Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters.

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Chapter I: Homecoming

The light of dawn soon spread over the horizon as a lone figure stood by the sandy shores of a beach admiring the rising sun. The colors orange, blue, pink and purple blended together, making a celestial painting in the sky. Sixteen year old, Kari Kamiya stood in content silence as she listened to the tranquil sounds of the waves rolling in and out of the shore.

"Kari?" came a voice, interrupting Kari's train of thoughts.

"Yes, Gatomon?"

"Don't you think we should be heading home now?" the feline digimon next to the Kari asked. "Your parents should be up soon and we don't want them to worry about you."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go." Kari said reluctant to leave the serene environment behind.

When Kari reached her apartment complex, she took the elevator up to her floor and headed towards her door. As she walked into the apartment, the sweet aroma of breakfast being cooked came flowing through from the kitchen.

"Hmm…mom must still be asleep. That doesn't smell anything like her cooking, eh Gatomon?"

Kari walked into the kitchen and saw Tai near the stove, frying eggs and making pancakes. She also noticed that he was wearing their mother's lace-trimmed apron, which looked totally absurd on Tai. Kari giggled at this.

"Morning, Tai. Is that a new outfit?"

Tai jumped in surprise and turned to see his younger sister smiling up at him, trying to hold back her laughter. "K-Kari!"

Gatomon and Agumon then walked into the kitchen. Seeing Tai in the apron, they, too, started giggling.

"Hey, Tai. I like the new look. Have you been reading your mom's cookbooks for some fashion tips?" Gatomon joked.

Kari, Gatomon and Agumon burst into hysterical laughter, as Tai's face flushed red with anger and embarrassment.

"Alright! Very funny, you guys, but you know that this is mom's only apron." Tai tried to reason.

"You're right, Tai. We're sorry." Agumon said, but continued his laughter.

Tai sighed in defeat and resumed with his cooking. Once the laughter ceased, he began to talk again.

"Oh, by the way, I've got some great news."

"Yeah? What is it, Tai?" Kari asked as she seated herself on the kitchen counter.

"Matt called me yesterday and said that TK and his mom are moving back to Odiaba. They're arriving this afternoon and Matt wanted to surprise everyone. So, we figured that I'd go with him to pick up TK and his mom at the airport, drop Ms. Takaishi off at their new apartment and then meet up with everyone here. Your job is to gather up the whole gang and stall them. How about it Kari?"

There was no answer. Kari had long before lost herself in her ocean of thoughts. Her expression grew solemn and her eyes became distant. Tai, suddenly aware of the silence, turned to his sister.

"Are you okay, Kari?"

The young keeper of light finally snapped back into reality. "Huh! Y-yeah, I'm fine. That's sounds like a great plan, Tai. I can't wait to finally see TK, again." Although Kari tried to sound cheerful and excited, her older brother was able to see through her little charade.

"Kari, you know you're gonna have to tell TK about Ryo." His voice was grave.

"Yes, I know. But, I'm afraid of how he's gonna react to it."

"I think you and I both know how he's gonna react to it." Tai paused. "Well…I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Kari nodded her head in agreement then got up off the counter and began to depart the kitchen when Tai called to her.

"Don't you want any breakfast?"

"Maybe later." With that, Kari walked off as Gatomon followed her from behind.

Kari, along with her partner digimon, walked down the hall and entered her bedroom. As they walked in, Kari closed the door behind her then leaned against it and sighed heavily. After a minute or two, Kari advanced to her desk and pulled out a framed picture of her and TK from the drawer. In the picture, TK was wearing a light aqua-colored button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and Kari was wearing a yellow tank top. Their arms were wrapped around each other, their foreheads touching. They were gazing into each other's eyes and were almost kissing. The picture was taken four years ago on their first date, two months before TK moved. Those two months with TK were probably one of the best days of her life, but she didn't expect it to end all too soon. TK had recently found out about his mom's job promotion in Tomoeda, a town miles away from Odiaba. Ms. Takaishi was excited about the promotion, but decided to let her son choose what he thought was best for him. TK knew that he would be leaving his friends and family behind, but he thought this would be a great opportunity for his mother and so he decided to move to Tomoeda. Kari was heartbroken when TK left.

FLASHBACK

It was in the midst of a winter's eve. The moon glowed luminously as the stars poked holes through the obscure blanket of night. Two months had passed since the digi-destineds' victorious battle with Malomyotismon, since the day TK had confessed his love to Kari. Now, the two were out on TK's balcony watching the stars. This was their last night together, for he and Ms. Takaishi would be leaving first thing in the morning. TK gently placed his arms around the brown-haired girl and held her close as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you, Kari." The young keeper of hope softly whispered.

Kari lifted her head from TK's shoulder and gazed into his ocean blue eyes. "TK, do you love me?"

The golden-haired teen was taken aback by the unexpected question. "O-of course I do, Kari. Why would you ask a question like that?"

"How much?"

"Very much." For a moment, TK looked thoughtful. "'My love is like a red, red rose that's newly sprung in June. My love is like the melody that's sweetly played in tune. So fair art thou, my bonny lass, so deep in love am I, an' I will love thee still, my dear, till all the seas gang dry.'"

TK held Kari's gaze as he recited the poem, and his voice resonated deeply in the still night air. Her eyes began to get teary, and TK tightened only his embrace on her as he continued softly.

"'Till all the seas gang dry, my dear, and the rocks melt with the sun. And I will love thee still, my dear, while the sands of life shall run. And fare thee well, my only love, and fare thee well awhile. And I will come again, my love, though it were ten thousand mile.'"

Moments after the last words died away, they were both silent. TK then flashed Kari a smile and tenderly kissed her lips. He broke the kiss about a minute later and gazed into her crimson red eyes.

"It's that good enough for you?" he asked.

"TK, that was beautiful. Where did you ever hear such poetry?"

"I read it in a book once."

Kari smiled. "Let's make a promise to each other."

"Oh?" TK raised an eyebrow.

"Let's promise to always love each other no matter what happens. Nothing can ever break the bonds of true love, not even death. So, do you promise?" Kari asked as she held up her pinky.

TK smiled and wrapped his pinky around hers. "Promise." With that, TK, once again, kissed Kari; only this time the kiss seemed sweeter, burning with more passion than ever before.

END OF FLASHBACK

Though, they had made that promise to each other, it was never kept. A few months after TK left, the group had met up with a new digi-destined named Ryo Akamiya. Ryo had fallen in love with Kari from the start. And as much as Kari tried to avoid him, she couldn't help but fall in love with him, too. Their relationship began to blossom as Kari's relationship with TK began to whittle away. Guilt dawned on Kari for never telling TK about her new boyfriend.

She continued to stare at the photo, ashamed of herself. A moment later, Kari placed the photo back in the drawer then, sat on her bed next to Gatomon who was curled up into a ball sleeping. Kari sighed.

"I guess I'm gonna have to face the music sooner or later."