Work Text:
Asuka watched as the white light became smaller and smaller.
He had many mixed feelings on this. On one hand, everyone was safe, and Heliosboamon managed to escape, hopefully for a better and safer place.
On another hand, he just lost his partner. Was that what Kyo meant when he asked if he was linked to Heliosboamon? He was feeling like part of his heart had left him too.
Asuka couldn’t help but feel guilty towards it. He wasn’t mentally strong enough to assure them he wanted them nearby. As always, Tomoro came first in both his mind and heart, and at that time his younger brother’s safety was everything he could think about. Heliosboamon knew about it too, and that’s why they chose to leave. Because they were too dangerous to live together with them.
Was that the same line of thought that drove his grandfather away from his family? Did he think everyone would be safer if he disappeared, so the government wouldn’t bother them? It didn’t help anyone in the end, but did that ever cross the older man’s mind?
Did Kyo also thought the same, when he left the orphanage ten years ago?
The mention of his friend snapped Asuka from his thoughts. He quickly turned his head to his side, only to see Kyo laying on the floor, unresponsive except for the movement of his breathing.
Asuka tried to shake him by his shoulders, “Kyo! Come on, wake up!”
Nothing. He was alive, but the adrenaline probably wore off and now he was suffering the consequences of all the burns on his upper body. In the middle of the battle it was difficult to see, but now Asuka noticed all the damage: the burning red turning black, the acid stench of burned fat filled the air, parts of his hair were reduced to dark wisps and he could see how his shirt welded to his skin.
He needed to bring him to a doctor, and fast.
Both him and Tomoro. He didn’t forget about the injury on his brother’s head. How grave was that? Did that bastard hit him? Or was it just a cut? There was no time to verify and Asuka could feel his own heartbeat quickly gaining speed as desperation became something closer to reality. He needed help. But who would be able to—
There was someone.
How could Asuka almost forget? Cougarmon was also a victim in the middle of that mess. He ran towards the crater and gave away a sigh of relief when he didn’t see any red glitches surrounding the digimon. That meant the harm done to them was not fatal.
Asuka ignored the guilt spreading in his head as he approached the middle of the crater. What he was about to ask, from someone heavily injured, was unfair and he wouldn’t blame them if Cougarmon avoided him in the future because of that.
He pressed his hand on their head, “Cougarmon,” and did it again a bit stronger once there was no response, “Cougarmon, I need your help.”
A strange noise came from their mouth, and tired red eyes met the young man.
Asuka lowered his arm, towards their mouth. Cougarmon’s eyes widened at the gesture.
“Kyo and Tomoro are unconscious. I can’t help them alone. Please, I need your help.”
He made a gesture towards his arm, and the digimon immediately understood the message.
“I’m... not doing that...”
Asuka took deep breaths, “Please. I need you to help me carry them somewhere safe.”
Cougarmon tried to get up, to less success than intended – their body was trembling, and it was clear they couldn’t stay on their fours for too long, much less walk properly, “Asuka... I was born from his desire to protect you. I’m not taking your e-pulse.”
“You can barely walk,” he pointed out, “You won’t kill me, and I’m not doing it for selfless reasons anyway! I need to help my brother too! Please! He is the only family I have left!”
Asuka would eventually apologize for yelling, but unfortunatey there was no other idea in his mind at the moment.
Cougarmon looked at his arm, and at how that human was trying to contain tears from leaving his eyes. They couldn’t see Kyo from that position, but they understood that if none of them acted fast, then the situation would only get worse.
With a click of their tongue, Cougarmon opened their mouth, “I’m sorry.”
The sensation of having their e-pulse drained from his body was a strange one. It didn’t hurt – it left him tired, if nothing else. And his arm was feeling like he opened the freezer and left it inside, something pretty common to do in that hot weather. He needed to pay attention to not be completely taken by that dizziness.
The cold barely reached his hands when Cougarmon let it go, “I’m alright now,” they said as they got up, “I can’t fight, but I can carry your brother.”
Asuka nodded, rubbing his hand on the arm that was damaged by the cold, “And I can carry Kyo on my back. You two can stay at my house while he recovers. I can see that he is underweight, so he better be ready for some complaints once he is awake.”
Cougarmon chuckled a bit at that comment and walked towards Tomoro. There was no time to waste.
✿
Kyo woke up and immediately wished he hadn’t.
His muscles were all sore, and just the act of breathing hurt. He could feel dizzy, and there was a strong headache coupled with his vision being blurry.
As he struggled to open his eyes properly, a sick feeling came to his stomach.
He was starting to remember everything that had happened: Heliosboamon, Kaito, the white light. The fire burning deep enough that he wouldn’t be surprised if his bones were charred in the process.
Now he was waking up in a strange room. Everything was... dark. His vision was still returning, but he understood that he was in a place he has never been before.
Just like in Nirinso. Just like when he first met Luxmon, then Karina and Minoru.
The sick feeling became stronger, and he felt like throwing up. Images of his previous family dying one by one came successively, each one reminded him of the smell of blood on his hands. Did he fail again? Did he fail to protect people again, and was now resting alone, surviving another deal even though he was the one that was supposed to die? Where’s Cougarmon? Did they survive the fight against Flaremon? What about Asuka? The Ministry got him? Did he disappear just like his family? What about his little brother? The boy was bleeding last he saw him.
Was Kyo truly the only one to survive this time?
He couldn’t bear the thoughts coming one after another, and even though every muscle protested, Kyo got up and walked towards the door. He noticed how the upper part of his body was covered in bandages, but didn’t care to think about it. He opened the door, it was unlocked, and what he saw—
The bright light of the lamp of that room hurt his vision, but his other senses were filled with something that immediately cleared the previous thoughts in his head.
The first one was the strong smell. Someone was cooking something, and it had... vegetables? A bit of meat too, mixed with garlic. The nostalgic scent helped his breathing, surprisingly enough.
The other details he noticed were the voices.
“—garmon, can you help me with the bread?”
“I don’t think his stomach will handle burgers at this point.”
“It’s alright, I’m cooking something lighter, and Tomoro always felt much better after eating... them...”
A few seconds passed as Kyo processed what he was seeing: Asuka, inside of the kitchen, cooking something that smelled good. Cougarmon was nearby, holding a bag with bread on their mouth ready to give it to Asuka while the latter was busy with other ingredients. There were sliced fruits on the table at the center of the room. He felt the strength of his legs slowly leaving them.
“Kyo! You are awak—Wait, hold on, let me help you there!”
Before he could hit the floor, Kyo felt Cougarmon appearing behind him, working as some kind of fluff seat to absorb the impact.
“How are you feeling?” They asked, their voice stoic as always but filled with worry that only Kyo could recognize.
“I...” he tried to get up, only to now feel Asuka helping him on the right arm, holding him with enough strength until he could seat on a nearby chair, “What happened?”
Asuka hurried to turn off the stove, “Don’t move so much yet, you still need to rest.”
“Where am I?”
“You are at his place,” Cougarmon said while he approached Kyo, laying down near his feet so his partner would have a source of comfort nearby, “We brought you here after Kaito attacked us and Heliosboamon left.”
Kyo blinked at that new information and looked around. Truly, that seemed like a civilian house, and now that he thought about it, there were some guitars and other musical instruments in the previous room. He looked at Asuka, waiting for a confirmation, and saw the other man smiling brightly at him.
“Yep, welcome to my house! Fortunately you have a similar size as mine so I got you new clothes after the doctor examined you.”
Kyo looked at the shirt he was currently wearing, fully expecting a stupid design. It wasn’t pink this time. It was a yellow one with a music symbol at the front. He was almost disappointed.
Asuka turned his back to him, going back to whatever he was cooking, “After I brought you here, I called an old friend of gramps’. She used to work together with him at World Union, and was one of the people protesting together with him. She used to be the doctor of our family, always charging low for simple visits. I didn’t have the money to bring the two of you to a proper hospital, and after everything that happened I couldn’t trust a World Union one to take care of you two, so...”
You two? That’s right, Kyo’s brain was finally catching up to what happened, “How’s Tomoro?”
He could hear a sigh of relief coming from Asuka, “She examined his head and said everything was fine. It was just a cut near the eye... if you have any injury around this area you are bound to bleed a lot. She asked me to bring him to a hospital so he could go through some proper exams, but for now he is safe. He just...”
A heavy silence followed the explanation, and Kyo gave a look at the other room, one that still had its door sightly open – he could see Tomoro sleeping soundly.
“He isn’t waking up?”
Asuka nodded, “The doctor said it’s because he had a lot of his e-pulse drained and will go back to normal in a few days.”
Kyo thought about that situation. He gave a look at Cougarmon – they seemed fully healed, and as far as he knew, he could still move around. The initial dizziness is gone, and even though he still has a headache, his vision was fully functional again. He gazed at the clock on the wall that indicated it was 8 P.M. and finally decided.
“Go on. I can take care of him.”
Asuka turned his head, eyes wide, “What?”
“You have work, right?” Kyo explained, “I can take care of your brother while you are out.”
It took a few seconds for Asuka understand that proposal, “Kyo, do you hear yourself? You just had third-degree burns all over your torso and God knows where else! You can’t seriously think I can leave you alone here while I go to work.”
Kyo slowly shrugged, “It’s alright, I’ve had it worse.”
A beat.
“You do understand that saying this only made me more worried, right?”
Kyo chuckled at that, something that surprised even himself, “I’ll be fine. Cougarmon is also here. If anything happens, I’ll give you a call.”
Again, another few moments of silence passed by. Kyo thought it was because Asuka was pondering on if he would leave or not, but the following question caught him by surprise.
“You still have my number?”
“Uh,” he turned to Cougarmon, “My Sapotama is still the same.”
“Oh, right!” Asuka quickly turned to Cougarmon, placing his palms together in a gesture of apology, “Sorry Cougarmon. My grandfather explained how the birth of digimon happened but I still have to get my head around it.”
Cougarmon shrugged, not offended at all, “The basic functions still work. It’s just the AI that doesn’t exist anymore. Kyo can still use it to communicate.”
“OK... ok,” Asuka took deep breaths and then grabbed his bag that was resting comfortably under the table, “I’ll try to come back earlier today. There’s food in the fridge, and feel free to taste the soup in the kitchen. I was also going to make some burgers, but they are for Tomoro. He will need to cheer up, once he is awake.”
“Understood.”
“The doctor’s number is written in a piece of paper on the dinner table, all the medicine is inside of a box in my room, it’s a pretty big one so you won’t be able to miss it. There are extra keys near the door, and—“
“Asuka.”
“Yeah?”
Kyo threw a jacket at his friend’s head, “Go before I kick you out.”
The young drummer laughed as he wore the jacket, “Violent as ever. See you later!”
Kyo kept staring at the door long after hearing the clicking sound, and it wasn’t until Cougarmon called him out that he snapped out of it.
“Kyo?”
“...Did he really think I wouldn’t have his number anymore?”
It was an honest question. Kyo looked more confused than anything, and Cougarmon couldn’t help but sigh, “You did spend ten years without calling each other.”
“Right...”
✿
Turns out waiting for someone to come back needed a lot more patience than what Kyo was used to. He never had to do that before. Back in the orphanage no one was willing to hang out with him before Asuka came into the picture, and his days as a Cleaner were not that much different besides the sporadics episodes of competition against Kaito.
... Back in Nirinso, Karina and Minoru were never far away. They would always use the river to get water, or play around with the baby digimon in the forest. Kyo never had to wait hours and hours for them to come back home. Until they...
Shaking off such thoughts from his head, he tried to follow Asuka’s pleas and stay on the bed. From time to time he would check out how Tomoro was doing, but besides some sweat, everything else was normal with the younger boy. He also tried to eat some of the fruits on the table but quickly noticed his stomach was not ready for anything solid after such a tiring day. And his right shoulder hurt like hell.
The last part was easier to fix. He also noticed that once he moved his body around, the burns would hurt less, thus he took the opportunity to... clean the house.
Cougarmon almost laughed at the scene. Almost.
“That bored?”
“Extremely,” Kyo shrugged while cleaning the floor with a broom.
He took care to not bring any dust to Tomoro’s room, while at the same time keeping an eye on the younger boy. The house was smaller than what he was used to, but definitely felt like one used by a family – he could see the two cups near the sink, the limited number of chairs, the shoes near the door. It was simple, and maybe lacked money, but it was... home-ish. It was a place you could see it was inhabited by people that cared about each other.
As his thoughts wandered – and often comparing some of the household items to the ones that existed at Nirinso – Kyo was called out by Cougarmon, who was inside of Tomoro’s room.
“That’s bad,” they said, “I think the boy has a fever.”
Kyo stopped the cleaning of the kitchen and hurried towards Tomoro. Surely, his complexion got worse, he was sweating more and had a tough time trying to breath. A single touch on the forehead was enough of a confirmation of the fever.
He... didn’t know how to deal with that. When he told Asuka that he would look after his brother, he wasn’t expecting a fever. Or anything else, really. He was expecting Tomoro to sleep soundly until Asuka was back. Clearly, the world didn’t want to give him this small luxury today.
He wasn’t older brother material. The closest relationship he had of such was with Karina, and she was independent enough to take care of herself when she got sick, as much as he disliked feeling useless back then. Thanks to her stubborness, Kyo didn’t gain any knowledge of how to take care of a sick person, much less someone that had a cut near their eye and had their e-pulse stolen. How was he supposed to...
It was then that he remembered something Minoru once taught him.
“Taking care of her can be challenging,” the older man said with an amused smile, “She refuses to be a burden, so there’s only so much we can do. But if you don’t feel like sitting the entire day furrowing your eyebrows—“
Kyo snorted at it, trying to fix his face. He was doing exactly that.
“—Then you can help with lesser things. We can help her change her clothes once she can’t stand the sweating. We can also clear the room and let the windows open. Sunlight and wind are a big help in those cases.”
He took a look at the window and decided to open it. There wasn’t any sunlight, but he could already feel the calm breeze of the night being welcomed into Tomoro’s room. The boy was also sweating quite a lot, so he took the opportunity to change his shirt – as gently as possible to not wake him up.
Which... didn’t work.
“Br...brother...” Tomoro whispered. It seems he was having a dream with Asuka.
Kyo took a deep breath and tried to take off the shirt again. Was Tomoro hallucinating...? Hopefully that was because of the fever and not because of the injury on his head.
He froze as soon as he felt the cold hand of the younger boy on his.
“Please... don’t go...”
Kyo swallowed hard and stopped moving.
He wasn’t an older brother. He wasn’t, not anymore. But...
“I’m not your brother,” he said as he gently caressed Tomoro’s sleeping face, “But he will be back soon. You’ll eat his burgers and talk about your day while eating dinner.”
Cougarmon smiled at the scene in front of them, then turned their back to the pair as they were once again helping with the cleaning of the floor.
✿
It was a bit after 1 A.M. when Asuka came back.
“I’m so sorry!” He said as he rushed back inside, “I had to go to the pharmacy and buy some... medicine...”
His mouth stopped moving as soon as he saw the state of his house.
A clean room. Dust almost completely gone, with only the stubborn spaces between furnitures surviving. There was dinner on the table, coupled with two cups of what he thought it was orange juice. He could almost say everything was free of any dirt, and he could also see some of the clothes hanging around in his room, all clean as well.
Asuka turned his head to Tomoro’s room, where he could see his brother with a much better complexion, still sleeping. Near him, Kyo was also sleeping, sitting with his back on the wall, in a position that would surely give his neck problems the next day. Cougarmon was snoring peacefully near them.
It's been so, so long since his shoulders felt this light.
Asuka fell on his knees, the strength of the day leaving his muscles. If someone were to ask him if he was crying, then he would immediately lie and say he was just tired, not overwhelmed.
✿
“Sorry, I ended up falling asleep.”
Asuka just shoved the spoon with soup in his friend’s mouth, “Apologize again and I’m kicking you out.”
Near the bed, Cougarmon nodded, “Please do.”
Kyo coughed, not being used to having food on the bed at all, “Seriously? You are supposed to be on my side.”
The Digimon just shrugged, “Not when you are being stubborn like this.”
Asuka chuckled at the exchange. After returning, the Cleaner pair quickly woke up because of how sudden he just... fell on the floor. At first they thought Asuka was hurt, but he explained it was only the tiredness and he had bought medicine for Kyo’s burns and ingredients for a chicken soup. After cleaning his house, it was clear to Asuka how that made his friend much more exhausted than before.
Kyo didn’t have any chance in winning the discussion of who should use the bed. He was injured, Asuka was not. And that was it.
As he prepared another spoon of soup, he said, “The one that should apologize is me.”
Both Kyo and Cougarmon looked at him, confusion on their faces.
With a sigh, he continued, “If I was a better partner to Heliosboamon, then you wouldn’t need to hurt yourself protecting us.”
Cougarmon opened their mouth to speak, but Kyo gestured for them to wait.
“First of all,” he said after drinking more of the soup, “I don’t regret protecting both of you. You are my friend. I wouldn’t let your partner be deleted.”
“Even so—“
“—And I doubt you were a bad partner to them.”
Asuka didn’t say anything. Kyo took that as an opportunity to continue.
“It was clear they loved you.”
A tired laugh came from the young drummer. It sounded like a quiet sob, “I didn’t do much to retribute that. They said they would return once humans and Digimon learned how to live together, but I think that was my biggest failure as their partner. I didn’t even try living together with them.”
“You did your best with what you had at the moment,” Kyo looked at his own hands for a moment, “We can’t... save everyone. That’s why we need to protect what we can, and you did your best for your brother.”
Asuka stared at Kyo for some seconds, which was a bit unsettling. It was like he was trying to read what was in his mind.
“Is that what happened to you?”
“What?”
“Did you try to protect someone and couldn’t?”
Kyo froze at that, too ashamed to return the gaze to his friend. From their place, Cougarmon stiffed.
Asuka just sighed, “Sorry, it’s just... what you said back then, to that fire guy, of not wanting to hurt people anymore... and not caring if he killed you or not... I guess you could say I got worried.”
“There’s no need,” Kyo said still not meeting the other’s eyes, “You reap what you sow.”
It was then that he felt a hit on his head. Not strong enough to hurt, but felt like someone was trying to hit a mosquito and accidentally slapped his head. Although in that case, it wasn’t an accident.
“And you say I shouldn’t blame myself for Heliosboamon. That should be my line!”
Kyo massaged his head, annoyed, “Both situations are different--!”
“Yeah, I bet!”
The conversation was becoming different, the voices growing louder.
“I may not know what happened, but I know you Kyo! I doubt you have any fault at whatever happened!”
“You don’t know me!” He said, finally looking at his friend properly, anger in his eyes - all of it directed at himself, “Not anymore. It’s been ten years, I became someone... someone that...”
Asuka sighed. That was becoming something common that day, “Yeah, you are right, I don’t know what you went through in those ten years."
Kyo closed his eyes, self-deprecating anger still visible on his features.
"... But I know that the face I’m looking at right now is not from the someone you are talking about. You are not some unrepentent killer, and you know that. Is it really that difficult to trust me on this?”
It took a few moments before Kyo moved again, and the first thing he did was taking – not gracefully – the soup from Asuka’s hands and feed himself with it. The latter almost laughed at it.
“Kyo, are you... are you pouting?”
“Shut up,” he said as he swallowed another full spoon of chicken soup, trying to hide tears and failing miserably, “If you keep insisting, then you should recognize Heliosboamon's departure is not your fault either.”
Asuka didn’t know if his friend was changing the subject so he wouldn’t talk about it again, or if he was just worried, or if it was a combination of both. Regardless, he smiled at that. If he could give such a... childish reply like that, it meant something Asuka had said touched him, even if there were layers and layers of sadness that would go unsaid for many years still.
But they found each other again. He would be patient until his friend trusted him with such memories.
With a yawn, he got up from his chair and walked towards the door, “Tonight I’ll sleep near Tomoro, so feel free to be comfortable with this bed.”
“...Fine. I won’t fight you on this.”
Asuka gave him a bright smile from the door, “You better not! Good night!”
✿
Kyo woke up as soon as the sun was out, ready to depart from that house.
“Are you not going to stay?” Cougarmon asked.
Kyo shook his head, “If I did, I would only attract danger to them. Five Star or not, there isn’t a way for people like us to live unless we are Cleaners. But...”
“But?”
“They said they would return once humans and Digimon learned how to live together...”
Kyo thought about Asuka’s words. About the coexistence between humans and their Digimon partners.
He knew what he needed to do now.
Hours later, Asuka would wake up a bit after Tomoro, who was happily eating the burgers on the dinner table, injury all but forgotten. On the surface of Asuka's bed, a letter would be found only after the younger brother went to school.
Asuka had a sad smile at what was written on it.
“That idiot couldn’t have said it to me personally?”
On the paper, written in neat caligraphy that he was sure it took at least some minutes to compose, Asuka found a “Thank you for everything” along with the drawing of a cherry blossom.