Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

A/N: What are your thoughts?

Chapter 4

"Before we go into my room, let me explain." I told Yoko, taking out my digivice. "I am not an ordinary kid. I'm one of the DigiDestined, protectors of the Digital World. I would like you to meet my Digimon." I opened the door and opened my laptop. After opening the Digital Gate, Patamon leaped right out.

"T.K.!" He cheered, hugging me. "Boy, have I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Buddy!" I said with a giggle. Yoko stepped in to get a closer look. "Patamon, this is my girlfriend, Yoko. We met at the beach."

Patamon looked at her then smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you, Yoko! I'm Patamon."

"Wow." She said. "He's so cute!"

"Thanks!" Patamon giggled. "You are too!"

Yoko smiled and grabbed my hand. "Show me Odaiba before I have to go. Please?"

"Yeah, sure." I said, closing my laptop. "Where should we go first?"

"Everywhere!" Patamon and Yoko exclaimed.

"Okay." I said. "I have no idea how we'll see everything at once, but let's try the TV station." With Patamon on my shoulder and Yoko's hand in mine, we were off to see the wonderful tourist attraction that is Odaiba.

()()

"Hi, Mr. Ishida. I'm a huge fan of your TV station." Yoko said, shaking hands with Dad.

"And apparently, you're a big fan of my son." Dad joked, making me blush in embarrassment. Again. "It's nice to meet you, Yoko."

"The pleasure is all mine. I can't believe you run this whole station."

He chuckled. "Me either. But it puts bread on the table."

As weird and maybe ironic as it may seem, we came here last. There were so many cool things on the way here that we couldn't pass right away. Patamon had so much fun hanging out with Yoko. And I did too! But as soon as she looked at her watch, the fun was over. "Darn. I have to go to the bus station."

"Oh?" Dad asked. "You're not in walking distance?"

She shook her head. "I live in Sarushima."

"Wow." He said. "That's a while from now."

She nodded.

"I should walk her to the station." I said. "I'll see you later, Dad."

"Bye." Dad waved and immediately went back to work.

Yoko smiled at me. "Your dad is so much like your brother but bigger."

"Yeah." I held her hand as we began our walk.

"How come you don't live together again?"

"My parents separated when I was really little. I don't remember why."

She nodded. "My parents did too. Now I live with my mom and aunt...and Yuudai."

I chuckled with her. "That must be fun."

She nodded. "Well, it isn't boring."

"So Yoko, do you have any Digimon?" Patamon asked.

"No." She answered. "But I wish I do. I mean, it'll be cool to have a digital monster."

"You think?" I asked, automatically earning a very angry face from Patamon.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He puffed.

"I was just wondering!" I said, giving him a smile. "I mean, I was destined to have you. And since I was only eight, I thought it was cool. I never really imagined the option of having a Digimon or not. Call me crazy but I don't think a lot of people would want a monster in their house."

Yoko giggled. "But I would. It's cool." She gave my hand an extra squeeze when we reached the station.

"When's the next time we hang out?" Patamon asked.

"I don't know." She said. "Why don't you come to my place next? We can keep switching."

"Sounds good." We lightly kissed. Then that turned into a real kiss.

"Bye." She said once we pulled away.

"Bye." Slowly, we walked away with our fingers still hooked until they fell limp. Finally, she was out of my grasp. Free, she went back home to Sarushima.

()()

"Dreaming" by Gerald De Son. Chapter 1: The Quiz

I picked up the book and started reading almost immediately after dinner. So far, it was okay. Nothing really happened yet but I was hooked. De Son did it again. His writing style was just so fascinating. Every character always has a huge role even if they had small parts. It was inspiring in a way.

This book was so exciting, so epic, so heroic! Even if it was shorter than the first book, I still loved it. I found myself biting my nails toward the climatic middle. There were dragons and angels everywhere! And then it was over. Like a movie, it was over and I wanted to applaud but I took out my Ticonderoga again.

"What's that?" Patamon asked.

"It's the best pencil in the world, Patamon!" I said, showing it to him. "The Ticonderoga!"

"Oh." He just said. "Well, what makes it so great?"

I smiled. "It writes better than the other pencils and it has the best eraser. Just feel how soft it is!" Patamon touched it gently.

"It's easy on the paws!" He smiled. "I always wondered why you kept that behind your ear."

I raised an eyebrow. I didn't even realize it was up there this whole time. That would explain how I always knew where it was. "I guess that's write!" I laughed. Patamon laughed too but I don't think he got the joke.

I began writing in my journal about my experience with this book; reading it, enjoying it, understanding it. And my experience with Yoko. But eventually, I ran out of things to write so I stopped and put the pencil back behind my ear habitually.

"You sure can write with that thing!" Patamon said. "T.K., you've been up for hours scribbling in that notebook!"

I looked at the clock and back at Patamon who was already in bed. I guess it was my turn. "Yeah, it just comes naturally."

"I wonder if T.K.'s short for Ticonderoga." He giggled at the thought. He knew my real name already.

"That would make an interesting story to tell!" I giggle too and turned off the lights. And went to sleep.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, T.K.?" The teacher asked me politely like she did the other kids.

I just looked at her for a while. All the other kids wanted to be astronauts and fire fighters and singers (you can not forget those singers!) but I didn't. "I don't know." My mom is a reporter and my dad is the head of a TV station. What more is there?

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Well, everyone has a dream."

I sighed, fighting back tears. "I don't know what I want to do."

She rested a gentle hand on my back. "You're only eight years old, T.K. It's okay to not know what you want to do." She said. "I was almost out of high school before I found my calling."

"Really?" I asked, lightening up.

She nodded. "And there are plenty of grown ups out there still trying to find their calling. Things like this take time. But you're such a creative person. I bet you'll find your calling in no time."

I smiled. "Okay!"

()()

"T.K.! Hi!" Davis called. His voice shook me to the core. I was still a little tired but that woke me right up. "It's been so long!"

"A week is long?" I asked him with a smile. We were taking a DigiDestined day at the park. Everyone was invited. I would have brought Yoko but she didn't answer her phone.

Davis sat down next to me leaning on the tree oh so cool like. "In kid years, that's like forever."

Ken sat down next to him. "For Davis, a weekend is like a memory wiping device. He never remembers what happened during the week."

"That's not totally true." He said. "I do recall what happened on Friday."

Ken rolled his eyes. "So where are the others?"

"Yolei was here earlier." I said, rubbing my eyes. I stifled a yawn as Kari and Cody came along with Gatomon and Armadillomon.

"Hi!" They greeted.

"It's nice to see you again, Davis." Kari said. "I thought you'd never get out of the hospital."

I almost forgot how sick he was before I left. No one really knows what happened exactly, but it happened. Davis, apparently, doesn't mind talking about it. "Yeah, I met this cool girl there!" He smiled brightly thinking about her.

I looked over at Ken to see how he would take it. He was the jealous type after all. But he wasn't mad. He was smiling. How confusing! What was more confusing was when Yolei got here. She sat down next to Ken and kissed him on the cheek. "I had to run to my parents' shop to get the candy you liked." She explained.

"Thank you, Yolei." Ken said.

"Did I miss something?" I asked.

"Me too." Cody said. "I thought Ken and Davis were together."

Davis looked at Ken and back at us. "Were."

I shrugged the awkward moment off before Kari asked me "How was your vacation?"

I smiled. "Nice and relaxing." I told her. Even if I did lose sleep in the process. "I made a few friends."

"That's nice." She said.

Davis looked at his watch. "I have to go." He said. "Sandra gets off in a few minutes and I promised to hang out with her. See ya!" And like a flash, he was gone with DemiVeemon in his arms.

"Well, what should we do?" Cody asked, sitting next to me.

I shrugged again. "Davis usually comes up with the ideas."

Kari sighed and finally sat down. "Well, maybe we can talk about any summer plans." She said. "Anyone have any?"

No one said anything.

"Well, I guess I'll go home and practice Kendo." Cody got up.

"And I'll go work at the store." Yolei said.

"Me too." Ken and Yolei got up.

"I guess it's you and me." Kari said.

I nodded. I bet they planned this out. "So, how is your vacation so far?"

She shrugged. "Pretty normal. So tell me more about your vacation."

I shrugged. "Well, on the first day, I got hit with a volleyball at the beach by this pretty girl, Yoko. Then she invited me to play with her cousin and her two other friends. They're all nice but Yuudai, her cousin, doesn't really like me all to much."

"Is it because you like Yoko, and he doesn't want to see her get hurt?"

I nodded. "You hit the nail on the head." I said. "She's had a history with cheating guys."

Kari leaned back and looked out at the scenery. I did the same. Patamon fell asleep in my lap as Gatomon curled up into a ball.

"Remember when we were defeating MaloMiyotismon and we were discussing our dreams?" I asked. She nodded. "What made you want to become a kindergarten teacher?"

She thought for a second. "Well..." She thought some more. "I like little kids. They're so gentle and vulnerable at that age because some are going to school for the first time. I want them to feel safe when they take their step closer to the real world."

"That's really nice, Kari." I told her before the silence set in followed by the rustling of trees in the gentle breeze. It was a good day for summer vacation. "When did you decide that that's going to be what you're going to do for the rest of your life?"

"For a long time now." She thought a bit. "Since I was in elementary school. Our class got to read books to the kindergarteners on Fridays. The kids were so happy to hear me read to them. They even said I did a better job than the other kids in my class. I just... I guess you can say that it's one of my greatest memories."

I turned to look at her but she was lost in the delightful memory. "Since elementary school, huh? That's something."

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just that... I never found my calling. I don't know what I want to do in life." I sighed. "Even when I was younger, I couldn't tell the teacher what I wanted to be when I grow up. Everyone else said the same doctor, police officer, astronaut, firefighter, singer. I was left with a huge question mark on my forehead."

"You'll find it. I think it might be coming to you sooner than you think."

"You think?" She nodded. "Thanks."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

She swallowed and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Well, it's about what happened on the last day of school."

"Yeah? What about it?"

She blushed. "When we had our first kiss. I just wanted to know if you ever felt anything. Like, do you look at me differently since I opened up like that."

"No." I said. "Why would I?"

"It was just that it was a little bold for me."

"Kari, we both decided it, remember?"

She shook her head. "It was my idea."

"Kari, it's okay." I laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Really, it is. I liked it."

She smiled. "So I wasn't too pushy?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. Why do you ask?"

She blushed all over again. "It's just that, someday, I would want a boyfriend who doesn't think I'm too pushy."

"You? Pushy?" I let out a laugh. "Not really."

"Are you sure about that?" She giggled as she lightly pushed me over.

"Okay, if you're pushy, then I'm pushy too!" I pushed her back. It went on back and forth like that. Us pushing each other and swaying a bit. Suddenly, Patamon popped his head up like bread from a toaster.

"Someone's coming." He said. Then he looked up. "I mean, someone's here."

I looked up and saw Yoko. "Hiya." She said, twinkling her fingers.

Kari looked at Yoko and immediately stopped giggling. "Hi!" She greeted. "I'm Kari. You must be T.K.'s friend."

She nodded. "I'm Yoko. You must be the friend he always mentions."

Kari smiled at me. "Do you always mention me?"

I nodded. "This is the best friend I was telling you about. You know, the one that's like my sister."

"Oh." Kari said, getting up and taking Gatomon. "I'm sorry. I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Yoko."

"You too, Kari." She waved.

"See you later, Kari." I waved. Then I looked at Yoko who just smiled at me.

"Was that really your best friend?" She asked, sitting next to me.

"Of course." I said.

"Because she seemed pretty angry when you said that."

"What? No way."

She nodded. "I think she wanted something else."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to make me stop talking to her, are you?"

She shook her head. "No. I trust you." I sighed in relief. She's not that type of girl. That's awesome. "I just want to know why you haven't told her about us."

I shrugged. "I guess it just slipped my mind."

She just stared at me for a while. It was the kind Mom did when she doesn't believe me. Yoko doesn't believe me. "Okay." That's all she said and dropped the whole thing. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm moving."

"What?" I gasped. "You are? Where? Off of the beach?" She nodded. "But your whole lifestyle is based off the beach. Where are you moving to? Will I see you again?"

"That's the best part. I got accepted to a high school in Odaiba and I'll be moving here in the fall." She showed me her acceptance letter to prove it.

"Yoko, that's great!" I hugged her. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." She released. "You know, getting into this school wasn't exactly a cake walk. Your standards are much higher then the school by home. I was just happy I passed my entrance exam."

"Well, it's great that you did. Now we can go to school together!"

"And you get to introduce me to your friends." She giggled.

"Yes, I do." I said and laughed back. But honestly, I didn't know how Kari would react if I told her that I have a girlfriend. She'd probably get jealous.

Trivia: This takes place during the summer, but I wrote this chapter during the winter in a cold auditorium on my phone.

A/N: Now, time to review and tell me what you think!