A/N: My first fanfiction in a long time, perhaps a year or so. Anyway, a new fandom, a new pairing. Hope that you enjoy it.
Kari, Ken, TK, Yolei and Davis are all sixteen years of age.
Cody is thirteen years of age.
The older Digidestined are all about twenty or so, with Joe being the oldest at twenty-one.
Ken walked up to her slowly, head bowed in an act of humility, something which he had not donned for several months. He had tried for the past few weeks to gain courage in asking her, even though he somehow knew that his attempt would be futile. Kari, meanwhile, was oblivious to Ken's thoughts as she happily typed away at some assignment on one of the school's many computers.
"Kari?" Ken asked quietly, and she turned around with a surprised look on her face.
"Ken, I didn't hear you come in. How did you get here? I didn't think that your school would get out earlier than ours did."
"Oh, well, um…I felt sort of under the weather, and I thought that some fresh air and some good company would do me good. I hope I'm not bothering you."
Kari gave Ken a cursory nod and immediately saved her file and shut down her computer.
"You look concerned Ken." She said kindly, "Come, and sit down for awhile." She stared at him for a moment. "I could see through your lie, Ken. You don't look ill in the slightest. What's up?"
"What's down is more like it." Ken laughed nervously. "Kari, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Ken. I'm always ready with an open ear, you know."
"I'd like you to come with me to Matt's concert this Saturday. Is that okay with you?"
Kari gave a slow nod, then paused to open her day timer, and smiled kindly.
"I'm free on Saturday. Were you thinking of grabbing some dinner before the show?"
"Perhaps," Ken replied, blushing a little. "Are you sure that TK won't get angry with me? He can get worked up sometimes, as I remember."
"It's an outing between friends," she said simply, "What could he possibly be angry about?"
I don't want it to just be an outing between friends. "If you say so. I'll pick you up at six, then? The concert starts at seven thirty, so we have plenty of time to have dinner beforehand."
"Alright. I'll meet you outside my apartment building, unless you'd rather that I come down to where you live. It just doesn't seem fair that you should spend all that time shuttling back and forth all in one day, as the concert is in your area."
"You never think of yourself, do you?" Ken asked, and Kari smiled.
"Well, I do like to help out my friends."
"Still, I don't want to inconvenience you. I'll have a good conversation with Wormmon while I get down to your place. Of course, then we can talk all the way to the concert. Again, sorry to disturb you, Kari." He bowed his way out of the computer room, and Kari stared after him, shyly liking the attention that she was suddenly getting.
Kari ran home after school, gave a polite hello to her mother, and then immediately telephoned TK.
"Hi TK!" she said enthusiastically. "I'm sorry I missed you at school. I've been a bit preoccupied lately."
"It's fine, Kari. How are you, besides being busy?"
"Fine, thanks. How are you?"
"Great. I was wondering if you want to get together some time this weekend, maybe Saturday night or thereabouts. I've seen a lot of commercials for this one movie, and I'm anxious to check it out."
Kari let out an exasperated groan.
"Can't you go with Cody or something? I'm busy Saturday."
"Really? What are you doing? I'd be happy to join you, whatever it is."
"Well, TK, I really don't think that it's a good idea to tag along. You see," she began twisting one of her bracelets on her wrist. "I'm going with Ken to Matt's concert at seven-thirty."
"Oh," TK said, his voice falling a few tones. "I understand. Why are you going with him?"
"Because he asked me." Kari replied. "He's my friend, TK. There's nothing between us, I swear."
"If you say so, Kari." TK replied, although he sounded unsure. "I'll see you around, I guess." He hung up the phone decisively, and Kari listened to the dull sound of the empty phone line for a few moments. Then, she hung up resolutely. She wasn't about to let her best friend's feelings bother her, although these types of things did nag at her mind an awful lot. He had sounded hurt, and confused, maybe. Whatever, she thought as she walked back into her room, anxious to see Gatomon, Ken's just a friend. TK really shouldn't be so worked up about it. Ken was nice, to be sure, but it was only TK who gave her butterflies in her stomach whenever he looked at or talked to her. She shut the door of her room, and then went to see Gatomon, who was lazing around on her bed. She scratched her behind the ears, and immediately the cat woke up.
"How was your day, Kari?" asked Gatomon curiously, nuzzling into the palm of Kari's hand.
"Confusing." Kari said simply, "Ken asked me to go with him to Matt's concert on Saturday, but I really feel horrible about letting TK down. He wanted to do something with me this Saturday too."
"Well, who asked you first?"
"Ken did, but I don't know if I should go now." Kari admitted.
"The way I see it," Gatomon said, getting onto her hind paws, "Is that you should go with whoever asked you first. It's common courtesy, if you think about it. Ken asked you first, so he should really get first dibs."
"That's sort of what I was thinking." Kari replied, rubbing Gatomon on her head. "Thanks, friend."
Ken, too, returned home exhausted. He had taken a boring ride on the bus, and, without Wormmon to discuss things with, his head was swimming with thoughts. He opened the door to his small apartment, and his mother immediately asked him how the day had been.
"Did the fresh air help your cold, Ken?" she asked concernedly, stirring some thick, smoking sauce.
"I think so. Are we eating soon, or can I go lie down for awhile?"
"Go lie down, sweetie. I'll call you when dinner is ready." She smiled at him as he walked down the hall to his room.
He opened the door quietly, for fear of disturbing Wormmon in the process. The insect Digimon was resting on the top bunk, and he gently picked him up and played with his antennae.
"Hello, Ken." Wormmon said in his sad, monotone voice. "Did you go and ask Kari to Matt's concert?"
"Yes, I did. I was very nervous too, and I hope that I wasn't too forward. I doubt that TK or Davis will take it very well that Kari is going on a date with the former Digimon Emperor."
"I'm sure that they think a lot better of you than they used to. Don't worry so much, Ken. It wasn't you fault anyway."
"It was, in a way. I allowed myself to be controlled. But, I am concerned about Kari's feelings for me. I think that she thinks of me just as a friend, nothing more. Kind of confusing, isn't it, when you aren't sure you're on even footing with your prospective girlfriend."
"You really feel that you will go that far with her? I mean, I know she likes TK a lot. Wouldn't it be selfish to take that all away from her?"
"I suppose so." Ken replied, and crawled into the bunk bed beside Wormmon.