A/N: All right… It's been a while since I posted something new. I've had these massive writers block; actually, I still have it. This is a story I wrote a moth or 2 ago, but forgot about it. I was shifting through some papers yesterday, and bumped into it again. I'll try to type it out as quick as I can… Hope you guys'll like it…

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or it's characters.

Is it so hard?

Yamato Ishida couldn't count anymore how often he had glanced ahead. But he was worried. Very worried.

He and the rest of the Digidestened where walking through the Digital world, as usual. Tai up front, and the rest following. But something wasn't right…

Usually Tai was talking all the time, almost bouncing with energy, driving Matt absolutely crazy. But not now. Tai was actually dragging his feet, and he hadn't spoken to anyone for hours.

Tai was walking a bit ahead of the group, so Matt couldn't see his face. He really wanted to see Tai's eyes. They where truly the windows to his soul, as you could see everything in them…

Something was wrong, Matt could just feel it. If he was honest with himself, something had been wrong for about 2 weeks now.

Tai had been leading the group as always, when they had stumbled upon a large group of angry Digimon. The Digimon had attacked them, while their own Digimon where unprepared, and still in their rookie form. They had narrowly escaped.

Afterwards, Matt had blamed the incident on Tai, claiming, as always, that he was a bad leader. Tai had attacked him, and they had a fight.

After the fight, Matt had felt guilty. It wasn't Tai's fault they had encountered those Digimon. Somehow, he always ended up fighting with the other boy, even though he had told himself time and time again not too.

But as the week went by, he had forgotten about the fight. Tai had started to pay extra attention to everyone, and nothing unexpected had happened. Tai was always alert, and very careful. So Matt thought everything was all right.

Matt didn't notice Tai didn't smile as often as he did before. He did notice when Tai became more silent, and that was when he'd started to worry. And when Tai had become even more silent, and even distant, he got really worried.

Something was wrong, but he couldn't find out what it was. So he kept a close eye on Tai, and that is where they where now.

Matt glanced at Tai again, and suddenly saw him stumble. He rushed to Tai's side, and grabbed Tai's arm. "Taichi! Are you all right?"

"I… I'm fine…" Tai mumbled, and he shrugged Matt's hand off his arm. He didn't look at Matt.

"Taichi…" Matt pleaded, "why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong…" Tai said, and he started to walk again. Matt growled, and grabbed Tai's arm again. That boy could be so impossible sometimes! He whirled Tai around, and looked straight in Tai's stunned face. Then he gasped.

Tai looked horrible! How could he not have noticed all this time? Tai's face was pale, and he had bags under his eyes. But what scared Matt the most, where Tai's eyes. Usually, they sparkled, full of life. But now, they where dull, and Matt could see a hint of pain and defeat…

He didn't had long to marvel about it, because Tai clenched his eyes shut, and grabbed Matt's shirt tightly. Matt grabbed Tai's shoulders to steady him a bit. "Taichi, what's wrong!?"

"I-I'm… feeling a bit d-dizzy…" Tai whispered. Suddenly, Tai's knee's buckled, and he collapsed against Matt.

"Taichi!" Matt screamed as he grabbed Tai tighter. He then lowered him gently to lie on the floor. He heard the others gasp and whisper in panic as they saw their leader fall.

Joe rushed over, and dropped to his knees beside him. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know… I'm not sure…" Matt stuttered. "I just grabbed his arm and whirled him a-around. H-he grabbed my shirt and said he was f-feeling dizzy… and then he just collapsed!"

Joe nodded, and grabbed Tai's arm to check his pulse. "Hmm… His pulse isn't very strong."

Joe started to examine Tai, probing and feeling for any injuries. When he trailed his hands over Tai's chest, his eyes widened a little.

Matt, who was watching Joe's reactions intently, noticed. "What's wrong?"

Joe swallowed, and slowly lifted Tai's shirt a little. Matt gasped… Tai was so thin! You could count his ribs… Joe quickly finished his examination, while Matt watched on in stunned silence.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Joe coughed to get his attention. Matt looked up to look into Joe's worried face.

"What's wrong with him Joe?" Matt asked, "Why is he so thin?"

Joe sighed. "Well… obviously, he hasn't eaten enough. And he didn't drink enough too, cause he's dehydrated. Looks like he didn't get enough sleep too, considering the bags under his eyes…"

Matt nodded. "But… but how?"

Joe shrugged. "I don't know… You'll have to ask Tai."

Just as Matt wanted to ask another question, he felt someone tugging on his shirt. When he turned and looked down, he saw it was Kari.

"What's wrong with my brother?" She asked in a worried tone. When Matt looked behind her, he saw the rest of the Digidestened, all anxious to know what was wrong with their leader.

"Uhm…" It was starting to get late. They really should be looking for a place to sleep. He quickly made a decision. "Uhm… I'll tell you guys later. We first have to find a save place to sleep."

His plan was welcomed by a wave of protests. "I want to know what's wrong with him now!" Sora piped up. "Yeah!" Mimi supported her.

Matt resisted the urge to growl. "And I will tell you, but not now! We first need to find a save place to sleep!"

And before any of the others could voice another protest, he stood and walked to Tai. He lifted the boy up, and cradled him in his arms. He nearly cried as he felt how light he weighed. He looked so vulnerable now, like he could brake in an instant…

Matt snapped out of his little trance, and started walking. The other followed, albeit reluctantly.

t.b.c.