Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ All you wanted... ❯ It’s a family affair ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 7 up! I just can't stop writing. It was at the wee hours of the day I didn't even know existed that I found myself still typing out this fic... *Looks at schoolwork go down the drain... :)*

Isn't it great how inspiration only comes to you at 2 a.m. in the morning, accompanied by a fit of allergies?

What? You mean that's only me? Son of a…

Anyhoo, Happy reading!

~Cracker

All you wanted…

Chapter 7: It's a family affair

Takaishi Residence….

Yamato stood inside the kitchen raiding the fridge. He passed through the aging stew and crusting Kraft dinner.

"Man, how does that kid still stay in shape with this crap to eat?" He cocked his brow. "Sorry Sora, but I think we're going to have to settle for delivery!" He called from the kitchen to his girlfriend sitting patiently at the couch.

"Did you tell Takeru we'd be over?" She called back as she admired a portrait of Yamato and Takeru when they were 8 and 4. Yamato had his younger brother sitting on his shoulders and Takeru had his arms in the air. Both had huge grins on their faces: The happier times.

Meanwhile, Patamon was nesting himself on the recliner waiting patiently for Takeru

"Yeah, he should know. I called my mom yesterday telling her we'd be stopping by." Yamato grabbed a carton of orange juice from the fridge. He popped the top off and indulged in its contents as he made his way back to the living room.

"Don't you think you should use a glass?" Sora gave him a disapproving look.

"What? We're all family here." Yamato shrugged.

"And how about me?" Sora propped up her eyebrow.

"What? It's not like we haven't swapped spit before." He grinned putting down the carton, crawling up next to his girlfriend with a grin from ear to ear.

"You're disgusting." She huffed, but couldn't help but giggle as he gently nibbled at her ear.

"Digimon in the room…" Patamon announced trying to get their attention.

Yamato eyed him from the side and reluctantly pulled away from Sora. "Sorry Patamon." he grinned. "I just can't help myself around her sometimes." He grinned back at Sora.

Sora pushed him off and set herself properly on the couch. "Please." She said in dry humour.

Patamon sat with a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean? I don't get it." He asked innocently.

"Forget about it." Yamato chuckled. "So when did you say that TK was supposed to come home?"

"He's usually back here around five." Patamon answered nestling himself deeper into the recliner. "He has to finish his detention…whatever that is." He shrugged mindlessly.

Yamato and Sora looked at each other. "Detention?" Sora spoke up. "What happened?"

"Well, Takeru said that he got caught helping Daisuke on a test they had and the teacher thought he was cheating…" the little bat-pig yawned. He was obviously growing sleepy sitting on the comfortable recliner.

"But why wouldn't he say anything?" Yamato raised a brow.

"Don't worry about it…" yawned Patamon, "Hikari's with him too…" He said before falling into another deep sleep.

The two looked at each other again, but this time grinned. "Of course." Yamato chuckled putting an arm around Sora. "You call delivery and I'll head out to get something decent to drink downstairs at Miyako's store." He nudged her as he stood up.

*Click, click*

The lock buckled from behind the front door.

"That must be him now." Yamato grinned grabbing his jacket on the side of the couch.

"Hey TK! Sorry, I finished all the orange juice. Sora's here; we're ordering delivery and….Holy shit…" Yamato exclaimed taking a look at his younger brother.

~*~*~

Takeru picked himself off the floor after about 10 minutes. He picked up his bag and slowly trudged home. He tore off the tie around his neck feeling suffocated and pulled out his shirt tales from his grey pants. He felt completely lousy. The tears had dried around his cheeks but his eyes were still red. The way he walked was trance-like. He didn't care about his appearance at this point. He was oblivious at the few stares that he received. They must have thought that he was just another teen drug addict, but he didn't care. He couldn't even think straight. 'Did that really happen?' was the only thought that circulated his head. He even thought of running after her, but he knew that there was just no logic there.

What the hell just happened…? He thought that over. They were best friends one minute, then something happened. He didn't even know if they were still friends after that. It would be awkward the next time they met. Then that's when it hit him.

What the hell did I just do? I just lost myself my best friend…

"IDIOT!" He screamed at himself and held his temples with his right hand. That's when feeling over his body came over him. He noticed a sharp pain on his right hand and winced. He examined his hand and noticed that it had been cut up from its meetings with the wall. "Fuck…" he said almost with no emotion. He grabbed one end of his shirt tail and used it to wrap around the wound.

After what seemed like an eternity walk, Takeru reached the front entrance to his apartment door. He dragged his feet on the carpeted floor and fumbled for his keys inside his bag. Sometime during the walk, he ripped a small piece of his shirt creating a make-shift bandage for his hand. He'd debated whether he would stop by the Inoue convenience store to buy a regular sterilized bandage, but decided it wasn't the best idea considering Miyako was sitting behind the counter. He didn't want to have to explain anything to anyone just yet.

Besides, he thought, Hikari'll probably just call her later about it…

Finding his keys, he stuck one in the key-hole and fumbled with the lock a little. "For Christ's sake…" he swore under his breathe. He could hear faint voices from the inside. Then it dawned on him; his brother was over. He had forgotten all about it. His mother had told him earlier before leaving for her weekend conference. He looked at himself. He didn't care anymore; he just wanted to get inside. With a little more pressure on the lock, he finally got the door open and was greeted by his brother's voice.

"Hey TK! Sorry, I finished all the orange juice. Sora's here; we're ordering delivery and….Holy shit…" Yamato rushed to his brother. "What the hell happened to you?" He noticed the red in his little brother's eyes and the condition he seemed to be in.

"Ohmygod! What happened Takeru?" Sora asked in concern following Yamato from behind. Her eyes went wide looking at the blood seeping from Takeru's make-shift bandage. "What happened to your hand?!" She gasped gently seizing his hand.

Takeru tilted his head down to look at his hand, "I hurt the wall." He said dully.

Sora looked up at him and noticed his bloodshot eyes. "Were you crying? Takeru, tell us what's wrong." She pleaded.

Yamato, on the other hand, was boiling angry. Whoever did this to his brother was going to pay a dear price. "Who did this to you?" He ordered, looking straight in his brothers' eyes. "I'm gonna…"

"Forget about it Matt, you can't do anything." Takeru pulled his hand away and marched towards his room.

"Come back here Takeru!" Yamato ordered ready to come after him.

Sora put a hand on his arm indicating him to settle down. "Yama, I'll go talk to him. Go find some proper bandages for him." She spoke softly.

Yamato gave her a reluctant look, but agreed. "…alright…but I want to know what's wrong. He's still my little brother…"

"Of course." Sora sighed, "I'll try to get him to talk to you." She placed a kiss on his cheek and walked slowly towards Takeru's room.

*knock knock*

Sora gently rapped on his door.

"Go away Yamato!" Takeru yelled back from behind the door.

"Takeru, it's me, Sora." She said softly from the other side. "Can I come in?" she asked.

No answer.

"Please talk to me TK, Yamato and I are really worried." She pleaded.

Takeru opened the door slowly peeking through the small crack. "Sorry, I was changing." He said bluntly. He had changed out of his school uniform and into a pair of basketball shorts and a white cotton undershirt. He left the door open indicating okay for her to enter and sat at his study table turning the computer on.

Sora slowly walked inside. She noticed a few posters of basketball players and rock bands on his wall. A giant insignia of 'The Ramones' plastered on the side of his study and a cluster of band stickers ranging from 'Silverchair' to 'KISS' covering the top drawer of his study table. Takeru sat silently moody in front of his computer.

"So, you want to tell me what's wrong?" She asked carefully.

"Not really." Takeru muttered.

"Maybe I can help." She responded sitting at the side of his bed.

"Doubt it." He grumbled.

"Give me a chance. Come on, take your best shot." She smiled trying to lighten the mood.

Takeru inhaled deeply but said nothing.

"Takeru, if you let me in, you must've wanted to talk to me at least." Sora pleaded with the boy. She waited a few seconds before he replied.

"Why do you love my brother?" Takeru finally spoke.

This was a rather shock to Sora being asked a rather personal question at a whim. "Well, I just do." Sora looked at him strangely.

Takeru turned around to face her. "I don't get it. Why do you 'just do'? There has to be a reason." He countered.

"Takeru, what's this all about…?" Sora asked calmly.

"Answer my question first." Takeru demanded.

Sora eyed him curiously but felt it appropriate to answer the younger boy back. "Well, he's not like most people I know. He's kind, considerate, caring, and just a wonderful guy all around." She could go on, but didn't want to stray off subject. "Most importantly, I know he loves me just as much and unconditionally."

"Do you think I'm like my brother?" Takeru pressed his lips together.

Sora was again shocked by this. "Takeru…"

"Please answer my question." He pressed on.

"Yes I do. Takeru, you're a great guy just like your brother…what's making you think like this?" She was starting to get worried.

"Do most girls look for that in a guy?" He kept a constant look at her which made her a little uneasy.

She decided to stay consistent with him to get to the source of the problem. "Of course. That's all we really want. We just want someone who will love us unconditionally; someone who makes us feel safe and loved…" Sora stopped briefly and noticed the depressed look on Takeru's face. It looked like he was fighting of a fit of tears.

"Takeru, are you alright…" She stood up and extended a hand towards him. But then he did something that she hadn't seen him do in years; he cried.

"Then why doesn't she love me…?" he choked in between tears. Sora instinctively got up and pulled the boy into an embrace. She couldn't stand seeing him like this. Her eyes began to moist as well.

"Takeru…" Sora cooed softly running her fingers gently through his hair. "…It's alright, just let it all out." It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who he was talking about. Sora just sighed sadly caressing the back of is head and neck.

Takeru for his part felt relieved in a sense. Just sitting there and crying it all out was something he hadn't done in far too long. He sat there crying on Sora's stomach dousing her purple shirt with his tears. He calmed after another minute and muttered, "I'm…I'm sorry about your shirt…" she sniffed noticing the mess of tears he'd left.

Sora looked down at her damp shirt and laughed a little looking back at Takeru. "Don't worry about it." She smiled and put her hand over his uninjured one. "Now that you've gotten that out of your system, care to tell me about it?"

Takeru nodded wiping his eyes. "I must look stupid right now. You must think I'm a sissy for crying like that." He laughed at himself for crying.

"No I don't. In fact, crying is a sign of strength." She smiled brightly at him as she watched him wipe his eyes. "Only real men cry." She nodded him on.

Takeru couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"So come on, I'll try my best to help." She said sincerely.

He wanted to tell her, but found himself a loss for words. "Uh…I'm not sure how to explain…"

"Okay…" Sora breathed. "Obviously it's about a girl?" she squeezed his hand gently.

He nodded keeping is eyes on the ground.

"Anyone in particular?" She pressed on trying to find his eyes.

He nodded again still keeping his head down.

"Could it be…Hikari?" She pretended to pick her name randomly.

"I don't understand why she won't let me love her…" He refused to prop his head up.

"TK…you can't just make someone love you." Sora gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm not trying to make her love me, I just want a chance to love her!" he swallowed, fighting with his anger.

"Love goes both ways Takeru. That's how you make a relationship work. Wouldn't you feel empty in a relationship where only one person's doing all the loving?" She propped his head up. His eyes slightly glistened from his tears.

He looked at her and slowly nodded. "Sounds like the relationship she's in…" he muttered bitterly.

"You mean that jerk she's going out with?" Sora's face dropped.

"I see no one likes him." Takeru smiled slightly.

"How could you like someone who loves his mirror more than his own mother?" She deadpanned. Takeru laughed softly at the remark. It was nice hearing his laugh again.

"So why can't Hikari see that?" Takeru soon frowned again.

"She's a little naïve at this point. The first person that tells her he loves her and she's hooked. Unfortunately it had to be him, and that's probably what's blinding her." Sora tried to choose her words accordingly. "And, her finding out that you love her too must have scared her. Not only that but confused her too. She has two people to deal with and she doesn't know what to do."

Takeru wasn't quite sure what to respond to all this. It was starting to make sense.

"You have to give her time. She's not going to just choose one over the other like that. I've known her for just as long as you and from what I've noticed is that she's a pretty smart girl." She smiled at him. "You're a wonderful person yourself Takeru, and I think she realizes that. You have nothing to worry about."

He still didn't know what to say. He only nodded solemnly.

"Come on, cheer up TK." Sora brightly smiled. "I think I saw that old TK there a second ago." She nudged him gently.

Takeru couldn't help but smile a little. He had to admit that he did feel better.

"Now that's the handsome smile that'll melt any girls' heart." She teased. It worked and Takeru's smile grew broader at Sora's corny comment.

"Thanks Sora." He smiled.

"That's what family's for." She beamed and gave him another hug.

"Family?" Takeru cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh…my stupid mouth." She giggled. "I promised Yamato I'd let him tell you." She grinned.

"You two are…?" Takeru could feel another grin tugging at his lips.

"I can't believe you missed the rock on my finger." Sora laughed.

"Yeah right!" Takeru laughed out loud, "Congratulations!"

"Thanks TK. Now let's go and put some proper bandages on those cuts." Sora smiled leading him out the door.

~*~*~

Outside in the living room, Yamato had re-entered from the front door with a brown paper bag in hand. Just as he took off his coat, Takeru's bedroom door opened and out came the two. Takeru appeared to be normal once again. He was even smiling.

"TK, are you okay now?" Yamato walked towards him taking the bandages out of the bag.

"Other than my hand hurting like hell, I'd say I'm feeling fine now." He managed a smile.

Yamato smiled back at his little brother. "You gave me a scare kid." He furrowed his brow.

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan." Takeru apologized as his brother pulled him into a brotherly embrace.

"Don't ever do that again, okay." Yamato ordered tightening the hug. The two brothers parted and smiled at each other. Sora and Yamato couldn't help but notice how much Takeru had grown. He was only an inch or two below his brother.

"Let's fix up that hand of yours. Looks like that shirt on your hand isn't holding out." Yamato grinned.

Sora took out a bottle of rubbing alcohol from the bathroom and handed it over to Yamato who took out a clean handkerchief from one of the dressers. He walked over to Takeru who was sitting patiently on the couch.

Takeru looked over at Patamon who was still asleep on the recliner. "How long has he been out?" he chuckled.

"For about a half hour." Yamato answered as he took a seat across him on the coffee table. "You better brace yourself kid." He warned moistening the cloth with some alcohol.

Takeru didn't quite pay attention. He was still looking at his little digimon partner zoned out on the couch. "He sure missed one hell of a -AHHH!!!" He wailed in pain as the alcohol soaked cloth made contact with his wounded hand. "CHRIST, MATT!!"

Patamon's head shot up, "WHAAA!!" he fell back on the recliner.

"I told you to brace yourself twip." Yamato laughed applying more alcohol on his wounds. Takeru was screaming in pain trying hard to pry his hand away from his brother.

"TK, are you ok?!" Patamon sat back up and launched himself in the air.

"DIGIVOLVE!!!" Takeru yelled.

"Why?" Patamon tilted his head in confusion. He didn't see any danger.

"Kill him! Do something! Anything! Just make him stop!!!!" Takeru cried in agony.

"Don't be such a baby TK." Yamato teased continuing to apply the alcohol. "It's your fault you decided to pick a fight with a wall."

Takeru continued to hiss in pain.

"What's going on?" Patamon flew over to Sora's shoulder. "TK looks like he's in pain…"

"Long story. I'll fill you in later, but for now, just sit back and enjoy the show." She found the two brothers bickering rather amusing.

"Is he going to be okay?" Patamon looked strangely at his partner who looked like he was at the mercy of his older brother.

"He'll be fine Patamon. It's for his own good. Trust me." Sora winked at him.

Patamon shrugged. He knew he could trust Sora. "Well, Takeru always said: 'Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger'"

Sora laughed out loud. "True…"

"Are you crying?!" Yamato asked in a half laugh.

"PATAMON!!" Takeru yelled.

"It's for your own good TK." The little digimon mimicked Sora's words.

"Don't be a girl!" Yamato teased laughing out loud.

"TRAITOR!" He glared back at Patamon who just looked at Sora quizzically.

Sora nodded to confirm that it was alright. Patamon then gave Takeru a cheery smile.

Takeru growled under his breathe.

It was going to be an interesting night at the Takaishi's residence indeed.

to be continued…

**********

'But what about Kari?' you ask? That'll be covered in the next chapter, due out in probably really soon if I'm still the blatant insomniac we all know I am!

Remember, all comments and yes, even criticism welcome; but let's be constructive with those. Flames are not necessary as those only spread the diabolic message of hate! Don't be one of those people, please. This world is already troubled as it is.

Peace.

~Cracker