Summary: Eight year olds TK and Kari are best friends and they do everything together. But what happens when Kari suddenly moves away? Will things still remain the same? You will just have to read and find out...
Listen To Your Heart
"Don't Forget To Remember Me"
(I don't own Carrie Underwood either)
The Digidestin said their goodbyes and one by one got on the trolley. They opened the windows and stuck their heads out to say goodbye to their best friends, the Digimon, one last time. As the trolley started flying away, the Digidestin gave their friends some last minute advice like, "Don't let anyone push you around!" "Stay warm at night!" "Take it easy!" Along with many other things.
Once Digidestin couldn't see the Digimon anymore, they slowly turned around and sat down in their seats. Sora, Tai, Kari, and Joe all sat on one side of the trolley while Matt, TK, Mimi, and Izzy all sat on the other side. The slow moving trolley rocked the Digidestin to sleep one by one.
Kari watched her friends drift off to sleep. 'How can everyone be so tired?' She thought to herself and looked around the trolley to see TK still awake.
"I can't believe they all fell asleep," Kari whispered quietly, careful not to wake anyone up, but hoping to get TK's attention.
TK immediately perked up at the sound of her voice. "Yeah, all we did was lay around all day."
"So, what are you gonna do when you get back?" Kari asked as she fiddled with her fingers. She suddenly felt super shy talking to TK.
"I don't know," shrugged TK. "If my friends asked me what I did this summer, its not like I can say 'I saved the world,' you know? If I did, they wouldn't believe me."
"Yeah, they would think I'm weird or crazy or something," agreed Kari. "Why don't we hang out then? You know, since our friends would think we're crazy and all."
No one needed to explain to Kari that there was something special about her and TK. It extended farther than the fact they were the bearers of hope and light or the youngest members of the Digidestin. They had a special connection, something more special than the connection they shared with their brothers.
"Ok," said TK and smiled. Little did Kari know, TK felt the same way. He admired the way Kari always put others first and since the day she fell ill in Machindramon's city, he felt the need to protect her. It didn't surprise him how quickly they became good friends.
"I'll just have to ask my mom," replied TK.
"Why?" Kari asked, "I'm sure she wouldn't care."
"Well it's just that after my parents divorced, mom and I moved to the other side of Tokyo, like across the river. So if I ever wanted to come visit you, I would have to take the ferry, then the subway, and then walk all the way to your house," explained TK.
"Oh," Kari paused with disappointment. "I didn't know you lived across town."
"Yeah," said TK with a hint of sadness. He didn't think it was fair that all the other Digidestin lived near each other.
"Well, in that case I'll ask my mom. She'll usually say yes to anything," said Kari, which made TK smile.
"Hey look!" TK exclaimed, pointing to the front of the trolley.
They ran to the front of the trolley for a better look. "What is it?" Kari asked with a slight hint of concern. If it was anything dangerous, they had no Digimon to protect them. The trolley was flying towards a bright light piercing through the darkness of the eclipse.
"I don't know," replied TK with the same concern. They sat up front for a few minutes longer while the light got bigger and brighter. "Hey, that looks like..."
"EARTH!" Kari exclaimed, "we're home, we're home!" She couldn't contain her excitement and started jumping up and down.
"How should we wake them up?" TK asked, pointing to the rest of the Digidestin still sleeping in their seats. Kari just smirked an evil smirk. "I like the way you think Kari." Kari and TK grabbed the microphone from the front of the trolley and held it up to the horn.
HONK!
"Good morning passengers, I hoped you enjoyed your ride. Now if you would please grab all of your belongings and stay seated, we will be landing in a few minutes!" Kari mimicked, trying to sound like one of those airline stewards she saw on TV. Tai and the other Digidestin weren't very happy to be waken up so abruptly.
"Kari! When we get home, I'm so gonna..." threatened Tai, but stopped when he saw Kari standing by TK and suspiciously smiling. "...what are you two up to?"
"Well, come look for yourself!" TK exclaimed, pointing behind him and Kari. Tai and the others made their way up to the front to see what TK and Kari were so happy about.
"EARTH!" Sora yelled in excitement, "we're home, we're home!"
Slowly the trolley floated down to earth. As they drifted down, they watched the beautiful sunrise, which as they got closer to Tokyo, it didn't look so beautiful. As they neared Odiaba they could see all the damage and destruction that was caused during the battle with VenomMyotismon. When the trolley finally landed, the Digidestin ran to their families. They hugged and kissed their parents and after several hours, everyone left and went home. It had been a long night.
When the Kamiya's got home, they sat down at the dinner table where Tai told Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya everything. He started from the beginning when they first got transported to the Digi World, the battles with Devimon, Myotismon, defeating the Dark Masters, and the final battle with Apolcalymon. When Tai finally finished, Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya couldn't believe what they had just heard.
The thought of eight small children saving the world, it was unfathomable. They knew Tai could get a little overboard with his stories, they slowly turned to Kari who just sat there, ready to fall asleep at any second. Kari looked up and saw her mom and dad looking back at her. She didn't know what they were talking about. Kari had drifted in and out of their conversation, so she just nodded her head yes. She didn't care, she just wanted to sleep.
Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya couldn't believe what they had just heard from their own kids. They all sat at the kitchen table in silence for a few minutes, before Mrs. Kamiya said, "Well, you two must be tired! You should go to bed!" Tai and Kari nodded their heads and left for their room.
"I want to move," said an emotional Mrs. Kamiya as soon as her kids left the room. "I want to move."
"What?!" Mr. Kamiya was surprised to hear such a life changing event slip from her lips.
"I want to move," she said once again, looking up at her husband. "I don't feel safe here anymore! What if those monsters, what if they come back? Our only children would have to go fight them and what if..." she couldn't bring herself to finish what she was about to say.
"What if they get hurt or killed?" Mr. Kamiya finished what she couldn't.
"Yeah, I don't want our kids to go and fight those monsters ever again," she continued.
"What about our friends and our families? We can't just up and leave them all. What about the kids? They won't want to leave their friends," said Mr. Kamiya. "If we did move, where would we move to?"
"I don't know, I haven't exactly thought it through yet. Obviously somewhere where the monsters didn't attack, I don't' know. I just don't feel safe here anymore. If what Tai said was true, those monsters attacked our neighborhood a few years ago and now they returned. They could come back again! Oh I just want to move, I just want to move!" Mrs. Kamiya was now in tears.
"Shhhhh. It's going to be ok. If you think we will be safer, we'll move," said Mr. Kamiya as he gave in to his wife's pleas. He didn't want her to cry.
"Really?" She looked up to her husband who nodded yes. "Thank you!" She sobbed, holding onto him tighter. They stood there a couple minutes just holding onto each other.
"Mom," a voice came out of no where. "Can I go to a friends house tomorrow?" Kari asked, she was so tired but she had to ask before she fell asleep and forgot. But Mrs. Kamiya was afraid Kari had overheard their conversation about moving, she didn't want Kari to know just yet.
"Yeah, sure," answered Mrs. Kamiya all frazzled, hoping Kari hadn't heard their conversation. Usually, Mrs. Kamiya would call the other parent to confirm it was ok, but she wasn't thinking, she had other things on her mind.
"Ok," and with that taken care of, Kari went back to her room that she shared with Tai.
"Do you think she heard?" Mr. Kamiya asked, wondering the same thing as Mrs. Kamiya.
"I hope not," replied Mrs. Kamiya.
"If we look on the Internet, I bet it would say where all the monsters attacked and from there we can decide where we want to move to. That is, if this is something you really want to do," said Mr. Kamiya. He hoped that is was some sort of sick joke to her.
"I want to move," answered Mrs. Kamiya. "What about America?"
"America? Why America?" Mr. Kamiya asked as he pulled up a map of the United States.
"I don't know. It sounds like a good place to live," was all Mrs. Kamiya could think of.
"Well, ok, but where? America is a big country with a lot of good places to live," said Mr. Kamiya.
"I wanna live on the coast, like we do here," replied Mrs. Kamiya, pointing to the computer screen.
"Well, east or west coast? You know there are two of them?" Mr. Kamiya asked.
"How bout here?" Mrs. Kamiya suggested, pointing in the middle of east coast.
"North Carolina?" Mr. Kamiya asked and clicked on the east coast state. "Ok, but where?"
"Charlotte...Charlotte sounds like a perfect place to live," said Mrs. Kamiya and smiled.
"Ok, Charlotte it is," said Mr. Kamiya. "But when and how do we tell the kids? They are gonna be really upset with us."
"I don't know," replied Mrs. Kamiya. "I don't know."
The next day, Kari was wide awake. She woke up and got ready to go to TK's. "Mom, I'm ready to go!" Kari said excitedly as she waited by the door.
'Does she know were moving? Does she want to move?' Mrs. Kamiya thought to herself, "Go where honey?"
"To go to TK's," answered Kari. "You said I could," as soon as Kari had said this, Mrs. Kamiya let out a huge sigh of relief.
"I did not! And you know I always confirm it with the other parent first," said Mrs. Kamiya.
"Yeah, but you said I could, remember? Yesterday? Before I went to bed, I asked you!" Kari replied, trying her best to help her mom remember.
"Oh, I guess you did ask," said Mrs. Kamiya. "Well, ok, who's house are you going to?"
"TK's,"
"TK who?"
"TK Takaishi," answered Kari.
"Oh, I know them! We used to be neighbors! Remember when we lived at Heighton View Terrace?" Kari didn't remember much from back then. "Yeah, they used to live two doors down, anyway now they live...across town! Kari no way I'm taking you across town for one afternoon!" Mrs. Kamiya exclaimed.
"What?! But you said yes! Why not?" Kari complained, almost ready to cry at any moment.
"They live all the way across town!" Mrs. Kamiya answered, "it could take all afternoon to just get there."
"But mom, you said yes!" Kari replied, tears were welling in her eyes.
She couldn't bear to see Kari upset. "Why don't I give Mrs. Takaishi a phone call," said Mrs. Kamiya as she walked over to the phone and started dialing.
"Hello? Nancy? Hi this is Karen Kamiya," and she started laughing."Yeah," and she laughed again. "Well it sounds like our kids made arrangements to stay at your house. Oh really? Are you sure? Ok, I'll tell Kari."
Mrs. Kamiya talked with TK's mom for hours, reminiscing about the past, sharing stories about the kids, and everything in between. By the time Mrs. Kamiya remembered the reason she called, it had been almost three hours. "Thanks Nancy. Yep, I sure will. Bye!"
Kari had listened to her mom talk on the phone, for what seemed like forever. Now she impatiently waited for the plan. "Mrs. Takaishi said you could stay over for a few days."
"Really?! Oh thank you mom!" Kari ran and hugged her mom. "I love you so much!" Quickly, Kari ran to her room to repack. After about a half hour later, Kari came back out of her room with a giant suitcase she could barely move.
"Kari!" Mrs. Kamiya exclaimed at the sight of her little eight year old daughter pulling at a suitcase almost twice her weight. "You're only staying for a few days, not a few weeks, go and unpack...a lot." A few minutes later, Kari came back out with a small duffle bag that hung from her shoulder. "Much better."
Mrs. Kamiya and Kari walked down to the train station. They rode the train for almost an hour before they got to the ferry. Maybe it was because Kari was too impatient and excited to see TK but it seemed like the ferry took forever. Finally, they docked and they walked to TK's apartment. Kari understood why her mom didn't want drop her off for just the afternoon.
"Hi Kari, come in!" TK invited her in. He waited impatiently all day for Kari to come. "Mom had to go and report on something really important I guess, I don't know," said TK. Kari was mesmerized at the spaciousness of TK's apartment but it was probably because he didn't have to live with a family of four.
"So what do you want to do?" TK asked.
"Oh, I don't care," she answered.
"How about we go to the park?"
"Ok!"
Everyday, at least once a day, they went to the park. They watched movies, played games, and a few times, Nancy took them to the local swimming pool. Mrs. Takaishi even let them bring out the sleeping bags and let them 'camp' out in the living room. There they would stay up late watching movies into the early morning hours until they finally fell asleep talking, leaving Mrs. Takaishi to get out of bed in the middle of the night and turn the TV off.
Back at Kari's house, while Tai was out hanging with Matt and Sora, Mrs. Kamiya was looking for a new job in America. She searched dozens of employment websites. "What is Nascar?" Mrs. Kamiya asked her husband. "It's all I see. Nascar this, Nascar that!" Mrs. Kamiya was getting very frustrated. "What is Nascar?"
"It's a form of auto racing, basically some 40 cars racing over 200 mph for 500 miles," informed Mr. Kamiya. He liked racing, any kind of racing, Formula 1, IRL, motorcycle racing, drag racing, and even Nascar.
"Ok...but I don't want to race," she told Mr. Kamiya as he walked over to her at the computer.
"You don't have to be a driver. You could be a crew chief, spotter, jack man, tire changer or whatever you prefer," he replied jokingly.
"Do you see me changing tires on a race car?!" Mrs. Kamiya asked sarcastically and clicked on another employment website.
"Wait, go back!" Mr. Kamiya exclaimed and Mrs. Kamiya clicked back to the previous web page. "Oh my gosh Karen, this team needs an engineer! That's perfect for me. I can finally use my engineering degree, I could build race cars! I think I'm going to apply." Karen got up from her seat to let Mr. Kamiya start filling out the application forms needed.
Kari had been gone for a several days and Tai was usually gone during the day, so Karen searched for schools and enrolled them into Degrassi Community School. In the same day, she bought a house near by the school. For the first time, Tai and Kari would have their own rooms, their own backyard, even a basement. Mrs. Kamiya couldn't wait to move, but couldn't find the courage to tell her kids they were moving. Almost everything was done, just some paperwork needed to be signed. All that was left to do was tell Tai and Kari.
"TK, push me harder! I wanna reach the top!" Kari yelled on the swing as TK pushed her. Immediately after she said that, TK gave her an under doggie, "Woooooooo hoooooo!" Kari loved to go fast, the speed, the thrill, the pounding of your heart going faster and faster as you go faster and faster. All and all, she loved going fast. (A/N: the perfect Nascar fan.)
"Hey Kari, isn't your mom picking you up today?" TK asked, he didn't want Kari to leave, but didn't want Mrs. Kamiya to worry if she didn't find them at the apartment.
"I almost forgot! We better go!" Kari flew off the swing and they ran back to TK's apartment.
"Hey you two!" Mrs. Takaishi greeted as soon as they rushed through the door. "I just got off the phone with Mrs. Kamiya and she said that TK, you could spend a few days at Kari's. She wanted to repay me for letting Kari stay here, which was no problem. Was it TK?"
"Nope, not at all," he said smiling. "Oh, I better go pack them!" TK rushed to his room.
"Hey Hikari, would you mind helping me roll up these sleeping bags?" Mrs. Takaishi asked as she started walking to the living room.
"Sure, I'd love to help Mrs. Takaishi!" Kari answered.
"Oh please, call me Nancy," she replied. "Everyone else does."
"Ok ... Nancy," said Kari, she felt uncomfortable using her first name.
Nancy and Kari together rolled up the sleeping bags and Nancy carried them to the closet and Kari followed her with the pillows. "Thank you," said Nancy when they were finally finished cleaning. "That goes so much faster with help. Thank you Hikari."
"No problem, and you can call me Kari," said Kari smiling as usual.
"Ok," as Nancy replied with a smile.
"Ok lets go!" TK said, tugging on a giant suitcase.
"Takeru!" Nancy exclaimed, "you don't need that much stuff! You're only staying for a few days, not a few months, go and unpack!" Nancy pointed to him to go and unpack. Suddenly, her pager started beeping, notifying her she needed to call her boss. "And hurry TK, I have an important news story I have to cover."
So TK went back in his room and unpacked, while Nancy and Kari sat in the kitchen and waited for him. "TK, hurry up, my news story isn't gonna wait for you!" Nancy yelled at her son. After a few minutes of silence Nancy said, "you know Kari, you look a lot like your mother."
"Huh?"
"You look a lot like your mom when she was your age," she said to Kari.
"I do?" Kari asked, not sure of what to say.
"Yep, you even act like her. All happy, peppy, bubbly, sweet and kind," answered Nancy.
"I do?" Kari asked again.
"It's like you always bring out the best in people," replied Nancy.
"Really?" Kari didn't know how to take all the compliments she was receiving.
"Yeah, since you have been here, I've see a different side of TK. A side I haven't seen, well, since his dad and I were still married," explained Nancy.
"Really?" Kari asked, surprised of what Nancy had just said. Hearing all those things made Kari feel, she didn't know how to explain it, it made her feel special. All this time, she had been cheering TK up, and she hadn't noticed.
"Yeah," answered Nancy and smiled. She glanced down at her watch and her smile quickly disappeared. "TK, lets go!"
"I'm ready!" TK said, holding a little duffle bag.
"Mom, I'm home!" Kari yelled, waiting to see if anyone would greet her.
"Kari!" Karen exclaimed, "I missed you!" She ran to the door to meet Kari and TK.
"I missed you too!" Kari said as she gave her mom a hug. "Mom, what's with all the boxes?" They were all over the house, living room, kitchen, hallways, everywhere.
"We're uhhhhhh...cleaning out the storage closet!" Karen lied, unsure what to tell Kari. She didn't want to lie to Kari, and technically she was telling the truth. They were cleaning out the storage closet...and every other closet in the house. They would be moving in ten days, next Saturday, and they were packing things to be shipped to America so they would be waiting at their new house when they got there.
"Oh..." replied Kari. "Mom this is TK. TK this is my mom."
"Hello TK, or do you prefer Takeru?"
"Hello Mrs. Kamiya, uhhh...TK is just fine." TK preferred TK anyway. The only person that called him Takeru was his mom, and she only used it when he was in trouble, which seemed like it was all the time.
"Ok, and why don't you call me Karen," said Mrs. Kamiya.
"Oh ok...Karen," replied TK, a little uncomfortable using her first name.
"Well, I'll let you two go run off and play," said Karen.
"So...what do you want to do?" Kari asked.
"I don't know," answered TK. "What do you wanna do?"
"Hey you two, you want to go to the mall with me?" Karen asked, who popped back into the room.
"Yeah," they answered together.
They followed Karen out the door to their family mini van, which Karen had just sold that day. Karen led the way through the mall with TK and Kari right behind her. As they walked through the busy mall, Kari heard a familiar voice call out her name and she turned around to find a short, eight year old, messy brown haired, brown eyed boy.
"Jake?" Kari asked, "Jake!" She ran to him and hugged him.
"Kari! I thought it was you! I've missed you Kari! I've hardly seen you all summer!" Jake complained.
"I missed you too!" Kari replied as she hugged him. When TK saw this, he felt... jealous. 'Why am I so jealous?' TK wondered to himself even though, deep down, he didn't want to admit it, but he knew why. "I've been really busy. I promise before school starts, we'll do something together," continued Kari to Jake. 'What about me? Don't you wanna do something with me before school starts?' TK thought to himself. "Oh Jake, I want you to meet my best friend TK." Kari introduced the two boys, "TK, this is my best friend Jake," said Kari.
"Hi," greeted Jake and he gave TK a she's-mine-don't-try-it look.
"Hi," replied TK and gave Jake a no-she's-mine-you-better-not-try-it look.
"Kari, TK, we have to go!" Karen said she realized Kari and TK were not with her.
"Well, bye Jake! See ya before school starts!" Kari said and waved. It pained both Karen and TK to hear Kari say that. Karen knew they wouldn't be hanging out before school started and TK wanted Kari to hang out with him before school started.
"Kari, who was that boy?" TK asked, once they got into the van and buckled up.
"Who? Jake? Oh he's my next door neighbor," answered Kari. Once again, there was that strong feeling of jealousy in TK. 'Great, now she's gonna wanna hang out with him and forget all about me,' he thought. "Yeah, we go to the same school and he's even in my class," explained Kari. The jealousy was coming out of TK. "Yeah, we do everything together."
TK was starting to feel intimidated by Jake. The way Kari talked about him made TK feel inferior. But TK couldn't understand why he felt so jealous against Jake, a kid he didn't even know.
"Yo, earth to TK! Anyone in there? Takeru?" Kari asked, waving her hand in front of a dazed TK.
"Huh?" TK jumped, as he snapped out of his daze.
"You totally zoned out," informed Kari, "we're home!"
"Oh I'm sorry," apologized TK.
"Don't be," replied Kari and smiled.
"I'll start supper, why don't you two watch some TV or a movie," suggested Karen as she walked into the apartment building. "Oh, Kari don't forget to figure out where TK is gonna sleep!"
"We could have Tai sleep on the couch, then you and me could stay up all night!" Kari suggested.
"Or we could camp out again, like we did at my house," suggested TK. He really wanted to camp out again. He really liked staying up all night and talking with Kari. He could tell her things he could never tell Matt or his mom. She always listened, it was like she understood what he was going though. TK felt like Kari knew him better than Matt or his mom, maybe even himself!
"Ok, I'll ask mom and dad," said Kari. "Oh! There's something I should probably tell you. My mom's a horrible cook," warned Kari as soon as her mom was inside the apartment.
"I'm sure she's not that bad..." replied TK.
"No...she's terrible!" Kari interrupted, "she can't even boil water without something going wrong."
"Oh," TK was starting to get worried, he didn't want to go hungry.
About an hour later, TK, Kari and her family sat down around the table. Karen started passing around the different platters.
"TK, do you like the lasagna?" Karen asked as she passed the plate to Tai.
"Yeah, it's delicious!" TK lied, he didn't even know it was lasagna on his plate.
"If you would like, I can give you the recipe," Karen suggested.
"Yeah, that would be great!" TK lied again, trying to keep the first bite down.
During dinner, TK noticed that Kari still hadn't asked her mom or dad if they could camp out in the living room. TK tried to get Kari's attention, but it failed. She kept playing with her lasagna, trying to make it look like she ate it. Finally, TK got her attention and mouthed out the words "camp out." Kari didn't understand so TK repeated himself, moving his head hoping his that would help her understand, but it didn't. Kari looked confused, so TK kept mouthing out "camp out."
"Hey TK, my lil man," said Tai who was the only one who saw TK and Kari's failed attempt to communicate. "Are you ok there lil dude?" Tai asked, wrapping his arm around the little eight year old and giving him a nuggy.
"Hey, hey, don't touch the hair!" TK panicked, slapping Tai's hand away.
Tai bursted out laughing "Oh man, you sound like your brother! How much time do you spend with him?" Tai asked, still laughing.
"Not counting this summer, just the holidays," answered TK with a hint of sadness in his voice.
Tai stopped laughing, he could hear that sadness, "Well...you fooled me!" He said with a fake laugh, trying to cheer him up, but it didn't work.
"Don't worry TK," said Kari trying to cheer him up. She remembered what Nancy said about her bringing out a different side of TK and how she's always cheered him up. "Hey TK, you know what we should do?"
"What?" asked TK.
"We should camp out!" Kari suggested, "daddy, can me and TK camp out?"
"Camp out?" Mr. Kamiya asked, making sure he heard what his daughter had just asked.
"Yeah, like sleep out in the living room in our sleeping bags. That way Tai doesn't have to sleep out on the couch."
"Hey, why would I have to sleep out on the couch?" Tai complained.
"Ok," he said as he got up and went to the storage closet and pulled out the tent that surprisingly wasn't packed yet. He took it to the porch and dumped out all the supplies. Fifteen minutes later, TK and Kari had a tent to sleep in, outside on the deck.
"Thank you Mr. Kamiya!" TK exclaimed.
"Oh, call me Kevin," he insisted.
"Thank you Kevin," repeated TK.
"Thank you daddy!" Kari said as she got up and gave him a hug.
"You're welcome hunny," and he went back to the table.
For the rest of the night, TK and Kari stayed outside in the tent. Tai came, but left cause he got bored listening to their meaningless chat. They played games and told stories and talked all night. Kari had snuck a bag of chips in and they ate greedily, since they didn't eat much supper. Kari heard someone call her name from outside and opened the tent. The zipper never worked quite right and it always got stuck. She tugged on it a few time before she got it loose. Kari finally got it to open and stuck her head out the door to see her next door neighbor Jake.
"Hey Jake!" Kari said excited to see her friend. "What are you doing?"
"Just came out to see the what's going on. What are you doing, camping?" Jake asked.
TK stuck his head out to see who Kari was talking to. "Yep, we're camping out," answered Kari.
"You and TP?" Jake asked. He really knew TK's name, he just wanted to make him mad because he was secretly jealous of him.
"Yeah, and his name is T-K," said Kari. "You should come over and camp out with us!" Kari offered and immediately, TK's eyes widened, he didn't want Jake to come over.
"I already asked. My mom said no," answered Jake, and glared at TK, in jealousy.
"Oh, that's too bad. We're having lots of fun! Aren't we TK?" asked Kari.
"Ohhhh yeahh," answered TK, trying his best to make Jake furious, and stuck out his tongue without Kari seeing.
"You should come over tomorrow and hang out with us," suggested Kari.
"Ok, I'll ask my mom. I'll come over around...9:30?" asked Jake.
"Ummm...I don't know? TK and I are gonna try and pull an all nighter. Wanna come over in the afternoon?" asked Kari.
"Ok," answered Jake. 'I wonder if I should tell Kari it's gonna rain tonight? Nah, I wanna see how scared TK gets when it starts to thunder and lightning like crazy,' his thoughts were interrupted by his mom calling. "Oh, mom wants me to come back in. See you tomorrow Kari...and TC."
"See ya," said Kari. She came back in the tent, closed it and crawled over to her sleeping bag and plopped down.
"Kari, that's not fair!" TK pouted.
"What's not fair?" Kari asked, grabbing a hand full of chips.
"I never invited my friends to hang out with us while you stayed at my house," answered TK.
Kari quickly caught on to what TK was saying and knew he had a point. "I guess it's not fair. I'll tell mom to cancel then. I'm sorry."
"Its ok."
Kari left and came back with two bags of buttery popcorn and two water bottles. It was awfully humid and hot outside, so they laid on top of the sleeping bags, and they talked some more.
"So what's your biggest fear?" TK asked.
"Besides not seeing Gatomon ever again?" Kari asked and TK nodded. "Um, heights, snakes, basically anything creepy crawly like snakes, and I guess being alone," she said. Just then, a loud burst of thunder shook the tent and Kari screamed. A crack of lightning lit up the night sky, also lighting up the inside of the tent. Kari immediately clung onto TK for dear life.
"And thunder and lightning I see too!" TK added, wanting to laugh at Kari, but knowing it wasn't the best time to laugh at her. Another burst of thunder shook the tent and Kari screamed again. The wind suddenly picked up and the pitter patter of rain started to fall faster and faster. "We better go inside," suggested TK, trying to stay as calm as possible so Kari wouldn't freak out anymore than she already was.
Kari was one step ahead of him, frantically trying to open the zipper door. Another crack of lightning lit up the tent, and Kari screamed again. TK knew as scared as Kari was, she would never be able to open the tent door. He crawled up beside her and pushed her away. TK tugged on the zipper door and finally got it to open. He grabbed Kari's hand and pulled her into the apartment. He enjoyed protecting her, even if it was from a thunderstorm.
"TK...thank you," said Kari breathlessly, she didn't know what had just come over her. "I couldn't..."
"Shhhhhh..." whispered TK, putting his finger on her lips. "You're gonna wake everyone up."
"Thank you," she whispered again and smiled. "You're all wet. I'll go and get you some dry clothes," seeing TK dripping on the carpet. Kari quietly sneaked into her bedroom and took some of Tai's clothes to give to TK.
"So now where do we sleep?" TK asked, as another crack of lightning lit up the apartment.
"Um...I guess the couch. It turns into a bed," answered Kari. They walked over to the couch, "help me," whispered Kari. TK came and helped her lift and unfold the heavy mattress. When it was finally down, Kari went into the storage closet to get some blankets but noticed they weren't in there. So she went back into her room and grabbed the blankets and pillows from her bunk bed and dragged them to the couch. "I guess there goes our all-nighter," whispered Kari disappointedly.
"Yeah," TK sadly replied, laying down beside Kari and pulled up the covers. "You know Kari, I feel like I know you better than my own brother."
"Really?" Kari asked, "I feel like I know you better than my own brother too!"
"Weird isn't it?" TK asked.
"Yeah," answered Kari. Kari yawned and pulled the covers over her and looked one last time at TK, as TK did the same. A few minutes later they both fell asleep, it was 2:42 A.M.
Kari woke and saw TK sleeping beside her. 'Wow, he's really cute when he sleeps,' she thought to herself. She got up, careful not to wake TK, and went to the kitchen. She figured her dad must be at work, her mom must be out shopping and Tai was still asleep. So she climbed up onto the counter, opened the cupboard and got a box of Cinnamon Cheerios. She climbed back down and walked to the fridge to get milk, which she found to her disgust, was outdated. So she carried the box of cereal to the fold out bed without waking TK and turned on the TV.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" TK asked, once he woke up and saw Kari watching TV.
"I didn't want to wake you up," she answered. "Cinnamon Cheerios?" Kari offered TK the box.
"Sure," as he grabbed a handful.
For the next few days they played games, went to the park a few times, went rollerblading around the block for hours at a time, watched movies and slept in their tent. They were always doing something, it seemed like they never sat still. Everyday that passed, it seemed like Kari couldn't find what she was looking for. Random things were disappearing. On TK's last day with the Kamiya's, TK and Kari were bored, a first since TK had been at their apartment.
"So TK, what do you want to do?" Kari asked, who sighed in boredom.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?" TK asked, who also sighed in boredom, laying down beside Kari.
"Oh, I don't care," she answered.
"Hey mom, I'm going to Matt's!" Tai yelled to his mom who was in her bedroom doing something (packing.) "Be back soon!"
'That's it! TK would love to see Matt again!' Kari thought to herself. "Hey Tai, can me and TK come too?" Kari asked, then turned to see TK smiling.
Tai shrugged, "I don't care."
"Mom!" Kari yelled, "me and TK are gonna go too!"
They walked out the door and down the hallway to the elevator. TK kept his cool, but deep down inside he was excited. He couldn't wait to see Matt again. When they got inside the elevator, Tai pushed the floor number eight, and the elevator went up. TK was confused, 'Why are we going up? Shouldn't we be going down?' He thought to himself. "Hika," was TK's nickname for Kari, "where are we going?"
"To see Matt!" Kari answered, "aren't you excited?"
"Yeah, but shouldn't we be going down?" TK asked, all confused.
"What do you mean?" Tai asked, "Matt lives five floors above us."
"He lives in this apartment building?" TK asked.
"Yeah," answered Kari. "Didn't you know that?"
"No! Well I knew he lived around here but I didn't know he lived in this apartment building!" TK answered. TK was was sad he didn't know this sooner. He hardly ever got to see his brother.
"Well, I was waiting all week for you to ask to go to Matt's. But since you didn't ask, I wasn't sure if you wanted to go," said Kari. "I'm sorry, I should have asked you or told you."
"It's ok. At least I get to see him! That's twice this summer! Usually I don't see him at all during the summer," replied TK.
They got out of the elevator and walked down the hallway to apartment number #52. When they got there,Tai knocked on the door, a few seconds later Matt answered. "Hey Tai, come on in." Matt greeted, and he saw Kari, "oh hey Kari." Matt was about to close the door, but it wouldn't close. Matt turned around to see a lil eight year old version of himself standing in front of him, "TK?"
"Hey Matt! Aren't you excited to see me?" TK asked, looking up at Matt, who was in complete shock.
"Yeah... but what are you doing here?" Matt asked, "does mom know your here?"
"I'm staying with Tai and Kari for a few days! And yes, mom knows," answered TK.
"Hey TK, I just thought of something," said Kari. "Since you're leaving today, you could call your mom and ask if you can stay with Matt and your dad for a few days! You have enough clothes, I'm sure she would say yes."
"Can I Matt, can I?" TK asked excitedly, jumping up and down.
"Sure," shrugged Matt. "I don't think dad would mind."
"Yes!" TK said excitedly, "I'm going to go call mom!"
"Tai," Kari whispered, "I think its time to go," as she grabbed his hand and walked out the door.
"Now? We just got here!" Tai protested.
"Yeah, and TK and Matt need to spend some brotherly time together," replied Kari, and Tai knew she was right.
Later that night, Matt came to get TK's stuff. Matt said his hi's and goodbye's to Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya and left. Kevin finally convinced Karen that tonight had to be the night they told Tai and Kari they were moving. There were six short days before they were moving on Saturday. After supper, Tai was playing video games while Kari watched, which left Kevin and Karen stuck with the dishes.
"How do you want to tell them?" Kevin whispered, while he scrubbed the plates clean.
"I don't know. Since you're the one who pushed me into doing this, I thought you would have a plan," answered Karen, while she dried the dishes and put them away.
"I pushed you into this?" Kevin angrily whispered but dropped it. He didn't want to cause a fight. "How about we just tell them? Lets get it over with, just do it now."
"Ok. Wait, what? Now?" Karen asked, she wanted to tell them, but not now!
"Yes Karen! We are moving in six days! When do you plan on telling them? On Friday night, the night before we move?" Kevin asked sarcastically. Karen knew he was right. "Tai, Kari, come here please."
Kari looked over the edge of the couch and Tai paused his video game. They walked out to the kitchen where Kevin and Karen signaled them to sit down. Tai and Kari looked at each other confused but sat down as Kevin and Karen stood before them.
"Tai, Kari, we have some news we have to tell you," Karen started.
"Oh no! You're not gonna have a baby, are you?" Tai asked, he loved Kari, but he really didn't want another brother or sister. He was content on the way things were.
"No," Karen answered shocked and Tai let out a huge sigh, "No, I can't do this," said Karen in frustration. She didn't have the heart to tell them.
"I guess, what your mother is trying to tell you is..."
"You're not getting a divorce are you? I promise to be good, please don't!" Tai interrupted again.
"No, I love your mother and she loves me. But, ah hell, I'll just say it. Guys we're moving," said Kevin.
"WHAT!" yelled Tai and Kari together.
"What? Why? When? Where?" Tai blurted, a million questions were running through his head.
"We're moving this Saturday," Kevin repeated again. "We're moving to Charlotte, North Carolina in America. I'm sorry guys, your mom and I had planned on telling you sooner but we didn't have the heart to tell you."
"Why? I love it here and so does Kari! Our friends are here! We don't want to move!" Tai argued on behalf of him and his sister.
"After all the monster attacks your mom and I don't feel safe here anymore. We want to move to a place where we will be monster free," Kevin tried to explain.
"Not all monsters are bad!" Tai replied, "Agumon was my best friend! He protected me from the bad monsters and he fought and protected you as well! There is no reason we should move!"
"I'm sorry Tai. We did all the paper work already. We bought a home, enrolled you two in a school and we even found new jobs," replied Karen.
Kari just stood there beside her shock stricken brother. A million things were going through her mind too. She started thinking about her grandma and grandpa and the rest of her family, her friends, and especially TK. If there was one reason she wanted to stay, it was TK. She couldn't imagine her life without him.
Kari needed to get away from there. She had to think about this. Kari turned and ran out the door to the closest place she could think of, Jake's apartment, next door. Impatiently, she knocked on the door and as soon as Jake's mother opened the door, she ran in. Kari knew Jake would be in his room playing video games.
"Kari?" Jake asked, quickly pausing his game and looked up at the teary-eyed lil girl. "What's wrong?"
"Jake!" Kari cried out and ran to him, hugging him tightly, "we're moving!"
"What?"
Tai watched his sister run out the apartment. Right now he hated his parents for their selfish decision. They should have talked to him and Kari before making such a huge life decision, like moving. And of course, if he and Kari would have had a say in this decision, they wouldn't be moving. Tai looked at his parents and walked out of the house. He angrily stormed to Sora's apartment and loudly knocked on the door. Sora answered the door and Tai walked in, seeing Matt and TK there as well.
"Tai?" Sora asked, concerned for her best friend. "You usually call before you come over, is something wrong?"
"Yeah, my parents are freakin morons!" Tai answered hatefully.
"Oh come on Tai, what did they do now? Ground you from playing video games?" Matt asked jokingly.
"No, even worse. We're moving!" Tai blurted out.
"What?" Sora and Matt asked together.
"Yeah, my parents decided that Japan is too dangerous to live in now because of all the Digimon attacks and what not. They think America is a safer place to live! Do they know that the Digimon attacked there too?" Tai asked, angrier than ever now.
"If you're here, where's Kari?" TK asked, in complete shock that he was gonna lose his best friend.
"I don't know. I think she went next door to Jake's." Tai answered not really caring where Kari was right now, he just needed to blow off some steam.
With that being said, TK ran out of the door. He ran to Kari's apartment #12, but he didn't know which apartment was Jake's. He couldn't remember, all he knew was he lived next door, so that only left two choices. He walked next door to #11 and knocked on the door, not sure of what to expect. But no one answered, so he knocked again. Finally when TK was about to leave the door opened. An elderly old woman opened the door. TK immediately knew he had the wrong apartment
"Yyyyeeeeesssss!" The old woman answered, looking down at the little blonde boy.
"I'm sorry, I think I got the wrong apartment!" TK replied and quickly walked away and she closed her door. He walked up to #13 and knocked on the door. This time a much younger woman answered the door. This had to be Jake's mother, she had brown hair and brown eyes just like Jake.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked, assuming he was one of those little kids groups trying to sell stuff to raise money.
"Is Kari there?" TK asked shyly.
"Yes, she's..." she was interrupted when TK rushed in the apartment without being invited. He looked around the kitchen/living room area. A man around the woman's age was sitting in a recliner chilling with his iPad, he had to be Jake's father. He too, like the lady, had brown hair and brown eyes. TK looked around the room again, and saw Jake and Kari sitting on the couch. Kari was crying and Jake was hugging her, for moral support.
"Kari!" TK exclaimed, who was a little jealous at the sight of Jake holding Kari.
"TK?" Kari asked, shocked to see TK in Jake's living room. "Oh TK!" She ran up to TK and hugged him while she cried even harder, "TK, we're moving!"
"I know. Tai came and told us," said TK hugging her. "It's going to be ok Kari."
"No, you don't understand! We're moving, we're moving to America! We won't be able to talk to each other, we won't be able to play with each other, we won't be able to hang out any more, we won't be..." she didn't want to say it, 'Friends any more.'
"Kari..." TK couldn't think of anything positive or comforting to say, this was bad. "When are you moving?"
"Saturday," Kari sniffled.
"That's in six days!" TK exclaimed, he still couldn't imagine losing his best friend in six days. "That leaves us six days to have fun!" TK stated, trying to stay happy and to cheer Kari up.
"No... more like six days to pack!"
Over the next six days, Tai and Kari packed their most precious belongings. Karen made them chose what was most important to them. Whatever they didn't want any more she took down to a second hand store. Kari spent most of her time in her room. She didn't talk to anyone and wouldn't leave for anything except to eat and go to the bathroom. Whenever TK would come and stop by, they would just sit and talk. TK was the only person she would talk to.
The apartment looked emptier and emptier by the day. By Friday all that was left was their suitcases for the airport. By Saturday, as much as Tai and Kari hated it, they were ready to go to the airport. At the airport all the Kamiya's closest friends and family were there to wish them goodbye. But all Kari cared about was TK and he wasn't there like he promised he would be.
"Now boarding flight 501 from Tokyo to Los Angeles, California. Now boarding flight 501 from Tokyo to Los Angeles, California."
Kari looked and waited for TK. Tai and the rest of the Digidestin were saying goodbye. Kevin and Karen were saying goodbye to their friends and family. But Kari just stood there with her bags beside her looking for TK. She was about to turn and go say goodbye to the rest of the Digidestin when she saw a lil blonde boy running in her direction. It was TK, he was running as fast as he could.
"Teeke!" Kari exclaimed as she ran up to him and hugged him. "I thought you weren't coming!"
"I promised you I would come, didn't I? I couldn't imagine not saying goodbye to you Hika! You are my best friend!" TK replied as he gave Kari another hug. "Here," said TK reaching into his backpack and pulled out a white little box with a pink bow on top, "it's for you." He held out the gift for Kari.
Kari stared at the gift and finally took it. He looked at her, waiting for her to open the gift. She untied the bow and slowly opened the box. Inside was a bracelet made of pink and yellow yarn
"It's a friendship bracelet," said TK. "See look," he as he help up his wrist to show another bracelet, but his was yellow and green, "Matt helped me make them. It means we will stay friends forever! Here, let me help you put it on!" As he took the bracelet out of her hand and tied it around her wrist.
"Thanks Teeke," said Kari, hiding her sadness. 'And I didn't even get anything for him!'
"And there's something else," said TK. "Look in the box, you missed something."
Kari looked in the box and pulled out some tissue paper, there laid a beautiful gold angel necklace. "That's the angel of light," TK explained, "and mine's an angel of hope. Here, let me help you put it on." TK offered and put it on her neck.
"TK, you're the bestest friend I've ever had," Kari cried as she hugged him again.
"You're the bestest friend I've ever had Kari!" TK choked, trying not to cry.
"No, I'm not. I'm the worst friend ever. You probably hate me!" Kari cried even harder.
"What? Why would you say that?" TK asked, he was shocked that she would think he would ever hate her.
"I never got you anything. You came here with the prettiest bracelet and necklace I've ever seen and I never even got you anything! You probably hate me!" Kari was bawling.
"Kari, I don't care that you never got me anything and I don't hate you. I could never hate you Kari cause...cause..." TK couldn't finish, he was too embarrassed.
"Cause what?" Kari asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I love you," TK answered sheepishly.
"Last call for flight 501 from Tokyo to Los Angeles, California. Last call for flight 501 from Tokyo to Los Angeles, California."
"You do?" Kari asked in complete shock. She was so happy to hear that, she felt the same away about him. But yet, here she stood, bags packed and ready to leave for America.
"Come on Kari, lets go," ordered Karen to her daughter.
"TK, I love you too!" She hugged him one last time, "I'm going to miss you so much!" Kari she started crying again.
"I'm going to miss you too Kari. But you got to promise me something," said TK.
"Anything," replied Kari, wiping away her tears again.
"Kari, lets go!" Karen ordered, getting a little impatient.
"That we're going to see each other again, maybe not tomorrow, or next week, or next year, but one day. You have got to promise me Kari, say it." Kari stood there silent, she wasn't so sure, she had her doubts. "Kari, please say it. Have hope Kari, cause I do! Have hope Kari, believe that one day, we will see each other again!"
"I promise TK, I promise!" Kari replied and she started to cry again.
"Let's go Kari! You are going to make us miss our flight!" Karen grabbed her daughter's hand and started pulling her towards the loading terminal.
"Don't forget to remember me Kari!" TK yelled.
"I will never forget you TK!" Kari yelled back while TK watched her mom drag her away.
"Kari wait!" TK yelled and ran after her, and she turned around. "Kari wait!"
"What?" Kari asked.
"Kari!" Karen yelled who was getting really frustrated with her and TK.
"I almost forgot to give this to you, here," and he gave Kari a strip of paper. "I love you Kari," whispered TK. He hugged her and gave her a kiss on the check. It didn't last long when Karen came and grabbed Kari by the wrist again and dragged her away.
"I LOVE YOU TK!" Kari yelled one last time.
On the plane Kari looked down at the paper TK had given her. It was the pictures that they took together last night at one of those photo booths. There were five pictures, all of them of happier times. The first one, TK and Kari both had their arms around each other smiling. The second one, they both gave bunny ears to each other. The third one they put their heads together and smiled. The fourth one was a goofy one, Kari stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes, TK stuck his fingers in his mouth and did a funny smile. The fifth one was Kari's favorite. TK tricked her into doing a nice picture, just before the flash, he kissed Kari on the cheek.
As Kari looked at the pictures, a tear rolled down her face. The 'buckle seat belts' light came on above her head and Kari did so. She looked out her window at the airport. She could see her grandparents, other family members and the Digidestin all waving at the giant plane from the enormous airport window. Kari looked back at her pictures and turned it to look at the other side. There was a note written in TK's messy handwriting. It was his address so Kari could write to him, and right below was the words 'we will see each other again someday' but deep down, Kari wasn't so sure.
"Kari!" Karen yelled in their new house, "I'm going to work! You know where to reach me! If you need anything call me or dad!"
Kari laid on her bed, in her new room that she no longer had to share with Tai. The walls were bare and white, but it was nothing a little paint couldn't fix. All her belongings were still packed, but Kari wasn't in the mood to unpack. So she laid on her bed, thinking of her family, friends, and TK all back in Japan. She looked at her bracelet TK had made for her, it wasn't all that spectacular, but in Kari's eyes, it was beautiful. She looked at her necklace, it too was also beautiful. She looked at her pictures of her and TK, every time they made her smile then cry. She was so unhappy in America.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound that came from her stomach. She got up and went to the fridge to get something to eat, and to her luck, the fridge was empty. Kari was bored, so she decided to sit down and watch some TV. She flipped through channel after channel when she heard something.
"Kari," an eerie, haunting voice called out to her.
Kari sighed, "Tai, I'm not gonna fall for one of your stupid tricks."
"Kari," it called out again.
"Stop it Tai, I know it's you!" By now Kari was getting annoyed.
"But Tai's not here," the voice informed her.
Kari's head perked up. She thought to her self and remembered that Tai was at a friends house. Only a few days in America and he already found some new friends to hang out with. Her mom and dad were both at their first day of their new jobs. Kari was home alone and suddenly really scared.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Kari looked all around the house but couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from. 'How does it know my name?'
"I want you, the child of light," the voice answered.
"What? Why? What did I ever do to you?" She was scared out of mind and there was no one here to calm her down. 'Where are you Tai? I wish you were here!'
"You did nothing wrong. I come for your help," the voice answered her again.
"My help? But I really don't think I can help you. I don't even know where you are or who you are," she replied.
"Ohhhhhhh, but you can," the voice continued. "You see, the Digital World is in trouble again and I need your help to...save it."
"But me and my friends...we just saved it," stated Kari.
"Oh I know, but I need your help," the voice pleaded. "You miss your friends, don't you?"
"Yeah," answered Kari sadly.
"If you help me, I can help you see your friends again."
"How?" Kari asked, a little suspicious. She still couldn't figure out where this mysterious voice was coming from.
"It will all come in time," the voice replied. "So, is it a deal?"
'I don't know what I'm getting myself into but if it means I'll see TK again...' Kari thought, "it's a deal."
"Excellent!" The voice cackled a evil laugh. The room started to fill with a heavy fog. It was so thick, Kari couldn't see what was in front of her. The fog filled her lungs and Kari started coughing and couldn't stop. She coughed until she passed out on the floor and woke up a few hours later with a horrible headache.
A few days later, Tai and Kari started their first day of school at Degrassi Community School. The new school and environment finally brought Kari out of her little depression. Kari made new friends and finally started to accept her parent's decision to move.
Meanwhile, TK waited every day for the mail to come. Each day, he browsed the mail hoping for a letter from Kari. When a month went by with no word from Kari, he got worried. TK called Matt one night, hoping Matt had talked to Tai since the Kamiyas moved. He begged Matt for the Kamiya's new mailing address when Matt said he got a letter from Tai.
TK wrote Kari a letter every day and every day TK checked his mail box for a letter from Kari. Each day was filled with disappointment when he opened his mail box but no letters were addressed to him. It made no sense to him, he wrote her every day but never heard a word from her. Slowly, he started writing less and less and less until finally he just gave up.
Kari received all of TK's letters but unknown to her, her brain was messed up. She read every letter from TK but she never thought to write back, ever. It was like she completely forgotten about her friends back in Odiaba and completely forgot about TK. She never wore the necklace or bracelet TK made and bought for her. All the pictures of the Digidestin and TK were still stuffed in a shoe box somewhere in her closet. Kari had moved on with her life.
"Master," said a Geezamon, watching a giant screen that watched Kari's every move. "One day, she's going to remember her friends and her old life back in Japan. That potion isn't going to work forever."
"I know that you fool!" Daemon yelled at the scared little Digimon. "Don't you think I have ready thought about that? When she finally starts to remember everything about her past, by then, her friends should be destroyed!"