Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon
A/N: It's been five years since I last saw an episode of Digimon so I don't know if people are still reading Digimon fanfics but if you are…wonderful. For this story, you're going to have to pretend that the last few episodes of the second season did NOT happen. In other words, Matt and Sora never got together, everyone does NOT know about Digimon, and they continue on having adventures in the Digiworld until the younger Digidestined are in high school. The older kids are in college. I will not use the Japanese names but the dubbed names. Sorry if this annoys you. So I hope you enjoy!
His Promise
Long gnarly trees withered and the icy breeze sent the dried leaves flying towards Yolei. The cement path winded over hills and ricocheted off tall buildings for many miles. She could barely feel her fingers while her teeth chattered. There was no sun to warm her skin and her heart. None of her friends stood by her side and Hawkmon as nowhere to be found. Fear clamped around her ankles and crept along her body, tickling her sense. Where was she? Yolei took a step forward before darkness overwhelmed her.
Yolei sat up in her bed quickly and all she could hear was her own shallow breathing. She broke into cold sweat while she shuddered. It was the third time this week. Why did she keep having the same dream? Yolei rubbed her eyes and squinted at her alarm clock. Unfortunately, she had no time to go back to sleep since it was time for school. Yolei tried to let go of the dream as if it didn't matter to her but it still gnawed at her thoughts. Being so alone-it scared her. It scared her more than she was willing to admit.
"Yolei! Over here!" called Kari from the back of the classroom. She was perched on a windowsill while three boys were circled around her. The boys turned towards Yolei and smiled. Yolei grinned back. It seemed as if Kari and Ken had been trying to break off a fight between T.K. and Davis. She shook her head as she went over to them.
"What were you guys fighting about this time?" she asked with a resigned look on her face. Davis crossed his arms.
"Well, we were all agreeing on the fact that I'm better at basketball than T.J.," he replied smugly. Kari rolled her eyes while T.K. grit his teeth although he really wasn't very angry.
"T. K., you idiot. How hard is it to put two letters together? T…and then K. T.K. And I could beat you at basketball any day."
Ken smiled at Yolei and shrugged.
"How long have they been at each other?" she asked quietly. Ken leaned in towards her ear.
"Twenty minutes."
When Ken moved back Yolei could breathe again but she wished he hadn't moved away so soon. Kari gave her an all-knowing look, which Yolei conveniently didn't notice.
"So is the meeting still on for today?" Yolei whispered. Instantly the group moved into a tighter circle to keep the important words from seeping out. Everyone looked to Kari since her older brother had been the former leader of the digidestined or as Yolei secretly called the position-"goggle boy".
Kari nodded.
"Yeah. Tai said he would tell us everything at our house. I don't what's going on though. He and Izzy have been whispering about it," Kari explained. T.K. bit his lip.
"I don't think Matt knows because he would have told me about it. But then again he's been really busy with his band."
Yolei shrugged.
"Well, it's been awhile since I saw everybody. It'll be nice," she said. Davis and T.K. nodded. Kari glanced up at the clock.
"Mr. Watanabe will be here soon. We should sit down."
The group dispersed but before Yolei could go to her desk Ken grasped her wrist. Yolei turned to stare into those ocean blue eyes. Ken surveyed her briefly before he spoke.
"Are you okay, Yolei?" he asked with genuine concern. Yolei blinked.
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Why do you ask?"
Ken hesitated.
"Well…it just looks like you haven't been getting enough sleep," he replied.
Yolei waved it off.
"Oh. I'm fine. Thanks for caring though."
"No problem."
Yolei went to her seat as did Ken, but Ken had a feeling his friend was not telling the whole truth. Those slight bags under her eyes and the hint of bloodshot eyes worried him. Something about Yolei had been off for a few days now and Ken needed to know what. He sighed inwardly. He had always denied any feelings for her to Kari but no matter what he did, he couldn't escape the image of her laughing.Maybe it was because Yolei was such a cheerful person and that contrasted his own personality.
You should laugh more. She had said that once to him and he would if it made her happy. Before he would have said that there was nothing to make him genuinely laugh but nowadays…well Davis was always around when he needed a good chuckle.
Mr. Watanabe entered the room and it was time for math.
Yolei, Cody, Hawkmon, and Armodillomon entered Tai's bedroom and were greeted by all of the old digidestined but Mimi, T.K. and Kari. Yolei smiled as she took a look at everybody. Matt was sprawled across the bed while Joe sat on the corner leaning against the bedpost. Izzy was busy on the computer and Tai had been looking over his shoulder. Sora was sitting ladylike on Tai's old armchair. Yolei and Cody joined T.K. and Kari on the floor.
Tai grinned at Cody and Yolei.
"I hope you guys ate dinner. You don't want to eat Mom's cooking."
Cody and Yolei nodded with smiles.
"We've been warned," Cody answered.
"What's taking Davis and Ken so long?" Matt asked. Cody was about to shrug when Davis and Ken ran in the room with Veemon and Wormmon in their arms. Matt lifted himself off the mattress.
"What took you guys so long? You know, Davis, as leader of the digidestined you should at least have the decency to show up on time."
David huffed and crossed his arms.
"And let June come along? 'Cause you know, I could have. IT took twenty minutes to get out of the house without her shrieking, 'Oh! You're going to see my Mattie, aren't you? Take me! Take me! I have to see Mattie! My beloved Matt-'"
"You're forgiven," a paled Matt said quickly. Davis threw himself at Kari's side.
"I thought so."
Sora rolled her eyes.
"You know Matt. I don't get why you avoid her so much. She can be sweet."
Davis snorted while Matt blanched.
"Sora, you stay with my sister for more than ten minutes at a time. Then tell me that she's sweet."
Ken took his place beside Cody and he grinned.
"Hey Cody. Hey Armodillomon."
"Hi Ken. Hi Wormmon. How are you?" Cody asked. Although Cody was the one who really doubted Ken after the Digital Emperor incident, they had become trusted friends over the five years. Ken looked after Cody as a little brother like everyone else but he also saw Cody as an equal.
"I'm good," he answered truthfully. He knew Cody tended to worry about his mental status. He felt his sincere eyes on him. The younger boy broke into a smile.
"That's good."
Kari spoke up.
"Ok, now spill. What is going on?"
Everyone agreed with her and asked Tai and Izzy to explain the reason for the meeting. Izzy cleared his throat and everyone fell silent.
"The Digiworld is basically been taken over by the Ocean of Darkness."
Kari and Ken's eyes widened. Kari clapped her hand on her mouth and she squeezed Gatomon's paw for comfort. Wormmon looked up at Ken worriedly but his friend's face was void of any emotion. The older digidestined seemed confused.
"The ocean of darkness only appears when a person or Digimon feels desperate, despondent and hopeless. Matt, Sora, it's kind of like those caves," Izzy said in order to clear any confusion.
Sora gulped in remembrance and Matt sat up quickly. They glanced at each other in understanding but then looked away. Joe bit his lip.
"I remember those," Joe whispered.
"Now for some reason. Patches of the Digiworld have turned into this ocean and it looks like it'll take the whole Digiworld. We don't know why it's happening. Tentomon and Agumon have been trying to find more info but so far they've cone up with nothing. And we can't get in touch with Gennai either," Tai explained.
For some unknown reason, Yolei's dream floated to the top of her thoughts. She shivered unconsciously and started at the brush of Hawkmon's wings.
"So what are we going to do?" T.K. asked. Sora nodded.
"Yeah. I'm worried about Biyomon."
Izzy leaned closer to the group in the computer chair.
"I want to have a look at the Digiworld myself. To see what we're dealing with."
Davis stood up, his hand already on his D-terminal.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He pumped his fist into the air.
Fear clamped around Yolei's heart and she didn't know why. Suddenly, she didn't even want to set her foot on the Digiworld. She pulled her knees closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Was it just her or did Tai's room just get twenty degrees colder?
"Yeah, let's go!" Matt exclaimed. Joe shook his head.
"What? Now? That's just being reckless. We need a plan. We can't just barge in there whenever we want to."
Everybody stared at him in silence.
"Okay, we do it anyway but that's not the point!" said Joe flustered. Sora sighed.
"The point is that we should tell our parents first at the very least. We've already worried them so much," she answered. Joe gaped.
"That's what I meant!"
Tai's eyes rested on Sora for a full minute and she stared back meaningfully. Then he broke the eye contact to turn to Davis.
"She's right. We owe our parents at least that. What with the trouble we caused," Tai said with authority.
"We caused," snorted Matt. Kari and T.K. chuckled.
"Well, let's meet tomorrow with our parents' permission. Or at least they know where you are. So meeting's over but you're welcome to stay," said Tai looking about the room.
"We're staying," everyone chorused except Yolei. She stood up slowly with Hawkmon in her arms.
"Actually, I need to go. I told Mom I would help her with some stuff," she told them pretending annoyance. Thankfully everybody believed her and they said their goodbyes. She was on her way to the door when Ken stood up.
"I'll walk you home," he said abruptly. Yolei, shocked, shook her head.
"Oh no, it's okay. You don't have to bother."
"Oh c'mon Yolei. It's dark out and you need Ken to protect you!" Davis shouted. Kari thumped his arm, scowling.
"Why you-" Yolei started but Ken stopped her.
"It's okay. I don't mind," he said softly.
"Yeah Yolei. It's good to be careful around dark," Tai said. Yolei blushed slightly as she looked up at Ken.
"Okay. Thanks."
"No problem."
Soon they were out the door. Immediately, Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. After he shuffled through the bills he looked to his friends.
"Ten bucks (A/N: sorry American money) that they go out before school gets out," he said with a mischievous grin. T.K. shook his head.
"No way. Ken's too shy."
Tai laughed.
"He didn't seem too shy to me, walking her home and all."
Davis turned to Matt.
"You're on!"
Kari and Sora shook their heads. Kari then went into deep thought. She knew Yolei lied to them about helping her mother because Kari remembered that her friend had been particularly happy about having a night off. Something was wrong with Yolei. But what could be troubling her cheerful friend?
Yolei smiled down at Hawkmon and wormmon. They were fast asleep and snoring slightly. Her heart thumped and she was surprised that Hawkmon couldn't hear it. Ken Ichijouji was walking her home. Ken. She could faint in pure delight but then she remembered why she was walking home with him.
"What's wrong, Yolei?" Ken asked softly. Yolei turned to him.
"What do you mean?" she answered nervously. Ken stopped and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I know you were lying about helping your mom. Want to tell me what's all about?"
Yolei stared at him. Five years had definitely changed Ken. He was no longer so reclusive. High school had done him good. He was taller, muscular and more…human. His face wasn't always devoid of emotions although he had his days. But they were now few and far in between. She longed to tell him about the dream and the strange desire to stay away from the Digiworld but…
"Yolei?" Ken asked.
"Do you ever feel so cold that you think you'll never be warm again? Do you ever feel as if you're all alone?"
There was a slight pause before he put his other hand on her other shoulder. His blue eyes told Yolei everything she needed to hear. The night breeze flew around them but Yolei wasn't cold. His eyes gave her all the warmth she needed and the silence between them left everything unsaid and yet…said. Ken slowly pulled her into an embrace.
"You're never alone. You have Davis, Cody, Kari, T.K., and me."
"Promise?" she asked muffled against his shirt.
"I promise."
And they stayed like that. Just for a while. Because they wanted to.
Because they needed to.
A/N: I have most of chapter two written but I wanted to submit the first chapter first to see the reaction. Thanks for reading and I hope you review! Constructive criticism is appreciated. My feelings don't get hurt easily…at least not for writing anyway.
