Guys, sorry I took so long once again! I had a bit of a car accident, don't worry I'm fine. Just not had a chance to write anything up until now. This is based off the prompt 'white' but for once it's not a chapter title. Also, I made some edits to Chapter 4 mainly because chopped off some of my para's. *huffs* Thanks to Black Angel of the Underworld for betareading this chapter!

Chapter 6: Deal with the Devil

Broken, shattered, alone. Yuu clutched his chest and tried hard not to tremble from the overwhelming sensation of loss. A giant hole was torn inside his heart and he didn't know what to do. He wanted to go after Tagiru, he did; but at the same time, he didn't know where to find him. The logical thing would be to go find his sister and search together.

"Yuu," Damemon said quietly, startling the blond.

"D-Damemon?" Yuu said, shivering a little; he felt cold. Like he was slowly falling into a black hole of darkness.

He tried to get up but fell back onto his knees. He could still feel the softness of Tagiru's lips on his own. Was it even right to think of Tagiru like this when he was with Airu? It was wrong of him...He was being unfaithful, he shouldn't hurt Airu like this. "D-Damemon? We need to go after Tagiru. We have to get him back. It's my fault. I shouldn't have ever become friends with Tagiru; he'd be safe then."

"That's not true, dame!" Damemon scolded as he jumped into his partner's lap. "Tagiru wouldn't want you to blame yourself. None of this is your fault. Let's do what Tagiru said and get back to the others, okay? They'll be able to help."

Yuu managed a nod, gripping his X-Loader. "O-okay...Super-evolve, Damemon..."

He pointed it towards his partner but no glow emitted from it. He realised his hand was shaking. Couldn't he do anything right now? Damemon couldn't even evolve. He briefly wondered if it was because of the fear he felt or just from the confidence he lacked.

He was beginning to feel that joining Taiki and the others as a General was a mistake. Fate had taken pity on him and gave him the opportunity to make amends; but even then he hadn't been able to. He was still evil, inside and out. He still hurt people. He hurt the person who was precious to him, his best friend. He had tried to kill Taiki-san in the first adventure and the shame was still festering Tears sprung up in his eyes, slipping down his cheeks. Why did Tagiru love him? Why did Airu want to date him? He was pathetic, nothing.

He shouldn't even be thinking of these things and yet they were flowing freely in his crumbling mind. The dam was nearly broken.

"Yuu..." Damemon murmured.

Yuu could tell Damemon was worried about him but right now, he didn't want to listen. He just wanted his best friend back. Tagiru...Tagiru had supported him when he was missing Damemon, had tried to cheer him up, seen him at one of his worst moments...and Yuu had not been able to do anything but get him hurt. However, right now he knew he needed to focus. No matter how evil he was, he had to save Tagiru. He owed him that much, at least, no matter what it took.

He forced himself to his feet even though his legs felt numb. "We...we have to go."

Being smaller than him, Damemon couldn't support Yuu in walking all that well. They had arranged to meet back in the middle after finding clues so the others would be there. Despite the fact that the blonde's vision blurred and he felt extremely dizzy, Yuu managed to make it back to the meeting spot where everyone save for Taiki, Tagiru, and Hideaki were. As soon as he reached there, however, his legs gave out and he collapsed.

"Yuu!" Damemon said, reaching out to him; but, due to his short hands, he wasn't able to support him.

He was also not fast enough.

Nene had been waiting along with the others for her little brother to return. No one was really talking and she noticed Akari was pale, not saying a single word. Airu sat beside her and had taken her hand to squeeze it in reassurance. She seemed to be worried about Yuu as well, considering he was her unofficial boyfriend.

"He'll be okay," Airu said. "Yuu's strong."

Nene managed a small, shaky smile at the younger girl. Kiriha reached over and squeezed her hand. She sent her boyfriend a grateful look; he wasn't good expressing with words but he tried to show that he was there for her no matter the situation. She didn't speak, not until she heard Damemon's scream and spun around, seeing her brother topple over.

Her eyes widened and she let go of Kiriha's hand, rushing forward to pull Yuu into her arms. "Damemon, what happened to him? And where's Tagiru-kun?"

Damemon hung his head. "I'm sorry, Nene. Hideaki captured Tagiru and Gumdramon. It all happened so fast, dame, that we couldn't do much. Tagiru sacrificed himself."

Nene exhaled through her nose. It wasn't obvious to the others but she knew Tagiru being captured had probably hurt Yuu a lot. Other than Taiki, Yuu was the closest to Tagiru and in a different way. Yuu respected Taiki but Yuu and Tagiru were equals in almost every way.

She smoothed a hand across Yuu's forehead. "Oh, Yuu." She knew the other was blaming himself and it pained her that she couldn't soothe it at the moment.

The group sat there, setting up camp, as Airu came to sit beside Yuu as well. Nene smiled at her, glad Airu was being supportive. Ryouma and Ren sat on either side of her whilst Akari and Zenjirou sat separately.

Yuu finally opened his eyes, a small groan escaping his lips. "N-Neesan?"

Nene smiled. "Yuu...are you okay?"

Yuu's eyes filled with tears. "T-Tagiru...because of me, he was..."

Nene's eyes saddened and she stroked Yuu's hair gently, murmuring softly in his ear, like she had when he was younger. "It's not your fault, Yuu. We'll get Tagiru-kun back."

"B-but we don't even know where he is," Yuu said. "What can we do? Hideaki could be hurting Tagiru right now and we can't do anything! I swear, I'll make him pay! How...?" He bristled. "How dare he do this to Tagiru? To us? Tagiru trusted Hideaki, Neesan! How could he just betray that trust?"

Nene didn't know. She knew Taiki had been suspicious about Hideaki but now there was no sign of Taiki either. Briefly, she also wondered if Akari's condition was due to Taiki but didn't ask. "I don't know Yuu. I do know we'll find him, though. No matter what happens."

'It's a lie,' a familiar voice spoke in Yuu's mind, causing the blond to freeze.

He recognized that voice although wondered how on Earth the voice was speaking inside his head. It was an odd sort of feeling and he would have dismissed it as his imagination if not for what happened next.

A black surge of electricity surrounded Nene, entering her ear. Nene let out an ear-piercing screaming and released Yuu, collapsing onto the ground. Smoke left her body as her eyes stilted over.

"Neesan!" Yuu screamed, reaching out for her as Kiriha rushed to her side.

"Nene!" Kiriha cried. "What happened?"

Think about it, Yuu, DarkKnightmon's voice spoke again. Terrible things can happen with Nene and Tagiru if you don't comply. But if you assist me once more, I can lead you to Tagiru. You're meant for the darkness, Yuu. The longer you stay with them, the more pain you'll cause them. The colour of your heart; it's black, not white. Hideaki is torturing Tagiru, shattering his soul, his mind, his heart; trying to corrupt everything. You can stop this. Let go. Let go of your control.

Yuu wanted to resist. He knew DarkKnightmon wouldn't give him anything, that he was probably lying just to use him again. But what if he wasn't? It was selfish but he didn't want to let go of this chance, to save Tagiru no matter what the cost was for him. To protect his sister from being used, from being hurt. She had done so much for him, now it was his turn.

His eyes wandered to his sister's still body as Kiriha held her close to his chest, trying to get her to wake but to no avail. Airu was kneeling by her side, not knowing what to do, and the others were looking for the source of the strange phenomenon. One look at her sister's pale, wide-eyed face was enough. He was done with this, this insufferable helplessness. His eyes hardened and his mind seemingly tightened back to its calculating state.

Yuu then stood up. His legs weren't wobbly anymore. He looked at Kiriha and everyone gathered around her. "Airu-san?"

Airu looked up at him. "Yuu."

"Take care of Neesan." His voice was blank but even as Airu called out to him, it was too late, he had turned around and ran.

"Yuu!" Damemon chased after him, cursing under his breath at what his partner was doing. "Yuu, you idiot! You're acting crazy! Doing this is dame dame! Tagiru would probably punch you for this."

Yuu blinked back tears and stopped for a moment. "Damemon, I know Tagiru won't agree with this. But he doesn't know me. Not the real me. No one does, not even Neesan. They take pity on me, they care; but they don't know me. I'm evil. My heart is black."

Damemon shook his head. "That's ridiculous, dame! Your heart isn't black! You're kind, Yuu! I wouldn't have anyone other than you as my partner!"

Yuu let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Kind? All I do is get people hurt. I got you killed, I almost killed Taiki-san, and now Tagiru, too. Just let me do this, Damemon." He scrunched his eyes shut. "If you can't support me, then go back with Neesan and the others to try and save me. But it won't work. I've already made up my mind and I won't change it." His heart was screaming at how stupid he was being but he ignored it. This was the only way and it was better for everyone.

Damemon wanted to smack some sense into Yuu but restrained himself. There was no point in going back. He could help Yuu more by being at his side and finally said, exasperated, "I'll support you."

Yuu had heard his sister's soft pleas trying to call him back but he blocked them out. Was he being selfish? He didn't know but right now he also didn't know if he really cared. "DarkKnightmon, I accept. I'll do whatever it takes to make Hideaki pay."

Rage filled his mind and he bristled in fury. His fists clenched and shook as the shadowy figure of DarkKnightmon appeared before him. He should be scared. This creature was a monster. He should be afraid of what was going to happen to him, what DarkKnightmon would take from him. But as he stared up at the dominating creature, he didn't feel a single ounce of fear.

"Excellent," DarkKnightmon said, a cruel smirk dancing across his features. A shadowy bracelet appeared next to the dark knight. "Take it, Amano Yuu, and have your fate be sealed with ours."

"Don't!" Damemon said. He had been quiet up till now but he wanted to – No, he had to try one last time. "Think this through, Yuu! We can find another way."

Yuu almost pulled back at that. He wanted to stop, a part of him just wanted to pull away and run. Doubt flitted across his mind and his hand slightly shook, hovering behind the bracelet.

"Do you really want that boy to suffer?" DarkKnightmon said, almost languidly. "Not that he isn't already." A projection appeared, showing Tagiru. He was naked, unconscious, and lying in his own pool of blood. "Hideaki has ended his torture for now, but I don't think once will be enough for him."

Damemon glowered at DarkKnightmon. "We'll save Tagiru another way!"

DarkKnightmon hummed. "You're running out of time then. Hideaki may like to play with his toys but he isn't the most patient person. I can assume you know that already, hmm?"

Yuu shuddered from the sight of the image. "Tagiru!" He lunged forward; his fingers barely brushed across the projection as the image disappeared. "I've already thought this through, Damemon." He grasped the bracelet even as Damemon surged forward, clinging to his leg.

Darkness surrounded his body, a wisp of it going through his ears. Yuu felt his heart constrict and sour bile rising up in his throat before his body went numb. It ached slightly. There was no pain at all. No feelings of anything. The blond bowed, a cruel smirk gracing his features. "Let's get started."