Takeru was at home, brooding about his boyfriend. He and Ken had a wonderful relationship of four years before Ken's mother died. Takeru had freaked out when he realized that Ken could have been killed when the robber came into the grocery store. He remembered seeing Ken at the hospital. He was a mess from what happened. Takeru had done the best he could to help him, but Ken's father didn't want it. When he came to the hospital, he dragged Ken away the moment he was released. They haven't seen him since.
Ken had tried to stay in contact over the phone, but that stopped too. He was worried for Ken. He had tried many times to call, but it was disconnected. He and Daisuke had tried going over there. But Ken's father always sent them away, saying that Ken was busy or wasn't feeling well. It had even gotten to the point where he didn't want them to ever come back, or he would call the cops. They had stopped visiting directly after that.
Daisuke was stubborn and tried emailing Ken, but his messages never went through. It was as if something was blocking the signal. Needless to say, he was worried. Daisuke had expressed that he had been feeling negative emotions from his bond with Ken. Something was happening to Ken and they couldn't figure out what.
So when a Digital Gate opened up with Wormmon and Patamon on the other side, he was surprised. "Wormmon! Where's Ken? Is he okay? We've been trying for months to get in contact with him!" Takeru's flow of questions stopped when Wormmon gave him an upset look.
Takeru was horrified to learn that Ken was being abused by his father and had just been raped a few hours ago. He immediately emailed Daisuke about what happened. When he was done, he grabbed his D-3 and entered the Digital World.
Once on the other side, he had Patamon digivolve to Angemon, so they can get to Ken's house. Takeru held Wormmon in his arms as he showed them the way to the TV he came from. When they landed, Angemon went back to being Patamon. Takeru looked at the screen and noticed that the room was dark. However, he could make out the prone, naked form of his boyfriend. He had gasped at the sight and asked Wormmon how long has Ken been like that? He admitted that Ken's been like that since he left to find help.
Filled with fear, Takeru opened the gate and the three of them were transported to Ken's room. However, it was a lot worse up close. He had touched Ken's chest and called out his name. Ken only groaned weakly but didn't wake up. He tried again but got no reaction. Patamon tried next to convince Ken to wake up, but he failed as well. He gently pulled Ken into his lap as Wormmon begged him to wake up.
Ken did wake up then. It was slow, but he finally did. Takeru was worried when Ken's eyes looked blank, unfocused, and pained.
"T-Takeru?" Takeru's heart dropped to hear Ken so weak and hoarse.
"Hey," Takeru said as calmly as he could. He had to be strong for his boyfriend's sake.
"You're going to be fine. I'm going to get you somewhere safe, okay. Your father won't be able to touch you anymore, I promise." Ken gave him a small smile, eyes filled with hope.
He smiled at him as Wormmon and Patamon came back with a blanket and a bag with some of Ken's personal things. He assumed it was most likely some clothing, pictures, and other personal effects that were important to him. Takeru gently wrapped Ken in the blanket before attempting to position him into his arms and picking him up.
"It hurts," Ken whimpered when Takeru tried to shift him into his arm.
"I know. I sorry." Takeru tried his best not to jostle any internal injuries. Ken whimpered and buried his face in his chest as pain shot through his trembling body.
Takeru gritted his teeth to hold back his anger as he got a better view of Ken's other injuries. He hoped he didn't see Ken's father anytime soon. He just might send Angemon after him and make him pay for hurting the most beautiful person in the world.
It was a slow and heartbreaking process to get Ken into his arms and then travel through the Digital Gate to his house, so he could call the police. He had placed Ken on the sofa and dressed him in an oversized, white shirt and a pair of boxers to make him at least look decent when the ambulance arrived. He resisted the urge to give him a warm relaxing bath. He knew the cops needed the evidence on Ken's body to use for their investigation.
When he called the police, the lady on the phone asked a lot of questions about what happened. He told her what happened and how he used the Digital Gate to get Ken to safety. It was probably a good thing that Digimon and the Chosen Children were kinda well known now, so telling their way of transportation was easily accepted by the police. The women had also informed him to not clean him until help arrived. He had asked if he could at least dress him to make him look decent and she accepted it, saying as long as it didn't contaminate the evidence or jostle his injuries, and that the paramedics will be informed by this.
When the paramedics arrived they allowed him and the two Digimon to go with them to the hospital. He had to stay in the waiting room, however, until they were done and allowed him to enter Ken's room. Ken had looked so small and fragile on the white bed.
He swallowed hard and took a seat next to the bed. The two Digimon seated themselves on the bed, while he gingerly held Ken's hand in his. He stayed like that for hours. The others had learned of Ken's condition but were not allowed in the room yet. He was lucky enough to be there since he technically wasn't family and there was still the fact that the police hadn't arrived yet. But the doctor made an exception for him, saying that he was Ken's boyfriend and the person that brought him in, thinking that he was the best person to watch over Ken with his father still out there.
Takeru wasn't sure how long he had been in the hospital. He had probably been there for hours, just sitting there and watch his boyfriend rest as medicine was given to him from the various IVs that was attached to his body. Takeru couldn't help but feel bad and worried for his love, as well as the ongoing guilt that was entering his mind. He should have tried harder to rescue Ken. He should have tried harder to get in contact with him. What kind of Paladin was he if he couldn't protect his angel?
Takeru slumped in his seat as he studied his boyfriend. Ken looked so fragile and thin. The doctor did say he was suffering from starvation and dehydration. He shuddered at that. He couldn't imagine what Ken was feeling. He must have felt so alone and scared.
He sighed and closed his eyes. He shouldn't fall asleep, he told himself. He needed to stay up and be on the lookout for danger. He had to protect Ken. Too bad his body didn't agree with his mind.
Takeru wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for. But what he did know was that someone was in the room and was trying to wake him up. He groaned when the person wouldn't let-up.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the person or should he say, persons. He blinked as two adults' stared at him back. He sat up straight in his chair and glanced at the strangers. What were they doing here?
"Hello, Mr. Takaishi." The female adult had reddish color hair with white highlights, green eyes, and fair skin. She looked to be about five feet, and about a few inches shorter than the male next to her. "I'm Detective Kimura and this is my partner, Detective Mori." Oh, so they were the detectives that he was supposed to talk to. "We wanted to ask you a few questions about what happened to Mr. Ichijouji."
Takeru nodded as the two detectives grabbed some seats and sat across from him. "What you want to know?"
"What is your relationship with the victim?" Detective Mori was a well-built man. He had brown hair and eyes and he had a rough beard. The way the detective held himself made it seem like he was in the military or something.
"Me and Ken have been dating for four years now," Takeru told them truthfully. The detectives wrote that in their notebooks.
"How long have you know each other?" Detective Kimura asked.
"Five years." The detective looked at him to clarify. "It would have been five years, but Ken's father locked him up after his mother's death."
"What do you mean?" Detective Mori's rough voice asked, clearly not like the direction the interview was going.
"About a year ago, Ken and his mother were shopping when this robber came." Detective Kimura had a knowing look like she knew what he was talking about. "The robber started shooting at the people, at least that's what I was told anyway, and Ken's mother took the bullet that was going towards him." Takeru balled the hand that wasn't holding Ken's into a fist. "Ken was a mess. He was in terrible shock."
"I can imagine," Detective Mori said with a frown that showed that he could relate. "Death of a family member is never easy. I'm assuming they were close?"
Takeru nodded. "Yeah, they were." Takeru glanced at his boyfriend with a sad look on his face. "We tried to comfort him, you know? We really did. But, Mr. Ichijouji wouldn't have it." The detectives wrote down what he was saying with disturbed expressions on their faces. "When Ken was released, he was dragged home."
"Did you stay in contact with the victim?" Detective Mori asked when Takeru stopped his story.
"We tried," Takeru took a shaky breath. "We were able to stay in touch for a few months. Ken would tell us that Mr. Ichijouji was taking it hard. He was changing, but Ken never really said much about it. Ken told us that he had to do almost all the chores now, while his father worked. One day Ken told us that his father was getting worse and that he was scared. That was probably when Mr. Ichijouji cut the line."
"Did you go over there, dear?" Detective Kimura asked, her eyes filled with sadness. "I know my daughter goes to her friends' house whenever they needed her."
"We tried. A few times actually. When we couldn't get a hold of him through calls or email, me and my other friend, Daisuke, went to Tamachi. Mr. Ichijouji answered the door every time. Telling us that Ken was either busy, not feeling well, or out." Takeru shook his head sadly at the memory. "We only stopped when Mr. Ichijouji threatened us to stop coming. He said that we weren't welcomed here anymore and that if we tried again he would call the cops."
The two detectives gave each other looks. The story that Mr. Takaishi was telling them was giving them red warning flags of child abuse. "When did this happen, dear?"
"About three months ago. We haven't been able to find a way to get to Ken. We would normally travel to each others house through the Digital World, but the gate to his house was always closed."
"How did you get him out of the house then?" Detective Mori asked, tapping his pen on his notebook.
"Wormmon found Patamon in the Digital World when I sent him ahead. They came back to my computer and told me what happened. I went to the Digital World to travel to Ken's gate; it was open. I saw him on the ground, hurt and bleeding from when his father raped him." Takeru blinked his eyes to fight against the tears; the image of his boyfriend's prone form still flashing in his mind. "I-I should have gotten there sooner. He shouldn't have gone through that alone."
"Dear, there was nothing you could have down," Detective Kimura said sternly. "You were in a very difficult situation."
"You could have called the cops," Detective Mori informed him. "But from your story, we would have needed a warrant to search his home if he was locked up."
"You tried…that's all that matters." She smiled at him. "You're right that he shouldn't have gone through that, but he's safe now. So don't blame yourself."
Takeru smiled at the detectives in gratitude. "Thanks, I guess I needed to hear that. Is there anything else you need to know?"
"No," Detective Mori said as they both got up. "We got everything we need for now." Detective Mori put his notebook in his jacket pocket. In the same pocket, he took out a card and gave it to him. "This my card. Call me if you can remember anything else."
Takeru took the card. "I will, thank you." The two detectives said their goodbyes and left. Takeru was left alone in the room again until a Child Social Worker came into the room a few hours later.