Ominous Flame

Chapter 57

Author Notes: I swear nothing is more infuriat-you know what I'm not going to finish that thought mainly because I am wrong. But man does it bug me when I can't read new reviews or pms that come in. Especially when I know i'm late-I do not own Digimon!

3rd P.O.V

Takuya never wants to play doctor or nurse ever again. "I'm not hungry." Especially when it comes to Koji. "You haven't eaten much of anything the last few days. You'll never get better if you keep this up." He knew the warrior of light would be a pain in the ass.

His injuries back when they dealt with Grumblemon was enough for him to handle. "I'm not bothering." Dealing with a hot headed, fever grump that was stubborn at every little thing Takuya did made it absolutely frustrating.

Especially since Koji despite being a mess was the most awake right now. Everyone else was still more or less spending their days asleep. "Dammit Koji, you need to stay hydrated. Why are you fighting me every step towards healing?" There was a nagging sensation in Takuya's gut.

That there was way more to this than just him being sick. "Leave me alone. I'm tired." The fire elemental huffed as he friend turned away from him. Pretending like he was going to sleep, but they both knew better.

And frankly this wasn't the time for any of them to be fighting. The skies above with growing darker, the black hole wider. Takuya was doing everything in his power to help, but in the end, he couldn't get rid of their sickness with a wave of his hand.

As incredible as their powers were, they weren't full proof cures. He had tried absorbing the heat of their fevers, but all it did was leave those he tried healing into a shivering mess. So he had to do what he knew from the times his brother and him got sick.

Liquids, light foods such as soup and lots of rest since he didn't have any sort of medication on him were the keys. All of that did nothing if the patient who needed it refused to cooperate however. Leaving a very concerned but annoyed pyro.

"If I pissed you off when I was Shagumon...then I'm sorry. I don't know much of what happened other than what Bokomon told me and when I came to during the last bit of my fight with Cherubimon." It was very subtle, so much so that if he wasn't paying attention he would've missed it.

Thankfully though he didn't. A slight twinge from the older raven haired twin. It made him sigh. "What did I do Koji?" This was way harder than when dealing with JP. At least he wasn't really the one at fault for their little spats-on top of the fact that JP wanted to talk.

Koji was like a brick wall. And Takuya didn't even have Koichi to help bust his brother down. In the end...he just, didn't know what to do. Currently they were the only ones awake. Bokomon and Neemon had drifted off not too long ago with Patamon after all of them worked on taking care of the others.

"Here...I'll leave this for you. If you want it heated up, just let me know. I'm going to check on the others." Takuya...didn't want to fight, so he left the soup not too far from his friend(can they even be called that anymore) figuring that if he was distracted, Koji would eat.

It was the only option he had left at this point. But as soon as he stood up, stretching his arms above his head for a minute before turning to walk away, Koji piped up...still not facing him or taking the dish left for him. "You didn't plan on meeting up with us like Ranamon said."

A chill went through the brunette, closing his eyes at the realization. "I was hoping. I wanted to...but I didn't truly expect it, no." He shouldn't have been surprised. His fellow warrior with the blue bandana always had a knack for finding the tiniest of details regardless of the dangers they were in.

"You're an asshole and a hypocrite. In the end you were still hiding shit. Why my brother likes you is beyond me." Takuya flinched at that, ignoring the harsh pounds in his chest. "That's a good question..." With blazing dark eyes Koji finally shifted positions.

Glaring into tense shoulder blades. "You knew and ignored his feelings you fucking prick." Silently Takuya counted to ten, trying to keep his composure as he met his favorite antagonist's gaze.

No number of counting would have stopped the fierce scowl he dished out in return. "I didn't know for sure. It seemed as if he liked me but I wasn't going to jump at the chance to kiss him when I didn't know while being a risk of getting corrupted by Cherubimon."

There was no denying that he had good reasons, but it didn't deter the warrior of light. "So you constantly try sacrificing yourself? Does that make you a hero when you go behind our backs instead of heeding your own advice? I thought you cared about us." Takuya felt an intense heat swirl within him.

His fingers curled and clenched. "I was doing what I thought was best for everyone. I-" He was cut off, barely dodging a rock that nearly lodged into his skull. Their gazes still on one another even when the rock rolled deeper into the woods.

"You think dying was best? Do you know how much the kid and my brother worried about you after you stabbed yourself? Or how badly they trudged on-Koichi tired and injured mind you-after you got your ass kidnapped? If I didn't feel like shit i'd punch your lights out!" This was a long time coming.

Koji had been biting his tongue time and time again, he's finally snapped. He didn't want to hear apologies from his friend. He didn't want promises either. But what he did want was for Takuya to start actually realizing that they gave a damn about him.

That he was important to them. "And what happens when we return home and I'm dead in a hospital bed after all is said and done Koji? Will all this shit really matter when I'm probably already gone?" He wanted to reverse the last few moments.

He wanted to pretend that he didn't just say that. "The hell are you saying!?" Takuya shook his head, he couldn't do this. "I'm going to check on the others." But he should've known Koji wouldn't let this go.

"Stop running away from me dammit. Grr, get your ass back here." His hair, for once out of its typical ponytail flowed all around his angry face as he tried to stand up. He succeeded for about ten seconds but stumbled and nearly smashed into the ground.

His saving grace was Takuya who caught him. Taking advantage of that, he grabbed the tanner male by the collar, locking eyes with him once more instead of thanking him. "Talk! What do you mean? Once Cherubimon's gonzo we should be free to go home."

If only it was that simple. Koji waited, internally in shock when he saw tears form and drip down Takuya's cheeks. "You keep forgetting I'm not like you guys. I didn't come here thanks to Ophanimon. I'm here because I got run over and Cherubimon took advantage of that." He didn't want to say anything more.

For months he had been thinking about it. Stewing theories and explanations around and around but all it did was upset him more. "What does that have to do with anything? I'm able to grab you and smack your head in, you're here." His silent question rang in the air.

'Why would you think you're already dead?'

And he got his answer. "Back in the tv forest, while I was walking around, I found myself in the real world, hospitalized with medical equipment surrounding me. Twice now Cherubimon has destroyed my body and made me into a digimon-how am I still human? How am I here?" He waited for an response.

For once, he didn't get one out of Koji. Carefully, Takuya pulled those trembling fingers away from him. Giving them a few inches of distance. "I've been trying to figure out how I can be in two places at once-my only explanation is that what your feeling and yelling at is my soul Cherubimon stole."

There was really nothing else he could come up with. "I don't know what will happen to me after Cherubimon goes...but chances are my soul doesn't reunite with my body or I'm already dead and just managing to be here thanks to the powers given to me." He rubbed his face, sniffling.

"Even if I somehow beat the odds and find myself alive-I still got my ass run over by a fucking truck, Koji. People don't come out of shit like that unscathed. I could be in a coma, suffer brain damage, be crippled for the rest of my life..." He choked then, covering his face as he sobbed.

The reality he didn't want to possibly admit to kicking in to overdrive as he fell to his knees. Unable to look at his crush's twin brother any longer. Unwilling to stare into dark blue irises full of shock.

"No matter how much I like Koichi, heaven forbid that poor bastard likes me back-I can't be with him. Whether I'm dead, a vegetable or disabled, he doesn't deserve being shackled to me. I don't deserve having him in my life especially if I've hurt him so much."

Koji flinched then, guilt riding now that his own previous declarations bit him in the ass. But he bounced back quickly enough. "He loves you Takuya. Even with all that stuff he wouldn't be shackled. If you talked to him-" Takuya's laugh cut him off then.

It was hollow and chopped up. "He and Bokomon already know. I don't know when you found out about his crush, but he found out about all this back after my suicide attempt. There were so many times he and I could've talked about it-and neither of us did." That was a lie.

There was one opportunity where it almost happened...but it got interrupted by Cherubimon's minions. And even then, Koichi was tempted to flee from him before that. But confessing that hurt far more, because back then he figured Koichi didn't feel the same.

That he was burdening the warrior of darkness with his blindness. "He...I talked to him before you got captured." A bitter smile formed. "The night before right? When you wanted privacy. No wonder he kept getting distracted and avoided me..."

He as probably trying to internalize everything, getting stuck in his head about what to do. Takuya didn't think anything of it since he couldn't see the-what was most likely a blush on his cheeks or him staring at the fire wielder.

It didn't help that Takuya was really struggling with Cherubimon at that point. Still, it all made sense now. And it didn't relieve him in the slightest. "You need to talk to him Takuya. As mad as I am at you right now-you guys deserve happiness." What a joke. Him deserve happiness?

"Koichi definitely. But not me. As you already stated. I'm a hypocrite, an asshole, add liar and killer to the list. Me unable to be with the guy I like and probably dead the moment we beat Cherubimon would be my just desserts for everything that's happened." Koji growled.

Tempted to lift the boy up so he could throttle him, sadly though he didn't have the strength. Instead he fell to his knees from exhaustion. Smacking Takuya in the shoulder while descending. Not at all satisfied when he didn't even get a small muttered ow.

His lips lifted into a snarl. "How many times do we have to tell you that all the shit that happened wasn't your fault? Ophanimon wouldn't have asked us to save your ass if she thought you were a real monster." They've argued this so many times.

And neither ever felt it would end. "Doesn't matter if I wanted to or not, my body was still used to kill. Cherubimon is going to pay but...I can't state that I wasn't involved. That their deaths wasn't at least partially my responsibility." Once more...there was no rebuttal.

"Talk to him." Instead he was given a command. One the brunette refused to follow even as he laid his struggling friend back down on his side. "Get some rest Koji." Wiping his tears away one last time, Takuya walks off, heading towards Zoe who was the farthest away from him.

Irritated grumbles fell from Koji's lips as he got comfortable. Only to meet his twin's own tear streaked expression. There were no words spoken, but the twin of light already knew that his brother heard the whole thing.

Shifting one last glance towards Takuya's back, Koji mouthed-'Talk to him.' His younger sibling was still crying, overwhelmed with both the conversation and his fever, yet smiled with a small nod. 'I promise.' He quietly said back...reassuring Koji enough to where he fell asleep, his soup forgotten.

To be contined

Author Notes: Progress...I actually got to get Koji to not be a lone wolf with an attitude lol. Now we'll have to see how things go from here. But uh...that won't be for awhile due to work and school.

Still, i'm happy. Guys as per usual thank you all so much for reading my story. If you like what you see, please feel free to fav/follow/review as it sooths my soul during these painfu-tiring...er anyway, it means a lot. I'll see you all next time. Tchao for now