The Fires of Passion
Kari's Light
Kari Kamiya was sleeping soundly until she felt a sharp rap on her shoulder.
"Hurry up, Kari. You're going to be late for school!"
Kari's eyelids shot open, peering into the large blue eyes of Gatomon.
"Thanks, Gatomon, but I was already awake."
"Uh-huh, then that snoring was just the garbage disposal, I suppose."
"If you mean Tai, then you're absolutely right."
"He's already up, though."
Kari yelped and hurriedly got dressed, throwing her camera around her neck as usual. She dashed into the kitchen and grabbed a banana for the road. Tai sat at the table, staring into his bowl of oatmeal.
"Morning Tai."
Tai grunted a response.
"Ready for that history exam?"
Again there was an unintelligible response. Gatomon rolled her eyes and hopped up onto the table.
"Piedmon's back," she mentioned casually. Tai hollered, tipping backwards in his chair and falling onto the ground.
"Don't do that!" he shouted, rubbing his head.
"Sorry. Good luck today."
~*~
Not too far away, T.K. had been up for nearly an hour, while Patamon slept in a cocoon of sheets crumpled at the foot of the bed. T.K. bolted for the elevator, praying Yolei and Cody wouldn't be down yet, and sighed in relief as an empty elevator descended down the shaft.
Today's the day, he thought. Today I tell Kari how I really feel.
He sprinted down the street, the early morning cool and the light pale. T.K. paused outside a florist's shop halfway to school, a burst of inspiration exploding in his mind. As he pushed the door open slowly, a scent of exotic flowers wafted from the shop's interior. The shop itself was a burst of vibrant colors, and perfume hung thickly in the air. As he walked towards the counter, T.K. noticed quite an unnerving sight. His older brother, Matt, was leaning over the counter, speaking softly to the girl behind the counter, who was smiling and laughing at his every word.
"Matt!"
The young man looked up, his sapphire eyes sparkling.
"Morning T.K."
"Yeah, yeah. What do you think you're doing?"
"Paying for my roses, what does it look like I'm doing?"
Matt turned, picking up a bouquet of the most beautiful roses, creamy white with a brilliant red kissing the petal tips.
"So who are they for, and why were you flirting with the florist?" T.K asked testily.
"First of all, worry about your own love life and leave mine alone. Second, the roses are for Lia. She's got laryngitis, a Latin exam, and she feels miserable. Third, I wasn't flirting, I was telling her that my drummer got his foot stuck in the snare yesterday."
"Oh, sorry I snapped. By the way, don't you have a history test today?"
Matt paled. "History test?"
"Yeah, Kari called me last night, she said Tai was cramming like mad. I guess this thing counts for a major part of your grade this term."
"Uh, gotta run. See ya later, T.K"
The girl behind the counter reappeared, a scent of jasmine trailing her from the back room. She smiled at T.K., her brown eyes lighting up. Pulling her shoulder-length red hair behind her ears, Sora looked at him quizzically.
"Did Matt leave already? I wanted to tell him 37C on that test is false."
"Oh, I'll tell him later."
"You're never in here T.K. Is there a problem? Is Biyomon okay?"
"I guess. I came in here to get a rose. Long-stem…and red."
Sora looked at him in surprise, then ducked into the back room again. Upon returning, she had the most exquisite red rose clutched in her grasp.
"Here ya go. Be careful, T.K. A single red rose is a sign of undying passion."
That's the whole point, he thought, throwing some cold hard cash onto the counter and dashing to school.
~*~
Kari walked slowly, breathing in the clean scent of morning. She stopped outside a coffee shop, where Joe was grabbing a bagel on the run.
"Hi Joe, you coming today?" she asked casually.
"I don't know yet, Kari. I may have to work. If I can't, tell Gomamon I'll bring the poker deck next time."
"Sure," she said with a smile, continuing on.
That's Joe, always reliable. We should find a girlfriend for him, I mean, Tai is working on Sora, Matt has Lia, Izzy has Nicki, Mimi might have the interests of a kid named Michael, Yolei likes Ken, Cody is too young for such things, and I…Kari paused in her thoughts. I have to decide who I love more, T.K. or Davis.
~*~
T.K. waited outside the school, eager to tell Kari. The only problem was catching her alone. Davis would be hounding her, no doubt, and if he showed up then T.K. would be out of luck. Suddenly he spotted Kari, looking just as radiant as always.
"Kari!" he called out.
"Hi T.K.!" she replied. She walked over to him, her warm brown eyes shining like stars.
"I, uh, that is, Kari I…" he stuttered.
"Hey Kari!" came another shout. T.K. groaned under his breath. Davis was here.
"Hi Davis. Uh, you were trying to say something T.K?"
"Just that we shouldn't expect Matt, Sora, or Lia this afternoon," he covered.
"Why?" Davis asked, putting a hand on Kari's shoulder. She gently brushed it off and gave him a look as if to say, "don't touch the merchandise."
"Uh, Sora has to work, Lia's come down with laryngitis and Matt has a rehearsal."
"And I saw Joe, he has work. Izzy promised his father he'd fix the hard drive on their computer, Tai has soccer practice, and Nicki has gym battles lined up for at least a month," Kari added.
"And I have kendo today!" Cody mentioned, joining them.
"And I have a doctor's appointment and if we don't get going we'll be late and have to scrape gum from the desks. The last time I had to Poromon tried to eat the gum!" Yolei cried, dashing for the doors.
Leave it to Davis to spoil everything. Now I'll never get Kari alone to tell her I love her, T.K. thought angrily.
Today's the day, Davis old boy. Today you make Kari your official girlfriend. Yup, Kari will be all over me faster than you can say, "digi-armor energize."
~*~
School went by slowly, T.K growing more annoyed with Davis's flirtations with each passing minute. The boiling point was during science when Davis slipped her a note reading, "You outshine all the stars in chapter 76."
As soon as the bell rang, he made a mad dash to the choir room, where Matt was casually poking at a metronome.
"I thought I'd find you here."
"T.K. is there a reason you keep following me? I have to warm up and I prefer to do it in private."
"Well, actually I need your help. I want to tell Kari I…I…I love her."
Matt flashed him an all-knowing smile.
"Speak with your heart, not with your voice. She'll understand."
"Thanks. Oh, and I hope you knew 37C on the test was false."
"I did, but Tai didn't."
~*~
"T.G.I.F, where were you?" Davis asked cantankerously.
"One, it's T.K. and two, talking with my brother, unless there's some law against doing that," he snapped back.
"Whoa, retract those claws," Gatomon hissed.
"We'll go in just a minute, guys. I just want to grab a quick drink before we head out," Kari said, ducking out of the room. Davis glared at T.K.
"Get it straight, Kari is my girlfriend, and if you think for one instant I'm gonna let you go near her then you're dead wrong."
"Kari deserves somebody better than you, and I won't give her up without a fight, Davis. I swear it," T.K. hissed back, his blue eyes narrowing.
"Ready to go?" Kari asked, reappearing. The guys shot daggers at each other, then turned, folding arms across their chests.
"Digiport open!" the children and their digimon companions traveled through the portal in the computer to the Digital World.
~*~
"Okay, so we've gotta topple a couple control spires, liberate some prisoners, drive Ken nuts, the usual, huh?" Veemon asked excitedly.
"Yup, let's get cracking!" Patamon shouted enthusiastically.
"Before we do, I have to do something. Kari, I've been meaning to tell you this all day, and I'm not going to wait another minute," T.K. said, reaching for his backpack.
"Oh no you don't!" Davis shouted, tackling T.K. and throwing him to the ground.
"Davis, what are you doing?" Kari cried in shock and horror.
"You can't have her you can't have her you can't have her!" Davis hollered, punching T.K. over and over again. T.K.'s eyes instantly blackened, angry purple-black bruises surfacing.
"You'll only use her so you can get to Tai!" T.K. retaliated, flipping Davis onto his back and throwing a punch as well. His fist connected with Davis's nose, and there was a sickening crunch followed by a river of blood. Davis clutched his nose in pain, gritting his teeth.
"Oh yeah, well at least Tai isn't some dumb blonde wuss with a mullet like somebody's brother!"
"You leave my brother out of this!" T.K. grabbed Davis and wrenched his arms back, practically pulling them from their sockets.
"This is awful, I have to do something!" Kari wailed.
"Uh, I wouldn't get involved in this if I were you," Gatomon replied.
"Hey Patamon?" Veemon asked. "Is this how Matt and Tai used to fight?"
"Kinda, only I don't think Matt ever gave Tai a bloody nose."
"Grrr, I'll show you! Veemon, digi-armor energize!"
Before Veemon could protest, the light swirled around him. "Veemon, armor digivolve to…Flamedramon, the Fires of Courage!"
"Flamedramon, I order you to barbecue T.K.!"
"What? Have you lost it? Are those goggles cutting off your blood flow? I'm not going to do that!" Flamedramon gasped.
"Then fight Patamon or something, just get them!"
Flamedramon turned to Patamon and sighed. "I don't think we have much of a choice in this. I'm sorry, Patamon."
"I know, Wargreymon had to make the same choice."
"Fire rocket!"
Patamon dodged the attack, then came back with a pathetic "boom bubble."
"Gatomon, can't you stop them?" Kari wailed.
"I don't know! I don't think I have enough power to! Besides, it's you they're fighting over."
Kari gasped. All this blood shed, all this flesh torn, all the carnage was because Davis and T.K. wanted to win her heart. She watched in terror as Davis and T.K continued to administer violent blow after violent blow. She listened to their anguished cries.
"Kari can never be yours!" Davis bellowed, punching T.K. in the stomach.
"Kari…deserves…to be loved. I…love her. I've…loved her since we…first met…and I'll keep on loving her…until I die," T.K. wheezed.
"Which will be very soon!" Davis roared, grabbing T.K. and throwing him against a tree, his body going limp on impact.
"That does it! No more Mister Nice Digimon! Patamon, digivolve to…Angemon!"
(I forgot to mention it. They're in a spire-free area. Sorry for the confusion.)
"Stop it! Stop it now!" Kari sobbed. Tripping over feet that felt like stone, her knees trembling, her heart in her throat, she ran to T.K.'s side and threw herself onto the ground next to him. Angemon and Flamedramon remained poised for battle, Gatomon glared at Davis, who stood nonchalantly in the glade as if nothing had happened.
"T.K. please speak to me! T.K.!" Kari begged, wiping a ribbon of blood from his jaw. Pale, save the angry red of raw flesh and the purple of bruises, T.K. didn't stir.
"Wake up, come on, wake up! I don't know what I would do if I lost you, T.K. I…I love you!" she wailed, weeping uncontrollably, sobs wracking her slender frame as she placed her head on his chest.
The words stung Davis sharper than any cut on his face. Kari loved T.K. and not him.
"Now you see, Davis. Your actions have ruined the lives of those around you," Angemon stated judiciously.
"You're no better than Ken," Flamedramon added, devolving back to Veemon. Angemon did so as well.
"I'm sorry, T.K. I'm so sorry. I should have told you I loved you before, but I was too scared to. Now I'm too late!"
Kari tilted his head back, pressing her lips gently to his, tasting the sharp tang of blood and the salty bitterness of tears. As she released him, a trembling hand rose and caressed her cheek, wiping a tear from its furrows.
"Kari?" came a whisper. She choked on her tears. The hand dropped for an instant, and when it returned a brilliant rose redder than the blood trailing from T.K.'s lips was in its clutches.
"This was what I wanted to give you this morning. I tried to tell you, but I was so afraid. Ai shigeru, Hikari."
"Takeru I…"
He silenced her with a kiss, and gingerly he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his aching body.
"Ah, I love happy endings," Patamon sighed.
It's far from over, T.K. Kari still burns brightly in my heart, and I will be the victor. And I still think Matt has a mullet, Davis thought.
The fires of passion have set ablaze two hearts once again. Hope and Light.