Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ New Life ❯ A Tackle A Day Reveals The Truth ( Chapter 3 )

Warnings: I'm going to make you wonder some more, so be prepared! Also, hints of abuse. Okay, not hints-telling of abuse. And I won't tell whether that's the focus or not.

New Life

Chapter 3: A Tackle A Day Reveals The Truth

Sunlight streamed through the window into the silent room like a drop of water sliding down the side of a house. It softly lit up the room, and Yamato slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on his side at the edge of the bed, and he smiled when he realized the position he was in for probably the hundredth time.

Taichi was pressed tight to his back, and the brunette's arms were wrapped around his waist. He snuggled into the warmth that came from his best friend and closed his eyes-he could still remember the first time they had woken up in that position in the Digital world . . .

Two boys sat around a warm, softly glowing campfire-one blonde, the other a brunette. The brunette sat with his legs crossed, his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands. The blonde had his knees up close to his chest, his arms tightly around his legs, and his head resting on his knees. Both boys were staring solemnly into the fire that flickered and licked at the air, too lost in thought to notice that the fire was dying slowly. After a long, deafening silence, the blonde finally spoke up.

"Taichi?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll be able to find the others before the dark masters get them?"

"Of course we will! Don't even think we won't find them in time!"

"I'm sorry-it's just . . . we've been separated for so long, and I wonder if the dark masters haven't already found them."

The brunette jumped up from where he was sitting and stood on his knees in front of the blonde. He grabbed the other boy's shoulders and shook him heavily. "What's wrong with you? They're fine! I know they are! Maybe we got separated, but that doesn't mean you can lose hope!" As soon as the brunette had stopped shaking him, the blonde buried his face in his knees. "God! Can you be any more stubborn?" The brunette stopped yelling when he heard quiet sobs coming from the blonde. "What's wrong, Yamato?" When the blonde didn't look up, he tried again. "Come on-you know you can tell me anything."

The blonde looked up, sniffed, and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry-really, I am. I'm just worried about how everybody's doing-Takeru especially. He may be able to take care of himself more than he used to, but he's still just a kid. We all are, and I don't know how we're going to defeat the dark masters, especially if they get to everybody else before we do, and weaken them-then there'd be no way we could defeat them.

The brunette grabbed the blonde in his arms and embraced him tightly. The blonde quietly cried on his shoulder, trying not to show his weakness any more than it already had been. The brunette sat up and wiped some stray tears from the blonde's face. "We'll find them-I promise, but you have to believe we will. Okay?" The blonde nodded and sniffed a few times. "You just gotta have faith. Besides-they have Gabumon and Agumon with them, and they won't let anything happen to anybody-even if they can't digivolve without us. Now let's get some sleep so we can search extra tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."
---

Yamato awoke to the sun shining brightly in his eyes. He tensed when he felt something wrapped around his waist and close to his back. He didn't move for fear that some evil digimon was holding onto him. After a while the figure behind him stirred and gently squeezed him.

"Morning `Mato."

"Tai?!"

"What?"

"Nothing-I just didn't know it was you."

"Who did you think I was?"

"I don't know-maybe an evil digimon or something."

"Well, I didn't mean to scare you. I just got cold in the middle of the night, and I know you can get warmer by being close to somebody-me and Hikari did that on long car rides when the heater wasn't working and it was the middle of winter."

"We should probably get up now and go search for the others."

"But you're so warm! Five more minutes-please?"

"Oh, alright. But no longer than five minutes."

The brunette hugged the blonde tightly and fell asleep a few minutes later . . .

Yamato smiled at the memory. Behind him Taichi stirred, and he decided to pretend that he was still asleep.

"Matt? Are you awake?" When the blonde didn't reply, Taichi decided to climb over his friend to get out of bed, as he did most of the times he stayed over at Yamato's. He had barely taken a step away from the bed and was tackled to the floor. He flipped over beneath the blonde, who grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the ground.

"I told you I could pin you down easy."

"You got me when I was off-guard, but you have gotten a little stronger-I'll give you that."

"Only a little?"

"Yep-just a little."

"I oughta smack you right now."

"But you love me too much! Now will you get off? I'm hungry, and you're not exactly helping my starving gut."

"Fine. I'll let you get off easy this time." Yamato let go of his friend's wrists, stood up, and started walking to the door. When he didn't hear heavy footsteps behind him he looked over his shoulder, but couldn't see the brunette anywhere. "Tai? Where are you?" He spun in a circle, searching the room for any signs of his friend, but the only sign that was there was the extremely messed up bed. He sighed and turned back to the door. He stopped in front of the door and thought for a minute, and it dawned on him what the brunette was plotting-but he was too late. Both of his wrists were grabbed and pulled up behind his back, and he was slammed against the door.

"I told you it was only a little."

"No fair! You snuck up on me!"

"Isn't that what you did to me?"

The brunette pushed Yamato's arms further up his back. "Tai, stop! That hurts!" Taichi continued to push his friend's arms higher until he screamed out in pain. He set his chin on the blonde's shoulder and spoke softly.

"You're not even trying. If you want it to stop hurting then fight back."

"You want me to fight back? Then I will!" Earlier he had noticed the way the brunette was standing and was ready to attack if he needed to. Now he had almost been begged to fight beck, so he was going to take his chance-he brought his right leg straight up between Taichi's legs and kicked him hard in the groin. He was instantly released, and the brunette dropped to the floor-bent over with his hands between his legs.

"What'd you do that for?!"

"You told me to fight back, so I did."

"Did you have to kick so hard? God! You have a really bony foot, you know that?"

"Now I do. But I really didn't want my arms broken-I wouldn't have been able to play that concert next week."

"I wouldn't have broken your arms-you know that. I'm just trying to toughen you up so you can hold off all of your crazy fans on your own, instead of having me be your body guard!"

"I only asked because you're so much stronger than I am and I can't do it. Come on, Tai-I'm not a wimp."

"You were in the digital world. That's how I could always pin you down."

"Just shut up. But really-I asked you because you're my friend and you're good with people-especially with telling them no."

"What about Shizuma? Did he stop trying to beat you up yet?"

"Um . . ." Yamato bit his lip and stared down at the floor.

"What's he doing now? Don't tell me he's still beating you up!" Yamato couldn't stare his friend in the eyes at all-he only looked farther away from the brunette on the floor. "You've gotta tell me what's going on." Taichi got up, despite the extreme pain in his groin, and stood behind the blonde. "Come on-you can tell me anything." He set his hand on Yamato's back and jerked his hand away when the blonde gasped. Grabbing his friend's shoulders, he turned Yamato around to face him. The blonde still wouldn't look at him, so he grabbed the bottom edges of Yamato's shirt and carefully pulled it up and over his head, with the help of Yamato lifting his arms up to get the shirt off all the way. Taichi was shocked at what he saw: bruises-and lots of them. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you'd worry. Besides, they stop hurting after a couple days-it's just that you touched a new one. And it wasn't my arms that really hurt earlier-it was the bruises."

"How often?"

"Every day after school."

"And you haven't told anybody?! This has got to stop before you really get hurt."

"It's no big deal-really. I can't feel anything after the first fifteen minutes anyway-"

"Fifteen minutes?! How long?"

"Until I pass out, so usually a couple hours."

"Obviously not on school grounds, so where?"

"At his house."

"So why don't you just not go?"

"He said he'd kill you and everybody else if I didn't, and I don't want that to happen. I don't have a choice."

"Yeah you do! Tell the school counselor, or something! Anything but letting him beat you up!"

"Like that would actually work. If I tell my counselor, they'll call him in and talk to him, and he'll know that I told, and before they can do anything he'll have killed everybody I care about-and I can't let that happen! Just stay out of it-okay? Keep training me until I can fight him off on my own-then there won't be a problem."

"Fine. I'll stay out of it. But if you get hurt I'll be the biggest part of it-got it? And you can't stop me. I swear I'll kill him if he hurts you."

"You can't do that."

"If he hurts you I can! Just watch me!"

"So-how about some breakfast?"

TBC

So? Review! I know, I know-I'm evil. I won't tell whether they're together or not. But it certainly seems like it. You'll have to wait till the next chapter to find out though! Then I'll reveal their status. Just remember-no matter what it is, this is Taito! So they'll be together some time. But whether it's right away or somewhere towards the end . . . that's for me to know and for you to wonder! I'll try to get the next chapter up this weekend, but I can't guarantee anything.