Follow Me
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated in any way with those who hold the rights to Digimon and all its aspects, nor this song, which is owned by the artist Uncle Kracker. I know this song implies adultery and I wouldn't be using it if the lyrics were immoral, but I believe I have interpreted them with literary license and that they are no longer offensive.
Author's Note: I recently reformatted and re-uploaded this story. Apologies to all readers and reviewers who read it in the previous format, which basically looked like a jumbled mess. My only excuse is that this story was my first attempt at both writing and posting fanfiction, and the nuances of the latter were too much for me to comprehend.
The room was growing hot with tension. Kari shifted uncomfortably in the beanbag chair she had chosen as a seat, and wished for a different resting spot as the texture of the plastic covering stuck to her sweaty back. Their meetings had always been at the Kamiya house, but couldn't Tai have made amends until the air conditioner was fixed? Tai. Kari grimaced at the thought of her brother. He had no mercy in him today.
She used her hand to fan herself; the windows were all opened but it did little good when there was no breeze. She longed to get a glass of water from the kitchen, but to do so would mean passing through where Tai was yelling at each in turn for something they did (or didn't) do wrong during the battle.
Kari rolled her eyes at the arguments going on around her. She had lost interest in the meeting, seemingly a guise for bickering as only the digidestined could do. In that simple motion, something held her gaze. Ken.
Things seemed to have changed since Ken came, became the twelfth child. Could it have only been a week ago? Kari felt like he had been with them forever.
He winked at her, slowly, differently than the winks T.K. had given when they shared a private joke. Kari seemed suddenly unsure of herself. She tried to pull her eyes away from captivity, but his gaze held them with intensity, willing her to think only of him.
You don't know how you met me
You don't know why
But you can't turn around and say goodbye
Was it getting hotter? She could feel heat from somewhere, and her face grew flushed.
"Kari!" She jumped at her brother's shout. The moment was broken before Kari knew what exactly had transpired. Tai looked at her expectantly, slightly annoyed. "What do you think we should do next?"
How generous of him to ask her opinion. Suddenly she heard herself say, "Let's take the afternoon off." Her eyes darted in the direction of Ken. A quick movement, but one that Tai caught.
His face boiled with rage; his fists turned white from the stress of being tensed so tightly. "Get…out…of…here!" he screamed through clenched teeth. Ken quickly slipped away as the wrath was thrust at him.
Tai turned to Kari, scowling. "How dare you make eyes at that…ugh." He glared with contempt at the freshly vacant seat, then strode slowly over to her sister.
She felt like a soda bottle that, when shaken and opened, explodes over all nearby. Tai had a right to be shaken, they all did, after what had happened in the digiworld this morning, but he was going too far. "Ken is more of a person than you'll ever be!" she screamed. "I hate you, all of you!"
Kari burst out of the room, running towards the only person who accepted her right now. Every muscle in her body, every vein, strained to be near him now.
All you know is when I'm with you
I make you free
And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea
I'm singin'
As she caught sight of him, Kari stopped abruptly. Why did she defend him, chase after someone who until a week ago had been her enemy? Gatomon was suddenly at her side; she always managed to sneak up on her. "Love," she whispered, answering her unspoken question.
"Love," Kari repeated.
Ken turned, startled at the intrusion on his privacy.
"I love Ken." she dreamily tried the words on her tongue, and reveled in their magical sound.
"I love Kari." She felt Ken's hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them. She jumped and spun to face him. Her cheeks reddened, from surprise, embarrassment…love.
"Did you follow me?" she demanded, ignoring his touch. She felt disappointed, however, when he let his hands drop and shoved them deep into his pockets. Her shoulders shivered involuntarily.
"Someone walk on your grave?" Ken laughed lazily. He gently reminded her, "It was you who followed me."
"I followed you," Kari repeated. The spell he had cast on her seemed to have turned her into a parrot. "I followed you here. I'll follow you anywhere."
Follow me everything is all right
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you
Want to leave I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me.
Kari looked deep into Ken's eyes, daring him to say that he was only kidding. By the intensity burning in them, she saw that he wasn't.
She went and sat on a nearby boulder, letting everything sink in. She repeated every thought aloud, still in parrot mode. She somehow had a feeling like she wasn't all there, like a part of her was missing.
"Love. I love Ken. Ken loves me. I followed him. I'll follow him anywhere. Ken loves me!"
She tried to think rationally but ended up babbling. " Mimi says that I'm supposed to marry T.K. because we were childhood friends and have the same crest, almost the same. Mimi says that that was a sign, like an engagement ring, but we didn't believe her because we'll never be anything more than best friends…
"Tai will be mad at you, at me, because we're together, because he hates you, and today I even thought he hated me!
"I'm confused."
Ken took her hand in his. "Forget what Mimi says, what Tai thinks. It's not their business, and they don't have to know."
I'm not worried 'bout the ring you wear
'Cuz as long as no one knows then nobody can care
Kari smiled up at Ken. "We're like Romeo and Juliet, forbidden love. Did you ever read the play?"
"No," he replied brusquely.
"Their families are enemies but they fall in love, and Juliet feigns death so that her family will leave her alone and she can elope, but it backfires. Romeo thinks she's really dead so he commits suicide, and Juliet wakes up and poisons herself."
"Sounds like a happy ending."
"It is!" Kari gushed. "I know it's sad, and I cry every time"—she paused to brush aside a stray tear—"but they were finally together and free to be in love.
"Oh, Ken, Tai will kill us if he ever finds out, and he's already mad at me. I've never gone against his wishes before." Kari became carried away in the part. "What if he kills you, and I have to kill myself to be with you?" Her little-girl fears surfaced through her romantic drama, and she regained control over the trance.
"You know that I would never let anything like that happen, darling." The relief on her face was obvious, but it still masked the slightest apprehension that Ken couldn't perceive. Kari realized that love was a dangerous game.
"Don't worry," Ken repeated. "I'm not scared of Tai."
You're feelin' guilty and I'm well aware
But you don't look ashamed and baby I'm not scared
I'm singin'
"Gatomon?" Kari looked around for her champion friend. She had fine-tuned her sense of hearing to try to keep track of her, but she tended to slip away for some time of her own when she knew she wasn't needed.
A soft purr from the grass nearby satisfied Kari; Ken laughed. "Look who are friends now!"
Kari looked closer at the feline digimon's present lair. Gatomon was having a pleasant conversation with Wormmon. The two seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
"That's what's great about digimon," Kari commented, meditatively. "They're always there for you when you need them, even if it's just in spirit."
"Kari." The seriousness in Ken's voice made her turn and look at him. "Give me that chance, to be there for you. I know we're still young, but someday I want to wake you up every morning, and tuck you in every night."
"That's what I want too," she whispered, and leaned her head on his shoulder.
Follow me everything is all right
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you
Want to leave I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me.
"I can't promise you much," said Ken. "Right now all I can give you is love…but I do love you Kari, more than anything else, and more than you'll never know."
"That's all I need," Kari told him earnestly. "If I'm not with you, something is missing, I'm not whole…because you stole my heart, and it's yours to keep."
They glanced at each other, and then away. Kari suddenly laughed.
Ken turned to her. "What is it?"
She giggled. "Let's grow up first, and then we'll be sure if this is real or not. Not that I think it isn't, but just in case anything happens…like if I fell in love with Davis."
Kari shrieked and ran as Ken chased her. He was the one who had been the Digimon Emperor, yet he seemed carefree; she possessed a certain quality of innocence, but was weighted down with worried thoughts behind her bright smile.
What would Tai do to her if he found out? If anyone else knew, they might tell him. And Davis! She shuddered at the thought of what he might do to Ken; Davis had punched T.K. when he thought that they were going out, and that had been just a misunderstanding…
Ken snuck up from behind and grabbed her waist. She jumped, tense. A frown creased Ken's brow. "Is there a real reason you're not ready to commit?"
Kari looked into his eyes. "Don't ask. You're better off not knowing."
Won't give you money
I can't give you the sky
You're better off if you don't ask why
Ken could sense that she felt anxious. "There's something else bothering you," he accused.
Kari smiled wryly in reply. "Three guesses as to whom and the first two don't count."
"Tai."
"Bingo." She sighed. "It was as if he just cracked today, like the pressure was too much and he blew his top."
"So you came here to get away from him," Ken finished for her. "I see."
Kari realized that she had hurt him. "It's not like that!" she cried. "I was running away from him, but I was running to you. I probably never would have had the nerve to follow you if I hadn't been so upset."
"Are you telling the truth?" he asked.
She looked into his eyes. "Yes. I confronted my feelings, and you know more than I how much I love you."
The answer was enough for Ken. He wrapped her in his arms, than pulled away, embarrassed. "We should go back." Kari looked at him, questioning.
"You can't ask me to stay here and hide from problems with you indefinitely!" he exclaimed. We have to go back and face Tai. Be strong, Kari; I know this can work out."
I'm not the reason that you go astray and
We'll be all right if you don't ask me to stay
"You do understand!" Kari cried joyfully. "I knew you would. But what if Tai is really mad, if…"
He shushed her. "Trust me. I can handle Tai any day." For a fleeting moment Kari pictured Ken walking out of the meeting this afternoon without a fight.
Ken seemed to read her mind. He looked at her squarely. "I didn't want to fight for something until I knew it was mine."
"I'm yours," Kari whispered. Ken pulled her close and kissed her gently. She felt dizzy as she kissed him back tenderly, not caring what Tai would think.
They pulled away from each other reluctantly. "Time to face the music."
"Not without me." Ken slipped his free hand into hers. "You're stuck with me."
"Aren't I lucky?" She grinned up at him. "You are one special guy. I could never find anyone else like you."
Follow me everything is all right
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you
Want to leave I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me.
Tai was pacing back and forth on the front porch when Ken and Kari returned to the Kamiya residence. His eyes still smoldered, and Kari clutched Ken's hand anxiously.
He caught sight of the couple and ran towards the end of the walkway, stopping short in front of them. "Where have you been?" he cried. "I was so worried. You were alone, and maybe in the digiworld, with evil digimon running around mercilessly…" He trailed off and glanced at Ken, then his sister.
"You know the rule—always tell me where you're going. And…"
Kari cut him off. "I'm safer with Ken than with you!"
Tai reeled back, stung. "But…" he sputtered. "I've always looked after you and this scum comes along, and you do his every bidding. Why?"
Kari clung to Ken as she gave the answer she knew by heart. "Love. I'm never going to leave him, and I'll never say goodbye."
You don't know how you met me
You don't know why
You can't turn around and say goodbye
Tai looked shocked. He wheeled around to hide his face, then turned back slowly. Suddenly a single tear ran down his cheek. He ran and hugged his sister. "I've been so selfish!" he muttered bitterly. "Only caring about my own problems…"
Kari untangled herself from his arms. "What are you talking about?" she snapped. Suddenly she felt bad as she looked closely at her brother. Being their leader had taken its toll on him; his face was haggard. "I'm sorry, Tai," she began.
He raised a hand to cut her off. "It's my fault. I never noticed how much you've grown up. You don't need me to look after you anymore." Tai offered his hand to Ken. "That's your job now."
Ken shook his hand slowly, then vigorously as he smiled. He slapped Tai's back. "It's time we became friends."
Tai agreed. "And we need to learn to accept you. You're one of us, now."
Kari impulsively hugged her brother, brushing aside a tear of her own. Then she ran to Ken, who picked her up and spun her in the air. He set her down gently and kissed her. "I told you everything would be all right," he said. "We're free to be in love."
All you know is when I'm with you
I make you free
And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea
I'm singin'
Ten years later
Ken stood next to Tai, unconsciously drumming his fingers on the opposite arm. He had never really felt nervousness before, but this was different. He glanced at his old-fashioned wristwatch, willing the second hand to speed up. Almost time.
The arrangements of roses and baby's breath surrounding him were nauseating. He squeezed his eyes shut, not noticing the bridesmaids approaching the altar, dressed in pale blue silk.
Tai poked him. "She's coming!"
Ken opened his eyes quickly. Kari floated down the isle on a cloud of white gossamer lace, with Yolei behind her holding the flowing train. The guests "oohed" and "aahed" appreciatively as they snapped the shutters on their cameras. She took her place beside Ken, and he tenderly smiled down at her.
In the minute before the priest began the ceremony Kari whispered to him, so softly he could barely make out the faint words: "I followed you here. I'll follow you anywhere."
Follow me everything is all right
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you
Want to leave I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me.
Proud member of the
Starkissed Syndicate:
Violet Princess