Chapter Two
Meteor showers
A Takari.
Everyone loves Takari! … this is my first Takari, and it's not the best, but WhatEVER!
Hey, I'm not dead! so, even though I've given myself a six month vacation, I will be rejoining the living once again. assuming you guys don't kill me... Um...
Welcome to the second chapter of Couples of the digiworld, Unite! It's actually 4 pages longer than the first. (blushes) Ok, this is where you ask 'Do you have any idea what a one shot IS, girl?'
Just as a reminder, This story has absolutely nothing to do with the previous story, "Can I?" It's not even in the same time period. Or… I think it isn't… But! Even though this is a 'completely different' one shot, the same rules still apply. No FLAMERS! You can review and add your favorite couple! If you have any complaints, Email me! The three rules still readily apply. Now on to the oneshot explanations.
The summary!
Meteor showers.
Kari, Tk, and the other digidestined are on a getaway to the camp where the others first went to the digitalworld. Kari's reminiscing, but the digiworld isn't all that's on her mind.. and Tk has something up his sleeve as well…
(Ok, I suck at summaries...)
Note: I would put a snappy quip about not owning digimon here, but I also have to say that I don't own XXXholic or any of clamp's stories, and that just totally ruins the fun.
Meteor showers
"…And then he said, "Got any grapes?""
Kari and Davis both laughed. Tk smirked. 'I knew they'd like it. I just didn't think that Davis would get it. Wow.' The blonde boy thought to himself. He went back to skipping rocks into the nearby river, where his skipped four times before splashing loudly. Kari giggled at it and Davis raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I can SO do better than that!" he boasted, sighing. "Right Veemon?" he asked his little blue digimon, sitting beside him.
The creature blinked at his friend. "No, I wasn't aware that you could, Davis. Can you really? That would be so amazing."
Gatomon, who was sitting higher on the rock formation they were occupying, opened a lazy eye from her nap. "No, Veemon. He's just boasting. Boys do it all the time." She purred, stretching out from her sunbath.
"Nu-uh!" Davis protested. "I can so bounce it five times! Here, watch!" he picked up a random rock and tossed it. The result was a huge splash in the water. Davis blushed and quickly grabbed another rock. "Tha- that doesn't count. It was a bad rock!" he exclaimed, preparing to throw his new one.
Tk rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Davis. A bad rock." He agreed sarcastically. "Why not bad water, too?" he asked.
Davis wound up and tossed the rock, and surprisingly, it bounced one, two, three, four, five times before splashing to the bottom of the water. Turning to the blonde boy with a smirk he stuck his tongue out. "Because water wasn't the problem, Ts." He countered.
"Ooh, now it's on!" Tk smiled. Picking up another rock, he made an attempt himself.
Kari watched in amusement from the sidelines. Sighing, she sat back and took in her surroundings. They all were in the wilderness, far from town, on a weekend getaway. In fact, the others were sure that this was the first place they'd gone to the digiworld. They'd chosen this spot because it had been a year since the group had seen Wizardmon again; the anniversary of becoming digidestined. They'd wanted to do something special, so they had chosen the first place they'd become digidestined. Of course, Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken had never seen the place before, and Davis had dragged all the newer ones off into the forest (trying to find where the NATURAL digiport was,) and had promptly gotten lost.
Of course, she herself had never been here, either.
"I was sick," Kari reflected out loud. "That's why I couldn't come."
"What was that, Kari?" Kari's digimon, Gatomon, had pulled up beside her and was now eyeing her curiously. When the digidestined of light saw the white cat, she smiled.
"Oh, Gatomon. I was just thinking about when my brother and friends were here," she told the cat. "Of how I wasn't here?"
The cat nodded. "Yeah. I guess it's a good thing, too, because I wouldn't have been able to protect you. I was with him." The digimon sighed, turning back to the competition. "Looks like they're fighting for your hand in marriage or something." She motioned to the two pre-teens. Apparently, Tk and Davis were now tied at six jumps.
Kari blushed slightly at her friend's comment. 'Not like I'd mind if…' suddenly she blushed deeper, and she shook her head and dropped the thought. Quickly looking at her watch, Kari smirked. "We're going to be late for lunch." She commented, standing up. "We'd best be going. But first…" the guardian of light's hand clenched around a flat rock. She jumped over to the boys, smiling innocently at both of them. Leaning back, she tossed the rock out. Both Davis and Tk watched as it bounced twelve times before landing in the water.
There was a silence, and then Tk laughed. "I think you win," he told her. "Let's go to lunch. I'm starved."
The three arrived back at camp to see everyone already seated at the picnic tables. When they showed up, the group was immediately confronted with a scowling Yolei. "You're late! We were going to send a search party for you! Geez, did you die or something?" she asked, making Davis and Tk cringe. Sora and Matt looked over to them and… Tk stared. Had his brother…
Winked at Yolei?
'No… must've been my imagination…' Tk thought hurriedly. Yolei's scowl suddenly turned overly sweet as he grabbed Davis's arm.
"OH, DAVIS!" she exclaimed in a super-peppy voice. "You'll NEVER guess who wants you to SIT BY THEM!" she beamed overenthusiastically.
"Uh…" Davis just stood as still as a rock, waiting for Yolei to scream at him or something. That's what she always did when she was being forced-peppy. Or something worse than screaming…
"OH, it's Mr. Kamiya! He wants to BLATHER ON ABOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS WITH YOU! Let's go sit by HIM, shall WE!" she put force on the last word 'we'. Davis knew he was in for it.
"What've I done to deserve this?"
Ken crossed his arms and smirked. "Got us lost for eight hours, for one thing…" he informed. His eyes flicked to Tk and Kari quickly before guiltily looking at the ground. "Um… I'll go get the hamburgers now. Why don't you two sit down?"
Suddenly there was a move for the table, and everyone was scurrying to sit down. Davis, as promised, sat by Tai's father and the unmerciful Yolei, Ken's empty place beside her being 'occupied' by Tai, trying to sit in two seats at once. Sora, Matt, Cody, Mimi, Izzy, Joe, and the others found seats until most of the spaces were filled, with the exception of two.
The two were sitting right next to each other. Kari and Tk just looked, confused, at the scene. It had happened so fast that they weren't sure what had taken place.
Tk looked at them, frowning. Suddenly it hit him. "Oh, geez. Can you be any more obvious?" he asked himself, blushing. "I think this is some sort of hint…" he muttered to himself, and Kari, standing behind him, cocked her head.
After a moment, she shrugged and grabbed Tk's hand. "Let's go eat. I'm starved." She informed the boy, tugging him closer to the table. Tk followed her.
When Ken came back to the table, everyone began eating merrily. Tai kept glancing at his sister, and Matt had to kick him more than once to make him quit it. The action confirmed Tk's earlier thought; they'd planned getting them to sit by each other.
Blushing, Tk pondered this. It wasn't as though he minded sitting next to Kari. It's just that he was planning on making his move anyway. It wasn't as though he needed help from his friends. 'Then again,' he thought dryly, 'they don't really know I'm going to ask her yet… but still, they're acting so obviously! I'm not an idiot!' he thought as he added catsup to his hamburger.
"So Tk, what was it like at camp that year?" Kari asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Tk asked, his arm jumping and spilling catsup all over his hamburger at the sudden question. Tk, blushing, quickly put it down and looked at her. "What?"
"You know…" Kari helped him along. "When you went to camp that year that I couldn't? When you met Patamon?"
A little flying digimon flew over and landed on Tk's white hat. "You talkin' about me?" he asked in an innocent voice.
"Um… yes… sorta…" he told his friend. Turning to Kari, he smiled. "Oh, it's too bad you had to miss it, Kari. We had a lot of weird experiences even BEFORE the digital world thing. Like arts and crafts, for instance… I nearly decapitated Joe's fingers, and we built a birdhouse that had a green roof and multicolored wood…" he smiled and looked over to where Joe was sitting. Unbeknownsed to Tk, Patamon began to munch on his hamburger. Kari giggled.
"So!" Kari's father said loudly, breaking the conversation. Matt, Yolei, Tai, and Sora all raised an eyebrow at the sole adult on the trip. They'd needed some adult supervision, but he was the only one who could make it for that long. The children glared at him, trying to somehow let him know that it wasn't a good time to talk, but a good time to let them bond. Two children in particular.
Like many adults, he seemed oblivious to their glares. "What do you want to do later, for the rest of the day?" he asked. "We should really get the schedule set up…" he told them.
"Oh, can we go swimming?" Kari asked suddenly. "Let's go swimming before it rains."
"Kari, it's not gonna rain…" Tai scoffed, looking up. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. He pointed up. "See?" he showed her, his voice slightly worried. What Kari had said sounded like a prediction. And when Kari made predictions…
"But… yeah! Swimming's good." Matt kicked his friend under the table again. "Whatever you think is good, after all." He said. "And later we can tell stories around the campfire. Or something."
Sora nodded with him. "Swimming. Good." She smiled. "I mean, the water's not too cold this time of year, right?" she asked.
"Right!" Yolei pumped a fist into the air ecstatically. "We'll go swimming. Yes we will!" and the others nodded with her. Davis, beside her, mumbled something about Yolei becoming an announcer when she got older while rubbing his ears in pain.
Tk thought about this for a moment. "I'm not sure…" he murmured, but then Kari leaned over and whispered in his ear. There was a brief exchange between them, and Tk smirked broadly. "Ok, that works!" he said, unable to stop grinning. Matt blinked at his brother, and everyone suddenly knew that they were in for a surprise…
Much later, the digidestined children sat around a campfire in the dark. Tk and Kari sat next to one another while the others glared from the opposite side. Tk leaned back. "What a great night out, isn't it?" he asked in a pleased voice.
"Speak for yourself." Matt countered grumpily. He was shaking out one of his shoes in an attempt to get water out of them. "My shoes'r gonna be soaked for days."
Kari laughed. "Well, it was your fault for bringing them swimming." She told him.
"Well it was your fault for missing me with that water balloon and hitting my shoes! So ha!" Matt said.
Kari smiled as she remembered the events earlier. She and Tk had strung everyone along, and when they were into a full game of Marco polo, they'd left the scene only to come back later with an array of water balloons and water guns. Needless to say, nearly everyone was soaked. She'd managed to avoid their wrath, but Tk'd gotten a cold shower from Ken with a hose down his back. Even so, the boy was smiling broadly.
"We got you good." He told them happily, drawing a line in the sand.
Ken shrugged. "Well, I 'got you good', so we're even, I suppose." He said, squeezing out his dark hair.
"It's a nice night. It sure got dark quickly…" The guardian of hope said, changing the subject. He sat up straighter. "Does anyone know a good story?" he inquired suddenly.
"I've got one!" Izzy said from the other side of the campfire. "It's a horror story. Ok, so there were these two pranksters who decided to start a water fight…"
"Haven't we heard this before?" Joe asked, a slight naïveté showing on his face.
Yolei, however, smirked. "Yes, Joe, I believe we have." She told him, glancing over to Tk and Kari, who blushed.
Tk shrugged. "Ok, ok! We get it. We're gonna pay. Just, any REAL stories?" he asked innocently.
Ken sat back in his seat, thinking. "Once upon a time, there was a small family." he said, sipping from a soda can. A few others took a drink as well. "The mother was washing dishes. The father was watching the game." He continued. "The girl was eating mashed potatoes in the closet. Then someone killed her!" he exclaimed, and Matt, Tai, and Yolei all spit out their drinks in laughter.
"That wasn't a story!" Kari protested, giggling.
Ken smiled. "Well, milady, would you like to take a crack at it?" he asked whimsically.
Kari's smile fell abruptly. "I'm not a very good storyteller." She said quickly.
Tk looked at her skeptically. About half a minute passed before he gave her a gentle nudge. "Ok, I tell one, you tell one. 'k? That'll make it better, won't it?" he smiled. "You're not that bad of a storyteller, Kari. I'll bet you're just embarrassed." His voice changed drastically to draw out the 'embarrassed', and Kari hit him with a blanket that was near her. "Arg! Geez! At least answer the question!" he cringed as she buffeted him with the cloth.
Stopping, Kari thought for a moment. "I guess… but it'd better not be like Ken's! Or I'll-!" she raised the blanket again and when Tk flinched, she spread it out and threw it over his head, covering him.
"Ok, Ok! A real story. How do I get out?" he asked from under the blanket. Izzy leaned over and tugged on the sheet and pulled it off. The blonde boy carefully straitened his white hat before starting. "Ok. Ahem." He took a deep breath and started.
"There once was a couple that moved into a hotel suite. It was a discounted suite, almost half the normal price. However, they took it no questions asked."
"Each story of the hotel was the same as the others. Six rooms each level, for three levels. But on the fourth level—where the couple was staying—there were only five rooms. The couple lived there for three months, during which time the hotel went through several managers and occupants. They asked their suspicions to all of them, and all said the same thing. Yes, there DID seem to be a room missing. When you knocked on the wall, there was a hollow sound, and when looking out the window, the building was elongated, as though another room should be there. But their curiosities were dormant, and they never bothered with it."
"Until one night."
"One night, the wife woke the husband up, shaking him. When he looked at her, she asked 'do you hear that?' and fell silent. The man did hear it; a skritch-skritch-scratching. 'Go back to bed, dear, it's probably just a tree.' The man told her. But neither of them could sleep. All night, the skritch-skritch-scratching."
Joe shuddered. "You know, it's funny, I think I'm going to go inside now…" he said, slowly attempting to rise. Matt rolled his eyes and tugged him back into his seat.
"Sit and be quiet. Don't ruin the mood." He told the teen.
Tk shrugged. As Joe sat down, he proceeded. "In the morning, the couple complained to the manager. They talked about it for a short period, and decided to sit it out for a while. However, that night, there it was again. The skritch-skritch-scratching.
Skritch-scratch.
Skritch-scratch.
All night long. And every night that week.
Skritch-scratch.
Skritch-scratch.
Eventually, they complained to the manager again. 'I think it's from the should-be room. That's where it's coming from.' Meaning, of course, the place where the room should have been. After a quick discussion, the manager decided to get a demolition crew together. They—and several of the hotel members—came to watch the demolition. They crashed down the wall and when the dust cleared, sure enough, there was another room that was boarded up there."
"They went in and pried the wooden boards off of the doors and slowly entered the room where they were taken aback by several carvings, carved in the wall and blood-red in color. Over and over, the same message was inscribed.:
'FATHER! PLEASE! LET ME OUT!'"
"The end." Tk stated. Around him there was silence. The first movement came from Joe, who slumped in his stance and tried to tear his hair out.
"God! Now I'm NEVER going to be able to sleep! I should've left. That was one nasty story, Tk!" Joe complained.
Ken took a deep inhale, then exhale. "Yes. One nasty story." He commented.
"I don't remember where I heard it." Tk shrugged. "It isn't mine, though."
Kari beamed, and Tai stared at her. "What're you so happy about?" he asked, his voice jumping slightly. "That was a TERRIBLE story! The good terrible…" he assured Tk, who shrugged again. "But still terrible."
"I think it was a good story." Kari huffed.
"Isn't mine," Tk reminded her again.
"Well, I'm going to have problems getting to sleep tonight." Mimi commented.
"When solving a problem, it always helps to know the answer." Sora told her.
"Provided you know the question." Matt added.
Tk blinked and sighed. "Well, I'm done. Now it's Kari's turn." He stated proudly, and everyone blinked at him. Kari muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'oh, fiddlesticks.' "What? Hold up your end of the bargain." Tk ordered her.
Kari sighed and shut her eyes. "But the only one I can think of is really stupid, not scary…" she pleaded.
"You'll do fine." Tai assured her from the other side of the fire.
"Mmmm…" Kari voiced her doubt. Finally she sighed. "Fine, fine. Just don't laugh, ok?" she requested and everyone nodded, showing they understood. "Ok." She took a deep breath in and looked at the sky, stealing a moment more of silence before she started. The stars above them twinkled, reminding Kari of gems. The sight was soothing, and it melted away her nervousness. She let the silence continue for a moment, and then, sighing, she let the words flow out from her mouth.
"They wouldn't come out on a night like this, I suppose." She said sadly, more like she was carrying on a conversation than telling a story. The children leaned in closer, while Mr. Kamaya began snoring slightly in his chair.
"Tonight is clear after all." She went on. "They are never seen when it's clear or… perhaps you just wouldn't know they're here. They only show themselves in the rain."
The wind around them shifted, and Kari looked towards the darkening horizon.
"The wind is their souls, the lightning their way. With the rain they sigh, their spirit carried on the raindrops. If you listen hard…
"…you may even hear them speak…"
At this, Kari stopped abruptly. She closed her eyes, breathing out, as though remembering something. She opened her eyes and looked at the fire.
"They are sorrow, they are wisdom… they existed before and will exist again. They come to those with sorrow, they whisper. It is the greatest gift in the world, to hear them, and to understand. Maybe you will, one day."
"But not tonight, I suppose. Maybe some other night."
Kari glanced up. The digidestined were waiting, listening. She blushed. "That's it. I'm sorry. It wasn't very scary, I know…" she began.
"Am, um, ah…" Joe blinked. "Speak for yourself. Don't take this the wrong way, but that was scarier than Tk's story." He informed her.
"Yeah." Matt agreed. "I don't think any of us will sleep tonight." He said, but was cut off by a snort from the dozing adult sitting by him. "Well, none of US, anyways."
"That story was really good, Kari. Did you make it up?" Cody asked.
"No… It was told to me." Kari answered him.
Tk smiled. "By who?"
Kari sat back in her seat, looking at the sky. "A friend."
"Should we put Mr. Kamaya to bed?" Mimi asked worriedly. "He's gonna fall backwards and split his skull on the ground, otherwise." She pointed out.
"Ugh." Joe exclaimed, shooting up suddenly. "NO more mental pictures! NO more scary stories! NO more nightmares!" he protested loudly.
"Oh, come on Joe, it wasn't THAT scary." Matt chided. "I know a scarier story by far. An experience, actually." When Sora looked at him oddly, he elaborated. "You ever been shopping with Mimi and offering to pay? Well…" he started.
"Blah blah blah! I'm not list-ening!" Joe covered his ears with his hands and Mimi decked Matt with a rock.
Sora smiled. "Well, anyway, perhaps we'd best get to bed. Looks like some of us are tired anyway. Right Cody?" she asked the small boy across from her, who was caught in mid-yawn. At this he tried (futilely) to clench his mouth shut.
"NO! I'm not tired!" he insisted with another, larger yawn. Davis looked at him, then yawned as well. "Ok, maybe a little." He admitted.
"We have all tomorrow to celebrate." Izzy pointed out. "Unless, of course, we all wake up at three in the afternoon."
"Fine, fine." Tai grumbled, standing. "Ok, gang, back to the cabin."
At this, many rose to their feet with a groan. Kari stood up to follow, but Tk did not. "Tk?" Kari asked uncertainly, looking down at him.
"I think I'll stay here for a while longer." He told her with a smile. "Go on ahead. I won't be long."
Kari hesitated, sensing an undetectable emotion hidden in his words. "You know Tk, I-!" she blinked, then blushed deeply. "No, never mind. Just don't be too long." She commanded. Tk nodded and Kari made her way over to her father, who Matt and Tai were trying to shake awake. Soon nearly everyone had left. Mr. Kamaya even managed to wake up before the boys had attempted to carry him off.
Sora had stayed behind as well. She came over to sit by Tk with careful precision. They sat in silence, watching the fire die before them. Tk was first to speak.
"Why's it so hard?" he asked his older companion, as though they had been talking about this for hours. Sora thought carefully about how she would answer him before she spoke.
"Because you know that when you say it, you will be giving away part of yourself." She said. "And you might not get it back." Tk looked at her, strait into her amber eyes.
"You really think so?" Tk asked her.
"I know so. Just keep the door locked until you're ready to open it, Tk." She advised, sitting back to look at the stars. "Problem is, you're ready. Right?"
Tk was silent, so Sora continued. "And the others think you're ready. Both of you." She informed him vaguely.
"Really?"
"Really. Even Davis, I think." Sora said, making Tk sit up straighter.
"Liar." He said in disbelief.
Sora shrugged. "I think he understands. He sees it. He's just having problems letting go. Everyone does." She explained.
Tk sat up straighter. "Really? It's just…-" he hesitated. "Kari's never really turned him down, and Davis never really stopped asking, so I thought…" Tk stopped again and sighed. "I got her something."
Sora smiled. "Really? How sweet. When're you going to tell her?" she asked brightly.
Tk looked down, blushing. "Um…"
Sora thought about this for a minute before giggling. "You work on that. But let's go to bed and get some sleep." She suggested, standing. "Don't worry about the timeframe. We have forever, so you'll get your chance. And if necessary… we'll get you alone."
Tk was looking at the fire. By the time the thought registered in his tired brain, he sat up to meet empty air. Sora had dashed away before he'd had the chance to retaliate. Feeling cheated and confused, he stood up abruptly and shouted at the empty space.
"HEY!"
It was the middle of the night, much later in the evening. All the digidestined were asleep in Hickory tree cabin. The females slept on the west side and the boys on the east. A small clock near Mr. Kamiya's bed read 2:01 in feeble blue lights that threatened to burn out any minute.
It was then that Tk realized he was awake. He sat up slowly in mild confusion. He hadn't been startled into conciseness—he'd just woken up, like they did in the mornings. But if a dream hadn't woken him up, what had…?
Tk sensed movement from across the room, and above him, on the top bunk. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Tk apologized.
"You must have…" Joe said from above. The other, from across the room, made a questioning sound when the girl in the bunk below her rolled over to look at them, their eyes hidden in the darkness.
"Tk? 'You… say som'n?" Sora asked dully, rolling over. "Mornin' already? No, tisn't…" she droned in that way that sleepy children do in the morning.
Another child sat up. "Time to wake up?" Cody's voice called softly, confused.
"No, don't suppose it is…" Joe said from above.
"Then why're you all awake?" Tai grumbled from the bed adjacent to Tk's.
A boy from the far end of the cabin—Izzy, probably—shifted to a sitting position. "Weird. What woke you guys up?" he asked.
"Dunno, Don't care." Answered Matt from one of the top bunks, above Tai's bed.
"Hm. Well, I'm used to being up at this hour." Said Mimi. She'd been the first girl to awaken. "You know, since I'm living in America? But it's still weird." She concluded.
"Great. Now I'll never get back to sleep." Grumbled Yolei.
On the boy's side of the cabin, Davis blinked and sat up. After a moment, he blinked again. "Wow." He said in a daze. "I'm conscious again."
"Don't give yourself too much credit." Ken grumbled from the bunk below.
"Oh, don't be such a downer, Ken." Tk sighed.
"Hey, you didn't have to wait for Davis to stop jumping on the bed to lie down, much less sleep." He countered grumpily. Then his breath hitched and he sat up so abruptly that he nearly adopted a concussion from the wood above him. "Who else is awake?" he asked, stunned.
"Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!" Davis called from above him. Ken punched the soft mattress above him, making the boy yelp and roll over.
"I think the question is, who isn't awake?" Matt commented.
Tk did a quick count in his head. "I think Kari's the only one who hasn't spoken up yet…" he thought aloud.
"I wonder why we all woke up. Well, except for Kari and my dad." Tai hummed in genuine curiosity. "Kari, are you awake?" he called across the room.
There was a second of silence.
"Yes." Kari answered quietly. "I guess it's no surprise that you all woke up." She commented.
Tk looked up at her. She was facing the wall in her bed, and he only saw her back. "You mean you know why we woke up?" he asked in wonder. The other digidestined quieted.
"Of course…" she said, a strange tone in her quiet voice. Tk did a double take, trying to catch it, but failed. Others waited for her to solve the mystery by quieting further.
When she didn't go on, Sora leaned over. "Well…?" she prompted. In the silence, Tk's ears picked up an eerie sound from outside. He blinked at the door. Kari shifted under her covers. There was a moment more of uneasy, drawn out silence.
"It's raining." She informed them quietly. A touch of sadness accompanied her voice, and Tk's ears perked up and caught it this time.
Suddenly Kari slid out from under her covers. Letting her feet dangle from the second bunk, she looked down to her father, who was snoring faintly. She eyed him and then the door. "I think I'm going out." She told the room. Sliding down from her bunk, she fetched her shoes out from under the bed. Tk suddenly felt as though he wasn't going to sleep for a long time.
He sat up. "I think I'll go with you." He said, pulling his shoes from beside his bunk, fumbling with the laces in the dark. At the corner of his eye he saw Joe roll over to glare at him as best a kid without glasses at two in the morning could.
"Are you CRAZY?" he asked. When Tk smiled at him with a well-you-said-it-first smirk his brother had taught him, Joe just hid under his covers. "Crazy idiot." He sulked. "Not me. Not after that tale." he growled, alluding to Kari's ghost story.
Suddenly Tk understood why they'd all woken up. The rain must've made them unconsciously edgy. He beamed at his crush. 'Great story, Kari.' He complemented her in his head. He pulled a dry sweatshirt on over his pajamas. Making sure he had the present in his pocket, he turned to Kari. "Well, I could use the fresh air." He said to no one in particular.
Kari smiled dazedly at her friend and made her way towards the door, and Tk followed. The boy heard something mumbled by his brother and turned before shutting the door quietly, just in time to see Sora hurl a pillow at Matt's bunk. It, of course, missed and hit Tai, who was sitting on the bunk below.
Shutting the screen door and regular door quietly, Tk turned to Kari. "Well, that would've been interesting, but let's get out of here before a full fledged pillow war erupts and wakes are chaperone." He suggested.
"Sure." Kari said, rain beginning to slide down her hair. "But I doubt it. Dad could sleep through an earthquake." She sighed and pointed off to the woods, where they headed.
"Don't doubt it." Tk hummed brightly. "With how loud he snores, he might've triggered a few himself." He commented playfully.
"Tk…" Kari giggled.
Tk and Kari sat high on the branches of a tree, talking. The branches were protected by several other trees around them, but rain still managed to slip down and hit them at times. Tk sat on his branch with his back to the trunk, staring into the dripping wet leaves, while Kari sat on a separate branch to the right doing the same. Rain fell softly around their fortress as they talked of the digiworld.
"You remember that time when Gatomon cut flying fish up in mid air and then ate it all?" Tk asked her.
"Yeah…" she nodded. "And Palmon decided to show her up…"
"By catching a bigger fish…" Tk continued
"And it landed on top of her?" They ended together, and laughed loudly.
"Big fish, though." Tk smiled. He blinked. "Hey, you know, that reminds me of a few weeks ago when Davis, Ken and I went fishing without you guys…" Kari shifted and craned her neck to look at him, an eyebrow raised.
"Without us?"
"Um… not purposely…" Tk added quickly, taking mental note to warn the other two later. "Uh… anyway…" Tk's voice tapered off as a silent lightning bolt struck far away, lighting up their faces.
"What happened?" Kari asked.
"Hm? Oh…" Tk grinned. "Davis… gets really eccentric on a boat. He… uh…" Tk tapped his fingers together, trying to figure out how to explain what happened. "Well, he was running back and forth, looking over the railings, so fast that it began rocking the boat."
Kari sighed, interpreting his story. "So the boat tipped?" she asked.
"Um… no, the boat was a little big to tip over that easily." Tk informed her.
"Well, then, what happened?" Kari pressed, suddenly curious.
"First, Davis's goggles fell off. They fell into the water. Ken was telling him off for making the boat rock, and reached down into the water to grab them, and wasn't paying attention…" he bit his lip, trying not to laugh. "A fish tried to eat the strap on the goggles and swim away with them and pulled really hard, and Ken sorta fell in."
In the darkness Tk could see Kari smirk as she giggled a little bit. "Why don't I believe you?" she asked playfully.
"Um… because Ken wouldn't normally do something that stupid?" Guessed Tk.
Rain dribbled down on Kari's nose. She rubbed the spot where it had hit, making her look like she was thinking hard. "Well, maybe he would. He always ends up doing something stupid when Davis is around." She offered.
"Come on, Davis isn't that stupid." Tk defended him.
"I think you might just be giving him too much credit…" Kari shrugged.
"I think I might be giving him a lot of credit." Tk muttered.
"What was that? I missed it…" Kari told him.
Sitting up straighter, Tk shook his head. "Oh… nothing. Um… Kari?"
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Um… who told you that ghost story?" he asked cautiously. "I mean, it was really a good one, well, not a good ghost story, just a really good story. Like a legend, sort of." He mused aloud.
A short silence pursued. Kari tugged at a leaf that hung on a branch near her. "A friend." She answered as she had at the campfire.
"Which friend, though?"
Another silence. Kari looked away. "Well, a very dear friend." She said. Hesitating, she added one more sentence, this one with a little more sorrow in her voice. "They're gone now."
At her answer, Tk looked down. Of course he should have seen that coming. 'Great. Did I upset her? I shouldn't have asked.' He thought regretfully. 'I shouldn't have messed with such a touchy subject. Now I'll never bring myself to ask her…'
They sat in the tree, Tk staring at his shoes, Kari looking through a gap in the tree to the falling rains. The droplets around them swished and sighed, like static.
'You may even hear them speak…'
Tk broke his staring contest with his shoe to look down below him. He was sure he'd heard someone whisper something. Before he turned to Kari to ask if she'd heard it, Tk remembered what she'd said earlier, in her story. About 'they', the wisdom, the sorrow, the ones that only showed themselves in the rain. Closing his eyes, Tk tried to imagine 'them', flying about, following the rain patterns, or the wind. As if to help him along, the wind began to blow gently.
'…gone, but not forever…'
Snapping his eyes open he turned to look down the trunk to the ground, once again his eyes meeting empty air. Even so, he was sure he'd heard someone speak. Frowning, he closed his eyes again, this time pulling his legs to his chest. He leaned back and listened.
'Last place…'
'Won't be…'
'…another thing…'
'Wasn't here…'
'Couldn't remember…'
'…understand?'
Tk refused to open his eyes. It was like he was hearing something from far away. Snippets of conversation, directed to someone who wasn't listening. Tk wondered if he was imagining things, or just drifting off to sleep. Falling asleep in a tree didn't seem quite so appealing at the moment… Tk reached down and grabbed the trunk as a wind shifted back towards him.
'What're you doing?'
'You know…'
'It isn't right.'
'She's been waiting for you…'
'You know…'
Tk cocked his head as the voices became louder.
'The light is…'
'…happy…'
'…but she is happiest…'
'When her hope is…'
'Strong…'
Tk frowned. 'Strong?' he thought to himself. 'I don't get it…'
'Of course you don't…'
'The sands of time…'
'Flow away…'
'…she waits for you…'
'Her own…'
Tk took a deep breath and wondered if he was starting to loose his mind.
'Give another…'
'What you want…'
'And they'll return the favor…'
'What is it you want?'
Tk shrugged, not really caring if he was really going insane. He knew what he wanted, really… to love Kari. But he didn't have the courage to tell her, wasn't sure she'd love him back, or be able to make up her mind between him and Davis… the voices came again.
'Bound by a star…'
'Your wishes…'
'Are one.'
His eyes slid open, and Tk looked at Kari. Her arms were folded gently at her middle, and she let the rain in her hair slide down to her shoulders. She blinked in that way that Tk could only describe as magical. He really did love her. And, crazy or not, the voices made a small sense.
"What is it you want?"
Kari's head spun quickly to look at him. She blinked at the blue eyes staring calmly at her. "What?" she asked him, and Tk blinked and blushed deeply, telling Kari that he hadn't meant to ask. Instead of apologizing, Tk looked at her again.
"What is your wish?" he asked.
Kari looked at him, studied his face. There was something strange behind his eyes, but Kari was too busy thinking to try and figure out what it was. "Hm…" she murmured.
Sitting back, Tekaru looked down along his branch, his eyes following the twists and curves it took until it reached the end. "If you could have one thing, anything in the world, what would it be?"
Leaning back, Kari looked again through the leaves and to the sky. "Well, I dunno. What would you choose, Tk?" she asked.
For a moment, Tk hesitated, then he sat up, pushing himself away from the trunk to look around it to Kari. He studied her face, knowing she was still listening as she gazed into space.
"You?"
Kari sat up, startled. She turned to her friend, eyebrows raised. "Really?"
Blushing, Tk looked down. "Um, yeah. If I could." He admitted. He felt stupid now, especially since Kari sounded so surprised. 'Great. I blew it.' Tk sighed.
Kari sat up to look at him. "You know, Tk, I-!" she started, then paused. "I…" she said, looking at her shoes. Tk glanced up at her, through the rain falling down the brim of his hat. The boy saw her clench her hands and she looked up suddenly.
"You know, Tk, I'd kiss you if you weren't way over there!" she blurted out. With that, her face heated up. She started shaking her head lightly, as if telling herself how stupid that must've sounded. Tk grabbed the trunk and leaned to get a better look at her.
"Yeah, well, I'd come over there if you wanted me to." He said cautiously, and Kari stopped shaking her head at herself. Instead of answering, she just scooted over. "Oh, but first…" Tk paused and reached into his pocket. "Um… I got you this… you know, if you wanted it…"
He pulled his clenched fist out of his pocked and leaned over, gently placing the object into her outstretched hand. It was a necklace, and there was a single pendent on it. She looked closely at the stone hanging on the silver string and noticed one half was diamond and the other half was a yellow stone.
"Um, it's diamond and yellow sapphire." He told her when she looked at it closer.
"Hey!" Kari exclaimed suddenly, noticing small carvings behind the stones, on the silver that supported them. Squinting, she tried to read it, and a flash of lightning lit up the metal. "It's my crest?" she asked.
"Behind the diamond. They didn't have any pink stones for the custom made stuff." He blushed. Kari turned the stone over to the 'yellow sapphire' knowing she'd see his rising sun behind it. "I thought it was good to put it together, because they're both stars…" he explained, his voice quickening in embarrassment. "I mean, I thought so, and it's really what I wanted to get you, if you'd say yes, and you know, it's yours even if you don-.." Kari silenced him with a hand over his mouth.
"I love it. Will you come over here?" she asked, releasing him.
Tk blushed, carefully standing and stepping over to her branch. He sat carefully, one foot gripping the trunk as the other dangled. Kari cautiously was latching the necklace around her neck. She gave it an admiring look before turning to Tk and looked him in the eye. "Tk? I love you, alright?" she told him, before leaning in and kissing him passionately. Time stretched as they lost themselves in each other. Finally they had to break for air. Pulling away, Kari and Tk stared at each other.
Tk shifted, pulling his body so his back was to the trunk. Then Kari, seeing what he was doing, also shifted and leaned back on his chest. Tk put his arms around Kari protectively, and they both looked out at the falling rain, content.
"You know," Kari started. "…I always liked rain. But never at night, because it would block the stars." Tk nodded, showing he understood. "But just look at tonight…" she pointed up through the tree and Tk finally saw what she'd been looking at all this time; there were no clouds.
"Strange." Tk said, his face puzzled. "No clouds? How is it raining?"
"They call it 'fox rain', I think. When it rains with no clouds? It's when you hear them the best." Kari informed him. She sighed. Tk hugged her tighter, noticing that she was talking about her story and wondering if she was sad again.
"Her name was Dawn."
Tk looked down to Kari. "What?"
"Dawn." Kari repeated. "She's the one who told me. When people die, they become rain gods as they wait to be reincarnated." Kari faltered for a moment, then began again. "She said that's why people are sad when it rains… because their loved ones come to talk, and they miss them."
"You miss Dawn." Stated Tk. In his arms, Kari shrugged, then sighed.
"I always miss her. Why'd she leave me?" she asked, closing her eyes. Wind blew and gently shook the branches above them, making rain fall onto her face like tears. The wind sighed past them, and Tk's ears twitched.
'Silly girl…'
'I never…'
'Left you…'
'…I've always been here.'
'…I always will be.'
'…'
Kari opened her eyes, tense, as though she'd heard it. Tk blinked. "Was that…?" he mumbled, and Kari looked back at him. At that same time, the wind, which had died, rose up again and plucked Tk's white hat off his head, blowing it straight onto Kari's head. She giggled and pulled the hat's brim up to look at Tk, and the voice found her;
'So will he.'
Kari blinked, then smiled at Tk. "You will?" she asked, knowing he'd heard it too. Tk blushed deeply and nodded. "Duh, of course." She smiled. Tk glanced out a hole in the tree branches, across the forest, noticing for the first time how high up they were. He could see a moon in the distance, just the outline, and the stars, too. "It looks like the stars are falling. Like a meteor shower." Kari noticed.
'By the way…'
'…'
'Your brothers…'
'Are hiding in the bushes.'
Kari and Tk stiffened and glared down below them. "Tai!" Kari shouted at the ground.
"Crap! She saw us!"
"She saw you! Not me, dimwit!"
"Matt!" Tk called, smirking and giving Kari a wink.
"…Double crap…" Matt's voice reached them.
"By the way, Matt, you owe me a buck."
"I do not! It's past Midnight! That means that I won the bet!"
It took a moment for the comment to register into their brains. When it did, they both scowled. "YOU MADE A BET?" They shouted together, and there was suddenly a lot of movement below them, created by two teenagers trying to flee. Kari looked tempted to go after them, so Tk reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
"Wait, Kari."
The girl stopped. "Yeah?" She asked.
"You know what you said about the rain looking like meteor showers?" he said. "Well, you're supposed to make a wish on falling stars." Kari blinked and then beamed at him.
"I already did."
Tk raised an eyebrow. "You did? What'd you wish for?"
Kari wrapped her arms around Tk's neck and gave him a quick kiss. "Guess." She ordered him, lifting herself up and making her way down the tree trunk.
Tk shrugged and followed. "I honestly have no idea." He said, carefully picking his rout through the branches and trying not to slip.
When Kari reached one of the lowest branches before him, she jumped off into the mud. It splattered and covered her shoes. Looking up, she giggled. "You really don't know?" she asked, and Tk shook his head, waiting for her to tell him. She smiled secretively and turned away, locking her hands behind her back. She'd gone about a yard when she looked back over her shoulder at him and winked.
"You."
END
NOTES
Well, Thank you for all the reviews last chapter! Just look at all of them! I had no Idea that there were so many Taiora fans out there, so thanks! I was surprised by one request, but in spite of myself, I believe I'll follow up on it. The Tai X Venom/myotismon might not show up for a while, though, and be a two-parter. Also, I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed my story.
-
Here's the next chapter's title:
The duck and the rock.
(A romance story.)
predicted release date; June 30, 2006
