A/N: Written for the

Digimon Novel Big Bang
The Small Multichap Competition
Novella Masterclass Challenge, #8 – not-so-secret Santa (title and summary provided by Aiko Isari)
Novella with Prompts Challenge, prompt: #2 – angle
Diversity Writing Challenge, j31 – write about abuse of any kind
Becoming the Tamer King Challenge, Drain Tunnel task

And owing to that Diversity prompt (and the summary), I should probably say that this is not a child abuse or adult abusing child fic… or drug/alcohol abuse for that matter. Abuse has many definitions, and I think the least confronting is "the improper use of something". Taiki's habit of helping anyone in need is something very open to abuse to self and/or by others (particularly since I recently watched the Fate series and Shirou Emiya…), and is something that's been explored in the Digimon Xros Wars series, both anime and manga. How far I take that is yet to be determined, but considering the potential implications of that prompt (and Aiko's summary), I felt that was worth explaining despite the potential spoiler.

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Dripping Water
Chapter 1 – new lens (Shoutmon)

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Shoutmon didn't like the human world. It shut him out of Taiki's life far too often.

They'd only been there for two days and the first was spent in an almost mad daze. The digimon stayed out of the Xros Loader until a crowd spawned and Zenjirou rushed them back, talking a mile a minute about his nephews in costumes and then making a big deal about how they'd "run off".

It left the Digimon terribly confused, until Akari and Taiki had collected their wits about them and told them that talking creatures that weren't humans or on a computer or television screen did not exist and the logistics of showing it did would be a nightmare. If that even was a good idea. Humans hadn't really left space alone after discovering it, after all. Three Generals in the Digital World was chaotic enough.

In any case, they returned to the Xros Loader, and the three children moved from one odd and human-filled place to the next and talking in a flurry until the sky was dark, and then they split up.

Shoutmon went with Taiki. Of course he did. But even when Taiki whispered this next building was his home, they were told to stay inside the Xros Loader.

Taiki's attempts at explaining the Digital World didn't go terribly well, and so the order stood. So the digimon got well acquainted with Taiki's bedside drawer, just like they acquainted themselves with his pocket.

That was day one.

And day two was even quieter, as Taiki gave them a quick explanation about school and how he wouldn't be able to talk to them there or even carry his Xros Loader on his person, and then the device was tucked away in his book bag and off he went. And through the canvas material, the digimon talked about sensible and insensible things as Taiki went on with a part of his life so far away from them all.

None of them asked the question burning in their minds. When would they go back, if at all.

Day three was the same as the second day. So was Thursday, and the days were so long and so tiring that they only talked to Zenjirou on the phone. Akari they had lunch with, and that was one of the few times they could crawl out of the bag and stare at the sky as the Xros Loader lay between the pair on the grass.

At least Taiki and Akari could hear their voices like that, and they could hear them. It would have been even more unbearable otherwise.

But that was the life of human children like them. To go to school: go to classes, eat lunch under the sun, and then attend more classes in the afternoon. Then do after school activities and get home when the sun was going down with Akari walking them half-way, then eating dinner with Taiki's mother before Taiki escaped to his room with snacks and finally let them out.

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Thursday night came after three full days of school and Shoutmon stared at Taiki suspiciously.

It was hard to keep an eye on him during the day, and harder still to keep eyes on Akari (and downright impossible to keep eyes on Zenjirou), but Akari looked far perkier than Taiki did. And considering the Digital World, that was really saying something.

Especially since all the bruises and scrapes from their fight in the Corridor Zone should have faded away by then.

And then Taiki winced as he sat on his desk chair, and alarm bells went off in Shoutmon's head. 'Are you okay?'

'Sure.' Taiki's tired face broke into a smile. 'Just got used to the Digital World, I guess.' He spilled his books on his desk. Shoutmon didn't try to understand them. He couldn't read Japanese. Or that one Akari had said was in English. He couldn't even tell it apart from the others.

Wisemon might have been able to, but Wisemon didn't come out of the Xros Loader even on the best of days. It wasn't really important, Shoutmon supposed. It wasn't like they could help Taiki with his homework if they could recognise one book from another.

But maybe Wisemon could teach them to read human language. That would be a good way to kill time (in a useful way) until they got to Saturday.

And the digimon had agreed to the week break because they'd seen how much the children had missed this world, and how off-footed they'd often been. They'd been dragged away from this, after all. What was wrong with giving them a little back? And the children had said their school days were busy. But Saturdays were half days, and Sundays were off, and Mondays were usually school but the Monday they'd arrived in the Digital World had been Marine Day and a Public Holiday and the digimon had wound up a little muddled with the explanation because they didn't have calendars per say and certainly no need for things like weeks. Days were important, but easily measured by the sun or lack thereof. Seasons were important but mapped by the weather. Years were important and judged by how time came in a full circle. Weeks and months weren't quite as important.

Humans had them though, and weird rules for telling them apart. Seven days were a week and a month had anywhere from twenty eight to thirty one days, depending on which month in particular it was. A year had three hundred and sixty-five (or three hundred and sixty-six every four years, which was another mind-boggling thing) but started and ended at different times depending on where in the world or for what purpose.

All unnecessarily confusing, in Shoutmon's opinion. But what he really needed to know was that they were in the middle of a month called July, Marine Day was an exception to the usual five and half days of school and one and a half days of break school weeks, and there was a holiday coming up in six days which meant no school at all.

And that was all he'd really learned in three days and four nights. And that school was very very exhausting, and the work that went towards it never really ended, even when Taiki was sitting at his desk after dinner. Because there was that thing called study where he poured over his books some more, and then went to bed after Shoutmon had pinched himself enough times to need the Xros Loader to repair his skin.

He was almost positive he was going to fall asleep tonight before Taiki even with pinching himself as much as he did. It wasn't as effective as whatever thermos Taiki was keeping on his desk anyway.

Actually, there was an idea…

'Taiki?' he asked, when Taiki paused in his scribbling to pour himself another cup. 'What's that?'

'This?' Taiki blinked at his drink. 'It's coffee. Got lots of caffeine, so good for late night study though the taste is a bit… acquired.'

'Not like Digi-noir?' Aside from Digi-noir, everything in the Digital World seemed to taste the same so that was their base of comparison. Though he could build a palate based on human food if he could figure out what they were.

Two weeks was what Taiki and Akari and Zenjirou had cried, before throwing themselves back into their normal life. Something about exams they couldn't afford to do poorly on, especially this year, and new schools next year, and it quite frankly went over the digimons' heads but it was a well earned break for them. Two weeks was fourteen days and nights (or less, since the two weeks was more an estimate) and Wisemon had already assured them that the progress of time was arrested with as many Code Crowns as Xros Heart had in its possession now in the human world.

He had also assured them this was the human world, and not some sort of copy created by the Code Crown of Corridor Zone. But nobody could blame their scepticism. Taiki and his friends might've come from another world, but the Digital World was all they Digimon had known.

And they weren't doing a terribly good job of getting to know the human world, really. But two weeks was what they'd promised, and was it really any trouble for them, after the time and effort the children had sacrificed for them?

Of course it wasn't. Even if it meant Shoutmon (and the others) had to look for a patience they didn't know they had. And also…

'Want to try?' Taiki had drained his cup, and refilled it.

Shoutmon accepted the offer. 'Anyone else want some too?'

Snores greeted him. They were asleep already. What a show of loyalty, guys. But that was what they were there to do: rest up and let the children study and do their exams, and then decide what to do after that.

Because even if this was Taiki's home, Shoutmon needed his help.

And even if he didn't throw himself at the other's feet to beg, he was sure Taiki would go with him, again, to the Digital World.

But for now, it was Taiki who needed the help. Even if the help was just peace and quiet to study, and company as the night dragged on. And watching out for how he winced uncomfortably every time he shifted…

'Is the chair uncomfortable?' he blurted out.

'Huh?' Taiki blinked owlishly at him in the lamp light. 'Nah. I've just been at this too long.'

He worked longer anyway, until he was yawning and rubbing his eyes, and then he went to bed.

Maybe it was the coffee, but this time Shoutmon was awake enough to see the discoloured skin when Taiki switched out his shirt for a pyjama top.