Well, the latest chapter to my story! I really hope you guys like it; this one took a bit more time than the others. I had midterms and papers due earlier, which kind of played a role in the delayed update. Hopefully, I can speed things up again. I'm actually very content with the pace and flow of the story; I don't feel I'm rushing anything and I don't feel I'm too slow about certain things. It seems pretty good right now. Thank you, loyal fans of this story, for continuing to read and I hope I can continue to deliver to satisfy your imagination's desires. Have a good read!
Chapter 7
Waves. The sound of waves crashing along the shore echoed throughout the forsaken beach, exemplifying the unnatural quietness and emptiness of the surroundings. No sunlight radiated anywhere along the shore as deep, huge, clouds covered the sky, causing everything to be in the shade of grey, bland and depressing. There seemed to be no life on the beach. Occasional trees grew around the coast but, for some reason, they had an eerie aura about them; they were a sense of life and yet, looked and acted as if death had crept up and snatched their essence away from them.
Past the couple trees, a small, run-down, shack could be spotted from the distance. The shack was indefinitely abandoned and, like the trees, had a deathly vibe emitting from it. Further past the shack, there was a lighthouse on a cliff. The lighthouse gave out light, as a typical lighthouse would on a bland day, but the rays were not shining light throughout the beach; the beam of light was instead a ray of darkness.
Kari knew where she was. She gave a quick scan around her as if double checking to see if she was where she thought she was. She had been in the area before, twice to be exact, and dreaded the place ever since. The Dark Ocean was not her favorite vacation spot.
The brunette took a step forward slowly, letting the sand around her bare feet to soak in. Chills ran up her spine. She looked directly at the body of water in front of her and, as she expected, saw the ocean stretch endlessly over the horizon. Peace and tranquility filled the coast; however, it was undesirable and unsettling. The mood did not relax Kari, as it normally would, but instead filled her with dread and darkness.
The Digidestined of Light shook her head. She had no idea how she had ended up on the desolated seashore. To make matters worse, she didn't see Gatomon anywhere and her Digivice wasn't equipped on her. She was alone. Alone and defenseless in the mellow dimension that had haunted her since her last visit.
A breeze blew by, causing the young girl to shiver. Again, she scanned the area, hoping that someone, anyone, was around so that she was not alone. But, like before, she was simply greeted with silence, unable to detect life anywhere. The brunette let out a small sigh of disappointment. Then, she took a moment and pondered about her next actions, what she should do now realizing her loneliness. With careful thought and consideration, she decided it was best for her to explore the beachfront and hope to find someone or something that can help her.
With that, Kari started walking along the shores of the Dark Ocean. The waves gently crashed along the shore routinely, slowly creeping closer to the feet of the young girl. Instinctively, she pulled farther away from the shoreline, avoiding getting her feet in the water. It wasn't because she didn't want her feet to get wet; she was afraid. Afraid of the water that comprised the Dark Ocean. Kari held onto the fear that, somehow, the ocean itself was a source of darkness and touching it would be detrimental to her.
As she strolled, Kari was on constant alert for any kind of danger or threat around her. The Dark Ocean was, after all, a dimension filled with evil so it was natural to assume that dark entities dwelled within it. But, at the same time, she was hoping to find, perhaps, a fellow Digidestined or some kind of assistance so that she wouldn't feel lonely and somewhat scared. She wished TK was around…
Kari desperately wanted to call out for someone, anyone, but was afraid that, by doing so, she would attract unwanted attention from possible inhabitants of the area. The brunette had forgotten how eerie the Dark Ocean was. It's blandness and absolute tranquility was unnerving and, almost, unreal, causing her to shiver every once in a while. She couldn't imagine how anything could survive in such a dimension. Insanity and depression seemed like the only result for living in such a place.
The Digidestined of Light stopped walking. The shore seemed to go on forever and the young girl was scared that if she kept wandering, she would find herself walking down the coast endlessly. The sound of the waves crashing against the sandy land continued to echo as she brushed some of her hair out of her face and looked around once again, hoping to find something that could assist her at the moment. Again, she was greeted with the all too familiar sense of disappointment.
Kari noticed something in the corner of her eye and reverted her attention to the body of water on her left; a distant figure stood alone in the ocean, water reaching waist high. The individual was too far away for the brunette to properly see and the back of the unknown person was facing her, obscuring her view even more.
"Hey! Hey!" The Digidestined yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. No response; the lone figure acted as if not hearing.
"Hey! Are you stuck here too???" Kari tried once more, ending with the same result as before. She bit her lower lip as she carefully thought about the situation. She couldn't tell if the individual in the water was friendly or not but, at the same time, it was the first sign of life in the Dark Ocean and Kari had a feeling that if she continued to walk down the shore, she would not find anyone else.
The young girl looked around once more. She sighed, realizing she had really no other option than to try and communicate with her first sign of life. Taking a deep breathe, Kari gathered some courage and took a step into the chilling grey water.
Tai Kamiya sat in his chair, sulking a little bit, as he finished sipping the green tea his mother made for him.
"So…That's it?" Joe Kido, who sat in a chair right across from the leader of the Digidestined, asked. He too had a mug of green tea in his hand. The older Digidestined was wearing a thick winter coat and had plenty of clothes bundled underneath due to the harshly cold weather outside. With glasses on, and a clean, short haircut, similar to the hairstyle he sported back during their first adventure in the Digital World, The Digidestined of Reliability looked extremely sharp and mature.
"Yeah. That's it." Tai sighed. "Matt left, Sora went after him, Yolei left…I think I said everything."
"I see." The eighteen year old boy nodded his head in thoughtfulness. "Wow. Everything seems pretty messed up right now."
The Digidestined of Courage groaned. "You don't even know. Everyday seems to get worse and worse. And to top it off, Izzy hasn't been able to get a hold of Gennai or Azulongmon so we're pretty much left in the dark."
"Well, think of the bright side, Tai." Gomamon chirped. He took a moment to think but had no follow-up for his sentence. After a while, he scratched his head. "Hmph. There really is no bright side this time."
Joe nodded his head in agreement with his Digimon. "Yeah. And you guys haven't been able to find TK?"
"No. It's been almost three weeks." Tai rubbed his forehand with his hand out of frustration. "Everyone is really worried."
"Of course." A brief silence swept the room. "How's Kari taking it?"
"She's…alright. I actually don't know. She's been keeping to herself a lot since it happened. But, knowing her, I'm willing to bet she's blaming herself for everything. And knowing how close she was to TK, I'm also willing to bet she's pretty shaken up by it."
"I can't believe Gennai and Azulongmon were both wrong about everything. It doesn't seem like them. I mean, Gennai was the one person we turned to every time we had questions and he was always right in the past. He was always the one who had explanations about everything and we believed him every time. It's kind of hard to believe that he suddenly…was mistaken." Joe commented.
"Yeah. You should've been there, Joe. Both Azulongmon and Gennai seemed pretty sure that Kari was the target." Agumon added.
"But, I mean, I don't think we should blame them for this. No one's right all the time." Gomamon objected.
"I'm not saying we should blame them. It's just…shocking. I guess it hasn't occurred to me that Gennai was capable of fallacies; he was never wrong before." The Digidestined of Reliability stated.
A silence followed. The only thing audible was the soft running noise of Tai's computer. Joe cleared his throat as he fiddled his fingers around the warm cup of tea in his hands.
"Tai," The thriving medical student started. "I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner."
The Digidestined of Courage waved off his apology. "Don't even, Joe. It's not your fault at all. Besides, even if you were here, I doubt anything would've been different. I don't think anyone could have helped us at the time."
"Yeah but still…"
"No." Tai interrupted. "Too many people are blaming themselves for what happened as it is; we don't need to add one more."
Joe gave a small smile at the younger boy and nodded his head in agreement.
"So, what have you been up to? Kyoto fun?" The leader of the Digidestined asked, hoping to change the subject to a lighter conversation.
"It's not bad. Medical school is pretty competitive so I haven't really been able to go out much. I had a couple midterms so I've been keeping myself busy by studying."
"Busy? More like taking over your life." Gomamon added. "He's been so into his studies, he sometimes forgets to eat! Doesn't sleep much, hardly goes out… I don't know how he's still alive. Sometimes, I feel like his mother, telling him to do things all the time."
Tai laughed. "Sounds like Joe. And yet you're still able to make time to visit us."
"Well, I said I would come." The older Digidestined shrugged.
"Good old reliable Joe." Agumon quipped. "Oh, which reminds me, did you know Mimi and Palmon are here too?"
Joe nodded. "Of course. I actually had lunch with her yesterday. She hasn't changed a bit." He finished with a chuckle. But soon after, his face turned serious. "She's really upset and worried about what happened. Almost in tears when we talked about TK."
"Yeah…" Tai ran his hands through his hair. Realizing the mood he had set by bringing up the depressing topic, The older male quickly tried to change the subject.
"So…How's everything with Sora?"
Tai's face sulked even more. "It's ok."
Seeing the reaction he got, Joe immediately regretted asking. "Just ok?"
"Yeah…well, I don't know…" The Digidestined of Courage looked up at his friend. "Let me ask you something, Joe."
"Go for it."
"How come you and Mimi never got together?" Joe gave a surprised look at Tai. "Well, I mean, a lot of us thought you two would end up together. You guys had everything working out; you two were really close, both talked really well, and you even admitted you liked her, right? So, how come it never happened?"
The Digidestined of Reliability took a moment before shrugging nonchalantly. "I'm not exactly sure." Realizing that that wasn't the response his younger friend was seeking, he continued, "You're right; Mimi and I are really close. We trust each other and talk a lot. I did have feelings for her and, I think, it was same for her. But…sometimes, that's not enough."
Joe pushed his glasses upward. "She and I actually talked about it one time; us getting together. But, the thing is, there was no…click. There was no special feeling or trigger that compelled me to go out with her."
"But you and her have everything a couple needs! You guys talk well with each other, trust each other, attracted to each other…what more can you want?"
"Right, right. I do trust her; talk to her very well, and think she is very pretty. But, that's not everything, if anything. Having that special connection is the most important part between a couple."
"But you guys have a special connection."
"A special connection between friends. I guess…she and I are so comfortable being close friends with each other that that's the only way we see each other as; as friends. I guess, in my experience, with some people, you're meant to be just friends." Joe scratched his head. "Am I making any sense to you? Because I lost myself somewhere in that explanation."
Tai laughed. "No…I think I understand."
"That's good because, if I had to elaborate more on that…" Joe didn't finish the sentence but simply smiled. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason." The Digidestined of Courage chuckled later. "I never thought I would have asked you for girl help."
"Joe gets ladies!" Gomamon protested in defense of his partner. "You should see him at Kyoto!"
"Gomamon, there's no reason to lie." Joe chuckled. "But hey, I'm here for anything."
Tai nodded. "Yes you are. Good old reliable Joe."
With that, the two Digidestined, along with their Digimon, started to converse and talk, catching up with one another, laughing at past memories, enjoying and relishing their moment of happiness, hoping to forget about the grief and sadness that had seemed to dominate their current lives. And, for a moment, they almost did.
Cody speedily walked down the icy sidewalk, ignoring everything around him; he was going to be late for kendo practice and he knew it. Being a boy who valued punctuality, he felt a sense of guilt wash over him for his eventual lateness. The young Digidestined hated how his duties and responsibilities recently seemed to be overwhelming him; he was barely finding time to study, was developing a trend in being late to kendo practice, was neglecting to finish his daily chores, and, the worse of all, was failing as a friend. Everything seemed to be crashing down on him, casting their tolls on him, especially with the kidnap of TK. And while Cody vigorously tried to maintain his lifestyle, he could see the cracks and falters in his efforts.
TK's disappearance shook the foundation of Cody's inner core. The events that occurred that day, the day of the blonde's capture, seemed to repeat over and over again in the young boy's mind, as if haunting him, mocking him, for his inability to prevent such tragedy from occurring. It wasn't that the boy felt like he could've changed the results; he simply felt that he didn't do anything. He wasn't involved at all, didn't help or assist or make an impact for TK. If anything, he was nothing more than a waste of space and an unreliability for his friends. He wished, more than anything, that he had done something, anything, to at least make himself feel he had attempted a contribution. The constant mental replay of that day made him feel…useless.
Cody felt a sudden wave of inner fatigue hit him as he continued to walk down the sidewalk. He rubbed his eye and shook his head, attempting to break free of the weariness. Indeed, due to his hectic life, the Digidestined had been unable to sleep properly or eat consistently, leaving his body somewhat drained and his mind scrambled. But despite the exhaustion, he had to find a way to move on with his duties, knowing that the world would not stop for him. Still, he could imagine what a good nap could do for him…
Being so caught up with his own life, Cody hadn't really been able to keep in touch with his fellow Digidestined. And while the young boy knew he should, with the recent schism within the group and tragic events swirling around them, he simply couldn't find time. Again, another wave of guilt hit Cody. It was clear that the bond of friendship between the Digidestined was deteriorating and he knew he should do something about it. But, like before, he wasn't. Like before, he was making no impact. No difference. Useless.
As Cody turned a corner, he noticed something in the corner of his eye. He saw Davis and his goggle head, sitting alone on a bench across the street. He was wearing only his school uniform which, in such a chilly weather, was insane and impossible to be warm in. The spiky haired boy was slouching and, from the look on his face, was zoning out and being pensive, oblivious to the surroundings around him.
Cody hesitated when spotting his older friend. It was clear that, as a friend, he should at least walk over and say hi to Davis. However, he was already late for kendo practice and he wasn't sure exactly what to say other then greet him. He had a feeling awkwardness would build between the two. The young boy sighed as he shifted his kendo gear around his shoulder and made his way to the other Digidestined.
"Hi Davis." He greeted as he got within a good distance to his friend. Davis looked surprised to see him.
"Oh, hi Cody."
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing…I was just thinking."
The younger boy knew something was wrong; Davis wasn't the type to sit down and think. "Oh? About what? And shouldn't you be inside or something? You'll catch a cold out here in your clothes."
"Huh?" The goggle head boy looked down at his body. "Oh, right. I guess I didn't really notice." Still, despite that, the boy made no effort to move from his seat.
"So…what's up? What are you thinking about?"
There was no response. After a moment of silence, Cody realized uneasiness filled the air. He shuffled his feet as he cleared his throat. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me." Yet again, no reply. "Well, I should get going." With that, the eleven year old boy turned and started to walk away.
As he walked, he felt a small ping of disappointment; not at Davis but at himself for his inability in being a good friend. Another letdown and yet another reason why he was useless.
"I was thinking about what Matt said."
Cody stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"About how I should've followed orders and stayed with Kari and TK. Instead of leaving them to fight Ochumon." Davis sighed as he looked upward at the grey sky. "I can't help thinking…what if I did follow orders? How different would everything be?"
"Davis, you shouldn't--"
"I mean, TK would be here right now, wouldn't he? Kari wouldn't be in so much pain and everyone would be happy. How different would things have been if TK was here?" The high school teenager closed his eyes and shook his head slowly at the sky. "I keep telling myself I would do anything to make Kari happy. But, turns out, I can't even do that."
Davis sighed. "You know, I always knew Kari cared for TK deeply. She has feelings for him, whether she admits it or not, and I saw that. But despite seeing it, I still wanted to do my part in making her happy. Make my contribution; hope that I could keep that smile on her face just as well as TK could. But I couldn't. It's funny because, you know, you would think with TK gone, this is my perfect opportunity to gain some ground with Kari; prove myself to her; maybe even win her heart over. But, I can't even make her laugh with him gone. In the end, as long as Kari's happy, I'm ok with it. Even if it means I have to step out of the picture. But now…" He ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know. It's not just Kari anymore. Everyone seems to be taking it pretty bad. Never knew how important TK was to us."
Cody didn't reply and simply stood, lost at words. He never knew Davis had such a serious side to him. The older boy always maintained the image of a goofy, easy-going character. Granted that it was hard times, but still, such deep thoughts and seriousness seemed unlikely from Davis. But, then again, this was an example of how little Cody knew of his close friends. He remembered, years ago, when he confronted TK about his problem in not being close to anyone, the blonde had told him that it wasn't about knowing your friends that made them valuable; it was about being there for them at the right time that determined the strength of the relationship.
Cody dropped his kendo gear on the asphalt and sat in the empty place next to Davis. He took a deep breathe. "Davis, do you want to talk about it more?"
The older boy gave him a quizzical look. "You don't have to go anywhere?"
Cody dryly smiled. "No, I have all the time in the world."
"I don't understand where they could have gone." Izzy shook his head. "It's as if they vanished off the face of the Digital World."
"Maybe they went on vacation." Tentomon quipped.
The red haired boy furiously typed on his laptop. "This is no time for jokes, Tentomon. We need to locate Gennai and Azulongmon immediately."
"Who said I was joking…" The ladybug-like Digimon mumbled.
"I emailed Gennai's address over and over and still haven't received a reply. I've scanned the Digital World for their digital make-up, which should indicate their location, but nothing comes up. Hm…" The Digidestined stroked his chin wistfully. "It's almost as if they never existed. Do you think it's possible Daemon destroyed them?"
"Highly doubtful." His Digimon rose up. "If Azulongmon were to be destroyed, there would have been some kind of disturbance throughout the Digital World and we would've known about it. After all, he is one of the Guardians."
"My thoughts exactly. But if he wasn't defeated, then where is he?"
"Perhaps he's hiding?"
"But from what? And why wouldn't he inform us beforehand?" Izzy thought carefully. "I have a suspicion that it's more than just simple hiding." After a couple more minutes of pondering, the Digidestined of Knowledge let out a sigh and slumped back on his chair.
"It's ok, Izzy. So we can't find them. It'll be alright." Tentomon reassured.
"No, it won't. Without them, we have no answers and no real lead as to what Daemon is planning or where TK could be. We have no source to explain further the vagueness surrounding this situation. Right now, we are in the dark and I have no idea where to start in trying to solve such a complexity. They were our only source of information and, in my belief, the link that can lead us to TK."
"Well, if you put it that way…" His Digimon defensively whipped. "I was just trying to be positive."
Izzy sighed. "I know, I know…I apologize. It's just, with everything swirling around us, bickering and desperation, there's a lot of pressure and tension right now. It would be nice to defuse some of it."
"I understand but if you keep this up, you'll blow a brain fuse! You should relax for a bit."
"Unfortunately, time is not a luxury we can spare." the young boy mumbled. "We need answers now so we can locate TK."
"Have you tried the Dark Ocean?"
Izzy nodded. "Of course. Ken tried to open a portal to the Dark Ocean but couldn't produce the same effect as last time."
"Do you think he's there?"
"Well, at this point, that is my only guess. Daemon isn't in the Digital World, that's for sure. So, my assumption is that the only other place he could be is in the Dark Ocean."
"Or maybe he's in another world?"
"That too." The Digidestined sighed.
"So there's no way to open a gateway to the Dark Ocean?"
"Ken was our only option. And that didn't work. I can't think of another way." Izzy started typing on his laptop once more. "If there was just a way to find a passage to the Dark Ocean, I have a feeling we'll find our answers there. But who can open a way?"
"Kari."
The brunette heard her name, barely. It was a whisper, almost inaudible, echoing as she drew closer and closer to the mysterious figure ahead of her. The water was knee deep as she treaded through slowly, unsure if she was making a mistake or not. Even as she got closer, she couldn't really tell who the person was; just the outline of the individual's back was visible.
The Digidestined of Light shivered. The ocean was ice cold and she had nothing on except a casual T-shirt and gym shorts. However, she endured the cold and continued to walk forward. Curiosity overwhelmed her as she desperately wanted to find out who else was trapped in the dark realm with her. She had a suspicion but didn't want to assume until she could find out indefinitely.
"Kari."
Her name echoed once more in the desolate dimension, a bit louder than before. It wasn't eerie but, at the same time, it wasn't welcoming. However, hearing her name a second time, the brunette stopped.
"Who's there?" She yelled. No response. The young girl quickly looked around her, searching for the source of her name. When she couldn't find anyone, she concluded that the identity of her caller had to be the individual she was originally heading toward. The back was still facing her, but, because she got closer, it was clear that it was a male. Hopes grew high as she continued to march toward him.
"Kari…"
Ignoring the calling, she focused on simply reaching her destination. The water continued to rise higher up her leg as chills ran down her spine from the temperature of the ocean's touch. Kari bit her lower lip and willed herself forward; she wasn't going to be steered away even if it meant diving her whole body into the dark sea.
She was only a couple feet away when she felt something odd. With a quizzical look, the Digidestined stopped in her tracks. She looked around once more, as if trying to spot something unusual. Something didn't feel right for the brunette and usually her feelings were correct. However, despite the sense of oddity, she couldn't really pinpoint why anything would be out of the ordinary from a couple minutes ago. Taking one last moment to check her surroundings, Kari shrugged as she continued her march.
By the time she reached the young boy ahead of her, the water had reached waist deep, almost up to her naval area. It was an unpleasant feeling, having half her body wet and the other half dry, but it was something she was willing to endure. Kari took one deep breathe and tapped the unknown figure on the shoulder. The boy slowly turned around and faced her as the brunette let out a small sigh of relief; it was as she had expected. Kari gave a weak smile, almost not believing the sight before her.
"Hello… TK."
Mimi looked at her younger friend almost in a curious manner. She took a small sip out of her hot coco before letting loose her famous smile.
"I'm so glad you could have lunch with me, Yolei!"
The lavender haired girl had been zoning out, lost in her own thoughts, before the unexpected greeting. She gave a startled look before quickly recovering with a smile of her own. "Oh, it's no problem, Mimi; if anything, I should be thanking you for making time for me."
"Oh, nonsense! I always have time for friends." She winked. "Anywho, how's Odaiba been? I feel like I've been gone for years now!"
"Well…you kind of have been."
"Oh?" The Digidestined of Sincerity blinked. "You're right. I must be getting old, losing my memory like that."
Yolei let out a small giggle. She always enjoyed Mimi's presence and her extreme cheerfulness. It was the older girl's lively aura and her amazing ability to be able to socialize and befriend with others that she had envied. Already, the fifteen year old felt much looser and relaxed around the strawberry blonde than she had been for the past couple days.
"So, Yolei, how's everything with you?"
"I'm alright. I mean, with school coming up…you know they posted our finals the day before our winter dance? How cruel can you be?"
Mimi let out an astonished gasp. "Oh my! How do they expect a girl to get ready for a dance and study for tests?"
"Exactly! Getting ready for a dance takes at least a couple days so that would mean I'd have to study for exams days beforehand and that's not good because I'll probably end up forgetting everything I learned while getting dressed up! I bet whoever arranged the dates for the finals was a guy." Yolei scoffed.
"Well, I think you'll be fine. You're smart enough to way a find to study hard and look beautiful at the same time. Unlike me, of course; I remember this one time when I was a hour late to school because my make-up box simply wouldn't open."
This caused both girls to burst in laughter. When they finished, Yolei felt a lot better, letting out her first real laugh in quite a while.
"So, Yolei, in all due seriousness, I heard you've been quite distressed lately." When Mimi saw the hesitation in the younger girl's expression, she added, "I'm only here to help and listen. You can trust me." She added as sincerely as she could.
"Well…" Being one of the few girls the fifteen year old admired, talking to Mimi sounded extremely tempting. After careful thought and consideration, Yolei decided it was worth confiding her issues with her. "I guess…it's just, you know, with everything that has happened so far…with TK and all…" The mention of TK brought out a serious expression on the strawberry blonde.
"And it's not just TK. I'm sure you've heard about the fight we had the other day…it just doesn't seem like we're as close as I thought we were. I mean, TK is kidnapped and instead of working together to find him, we're bickering amongst ourselves. Just one bad thing after another…"
"I completely understand."
Yolei looked up. "Really?"
"Of course." Mimi nodded. "I actually felt the same way before. You know, during our first adventure through the Digital World, we had a huge argument that led to Matt and Gabumon leaving the group. It was horrible! And the worst thing was, Tai and the others wanted to move on and leave Matt by himself. It wasn't just that; before that, there was a lot of small fights and tension between us. I felt like the group was falling slowly apart and that the only thing keeping us together was the chance to go home. That's not how friends should be, you know?"
"Yeah, I totally agree. So what did you do?"
The Digidestined of Sincerity laughed. "I pouted. I told the group I couldn't go on with the current state of the group and that I needed a break. They understood and left me and Joe behind to take some time off."
"I see…" The younger Digidestined was somewhat disappointed in the response; she was expecting to hear something that she could apply herself.
"While I was by myself," Mimi continued, "I started thinking. Thinking about all the past memories, good times, and experiences I had with the group. Then I started thinking about the people that made up the Digidestined. Why would such great people, all really nice and fun to be around, fight with each other, I asked myself. Then I realized something. I realized that the reason why we fought so much was because we were such great people!"
"Huh?" Yolei was suddenly confused.
"Well, think about it. If, let's say, Tai was someone I really didn't care for. I wouldn't waste my time getting into an argument with him; I could care less what happens to him or what he thinks of me. But since Tai is someone I care about, I'll most definitely voice my opinion about some of the stuff he does and, if I don't like it, I'll tell him so. Fighting is one way of saying I care about you. And it's something you really can't avoid between good friends. It's through fights that people's relationship get stronger. Do you understand?"
"Yeah…"
"And since Tai is such a great person and friend, he fought with Matt a lot while we traveled around the Digital World. Not because he didn't like him or just wanted to start a fight but because he truly cared about Matt and what happened to him. And now look; the two of them are best friends." Mimi searched the younger girl's face to see if she had got the point. "I hope I didn't confuse you."
Yolei shook her head as a small smile crept up her face. "No…no, Mimi, you made perfect sense. And you're right. I guess, because I hadn't hung out with the others in so long, I had this ideal image of a perfect friendship between us. Where nothing bad ever happened. But I was just being naïve."
"Oh my, I would be terrified if I had a group of friends that never fought!"
The lavender haired girl laughed. "Me too." She looked up at the older Digidestined and beamed. A sense of hope filled her heart. "Thank you, Mimi."
The fashionable and pretty girl winked back. "Always here for you, hon."
Matt stared at the listless flower on the ground. It was winter so there should be no sign of life anywhere and yet, a single flower grew in the heaps of snow around it. It's redness stuck out like a sore thumb as it was the only sign of life from what the blonde could see. It's stem was a little bent, looking somewhat beat-up, but it was still capable of holding the plant intact and upright. A rare sight; a natural beauty, especially for the current season.
The Digidestined continued to stare as he drifted off into reminiscence. He had a black winter coat on along with gloves and a dark grey scarf to combat the chilliness of the weather but, even with such, he felt goose bumps down his arm.
"Hey Matt, what are you staring at?" Gabumon, his faithful and ever loyal Digimon asked.
"Look. A flower. Alive, during this weather. It's like a miracle." The blonde softly implied.
"Ohhh." The Digimon looked interested at the plant. "It's pretty."
"Yeah…pretty…" He bent down and stared at it some more. He let out a scoffing sigh as he withdrew his hand from his pocket and got ready to pick the flower.
"Matt."
The Digidestined of Friendship stopped before he could fulfill his deed. He got up and turned around, only to see Sora staring back at him, with concern in her eyes.
"Sora." Matt acknowledged.
The brunette stepped forward and slowly made her way next to the Digidestined of Friendship. She stared into his eyes, searching for a trace of hospitality. The blonde stared back, emotionless and uncaring, but quickly broke the connection, turning away from the beautiful young woman beside him.
"Matt, I know you're not mad at us."
The teenaged boy halted in his tracks and slowly cocked his head.
"Any of us. I know you're just putting up a front." Sora stated. "You want people to think you're mad at them so they won't bother you. So they won't see how emotional you are or how you really think of the situation."
"I know that you don't blame any of us; in fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that you place the blame solely on yourself. Being the older brother, you feel it was your responsibility to be there for TK and that you should saved him, protected him, from every harm possible."
"Because you blame yourself, you can't bear to face the others. The misery, the sadness, the pain the others are feeling…you feel responsible for them because, if you would've done your job as an older brother, none of this would've happened in the first place."
The brunette paused. "Despite all these years, Matt, you're still the same boy you were when we first met each other: reserved, lonely, and still carrying around so much responsibility. That's why it's so easy to read you. That's why it's so easy for me to read you." Sora ended quietly.
The Digidestined of Friendship simply stood, letting the words of his friend sink in. A gust breezed by, causing his coat to ruffle a little.
"Matt…" Gabumon called out in a caring tone.
A drop. That's all it was. A single drop. A single drop of all the emotions, frustration, and inner conflict that had been bottled inside the troubled teenager. The tear rolled down the blonde's face, down his cheek, and onto his chin. It felt like it would freeze there and become solid ice due to the extremity in the weather but it didn't. Instead, it fell; it fell and hit the flower that Matt had been fixating on earlier.
The blonde turned away, hoping that the other Digidestined behind him didn't catch his small breakdown. He sighed as he closed his eyes; knowing Sora and how insightful she was, the brunette probably noticed the droplet. He just wasn't sure how she would react to it. If everything went his way, she would just leave him be and not speak of the moment to anyone.
Matt opened his eyes in shock as soon as he felt the two, thin arms gently wrap around his body. He could smell the sweet strawberry scent of Sora rush around him, intoxicating him, clouding his mind and making him somewhat dizzy. He looked down to see the pair of arms entangled, firmly gripping the blonde, not letting go. He felt the brunette's body leaning onto his, with her head rubbing against the middle of his shoulder blades, breathing so closely that he could almost feel it through his coat. What surprised him even more was his reaction; instead of resisting, the blonde found himself embracing back, enjoying the intimate gesture as a great deal of warmth spread throughout his body. He instinctively found his hand reach for hers, gripping it caringly. He quickly started thinking what he should do next and if what he was doing was morally right. His thoughts wildly shot through his mind, leaving him frozen and somewhat in a panic. However, as the embrace continued, the thoughts quickly died down and Matt simply stood, finding himself allowing the young girl behind him to show her affections for him. And, from how his own body was reacting, he was doing the same.
Ken Ichijouji smiled as he watched Matt and Sora enjoyed their moment together. It brought happiness to his heart; happiness to see that, despite the harsh times, his friends were able to find some hope within all the mess.
Earlier, the young Digidestined wanted to take a walk, blow off some frustration that had been building up for some time. He walked and walked, wondering around aimlessly, not paying attention to his surroundings. Eventually, he found himself leaving Tamachi and entering the area of Odaiba. With his mind preoccupied, and with a great deal of coincidence and luck, the Digidestined turned a corner on a street and happened to stumble upon the scene before him, witnessing everything unfold.
"What is it, Ken?" Wormmon asked curiously. His Digimon had been hidden behind the corner street, unable to see what his partner had seen.
The raven haired boy grinned lightly as he turned around. "Nothing, Wormmon…let's go home. I think I finally found my peace in mind."
"TK."
The blonde before her didn't answer. He simply stared, emotionlessly, back at her.
With a puzzled look, Kari tried once more. "TK?"
This time, the Child of Hope shook his head slowly. He took her hand. The brunette gasped as she quickly withdrew; His hands were ice cold. Just the initial contact sent chills running down her spine. Still a little surprised by the touch, she peered into her best friend's eyes, looking for any signs of the boy she used to know. She found nothing but a great deal of sadness.
TK pointed at the horizon, as if trying to show the young girl something.
"What is it, TK?" She asked. He didn't respond, causing her to wonder if he had lost the power of speech.
Suddenly, Kari felt something was wrong. The water around her, which was waist deep, was getting lower and lower. Confused, she looked behind her, only to witness what she was feeling; indeed, the ocean was shrinking, as if dissipating from an unknown cause. It continued to shrink, becoming only knee high, until, eventually, the water was barely above her feet. The brunette, still puzzled, turned around, facing TK, and gasped.
The water hadn't dissipated; it was simply pushing back, as if some kind of force was sucking up all the water on the shore and lifting it, creating a massive, towering wave. The wave loomed over both Kari and TK, waiting to crash down and swallow the two whole. With mouth slightly agape from the incredulous sight before her, her body froze, unable to move. She was standing on wet sand as the wave continued to get bigger and bigger. TK acted as if he hadn't noticed what was transpiring behind him and was simply staring at her with his sad eyes.
"TK!" Too late. The wave came crashing down, engulfing the blonde and eventually taking the Child of Light as well. She was thrown back as the cold water hit her hard. The water was still rushing past her, pushing her back as the brunette desperately tried to hold her ground. Underwater and sprawled over the sandy floor, Kari lifted her head and opened her eyes, trying to get a glimpse of her surroundings despite being underwater. Squinting, she was able to make out the sandy environment around her but, more importantly, she saw TK; he was standing as he was before, only submerged, completely unaffected by the impact of the wave.
The force of the continuous current was too much as she lost her balance and was slowly being swept further down the tide. In one last effort, Kari reached out her arm toward the blonde before her. She saw him shake his head once more. With that, the Digidestined of Light closed her eyes and let the rush of the ocean take over as her body was thrown backward, endlessly being pushed. She gurgled a bit as water entered her lungs, suffocating from the lack of air. Her mind slowly started to blank out .
"Don't come back…" The voice echoed through Kari's mind as everything around her turned black.
And that's when she woke up.
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