Prologue

Disclaimer: Me don't own Digimon, k?

My brother was coming home today.

I suppose I am excited. After all I haven't seen him in a good four years. I never even went to visit him. I wonder how much he's changed… I admit, I haven't been the most ideal older brother. He must be angry with me… Well, how can I assume that?? I don't even know him anymore.

The doctors said that he improved a lot during this year. Of course he's still a little out of it, but they said hopefully, if he went back to us, he would revert back to his old self. The last time I saw Takeru, I thought that he was lost forever. Mom and dad were ecstatic of course. And they even got back together after the whole incident. Who would've thought, huh?? It seemed like Takeru going away brought them closer together. But I can't keep my hopes to high up. Who knows when they might separate again?

"Yamato?"

I blinked and turned my head to the side. I saw dad smiling gently at me. I could feel the nervousness radiating from him. Mom sat beside him and gave me the same look. I sighed. It was so obvious they were worried. But they covered it up by pretending to be nervous for me, the older brother.

"Are you all right?" mom asked softly. The hospital was coming into view now. I sighed again.

And soon we pulled up into the parking lot. Then we all headed out the car. My parents lingered on the edge, closing the doors slowly, as if they were completely afraid of what was coming. I looked at them and slammed my door shut loudly, bringing them out of their reveries.

"Are we going?"

I didn't mean to say it so snappily, but it was enough to bring them back and they nodded quickly and we all started heading to the front door. I was in the lead and they followed behind. Pushing my hands into my pockets, I let out an involuntarily shudder. This was it. The day my brother was coming home. I prayed to God that everything would be all right.

Just as we opened the door, the sight of pure white walls and floors greeted me. Nurses and doctors were attired in white and I squinted my eyes in annoyance. I hated all this white. And the air was thick with sterile and sickness. Hospitals…I hated them, yet at this moment I forgot that enmity since the hospital was the one bringing my brother back to us.

A doctor came up to us immediately. I assumed it was Dr. Yoshida, the doctor who had first gone to Takeru. He was an elderly man in his mid-fifties with a gentle smile. He was one of the few doctors I didn't mind.

He greeted us with a friendly smile and nod. I felt my mother clutching my arm tightly and my father's arm around my shoulder.

"Well, it's good to see you all…again," he said with a twinkle in his eye. I smiled slightly and I knew my parents would have too if they hadn't been so nervous. Dr. Yoshida sighed and made a gesture to follow him. We did so until we reached a small room. It was an examination room with a scale and needles and such. I looked around curiously as he spoke.

"We took some last minute measurements of your son and of course to make sure he wasn't sick or anything like that," he remarked, waving to the instruments. My parents both nodded and I hid my aggravation. When were we going to see Takeru??

"Everything's normal, so I guess you're in suspense aren't you??" he said with a glint in his eyes. I had to smile and I heard my parents chuckle slightly. Dr. Yoshida clapped his hands and then left the room for a second.

My parents finally detached themselves from me and I sighed in relief. They sat down in sick anticipation. Finally, the doctor reemerged from another room and they stood up suddenly. I glanced up and saw two nurses following the doctor and then…

Takeru.

I stared and stared at him. My brother had finally come back to us. He looked almost the same, except he was much taller now and his blond hair was longer and spikier than ever. His eyes looked dead, but as I caught his attention, they brightened considerably. I couldn't stop looking at him. In many ways he seemed the same, but I knew he was much more different from four years ago.

"Takeru!"

I heard my mother stifle a cry as she went up to him and held a hand over his cheek, almost afraid to touch him. I felt my father wrap a tight arm around my shoulders as Takeru slowly reached up and held mom's hand. Just then she started crying and hugged him immediately. I saw Takeru slowly hug her back as well.

"Mom," I barely heard him murmur.

I looked up at my father and saw tears in his eyes and a huge smile sprawled on his face. We both looked at each other for a second before looking back at my sobbing mother. She had finally pulled away from Takeru and was now ruffling his hair with her hands and asking him if he was okay. He just nodded to every question.

I glanced at Dr. Yoshida and smiling at them. The nurses were all wiping their eyes gently.

"Well, you have waited for a long time to do this… I wish you all the best luck," I heard Dr. Yoshida remark as he and the nurses walked out of the room. I saw dad wave slightly before walking over slowly to mom and Takeru. She was still crying and as soon as dad touched her, she turned to face him and hugged him tightly. Her head was buried in dad's shoulder as she continued to sob. Dad gently patted her back as I walked up to Takeru. He was my height now, if not slightly taller.

"How you doing, kiddo?"

The excitement and nervousness I didn't experience before now came to me. This was my brother that I haven't seen in four years. How could I not have been nervous?? Now I didn't know what to say as he looked at me with unreadable eyes.

"Better, now that you're here," he replied softly, a small smile on his lips. I couldn't resist grinning back at him. I would have hugged him, but I was not as physical as mom was. So I just smiled at him, hoping he would be able to read my eyes and know how much I loved and missed him.

As we started heading out the hospital, I felt his gaze on me. I looked at him and the link we shared was opened.

He knew…he knew…

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TBC