I Will Remember You

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own any of the Digimon characters or "I Will Remember You" …yada, yada, yada

This fic is dedicated to Fallen Angel of Hope, who wanted a fic dedicated to her so badly.

~*~*~

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Kari ran her hand through her hair absentmindedly, twirling a stray strand of hair around her finger. She sat staring at her computer, her vision blurred by the vast amount of information scrolling across the screen. She felt the cool spring breeze float through her opened window and sighed. Who would have believed that I, of all people, who be working in an office one day, wearing a dress suit?

Kari's eyes strayed around the office, watching others dressed in same-cut suits, hunching over their computer screens and jotting down notes furiously. Then her eyes landed on the corner of something, peeking through the piles of papers on her desk. She frowned slightly and reached for it, wondering what it was.

After some effort, Kari managed to pull it out. It's…it's us. She smiled, remembering that wonderful day with all the Digidestined and their digimon friends. How long has it been? Too long. She noted the fading color of the photograph and the layer of dust resting on it. She looked at each face carefully, dredging up all the memories associated with each person. When she reached TK, her musings took a regretful turn. As she studied that smiling face and those twinkling blue eyes, a solitary tear rolled down her face. It's been so long since I've talked to them, any of them. I wonder, do they still remember me?

~*~*~

Remember the good times that we had?

I let them slip away from us when things got bad

How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun

Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

When Kari got home, she tossed her bag onto the couch and when into her room. She pulled out all the drawers of her numerous desks and bureaus and flipped open the lids of all her chests and trunks, scouring through them for her old photo albums. Finally, she found them.

Inside a dusty old case that had been under her bed was all the stuff from her Digidestined days: her D3, her crest, her camera…and all her pictures. She went through every last photo, reminiscing about the memories, about the good times. She had so many pictures: of picnics, of trips, of reunions, of parties, of adventures in the Digi-world…but then the pictures abruptly stopped, the last one being of TK and Kari at their graduation. What happened to us?

She could still remember exactly how he looked when she first saw him again after their separation after the defeat of the Dark Masters. He was wearing his white hat with his blond hair sticking out underneath, although it wasn't technically allowed to wear hats in school. He was grinning, his delight in life showing clearly and the morning sun beamed through a window, lighting him like a spotlight. That's how I'll always remember him: smiling in the sun.

She also remembered their break-up, that memory dimming her happiness. Things had been going badly, Matt and his dad had moved away and TK was feeling particularly lost. She herself was going through a bad time because Tai was becoming more and more rebellious and fought constantly with their parents. She was feeling particularly moody after one of TK's basketball games at his college when she caught sight of girls throwing themselves at him outside of the locker room and dumped him in front of everyone. Afterwards, she realized that she had been hasty, but was too proud and too tired with life to apologize, so she let things stand. They grew further and further apart after that and after a while, they stopped talking to each other altogether.

~*~*~

I will remember you

Will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories

Kari sat on her bedroom floor, holding that last picture, completely unaware of the time as she lost herself in her memories. As she studied it, she smiled wistfully at how TK has his arm around her waist and she had her head resting on his strong shoulders with her arms encircling his neck.

Kari felt tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to overflow as she remembered how happy and safe she used to feel –how happy and safe he made her feel. It's been a long time since she felt like that…Kari suddenly stood up, scolding herself for almost crying and slowly put everything back inside the case. She kept the graduation picture out though, setting beside her bed.

~*~*~

I'm so tired but I can't sleep

Standin' on the edge of something much too deep

It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word

We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard

Kari tossed and turned on her bed that night, unable to sleep. She was weary after a long day of work, but every time she closed her eyes, TK's unbidden face would appear. Every time it was a different image of him, letting loose further avalanches of memories that just made her miss him more. Finally, she thought she couldn't take it anymore as anguish built up in her heart. It felt as if an iron hand was gripping her heart and pulling it out between her ribs. She ached with pain and yearning for something she had given up long ago. That feeling of emptiness grew and grew and Kari wanted to scream, knowing she could to nothing about it. She suddenly remembered the picture by her bed and reached out to grab it. By the starlight and moonlight shining in from her window, she stared at TK's smiling, reassuring face for a long time. When the sun rose the next morning and came peeking through the window, it found a restful, smiling Kari with a photo firmly grasped in her sleeping hand.

~*~*~

But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Kari woke up from her dream-filled sleep and found the picture still in her hand. She had dreamed about seeing TK again, except this time they were both older, in their late twenties. She got up and found herself staring bitterly at her lifeless gray suit. I wonder if he's the same TK that I once knew…people can change a lot in five years…I know I have.

Kari shook herself awake from her reverie and changed for work. Shit. Now I'm going to be late. You're a fool Kari, stop dwelling on your memories and move on with your life. There's nothing you can do about lost chances and bad choices, you just have to prevent them from happening again.

~*~*~

I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose

"Kari? Kari!"

Kari jumped out of her seat, startled. "Yes?"

Her boss gave her a sarcastic smile and said acidly, "Glad you're here with us. I hope this staff meeting isn't too boring for you."

Kari's cheeks flushed with color as she realized that she had been daydreaming during the meeting. "I'm sorry," she said as she arranged her paperwork on the table and tried to look attentive. With one last scalding glare in Kari's direction, the woman returned to droning on.

Kari, still blushing, began to let her mind wander again, thinking about TK for the billionth time in the past two days. What's wrong with me? I dump him and forget completely about him for five years and then I can't stop thinking about him nonstop. I'm as bad as a fourteen-year-old girl!

She considered calling him and getting everything out in the open but then decided against it. Let's be realistic here. I forgot about him for five years so there's no reason why he would still remember me. I'm just going to make a fool of myself… Deep in her heart though, Kari knew this wasn't the real reason she didn't want to see him again. What if…what if he doesn't love me anymore?

Chased by fears of rejection, Kari forcibly turned her mind away from a certain blond, blue-eyed guy and back to her job.

~*~*~

Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light

Kari stared out from her window onto the forlorn, empty, street that contrasted sharply with the stark, brightly lit, white walls of the office. The dismal rain had covered everything outside in a coat of darkness. Even the normally sparkling-sapphire river looked like a black sea. Staring at the swiftly moving currents far off, Kari was reminded of the Black Ocean.

Everything had been so dark and dreary, like a land of endless night in which morning would never come. There was a deep feeling of evil that permeated every inch of the place. She had lost all hope when TK appeared like a knight in shining armor, there to rescue her and take her away. He had risked coming into the Black Ocean just to save her…there's no one to whom the Crest of Hope belongs to more…

Kari eyed the group picture that was sitting on top of her computer; the first thing she did that morning when she came in was framing it. I was so happy then and look at me now, trying to drown myself in a sea of memories. If I can get that feeling back, its worth any cost.

 With one last look behind her that the sea of smiling faces captured forever by the flash of a camera, she rushed out of the office.

~*~*~

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

                Kari shed her dripping wet clothing on the floor of her apartment, promising herself that she'd clean it up later. She pulled out the case from under her bed and opened it, sifting through its contents. Finally, she found what she was looking for. On a scrape of paper at the bottom of the case was a number scrawled in a neat, but masculine handwriting.

            She sat down next to the phone and stared at it for a second, stunned at her own daring and audacity. She took a deep breath and dialed the phone number. She listened hopefully to the rings, begging silently for someone to pick up. After what seemed like an eternity, someone answered. "Hello?" she heard a strange but at the same time familiar voice ask.

                "Takeru?" Kari whispered.

~*~*~