Well, people seemed to like this so I'm giving it a shot. This is the second part of my 'World Go Round' Series and I hope you like it because I'm kind of fond of it. Please R&R. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em

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"Matt?…Matt?…"

"Matt!"

"Huh?"

Yamato looked up at his younger brother, who was staring at him worriedly.

"The Kamiya's and I are going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Do you want to come with us?"

Matt heard the hopeful tone in his younger sibling's voice.

"No. If you're leaving I want to stay with Taichi."

TK sighed.

"Matt…" he said gently. "You've been here for hours. Tai hasn't said a word, he hasn't acknowledged us…"

"He hasn't eaten, he won't drink anything…I have to stay with him Takeru. Just in case…." Matt trailed off.

Takeru watched his older brother concentrate his gaze on the floor and he knew when to accept defeat.

"…Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No. I'll be alright."

TK looked at his brother for a long moment and the turned to walk away. He got a few feet and stopped.

"Matt…just make sure you don't end up next to Taichi."

With that, he walked down to the cafeteria to join Hikari and her parents.

Yamato swallowed and clenched his fists, gathering his courage, he got up to walk down the hall to his beloved's room.

Matt opened the door and, just like every time, he felt his heart sink a little more. 

Wires and tubes snaked around Taichi's all too thin body. IV's ran from his wrists, forearms, and the back of his hand, putting multiple medications into his system, trying to save a life that didn't want to be saved in the first place.

Yamato swallowed and approached the brunette's bed.

The EKG machine beeped in his ear in tune to Taichi's heartbeat. It seemed to get fainter every time Yamato heard it…

"Taichi." Yamato whispered, beginning to gently stoke his hand through his love's hair while his other hand wrapped itself around Taichi's tube riddled hand. "Taichi I'm here. It's Yamato…I'm here and I won't leave okay?"

Tai's eyes were open, but just slightly. He wasn't looking at Yamato, but to the opposite side of the bed facing a window.

"Tai-ch-" Yamato stopped himself from saying what he had wanted to. Taichi hated to be called Tai-chan now, since that was what Miaki had always called him. Matt cursed himself for not seeing the abuse sooner and stopping it before it came to this. He had only been around Tai with Miaki once or twice, but every time Tai seemed afraid of something that Matt could never quite place and he always had some kind of new injury to sport that he claimed came from another encounter with a door or a fall down some stairs.

"Why didn't I know what was happening to you?" Yamato sat in the chair by Tai's bed and laid his head on Taichi's hand, still holding it. "Why didn't you tell me?" he sobbed tears running down his cheeks to land on his love's pale hand. "Why couldn't you have let me help you?"

Matt raised his head the slightest bit.

"Why didn't you trust me?"

Matt stared at Tai for a long moment, looking for any type of response. A noise, a movement, he would've been happy if he had seen him blink…

"Matt?"

Matt sat up straight, and wiped at his tears, but still held tightly onto Tai's hand as he turned around slightly to regard Kari.

"Yeah?"

Kari stepped closer and stood next to Yamato, brushing the back of her hand over her brother's cheek and sniffling. A small, sad smile gracing her lips and disappearing as quickly as it came.

"The…the nurses set up a room for me and my parents a few doors down. TK said that he was going to sleep in the waiting room…"

"I'm staying with Tai." Matt said simply.

Kari knew he would say that.

"Call me if you need anything, okay Yamato?"

Matt nodded.

Kari sniffled slightly and tried to sound upbeat.

"Goodnight Taichi."

Her smile faltered a little at the lack of response but she managed to make it out of the room before Yamato heard her break down. He would have gone after her, but he knew her parents and TK would be there and he needed to stay with Tai.

"You hear that Taichi? You're not getting rid of me until you talk to me." Matt bit his lip and leaned in close to Tai's ear. Softly, he whispered, "You're everything to me...whether you realize it or not…you're everything…"

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Matt woke up and quickly looked out the window, wondering how long he had been out. It was dark outside, so at least a few hours he figured.

He stretched slightly and looked to Taichi.

"I'm going to go see if I can find a clock okay? I'll bring back some food out of the vending machine for you…" Matt grinned slightly and then sighed, shuddering at the endlessly vacant look in Tai's eyes. "I'll be right back."

With that, and one last squeeze of Taichi's hand, he turned and left the room, letting the door click closed softly behind him.

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The voices echoed in Taichi's mind. He could hear every word, but he couldn't place any names to them.

It was as if he was lost in darkness. He couldn't see anything. He felt weightless, just floating in space. As if nothing was really even there…

Then a sudden flash of light and he could see just slightly better. Though still dark, Tai could make out a TV screen, a dresser, things one would expect to see. He tried to place where he was in his disarrayed mind, but couldn't. Lying there for a few moments in a strange place, he tried to move only to feel various things tug at his flesh.

The confused brunette looked down to see tubes sticking out of his arms and hands. Knowing nothing more than his desire to move, he reached down and unceremoniously yanked the needles out of his veins.

It was odd, he thought. He saw blood, but there was no pain that went with it. In fact, he couldn't feel much of anything.

Tai swung his legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand only to feel a wave of dizziness wash over him. He recovered quickly and shakily walked over to the nearest door he found.

Pulling it open revealed a small bathroom, like in a hospital maybe? He walked in a step or two and saw a mirror. Looking in it, he saw a stranger. Some horrible disgusting creature with no redeeming qualities. It took a moment, but he finally realized that he was staring at himself.

'Is this what people see? Is this what Miaki saw? What…what Yamato sees…'

"Matt…" he whispered so softly that it barely had a sound at all. His vocal cords strained from weeks of not speaking.

Tai raised a hand slowly to his face, touching an old bruise on his right cheek and skimming his fingers over the small healing scar...

"Is this what you see…?"

"No!"

Tai's eyes closed tightly as he lashed out at his reflection. Shattering the mirror in one blow.

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Matt pressed the button for a bag of chips, he knew Taichi couldn't eat them right now even if he wanted to, but it felt reassuring to him. He felt that if he could trick his mind into thinking that everything was fine, that maybe it would be…

But somewhere back in reality, he knew it wouldn't work.

Walking slowly back to Tai's room, Yamato's mind began working out more strategies to help Taichi. There had to be something more that he could do. He couldn't stand watching the love of his life slip away any longer. They had just found out that their feelings were returned….this just wasn't fair…

A crash snapped him back to the present quickly.

"Taichi…"

He dropped the bag of chips and raced back to his love's room.

Flinging the door open, his breath caught in his throat.

Blood literally saturated the sheets of Tai's bed and needles and wires lay discarded on the pillow.

"Taichi?!"

A noise turned Matt's attention to the bathroom.

He immediately tried to open the door only to find it locked.

"Tai?!" Matt began pounding frantically on the door.

"Tai open the door! Please Taichi open up!"

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Tai stared, uncomprehending for a long moment at the shattered mirror before lowering his head and dropping to his knees on the glass-covered floor. He felt the shards cutting into his unprotected legs, but didn't care. He could just vaguely feel the pain, but even though it hurt…he wanted more…it was what he deserved and he knew it.

Tai began reaching for a large shard. Grasping it in his hand, Tai felt the sharp edges slice effortlessly into his palm…Tai only gripped tighter…

Closing his eyes tightly, Taichi brought the shard down his arm, slashing from his shoulder to his wrist, blood flowing almost immediately and thickly.

"Taichi!"

By this time, Matt was screaming for the doctors and slamming himself against the door.

Tai shook his head, squinting his eyes, and backed himself into a corner. Dropping the shard of glass and pressing himself as far into the corner as he could, Tai dug his hands into his hair.

"…stop…make it stop…"

The door began to splinter and give way as Matt rammed into it.

"Taichi! Let me in!"

"Taichi!"

"Taichi!!"

Taichi pushed himself hard into the corner and screamed, slashing his nails into the skin of his left arm.

"Tai!!"

Yamato smashed through the door and was immediately at a still screaming Taichi's side.

"Stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Taichi! It's me! It's Matt! Calm down!" he yelled, pressing firm hands to Taichi's shoulders.

"Stop!…just make it stop!…make it stop…"

Yamato suddenly felt tears scroll down his cheeks as Tai's struggling died down and he was able to take in the blood and the cuts covering his Taichi.

Yamato swallowed thickly and wrapped his arms around Tai's trembling, blood-soaked body, holding tightly, but gently onto him.

"Tell me what to do. Just tell me how to make it stop and I will." Yamato pleaded desperately.

Tai stopped struggling as Yamato whispered comfortingly in his ear, but continued to sob, lying limply in Matt's arms.

"Tai!" Kari screamed as she, TK, and her parents skidded to a halt in the doorway.

"Taichi…" his mother sobbed, hugging her husband as Kari clung to them both.

TK looked from them to the two older boys and Yamato's anguished face.

"Onichan…"

"Shhh…I'm here Tai…" Matt soothed. "I'm here and I promise I'll make the pain go away if you just tell me how…"

Taichi breathed shakily for a few moments.

Then, suddenly Yamato felt a small hand clutch gently at his sleeve.

Yamato gasped slightly.

"Taichi?"

Head still bowed and resting against Yamato's chest, bangs covering his eyes, Taichi whispered so that Matt had to lean down to hear him clearly.

"…don't…let go…don't let…him…"

Matt understood.

"I promise. I promise Taichi. I'll never let you go, I'll never let him or anyone else ever hurt you again."

Tai turned his head up and looked into Yamato's eyes with the most pleading, frightened look the blonde had ever seen.

"don't let me go…"

Matt simply nodded and began rocking the smaller boy gently back and forth in his arms as the doctors finally decided to show up.

With no words spoken except to each other, they began trying to pull Taichi from Yamato's arms. Tai whimpered at the mere contact and held onto Matt as tight as he could. Sensing his love's distress, Matt acted on instinct and held Tai tighter to himself, kicking at the doctors and trying his best to keep them away from Taichi.

"Let go kid!"

"Someone call security!"

"No!"

Mr. Kamiya's voice boomed loudly.

"Get away from my son."

The doctors stopped and Taichi curled that much more into Yamato.

"Sir, if we don't help him, your son will bleed to death."

"Then let Yamato help. You won't be able to do anything with him fighting you. Can't you see Tai's scared? Let Yamato stay with him."

The doctors exchanged defeated glances.

One turned to Yamato, who still held a shaking Taichi in his arms.

"Can you carry him?"

Matt nodded.

"Then hurry up and follow me. He hasn't got much time."

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*much later*

"Wake up angel."

Taichi's eyes fluttered open lightly.

The first thing that greeted him was Yamato's softly smiling face.

"Yami…"

Matt chuckled slightly and sniffed.

"Yeah."

"W-where?-"

"You're okay." Matt replied, taking Taichi's hand into his own. "You're still in the hospital, but you're okay."

Tai looked a little panicked and pulled away slightly from Yamato's touch, but soon relaxed at his soothing words.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya?"

A doctor stepped in and signaled for them to follow him outside. Deciding to leave the two older boys alone, TK and Kari left too, content in the knowledge that Taichi was at least awake and coherent.

"Yes doctor?" Mrs. Kamiya prompted as Kari closed the door behind them.

"How's my brother?" Kari asked

The doctor smiled at her warmly.

"He gave us quite a scare, but we did manage to patch him up pretty well."

"What exactly happened?" Mr. Kamiya asked.

"Well, from what we can tell, your son regained consciousness at some point last night, but was in a kind of drug-dazed state. His mind wasn't working right. He tore the needles out of his arms, which caused most of the bleeding as they were put in his veins. But what happened after that is what concerns me."

"What do you mean?"

"The rest of the injuries he suffered were self-inflicted."

Mrs. Kamiya paled significantly, as did the other three.

"We...well…what…"

"He slashed a long line in his left arm from shoulder to wrist. It took almost a hundred and fifty stitches to close it. There were other various cuts on his legs and arms from the glass fragments on the ground, but there were more troubling marks. It appears that while Taichi at some point dropped the shard of glass he had used to cut his arm he slashed at his forearm with his own nails. This, of course, didn't do near as much damage, but if there was any doubt before, that confirmed that Taichi is suicidal and will have to be put under suicide watch for a matter of weeks."

His parents could only nod.

TK was struck speechless. 'Suicidal' and 'Taichi' were two words he never thought he would hear and never wanted to hear in the same sentence.

Takeru sighed as he comforted a crying Kari.

'Please get better Tai…please…'

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"You okay angel?"

Tai struggled for a moment, gasping for air. Until he felt Yamato's gentle hand running through his hair tenderly.

"…yeah…better…Yami…'

To be continued…

Well, that was it for now. What do you think? I think it was a little rushed, but it is 5:oo am and I have to get up at 6:30 for school so cut me some slack on that okay. I only write when I get inspired and I happened to get inspired a few hours ago. I need feedback if you want me to keep going. I personally liked this part better than the last one at least. I said this would be a short series and I'm still hoping to keep it that way…Hmmm…maybe two more chapters?