Spent a good time writing and rewriting different segments of this over the past week, and decided to get it up now so we can get on with the story. I think from now on I'm going to leave the gist of the author's note at the end of the chapter.

read on!

School Days

It was like we were invincible...

Fog lay heavily upon the island. Dawn arrived to reveal a city coated in a frosty grey. The sun would be rising shortly, but few would be awake to see the thaw that would commence the instant daylight broke over the horizon. The thousands of icy patterns that drew across every glass surface would thin and melt away within minutes. It was too fast to be natural. By the time the city began to hum and whir with life, the frost of the night was gone and forgotten. Another summer-like day was underway.

Kari was one of the few who remembered the cold. Whereas most who were up during the night hours were busied with late shifts and all-nighters for homework, she was kept up simply because she couldn't keep warm. The cold sensation may have departed with the rising of the sun, but she very clearly remembered the chill. Autumn was certainly on its way.

She had left home much earlier than usual this time. There was no real reason why. Perhaps she would wake up a bit more if she spent more time walking to school. Perhaps she could get a little shut-eye before class if she got there early enough. Perhaps she could spend some time walking along the waterfront park, despite the absence of a sunrise view. Occasionally, Kari could catch a glimpse of the eastern sky through the buildings on her right. Of course, being that Tokyo was on the eastern coast of Japan, she could easily take a short train ride to the underdeveloped island south of Odaiba and earn a spectacular view of the sunrise. If only time would allow. She wasn't that early.

At length, Kari arrived at the junior high school, but right before she was about to enter the main building, she spotted a figure entering the gym that stood adjacent. He was a blond, and that was a dead giveaway. There weren't many light-haired boys at the school. She hurried after him and into the gym.

She hesitated an instant upon entering, wondering what to do if say, perhaps, he was in the boys' locker room. It wasn't the ideal setting for her to barge in on him, even with the lack of other students. Presently, however, the sound of doors rattling shut and the echo of a bouncing basketball told her he had gone straight to the court. Kari trotted down the main hall and around the corner to where she knew the entrance of the court to be.

A few bounces, a pause, and then the sound of nylon scraping on leather. Kari opened the door as the ball dropped through the hoop and towards the floor.

"Swish," she said. Her voice was soft, but it carried in the large empty court. The blond boy spun to face her with a startled look. "Nice shot, TK."

He gave her a relieved smile. "'Morning, Kari."

Letting the door close behind her, Kari stepped in. "You're here early."

"Yeah... A bit too early, honestly," TK said as he retrieved the ball and continued dribbling. "I thought you might've been some teacher coming to kick me out."

Kari watched as he strode towards the basket and delivered a smooth lay in. TK turned his attention to her as he followed the bouncing ball.

"What about you?"

"I woke up too soon." Kari walked over to some open bleachers and took a seat. A rather cold, uncomfortable seat. She brought her arms to herself a little tighter than she intended. "Couldn't get back to sleep so I just got ready and came."

TK dribbled the ball over, and then sat down next to her. "Have a bad night?"

"Not really..." It amazed her how concerned he suddenly got. Kari didn't try very hard to keep eye contact with him, but his body language spoke volumes. He was leaned forward, elbows on his knees, giving himself an optimal view of her expression. The basketball was being silently spun on the floor between his feet by his anxious fingers. Kari shook her head. "It wasn't anything terrible. I just didn't sleep through the whole night."

"Anything keeping you up?"

"Does Tai's snoring sound like a good excuse?" Kari was trying her hardest to reassure her friend. No reason to get him all stressed out over nothing.

For the moment, it worked. TK grinned and sat back. "Yes it does. That's rough."

"It usually doesn't bother me, but…" Kari thought back to the events of last night, remembering how exhausted her brother had been. "He was a lot louder than normal. Tai was really tired last night for some reason."

"I wonder why," said TK, half-amused and half-sarcastic. "Matt's been complaining a lot recently about homework and extra projects. I hate to tell you this but it looks like Tai's a better procrastinator than Matt."

That much was true, she knew. Kari remembered the late night Tai had on Sunday, having blown the rest of the weekend on everything but homework. The lack of sleep then must have hit Tai hard yesterday.

TK picked himself up and nudged the basketball into the air with his toe. He dribbled backwards onto the court, still facing Kari. He held the ball forward in an invitation. "Wanna shoot some?"

Kari shook her head with a smile. The sudden tension that had settled upon TK only moments before was now non-existent. As usual, talking about Tai's antics, or lack thereof, was enough to cheer them up anytime. She stood, backpack slung off one shoulder. "Unlike you, I prefer not to show up to class all sweaty."

"Oh, thanks a lot." TK rolled his eyes, but continued his practice anyway. "See you in there."

At the door, Kari turned her head to him one more time. "Don't be late!"

"Yes, Mom. Don't worry." TK continued shooting without skipping a beat, though she could see the smallest grin on his face that carried a hint of mischief.

Kari shot him her best glare before departing and heading back to the courtyard. There still weren't many kids at the school yet, but she saw one of the first waves of them approaching from a few blocks down the street. Kari entered the main building and made her way to her homeroom. She was rather happy now for coming to school early, even if only to meet up with TK for a few extra moments. It was strange seeing him here so soon, however. Kari had known TK to always be quite a bit later when coming to school. Sometimes he wouldn't arrive until mere minutes before the final bell. She wondered if maybe he had experienced the same type of night she had, and slightly regretted not asking while she was in the gym.

The homeroom teacher was already at his desk when she arrived. Upon her entering, he lifted his attention from the piles of paperwork before him and flashed her a bright smile. "Good morning, Miss Kamiya!"

"Hello, Mr Touchika," Kari replied simply as she walked to her desk.

"It's not often you're the first one in class," Touchika said. He seemed to not be too preoccupied with his work, and Kari knew him to usually prefer conversation to kill time.

"Just had an early start, that's all." Kari took a seat and began organizing her things for class.

The teacher leaned back in his seat. "Ah… Must be the time switch getting to you, am I right? Daylight savings changes always mess me up. Or maybe the weather? I heard this morning that meteorologists are warning everyone about…" He went on, and Kari nearly zoned him out.

There was a balance between too standoffish and too friendly. Most teachers she had over the years stood on either extreme; and more often than not, TK was there to make some crack about them reminding him of Ogremon. He did it every year, no matter who the teacher was or how they looked. Touchika however, with his heavily graying hair, shiny blue eyes, and uniquely large smile, fit the description better than any teacher Kari had in the past. The only thing that was missing was Ogremon's appetite for conflict. But what this man had instead was an unreal enthusiasm for talking. Kari would oftentimes spot Touchika in the lunchroom, chatting it up with the cafeteria ladies, absorbing as much gossip as he possibly could. She knew he had no problem with her keeping quiet and letting him do all the talking.

At length, Touchika finally wrapped up his monologue. "…and that's why you really don't want to get the flu. This year especially."

"Thanks, Mr Touchika. I'll remember that." Kari said, just as the first batch of other kids arrived in the classroom. Knowing that the teacher would now be preoccupied with talking to the newcomers, Kari let her mind drift out the window. She was still exhausted by all standards, but there was no time left for a nap. Letting her brain go blank was the closest thing to resting that she was going to get.

Presently, Kari came to realize that most of the seats in the classroom were filled, save for the one next to her and a few towards the back of the room. School would be starting in less than five minutes. She sighed. TK was going to do it again.

Touchika eventually stood to address the class – he usually started a few moments before the school bell. "Now everyone, before we get started, I would like to—"

He was stopped short by the sliding doors to the homeroom being flung open. A very flustered boy rushed in and clumsily made his way to his seat. TK arrived only seconds after him, calmly closing the door behind him.

"Akira! Takashi! You boys almost gave me a heart attack!" Touchika exclaimed.

TK bowed, subtly mimicking the flamboyant manner in which the teacher spoke. "So sorry sir! Won't happen again, sir!" Snickers rose up from around him.

Kari dropped her face into her hands for a moment while TK easily slid into his seat. If Touchika was offended by TK's response, he didn't let on in the slightest as he spoke. "Children, I might have to remind you of the importance of being on ti—"

Touchika was interrupted again, this time by the ringing of the school bell – the official start of classes. It was as if the bell was reminding the teacher that the boys were technically on time. He shut his mouth and picked up a small stack of papers on his desk.

"Roll call."

And so the class went on. Another normal beginning to a school day. Kari waited until Touchika was underway with his first lecture before turning to TK. He looked tired – more tired than he would normally be after playing basketball. Despite him wearing a hat by tradition, she could see that he wasn't the least bit sweaty.

"Thanks for showering this time," she whispered to him.

The teacher had turned from the chalkboard, having finished writing up some notes for the class. TK could respond with little more than a sideways grin at her.

Life was good for Kari in these days. She was secure and safe, and knew not to take that for granted. Her family was stable, her education stable, her friendships were stable – and she took care to stay away from any unneeded drama. There was a lot of that at the school already. More than once in this school year alone, Kari had spent several afternoons at a nearby café with Yolei, letting the older girl rant about happenings with other kids. Cody, despite being as bright as he was, would sometimes come to Kari or TK for advice on different facets of adjusting to middle school. Even Davis would come and bring his "horror stories" to her, which would usually end up with him babbling on about injustices on the soccer field. Kari always just played along, and earned herself a school-wide reputation for being a good listener. Nothing more, but nothing less, and she was comfortable with that. She only wished TK would open up about himself more often. He would give his input; he contributed to the room just by being there. However, Kari realized, he was talking less and less about himself and his life. He seemed happy enough, never complaining, always encouraging, so Kari let him be.

Every now and again, the DigiDestined would have a get together outside of school, if only to touch base or, for some, to go out for pizza. They were all going through phases that normally might have kept them out of touch, but with a poignant effort, they were able to see each other reasonably often. Joe was progressing rapidly through school. Sora was essentially apprenticed to her mother's line of work. Matt had nearly fallen off the map. Izzy was enrolling for internships wherever he found them. Mimi was in America. Tai was having a little trouble adjusting to the heavier workload of high school, but out of all of the older DigiDestined, he was the one who still stuck around the most. His adventuresome heart wouldn't let him stay away for too long; he was always checking in to see if the DigiWorld "needs another saving." For nearly two years now, the answer has been no – the Digital World is at peace.

The lunch bell rang throughout the school, and not a minute too soon. Teachers lost their audience as students piled their things together in preparation for their favorite period of the day. Everyone took advantage of this free time, visiting their friends from different homerooms, going out to dribble a soccer ball, pulling pranks. There was something about the schools in Odaiba that reeked of mischief. By the time Kari returned to her homeroom from a restroom break, the chalkboard was already missing. Just a normal day at school. She saw Davis and Yolei sitting together towards one side of the room, scarfing down their lunch. She went to join them, not failing to notice Cody had trailed her into the classroom along with a few other students. The middle school might have had its own cafeteria, but many of the kids enjoyed the tranquility of eating in theirs or their friend's homeroom. Of course, with best friends sitting together… how tranquil could it get?

It wasn't all that often, however, that they ended up eating lunch together, TK excepted. Kari suddenly had an idea of why they were all there, but she decided to feign ignorance.

"Yolei, don't you usually have a club meeting on Tuesday?" She asked.

The older girl swallowed back a mouthful of rice. "We call it a club meeting but, really all we do is eat and talk about whatever."

"Like what we do?" Davis said.

"No, there's actually a little more intellect that goes into our conversations."

"Very funny," the boy scowled.

Yolei looked back to Kari. "I'm here because I want to know what we're getting together about tomorrow. You said you'd tell us."

Cody said, "Same here. I'd like to know what I'm missing out on."

"And why we can't tell TK," added Davis for good measure.

There was no use in keeping it a secret. Kari relinquished. "I just wanted to talk about what we should do for TK's birthday. We didn't celebrate it last year so I wanted to put something together for him."

"His birthday?" Cody asked. "I thought it wasn't coming for a while."

"It's still a couple weeks away," she admitted.

"Must be some party you have in mind." Yolei scoffed.

Kari shook her head. "We don't have to plan it all out or anything. I was just thinking we could put together some ideas."

"How 'bout we just order a pizza and bring some games?" Davis said. "That's enough of a birthday party if you ask me."

"Who's party?" A fifth voice asked.

"Yours… Oh, or, well y'know…" Davis stuttered over his words, realizing his error. Somehow he had acknowledged TK without realizing it was actually TK. "Just a party, y'know man? Good times. Sports, food, hanging out. Y'know the usual get together."

His words ran together as the three who sat around him collectively groaned. Davis' face spread into a guilty grin. TK responded with his own confused smile. "What?"

Kari sighed. "Do you have any plans for your birthday this year?"

"Not really," replied the boy, shrugging.

"Nothing?" Yolei pushed. "Not going off to Europe again? America?"

TK laughed nervously, "Not that I know of. Were you guys planning something?"

"We were going to try to until Davis spilled the beans," said Cody, looking directly at the culprit while he said so. Davis glared back.

"Come off it Cody. You weren't even gonna help."

The younger boy shook his head while TK took a seat. Kari relaxed as she continued eating, as did everyone else for the remainder of the lunch break. She wasn't terribly disappointed that TK came when he did and discovered their plot. She was just happy that this was the worst thing to happen during the day. Kari knew this was a rather pessimistic way of thinking, but that was a facet of her personal role as a DigiDestined. She'd often been right about the worst things, and that in of itself was enough to jade one's mind. Yet, in these days, things were looking brighter than ever. Her friends were growing ever closer, the digimon ever dearer.

Undoubtedly, their partners were all perched in the customary nest up in the tree that stood in the school courtyard. With the DigiWorld thriving strong in a time of security, the digimon weren't needed on hand in the school. They stayed in the tree rather than run the risk of discovery by sneaking inside. That area in the tree's shade had become the younger DigiDestined's new meeting place since not needing the computer lab.

Soon, class time began again, splitting the group for the last few hours of the day. Davis, TK, and Kari had managed to land in the same homeroom this year, with Yolei one grade above them and Cody two below.

The school day continued on, and though Kari felt like it would never end, she couldn't seen to recall much if what was said, save for a few homework assignments. The lack of sleep was affecting her. She knew she wasn't missing much, but even so she kept herself awake through the next few hours. Pointless conversations… school drama… petty matters…

The final bell sounded, and the campus grounds came to life. Yolei to computer club, Cody to kendo practice, TK and Davis to their respective sports. Kari didn't think about it too much as she retrieved Gatomon from the tree and headed for home. It wasn't every week that she was the only one free for the afternoon, but a few shuffling schedules made it so. She was still on the cheerleading squad, and practices were moved to later on in the week. She was grateful for this, as now she had the time to finish her homework and hopefully get to bed early.

Kari arrived at her family's apartment without incident, but inside was quiet and dim. She flipped a few lights on as she made her way to her room. Gatomon slipped out of her backpack and into the kitchen.

Her father was at work, Tai was probably at practice, and telling from the smell of meatloaf coming from the kitchen, Kari knew her mother couldn't have been gone for too long. She opened her D-Terminal and began leafing through her email. All there was were a couple messages from classmates asking for the pages for a reading assignment. She quickly typed her answers, and just as she sent then, Gatomon called to her.

"Kari, looks like there's a note for you."

Leaving the terminal on her desk, Kari trotted over into the kitchen. There, next to the five pound loaf of meat, was her mother's handwriting scrawled on a notepad.

"Kari,

I was invited to get my nails done with some friends. I'll be going grocery shopping afterwards too. Go ahead and eat when you're hungry! Love you!"

In other words, Mrs Kamiya wasn't going to be home until later in the evening. Kari skipped dinner and dove straight into her schoolwork. The meatloaf her mother made was usually a bit too heavy for her taste anyway.

An hour and a half under the desk lamp passed with Gatomon curled in her lap. Math. There was something about sitting still and staring at numbers that almost always lulled her to sleep. However, rarely, it would trigger something in her, and only when she was overtired. A chill… and then a small, panicky quiver. It disappeared the moment she stirred and refocused on her work, and wouldn't return until long after she'd forget about it.

Presently, she heard the front door open, and Tai's voice shortly followed. "I'm home!"

Kari stopped her work to listen to the routine – door slamming shut, shoes being flung about in the entryway, bags crashing to the floor, a heavy sigh as her brother flopped down on the living room couch.

"Anyone home?" He called out again.

"In here, Tai," Kari responded.

"'Kay."

And so the evening proceeded just as it had the day before, though Tai's homework load had lessened a decent amount. They both worked until dusk, took turns in the shower, fixed up some late evening snacks, and got ready for another weary night. Kari made it to bed before Tai this time, as he was out the room talking to their mother. When he finally retired for the night, his snoring started the moment he crashed into bed. Kari lay awake on her bunk for only a few moments before drowsiness began to tug at her eyelids.

"You okay?" Murmured Gatomon. Kari lifted her head up to look at her digimon. Gatomon returned her gaze, showing Kari that she was awake and consciously asking the question.

"You already asked me that," replied Kari.

"That was yesterday. I'm asking again to be sure. I know you didn't sleep well last night."

The girl smiled at her digimon. "I'm okay. Thanks, Gatomon."

The white cat nodded and curled up into a tight ball. "It's just weird," said Gatomon. "It's been so long since anything's happened to us. I'm probably getting a little paranoid. Feels like it's been too long."

"Be careful what you wish for," Kari said with a smile as she laid her head back down. "Wouldn't want to jinx us."

"We do that a lot, huh?"

"Yeah… Good night."

"'Night Kari."

The girl finally let her eyes slip closed, and felt herself sink into a deep, deep sleep only seconds later. It was like something was pulling her consciousness right out of her body, dragging her down and into some other realm. The sensation felt along the lines of sinking into water. She felt suddenly buoyant, though that meant nothing in a realm that hardly seemed to exist. All she could see was a dark gradient rising from black depths into grayed skies. If it was a sky. Soft beams of light danced all around her, flashing along the film far above her. She was underwater.

Naturally, she would have panicked, but none of this was natural. Her mind was completely fogged, and her body was soothed and relaxed. It was almost as if she was conscious while sleep. Kari found no difficulty in breathing, though she realized that none of her attempts to move made any effect on her surroundings. She couldn't identify her body, and yet, the waters were terribly cold. Growing uneasy, Kari looked for a way to get to the surface. She lifted her head up to look at the rays of dying light, and tried to tread water and get some elevation. As hard as she moved, there was no response. She tried to hold her arms in front of her, but they wouldn't rise. Kari jerked her head down to at least confirm her body was there. It wasn't.

No lungs to make her float. No limbs to tread water. She was just a soul trapped at the bottom of the ocean.

Kari ceased her attempts to move and instead focused on the content of her surroundings. Everything was dark and bleak, save for vibrations that began to grow in the water. The quieter she became, the greater they grew. Her mind registered the vibrations as sound, and Kari strained to hear. Voices filtered through, muffled and distorted through the leagues of water in which they travelled. Kari didn't see any source, and couldn't discern what the voices came from. For all she knew, there was only one speaker. With the patience to keep still, Kari was able to focus enough to understand words drifting through the waters.

"…assault. With the Blight subdued, the barrier will weaken. Once the seal of the Chosen is broken, there is only the matter of time. And then… Our time."

The voice ended there, and its words held Kari nearly stunned. She had no idea what it referred so, save for the mention of the seal. The Chosen… the DigiDestined… broken. Whatever it meant, it didn't bode well.

A new voice came, much clearer and closer. "They are coming, Child of Light. They come to stain and scar your world."

The guttural voice was directly behind her. But before she had time to face it, a flash lit up the depths of the sea. Biting cold followed. Kari was unable to move, frozen stiff, chilled to the bone. The sea had turned to ice around her, encasing her. Kari panicked, heart thrashing, lungs pumping, limbs quivering. For a terrible moment, she was held still and powerless.

Then she was released, and her soul launched for the surface.

Now the fun begins...

Really enjoying this pacing so far, which will probably make this story last more than twice as long as the previous. Let me know if it ever gets boring for any of you :P

To the guest who reviewed, thanks for the comment! When it comes to real world settings I take pride in making it as accurate as I can. Ever since finding a map of Odaiba and the likely locations where the DigiDestined live, it's been a lot of fun writing the details.

Anyway, I appreciate any feedback, and will work on responding more to reviewers this time around.

til next time.