Khgirl08: Hooray! I'm back, because I'm starting this a little early. The updates on all of my stories are going to be rather iffy in the near future because of college. X( Anyhow, I think I'll give you guys a new point of view to pair up with Hikari's. TK is actually going to be in this chapter a whole bunch! Other than his pov, Hikari and Tai are going to make returns. . Also, I realize that it may seem unbelievable that the other Digidestined wouldn't recognize Kari, but they remember her from four years ago, and she looks way different, even after the makeover. Enjoy, and remember to review!

TK snuck down the dark hall, thankful for the big supply of shadows to hide in. I didn't really want to leave Tai there, but I guess he was right. I can run faster. Reaching the end of the corridor he was traveling, he peeked around the corner and almost laughed in relief. He could see the setting sun through a window in the single outside door in the section of the facility he had managed to explore.

Looking both ways, he ran as fast as he could to the door and cracked it slightly open. Of course, there were Digimon standing guard outside the prison. Two Gazimon were sitting against the wall, one on each side of the door. Their eyes were closed, luckily, but they were talking instead of sleeping. They would definitely notice if he tried to just walk out.

"Hey, Gazimon, do you think that Veggiemon has managed to turn Hope to our cause yet?" TK opened the door another fraction of an inch; this could be a very useful piece of conversation to eavesdrop on.

"I hope so, Gazimon, because that means Patamon can finally digivolve into Devimon and our job will be done until we go kidnap the second set. It'll be fun to finally get revenge on the Emperor after all these years. This morning I heard that Reliability is on the verge of breaking over on Server."

"Really? I though that Sincerity was on Server and Reliability was on Cyber with Knowledge."

"No, Reliability is definitely on Server, and I think it's Friendship who is on Cyber. Sincerity and Love are up on Net, and that leaves Knowledge to be on Text."

TK was repeating everything he heard under his breath. "Joe's on Server, Matt's on Cyber, Mimi and Sora are on Net, and Izzy's on Text. Where does that leave us?"

"Now, wait a minute! You're completely clueless! I think we're on Net, and Friendship and Love are together in the File Island prison, and Reliability and Knowledge are on Cyber! No one would be on Text, that's where he is!"

"Okay, somebody important is on Text with Izzy…" TK was trusting the second Gazimon to be correct, because he seemed surer of himself than the first.

"You're the clueless one! You're thinking of the old plan, but then he wanted Knowledge as close to him as possible and away from everyone else. Something about Knowledge being the best at planning escapes… And, besides, we're the ones who're on File Island!"

"Okay, File Island it is…"

"I'm not clueless!" The Gazimon on TK's right tackled the other, and they began rolling around on the ground just outside of the door.

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes!"

"No!

"YES!"

"NO!"

Taking a deep breath, TK opened the door just wide enough to see one of the Gazimon chasing the other around the corner of the building, each hurling insults at the other. Looking both ways carefully, he finally threw the door open and took off running for the forest that was so near to the prison. When he finally reached the tree line, he sat down behind one of the thicker trunks and put his head in his hands.

Okay… I don't have my D-3 with me, stupidly enough, and I have no clue where to begin looking for Patamon and the others. And how exactly was that Veggiemon supposed to be turning me evil? All he did was ask me about Kari's whereabouts… Speaking of Kari, I hope Tai doesn't realize hat I meant what I said in there about loving her. He'd kill me! Okay, what to do, what to do…

When the sun had completely set and the sky was an inky blue with only a few stars visible TK stood up and began walking. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, but anywhere was better than sticking around the prison until they realized that he had managed to escape. "Well, since I'm supposedly on File Island, maybe Elecmon can help me find Patamon. Okay, now that I've settled that, all I have to do is keep walking until I find someplace familiar…"

Hikari arrived home way past her curfew, but she didn't really care. She was happy for the first time in a very long time, and it showed on her face, which was clean of makeup for the first time in at least two years, and the way she was carrying herself. Instead of trying to sink into the background, Hikari was doing a very good job of standing out amongst the other people on the street. Her eyes glowed, and her newly cut hair shined with its original color down to her shoulders.

When she got into the elevator, she was followed by a small, brown haired kid with green eyes who seemed slightly panicked about something. His chest was heaving, and his eyes were wide with fright. Oh well, Hikari. You can't take on the world's problems anymore…

She sighed when she realized she had added 'anymore' onto her thoughts, as if she actually knew for a fact that she used to try to take on everyone's problems. "Get a grip, Hikari."

"I beg your pardon?" The scared looking kid was staring up at her, and she smiled at him.

"Sorry, I was just thinking out loud. I do that a lot."

"It's fine."

When they alighted the elevator, Hikari made a beeline for her apartment, and the kid was right behind her.

"Excuse me, but do you live here now?"

"Um, yes, I do. Can I help you?" The kid shuffled his feet before looking up at her beseechingly.

"May I come inside for a little bit? I just need to get into the spare bedroom for a moment. I won't be long, I promise."

Hikari stared at the kid. He held her gaze, but she could tell that he didn't want to be there. "Alright, but make sure it's very quick. My father wouldn't be very happy if a strange boy was in his apartment with his daughter while he was gone."

The younger by nodded. "Thank you so much. My name is Cody Hida, by the way."

"I'm Hikari Kurayami. Please, come in quickly, before my father gets home from work."

Cody made a beeline for the locked door, pulling a key from his pocket as he hurried across the living room. "I'm glad Tai gave this to me in case something like this happened…"

"What's going on? You look really worried about Tai. Is he the owner of this apartment?"

Cody nodded. "Yes, and one of my good friends. He… disappeared a few days ago, and as he hasn't come back yet, I figured that I had better initiate Plan B and a half."

Hikari blinked. "'Plan B and a Half?' What on Earth… Wait, do you know a boy named Davis?"

Cody nodded. "How do you know him?"

"I met him in the park earlier, and he mentioned having missing friends. Are you going to open that door or just stare at it?"

Cody blinked and inserted the key into the lock. After a little jiggling the door clicked and creaked open. Hikari and Cody stepped inside slowly, and both gasped out loud.

There was a thick coating of dust over everything, but that was the only sign that the occupants hadn't just stepped out moments ago. A bunk bed sat against one wall, the bottom bed neatly made and the top as messy as if someone had just been sleeping in it. A computer on a small desk sat lifeless, the screen turned pastel with grime. A boy's clothes were strewn everywhere, and a girl's closet of clothes stood wide open, like the owner had just picked out her favorite outfit and flounced off to change clothes. A digital camera with a large knick in the side sat on the bottom bunk, and pictures hung throughout the room.

"Hey, Cody, isn't that you and Davis? What's with the yellow stuffy you're holding?" Hikari pointed to a picture hanging above the computer. Cody didn't answer, and she was shocked to see tears running down his cheeks. "Cody, are you okay?"

"Yeah… I wasn't even the closest of friends with her, but she was always there for me…"

"Who?"

Cody moved closer to the picture and wiped some of the dust from the frame. The picture was of six smiling kids, each of whom were holding a stuffed toy of some kind, but it appeared to be several years old. Cody was by far the smallest and youngest of the group, and Davis was there too, wearing his goggles. A girl with purple hair and glasses blushed profusely through her grin as a blue haired boy hugged her. A blond boy with a light colored hat, blond hair and cerulean eyes had his hand on the shoulder of a brown haired girl. Cody pointed at this last girl. "Her name was Kari. She… moved away a short time after we took this picture, and none of us have seen her since. It's certainly been a long time since any of us were that happy…" Cody shook his head and turned from the picture, wiping his eyes. "I shouldn't be thinking about that now. I need to find the stuff for Tai."

Cody fell to his stomach and crawled partially under the bed. Hikari stared at the picture again. The blond boy was laughing, but his eyes were on the brown haired girl. She looked painfully oblivious, but the boy's love for her was apparent even in this captured moment from years ago. I wonder if that's why she hasn't spoken to any of them recently… Another picture hidden behind the computer caught her eye, and she picked it up gingerly. It wasn't framed, but the front of the picture had been face down, so it was protected from most of the grime that had collected over everything else.

The picture was of the blond boy smiling brilliantly at the camera from over the top of a book. Hikari smiled when she saw the hearts that had been drawn in the corner. "Maybe she really did know, after all…"

"Found it!" Cody pushed out from under the bed and causing dust to fly all over the room. He was now holding a highly decorated shoe box in his left hand. "Thank you so much, Hikari. Do you mind if I take this with me?"

"Of course not, Cody! In fact, you had probably lock the door and take the key with you; this room was obviously left like that for some reason, and I doubt Tai would appreciate it if my dad or I kept going in there and looking at everything."

"Alright." Cody took a step towards the doorway, but stopped in his tracks with an almost sick expression of confusion on his face. "No… It can't be you…"

Hikari turned around to see Nobunari staring at Cody, a smirk stretching across his flushed face. "Well, well, if it isn't my old friend Cody Hida. How has life been for you lately? And how are all of your little friends?"

"Father, I can explain-"

"No, child, I don't mind having darling little Cody here in our house. What brings you over, anyhow? Don't you still live nearer to the school than this dump?" Nobunari leaned against the doorway, blocking any possible escape routes.

"Cody, how do you know my dad?" Cody had backed up until he was pressed against the bunks.

"Hikari, this is your father?! He's the man who-"

"Ah, look at the time! Cody, you make sure to tell everyone hello for me. Oh, and I'd like that box back, please." Nobunari stumbled drunkenly across the room and grabbed Cody's arm.

"No, please, Father! Let him keep it. It used to be mine, but his little sister needs one, and I don't need it anymore, so when I noticed him shopping for one earlier today, I told him that he could just have mine instead of paying so much money…" Hikari gently pulled Nobunari away from Cody as she spoke. "Why don't you go on to bed, you look tired… I'll see Cody out for you."

Nobunari looked at her in disbelief for a split second, and Hikari was extremely glad that he would be so hung over the next morning that he wouldn't even remember coming home, let alone this confrontation. Finally he turned away and made his way down the hall.

"You didn't have to do that, Hikari. Won't he be angry at you for reprimanding him?" Cody finally managed to speak again, and Hikari smiled at him.

"No. He won't remember it when he wakes up. He drinks so much that I know exactly how to get by with stuff. How do you know him, anyhow? He's never lived here in Odaiba before."

"I… He was friends… friends with my dad before he died…" Cody muttered, blushing and not meeting her eyes. "Listen, Hikari, I am really in your debt for this, but I need to go as soon as possible."

Hikari nodded. "Of course, Cody. If you ever need in there again, just ask me, okay?"

"Gotcha."

By the time TK stopped to rest, the moon had risen far above the horizon, its slim crescent shining through the treetops and creating huge, creepy shadows. Looking around, he still didn't recognize anything in particular, but the whole area was becoming more and more familiar. The sound of Digimon rustling around in the undergrowth was beginning to unsettle him. Every cracking twig was the Gazimon, every leaf blowing in the wind was Veggiemon and his whip, every footstep was a possessed Tai coming after him for revenge… Wait a minute, footsteps?!

"Hello? Is anyone here?" A blue dinosaur walked out from behind a tree, and TK sighed in relief.

"Veemon! I'm so glad to see you!"

Veemon looked at him in confusion. "Who are you? I don't recognize you… Wait, it's coming to me… TK? What are you doing out of the prison? This can only mean… No! I have to warn Patamon, otherwise he'll end up like Gomamon…" Veemon began running back the way he came.

TK jumped up. "Wait, Veemon! What are you talking about?!" TK followed the crashes of twigs and breaking branches until he spotted Veemon entering a small cave on the opposite side of a clearing. "Veemon?"

As TK ran through the clearing, a gold armadillo, a hawk, and a green worm came rushing from the opening. The hawk took a feather from his headband and threw it like a boomerang at TK, who ducked under it. "Feather Arrow!"

"Sticky Net!" The worm shot webbing from his mouth and hit TK's left foot, making it impossible for him to move.

"Diamond Shell!" The armadillo ran towards the blond.

"No! Let me take care of this…" The armadillo stopped just short of hitting TK when a white cat scampered from the cave, closely followed by Veemon. "TK? Why are you here?!"

"I'm honestly not sure, Gatomon. All of us were at Tai's birthday party, except for Kari, and then Izzy's computer sucked all of us but Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken through the Digiportal. When I woke up, I was hanging from a wall and some Veggiemon began questioning me about Kari. He didn't believe that I didn't know where she was, so he kept whipping me or hitting him with his fists." TK shuddered at the memory. "When I was finally let down he threw me into a cell with Tai. I managed to escape, but I had to leave Tai there for our plan to work. Besides, the Veggiemon tortured him so much that he won't be able to move well for a couple of days, at least. I came to find Patamon, Agumon, and any other Digimon who would be willing to help rescue Tai before we went searching for the others. Where is Patamon, anyway?"

Gatomon didn't answer; her blue eyes were glazed over, and her purple and white striped tail was twitching erratically. Veemon, however, smirked. "We'll never tell you where they are!"

TK blinked in surprise. "Why not? Patamon is my partner, after all…"

"He was, but we won't let any more evil take our friends! Joe just moseyed on in awhile ago and took Gomamon away. He had turned pure evil, I tell you. Even his smile was dark." The armadillo shook his head mournfully.

"You numbskull! You shouldn't be telling the enemy anything at all, Armadillomon! Gatomon, what say we just send him back to Primary Village and get it over with?"

Gatomon finally seemed to regain her senses, and she did not look happy. "Hawkmon, stop being such a featherbrain. TK is a human; if we destroy him he'll die, and so will Patamon. Besides, I don't think he's acting very much like Joe did. Does he actually look evil to you? Wormmon, what do you think?"

The green worm cocked his head thoughtfully as he stared TK down. "I agree with you, Gatomon. He seems to be quite normal, at least right now."

The other three Digimon stared at each other for a moment before looking back at TK and nodding. Gatomon stepped closer to TK until she was looking almost straight up at him. "TK, you said some things that really confused me. First you said that Kari wasn't at Tai's party, and then you said that you claim to know nothing about where she was. First of all, I know for a fact that Kari would never miss one of Tai's birthdays without a really good reason. What's the reason? Secondly, why don't you know where she is?"

TK looked at her for a few seconds before closing his eyes and sitting down next to her, rather awkwardly because his foot was still stuck to the ground. "I'm really, really sorry, Gatomon. I really am. Right after the gates closed last time, or a couple weeks afterward, Kari and her parents were in a serious accident. It was Tai's fifteenth birthday, and luckily Kari was waiting for him outside of the car. When he ran from the soccer field over to her, he barely took three steps before the car just completely blew up. Tai was fine, but Kari was thrown a pretty good distance, and her parents… Well, you can imagine."

All of the Digimon were tearing up by this time, and Gatomon shook her head. "Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya… I can't believe that they're gone."

TK wiped his slightly damp eyes. "Well, Kari woke up a couple of days later, but she had amnesia. She couldn't remember her own name, let alone Tai's, or mine, or anything else from her past. She still had all of her knowledge from school and such, but she simply had no idea who she was. About a week later the government broke the news to Tai that she was going to be adopted out, because she had no family of age to take her in. It was completely stupid, and Tai and my dad, who basically adopted Tai, protested in court, but it didn't do any good. Kari was adopted out to some completely random guy and taken away from Odaiba, never to be seen by any of us again."

"No…" Gatomon fell to her knees, her furry body shaking. "Kari can't have forgotten about me, she just can't have!"

TK put his arms around her, gently hugging her as she cried into his shoulder. "Gatomon…"

Gatomon sniffled loudly after a fair bit of sobbing and pushed away from him, rubbing her eyes with one yellow and orange gloved paw. "Thanks, TK. We'll get her back, I know it. Right now, though, we need to focus on getting you home safely so that you can get Davis and the others."

"Yeah, we need them so we can Digivolve! We've been trying and trying, but for some reason we can't seem to do it by ourselves." Veemon shook his head. "It's not like we forgot how or anything, but we just don't have enough energy by ourselves."

"Okay, but I'm not leaving without Patamon. I… Why are you all looking at me like that?" All five of the Digimon shifted uncomfortably, and finally Armadillomon answered.

"Patamon and the others all followed Joe and Gomamon to see if they could save him. Joe also mentioned all of their partners, but not ours, so they also figured that you all might be at the same place as he was. We tried to talk them out of going, but they wouldn't listen to us. That was about five hours ago. They would have been back by now if…" Armadillomon gulped deeply and couldn't finish his sentence.

TK also swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. "Alright then, but how do I get back to my world? I stopped carrying my D-3 after Kari… We all did, actually. Not because of you guys, but we think that an evil Digimon was responsible for the explosion, and we were so angry that we hid our D-3s away afterwards, including Kari's. Her D-3 was the only thing she had with her at the time that wasn't broken or hurt somehow…"

Gatomon narrowed her eyes in thought. "Do you think that Davis or any of the others would be near a computer? Maybe you can contact them through one of the gates…"

"I'll try Yolei's computer, she's almost constantly online anyhow. If not, then I'll try Ken and then the others. Where's the nearest gate located, anyhow?"

"Right inside this cave, actually. That's why Gatomon moved here almost permanently, because this is the portal that you would show up to if you came by choice." Gatomon rolled her eyes at Hawkmon's next words. "She has missed all of you very much; I think she may have gone soft on us."

"That's what you think!" The group of Digimon laughed and moved inside after TK, who was impatient to get home.

"Alright, here goes nothing…" TK pressed the power button on the television screen he found deep within one of the cavernous rooms. A picture of Yolei's bedroom appeared on the screen, showing the purple haired girl getting ready to remove her shirt. "Yolei! Do you always leave your webcam on while you change?!"

Yolei screamed and fell to the floor, staring at the computer screen. "TK?! How are you there?! Did you make it home or something?"

Hawkmon shoved TK out of the way with a cry of joy. "Yolei! I've missed you so much…"

"Hawkmon!" Yolei scampered over to her monitor, almost crying. "Hawkmon, are you all okay over there?"

"We will be if you get TK home! We can't come right now, because who knows what could happen if we all leave? We're the last line of defense!"

Yolei nodded and scrambled around beneath the line of view. "Aha! I knew I had stuffed it away in here after the 'accident'!" Yolei held up her red D-3 and shouted, "Digiport open!"

The screen began glowing white, and TK felt himself being pulled through. A furry hand grabbed onto his leg just before he was completely taken inside the gate, and seconds later he and Gatomon landed on top of Yolei.

"Yolei, we'll be waiting for you!" Hawkmon and the other Digimon waved goodbye before shutting off the television.

"Get off of me! And for your information, TK, I wasn't even using my webcam; do you honestly think that I'm that naïve?"

"…" TK and Gatomon stared at each other for several seconds before nodding.

"Urg! Get out of my room! But first, tell me why Gatomon got to come along and Hawkmon couldn't."

"That is a very good question, Gatomon. Why did you come?" TK looked down at the little white cat, who was looking around the room in interest.

"I'm not sure… Just as you were leaving I felt the need to follow you, as if coming here would help me find Kari, and I usually have good instincts. I am a cat, after all, and we cats usually know what we're doing."

"I sure hope that you do, Gatomon. I sure hope you do…"

Tai woke up with a start. His head was throbbing, and both of his legs felt like they were bleeding. He was laying in a pile at the bottom of the wall where he had been tortured, but there were no guards around. Struggling to stand up, he took a couple steps and ran into an invisible barrier. So that's why they just left me here…

"Ah, Courage, you're finally awake!" A dark voice chuckled sinisterly, and Tai began to shake. "I see that you can recognize me even though I have no body. That's the first step in becoming part of my… collection, I suppose. I can't express my gratitude enough, Tai Kamiya, but I need you to do one thing for me."

Tai spat in the general direction of the voice. "I would never turn to your side, and neither would any of the others! We're the Digidestined, as you said, and we will resist you and your kind until death, Myotismon!"

The evil vampire laughed again. "Courage, you may speak brave words, but don't assume that all of your friends do the same." A slight snapping sound, like Myotismon had snapped his fingers, announced the arrival of a small mirror. The mirror was split into five separate parts; one showed Sora, her beautiful face marred by trickling blood and bruises, as she huddled in a corner of a cell similar to the one Tai had been kept in; one showed Matt, writhing in pain while he hung from a wall, unconscious; one showed Mimi, her hair a mat of grime, being escorted through a hallway by some more Veggiemon; one showed Izzy, searching his tiny cell for any possible escape route; the last part of the mirror showed Joe, but something was wrong with the picture.

Joe had a long whip in his hand, and he was beating Gomamon without sympathy or any feeling of wrongdoing. Gomamon, on the other hand, was laying motionless on the floor with his eyes squeezed shut, almost as if he hoped that this beating was just a bad dream. Tai reached out to the mirror, but t disappeared just before he could touch Sora's beaten face. "Myotismon! Why are you doing this? What did you do to Joe?!"

"I should think it were obvious what I am accomplishing even as I speak. With you and the other Digidestined at my side, I will be unchallenged in my quest to conquer the entire Digital World! Your 'reliable' friend couldn't take the pressure and cracked like an egg after a few days, and he doesn't regret one bit of it! His Digimon partner is going to take some extra cajoling, but I am certain that he, too, will turn to my side of the battle. Now, Courageous Tai, where is your darling sister? Where can I find Light?"

Tai felt his insides go cold at the thought of Joe, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before the others reacted similarly. Glaring at the spot where he thought Myotismon was, he began shouting. "I AM TELLING YOU THAT I DON'T KNOW!"

Myotismon chuckled again and suddenly Tai felt light headed and couldn't breathe. "Courage, I don't think either of us actually believe that. Now, I want to know where she is! Maybe if I show you my next target you'll be more willing to talk." Myotismon conjured the mirror again, but this time it showed only an empty cell. "Young Hope will be my next acquisition, but maybe you can save him if you talk."

Tai stared at the mirror; obviously Myotismon and the Veggiemon hadn't realized that TK had escaped. "Fine. You win, Myotismon. I'll tell you where she is."

Myotismon laughed, sending cold chills up Tai's spine. "Where is she then, Tai Kamiya? Where is Kari hiding?"

Tai scrambled around in his head for a lie. "She lives in one of the little villages just outside of Tokyo, one of the abandoned ones. She thought that she would be safe from anything that happened if she went there, and nobody would be hurt if she was caught."

"Ah, typical Light, always thinking of others. When I tried to destroy her last time I failed, but this time I will not take any chances by sending a useless Digimon to blow up her car. Instead, I will kill her myself. Thank you so very much for helping my cause, Courage. I do so appreciate it." Myotismon laughed, and suddenly the barrier that Tai had been pressed against disappeared, causing the bearer of Courage to fall backwards.

"Alright; we've already changed over Hope, so you get a new cell." A Veggiemon appeared above him and grabbed his arm. "Right this way, Courage."

"Hey, we have real names, you know! My name is Tai, not Courage!"

The Veggiemon responded by shoving him into a damp little room with very little light. "Lord Myotismon has instructed us to only use your traits to identify you. He believes that this will make you more-"

"Why doesn't he listen to his own advice? He called me and Kari by our first names so many times in the conversation we just had that I lost count!"

"Silence!" The Veggiemon slammed the door to the cell, leaving Tai in total blackness. Tai ran his hands through his bushy hair.

TK hasn't turned to darkness, he couldn't have… Could he? Oh Kari, where are you? We need you!

"Hikari? Is that you? Hi!" Hikari looked up to see Davis's smiling face. They were standing in the playground at the nearby elementary school. "You look fantastic! I really like your hair, but you look so much prettier without all of the makeup on your eyes."

Hikari laughed. "Thank you so much! I totally agree with you. My dad doesn't like that too much. He thinks it makes me ugly."

"So your dad really is a jerk. Why do you still live with him? Wait, I know, too personal, so I'll ask a different question. What are you doing here?"

"I'm really not quite sure, actually… I just felt drawn here, do you know what I mean? It was almost as if someone were calling me. Last night I had the strangest dream… I was watching a vampire yell at some kid, only I'm not sure the kid could see him. I recognized him from a dream I've been having for awhile, actually. I used to think that he was an actual memory, but that's just stupidity, right?"

Davis stared at her. "Hikari, would mind coming over to the swings with me? I want to hear more of this."

Hikari nodded. "Alright, as soon as that group leaves. I don't want to interrupt their conversation."

Davis laughed and shook his head. "Don't worry, you won't be disturbing them. They're my friends, and they are all waiting for me to show up." He took Hikari's hand in his and pulled her to the swing set, not noticing her suddenly rosy cheeks. "Hey guys! I brought a friend!"

The three teenagers swinging and talking turned to him with greetings, and Hikari recognized one of them. "Oh, hi Cody!"

"Hikari? Hi… Davis, may I talk to you for a minute?" Cody jumped from his seat and took Davis by the elbow.

"Yeah, me too." A blue haired boy grabbed his other arm and the friends tugged Davis across the grassy playground, leaving Hikari with a purple haired bespectacled girl who looked vaguely familiar.

"Oh, so you're the girl who moved into Tai's old apartment! I'm Yolei Inoue, and the boy who you don't seem to know is Ken Ichijouji. Cody was just telling us about meeting you last night. I'm one of the girls in the picture you saw last night, according to Cody. He really must think a lot of you, because most people he would never mention meeting. You seem really nice, do you want to be friends?" Yolei managed to say the entire speech without stopping for air, and Hikari had to giggle.

"Of course, but you don't even know anything about me. You only know what Cody has said, and you might not even like me once you actually get to talk to me. Do you always make friends like this?"

Yolei pondered for a moment, which rather shocked Hikari. "Well… Usually I don't trust people I've just met, but Cody is a really good judge of character, and he trusts you, so I guess that's part of it. Also, I kind of feel like I already know you, even though we've never met. Almost like we were friends a long time ago and are just seeing each other again. I may not know anything about you, but I definitely feel like you're already a friend. Oh, look, Ken and the others are coming back over! I get to introduce you too him!"

Hikari looked at her new friend, who looked almost like a drooling puppy as she watched Ken. "Are you his girlfriend?"

Yolei blushed. "No, actually. Why do you ask? We're just friends, after all. Nope, don't like him as anything other than a friend, that's it!" Yolei's cheeks reddened even further as she added to the bluff.

"Hikari, it is very good to meet you. I am Ken Ichijouji." Ken put out his hand when he reached the two girls, and Hikari shook it, smiling.

Davis looked from the two of them in utter shock; even Yolei and Cody looked a bit surprised. Hikari looked around at their faces. "What? Is it illegal to shake his hand? What are you, Ken, a superhero or something?"

"He's only a genius! How have you not heard of him, he must have about fifty fan clubs around Japan, everyone knows who Ken Ichijouji is! Haven't you ever watched the news?"

"Of course I watch the news, but, forgive me if I sound rude, I have never heard of you before this very minute. At least, not since the fire."

"Fire? What fire? What happened?"

Hikari sighed and began twirling her short hair. "Well, when I was almost thirteen, I still lived with my mother. Nobunari- I'm sorry, my father- had just left us. Anyhow, our little house caught on fire late one night, and I was hit by a falling piece of roof. When I woke up, Nobunari was by my side, as well as some boy who must have had a crush on me or something, because he ran up and hugged me… Anyhow, I can't really remember anything about it, but my father told me that my mother had been killed in the blaze, so I had to move in with him. So I did. Actually, that boy…" Hikari pounded her head onto her fist. "I don't think he actually exists. He keeps popping up in that memory, plus one other one, and then I keep daydreaming about him. I think I just made him up to make myself think that I actually remember something. Anyhow, Ken, I may have known who you were before the fire, but now that I can't remember anything I just don't know who you are. Forgive me, please."

Ken blushed slightly. "Uh, actually, I'm quite pleased that you don't know who I am. Everyone else assumes that since I'm so smart that they have to treat me like royalty or something, except for my close friends. So, don't be sorry, whatever else you may be."

"Right, now, Hikari, you were going to explain this dream you had that kind of told you to come here." Davis sat down in front of the girl and put his chin in his hands.

"Oh, yes. Well, I saw this boy talking to a spot on the floor. He was kind of pressed up against a blackish shimmery wall or something, and he looked really scared. I couldn't figure out who he was talking to until I turned around and saw this really creepy man right behind me. He couldn't see me, and I could only half see him. He was transparent, almost, and was only visible from the waist up. He looked like he was trying to impersonate a vampire but doing a really bad job of it. I couldn't understand what was being said, but I did hear the word 'Courage' a whole lot." The others were looking at each other grimly, and Hikari laughed. "It was just a dream, though. It was the same boy I told you about earlier, the one who I made up to have a memory of something."

"Hikari, are you sure you can't remember anything else? Nothing else?" Hikari shook her head, and the others let out a simultaneous sigh. "Never mind, Hikari. Look, I've got to get back home. My mom was cooking steaks today for lunch! Ken, do you want to join me?" Davis pulled his blue haired friend to his feet and marched off without another word.

"Yeah, I've got to get going, as well. I promised my grandfather I would buy him some prune juice before kendo practice. Good bye, you two!" Cody jumped to his feet and sped off.

"Hey, Hikari. I know that this is kind of an awkward question, but Cody gave me that key to your spare bedroom, and I was wondering if I could take a look around, just for old time's sake. Kari Kamiya was my best friend, except for Ken, that is. I miss her so, so much, everyday."

Yolei bit her lip, and a couple tears ran down her cheeks. Hikari reached over and hugged her tightly. "Of course, Yolei, but only if you'll eat lunch with me, as well."

Yolei smiled through her obvious distress and nodded. "Okay, then. We can get some stuff from my parents' store. It's on the way to your apartment, after all."

The two girls stood and left the playground, chattering like old friends.

Khgirl08: Hey everybody! I know this is still rather short, but… I have my reasons. I'm going through a very tough time in my life right now. If you pray, please keep me in your prayers. If you don't, just think about me every once in a while, alright? Thanks! And remember to review!