Fleeting Hope

Chapter 4

"Come on, mom" Yamato growled, clearly irritated. Takeru risked a glance through the small crack in his bedroom door to watch the conversation between his mother and brother unfold.

Natsuko, 'tsked' loudly, popping her hip out as she crossed her arms, "so you think I can't take care of my own child?"

Takeru shuddered as he could feel the tension drifting through the air, "that's not what I-" Yamato's argument was cut off as Takeru leaned too far forward, causing the door to creak loudly, revealing his presence.

Both of their faces softened at the sight of him, and he had to resist the urge to scowl at the fact they were still treating him like a child, "anything I should know?"

"I was just leaving, wouldn't want to be late, call if anything happens," Yamato threw his bag over his shoulder and left the apartment faster than Takeru could even blink.

Turning to his mother for an explanation, the woman merely huffed and moved back into the kitchen, irritation emanating from her entire being. Takeru decided to leave it be for the time being, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his mom's rage with his brother, "what's for breakfast mom?" he smiled cautiously.

He easily heard her sigh of relief as she turned to him, "just eggs and toast, eat quickly, you're going to be late."

Takeru's head whipped to the clock, his eyes widening before he laughed, "as per usual." He sat down at the table and eagerly scarfed down the food, doing his best to not leave a mess for his mother. "I'll see you later mom," he called back to her before yanking his bag into his arms and running out the door.

"Wait for me!" Patamon squealed, following after him as quickly as he could.

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"I'll sneak you inside to take you back to the digital world after school is over," Takeru explained, bouncing back and forth on his feet anxiously as he was extremely aware of how much of a time crunch, he was on. He had been so late not even Miyako was willing to wait around for him today. He frowned at the thought for a moment, not unnoticed by his partner, but Takeru shook his head subtly to clear his mind.

"Ok!" Patamon chirped, letting the boy run frantically inside, barely making it into his seat before the teacher entered the room.

Hikari gave Takeru a weird sideways glance, but turned away satisfied, although skeptical, after he gave her a sharp shrug and sheepish smile.

Class seemed to drag on, Takeru did his best to focus, but he quickly was unable to tell if the topic of the lecture was math or history. He internally groaned as his vision swam with the words that were completely missed by his ears. It didn't feel like long before the desks around him faded into rocky browns and greys. The kids around him and the teacher in front of him had gone still. Takeru sharply stood up, expecting to hear the screech of his chair as he pushed it backwards, but all he heard was the crash of rocks against the ground. Whipping his head around he saw his chair had become a mere pile of rocks.

Takeru could feel his breathing pick up as the panic set in. The bodies from the classroom were slowly becoming less opaque, he could practically see through everyone.

"Takeru!"

All of a sudden, the classroom returned to normal, and Takeru found himself sitting on the floor, rubbing his head in confusion. Hikari was standing next to him, a tight grip on his shoulder as if not only attempting to ground him but also herself. Hikari asked the teacher something, but Takeru had no idea what it was until suddenly they were in the hall walking towards the nurse's office.