** A/N: I'm baaaaaack! This story takes place during some random period of time in 01, after all the Digimon (except Patamon) discover their Champion levels, but before they defeat Devimon and learn to evolve to Ultimate.

I sometimes wonder if I emphasize Jou's supposed allergies and asthma too much in my fics. It's an interesting character quirk, though, and I find it vaguely cathartic to make a character suffer more than I do (Please, I'm the Allergy Queen, herself!).

Disclaimers, for those who need 'em: There are a few Yaoi hints in this tale, nothing more. And sorry if I've made Taichi out to be more of a jerk than he really should be. I tried to give him some motivation behind his jerk-ness, and some redeeming qualities... I like the kid, really I do! I just hope I've succeeded.

Digimon doesn't belong to me. Steven King's "IT," which is the preface and vague inspiration for the story, belongs to me even less. (Shameless plug: If you like Digimon, you'll also like "IT.") Enjoy! o.o **

"Uhhh..."

Almost too late, Bill realized that Richie was sliding off the back of Silver. Richie's eyes were turned up so Bill could only see the lower rims of the irisis below his upper lids. The mended bow of his glasses hung askew. Blood was flowing slowly from his forehead.

Bill grabbed his arm, they both slipped to the right, and Silver overbalanced. They crashed to the street in a tangle of arms and legs. Bill barked his crazybone a good one and shouted with pain. Richie's eyes flickered at the sound.

.... [Bill] saw several coarse brown hairs clinging oto the shallow head-wound on Richie's forehead. ... They made him feel even more afraid, and he fetched Richie a strong smack upside the head.

"Yowch!" Richie cried. His eyes fluttered, then opened wide. "What are you hittin me for, Big Bill? You'll break my glasses. They ain't in very good shape anyway, just in case you didn't notice."

"I th-th-thought you w-w-were duh-duh-dying, or s-s-something," Bill said.

~~~~ "IT", Stephen King

"Flare Tower!"

The bursts of white-hot flame kept coming in rapid succession, without any signs of stopping. Within the protective shelter of the cave in the rock face, the seven of us huddled together, cradling our injured Digimon, and even though we had our arms across our eyes and our heads down, we could still feel the searing heat burning our skin. Even Taichi, who had valiantly -- or stupidly -- remained outside to fight while the rest of us ran for cover, could barely withstand the force of the blasts from the angered Digimon we'd been fighting. He, too, soon ducked inside the cave after us, struggling as he half-dragged his scorched companion Agumon to safety.

"What is that thing?" I snapped, my eyes narrowed against the visible waves of heat that emanated from the enemy Digimon, a tremendous dragon-like creature composed of flame and metal.

A light sheen of sweat beading upon his brow, Koushiro typed frantically on his yellow-covered laptop. "Flare Lizamon," he responded, speaking rapidly. "He's a Champion level Digimon who controls the element of fire. Dangerously so, I might add."

"So what do we do now?" Sora asked, her arms wrapped protectively around the still, unmoving form of her partner Piyomon.

"Well, we can't go out the way we came," said Taichi. His hand clenched into a fist, and he appeared more angry that we couldn't defeat the flaming dragon outside than concerned for our lives. Typical Taichi. "Do you think this cave leads somewhere? Maybe there's a tunnel that will lead us to the other side."

Jou pushed his oversized, ill-fitting glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Going deeper into the cave can't be safe," he murmured, not bothering to lift his eyes to Taichi's. He already knew what the other boy's reaction would be.

"Then you can go outside and deal with charcoal-breath!" Taichi challenged. "Or do you have a better idea?"

"I guess not," said Jou, his arms crossing over his chest. His companion Gomamon sat huddled against his feet, too weak to make a snappy comeback in defense of Jou. "But think about it. There could be a cave-in, or we could reach a dead end. Or, we could run into an even more dangerous enemy within."

"Flare Tower!" Another torrent of fire hailed down upon the cave's entrance, and we all ducked instinctively as a pile of rocks tumbled down to cover our only way out.

When the dust died down and I was finally able to raise my head, I saw through strained filters of light through cracks in the rubble that Jou had covered my brother Takeru's body with his own. As he picked himself up, he sneezed once, readjusted those ever-slipping glasses, and murmured to Takeru, "You okay?" Takeru nodded mutely, and I let out a faint sigh of relief.

None of us was injured in the rockslide, although Mimi couldn't help but burst into tears from the shock. As she fought to stifle her sobs, Taichi shook the dirt from his hair and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It looks like we don't have much of a choice now," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Our Digimon need some time to rest up, and we can't dig through that rock pile ourselves. I know this cave goes deeper. I think we should try to find a tunnel that will lead out."

"It'll be dark," murmured Koushiro, both arms wrapped around his laptop as if it were a stuffed animal or a security blanket.

Sora gave a wan smile and attempted to lighten the dangerously tense mood. "We can use the light from your computer screen to see our way through the dark."

"The batteries have approximately three-point-four-seven hours of life in them," the short, red-headed boy returned flatly. "I'd prefer to save the power in the event of an emergency."

While the others bickered among themselves, I couldn't help but turn my eyes to Jou. The older boy sat morosely upon the ground, Gomamon gathered into his arms and his chin resting on the Digimon's head. As I watched him, he sneezed miserably, sniffled the back of his hand across his nose, and returned to staring quietly at the group, his black eyes peering over the rims of his glasses.

Poor kid, I thought. He's probably not feeling well. Maybe he'll refuse to join us if we do end up following Taichi's crazy idea. I wouldn't mind staying behind, myself...

But Jou was the first to his feet when Taichi suggested we get going into the depths of the cavern.

---
Once we started to make our way through the cave tunnels, we discovered that the walls began to narrow so close that we could only make our way through one at a time. We lined up single-file -- Taichi, Sora, Koushiro, Mimi, Takeru, myself, and Jou -- and we placed one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us, with the exception of Takeru, who clung tightly to the hands of Mimi and myself. For light, Agumon used his Pepper Breath to ignite a dry branch that Taichi carried like a torch.

Through the weak flare from the makeshift torch, the rock walls cast eerie shadows across the narrowed path, barely illuminating anything. I think I would have preferred pitch blackness. The utter silence of the cavern surrounded us like a suffocating blanket. It was difficult enough to keep a lid on my own fears, but I also had a whimpering Takeru to deal with. The child squeezed my hand so hard I thought the bones in it might snap, and I whispered once to him, "It'll be okay, Takeru. No one's going to let you get hurt." Patamon, perched atop his ward's head, squeaked in concurrence, and my brother eventually silenced.

Taichi and Sora were the only two who spoke throughout most of our journey through the winding tunnels, speaking in hushed whispers when they came to an impasse or a fork in the cavern. The rest of us simply followed in terrified silence, our senses on overload. The slightest misstep would cause one of us to jump, the tiniest noise forcing a gasp from even the most cool-headed among us. The only comfort I took was the knowledge that Jou's hand was clasped firmly to my bare shoulder.

So when Jou started coughing, Mimi shrieked in fear, her piercing wail cutting right through me. My own heart had leapt into my throat at both intrusions to the silence, and I felt Jou's hand sagging against my shoulder.

"Christ, Jou, give us a heart attack, why don't you?" Taichi snapped, his terror turned, as it always did, to blazing anger.

"My allergies are bothering me," Jou replied quietly, for once sounding reluctant to admit to his discomfort.

"Let me guess," sneered Taichi, "you're allergic to the dark? Or maybe to air?"

"All that dust... I'm sorry," Jou murmured. "I'm just feeling a little --" He cut himself off quickly and settled his hand more firmly against my shoulder.

"Well, cut it out, already," the other boy snapped. "Now's not the time for you to be complaining."

Jou didn't respond, but Gomamon, limping along at his partner's feet, retorted, "He needs fresh air!"

"Leave him alone, Taichi," Mimi murmured. "It was my fault -- I shouldn't have screamed. I didn't mean to scare you all."

The wild-haired leader of our group narrowed his eyes as he returned to bringing our group of petrified children and injured Digimon through the caverns. Through his hand on my shoulder, I felt Jou shake as he stifled another attack of coughing.

"Hey," I whispered, my voice as low as I bring it, "are you feeling okay?"

"Just ... a little --" Jou whispered, once again stopping short.

I sighed impatiently, murmuring, "You can tell me."

Jou brought his face close to my ear, his lips barely tickling the lower lobe as he whispered, "Claustrophobic. I feel like I'm going to suffocate. I didn't want to tell the others. They'd only laugh at me..."

Not only that, they'd probably be even more afraid if you told them that. The feeling would spread... Reaching up with my free hand, I patted Jou's hand upon my shoulder. "Relax, man. We're almost out. I'm sure of it."

Jou probably knew I was lying, or at least trying to reassure myself. When he fell silent again, the emptiness scared me more than ever.

---
"Petit Thunder!"

"Magical Fire!"

Tentomon and Piyomon seemed to have recovered enough in our walk through the caverns to regain at least a little of their powers. They hadn't received the brunt of the earlier battle, so when we came upon the end of the cavern, they were the ones who were able to dig us out.

At first, we'd all been dismayed and near panic when we found that the caverns lead to a dead end. However, it was Koushiro who noticed the faint breeze coming from the wall. He theorized that there had to be at least a slight opening to the outside world. His theory proved true when Tentomon and Piyomon railed their powers against the rock wall, and the crumbling pebbles revealed sunlight pouring through the other side.

We all breathed a sigh of relief when the two Digimon finally opened a fissure in the rock large enough for even Taichi's hair to fit through. I turned to look back at Jou, grinning at the boy, and I saw just how grey his face shone, even in the light. He returned a wan smile and gave my shoulder a light squeeze.

"See? I told you we'd make it," I said. The walk had taken us maybe fifteen minutes at the most, but it felt like hours. We squeezed out of the opening the Digimon made for us in the rocks, carefully extracting ourselves one by one, taking care not to cause any further collapse.

The wall was surrounded by a resurgence of the Digital Forest, bright sunshine filtering through the trees. Taichi was the first to collapse to his back upon the lush grass -- as much of a front as he put up, I knew that taking the lead and staying calm through the journey had taken a lot out of him. The rest of us followed suit, sitting or lying down, each of us recovering from our scare.

I leaned against the back of my Digimon partner, Gabumon. "Make it through in one piece?" I asked him.

"I'm feeling much better, Yamato," my quiet-voiced companion returned contentedly. "That walk did me well."

As I surveyed the group, I could see that we were all looking infinitely better now that we were out of the caverns -- all of us, that is, except Jou. He continued coughing against a closed fist, his breath whistling harshly in his throat. The others, too caught up in their own relief, hadn't bothered to turn an eye towards him yet.

"Jou?" I asked, sliding away from Gabumon.

The dark-haired boy looked at me over the rims of his glasses, his chest hitching weakly, as if he might throw up. As I crept towards him, he opened the top of his supply satchel and rooted around through its contents. Producing a blue-tinted inhaler, he stuck it in his mouth and took a wheezing breath.

"Better?" I murmured, kneeling down beside him.

Jou shook his head violently, his wheezing still as strong as ever. "No," he whispered. "It's empty."

My eyes widened in surprise, a vague sense of doom gnawing at my insides. By now, Jou's struggle to breathe had caught the attention of others in our group -- Koushiro and Sora started towards us as well. As I caught Taichi's gaze, he rolled his eyes at me, and I felt a familiar rage against the boy slowly building.

"You've known it was empty," Gomamon murmured, his voice partly angered and partly despairing.

"Jou, why didn't you tell us?" I asked, placing a hand upon his shoulder.

"And have you all laugh?" he returned breathlessly.

"We wouldn't have laughed, Jou," said Sora. "What are we supposed to do for you now?"

"Maybe it'll let up..." Jou whispered, but I could hear the doubt in his voice. Gomamon snuggled his head against Jou's hand, his large green eyes sorrowful.

Gabumon lightly cleared his throat, reluctance to speak evident in his expression. Despite the power he wielded against our enemies, he always was a horribly shy, withdrawn creature. "Um... I think I know of something that may help," my Digimon murmured.

Jou turned a pleading eye towards my Digimon. "Go... Go on."

"There's a particular flower that only grows in the mountains." Gabumon turned back to gaze up the face of the rock wall we'd emerged from. "When it's burned, the smoke it gives off helps to clear your lungs. It's an old folk remedy among my kind. We use it when we're ill. I don't know if it will help a human, though."

"Hey, it's worth a shot," I said, starting to my feet. "Is this flower something we can find here?"

"Mm. Perhaps. I'm not as familiar with these mountains as I am with the ones in my homelands," my companion murmured enigmatically.

"Then it's settled," Taichi interjected. "One of us should go up the cliff to find this flower, while the rest of us stay here to make sure Jou's okay."

Immediately, I raised my hand. I felt a little silly, as if I was in school, but at least it got Taichi's attention. "I'll go. Gabumon knows what this flower looks like. It makes sense for us to go together."

Taichi nodded, for once not disagreeing with me out of spite. However, Koushiro pushed his way in between the two of us and spoke, "I don't think that's the best tactic. You should bring Jou with you, Yamato. There's no way of knowing how long you'll take, and by the time you go up the mountain, then come all the way down, it may be..." He paused before adding in a whisper, "It may be too late."

"Do you think it's that bad?" Taichi murmured, his brown eyes widening in shock.

Koushiro nodded, and I followed his gaze down to where Jou sat on the ground, one hand clutching the front of his shirt as he struggled to catch his breath. Sora and Mimi knelt beside him, whispering to him in comforting tones, but there really wasn't much else either of them could do. It was only a matter of time before the attack either let up, or cut off his breathing entirely.

"Oh, man." Taichi bit his lip and rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. "I didn't think he was really sick. Jou always complains! You know that most of the time it's some imaginary illness!"

I narrowed my eyes at the wild-haired boy, clenching my fists to keep from decking him. "Maybe next time you should think, Taichi. If Jou's really sick, not just complaining about little things, he's not going to say anything about it!"

His temper nearly as bad as my own, Taichi gritted his teeth and uttered, "Oh, yeah, like I'm supposed to know that. I'm not his mother!"

"Stop it!" Koushiro cried, placing one gloved hand on my chest and the other on Taichi's. "Fight when you get back! Now's not the time to be fighting. Did you know that without oxygen, the brain will shut down in exactly--"

Angrily, I swatted Koushiro's hand from my chest, and the boy immediately stopped short. Pulling my Digivice from my belt, I held it like a gun before Gabumon. "Do you feel up to evolving?" I demanded.

"Of course, Yamato," Gabumon replied with a serene nod.

I grinned wildly, and my Digivice began to shake as if it were about to fly to pieces. "Do it!"

"Gabumon, evolve -- Garurumon!"

In a burst of breathtaking light, Gabumon suddenly doubled, tripled in size, his once rotund body thinning out and the wolf's pelt he wore across his back melting to become a new skin. Swiftly, I leapt upon his strong back as he bounded over towards Jou, and I extended my hand to him.

"I hope this works," Jou murmured, his labored breathing audible. As he climbed upon Garurumon's back, sitting ahead of me, he impatiently shrugged off Sora's and Mimi's hands as they sought to help him up. Once he was settled, Gomamon caught hold of his hand and nearly toppled the three of us off as he too scrambled aboard.

"Good luck, Yamato," Taichi said, his voice oddly subdued. "Jou, don't you dare think about dying on us. You're one of us now."

"Thanks... Taichi," Jou managed, even smiling a little as he clung tightly to the ruff of fur around Garurumon's neck.

As Garurumon took off towards the rock face, I heard something murmured under Taichi's breath, a single word filled with remorse of past mistakes. I didn't understand it back then. If I had, maybe I wouldn't have felt as much anger towards Taichi as I did at the time...

"Hikari..."

---
Even with three extra passengers on his back, Garurumon's footing remained steady as he bounded up the various outcroppings and ledges of rock embedded in the wall of the cliff. The ascent wasn't completely sheer, though at some points it was painfully close. My Digimon companion only slipped once, his back paws scrambling for purchase as he leapt up to a particularly high point upon the rock wall. For the rest of the journey up to the top, Jou's eyes remained tightly closed, and he clung fiercely to Gomamon.

Yet, despite the urgency of our situation and the one near miss, I found the ride exhilarating. The wind through my hair, the speed and the strength I could feel within Garurumon's muscles, the precarious height -- all these elements were enough to get the adrenalin racing through my veins. For a few moments in time, Jou was the last thing on my mind -- all I knew was pure energy and pure trust in my partner. I knew no fear.

"Jou? Jou!" Gomamon's voice broke me out of my reverie, snapping me back to reality with a gasp.

As the world came into focus again, I saw that Jou's death-grip upon his partner had relaxed, and he was starting to slide off Garurumon's back. Gomamon struggled to keep him from toppling off and down the side of the mountain, but didn't have the strength. Swiftly, I wrapped one arm around Jou's waist and leaned forward to clutch Garurumon's fur with the other.

"Garurumon! You've got to stop!" I cried. My partner coiled his legs once more and vaulted up to a larger, more stable ledge of rock. The sudden jolt of the landing caused me to slip, and Jou and I fell to the ground in a lolling tangle. His glasses snapped off, sliding a few feet away on the lenses.

"What is it, Yamato?" my partner rumbled, turning his massive body towards us.

Swearing beneath my breath, I turned Jou on his back, his body rollng like a limp ragdoll. Oh, God, he can't be dead... His eyes had rolled back, showing only the whites, and his lips were lightly parted and nearly purple in tint. I stared blankly at his unmoving body for a few moments, and then I slid to my stomach to place my ear to his chest. At first, I thought my heart would stop... but after a few seconds' eternity, I heard the strained whine of breath in his lungs.

I vaulted to my knees and did the only thing I could think of to wake him up again -- I reared back and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"What --" Jou wheezed, his eyes fluttering open.

"Don't talk," I whispered, the relief of the moment bringing me dangerously close to tears.

The blue-haired boy squinted myopically. "Yamato?"

Gently, I ran my fingers through that oddly hued hair of his, nodding.

Jou gingerly touched his cheek, where I'd slapped him, and his fingers brushed against mine for a single, tingling moment. "Where are my glasses?" he whispered.

"Mmph. Here." Gomamon bounded over to his partner, the large glasses held between his teeth. Like a dog, the Digimon placed Jou's glasses on his chest, and then forced a laugh, "I didn't drool too much on them."

"I hate this," Jou muttered between whistling breaths. He slipped his glasses on, not caring whether or not they were scratched. "Why can't I be normal?"

I fought harder to swallow those tears that wanted to spring out of my eyes. "Don't say that, Jou. We've all got our problems."

"I ... I guess." He didn't seem convinced, and merely turned his head from me, his eyes sliding shut once again

Before I even knew I was doing it, I grabbed him by his sweater-vest and shook him, not caring how sick he was. "Don't give up on me, Jou!"

"I'm so tired of fighting," the wheezing boy managed.

"Yamato, don't hurt him." Gomamon tugged on the edge of my shirt with his teeth, a hint of malice in his voice if I dared injure his partner.

I ignored the creature, narrowing my eyes angrily at Jou. He can't die on me, he just can't. I need him too much... "Garurumon and I are going to continue on. We'll be back before you know it. If we don't find that flower, then you can give up. But until then, you have to keep fighting. You have to stay strong."

"I ... I wish I was."

"Then prove to me that you are." I pulled his shivering body so his nose nearly touched mine. I felt like a drill sergeant. "Hold. On."

I didn't let go until he nodded wordlessly, swallowing hard.

I couldn't bear to see him so despondent. I hated seeing the light fade from his eyes. As I gently slid Jou's body to the ground again, I murmured, "Good. We'll be back."

Jou forced a weak cough, and I mounted Garurumon once again. I trusted that Gomamon would watch over the boy, and I prayed that we would find that flower that my Digimon spoke of earlier. We have to find it...

As Garurumon leapt from ledge to ledge up the side of the mountain, I buried my face against his fur and let the tears flow freely.

---
"Yamato... I'm getting tired."

"No. We have to keep going, Garurumon."

The sun had started to inch behind the horizon, lighting up the sky to the Digital World in a myriad rainbow of flaming color. It had been hours since we'd left Jou and Gomamon, aeons of searching, with nothing to show for it. We'd been to the top of the mountain, and we were now scouring the nearby outcroppings of rock for any sign of vegetation.

"Please, Yamato. I don't want to de-evolve on the top of the mountain. I wouldn't be able to get you back down."

I blinked, realizing for the first time how hard I was pushing my partner. I patted his side lightly and nodded. "I'm sorry, buddy. Sure, we've got time for a little break."

Garurumon slid to a halt upon the next ledge down, and I slipped my legs from around his back. Resting my hand on his muzzle, I saw how rapidly he was breathing, how his muscles twitched beneath his fur. I'd nearly run him to exhaustion, but he simply closed his eyes and nuzzled his face against my hand.

"What are we going to do, Garurumon? Jou's going to die," I whispered.

The great wolf-shaped Digimon turned in place three times before lying down, resting his head upon his paws. "We tried our hardest, Yamato," he murmured.

I shook my head, angrily pacing along the ledge. I wanted to punch something, but the only two things around were my partner and a whole lot of rock. I couldn't hurt Garurumon, and I'd only break my hand if I slugged the side of the mountain.

I've let everyone down... Especially Jou.

When I opened my eyes again, a faint glimmer of yellow among a small pile of boulders caught my eye. At first, I thought my mind must be playing tricks on me... Yet as I neared, I made out the shape of delicate, canary-colored petals surrounded by wicked razor-thorns. That must be...

"Garurumon!"

Before my partner reached me, I already had my gloves off and was yanking with all my might on the thorny vines, not caring how much they tore apart the skin on my palms.

---
Please let Jou be okay, please let Jou be okay...

I don't think I'd ever prayed as hard in my entire life as I did coming down the mountain. Garurumon was panting and shaking as he fought with all his might to retain his Champion form. I clutched the wiry vines of the flowers in my left hand, holding onto Garurumon with my right, with blood seeping from both.

Garurumon de-evolved to Gabumon the moment we landed upon the ledge where we'd left Jou and Gomamon. I skidded to my knees, falling from a back that was no longer large enough to support my weight, and the rocks tore holes in my jeans as I fell.

Jou's skin was such a pasty grey, his lips nearly blue, that I thought he was dead at first. His eyes, once again, had rolled to the back of his head, sickly showing the whites, and his chest barely moved. Gomamon had de-evolved himself, and a near-unconscious Pukamon lay limply across Jou's shoulder. Their lives are intertwined. If Jou dies, then his Digimon will die too.

"Oh, God," I whispered.

Pukamon raised his head at the sounds, his eyes half-lidded as he spoke, "Save him. Please."

I felt a tug at my hand, a single thorn tearing a new laceration across my palm. Gabumon took one of the vines and proceeded to pick the yellow petals off with his paws. As I looked down at him, his large, brown eyes met mine, and again I thought the dam on my tears would burst again.

"Fire," Gabumon whispered, and this need alone staved off another torrent. I dropped to my knees, grabbed Jou's bag, and tossed items out one by one -- bandages, antibacterial cream, band-aids, lotion, three types of headache remedies, tissues, canteen, a pamphlet explaining how to perform CPR on one side and the Heimlich maneuver on the other... Finally, my fingers closed around a single packet of matches.

My fingers shook wildly as I lit the pile of yellow petals that Garurumon had arranged. The first match immediately went out, while the second one burned the tips of my fingers, the fire just not catching. The third try was the charm, and the petals began to smoulder, letting off thin smoke.

"Come on, Jou. You said you'd fight. I haven't let you down yet, buddy." I pushed the unconscious body of Jou to a sitting position and looped an arm around his waist. I shook all over, holding his face above the smoke. "Breathe, dammit!" I cried, pushing my hand against his back, as if that would induce his lungs to work again.

All too soon, the smoke gave out, the thin petals burning quickly. As I shook Jou's body lightly, I felt the weak movement of his chest stop altogether. I turned my head and saw that Pukamon's eyes had closed, his small body lying so still.

No ... No ... This can't be...

"Yamato?" Gabumon's eyes filled with tears, which streaked down his pelt.

"We were too late," I whispered, sliding Jou's body into my lap, cradling his head and shoulders.

"I'm sorry." Gabumon leaned his head against my side, and I circled an arm around him. Closing my eyes, I buried my head against his fur.

A faint stirring against my legs made me lift my eyes again. ...Jou... Through a crystal wall of tears, I watched as his chest rose once weakly. A hitching, gasping breath brought a flood of oxygen to his lungs, and Jou turned onto his side, coughing uncontrollably. I rubbed his back, laughing as twin tears slid down my cheeks.

"Yama... Yama..." Jou gasped between coughs, unable to manage anything more.

"You're okay," I laughed. "You're okay, Jou!"

"Jee... Jeezis!" he croaked, sitting up and wrapping his arms around his knees. He rested his head against his arms as the coughing fit subsided, and his breaths once again came at a regular pace. "I always thought I was allergic to smoke."

"Jou!" Pukamon's wild voice caused the boy to lift his head, and he was almost bowled over as his Digimon partner tackled him.

Hugging Pukamon tightly, Jou turned towards me, flaming color blooming on his cheeks. "Yamato... Gabumon... I can't thank you guys enough."

Quickly swiping my hands across my eyes, I tried to appear nonchalant. "Hey, don't sweat it."

"No, really... I wouldn't have made it without --" He broke off quickly, his dark eyes turning to my hands. Reaching out, he took one in his own and flipped it over as he stared at the palm, sticky with drying blood. "What did you do to yourself?"

I swallowed and shrugged. "Old war injury?" I felt a light bead of sweat trickle down my cheek.

"We should bandage you up before that gets infected." Jou set Pukamon down and glanced around for his bag. It was then that he noticed his supplies strewn about the ledge. I grinned helplessly as his eyes widened at the disruption of his order. He probably knew exactly which pocket, pouch, and crevice of his bag held each item.

"I couldn't find the matches," I murmured.

Jou smiled faintly and shook his head. "I'll forgive you.You saved my life."

I crawled forward, helping Jou pick up the items I'd tossed haphazardly out of his bag. A bottle of aspirin, a tube of crackers, an ace-bandage. For a time, neither of us spoke.

"Hey Jou?"

"Yeah?" He looked up from his search for the bandages to wrap up my hands.

I cleared my throat. "What you said before... About wanting to be normal?"

Jou turned away, his cheeks flooding with faint color. He picked up a loose roll of gauze and absently brushed the dirt off with his fingertips. "Mm?"

"Quit being so hard on yourself. Like I said before, we've all got our problems. Can you really look at any of us and think we're anything close to normal?"

"Well, I --"

"Look at Koushiro. Personally, I wonder why he never logs off that damned computer of his. And Mimi... She's probably never slept without a nightlight in her life. And then there's Taichi..." I trailed off.

"What about him?"

I laughed lightly. "Do you even need to ask?"

Jou flushed lightly, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose as he picked up my hand in his.

"You are strong, Jou. You just don't know it yet."

"I'm not. I don't play soccer, I can't turn on a computer... I get hives if I just look at shellfish the wrong way..."

"You also climb mountains, ride unicorns, and keep the rest of us from losing our heads when we're all going crazy. And, even when you couldn't breathe, you held on for me."

Those dark eyes of his flicked up to meet mine, and he smiled faintly. "Hold still, Yamato." My eyes widened as I noticed the antibacterial spray in his free hand.

"Oh, gah, not the stingy stuff!"

I winced as he sprayed the cold, tingling substance on the torn palms of my hands, and I heard him take a long, unhindered breath as he began to laugh... truly laugh. And to me, it was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard.