Only Hope Chapter 13: No Way Out, a digimon fanfic

Hello again, readers. Before you plunge into the next chapter (let me tell you, it's a doozie), I wanted to tell you something: I think I've finally realized why so many great stories, on this site and throughout humanity, have been left unfinished. I once read that "writing the first third of a book, you're almost having a sexual experience. But you lose that feeling. Believe me, you do. In the second third, you're just trying to prove something to yourself. And when you get to the last third, it's simply a matter of survival." (Source: Sarah Harding from The Lost World, by Michael Crichton.) Well, I do know that the first third of this story is far behind me; the updates aren't coming as fast as they once did, and neither are the ideas. But I saw that coming, and I'm not going to quit. I've made quite a few people happy with this story, and I know that I have to keep going. There are so many unfinished stories sitting around my room, sometimes I wonder if I'm capable of finishing anything anymore. But I guess I'm about to find out. --Sacred Dust

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: No Way Out

At long last, Matt Ishida's dark blue eyes fluttered open.

He regretted the action at once. Hadn't he suffered enough? Why couldn't he just sleep forever? Nothing had changed. The world was as dark and miserable as it had been last night. Lying still as death on the couch in the dark, silent apartment, he realized he had lied to himself and to his friends. Even when they were all in front of him there at the party, he couldn't be honest with them.

He'd told them he was doing much better since leaving the Digiworld. He hadn't made a lot of new friends, but he didn't want them. His band was doing well, he was getting good grades at a good college, and felt pretty much satisfied with his life right now.

What a joke, he thought. It was all lies. Nothing about his life was better now. His band was on the verge of breaking up because he no longer had the motivation to practice with them. His grades had been slipping for months—he hoped his dad wouldn't find out. And he hadn't felt less satisfied with his life in a long time. Things had been okay for a few years, perhaps—he'd said goodbye to Gabumon, grown up a bit, helped the new team of Digi-destined on the sidelines, started a relationship with Sora. But then it all fell apart. The battle had ended, Gabumon had left him again, and Sora—she was the last one to go.

Why? Why had everyone drifted away from him?

There was no denying that what he had with June (despite its surprising longevity) was a relationship of convenience. Two years ago, she was his number-one fangirl, and wouldn't have left him alone no matter what. She was cute, she was basically a good person; and he'd thought, why not make the best of the situation? It had worked for quite a while.

But even her devotion to him had not lasted forever. In time, June had come to realize who he really was: a distant, uncertain loner who pushed people away without even realizing it, who was compelled to isolate himself no matter how badly it hurt him or those close to him. He didn't email T.K. anymore. He didn't hang out with Tai anymore. He didn't meet with June anymore. Lately, he'd hardly played in his band at all. He just didn't see a reason to try anymore. And when he looked deep inside himself for answers, looked for the source of the slow but sure downward spiral that had defined his life for the last four years—he saw only one face.

And it was Sora Takenouchi's.

He'd pretended it didn't matter when she broke up with him, that he wouldn't have any trouble getting over it. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fool himself. Last night, June said so many of the same things Sora did; perhaps that was what helped him remember.

Matt closed his eyes again. He had finally come full circle, and a vicious one at that, all because he couldn't be honest with himself when it had counted the most.

…So now what?

"Thanks for the ride, Sora," Kari said as she climbed out of the car.

"Yeah, thanks." Tai echoed, giving Mimi his hand and helping her out as well.

She giggled, surprised at the contact. "Oh, Tai. You don't have to do that."

"Sure I do. You are a princess, aren't you?" He winked at her. "Admit it, you've still got that dress lying around somewhere."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Fine, believe what you want," Mimi pouted. "But I'm not watching any movies with you tonight."

"Huh? Fine, I take it back." Tai said hastily.

"No, I mean I can't. I have to visit Matt and find out what's going on with him, remember?"

"…Oh, yeah. Duh."

"Wait!" Kari interjected. "Tai, our parents aren't here to drive her. They went out tonight. They won't be back for a few hours yet."

He turned to her, biting his lip. "Oh, yeah…should have remembered that, too. Well…"

Sora glanced back and forth between Tai and Kari, and got the distinct impression that they needed to talk. "Hey, don't worry about it, Meems. I can drive you over there."

Mimi's face lit up. "You mean it??"

"No, I just wanted to get your hopes up," Sora said playfully, sounding as close as she ever got to sarcasm. "Come on, let's go."

"Thanks; I owe you one." Mimi jumped back into the front seat. "Bye, you two! I'll be back before ten."

"I'll be waiting." Tai said, smiling.

"Your mommy doesn't let you stay up that late."

He advanced menacingly on the car, but too late; it cruised out of the apartment lot and escaped him. He was already thinking of a practical joke he could play on Mimi for revenge. But, for now…

Kari was giggling, beckoning to him. "Let's go inside already."

"Good idea," he agreed. "We do have to talk, after all."

"About what?"

"About what!" he rolled his eyes, as they walked side by side towards the building. "Gee, I don't know. About how weird you acted today, about T.K., about how you wouldn't come out of your room yesterday—but knowing you, they're all the same problem."

Kari shrugged. "I'm okay, really."

"…And you're a bad liar."

"Since when are you this perceptive?" she demanded.

"Well…you are my sister. I guess I just know."

She sighed, holding the door open for him. "Well, it's really nothing."

"Liar liar, pants on fire," Tai disagreed. "Spill the beans, or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else you will see the resurrection of the Tickle Monster."

She glanced back at him, and immediately dreaded the sinister gleam in his brown eyes. He held out his hands, wriggled his fingers, and charged at her.

It was no joke. The Tickle Monster was back.

Kari ran for her life up the stairs, knowing he was right behind her every step of the way. She remembered him chasing her up and down the stairs like this when they were children. Unfortunately for the neighbors, it seemed they hadn't grown out of it completely.

She ran faster, past their floor and up even higher.

"Wrong floor, Kari," Tai panted, practically in her ear. She turned abruptly, ducking under his outstretched arms; he stumbled, and she bolted back down to the correct floor, across the outer balcony to their door, and unlocked it. She spun inside, closing the door behind her in one fluid motion and sliding the lock back into place. Tai hit the door at the exact same time. "Ha! Do you think a locked door can stop the Tickle Monster?!"

He's really gone off the deep end, Kari thought, but realized she was breathless with laughter, enjoying the game as much as him. She ran upstairs, looking for someplace to hide. He was already opening the door with his own key and shutting it hard behind him. She would be a goner if she didn't get herself out of sight very soon. She tiptoed into his room, moved the pile of dirty clothes surrounding his bed, slid underneath it, then pulled the clothes back into place. Clamping her hands over her mouth and breathing as quietly as possible, she wondered if she could escape from the Tickle Monster this time. But, as Kari recalled, he always caught her in the end.

Davis found Ken alone at the playground, reclining on a swing as he watched the lowering sun. His feet quit on him then, and for a long and silent moment, he stood and watched his best friend. Ken's obsidian shoulder-length hair, olive green swimming trunks, and gray t-shirt waved slightly in a mild breeze, and Davis had to smile. There had been moments like this before, when he could watch his friend like this and feel like nothing else in the world mattered. At first, he couldn't understand why he enjoyed that so much, so he wrote it off as curiosity. After all, he still wasn't entirely sure what made Ken Ichijouji tick. But eventually, he'd gotten to know him so well that he no longer needed to wonder.

And with the loss of that excuse, Davis had begun to question what he was really feeling. What was this intense interest, this uncharacteristic tension that felt so important to him? Wasn't it enough to be best friends with Ken? If so, why didn't it feel like enough? And if it wasn't…what then?

These were the questions that had lingered in the back of Davis' mind for months, and eventually the stress got to him. About a month ago, they were practicing soccer after school—just the two of them—and it had finally happened. They touched in a way that regular friends didn't, and Davis saw emotions eerily familiar to his own in Ken's eyes. But it scared him, and he retreated. Confronted with mixed feelings he didn't understand, Davis tried to protect himself by pushing Ken away. He knew it was wrong, and Ken was the last person who deserved that from him. But even so, it had taken him about a month of that to overcome the fear—at least, enough to confess it to Ken himself.

And that, Davis knew, had been the turning point. Now it was only a question of where they were headed, and how they would get there.

Ken felt Davis watching him long before he turned around. The goggle-headed former leader of the second Digi-destined was standing at the edge of the playground, strangely quiet and subdued. As strange as it had once seemed to him, that side of Davis Motomiya did exist.

"Hi." Ken said to him, because he couldn't think of anything else. Too much was going through his mind.

"Hey," Davis returned awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Well, uh…what's up?"

Ken smiled dryly. "You can sit down if you like."

Davis chuckled, walking slowly over to the swing beside Ken. He dragged the toes of his sneakers back and forth in the sand.

"I wanted to thank you." Ken said, surprising him. Davis looked up.

"What for?"

"Being honest. I'm not sure I could have done it in your position."

Davis' face reddened slightly. "Yeah, right. You would have done a lot better than I did, if you felt like—like...well, you just don't understand. I mean, I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not supposed to feel like this, I'm not supposed to—"

Ken shook his head, interrupting him. "There's nothing wrong with you, Davis." He took a slow breath, trying his best to get the words out. "…And I do understand."

Davis' eyes searched his own, but Ken didn't waver. Finally, Davis looked away and aggressively pushed himself off the ground, pumping his feet in the air. Ken did the same, swinging just as high, and some crazy childhood memory flickered through Davis' mind—how the other little kids always said if two people swung beside each other at exactly the same time, it meant they were "married."

He dug his heels in the sand, slowing himself abruptly, unsure of why such a silly thought was so disconcerting to him. Ken mimicked him, and came to a fairly quick stop as well. "What's wrong?"

Davis shrugged. "I dunno. It's probably n—"

"Don't say 'nothing'."

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't nothing, Davis," Ken replied, "You told me how you felt, and I'm not going to just forget about it. Do you honestly think I could?"

His friend shook his head, staring down at his feet again.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that…well…it's not just you, okay? I feel the same way you do. I don't know what that means exactly, but I…"

Uncharacteristically, he trailed off.

"Ken, if…"

"Yes?"

"If you and I…"

"Yes?"

Davis managed to meet his eyes. "…Our parents would kill us."

"No, they wouldn't," Ken shook his head. "Mine haven't questioned anything I've done since I was the Digimon Emporer—which is rather annoying, to be honest—and your parents have never been able to control you, anyway. They won't start now."

Davis chuckled, in spite of himself. As usual, Ken was right. If he really was this way—if he really had a crush on a guy, not to mention his best friend—well, his parents would just have to get used to it. Even June might not bother him about it; she'd done quite a bit of growing up over the last few years, and besides, there seemed to be something bothering her as well. Still, he preferred not to ask what it was. "Yeah…so…you're sure you're not running away?"

Ken actually laughed. A warm feeling rushed through Davis upon hearing the sound, and he had to join in.

"No, Davis, I'm here. I'm completely unfamiliar with things like this, and I haven't felt this confused in years, but I'm here."

He looks so…good, Davis thought suddenly. He knew he should stop staring at his friend about now, but this time he didn't have to. Ken met his eyes, with the same realization, as the sun began to set on Odaiba Park.

"This place looks deserted," Sora stepped out of the car and slipped her keys into the pocket of her shorts. The parking lot gravel crunched beneath her tennis shoes and Mimi's sandals, in an odd duet, as they walked up to Matt's apartment building. "Mimi, are you sure he's here?"

"Well, he'd better be," Mimi answered. "I can't go back home without talking some sense into him, can I?"

"No, you probably wouldn't." Sora yawned briefly, stretching her arms above her head. She usually went to the gym around this time, whether she was in college or at home; it seemed wrong somehow to be doing anything else. Or maybe she was just concerned about Matt.

That's Matt for you, she thought. He acts like a hermit, you worry about him; and the more you worry about him, the more he withdraws. That unsettling pattern had marred her own relationship with him several years back; she had no doubt June was going through it, too, probably for a long time before she actually realized it was happening. If she even realized it yet. But…

Well, they would find out what was going on soon enough. Mimi was already knocking on the apartment door. When there was no answer, she did it louder and faster. "Hey, open up, Matt! I know you're in there!"

"You don't know he's in there," Sora protested, gently. "Not so loud."

"Well, his dad should be home, too. At least one of them should be able to hear me."

"He's gone on a business trip. He left after the night of the party."

Mimi sighed, was about to start knocking again when the door flew open. A sixty-something man wearing only a tank top and boxers stood there, probably drunk. "Whadda hell do you want…?" Surprised to see two cute girls at his door, his demeanor changed considerably. "Why, hello, ladies!"

Mimi reached out and shut the door in his face. "Sora! Why didn't you tell me this was the wrong door?!"

"I don't know which door is his! I thought you did!"

Mimi rolled her pretty caramel eyes. "How would I know? I haven't been here in forever. Duh!"

Sora placed her hands on her hips. "Calm down, Meems. I haven't known him very well since we broke up, and that was ages ago. Duh yourself."

"Well, so you say. You two could be painting the town red behind my back, for all I know! Duh!"

"Duh, Mimi! I have a crush on his brother now!"

"Well, you still have to tell me about that anyway! Duh!"

"Double duh!"

"Duh to infinity!"

"Ohhhh, laaaadiiiiies…" the old man rasped provocatively, having opened his door again.

"Shut up!!" Mimi slammed it a second time, and blocked it with a heavy potted plant. "Can we, like, find Matt and get out of here as soon as possible?"

"If you're done flirting with that old guy, yeah! Gees."

Mimi's eyes blazed, and she charged at Sora. Giggling uncontrollably, Sora vaulted over the railing and down to the parking lot, trying to get away. She hadn't felt like this since she was a little kid. Sprinting up to the adjacent Building B, she outran Mimi without much trouble. "Seriously, though! I think this is his door."

Panting, Mimi smoothed down her hair as she walked up to the door. "If this is some other disgusting perv, I swear..."

Sora smiled innocently. "Calm down, Mimi. Just think happy thoughts."

Mimi gently rapped on the door, and waited. After a few long moments, the lock slid back, and the door opened to reveal a teenage girl in tight jeans, a broken-heart t-shirt and spiky red hair in a ponytail. She regarded them suspiciously. "…Who are you?"

Mimi's eyes widened. On second thought, she hoped this wasn't Matt's apartment. The idea of him not only cheating on June, but cheating on her with a girl who looked no more than thirteen, was quite disturbing.

"Oh. Er…sorry, we were looking for someone," Sora smiled. "But—"

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Look somewhere else."

She closed the door.

"Why, that little…" Mimi whispered, outraged. She reached out and knocked again.

Finally the girl answered, glaring at them. "What?"

"Can you just tell us which room Matt Ishida lives in? Tall, blonde, rock-star, doesn't talk much?" Sora asked her, as politely as possible.

The girl rolled her eyes. "The door at the other end of the building."

"Thanks a lot! Sorry to bother—"

The door slammed.

"—You." Sora finished, blinking.

Mimi slowly walked past her, clenching and unclenching her fists, muttering something about how many unpleasant people could possibly live in one building. Keeping a hand tucked inside her purse, where her pepper spray was, she warily strode up to the door on the far end.

A brisk knock interrupted Matt's dark, desperate thoughts. Wearily, he sat up on the couch, trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain. Who could be visiting him, and why? June had just broken up with him last night. She wouldn't feel like talking to him again so soon—and even then, she would call. That left one of his friends, and he almost groaned at the thought. He really didn't feel like socializing right now. But whoever this person was, he or she was unusually persistent; the knocking continued, growing louder and more urgent.

Glancing at the digital clock as he stumbled out of the living room and down the hall, Matt saw that it was getting late. It had to be Tai, he decided. He opened the door.

No, it wasn't Tai; it was Mimi…with Sora standing right behind her.

Taken off his guard, Matt froze for a moment. What was going on here? He could see Mimi doing this, maybe, but why was Sora here too? He expected to feel angry at her after what he had realized earlier—but he didn't. Instead, he felt…

"Well, it's about time we hunted you down!" Mimi cried enthusiastically. "Gees, Matt. You live in one crazy apartment building…and you look kind of crazy yourself. You didn't sleep well last night, did you? I bet that's why you stood us up today, huh?"

"S…stood you up?" Matt asked her uneasily, trying to hide his helplessness in this situation. He knew Mimi was here on behalf of the others to ask him what was going on, but that didn't bother him so much. Sora's presence, on the other hand, was inexplicable. He tried not to look at her, standing there nervously behind Mimi in a blue tank top and denim shorts, regarding him with a tentative smile—but he couldn't help it.

Get real, you idiot. Sora's just a friend. And anything you and her had together is ancient history. Move on already.

…I never did, really, he answered himself. I still can't.

"Remember, Matt?" Mimi prompted him. "The beach? Sora called you yesterday and invited you. You said you could go."

"…Yesterday?"

Sora nodded. "Yesterday morning. You don't remember?"

"Yeah…yeah, I do. It's just…"

"Something's going on?" Mimi interrupted. "Well, yeah, we knew that when Tai called you this morning. He said you sounded 'totally wrecked'. And you look like it, too, to be honest."

Brutal honesty had always been an enduring facet of Mimi's innocent personality. For that reason, Matt couldn't say he had ever been offended by it. "I guess."

"So let us in," Mimi said, with genuine concern in her eyes. "We want to know what's going on."

Matt looked down at Mimi, weighing his options, and again his eyes slid past her and over to Sora. She stared back at him, confused. Cursing himself, Matt turned away and walked back into the apartment. Mimi smiled, knowing she'd just scored a point, and followed him in.

Still outside the door, Sora was momentarily lost in her own thoughts—why had Matt looked at her that way?—until Mimi glanced back at her. "Hey, c'mon. You're not gonna stand outside all evening in this place, are you?"

Slowly, Sora stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The apartment was quiet and dim, the entryway lit only by a weak lamp mounted on the artificial wood wall. Still, Mimi could make out the lost expression on Sora's face. "Hey, are you all right?"

"Huh?" Sora glanced up, biting her lip. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."

She wasn't being entirely honest, of course. Something about this didn't feel entirely right to her, as though she were somewhere she didn't belong. Normally she would have brushed such an unfamiliar doubt aside with ease, but she reminded herself she couldn't do that anymore. It was better to pay attention to these feelings; the events of the last week had taught her that much. She steeled herself and walked into the living room with Mimi and Matt.

It was dark in there, too—there was only a small lamp on the coffee table. The couch looked about as unkempt and worn-down as Matt did at this point, and the remains of what appeared to be a TV remote control lay by the far wall.

"Wow. Matt, what happened?" Mimi asked earnestly.

He sank bonelessly onto the couch. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I know you don't. But try. We've all been worried about you." She brushed a strand of pinkish hair behind her ear. "Now tell Mimi all about it."

Matt sighed. She would never leave him alone unless he gave her some answers. "Nothing."

"Strike one," she warned him, shaking her head. "Try again, buddy."

He closed his eyes wearily. "It's not that big a deal, okay?"

"Looks like it. Strike two."

He didn't want to know what would happen if she got to strike three. Tickle him or something, perhaps? Matt surrendered. "Fine, I broke up with June. Now can you leave me alone?"

Mimi's eyes widened in shock. A little behind her and to the right, Sora felt more awkward than ever. Matt and June breaking up? How could that happen? Those two were supposed to be just right for each other. Sure, they'd always been really different people, but opposites were supposed to attract. And they had been together for almost two years now—wasn't that long enough to reconcile any misunderstandings?

"No way." Mimi breathed.

Matt nodded, too to tired deny it anymore. He hadn't had much energy lately.

"God, Matt. I'm so sorry." She sat down gently next to him, taking his hand. "I…I mean, I can't believe it. When?"

"Last night."

She nodded. "No wonder you couldn't go anywhere today. I wouldn't have been able to, either. I mean, if we'd known…"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, you do now. And I don't really feel like—"

"Hey, don't act like it's no big deal! You know it is. That's why you could hardly speak to Tai this morning."

She had him there. Matt leaned back on the couch, wishing he could just go back to sleep. "I'll get over it."

More easily than you know, he thought to himself. But that wasn't all he had to deal with. It stemmed from something he hadn't gotten over since high school. That realization had just crept into his mind, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it.

He stole a subtle glance at Sora as she stood at the front of the living room, near the hall. She still looked nervous, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She probably didn't feel like she belonged here. He had always been rather distant from her after they broke it off.

"That's the spirit, Matt," Mimi was encouraging him. "You will get over it. And I'm going to help you!"

He raised an eyebrow. "What?!"

She burst out laughing. "I didn't mean it like that. But there must be something I can do. I mean, look at this place. It's a mess. And you probably haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I'm not hungry." Matt said. His stomach betrayed him, growling audibly.

Mimi winked at him. "Good, 'cause that's my specialty. Now get in the shower, and I'll see if I can't fix something for you."

"You don't have to—" Matt trailed off as she grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the couch. Wearily, he rose to his feet.

"I know. That's what makes me the greatest friend in the whole wide world. Now go on, shoo." Mimi gently shoved him in the direction of the bathroom.

"I don't feel like—"

"Shoo." She repeated, putting her hands on her hips.

"Can't you come back tomorr—"

"Don't make me say 'shoo' again, Matt. Or I'll yell it in your ear and never, ever stop." She threatened him playfully.

He gave up and shuffled to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"Good job, Meems," Sora followed her friend into the apartment kitchen. "I knew you'd get through to him."

"So did I," Mimi was opening cupboards and looking inside drawers, grabbing a bowl and some silverware. "Wanna help me?"

"You know I can't cook."

Mimi shrugged. "Well, you can always tidy up the living room, then. Please, Sora? Pretty please?"

"All right." Sora stifled a yawn as she went back and took the blanket off the couch, straightening out the cushions. She frowned at the pieces of the TV remote near the wall, and looked around for a wastebasket. She didn't see one anywhere.

"So you still haven't learned to cook, huh?" Mimi asked her from the kitchen.

"No. I'm always too busy with other stuff, I guess." Sora picked up the pieces of hard plastic, being careful not to cut her hands. "Is there a trash can in there?"

Mimi opened the lower cabinets. "Yep. Right under the sink. So…maybe you should learn."

"To cook? What for?"

"Well, if you're going to marry T.K. and live happily ever after…" Mimi shrugged, opening the refrigerator and recoiling from its contents. "Yuck. Is anything in here not expired?".

Sora looked up sharply as she dropped the wrecked remote into the garbage. "What do you mean, marry him?!"

Mimi took out a carton of eggs, shrugging innocently as she set it on the counter. "Well, I don't know how long you two have been fooling around."

"We weren't 'fooling around'!" Sora insisted, turning red. "It was one kiss!"

"Okay, okay." Mimi closed the cabinets and started cracking some eggs into the bowl. "You know, I never thought you'd go for him. How old is he now? Sixteen, right? …Wow. You're three years older than him."

"…Yeah, I guess. So?"

Her friend studied her for a moment and smiled, as if she were seeing a part of Sora for the first time. "You've changed, you know."

"Since when?"

"Since the last time I was here. I don't know…you're not as stressed out as you used to be, I think."

She couldn't deny that. "Maybe. I guess it helps that I'm hanging out with you guys again. And that my parents actually have time for me now. And—"

"And T.K.?"

"…I was getting to that."

Mimi giggled, stirring the eggs with a fork.

Okay, Matt. What's going on with you already? He thought to himself, standing under the shower, hoping all his confusion would wash away, down the drain forever. But no such luck.

Are you out of your mind? It took you this long to remember what you really wanted out of life, and now it's too late. Sora was never really happy with you anyway.

Not the first time, she wasn't. But things could change, couldn't they? What if he had another chance? What if there was a way out of this situation that he hadn't counted on? Shouldn't he take it?

But she's not a way out, he insisted. She has no interest in offering you one. She's concerned about you as an old friend, and the only reason she's here is that Mimi must have needed a ride.

Still, another part of his mind refused to write off Sora—had always refused to write off Sora, ever since they separated. Maybe if he hadn't suppressed his own feelings so much, for so long, he would have understood that sooner. But that had always been his curse, a bad habit he just couldn't kick. He squeezed the washcloth in his hand, furious at himself. How much time had he spent like this? Pretending everything was all right, when all his actions suggested otherwise?

I'm done with it, he thought. I'm never going to be that weak again. Never. I don't care what I have to do; I'm going to be happy. For the first time since Gabumon was around, I'm going to be happy.

But how?

Tai crept through the dark, silent hallway of his apartment. It seemed that Kari, terrified by the Tickle Monster, had found a pretty good hiding place. He had already looked in the kitchen, the living room, and her bedroom, to no avail.

Would she really be hiding in MY room? He thought, tiptoeing inside.

Well, he would soon find out. Tai could feel goosebumps on his skin. He hadn't played this ridiculous game with his sister for years, and he'd forgotten how much fun it was. Again, it occurred to him how much he'd missed her in college.

"Oh, Kari…" he sang out, ominously, trying to do the Tickle Monster voice. He didn't quite remember what it sounded like, but this seemed close enough.

Underneath his bed, Kari trembled with laughter. She knew that if she made a single sound, it was over for her.

She heard Tai's footsteps on the floor. "I know you're in here, Kari. Come on out. The Monster's gonna get you either way."

Kari didn't move. She heard Tai open the squeaky closet door. "Let's see…nope, you're not in here. So that means…you're under the bed."

She tried not to breathe as he stalked over, knelt beside the bed, and pulled the dirty clothes aside. But there was no way he wouldn't find her now.

Tai looked underneath the bed, and couldn't resist a triumphant smile. "Hello, Kari."

She looked sideways at him, trapped like a rabbit. Casually, he reached over and grabbed her foot. Kari tried and failed to hold onto the bed as he pulled her out from underneath it and pounced on her, tickling her mercilessly. She tried to roll away, but he was all over her. Tai had a much better memory than she gave him credit for; he still remembered all of her most ticklish places, how to make her laugh so hard that it hurt.

"You give up?" he asked, finally.

Kari was so out of breath from laughing she could hardly speak. "…Yes."

"That easy?!" he frowned with disappointment as he crouched over her.

"I'm not used to being tickled anymore!" she protested. "Now can you get off me already?"

Tai blinked. "Hell, no. I was just asking you if you were giving up or not. That didn't mean I was done tickling you."

"Tai, no. No—aaahhhh!" she squealed as he started all over again. This time she managed to push his hands away for a moment, shoving her feet up into his face.

"Mmmmffff! Hey!" he yelled. But she was already scrambling up and out the door. He bolted after her, but the hallway was empty.

Then she tackled him from behind, surprising him completely and sitting on top of him. "Now, do you give up?"

He lifted his face from the carpet. "In your dreams."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kari replied, and started tickling him under the arms.

Squirming desperately, Tai managed to turn over. He got his hands up, blindly attempting to push her away.

Kari froze. So did he. In fact, time itself seemed to stop for one extremely awkward moment.

"Tai…move your hands."

He jerked them back down to his sides. "Uhh…I'm sorry."

She glared furiously down at him, her cheeks burning.

"Really sorry."

She shook her head, slowly. His fate was sealed.

"…Really really sorry?"

Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya came home a few minutes later, chatting about the entertaining movie they had seen.

"Can you believe it?" asked Mrs. Kamiya, setting her purse on the counter. "Those kids finally defeated that horrible purple monster. And didn't you think some of them looked awfully familiar?"

"Hard to tell, with animation that bad," Mr. Kamiya replied, chuckling. He stepped past her into the kitchen and glanced curiously at the pair of legs (with swimming trunks on) sticking out of the garbage can. "…Uh, Tai, we're home."

"Oh, Tai," laughed Mrs. Kamiya. "Do you ever stop playing around? I know—a turkey popsicle will settle you down!"

Tai groaned slightly from inside the can.

--END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Well, that's the end of that chapter. You would think that T.K. and Sora could just start dating and live happily ever after, but real life tends to complicate things. What's the deal with Matt? Are Davis and Ken really going to make this work? Will Kari ever forgive Tai? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monst…I mean, the next chapter of "Only Hope." (BTW, the title of Chapter 12 has been changed.)

And, just to let everyone know, I've been revamping the early chapters of this story—not majorly, but just enough to make them jibe better with the developments in the later chapters, and so I have a consistent timeline going for this story! I'm telling you, it's been all over the place.

I was especially off with my perception of the characters' ages in Season 2; for some reason I thought they might have been 13 at the time, not 11. I am subtly fixing and updating the chapters, one by one, to reflect this correction. Just so we're all on the same page, here's a list of the characters' ages as I see them (this also appears in the newly edited version of Chapter 1):

END OF SEASON 1: Tai, Sora, and Matt were 11; Mimi and Izzy were 10; Joe was 12; T.K. and Kari were 8.

END OF SEASON 2 (3 ½ yrs. later): Tai, Sora, and Matt were 14 ½; Mimi and Izzy were 13 ½; Joe was 15 ½; T.K. and Kari were 11 ½; Davis and Ken were 11; Yolei was 12; Cody was 9.

TIME OF THIS STORY (4 ½ yrs. after the end of Season 2): Tai, Sora, and Matt are 19; Mimi and Izzy are 18; Joe is 20; T.K. and Kari are 16; Davis and Ken are 15 ½; Yolei is 16 ½; Cody is 13 ½.

Phew!

It's about time I got that out of the way. Other notes that may be helpful:

--Sora and Matt got together at the end of Season 2, roughly 4 ½ years ago.

--They broke up (according to me) four months later.

--Matt was more or less single until he started a relationship with June two years ago (over two years after breaking up with Sora).

--Kari and T.K. attempted to date 1 ½ years ago when they both were about 14, but it didn't work out.

--T.K., Kari, Davis, and Ken just finished tenth grade; Yolei, being a year older, has just finished eleventh. Cody is in seventh grade.

--Joe has been in college for two years, with plans to attend medical school next fall. Tai, Sora, Matt, and Izzy have finished their first years of college; Mimi has just graduated from high school.