I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON. BUT I DID CREATE THE VILLIANS. ALL OF THEM ARE NEW AND MINE.
It had been almost ten years since anyone needed to go back to the Digiworld. It seemed as though things were calm and everything was in order; finding partners for eager kids and digimon was being taken care of and run with the best of operators. Everyone had accepted the that there was another world within the mundane and all of the destined had grown up well.
Except something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Kari-
"I'm off!" Kari shouted to her Mother. Mrs. Kamiya called from the kitchen, a loud banging noise accompanying her farewell to her daughter. Kari debated waking Tai, but decided against it.
He was old enough now to get up on his own, the idiot, she sighed. Besides, he probably is not even in there! He's probably on the fields practicing. Oh, I forgot, he does have a game in a few days.
Walking to the bus stop, she climbed on board and watched the busy streets of her town. University was fun and all, but sometimes even the best optimist had their down days. She hadn't seen her brother in almost a week and everyone else seemed to be too busy themselves. TK hung out with her enough, along with Davis. But poor Yolei and Ken worked their tails off in school every day. Cody was busy with his high school friends and clubs. Sora and Matt were still dating, both dedicated to either the band or tennis. That left Joe, who was buried in medical school papers, Mimi's constant traveling and Izzy's obsessive love for always being in front of a computer.
Her brother was a whole other story. Between his soccer team, studying, and managing the Digiworld's new 'trading post', along with recruiting partners, he barely had a second to catch his breath.
Basically, everybody was just too busy for each other anymore. So, this picnic today should be just the thing to rally the friendship back into them. Even Mimi was coming! Of course, Matt had pretended to be on the fence with his decision, but Sora will definitely make sure he came. The only person who had not given the okay was Tai. Kari would ask, but he never even answers his cell phone half the time.
Tai-
"And he receives the pass with ease, moving the ball with total grace and agility! Tai Kamiya sees the goal, he shoots and bam, he scores again!"Agumon yelled. The soccer ball shot through the two posts, hitting the net cleanly before falling down. Tai wiped his brow, taking a minute to breath. He and Agumon had been at this for almost two hours. The game was three days away and Tai felt as ready as a newbie just learning how to play. Of course, in reality he was the best on his team and known throughout the town for being one of the best university players in several districts. He had made the national rankings and proven to be a strong and flexible player, valuable for his team's victories. But, this game was a bit different: scouts would be there. And not just any scouts, the scouts. These men would decide whether or not Tai was good enough to play for Japan's national team. It was all he could think about for months.
Just two more days, he thought. Just two more days of practicing and worrying.
Tai sat down on the bench, gratefully drinking from the cup of water Agumon handed him.
"Tai?"
"Yeah?"
"I know you're worried about this game and it's been your number one priority for about two months now… But what about the picnic today? Are you going to go? You never told Kari."
Tai stayed silent for a minute, thinking as he stared at his water.
"I don't know," he started slowly, "I want to go, but I don't really want to go. I haven't talked to anyone really. It's been two months since I've even seen or heard from Matt."
"Yeah, but you've been distant even before this, ever since Sora. But lately, you have been focusing on soccer as your excuse."
"My excuse?" Tai looked at his partner. Agumon grinned feebly, putting his paw on Tai's knee.
"I meant that it seems like you are keeping something from me and hiding it by focusing on this match. Please tell me what is wrong. Why don't you want to see your friends?"
"Agumon, you might not understand but sometimes humans, even humans that are friends with each other, just don't want to see each other. Sometimes, feelings about people change for reasons you don't even know."
"Oh," Agumon looked down. "Well, I guess it makes a bit of sense. I'll just let the other digimon know. Gabumon was really excited to see us!" Tai looked at his partner. Agumon was smiling but he could tell that it hurt him to be away from every one for so long. Sighing, Tai rubbed Agumon's head, smiling at him.
"Okay, we'll go. I may not stay for a long time, but we can go."
Kari—
TK and Davis waved at her, waiting near their usual pick up spot. Thankfully, they all had signed up for the same English class and it was the only class of the day.
"Let's see, I didn't do the reading and I know that you both did. Spill, what happens to the stuffy guy?"
"Romeo?" asked Kari, laughing at Davis' usual start to a Monday. "Well, he thought Juliet was dead, so he kills himself. Than Juliet finds him and she kills herself to be with him too."
"Basically, they are two stupid, young lovers who had no business being together?" he asked, scratching his head.
"Um, not exactly the moral of the story, but it is the basic concept." Said TK. "At least it makes for a good debate."
"Oh no, no more debating!" Davis sighed. "Mrs. Okia always has to argue her opinion!"
"Well, she is the English teacher and you always have a different take on the book."
"So? That just means that I am a creative thinker and she's just a bitter woman with no life other than her books!" he huffed, crossing his arms.
"Okay, okay, calm down." laughed TK, "No need to get so riled up. By the way, what time is the picnic again, Kari?"
"It's at 2, so we can just leave class and go there."
"Do we need to bring anything? I know you said we could just pick stuff up at the store, but do we need to go to any of our houses for stuff?"
"Nope, we should be set after the store! Thankfully, everyone agreed to pitch in."
"I'm surprised my brother agreed to this." TK replied, shaking his head. "With his attitude I assumed he would've just blown this off, but it seems that he actually wants to come. It's weird and I don't think I like it!"
"He's probably being egged on by Sora." Said Davis. "Let's face it, she's got him tied around her finger." They all laughed, knowing the truth behind that statement was totally accurate.
"Wait, what about Tai?" TK asked. They had reached the classroom and took their seats towards the back corner.
Kari sighed. She shook her head.
"I have no idea. I haven't physically seen him in days and every time he comes home, he grabs a bit of food and goes straight to his room. And he's barely there in the mornings too. Usually, he goes off to practice."
"Is he eating enough though? With all that practicing and everything else he has on his plate, he needs to at least be eating and sleeping."
"The last time I checked, he was eating less. He looks pretty skinny, but it comes with being tall ya know?"
They went silent, every one lost in their own thoughts. Davis understood Tai better than TK, and knew what this game meant to him. Hell he planned on being there in the crowd watching Tai win. But, he knew that Kari was worried sick. He brother was always the glue to everything: the team, the Digiworld, and their family. It was weird not hearing from him or seeing him a few times a week.
Finally, Davis spoke up.
"I'm sure he'll come around Kari. He's probably just super busy right now and couldn't tell you. That game is really important to him."
"Yeah, you're right. It'll be fine! Thanks."
Gennai—
"Well, I never thought something like this would ever happen." Gennai mumbled to himself. He was staring at a digital map of the Digiworld, his hand scratching his head in worry. "I think I should warn every one about this…"
"Gennai, what is it?" A familiar voice rang out.
"Oh, why hello Piximon. Did you notice it too?"
"Hey, Gennai, long time no see. I noticed a black lining around the outskirt of the mountain just now. What is it?"
"I haven't the slightest clue, but it seems to be a seam in the system. I believe the Digiworld is being 'broken into'. By what or by who… well, that is the mystery."
"Are you going to warn the children?" Piximon asked, staring at the screen in awe.
"No. Not yet. I don't want to rustle feathers if the chickens are actually sleeping."
"Sir, what does that mean?"
"It means I don't want to stir up a false alarm… it is a human saying I picked up recently from Taichi… Oh, never mind. Just keep this quiet. It might be nothing for now."
Kari-
It was 2 pm and every one was arriving for the lunch.
The park was the perfect place to do this! She thought. Smiling, she took Mimi's basket of food and set it down, turning to give the pretty girl a hug.
"Oh, I missed you all so much! Paris was fun, but it doesn't feel as nice as Japan!" she giggled. Joe set down his tray of wrapped sandwiches, going over to talk to Izzy. So far, they were waiting on Ken, Cody and Matt and Sora. Tai was still in class but texted her that he was coming. She had been so relieved when he finally answered her. Worrying about him was putting a strain on her focus in class and that text lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.
Matt and Sora arrived just then, arm and arm. They set down their big bowl of fruit salad and watermelon slices.
"It is such a nice day!" Sora exclaimed, hugging Kari. "Thanks for setting this up, Kari. It looks so nice."
"Oh, no problem, Sora. Thank you for bringing so much food."
"You're welcome. Is Tai coming?" she asked, looking around the group. "I haven't seen him in almost two months. I know he's super busy preparing for his game though."
"Yeah, he will be a bit late, but he said he was coming ASAP after his class."
"Seems like he is never around anymore, huh?" Matt asked. Gabumon and Biyomon looked at each other. They knew that both of their partners felt bad for what had happened all those years ago between the three and understood Tai's sacrifice.
"Yeah, I have barely seen him and we live in the same house." Kari sighed, her shoulder sagging. Sora noticed the worried look on her face.
"Cheer up Kari," she said, putting her hand warmly on her shoulders. "He is fine. He's Tai, remember? Scatter- brained and always busy with something, ya know?" she smiled. Kari returned and smile half- heartedly and nodded.
"Oh, look," said Izzy, "It's Yolei and Cody." The two had walked together, Cody carrying a few bags of chips and crackers, and Yolei carrying the drinks.
"Howdy, every one!" she called. "Looks like almost everyone is here!"
"Yep, we are just waiting on Tai now!" called Mimi.
While half of the group busied themselves setting up the table in a buffet- like style, the others started unfolding the blankets to place together creating one big table on the grass. The digimon all helped by setting down silverware and napkins in spots, with some of them ensuing tiny sword fights with the knives. It was almost ten minutes later when a familiar figure started towards the group.
"Well, speak of the devil!" said Izzy. "Hey, it's Tai." Everyone stopped to wave. Kari walked over, giving him a quick hug.
"I literally haven't seen you in days. What have you been doing?" She eyed her brother, hands on her hips.
"Sorry, I've been at the fields a lot lately. I have only two days left, so I haven't been able to concentrate on much else." He replied, grinning and scratching his head.
Thankfully, his bushy hair had calmed down, and become an attractive style since going to the barber. It was still spikey, but in a more mature way.
"Well, I can smell days of practice coming from you too." She smiled. He was wearing practice clothes and from the looks of the face grass stains and sweat marks, just come from a quick round.
"Yeah, class ended early but I wanted to hit some shots first before I came." He walked towards to group, receiving hugs from everyone who was brave enough. Mimi squeaked and ran to hug him.
"Jeezus, I haven't seen you in so long I barely recognized you!"
"Mimi, it's only been like a month."
"Well, yeah but I it was a long month and I missed you all!"
"Okay, okay." He laughed. "I get it, I missed you too. So, when do we start eating?"
Sora-
From the looks of it, the picnic was a success. Now that the whole gang was back together, she could see that they had all really missed each other. They had been apart and separated for a little too long. It seemed that even though they were not very far physically from each other, they had been far apart mentally for a while now. She never knew that Yolei had received an award for a new experiment she had come up with, or that Izzy had finally developed a computer software system for transferring data from presumably deleted files back to your computer. Where had she been? Wrapped up in tennis to the point of no return, she figured. At least Tai was still actively engaging in the digiworld; Biyomon was her only link now.
However, she noticed something odd.
Tai.
He wasn't the same. His usual happy- go- lucky demeanor was gone. It was replaced by a more mature, serious Tai, who was quiet during the meal and laughed and smiled every so often. Not once had he raised his voice in a conversation or started one. It was as if he was being distant on purpose… with all of them. And he looked thinner, like someone who was stretched thin from too much responsibility in a short amount of time. His plate had barely any food on it and hardly any of it had been touched.
"Tai, why aren't you eating?" she asked. Suddenly, everyone had become aware of Tai's meager plate.
"What, you aren't hungry? You?" asked Davis incredulously. "You're always hungry!"
"Too much practicing and not enough eating will get you sick Tai." Said Joe, looking at him as if scolding a small child.
"Whoa, whoa, guys I'm fine. I'm just not that hungry right now." He said, holding up his hands.
"But Tai, I haven't seen you eat in days." Said Kair, shooting her brother a worried look from across the make- shift table.
"Look, I'm fine. Totally fine, guys. I have been eating, you just haven't seen it." He said. Sora noticed the smile on his face faltering. It was turning into annoyance.
"Well, we are just worried, that's all. We want you to do your best for your match!" she explained, trying to quail the situation she caused.
"But he does look a bit thin." Ken observed. Sora shot him a dirty look.
"Maybe just eating a bit more right now would help Kari's worries though." Said Yolei. "Just like a few bites more."
"Alright, stop." Tai said, his voice dropping. He was irritated and Sora knew something was about to happen. "I don't need you guys jumping down my throat right now. I said I was fine, so can we please just drop it?"
The group was silent. Tai wasn't one to become angry or upset. He would have smiled and joked with everyone, not this. This was new and no one knew how to take it.
Kari spoke up quietly, keeping her head down.
"We are sorry, Tai. We didn't mean to seem like we were doing that or attacking you. We are all just worried. None of us have really been in contact lately with everyone but you seem to have disappeared for a while and-"
Suddenly, he stood up.
"I'm leaving. I'll see you later, Kari." And he walked away.
Agumon, shocked but distraught by his partner, nodded to everyone before leaving.
"Well, gosh, that was…"
"Unexpected?" stated Izzy. "Seems like we pushed a nerve. But, I have never seen him act that way over anything… especially something as trivial as this."
"Wait guys, give it a minute." Said Sora, looking at Kari. She was still looking at her disappearing brother, but he eyes were slowly filling with tears.
"He's mad at me, isn't he?" she asked quietly. Sora looked at Matt.
"He's probably mad at himself for letting us catch him in the act, but is too big of an idiot to admit it." He shrugged.
"Matt, that is not helpful." Sora scolded. "Just let him blow off some steam, Kari. He just needs to get this match over with. You'll see."
Somewhere between the Digiworld and the real world-
"Ahh, yesss." chuckled a faint voice. "So, it seems the digidestined have become… distant."
The voice carried through a dark room, filled with small screens. They were glowing with scenes from the past months; all of the digidestined. The recent one made the owner laugh. He was amused by these human feelings and the troubles of these little brats.
"Soon, a courageous leader. You will turn that anger into something useful to me. I'll let you play your little game and then I shall take you and torture you and turn you into exactly what I need." The voice's owner flicked the biggest screen to show Tai walking away. "Yessss… veryyy sooonn my dear boy."