Chapter 21: Born to Run Part 1

Good day everybody. Wow, I have to start by thanking everyone for giving this story over 200 reviews! I want to give an extra big thank you to those of you who have reviewed every chapter so far. I really appreciate your support and the motivation your reviews give me keeps me writing this story. Thank you guys and girls, you are awesome! =D

As normal, I still don't own Digimon or any other copyrighted things that I mention in this story. Consider those said copyrighted things disclaimed by me.

Now it's time for a scene with Matt and TK ...

Matt glanced to his right at his younger brother as the two of them stood in front of a jeweller's shop window in the Venus Fort Mall in Odaiba. Matt and Sora had decided that it would be a good idea to invite TK and Kari along with them because Matt hadn't spent a lot of time with his brother over the last few busy weeks. The plan was to allow the girls to do some shopping as the guys tagged along behind them, allowing them to talk. However, that went out of the window very quickly as the couples held hands and all four of them were involved in the conversation.

The Venus Fort Mall was very quiet for Saturday lunchtime, giving it a somewhat eerie feel compared to the normally packed shops. A lot of the stores were still open but most people had decided to stay at home because they were frightened of the chances of more attacks from the Dark World. The lack of fellow shoppers had allowed the four Digidestined to bring their Digimon with them. Gabumon and Biyomon were using their large coats and if anyone asked they were cosplaying while Patamon and Gatomon were perching on their partners' shoulders, pretending to be stuffed toys. The group received strange looks but nobody mentioned anything because they thought that they were just another group of otaku.

The quietness of the mall and the Odaiba area as a whole came as a bit of a surprise to Matt. He thought that more people would have dared venture out because there hadn't been an attack in two days. The last assault had happened during Wednesday night and it was the only one to occur after TK, Kari and Ken had sensed the darkness forming deep under the Pacific Ocean. That attack and the one that Matt, Sora, Joe, Tai and some of Noriko's group had dealt with were the only two this week. The Digidestined would probably be more optimistic about the lack of attacks if it wasn't for the ever expanding source of evil and numerous missing ships in the Pacific.

Matt glanced to his right at TK and couldn't miss the nervous expression on his face. Sora, Kari and their Digimon had just gone to the bathroom, leaving the guys alone for a few minutes. It was rather clear that TK hated the idea of Kari being out of his eyesight with everything that had been going on. It meant that he couldn't use the power of his crest to protect her and vice versa if they were attacked by the darkness at that moment. After all, the whole point of TK and Kari being together constantly was so that they could protect each other with their light. Matt guessed that his younger brother was also probably feeling rather vulnerable without his girlfriend in close proximity to protect him.

"Kari will be fine. Sora is with her and there is probably no more than twenty metres between us and them," Matt tried to reassure his brother as he smiled at him. He placed his right hand on the younger blonde's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If something were to happen, you two would be able to reach one another in time to save each other."

"I know. We use our extra sense to track each other when we have to separate," TK replied in a somewhat tense manner. "But it isn't as good as being able to hear and see Kari. We need one another so ..."

The younger blonde was cut off by his brother. "I know that you two need each other and in more ways than just to protect yourselves from the Dark Ocean. I know that Kari is more important to you than the air that you breathe. It's like I'd do anything to protect Sora."

"That sounds so corny, Matt," Gabumon chuckled despite TK nodding his head in agreement with his older brother. "I wouldn't let the other guys hear you say those sorts of things."

"It isn't corny," Patamon chirped up as he frowned at his friend. "I'd do anything to protect Gatomon because she's that important to me."

"Gabumon's just messing with me," Matt laughed before patting his Digimon partner on the head. "I used to tell him not to use corny or clichéd lines all of the time so he's just getting a bit of revenge. I used to really hate those sorts of things."

"It's a good job that you've mellowed over the years," Gabumon smirked as he nudged his partner on the leg. "I don't know how long I would have been able to put up with you if you kept on behaving like you did when we first met."

"That's the effect of Sora on him. He'd be just another one of these depressed musicians without her and he would have never made any money with that attitude," TK teased before placing both of his hands on the shop window and returning his focus to the things inside.

Silence fell over them as Matt glanced at the shop window display as well. There were all kinds of women's jewellery, making him wonder if this was some kind of ploy from the girls and a hint that they wanted gifts. The young man's eyes cast over a few of the price tags and he noted just how expense everything was. This shop was a top end jeweller's and not one of those chain stores that you found in every mall. Matt could afford things from this shop because of the money his band made and this deal with the Digimon Protection Division, but most people his age would only be able to dream of buying anything in the window.

His sky blue eyes locked onto a particular ring that was sitting amongst the main display. It was a slender gold ring that tapered as it reached the three gems set within it. The stones themselves were a deep red and the card below said that they were garnets. It was a beautiful, elegant and simplistic design that Matt felt would suit Sora perfectly. He was tempted to buy it as a gift for her until his mind suddenly realised what that would actually mean.

Matt glanced to his side, studying his brother's face and he noticed the smile on the younger blonde's lips straightaway. It was a soft and genuine smile that was often to be found on his lips when he was truly content or happy about something. It normally appeared on TK's face when he and Kari were just enjoying one another's company like when they would cuddle up together on the sofa. However, there was a little more to this expression and Matt had seen this exact one before.

An image from his aunt's wedding earlier in the year suddenly sprung into his mind. His father had allowed Sora and Kari to join them for the two nights in Tokushima. This was the same wedding that Hiroaki had decided that the two brothers needed matching suits for. That and the elegant dresses worn by Sora and Kari had meant that the two young couples had become a big talking point amongst the Ishida family. The discussions about TK and Kari had been fuelled by a certain event in particular.

His aunt had decided on a western-style Christian-like wedding as they were in fashion at that moment in Japan. They had incorporated many elements including the throwing of the bouquet, which both Sora and Kari had joined the other unmarried women for. It was explained, because a lot of the women there didn't understand the tradition behind it, that the woman to catch it would be the next to marry. Kari was in the middle of the group with Sora and Matt had found himself holding his breath as the bouquet headed towards them.

To Matt's surprise, Kari had actually jumped into the air with amazing athletic prowess and reached out for the bouquet. Her eagerness gave her a head start over Sora and the other women who also jumped, allowing the young brunette to snatch the flowers away from the others in the small crowd. It was the moment afterwards when Matt had turned to see his brother's reaction that he had seen that exact smile before. It was a smile that only grew larger as everyone's eyes had fixed onto Kari as she left the crowd and walked up to TK.

She had stood there in front of TK, gazing into his eyes while holding the flowers in her hands. Both of their lips had that smile, which had grown larger as the seconds ticked by. Matt had wondered whether they were communicating in some wordless way as his family members teased or cooed over them. The couple had stood there for no more than twenty seconds before they had slowly closed the distance between them and kissed. Matt had not forgotten the seriousness mixed in with the happiness in both of their eyes before they had kissed that day. However, it wasn't until now that he had an idea of what it meant.

TK's eyes were fixed on some of the jewellery in the shop window. Matt followed his brother's gaze and noticed that a lot of rings were in that direction. It was something that kicked the older blonde's mind into overdrive. He could imagine TK and Kari getting married at a young age given how lovey-dovey they were and that scared him. Matt's panic began to grow and he clenched his fists.

"Don't stare at those rings like that," Matt started in a stern tone as he glared at his brother. "Is this about what happened at Aunt Hitomi's wedding? The thing with the flowers isn't meant to be taken seriously you know? You and Kari shouldn't be thinking of marrying yet so stop staring at those rings while you have that 'I love Kari so much' smile on your face."

A puzzled expression crossed TK's face before he chuckled and shook his head. "Even my own brother is accusing me of trying to marry Kari. Stop listening to those rumours because they're not true."

"What?" Matt asked as he furrowed his eyebrows. He noticed that the smile had left TK's lips and been replaced by a somewhat annoyed expression. The younger blonde turned his head to face his brother.

"Everybody seems to be so interested in my love life." TK let out an aggravated groan before continuing. "Everyone thinks that Kari and I are married, getting married, having a baby or just joined at the hip twenty four seven. Why? What we do when we are alone is nobody else's business."

Matt defensively raised his hands up in front of him as he took a step back. He didn't expect this kind of reaction from his brother and guessed that the rumours that he had heard were going around Odaiba Senior High were worse than he had originally thought. "Sorry. I just thought that you were thinking of getting one of those rings for Kari. You had that look on your face that you had when she caught the bouquet a few months ago."

"Rings?" TK's frown deepened as he glanced back at the display in the window. He shook his head again before pointing at some of the rather expensive jewellery. "I wasn't looking at the rings. Geez Matt, I'm sixteen and way too young to get married. I was looking at that necklace with the heart-shaped pendent. The white gold one with the pink crystals would really suit Kari and I was thinking of getting it for her now that I can afford these prices thanks to this deal with the DPD."

Matt let out a loud sigh of relief after hearing his brother's words. He felt his panic going away after realising that it was just a simple misunderstanding. Of course TK wouldn't do anything stupid like planning to get married at sixteen. He and Kari were way too sensible and smart to do something as rash as that.

"The girls are on their way back," TK announced as he used his sixth sense to track Kari.

Matt turned around and watched as they left the toilet. He made eye contact with Sora and a questioning expression appeared in her eyes almost immediately. She was probably wondering why he looked so relieved at that moment. His girlfriend could read him like a book and he knew it.

"So what do you want to do today?" TK asked calmly as he glanced around the group, not giving the girls the chance to ask about what they were discussing. His earlier agitation was now gone from his tone.

Sora opened her mouth to reply but stopped when the group's D-Terminals suddenly beeped. The four Digidestined quickly pulled the gadgets out of their pockets and second message reached them as well before they had the chance to read the first. They quickly read the messages and realised that an attack was happening in Shibuya at that moment. The first message was from Mitsuo informing them of the attack and the second came from Noriko. She and the whole of her team were in that area of Tokyo and were going to be trapped inside the evil mist with the rate at which it was expanding.

"We've got to go and help them," Kari's voice was full of concern when she looked up at the others after she finished reading the messages. "They don't have any ultimate Digimon so they are in big trouble."

"We'll go up to the car park on the roof and have our Digimon digivolve then we'll fly over there," Matt announced before he led the way to the elevator to the top of the building.

Izzy glanced up at Mimi as she set a bowl of what was, according to Palmon, her best ramen down in front of him. He had been pleasantly surprised by Mimi's ability to cook over the past week since she had started caring for him as he recovered from his injuries. The teen genius had never known that his girlfriend was so good in the kitchen and that she actually enjoyed cooking for people. Izzy was no food expert but he thought that her cooking was some of the best tasting meals he had ever been given. The red-haired teen knew that it was a good thing too because, despite his ability to solve complex equations and fix just about any computer problem, he had yet to discover the formula to successfully create a decent meal. Most of the stuff he cooked turned out cremated.

A grateful smile spread across Izzy's lips as he gazed at his girlfriend. Mimi was wearing a white apron over her clothes and a chef's hat that she had found lying around in one of the kitchen draws of the Izumi apartment. Izzy was still confused as to why that hat was there in the first place and even more confused about why the beautiful teen girl in front of him would wear it. He had decided not to ask though since she had said that she wanted to look the part and he knew all too well not to question Mimi Tachikawa when it came to wearing or not wearing certain things.

"Thanks," the red-haired genius nodded as he watched Mimi remove her apron and hat before taking the seat opposite him at the table. He, Mimi and their Digimon picked up their spoons to test this latest variation that Mimi had tried. The smell was so inviting that Izzy had to taste it.

"Well, what do you think?" Mimi asked as she watched her boyfriend savour the flavours of her latest dish. His reply was to shovel several more spoonfuls of the noodle soup into his mouth in a manner that she normally would have associated with someone like Tai. A smile spread across her lips as she took that as a sign of approval. "It's a Tokyo-style ramen with an added twist. I thought that it would make a change from the Sapporo and Hakata styles that I've done recently."

"This ... is ... amazing," Izzy confirmed between spoonfuls of the soup. He would have added more but the ramen was just too delicious.

"I'm glad you approve," Mimi replied before placing a spoonful of her food into her mouth. She frowned and the joy that was in her tone had gone from her next words. "It's nice that someone besides Palmon is willing to try my cooking. My parents have become obsessed with TV dinners and fancy restaurant food over the past few years. They rarely taste the food I make."

"They don't know what they're missing out on," Tentomon shook his head in disbelief before going back to the flavoursome dish before him.

"Tentomon is right," Izzy smiled as he gazed into her eyes to let her know that he was telling the truth. "It is honesty some of the best food that I have ever tasted. Just don't tell my mother that I said that because she'll be jealous."

Palmon smiled as she pointed at her human partner with her spoon. "You see, Mimi, I told you that you're a great cook."

"Thanks. You guys are so sweet," Mimi's smile returned before she switched on the TV. She started on her food while flicking through the channels to find something decent to watch. Her search was short as she found that the Fuji TV news channel was interviewing the Prime Minister about the monster attacks. She normally wouldn't watch something like this, but it did directly involve her and the other Digidestined.

The two teens and their Digimon continued to eat their lunch as they listened to Prime Minister Abe's responses to very generic questions about the monster attacks. They included the usual things such as where the monsters came from, if the government now officially recognised the existence of them and what were the plans for stopping the attacks. The group didn't really pay attention to most of it until the interviewer asked about the difference in strategy between the earlier attacks where there were no survivors and the later successful defences. She quickly followed up by asking if it was true that a small elite group was involved each time.

Those questions caught Izzy's attention and his head snapped up. Shinzo Abe remained quiet as he stared away from the camera and at someone behind it. Izzy guessed that it was probably Matt and TK's father that he was looking at as he thought over his reply to the reporter. Izzy began to wonder if the Prime Minister was actually going to mention the Digidestined on live TV to the whole of the nation. The red-haired genius tensed up as he watched Shinzo Abe's focus return to the interviewer before he gave her his answer.

"I can't really give you any details because that is classified," the fifty two year old man finally replied to the woman opposite him. "But I will say this; the best people in the world for this job are currently protecting Japan. I cannot say anymore."

Izzy let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding in. He heard Mimi sighing too as he wondered why he was so afraid of the idea of him and other Digidestined having their heroic deeds made public. His eyes left the TV and locked onto Mimi's.

"I thought that he was going to tell the world that us Digidestined existed then," Mimi sighed again as she placed her spoon into her bowl. "I wonder how the public would have reacted if they found out about us?"

"I don't know," Izzy answered honestly, which also answered his question of why he was scared about the Digidestined entering the public eye. He didn't like not knowing things and all he had were guesses. "I suppose that some people would treat us like heroes. Those that have lost someone or something in the many attacks might hate us. Others could even be scared about there being humans that have Digimon partners. However, I have no idea what the overall consensus would be."

The message tones of their D-Terminals suddenly halted their conversation. It was quickly followed by the gadgets signalling that they had received a second e-mail. The couple pulled the devices out of their pockets to read the messages that they were both sent. Their eyes opened wide as their gazes scanned over the text.

"This is not good. Noriko's group only have champion level Digimon. I'm not sure that they are going to be strong enough to deal with this attack on their own," Izzy tone was laced with panic and urgency. He placed his hands on the table and tried to stand up. The teen genius hissed as pain shot around his body from his injured leg.

Mimi jumped out of her seat and ran around to the other side of the table as her boyfriend fell back onto his chair. She and Tentomon quickly placed their hands on him and stopped him from trying to get to his feet once more. Izzy placed his hands on his bandaged thigh and attempted to sooth the pain coming from it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mimi asked sternly as her concern-filled eyes studied her boyfriend. "There is no way you can fight in your condition. You'll be an easy target and they'll kill you!"

Izzy made eye contact with his girlfriend and noticed the tears forming in the corners of her caramel orbs. He knew that she was right that he would be easy pickings for any of the creatures inside that dark cloud. However, he also knew that they had to do something to save Noriko's group from the danger that they were in otherwise more of them would end up on the injured list just like him. "We have to save them, Mimi! They need us!"

"You can't help them in your current state, Izzy. Surely that big brain of yours can work that out, can't it? Please stay here and let the rest of us handle this, ok?" The pleading tone of Mimi's voice was impossible for Izzy to miss and the single tear that rolled down her left cheek was enough to break his resolve on the matter. She sniffled before continuing. "You can't run and you can't even stand on your own. They will kill you if you go into that fog and something goes wrong. I would have to protect you in the same way that you protected me. We would both end up on crutches."

Izzy gulped as he continued to stare into his love's eyes. He moved his right hand to her face and used his index finger to wipe away the tear on her soft cheek. His hand then moved to cup her face as his left arm gingerly and carefully snaked behind the brunette teen and wrapped around her back. "You're right."

"Promise me something, Izzy," Mimi spoke in a serious manner as she placed both of her hands on his shoulders. "Promise me that you will stay here and not try to help us out."

"I will only promise that if you can promise me that you will come back safe without a single scratch," Izzy gazed into her glistening orbs with the same seriousness that Mimi had etched across her face.

"Deal," the beautiful brunette replied as she began closing the distance between them. The couple closed their eyes and opened their mouths slightly so that they could seal their promise with a kiss.

Izzy felt his girlfriend's soft lips lock with his. The couple held that position for a few seconds before opening their mouths slightly wider and adding a little more passion. They savoured the moment before quickly pulling apart. Both of them knew that time was against them at that moment.

"Keep yourselves safe," Izzy's seriousness remained in the tone of his words as he watched Mimi and Palmon head for the door.

"We will," Mimi replied as she turned around at the door and glanced at him. "I'll be back and I'll let you know everything that happens."

Izzy nodded and watched as Mimi blew him a kiss. She spun on the spot and head down the hallway. The apartment door was opened and closed within seconds and she was gone. Izzy gulped nervously before sighing. He couldn't shake this feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

The wind rushed through Matt's hair and clothes as Metalgarurumon flew at full speed to the rendezvous point that Tai had told them to meet at. Sora's arms were wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly as she pressed her body against his. Biyomon was sitting in front of them, using her wings to hold onto Metalgarurumon's back. The pink bird had decided not to digivolve because Garudamon was too large and too noticeable for her to go flying around during the day. The last thing that they needed was to be noticed and followed by reporters.

TK and Kari were riding Pegasusmon and Nefertimon to his right. Matt noted that the two armour Digimon were flying in a very close formation and that if one of them were to make a mistake then they would probably crash into each other. He guessed that it was because Kari and TK appeared to be having a conversation about something. They were too far away from Matt for him to hear what they were saying, but the serious expressions on their faces gave him a bad feeling about this attack.

The blonde teen's gaze left his brother and focused on the evil fog in front of him. It was much larger than the others he had seen before and it loomed over the surrounding tower blocks. The vast area covered by the mist was greater than any previous attack too. It was so big that the rendezvous point had been moved twice. Matt could already hear the echoes of explosions and they were getting louder as the group raced to meet up with the others.

Within a minute they were beginning their descent down to the meeting point. Tai and Joe were already there because they had the shortest distance to travel from their university dorms. It was difficult to miss that Joe was wearing a bag pack that appeared to be full of medical supplies. Wargreymon and Zudomon were standing between their partners and the fog just in case something charged out and attacked them. Metalgarurumon landed next to Tai to allow those on his back to climb off.

Sora jumped off the mega Digimon's back and landed with the athletic grace that Matt had come to expect from her. He leapt off his partner too as Biyomon took to the air. Both she and Metalgarurumon headed over to join the other Digimon. Matt watched as Sora aimed her digivice at Biyomon and energy erupted from it.

"Biyomon digivolve to Birdramon! Birdramon digivolve to ..." The light energy travelled straight from the now red device and it engulfed the pink bird. Her body rapidly expanded and took on the form of the familiar humanoid crimson eagle with huge wings protruding from her back. "... Garudamon!"

The giant bird and Metalgarurumon took up positions on either side of Wargreymon and Zudomon while Pegasusmon and Nefertimon came into land. Matt watched the two armour Digimon spiralling down towards them and he noticed the serious expression on his brother's face again. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon landed on the road that the group were gathered on, allowing TK and Kari to jump off their partners.

"We've got some good news and some bad news," TK announced to the group as Pegasusmon and Nefertimon reverted back to Patamon and Gatomon. Matt couldn't miss the worry in his brother's tone. "Which do you want to hear first?"

"As most of this has been bad news so far, I'd like to hear the good news first," Tai replied as his gaze fixed onto the younger blonde.

"The good news is that Noriko's group have closed the gateway to the Dark World," TK informed the others of what his and Kari's sixth sense was telling them. The blonde teen took his girlfriend's hand in his and shared a concerned glance with her. Both of them sighed before TK continued. "The bad news is that our Digimon won't be able to clear a direct path through the Deep Ones to the centre of the cloud with attacks from the outside this time. There are way too many buildings in the way and we would hit them."

"I know," Tai grimaced before glancing at his Digimon partner. "Wargreymon told me the same thing. We're going to have to hope that we can just force our way through all of the Deep Ones."

I'll be honest with you and admit that I feel this isn't my best chapter ever. It feels kind of rushed. I hope it isn't as bad as I feel it is and that it sets up the coming battle over the next two chapters. Please let me know what you think by leaving a review =D