Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I don't own "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch. Heck, I don't even own a house, so please don't sue. Also, I don't make any money from these insane ramblings. Unfortunately. (Oh, and the name Cherith belongs to some Star Wars author or another.)

You never know, I might figure out this HTML thing…

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"All You Wanted"

Chapter 1

I wanted to be like you

I wanted everything

So I tried to be like you

And I got swept away

Cherith sighed softly and glanced down at her watch. Twelve more minutes, she thought, as the teacher, Mr. Jonsen, droned on about hyperbolas. She pondered for a moment on the cruelty of first hour algebra, then glanced at the boy who sat diagonally in front and to the left of her. He was so cute! She was new to this school, but Ken (that was him) was the first person she had really noticed.

She had moved to the city with her parents and her baby brother, Nikolas, about two and a half weeks ago. Where she had lived in the country, she had been at the head of her class, and no one could keep up with her. She had felt held back by how tiny her school had been. So when her dad had gotten a job offer in the nearby city, she had supported the idea, dropping hints here and there, that sort of thing. Now they lived in a large apartment complex with hundreds of other families. It had been almost overwhelming at first, but she was getting used to it.

What had been most unsettling was her new school. She had been at the top of her class for as long as she could remember, but suddenly she was only in the middle, at least of the advanced classes she was in now.

She returned her thoughts to algebra when she saw Mr. Jonsen glance at her several times. She had been told that he did that before he called on someone he thought wasn't paying enough attention.

"And so, what are the equations of the asymptotes, Cherith?"

She had come out of her reverie in time to find her place in the book. "Umm...plus or minus two thirds."

"Yes," he said, giving her a cold look before starting up again in his monotone voice.

Four minutes. I can make it. She tried to keep her mind on the lecture, but she understood it fine, and her thoughts kept returning to Ken. The teacher told the class what tomorrow's assignment was, and she put her stuff into her bookbag and waited for the bell. Second hour was...PE. Oh, well. At least she would see Davis and Trista. They were two of her four new friends. She had also met Danielle and Mark, who had joined her at lunch on her second day and every day afterwards. Also there was Kari and Yolei who had been nice to her on different occasions. Kari had given her the tip about Mr. Jonsen, but she was popular, and Cherith couldn't stand hanging with the popular crowd. Yolei was pretty shy, but they might be able to forge a friendship.

Finally the bell rang, and she went to the girls' locker room to change into her gym clothes. When she went out into the gym, the teacher was saying something about that they were starting a new sport for the next four weeks. She walked over to Davis and Trista just as the teacher revealed that it was soccer.

Davis whispered, "Yes! Yes!" and Cherith gave him her 'okay, you scare me' look.

Trista laughed and said, "Soccer is Davis's favorite sport."

Cherith grinned. "Yeah, I noticed that volleyball wasn't. But that's really cool. I love soccer, although I'm not very good at it."

Trista snorted and said, "That's what you said about volleyball."

Cherith looked embarrassed and said, "I mean it this time. Anyway, those spikes were just luck. I showed you that I couldn't do it again."

"And your ace serves? Were those just luck, too?" Trista smirked at Cherith's look of chagrin.

"Come on, you two, before Mr. Houston yells at you. Aren't you excited?" Davis hollered over his shoulder.

"Yes, I was just trying to figure something out," Trista said as they jogged to catch up with him. "Cherith said she wasn't very good at soccer, either."

"Like volleyball?" Davis joked. "You can be on my team."

The three friends laughed and walked down to the far end of the soccer field.

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Ken smiled to himself as he entered the computer lab. He enjoyed his fifth hour computer class, even though he could have taught the class even better than the teacher did, because it gave him a chance to check up on the Digital World in the middle of the school day. As the teacher began explaining the day's lesson, he brought up the window that would show him which areas he had conquered. He scanned it briefly, noticing a place surrounded on three sides by his conquered territories. There, he thought, that's where I'll go tonight. He noted the area's coordinates and sent them in an email to his home computer. He paid just enough attention to follow the lesson so he could answer questions if the teacher called on him. The period went by uneventfully, and when the lunch bell rang, he got up automatically and walked through the door. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the girl walking past the doorway until he had run into her. Fortunately, she had apparently seen him and had stepped over enough that he didn't hit her very hard at all.

She caught his book in midair and handed it back to him. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I should've been more careful." She was wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans, and she had her books in a bookbag on her back. He didn't think he knew her, but he might have seen her somewhere.

"It's all right," he replied, trying to figure out where he had seen her. She was kind of pretty, but in a natural way--she wasn't wearing any make-up. Definitely different.

She seemed to notice his thoughtful look and gave him an embarrassed smile. "I'm new here. My name is Cherith Tenshi."

"I'm Ken Ichijouji," he replied, watching her eyes to see if she recognized his name.

She smiled politely and said, "Pleased to meet you." She turned and began walking toward the cafeteria.

He dismissed the incident from his mind and went off to lunch.

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Cherith, however, did not forget the incident so quickly. As she stood in the lunch line, she remembered how he dressed. Khaki and white, the same colors every day. She decided she would hate to dress like that. She liked to use her choice in clothing to express herself. But oh well. She got her 'mystery-meat-on-a-bun,' as Davis had called it, and walked over to the table where her friends were sitting.

She sat down beside Mark, looking around the table as she did so. "Hey, where's Davis?" she asked, noticing he wasn't sitting there.

Danielle, sitting across from her, said, "He and Yolei are coming. They're behind you," she added at Cherith's confused glance.

Davis sat down beside her, and Yolei positioned herself across from him so they could continue some earlier conversation.

"I don't know, Davis. Ken has always been really nice."

"Yolei, all I know is that he has been reclusive and secretive since about the time that the Digimon Emperor showed his ugly face. Also, I've heard rumors that sometimes he disappears for an afternoon or a day."

Cherith, her curiosity piqued, asked, "Are you talking about Ken Ichijouji?"

Davis glanced between her and Yolei, and then turned back to Cherith. "Actually, yes. Have you met him yet?"

Cherith smirked. "Yeah, I ran into him just before lunch. So what are you two talking about?"

"Well," Davis floundered for a moment , and Yolei said, "It's kind of personal. Sorry, I really would tell you otherwise." She smiled apologetically.

Cherith listened for any mention of Ken during the rest of the meal, but neither Davis nor Yolei said his name again.

As she got her biology book out of her locker for sixth hour, she decided that her schedule wasn't too bad. She saw Ken first hour in algebra, fourth hour during study hall, and sixth and seventh hour in biology. She realized that she probably seemed almost obsessive about him, but justified it to herself by pointing out how many other girls were more obsessed with him than she was. Just then, the bell rang, and she turned her mind to threading her way through the crowded hallway to her next class.

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Ken closed his family's apartment door on the early spring chill in the air. "Hey, Mom, I'm gonna work in my room for a while."

"Okay, Ken," she said smiling and thinking what a good worker he was.

About half an hour later the phone rang. "Ichijouji residence."

"Hello. My name is Cherith Tenshi," came the voice over the phone. "I'm in Ken's biology class, and I was wondering if he could help me with something I didn't understand."

"One moment while I ask him," she said, walking to his door with the cordless phone in her hand. "Ken, one of your schoolmates wants to talk with you." She frowned when there was no answer, and said, "I'm going to come in." She opened the door and gasped when she saw that no one was inside. "He's not here!" she said, fighting back her panic. She wished that her husband was home. "I--" she broke off, trying not to burst into tears.

After a moment Cherith said, "Would you like me to come over?" She could hear the anxiousness and concern in the girl's voice.

"That would be very nice. Thank you so much."

"No problem," Cherith said softly. "Where do you live?"

She told her the address and apartment number. "I'll be there in two minutes," came the reply over the phone. "I live right across the street."

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Cherith put the phone back on the cradle and went into the front hall. She hesitated a moment, and then threw on a warm sweater before donning her lightweight coat. She zipped it up as she ran down the stairs to the first floor. She crossed the street and, finding the right building, ascended the front steps and went down a flight of stairs to the ground floor. She found the Ichijouji residence and rang the doorbell. An anxious-looking woman answered the door, obviously Ken's mom.

"You are Cherith? I'm Ken's mom."

"Yes. Pleased to meet you."

"I called my husband. He gets off work in a couple of minutes, and then he'll come straight home." She took Cherith to Ken's room, and together they thoroughly searched the apartment. Neither found so much as a clue to where he could be. Cherith suggested that they check windows to see if any had been left open, and they split up.

Cherith found herself alone in Ken's room. She checked his windows and his balcony door. There was nowhere he could have gone. As she turned back, she noticed that his computer screen was glowing strangely. She stared at it, feeling a chill go up her spine. The glow intensified until it was almost too bright to look at. Then her eyes saw something her mind couldn't believe. Something seemed to be coming out of the computer screen! It broke free, flying straight at her. She caught it reflexively, and it split into two separate things. The object in her right hand was a flat, white, rectangular, plastic...thing. It had a seam running off the top onto the side and back onto the top, and a couple of buttons. She shrugged and put it into her back pocket. The thing in her left hand was kind of like a flat plastic oval, except it was wider at one end than the other. It had some kind of clip on the wider end. Apparently that was the top end.

She turned it over. It had a screen of some type at the wider end and two buttons to the screen's right. Below it, in the middle of the smaller end, was a larger round button. The object had a clear plastic grip around its edges on its lower two-thirds.

Cherith glanced up, hearing the apartment's door open and a man speaking with Ken's mom, probably his dad. She returned to studying the device in her hands and thought she saw a light on the screen. She brought it close to her face, trying to tell for sure, when a brilliant flash of light came out of the screen, blinding her. She gasped soundlessly and pointed it away from her face.

And toward the computer.

She felt as though she were falling, then realized that she was actually shrinking. She was suddenly pulled toward the computer screen. She shut her eyes. This can't be happening. It isn't possible!

She felt ground under her knees, but didn't open her eyes until she realized that her knees were getting cold and wet. She opened her eyes and jumped to her knees in surprise. It was snowing! There were already about six inches on the ground. She turned to look behind her and was startled to see what looked like a small TV sitting on the ground. On the screen was a view of Ken's room...as seen from the computer's screen! She felt dizzy for a moment. Was it possible that she was inside the computer? Not really. The world didn't stop behind the TV thing. Maybe it was like a portal or something. Instantaneous transportation? I really don't know. Oh well, forget it.

She put the device in her coat pocket and looked around, trying to decide which way to go. She noticed a line of depressions in the snow. It looked like someone had walked through this area a while ago, and the snow had partially obliterated the tracks, leaving only a series of dents in the snow.

Maybe they're Ken's footprints, she thought. She set out, following them.

She had been walking for about a quarter of an hour when the snow stopped and she could see something sticking up out of the ground ahead. Something large. It looked almost like a huge tall rock, flat on one side and curving around, kind of like a "D". At the base of the flat side it sloped down flat along the ground with some kind of dome rising out of it. She walked slowly over, following the footprints that led straight to it.

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To be continued (when I get around to typing it up;)