Stay Tuned As Life Continues

Yamato was slightly startled as his brother jumped out of his chair and ran for the bathroom. Yamato looked at all of his friends and saw surprised looks on their faces. He focused on Taichi and Hikari, he recognized their looks of concern. Yamato stood up and made his way to the bathroom. When he got to the door he heard sobs coming from the other side. Yamato knocked on the door, he could hear a loud gasp come from his brother. “Takeru, Its Yamato, what’s wrong? Let me in.”

Yamato heard sniffles. He heard his brother mutter out, “Everything is fine Yamato.”

“Everything is not fine Takeru, you’re crying and you’ve locked yourself in the bathroom. Now let me in.”

“Why would I let you in Yamato, everything is fine.” Takeru said through sniffles.

“Damn it Takeru let me in.” Yamato growled. All he got in response was the sink turning on. “Takeru!” Yamato slammed his fist onto the door. This time something happened, a hand was placed on his shoulder. He followed the hand down the arm, there he saw face of a concerned Hikari.

“Leave him alone Yamato.” Said Hikari in a stern voice.

Yamato glanced at the door and then back to Hikari. An expression of regret and failure came over Yamato’s face. Yamato walked back to his chair while Hikari started whispering through the door. Yamato sat down in his chair and stared blankly down at his plate. He still had half of plate of lasagna left in front of him, but he had lost his appetite. He could feel the gaze of his friends, and they burned as they crawled under his skin. Regardless of his loss of appetite, Yamato picked up the fork and took a bite, the food hit his twisted stomach. Yamato thought he was going to be sick, but he continued anyways. Trying to make the pain in his gut reflect the pain he was now feeling in his heart. After a couple of minutes Yamato heard the bathroom door open. He slowly turned his head and his eyes tried to read his brother. He could tell he was no longer crying, but even from a distance Yamato could tell his eyes were red and puffy.

“Ummm….Takeru isn’t feeling well so Taichi and I are going to walk Takeru home. So will see you all later.” Hikari announced to the group of friends. Taichi looked over at Yamato. Yamato nodded that it was fine to go. Taichi ran and got their jackets, and dropped a handful of bills on the counter, and followed the two younger digidestined out the door. The air around the remaining friends was awkward and seemingly stale. One by one they got up and walked out the door, until only Yamato and Koushiro remained.

Koushiro walked over to Yamato and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I hope you really enjoy your apartment.” Yamato didn’t respond, he just sat there still spacing out. “What ever is wrong with Takeru, he’ll tell you in due time. Everything will work out Yamato, it always does.”

Yamato reached up and squeezed the reassuring hand. “Thanks Koushiro.” Koushiro walked out the door, leaving Yamato all alone. Yamato sat and looked at the empty chairs around him. Yamato hadn’t felt this alone since their first adventure in the digital world, in fact he felt worse. Because now he didn’t have Gabumon with him. Yamato walked out the door and got in his father’s van.

The drive to his father’s apartment was a lonely one. Just moments before the van was filled with laughing and playing, now Yamato trapped in there with only his loneliness for company. How could things change so quickly? Yamato parked the van and rode the elevator up to the correct floor. As he went to unlock the door, the all too familiar door reminded Yamato of happier times. Times when he could actually help his brother. Times when he didn’t feel like a fuck-up. Yamato put the keys on the kitchen counter. Yamato turned to leave the apartment, but he head a door down the hall open. His father stepped out and made his way down the hall.

“Hey dad, thanks for letting me use the van, and for helping me move. I was just dropping the keys off, then I was going to head back to the new apartment.” Yamato said quietly.

“It’s late, Yamato. Why don’t you just stay here?” Said Mr. Ishida.

“It’s ok Dad. It isn’t that far.” Yamato said walking to the door.

“Where’s Takeru?” Mr. Ishida asked.

This caused Yamato to pause, in part because it was a touchy subject, the other part was wondering why his father wanted to know. “Takeru wasn’t feeling well, so Taichi and Hikari said that they’d walk him home.”

Yamato watched his father’s face as he took in the information. The only thing he got was a large sigh. “Goodbye Yamato. Good luck with your finals.”

Yamato walked to the bus stop and waited. Since it was so late at night the buses slowed down some. Yamato stood there listening to sounds of the late night city. While he waited for the bus he pondered on how his first visit home in several months had turned out so shitty. Once the bus arrived Yamato boarded it, and sat down. He let his body flow with the motion of the bus, as his head was still too busy to pay any heed to what was going on. Once they arrived near the train station Yamato got off the bus and made his way to the train station. There weren’t that many filled seats on the train car Yamato chose, just a few businessmen rushing home, or rushing to work, it was too hard to tell sometimes as they all wore sad broken tired faces. Yamato looked at the businessmen, by the age of 40 these men had already let work ruin their lives. But here was Yamato, only 19, and he felt his life was ruined, and not by his work, but by being himself.

Yamato got off the train and walked himself to his new apartment. Finding the door locked and everything as they had left it, Yamato knew he was still alone. Yamato made his way to his bed room and made his bed. Digging through countless boxes Yamato eventually found a towel and a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt. Yamato made his way to the shower. Yamato stepped inside the shower and let the water rain down upon him. He began to wash away the dirt and sweat he had collected throughout the day, but he knew, no matter how hard he scrubbed he wouldn’t be able to get rid of the pain he had put forth into the world that day. Feeling clean but depressed Yamato stepped out of the shower. Yamato dried himself off and changed and brushed his teeth. He went to his room and traded his dirty clothes for his guitar. He then walked out to the living room and sat down in his chair, and began quietly strumming his guitar.

After maybe an hour, the door opened and in stepped an exhausted Taichi. Yamato stopped playing and looked up at his roommate. “Don’t stop playing on my account.” Taichi said as he took his jacket off and tossed it in the closet.

“Thank you Taichi.” Yamato said.

“For what? I didn’t do anything.” Taichi said.

“For being a real brother to Takeru.” Responed Yamato painfully.

“Oh please. Yamato, you’re his brother, and you will always be his brother.” Taichi said trying to cheer his friend up.

“That may be true, but I’m a horrible brother. Hell you’re not actually his brother, and you’re a better brother to him than I am.” Pointed out Yamato.

“Now come on Yamato, you know that isn’t true, you’re not a horrible brother.” Reasured Taichi.

“Your right Taichi, I’m not a horrible brother. I’m the shittiest brother ever.” Said Yamato, full of spite for himself.

Taichi protested the out of context use of his words, “Yamato that wasn’t what I meant.”

“But it’s true Taichi. I was a shitty brother to him in digital world, and I am a shitty brother to him now. Worse even. I can’t protect him anymore, at least back then I could protect him. Now all I can do is make my brother cry, and he doesn’t even trust me enough to tell me what the problem is.” Cried out Yamato.

The apartment became silent, neither one saying anything, eventually Taichi said, “Go to bed Yamato, you’ll feel better in the morning. That’s where I am going.” And with that Taichi walked into his bedroom. Yamato locked the door, turned the lights out and retired to his room also. However, he didn’t go to sleep instead, he just laid there running over the visit in his head, just trying to find something that could help him figure his brother out.

The last few weeks of classes past by slowly. Yamato became more and more zombified with each passing day. He paid less attention in his classes, often gazing out the window, not listening to what his professors had to say, which caused his grades to slip. Yamato tried calling his brother, but he only got his voicemail. When he would call his dad, he would dance around any questions Yamato asked him, and his mother never returned any of his calls.

Things were bleak for Yamato, he had just struggled through his last final for the term, and was preparing to go back home when his cellphone rang. His heart almost stopped when he saw it was his brother’s number. Yamato answered, “What’s up Teeks?”

“Hi Yamato, sorry I haven’t been returning your calls, I’ve been busy with school. You remember how long it takes to finish one of Mr. Yashida’s project right?”

Yamato remembered all too well. He had yet to spend as many all nighters in college as he had in last couple weeks of Mr. Yashida’s class back in High school. “That’s ok. So what’s up?”

“Oh, Dad is going on a business trip for couple of weeks, so I was hoping I could just stay with you.”

“Not that I’m complaining or anything Takeru, but why should Dad going on a business trip make you seek temp. housing?”

There was a pause on the line, and Yamato thought he could hear Takeru slap his forehead and mutter something colorful. “Mom’s away too, she’s been staying with grandma, then she was heading to some convention, So I’ve been rooming with Dad.”

“Well that explains why mom hasn’t returned any of my calls. I’m sure Taichi won’t mind if you stayed with us for a couple weeks. You’re like a brother to him. So when are you coming over?”

“I’ll come over there tomorrow, if that is alright with you.”

“Fine by me. See you then Teeks.”

“Bye Yamato.”

As Yamato returned his phone to his pocket, a sense of hope returned to Yamato that he hadn’t felt in a while. “Maybe this is just what I need to show Takeru I’m still his big brother, and that I can be trusted.”

As Takeru hung up his phone, a sense of dread crept over him, sadly it was an all too familiar feeling as of late. “This is it Takeru, the time I’ve been dreading. The time to let Yamato know.”