Digitia: The Bridge Country

Lilithmon

"You really shouldn't be moving around as much as you are," Hokuto's voice floated through Hiro's ears.

Hiro made a noise before he placed the box back on the floor of his bedroom. He had returned to his parents' house after being released from the hospital. It had been a few days since his release; however, his ribs needed to be wrapped for a few more weeks. He was also on restricted movement. Hence, he moved back with his parents at their request. His mother's request was more correct at the time being.

"I can't even move a box?" he asked his father as he turned to look at him. "It's a bit ridiculous."

"The doctor said that your ribs will not heal properly if you keep using your muscles in that area," he explained. "You need to let yourself rest, Hiro."

Hiro twitched at those words. He had heard them a lot from his mother, father, and Ruli. The Digimon even started to sound repetitive. He curled his lip inward before growling in annoyance. A group of Digimon were plotting to revolt against Digitia when it opened, and he couldn't help with anything at the moment. Hokuto patted his son's shoulder before giving him a soft smile.

"Heal," he said. "The others will keep you in the loop – I'm sure. Let them take the lead for right now."

Hiro sat on his bed afterward while staring at the floor. He felt useless. He felt worthless – like he couldn't do anything anymore. Hokuto sighed as he watched his son before walking out of the room. He wanted to talk to his wife. They could go do something together to keep Hiro's mind off the fact that he couldn't help at the moment. Hiro watched his shadow disappear before he flopped onto his back. He hated feeling useless.

"Hiro."

"Huh?"

He found the source of his name being called. The blue Digimon stared at him before crossing his arms as he floated through the air. Green eyes watched Espimon float across the room before he moved to cover his eyes with his arm.

"Are you really going to ignore me?" huffed Epsimon as he landed on Hiro's bed. "Listen, I wanted to tell you ..."

"Espimon," he spoke, interrupting Digimon, "I really can't help you right now."

Espimon stared at Hiro before his eyes flashed to get a better look at him. He winced a bit before nodding to the young man. The scout Digimon had heard about the battle with Puppetmon. He hadn't realized that Hiro had gotten hurt to such an extent. He moved to fly off the bed before turning around to look at Hiro. Hiro watched him as he placed his hands on his body.

"Well, you can give me some advice!" Espimon declared. "You don't have to physically use your body for that."

"I have to speak," Hiro said.

"That's your lips," Espimon said. "Come on, Hiro, what's got you in a foul mood? That's – incredibly unlike you."

"People change as they get older," he said. "I can have different settings."

Espimon raised an imaginary eyebrow at Hiro's words before humming. He floated past the injured teenager a few times before deciding his next move. He poked Hiro's nose before giving him a stern look.

"I'm going to tell Kiyoshiro and Ruli how you're feeling," he said with a bit of a huff. "They'll know what to do."

"Hey, wait, Espi ..." Hiro began before he gasped. He clenched his ribs as he had moved too fast when sitting up in bed. He wheezed. "Espimon."

"Too late!"

Hiro sighed as he watched the Digimon move through his wall. Gammamon's head poked out of Hiro's bag as he heard Hiro's noises of pain. He had been sleeping. The white Digimon rubbed his eyes to wake himself up a bit more before he spread his wings to fly to his big brother.

"Hiro," he said as he yawned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said. "I moved too fast while sitting up."

Gammamon stared at him before he moved to settle near Hiro. He nuzzled his ribs to try and help the pain go away. He didn't like that his big brother was injured and in pain. The young Digimon made a noise of sadness as he looked up at Hiro.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't prevent you from getting hurt."

"It's not your fault, Gammamon," Hiro said as he smiled at him. "It's not as if you could help it."

He pat Gammamon's head afterward to console him. Gammamon stared at his partner for a moment longer before nuzzling against his ribs once again. Hiro chuckled a bit before he moved to place Gammamon in his lap. Gammamon was his little brother, and he wanted to protect him. He turned his head to look at the wall. Gammamon was always protecting him though. He couldn't do anything to Digimon as they were powerful and dangerous. Gammamon bapped Hiro's cheek with his paw. He made a noise before turning to look at him.

"I'll protect you," he said. "Not the other way around."

"Wait, Gam –"

"Hiro," he said as a serious expression appeared on his face. "We're brothers. We're always together, but I will protect you."

Hiro sighed as he relented against the Digimon. He moved to nuzzle Gammamon before chuckling. "Yeah, you're right."

He moved to lean against the wall as he stared at the ceiling. Hiro found petting Gammamon was a comforting motion. Gammamon made a noise of content before he began to purr. He smiled as he heard him. Hiro made a noise.

"Ugh," he said. "We're probably going to have company soon."

"Who?" asked Gammamon.

"Ruli and senpai," he answered. "Espimon went to go get them."

Gammamon had gone to say something else before he was cut off by Hiro's phone going off. He didn't even look to see who was calling before answering it.

"Yo."

"What does Espimon mean that you're in a bad mood?!" came Ruli's voice out of the other end. "Seriously, Hiro, you need to let us know if you're feeling down. It worries m-m ... us! It worries us!"

Hiro had to hold the phone away from his ear to save his eardrum from the assault of Ruli's yelling tone. He chuckled nervously before placing it against his ear once again after the yelling had ceased.

"Sorry," he told her. "I was just feeling kind of useless since I've been on house arrest."

He heard Ruli's laugh at his choice of words. He smiled softly at her laugh. It meant that he could still make her laugh despite her being upset with him. He moved the phone to his other ear before propping up with his shoulder. He went back to petting Gammamon.

"Okay, that's fair," she said. "I know you're used to always doing something, but you're not useless if you're not doing anything. It's okay to relax, Hiro."

"So people keep telling me," he said with a snort. "But, you're right. I shouldn't really keep all of how I'm feeling to myself."

"Yes, perfect," she said. "Now, I'm going to come get you. We're going to get you out of the house for a bit. Bring that sour mood of yours up. Got it?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Hiro replied as he heard the no-nonsense tone of her voice. "I'll be here waiting for you."

"Perfect!" she said. "I'll let Higacchi know what the plans are."

Hiro felt his shoulders relax as soon as he heard Ruli hang up the phone. He placed his phone on the bed before laughing. Gammamon stared up at him before tilting his head. He didn't know why Hiro was laughing. Ruli sounded upset. It was no time for Hiro to laugh.

"Ruli sounded upset," Gammamon stated.

"She was," he told him. "She's scary when she's upset."

"Scary!" Gammamon agreed as he grinned up at him.

"Oh, yeah, I guess scary means spicy to you, huh?" Hiro chuckled. "She can be spicy too, I guess."