Chapter 13

Meeting Place Twenty Stories above the City

"How could they have Dark Spores!? Oikawa failed with Ken and ran off scared and never would have had the chance," Flamemon interjected in shock. Earlier that night Takuya had explained what Oikawa had planned for tonight with Ken, the kidnapped children, and the Dark Spores. But it somehow turned out the same way even without Oikawa in the mix.

"I'm not sure… Maybe you can't change some destinies. Or more likely this was the doing of the, Master, Daemon spoke of," Takuya gave the best answer he could while never taking his eyes off of the children. The kids seemed to be acting normally as they talked to the officers who took notes of everything they said.

"What do these Dark Spores have to do with me?" Ken suddenly demanded after making a slight connection between the Dark Spores and whatever Oikawa wanted from him. Looking away from the children and towards Ken, Takuya sighed realizing he and Flamemon had said too much in front of the boy not to tell him everything he knew about his unique situation. Besides, in the other Zone this was the same night he had learned the truth, which was important to what was coming their way over the next couple of days. Deciding it was better to show him first than coming right out and telling him Takuya reached over and retrieved his Scanners from Gennai and handed them to Ken.

"Look at the back of the children's necks," Takuya instructed him. Ken quickly complied with the older boys order and put the goggles up to his eyes like Gennai had. After a few seconds he saw the same targets and black spots Gennai had seen.

"Are those black spots the Dark Spores?" Ken inquired, an uneasy feeling growing within him as memories of a forgotten past replayed far too quickly before him. They came to him like the flashes of a camera, far too bright and fast to see.

"Yes," was Takuya's only response as he stretched out a hand and pointed to a spot over Kens shoulder a few feet away. Ken followed the directions and found himself staring into a black space.

"I don't…" Ken attempt to raise a question, but Takuya quickly cut him off.

"Hold on. I need to turn off the active penetrating scan feature," Takuya reach over and pressed on of the bottoms that lined the frames of the goggles.

There was a low click and the black space was suddenly filled in with squares of green wireframe with something standing in the center. The Scanners locked onto the figure in the middle and highlighted a Dark Spore implanted in its neck.

"Another person with a…." Ken stopped in the middle of his sentence and froze in place.

"Ken, are you alright?" Davis and Yolei asked in unison when his expression turned sickly. They both were growing more and more concerned the longer he just stood there not saying a word. Off to the side Takuya just quietly watched Ken take in this revelation; hoping that he could deal with it.

"Ken, what is it?" Wormmon pleaded with his partner to answer. He really didn't like how Ken was acting.

After a few seconds Ken waved his hand slightly before lowering the Scanners down from his eyes and getting the answer he didn't want. Straight ahead of him was a deeply tinted store window turned into a perfect mirror by the dark night, and there reflected in its surface was him; right where the figure with the Dark Spore in his neck should have been standing. But now Ken knew he had been looking at himself the whole time and the Dark Spore in his own body.

"There is a…" Ken whispered in an emotionless voice, not wanting to say the last part out loud, as he pawed at the back of his neck.

"Oikawa wanted to copy the Dark Spore in you and implant it in those children," Takuya stated, deciding that he needed to confirm Ken's conclusion. This comment sent stunned ripples through the Digidestined as they tried to come to terms with what the new arrival had just said about their friend.

"Ken…?" Yolei asked after seeing the boy take a stumbling step backwards away from his reflection. Neither she nor the rest of the group knew what to say to make this situation better, but they were trying their hardest to figure it out.

"But when… The desert!" Ken stuttered as the memories slowed and he was able to recall his actually first venture into the Digital World. "It's inside me!" He panicked.

Seeing his reaction Takuya pushed off of the wall with a sigh and slowly walked over to the boy who looked at him, but didn't register his existence. He walked right up to him and quickly raised an arm and calmly placed his hand on Kens head. For a moment he just looked at Ken with concern before he tightened his grip on his hair and pulled his head back so the boy was forced to look him in the face. Now he was definitely acknowledging his existence.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" Davis yelled as he and TK moved to defend Ken after seeing him struggle under Takuya's grip.

"Stop that, right now!" Takuya demanded of Ken bringing Davis and TK's movements to a sudden halt. "You've gone how many years with it in your body and you're still fine, so how should this change anything?" He continued to yell directly at Ken.

The only thing going through Ken's head right now was how could this guy actually be talking to him like this wasn't anything to worry about. How could he possibly know how he was feeling right now? "There's one of those Dark Spores inside of me and you're telling me to calm down!" Ken suddenly yelled back. This brought a small smile to Takuya's face.

"Think of it this way, it might help explain the whole Digimon Emperor phase you went through," Takuya teased. This last prod proved to be too much for Ken as he erupted in anger.

"Shut up!" Ken screamed, swinging his fist and delivering a strong punch to the older boys jaw. The instant he did Ken froze unable to believe what he had just done, while Takuya stumbled back slightly, his head cocked backwards and to the side, away from Kens blow. The rest of those gather tried to get over the shock of what they had just seen him do before realizing that he might actually be in some serious trouble right now. This guy didn't seem to have any problems with going head on with digimon, so what could he do with a younger boy who had just struck him.

Even though Ken realized the gravity of the position he found himself in now, he didn't really care. He was just too angry; but it didn't stop him from pausing to assess the situation. In this case evaluating the situation meant he just stared at Takuya's closed eyes fearing the response he would get when they opened again. But the response that came was one he hadn't been expecting. When his eye opened again a big smile spread across Takuya's face and he began to laugh as he brought his head back to its normal position. Ken and the Digidestined were at a loss for words as they tried to figure out if he was really just some kind of psychopath, but Takuya just continued to laugh and lightly rub his jaw.

"Nice right," he suddenly spoke, shaking Ken from his defensive position to one of confusion and embarrassment.

"Thanks… I didn't mean…!?" Ken began to apologize before he remembered why he had hit the guy in the first place. "You had no right to say those things!" He yelled as he balled up his fist again. In response Takuya took a step back putting a bit more distance between him and the angry boy. Ken's punch might not have hurt him much, but he really didn't feel like getting punched in the jaw again.

"True… But at least you're letting out your frustration," Takuya playfully noted. "Holding it in isn't good for your health," he added with a whimsical tone. That was when Ken noticed he actually felt better about the situation. By getting angry, yelling, and being somewhat physical towards Takuya he had actually recovered himself. But the fact that Takuya had gotten him angry on purpose so he would vent also occurred to Ken, which made him feel bad about striking the older boy.

"You did that on purpose… so I would hit you…" Ken inquired becoming more embarrassed by the second. He was smart enough that he didn't really need Takuya to confirm it, but he still had to ask. Takuya didn't answer him except for a short chuckle before turning away from the boy to go back and check on the now rescued children; however, his progress was quickly brought to a stop by Kari. Apparently while he had been concentrating on Ken she had left the group and walked right up to him.

"Is there something I can help you with…?" Takuya began to ask the younger version of Kari who was looking up into his face. She didn't answer. Instead she raised her hand and placed it gently against his cheek, inspecting the spot where Ken had punched him with a look of concern. At this Takuya had to fight his natural impulses. The blush that threatened to burst out across his face and the want to pull the girl into a big hug. He had gone two months without hearing Kari's voice or feeling her soft touch, and here was this girl that was like her in so many ways. It was far too confusing for his tired mind.

"Does it hurt?" Kari quietly asked as she gently ran her soft fingertips down his check to the red area on the left side of his jaw. The gentle warmth of her skin slowly returning the heat to Takuya's frozen cheeks, cold from a whole day of being exposed to the elements.

"Naw… Trust me, I've taken a lot worse in the past," he returned unsure of how he should be acting at the moment. Kari just looked at him with more concern knowing that he was probably telling her the truth about having been through worse. How much worse she couldn't be sure. Around them everyone's attention was drawn to the two's exchange which was being met with mixed feelings.

"Uhh… Takuya! I hate to interrupt, but I think we have a problem here?" Flamemon called out to his partner. Takuya painfully broke contact with the young girl and quickly made his way back to the corner. He ducked his head around the bend and instantly saw the problem Flamemon had been talking about. A few of the children were now pointing down the street towards them. Obviously telling the police where they had been being held. This suspicion was only confirmed when a few cops began running in their direction.

"Not good! We need to get out of here! Now!" Takuya ordered turning back towards the group and motioning for them to run too.

"Not before you tell us what's going on here," Davis demanded not moving from his position.

"Fine! Stay here and explain all of this to the cops when they find you at the scene of a kidnapping. Not to mention the destruction of city property," Takuya's eyes glanced to the holes in the road before he ran past the group and ducking down a dark alley. A few seconds later he could hear the group turn the corner behind him as well. Apparently they were more for the follow him idea, than the stay and get arrested plan.

"Where are we going?" Gennai inquired of Takuya after they had put some distance between themselves and the street.

"Besides from further away from that street and the cops… wherever the rest of the Digidestined of this Zone are so we can have a nice long talk," Takuya called back to the digital man without stopping.

"And do you know where that is?" Flamemon asked wondering if his partner had considered that part, and they weren't just running around blindly.

"I felt that the whole putting distance between ourselves and that street to be the more important part of the plan," Takuya yelled back sarcastically. After the group had put enough distance between themselves and the closest cop they settled into a side alley to catch their breath.

"Okay… now that… we're safe… what's going on…?" Davis asked in-between gasps of air. When Takuya didn't answer Davis gathered his strength and lifted his head up to look at the older boy. Instantly, he saw two things he didn't like. The first thing that he didn't like was that while they all seemed tired and out of breath from the long run, Takuya didn't even seem to have broken a sweat. He was just leaning there calmly against the wall waiting for them to recover. The second thing he didn't like was that while everyone had kept their distance from him, Kari hadn't. He was further up the alleyway, away from group, watching the adjoining street, and right next to him was Kari, hunched over trying to catch her breath.

"Are you going to be okay?" Takuya asked the young Kari after she let out a few small coughs, most likely a symptom of breathing in too much cold winter air, too quickly.

"I'll… be fine…" Kari did her best to smile at him through the tiredness and discomfort.

"So what do we do next?" Ken inquired of Takuya. Ken had noticed before he spoke that he had recovered faster than the others. Normally he would have contributed this to his years of playing soccer and a strong body, but now he didn't know what to think. Could it be the influence of the Dark Spore? Whatever it was meant to do.

"We meet up with the rest of your group so I don't have to explain what's happening more than once," Takuya simply answered while he continued to scan the streets for any sign of trouble.

"Then we should probably get going," Kari stated after she had recovered for the most part. Looking at the young girl Takuya understood that was probably her sign of compliance. Meaning he at least had gained her trust without an explanation, even if he had no idea how he had done it.

"Right. I'll follow you guy once you've recovered. But until then, wait here," Takuya ordered before he walked out from the alley and began to leave the group and his partner behind.

Seeing the older boy leaving them Kari tiredly pushed off the wall and chased him around the corner. "Wait! Where are you going?" She questioned, having quickly caught up with Takuya.

"I told BlackWargreymon to meet up with me on the roof of a building not too far from here if we got separated," Takuya explained pointing to a twenty story building in the distance. "Just wait here with the others until I get back," he added before walking off again.

"Kari, we should probably listen to him. I don't know if we can trust him, but I don't think we have any other choice right now," Gatomon suggested, finally voicing her opinion after a very long period of silence. Kari said nothing in response as she watched Takuya walk away. After a few seconds she decided it would be best to listen to the boys and her partner's advice and return to the group, but this decision would prove to be a few seconds too late in coming.

As she began walking back to the alley a police car suddenly came rolling around the corner of the street and quickly painted Kari with its small searchlight. Instantly the girl froze in place, unable to think of what she should do. The cars tires releases a low screech as it stopped and the two front doors popped open. From out of the car stepped two large officers with flashlights in hand. Kari and Gatomon's minds raced for what to do next when Kari suddenly felt something take hold of her hand and pull her backwards. When she turned she saw Takuya gripping her hand and pulling her along as he ran down the street, away from the approaching officers who were now giving chase.

"Ta… Takuya…" Kari stuttered in-between the jolts she was getting each time he pulled her along, forcing her to increasing her speed.

"What the hell did those kids tell them?" Takuya cursed. It was very strange. The cops hadn't even hesitated to investigate Kari. Why were they looking into a young girl like Kari when they should have been looking for the much older man, Oikawa? Something was definitely wrong here.

"What's… going… on?" Kari asked trying to figure out her situation. I didn't feel right running from the police, but from the way Takuya acted it seemed very important that they did.

"I'm not sure!" Takuya answered turning his head to check on their pursuers. Over the charging cops shoulders he could see Flamemons head peeking out from behind the wall of the alley the rest of the group was hiding down. Luckily the police had been so distracted by chasing the two of them they had run past the others hiding spot without noticing them. "Flame! Don't follow or wait! Go!" He yelled back confusing the officers who couldn't figure out what he was saying or who he was even talking to. Flamemon just nodded before his head vanished back behind the wall.

"Now, let's lose these guys," Takuya smiled mischievously. He would really have preferred to lose the cops on foot, but two things were working against him. First, they would have had to attract two of the most physically fit police officers he had ever seen; which was allowing them to keep up with his pace. Second, he was dragging Kari along behind him, and her smaller steps were slowing him down and allowing their pursuers to slowly close the distance.

"I guess I've got no choice than," Takuya sighed as he pulled out his Runners Phone and selected the 'Jump' function. He then proceeded to punch in a few buttons until he lined up a Jump location and hit the enter button, but nothing happened. In a state of confusion Takuya lifted the phone back up to eye level and was greeted by a red error message. Below the message lines of text continually speed by. 'Unknown organic life form! To avoid dangerous complications wait five minutes while new organic life form is scanned and added to system database. Then repeat Jump attempt,' it read.

"Just great!" Takuya cried out giving Kari's arm another yank, speeding her up past her max running speed. Now she was straining herself to keep up with him and accidently stumbling every few steps. She wasn't going to be able to keep up this pace much longer and the two officers continued to close in on them. "Damn! Now I'm going to have to do something a lot more drastic!" He growled knowing he wouldn't have the five minutes to wait for the scan of Kari to complete.

As Kari stumbled again under his grip Takuya pulled her down another alley, hoping to find a place to disappear. Down the alleyway he found an old rusted dumpster, a few dinged up metal trash cans, an old fire escape, and the back door of one of the buildings.

"The fire escape!" Takuya thought to himself before he realized something important. "No… I have Kari with me and I'd never be able to get her up it in time." Abandoning the idea of climbing to roof to escape Takuya turned his attention to the only other option. Sliding to a stop in front of the door Takuya turned and delivered a powerful spin kick to the door, easily separating it from its locks and hinges.

"Wait! This doesn't seem right…" Kari tried to interrupt him, but another yank from Takuya pulled her inside. Her only real objection about this was that now they weren't just running from the police, but now they had also just committed breaking and entering. It seemed that ever since she had met him she was doing a lot of things she never expected to do; which was quite an achievement since she had only really known him for less than thirty minutes.

Takuya continued to pull Kari along by the hand as they quickly made their way through the dark hallways of what appeared to be small office building. Soon they reached the front desk which terminated at a plate glass window and main door. "Now…?" Takuya quickly tried to think of the next step of his plan and ignore the approaching steps of the officers, who had already followed them inside. Then it hit him. He quickly made his way to the reception desk and pulled the chair out from behind it. Grabbing it by the back he prepared to throw it through the glass door. That was until Kari slid in front of him and put her arms out stopping him from progressing any further.

"What are you thinking about doing?" Kari demanded an answer in a whisper.

"I'm going to throw this chair, through that glass, so they think we escaped back onto the streets," Takuya simply stated like a child who had been caught by his mother while doing something bad. Kari simply sighed before walking over to the door, turned the lock, and pushed the door open. "I… I knew that…" He laughed embarrassingly and set the chair back down.

"You destroy a lot of stuff you know that…" Kari whispered in a playful tone. "It must be a boy thi…" She tried to finish before Takuya grabbed her again and pulled her over to the large reception desk. He then ducked down underneath it and quickly dragged her under with him. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest so that they couldn't be seen from the outside. As soon as he had done that the first of the two cops burst into the reception area and quickly spotted the open front door.

"They went out the front!" The first cop called back to his partner in a young, but gruff voice.

"You look for them while I call for some backup," the older officer ordered while pulling a radio from behind his back. The younger officer quickly disappeared out of the door while the older one contacted his precinct and requested some support units.

While Takuya crouched there listening for the two cops, making sure that he would know when they were gone, Kari was having her own personal crisis. She was pressed up against the strong, firm chest of a cute older boy. Her head was nestled right under his neck and so close to him that she could hear his heartbeat. She was straddled over him with one of his legs running between both of hers and rubbing against her inner thighs. She had never been this close to a guy before, let alone held in such a manner or touched in such areas. Kari was just glad that it was dark in the office building or she was sure Takuya would be able to see how red she was turning.

The quiet continued until the older cops footsteps could be heard exiting the office building. With the sound of the glass door swinging shut and the lock engaging Takuya was final able to breathe a sigh of relief. "Well at least now you can't complain that we don't do things together," he badly joked hoping to relax the nervous girl. He assumed that her flushed appearance and slight tremble was due to the multiple laws they had just broken, and not the fact that she was worried he could hear her heart pounding out of her chest.

"Do you really think that's appropriate right now?" Gatomon asked unsure of how the boy could be acting so lightheartedly at a time like this. She was also probably feeling somewhat frustrated since she was being crushed against the side of the desk behind Kari's back. With a sigh Takuya twisted and adjusted his body so he could slide out from beneath Kari and get out from under the desk. He silently and slowly raised his head over the top of the desk and began scanning his surroundings for any signs of trouble.

When he found the office and street empty he bent back down and addressed Kari and Gatomon. "They're gone, so let's get moving."

"Right…" Kari answered taking the hand Takuya offered her. He gentled pulled her to her feet before giving her a pat on the head as a sign of approval and comfort. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, the building where BlackWargreymon's waiting for me is about a block away now. So we should be able to get there pretty quickly if we use the streets… if we can avoid another run-in with the police that is," Takuya sighed not looking forward to having to cross the remaining distance on foot with police backup on the way, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. He hadn't started to scan of Kari so he couldn't use the Jump feature and he probably wouldn't have five minutes to wait and do it now. The two cops support would arrive soon and they would probably start by securing the office building since it was now a crime scene.

"Okay," Kari added with an approving nod. With her agreement Takuya made his way over to the door and slowly pushed it open. Sticking his head out as little as he possibly needed to be able to scan the street, he began to look for the officers. When he didn't see any sign of them or the backup he motioned for Kari to exit and quickly make her way across the street to the alleyway on the other side. Soon they had crossed to the other side of the block, just outside the building where Takuya had arranged to meet BlackWargreymon. Looking at the building Kari wondered if he had just chosen it because it was the tallest one in the area.

"I know that look. You're wondering if I only chose this building because it's the tallest one in the area," Takuya noted catching Kari by surprise. Takuya might not have been so good at reading his girlfriend, but before they had parted ways two months ago he had learned a few things. And he saw a lot of those qualities and signs in this younger version.

"No… I…" Kari stuttered fearing that the older boy might have actually been able to read her mind.

He just laughed in response. "Actually that's exactly why I chose it," confirming her suspicions.

"What…!?" Gatomon gasped in response while Kari hoped there was more to his choice.

"But being the tallest one in the area makes it easy to find no matter where you are, and no one will be able to see me meeting up with a two story digimon on the roof," Takuya commented sharing his reasoning with the two. They instantly felt better knowing that he had put so much thought into his choice. It made him seem more trustworthy then he had been a second ago. "Okay, we should hurry before someone spots…!?" He suddenly cut off right in the middle before grabbing Kari by the shoulders and pushing her up against the brick wall of the alley. In another quick motioned he lifted his hood over his head and threw open his coat before pressing himself up against the young girl. The ends of the coat instantly shut out the light of the streets and Kari found herself looking up into the brown eyes of the boy.

"What are you…?" Kari began to ask hoping he couldn't see the blush that was already spreading across her face. Gatomon on the other hand was preparing to tear the boy to shreds if he tried anything with Kari. But before Takuya could answer and Gatomon could sharpen her claws on his face, light flooded the alleyway and the sound of tires slowly creeping across the asphalt could be heard a short distance away. The light leisurely made its way across the alley and passed over them, but thanks to the dark fabric of his jacket and Takuya's choice of hiding spot they looked like nothing more than shadows cast off by the odd angles present in the alley.

When the light vanished Takuya pushed off of the wall, separating himself from the fidgeting girl. After they had recovered from the sudden experience the three ducked their heads out and watched as a cop car rolled around a corner and out of view. It was most likely part of the backup the original two officers had called for. Not wasting any more time Takuya took Kari by the hand once more and quickly made his way across the street. But now that he was standing right outside of the building he realized he faced a whole new problem. His original plan had been to use the Jump function he had received from Azulongmon to get to the roof, but now that wasn't an option with Kari by his side. Now, he was facing the reality that he had no idea how he was going to get to the roof with the front doors locked and the building shutdown for the night.

"Is there something wrong?" Kari inquired. He had been standing there staring up at the building, looking like he was lost in thought for a while now.

"No… not really. I just don't have any idea on how we're going to get to the roof," Takuya laughed like it was nothing to worry about. But his tone only hid the embarrassment he was feeling right now; especially with the looks he knew he must be getting from his two companions.

"What do you mean you don't know how we're going to get to the roof!?" Gatomon cried still unable to figure out whether the guy was trustworthy or not. This recent development pushed her closer to the side of not. "How could you not have figured out how to get to your own meeting place?" She added rubbing it in.

"It's not that I didn't have a plan. The original plan just kind of… fell through," Takuya sighed before he made his way around the side of the building in hopes of finding a way up to the roof. This would probably have gone better if he had actually checked out the building beforehand, but instead he had just picked it out of the skyline from a distance before he headed to his ambush.

As soon as he turned the corner he was greeted with the familiar rusted dumpster and old trash cans that could be found in any of the alleyways throughout the city. Puddles of dirty water sat in the shadows where they slowly froze over in the dropping temperature of the night. His eyes darted about looking for any way into or up the building. The search would come to an end when he spotted the cold black metal ladder of a fire escape hanging about ten feet in the air.

"That'll do," Takuya said to himself before he took off down the alley in a full sprint. Right before he reached the old dumpster he kicked off of the wall, launching him onto the lid. Without losing his momentum he kicked off of the dumpster and leapt towards the opposite wall and the fire escape. When he was close enough he wrapped an arm around one of the ladders rungs. The ladder instantly gave way and descended to the ground below, coming to a shuttering stop a few inches from the concrete. At the entrance to the alley Kari and Gatomon looked on in shock. The guy's abilities seemed to surprise them at every turn.

"After you, ladies," he motioned with a smile for the two to begin ascending the ladder while he held it down. Kari and Gatomon quickly made their way to the ladder and began to climb, closely followed by Takuya. With that done, the three began the twenty story climb up the metal stairs to the roof. After about ten stories Kari finally got around to asking Takuya a question she had wanted to ask since they reached the building.

"Do you trust him?" Kari inquired of Takuya as they cleared another floor. He turned back to look at the girl without stopping his ascent and for a moment his gaze remained on her before he turned his attention back to the front. When he didn't answer Kari thought it might have been because he didn't know who she was talking about. It was understandable since she hadn't used a name in the question, but before she could rephrase it he answered.

"Do I trust, BlackWargreymon…?" Takuya asked out loud as if this was the first time he had even considered the question. Kari and Gatomon instantly focused all the attention they weren't using to climb the stairs on him, awaiting his answer. "I do," he simply stated in a serious voice.

"Why?" Kari followed up with.

"I guess it's because I just do. I don't really have any other reason than that," he answered. She had really hoped for more than that, however this guy didn't seem like the type that needed more than his gut instincts to make a decision.

"Don't you think that just trusting someone who nearly brought the Digital World to an end is pretty sketchy?" Gatomon commented becoming unsure of the boy once again.

"Not really," he simply replied. When he had first heard BlackWargreymons story from Kari and Tai he had understood how the control spire digimon must have felt. It was probably the same feeling of being lost as he had felt in Dominimon's twisted dream world years ago. As if he had been robbed of hi purpose before it could even begin. An experience like that can really teach you how to view the world differently. However, that only had a little to do with why he trusted BlackWargreymon. The biggest share of it just came from a feeling he got from him. "Hang around me long enough and you'll notice that the sketchy plans are kind of my thing," he laughed before pushing off of the final staircase bringing the roof into view.

"Been waiting long?" Takuya inquired of the large black digimon standing in the middle of the roof as he hopped over the raised lip of the building. After receiving only a nod of acknowledgement Takuya turned around and extended a hand to Kari which she took, allowing him to pull her up to the roof. Behind him he could hear BlackWargreymon shift uneasily. He had probably been adversely affected by Kari's sudden appearance. This was probably a good sign actually; it must have meant he felt some regrets about how he had treated the young Digidestined in the past.

Once they were on the roof Kari and Gatomon just stood there staring at their past tormentor. The whole time they had been making their way towards the roof they had known that they would eventually come face to face with him, but like everything that night, until it actually happened it didn't seem like it would really happen. Now, they were faced with a pretty awkward situation and were unsure of how to continue.

"So what happened to your two friends?" Takuya playfully inquired having noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"They… got away…" BlackWargreymon answered disappointingly. Takuya had only expected him to chase them off if it came down to it, but it would seem that he had had other plans for Oikawa's henchmen.

"Haha! Don't let it get to you," Takuya laughed throwing off the tense mood on the roof. Something about his genuine laugh seemed to have a relaxing effect on people.

"Why are they here?" BlackWargreymon asked bring the tense atmosphere back in full force. "And where is Flamemon?"

"It's a long story, so let's just say some things happened and we got split up like this," Takuya sighed feeling quite uncomfortable now. "But we're going to meet up soon."

"Where…?" BlackWargreymon questioned uneasily. Somehow he knew that they weren't just going to meet up with Flamemon and Gennai. He knew the others he had hurt would be there, but he still hadn't figured out how he felt about facing them. If it was as difficult as looking the girl, Kari, in the eyes, it would be a challenge.

"Are you worried about meeting up with them?" Takuya asked knowing full well that BlackWargreymon knew who he was talking about. "Well, don't! If things get to be too much for you just remember you're a very powerful mega digimon who could easily crush them in that kind of situation," he laughed, earning him a surprised look from the three on the roof with him. Kari and Gatomon were shocked by the fact that he had actually said that considering he was suppose to be on their side, while BlackWargreymon was shocked for pretty much the same reason.

The three just continued to look at him while he walked over to Kari, patted her on the head and gave her a smile, before turning towards BlackWargreymon. After a few moments the mega digimons shock faded and his muscles relaxed. Then, he did something that Kari and Gatomon hadn't expected; something they weren't even sure he was capable of doing. He began to laugh. It wasn't an evil or angry laugh. It was a genuinely happy laugh. One that brought a smile to Takuya's face and finally broke the tense air of the situation. Something about how BlackWargreymon and Takuya were laughing now put Kari and Gatomon at ease, enough to trust them for now.

"So you ready to move out, Jet?" Takuya inquired after giving BlackWargreymon some time to enjoy his own happy mood. The mega prepared to answer before he stopped and thought about what Takuya had just said.

"…Jet…?" BlackWargreymon asked unsure of what Takuya had just called him; or if he was even been talking to him.

"Your nickname," Takuya simply answered. "BlackWargreymon's just so long to say. Jet's much simpler."

"But why…?" BlackWargreymon questioned with a slight tremble in his voice.

"You're black… like jet black the color. So I just took the first part of that and made it your nickname, plus it sounds cool. There's also the fact that you fly fast, but that's just a bonus," Takuya simply explained with a crooked smile. "Besides it's something that belongs to only you," he added with a more serious tone.

"Jet… Jet… Jet…" BlackWargreymon repeated over and over again in his head. For the first time in his short life he had something other than what was born of control spires. He had a name. And it was given to him freely by a friend. "Friend…" BlackWargreymon echoed in his head. Did he of all digimon consider Takuya, a human, a friend?

Realizing he was standing there drifting off into his own little world BlackWargreymon quickly shook himself free and bent down allowing Takuya to climb onto his back. Halfway up Takuya extended an arm to Kari who stared at it for a second before running across the roof and took hold of it. Once he pulled her up he motioned for BlackWargreymon to take off. And with that Jet took off into the night sky with a renewed purpose.

In a Zone Takuya wished he was in at the moment. In the Kamiya siblings bedroom Kari had just finished getting ready for bed and slipped into her pajamas. It had been another long day of school preparations and she was already tired by nine. However, it wasn't the aches of her body that were weighing her down as much as those in her heart for that special person she was missing. Putting her half finished glass of water down on the desk she walked over to the back of her door and removed the crimson leather coat that hung there. It was the same coat Takuya had wrapped around her on that cold morning when they parted ways two months ago.

"Takuya…" She sighed before sitting down on her bed and lifting her feet onto the mattress. She then rested the jacket on her knees and brought them up to her chest, before burying her face in the fabric. With that she inhaled, bring back strong memories of him. His scent still remained even after the two months she had been wearing it.

With her head leaned against it she tried to imagine she was burying her head into his strong back. Lost in those familiar feelings she began to drift off into a happy, but longing sleep.

Back where Takuya was, high above the city, the young Kari watched the lights of the city zoom by from Jets back. She continued to scan the landscape below for Matt apartment, where the older Digidestined should have been gathered and Davis and the others should have been making their way towards. Soon her vision changed from the city to the older boy seated in front of her. And there it stayed for a while, until she slowly leaned forward, unable to control her body, and put her head gently into his back.

"It's strong," she thought to herself as the world around her faded from existence. She had a problem with this boy. And it was one that couldn't ever come out in her favor.

To be continued…