool facade.

"No, Tagiru!" Yuu said, alarmed.

"I'll be fine," Yuu tried to promise his best friend with a tight, reassuring smile."Tsuwamon won't let anything happen to me and..." He scrunched his eyes shut for a moment before opening them. "It's not like he'll keep his promises! Even if he doesn't hurt me, he'll be doing it anyway by hurting you! If you suffer...how do you think I'll feel? Please, there's nothing for you to worry about."

Yuu clenched his fists and his entire body shook. It was happening again. If Hideaki took Tagiru away now, would he ever see him again? He almost understood now how Nene must have felt this way,too.

He didn't know what to do. Things were slipping from his hands and, once again, he was helpless to stop the people he loved from being hurt. Why can't he ever stop this? Tagiru was stubborn when he wanted to be, so would his feelings matter?

"Yuu." Tagiru's voice snapped him out of his dark thoughts. "You're more important than you know. Please try to stay safe."

Tagiru sounded odd, but it was hard to tell what he was feeling. However, Yuu didn't have that long to guess because, suddenly, Tagiru's lips brushed against his.

A warm, tingling sensation surrounded his lips, his heart beating at a rapid rate even when Tagiru pulled away.

"Actions speak louder than words, right?" Tagiru said quietly. "Sorry I didn't say anything."

He stepped back. Yuu saw a brief flash of pain cross Tagiru's face when Hideaki grabbed him roughly. He was still a little dazed from the kiss but snapped out of it when they began to disappear, a torn cry slipping from his lips.

Arresterdramon tried to push the digimon he was fighting aside, letting out an indignant roar,but a blast from Anubismon knocked him roughly back on the ground, causing him to dedigivolve back to 's partner grabbed him, following Hideaki.

"Gumdramon! Tagiru!" Yuu screamed, trying to run after them.

He tripped, falling to the ground and shivered, his fists trembling viciously. Tears cascaded down his cheeks and a heavy weight resided in his heart.

He weakly rose onto his knees, which trembled as he tried to support himself up. He failed...again. Why? Why was he so weak, so useless? He was practically the epitome of failure.

He reached up to touch his lips and placed his other hand over his eye, disbelief marring his devastated features. Tagiru kissed him, Tagiru liked him. However, that did nothing but make his heart twist even more.

Yuu clutched his chest. Why did it hurt so much? He slammed his fists against the wall and screamed in frustration. Why? Why?

"Tagiru!" he said, his voice rebounding all around him.

I love you, too, a small voice said within him.

Taiki only cringed briefly as he was thrown into a room with nothing but a bed in it. Even the bed was just a cold mattress. Still under the affect of the chloroform, he couldn't do much besides squirm around. His thoughts drifted to his friends, hoping they were okay. He could handle any pain, but if Kuro went after Akari, Tagiru, or Yuu, he may not be able to cope as well with that.

"You still groggy?" Kuro chirped, sitting beside him on the bed, causing him to look over.

"No, drugs don't affect me at all," Taiki said dryly, trying not to let this freak faze him. "What have you done with Shoutmon?"

"Oh you mean the Digimon King?" The other said happily. "My minions have been wanting him for awhile. He's been one of the most wanted. They're so pleased I finally got him. Thank you for that, Taiki-kun."

If looks could kill, Kuro would be dead ten times over right now. Taiki wanted to punch the other for giving Shoutmon away as if he were some prize to be won, but that was not his only friend in trouble. Dorulumon and Cutemon were captives of this insane group as well. These must be the people Hideaki joined.

He felt as if he had no energy. Each part of his body weighed a ton each it seemed. He couldn't move his arms and legs around a lot. The drug seemed to definitely have a sedative affect on him, rendering him useless, something he hated.

"L - let me go," he said.

He winced slightly. That sounded much weaker than he expected.

"So cute," Taiki heard Kuro croon as the other stroked his cheek.

He tried to squirm out of his hold as Kuro pushed up his sleeves. However, Kuro grabbed him tightly from the other shoulder and took out some form of object. Through his blurred vision, it looked like a sharp pencil but as he squinted, while it definitely took the shape of one, it was all metallic.

A sharp, burning pain suddenly overtook him and he felt something warm trickle down his arm. He tried not to cry out by placing a hand over his mouth, but muffled protests managed to escape. Moving made it even worse

Kuro's work became rougher and finally an ear-piercing scream pierced the air, one that would shake anyone to the depths of their soul. Tears filled Taiki's eyes but he couldn't die from this. No, he had to live, for Akari, for Shoutmon and for everyone else, too, to make sure they never got into the hands of this crazy person.

His vision blurred, but the pain wouldn't let him go.

Akari, who had been walking with Zenjirou looking for clues, suddenly felt a sharp pain sear through her body. Something hot rose up in her throat and she fell to her knees, beginning to cough out blood.

She held her head as she started to sway back and forth, a wave of dizziness sweeping over her.

"Akari!" Zenjirou cried, reaching out to catch her body. "What's wrong?"

Akari clung to Zenjirou, absently wondering if the pain was coming from Taiki instead.

"T-Taiki..." she mumbled, tears filling her eyes. "Zenjirou, Taiki's in trouble. I don't know how, but my heart tells me he is. We have to go after him. Let's find Ballistamon ok? So at least one of us isn't useless against the enemies."

She hated it. She hated always being a burden and not being able to do anything for the person she loved. Taiki meant the world to her and when he had asked her to the party, it had been like a dream come true for her. Even though, she knew it didn't meant they were automatically girlfriend and boyfriend, it was a step in the right direction. But now...Taiki was hurt and her partner Cutemon was captive amongst the villains. Once again, she was nothing but dead weight to the team.

"Akari? Oi, earth to Akari!" Zenjirou's voice snapped the redhead out of her thoughts. "Hey! You okay?"

"Huh?" Akari said, blinking. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Zenjirou sighed.

"Akari, we'll find Taiki," he said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "For now, we'll change paths and search out Ballistamon, okay? Just relax."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder to support her. Through the years, he had come to view her as a sister and Taiki like a brother. It wasn't that she wasn't pretty, but his heart was still with Nene even though she belonged with someone else.

But now, things like that weren't of relevance. He saw Akari nod and winced in sympathy, leaning over to help her as she began coughing out blood again.

This was going to be a long journey.