Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Harsh Memories ❯ Hugs kisses and screams ( Chapter 13 )

Miyako checked her watch for the seventh time in as many minutes. She was desperately trying to keep to the schedule Takeru had given her... but after the sixth trip around the hospital it became exceedingly harder to distract her young friend. Even now, Iori was shifting uncomfortably in his padded wheelchair. "O-Nee-chan? How long do we have to wait out here?"

"Gomen Iori just a few more minutes. < What in Kami's name is Takeru doing? > I'll have you back in your room in a few minutes."

Finally Miyako's watch ticked the last few seconds away, and she allowed herself to return with Iori. When they entered the room they found an odd sight. Yamato was cradling Takeru while the younger blond sobbed gently. Miyako considered taking Iori back outside, until he began to roll himself over to Takeru's bedside. Yamato watched him approach with a wary eye, and only softened his grip on his O-Touto-chan when he noticed Iori reaching out towards them.

Takeru stiffened in shock as a soft hand touched the small of his back. He turned around slowly only to find himself locked into Iori's eyes. "Takeru-kun? What's wrong? I leave for only a half-hour and I come back to find you sobbing like this again! I hate seeing you like this. It seems like each time I turn my back you've started to go into a deeper and deeper depression! I don't want to have to chain myself to your side! "

Takeru couldn't believe the tone of Iori's words. Where he thought he had seen compassion before... now he only seemed to find either anger or pity. Takeru's body gave a few spasms before he finally managed to regain control of his emotions. He turned away from Iori so that Iori would not be able to read his facial expressions. "I'm sorry I have been troubling you Iori-chan. I never meant to make you angry with me. I was crying because I just told O-nee-chan something that was very hard for me to say. It really had nothing to do about our earlier fight... and I am sorry you mistook my tears as those of sorrow. I was only glad to know that my O-Nii-chan understood what I had to tell him." As Takeru finished he snuggled himself into his bed, purposefully facing away from his younger friend.

However much Takeru tried to hide it... Iori caught both the pain and anger in his friend's voice. He felt immensely guilty for the way in which he had treated Takeru. "T.K.? Look I didn't mean to say that it was your fault. I'm sorry I spoke like that. I'm not angry with you I'm only worried that you might be hurting yourself over something that isn't necessarily your fault." Iori softly reached out and stroked Takeru's hair back as he tried to reassure his older friend. Takeru found himself responding to Iori's gentle actions. He almost immediately felt guilty for how he had responded to Iori's outburst. He turned to face his friend and gave him a weak smile in response. This drew a similar smile from Iori as Miyako slowly lifted Iori out of the wheelchair and replaced him inside his bed. The two waved at each other before turning over and settling into their own separate dreams.

~~~~~~~~~(Iori's unconscious)~~~~~~~~~

The car sped towards Takeru at what seemed like the speed of light. Iori felt as if one second he had been watching one of his only friends laughing and playing... and the next he was watching said friend fly through the air only to land in a crumpled heap. Iori burst into tears as he watched Takeru land hard on the concrete. The blood had already started to form under his friend as he ran towards him. Iori reached out, attempting to grab a hold of his friend but with each step Iori took Takeru's body seemed to move just out of reach. As he lunged once again he suddenly found himself flying into Takeru's open arms. The taller boy who instantly made sure Iori was all right caught him quite easily. " Takeru! I just saw... you got hit? What happened? How are you standing here like this? "

It wasn't until this moment however that Iori noticed that Takeru was cradling him.

"Gomen Iori-kun! I thought you were hurt. When I saw you bleeding like that..."

Suddenly Iori found himself not in the familiar crosswalk that had been flashing through his mind for the last few weeks, but back in his hospital room, with Takeru softly hugging him. Iori's mind began to spin unpleasantly as he began to make sense of what just happened. <I must have dozed off for a second. But hasn't this already happened? >

Iori's thoughts were interrupted however as Takeru slowly began to stroke the younger boys lower back in concentric circles. Iori blushed suddenly at the attention Takeru was lavishing on him.

He began to squirm gently under the older being's hands. "Am I making you uncomfortable Iori-kun?"

As Takeru's voice reached him, Iori suddenly realized how much emotion his friend was projecting. He suddenly felt his body being pressed tighter against Takeru's. He found that he didn't find this the least bit unpleasant however. It was different from the other times people had tried to hug him. In Takeru's embrace he did not find the pity and empathy most people gave him. Takeru didn't see a child broken by his O-Too-sans death. Instead he saw Iori for what he was. A person just as important as Takeru himself. Iori snuggled himself against Takeru's chest.

~~~~~~~~~(Short burst of reality)~~~~~~~~~

Iori continued to snuggle deeper and deeper into the blankets the nursing staff had left him.

~~~~~~~~~(Takeru's unconscious {told you that would be short})~~~~~~~~~

Takeru was in the field once more. This time he had seen Iori rush off towards the other side, and he was not going to let the younger boy get away with tricking him a second time. He ran forward, chasing the smaller form in front of him. Takeru couldn't help but laugh as their impromptu game of tag escalated. He was enjoying himself immensely... right up to the moment he saw Iori slip and scream out.

Takeru's heart froze as he heard the scream. It seemed to penetrate his very soul. "Takeru-kun! Help me please," Iori's voice was pained but clear as it drifted towards Takeru. Without thinking of what might be wrong with his *friend* he ran forwards charging through the underbrush that seemed to grow out of nowhere. He suddenly found himself before a small drop in the ground.. and lying before him was Iori. The small child had managed to take a rather cruel dive off of the small cliff and was now curled in a tight ball sobbing while clutching his right leg. Even from Takeru's vantage point he could see the small piece of white material sticking out of the younger child's leg. <Kami above that can't be... bone,> Takeru's thoughts were broken however as Iori gave another sky shattering scream of pain.

Takeru slid down the hill as quickly as he could manage while avoiding the rougher spots. He was at Iori's side in a few moments, softly cradling the small boy. "Gomen Iori I should have watched for where you were going! I should have paid more attention to you." As Takeru spoke he began to bury his head into the other boys chest, forcing Iori into a prone position. "It's okay Takeru-kun. It doesn't hurt too badly now. I was just scared cause I didn't think I could make it out of here without you." Iori began to stroke Takeru's hair trying to get the older boy to calm himself down.

~~~~~~~~~(Reality once again)~~~~~~~~~

Takeru curled into a small ball on his bed as tears began to well up in his eyes. No one was there to witness either child's reaction however, save their Digimon.

---------(Four hours later)---------

Takeru awoke feeling horrible. He had been crying throughout his nap and had thus awoken feeling both drained and significantly sicker. He curled himself into his bed trying to straighten his now twisted back into place. He groaned in pain quietly, trying not to wake up Iori in the

process.

His actions where in vain however as Iori slowly stirred, then looked over at Takeru. <What's wrong with Takeru-kun? He looks horrible. Almost like he had been crying! But why would Takeru-kun be crying,> Iori began to move slowly. He was still in pain from the recent procedures he had been forced to go through. Thus he still couldn't move too fast yet he could get up and walk around. He did so now as he made his way towards Takeru's bed.

Takeru looked up suddenly as he felt a shadow pass over his face suddenly. The one thing he didn't want to see after his *nightmare* suddenly flooded into his view. "I,Iori- chan? What's wrong?"

"I noticed your eyes where red Takeru-kun are you okay? You seem to be avoiding me lately and I'm worried that you might have decided you didn't want to be my friend after all," Iori whispered the last sentence while he lowered his head, preparing for the rejection he knew was bound to come. However Takeru never let Iori get away from him. Instead he pulled gently on Iori's arm.

Unfortunately for both boys Takeru did not know how strong he was, or how thin Iori had become during his stay at the hospital. Iori's small body landed with a light thud against Takeru's sending shocks of pain through them both. Takeru groaned softly, however he was also reveling in the fact that he had Iori lying against him. Working through the pain he managed to surround Iori in his arms and drew him closer in a tight embrace. He watched quietly, waiting for Iori to begin struggling against his embrace.

Iori felt himself drawn into the embrace that only moments ago raced through his mind. Instead of going on instinct and fighting Takeru's soft grip he merely snuggled closer to his friend. He sighed deeply as Takeru softly massaged his familiar bowl cut attempting to straighten the unruly mess. Iori giggled softly as this happened. He smiled up at his friend only to be caught with the largest surprise of the day.

Takaishi, Takeru suddenly leaned in and kissed Hida, Iori.

A/N: well there you go. Complete fluff ( other then the dream. ) You can blame the mood of this chapter on the fact that my Nihongo Sensei gave me a Kawaii CD the other day as a gift and it contained a sugary sweet track about kittens that is currently attempting to drive me completely insane! Anyways, I like this series and no this isn't the last chapter of this portion of the series ( you will see why next chapter ^_^) I am not done torturing either character quite yet. Well, please read on, and don't forget about my website with its Kou-chan MP3's. Because really... Have you hugged your Tech today?

A/N added 10/01: Well I made the gender mistake again. This time with Miyako instead of Yamato (oh well their names are similar enough.) Thanks to Recnamorcen for catching this one.

Yoshiki.