Hey! Sorry for the wait. I'm suffering from a major relapse of writers block. At least you didn't have to wait for a month this time! :)

I don't know how many of you knew about the Ultimate Digimon fan contest that was going on on youtube, but I entered this fan fic as my entry and guess what? ...I WON! This is now an award winning fic! Woo hoo! XD I am the Ultimate Digimon fan! ... is that something to be proud of at age 19? XD

Anyway, if you haven't guessed already this is a Kari chapter. It turned out a little angsty, but I think that's ok. You guys'll have to tell me what you think. I have to apologize for the chapter being shorter than usual. Writers block is not being kind to me and my muses have failed to give me proper insight for this chapter. Hopefully I'll recover from this bout of writers of block soon and go back to updating every few days.

I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, TAMERS, AND FRONTIER OR THEIR CHARACTERS!

I DID WIN THE FAN CONTEST THOU! XD ENJOY!

Chapter 38: Kari's Worries

The Digital World: Location: The Eastern Mountain Pass

Kari woke up with a start, her heart racing in her chest, but could not recall the dream that had frightened her awake. It was late at night, but it was not yet time for her to start her watch shift with Koji, Rika, and Matt. If she listened carefully, she could hear Tai, Takuya, Takato, Willace and their Digimon as they continued patrolling around the camp. She let out a soft sigh and snuggled deeper into her boyfriend's chest. She felt T.K.'s arms tighten their grip around her instinctively as he slept. This brought a smile to her lips.

Kari had been afraid that he'd been distancing himself from her as he grew closer to Koichi. It hadn't bothered her that much at first because she'd come to like the shy boy of Darkness after her rather embarrassing misunderstanding the first night that they'd spent outside of the strange maze of tunnels they'd started out in. She'd been really happy to see that T.K. was finally giving him a chance, but as the two grew closer T.K. began to spend more time with Koichi than her. She hated to admit it, but after their reunion in Netsusa City Kari had become a little jealous of the Dark Warrior when he and T.K. began to pair up for watch shifts and other menial tasks that T.K. had previously done with her.

Of course she'd brought this up during one of her girl talks with Yolei, Sora and Mimi, seeking advice, but that conversation proved to be the opposite of helpful. Mimi and Yolei had suggested that maybe T.K. was secretly gay and had developed a thing for Koichi. Sora was on Kari's side though and had fiercely scolded the two gossipers for how absurd that idea was. Kari had known that it was only a bad joke meant to lighten the mood, but some part of her must have taken it seriously because every time after that when she spotted T.K. and Koichi together she began to unconsciously search for any indicators that either of them might be gay. When she finally realized what she was doing she felt completely ridiculous and ashamed. Was this how well she trusted T.K? She quickly banished all of those ridiculous thoughts from her mind about T.K. and Koichi being romantically involved. Once she'd recovered her senses she found the idea completely absurd like Sora had. She'd known T.K. for years and they'd been close friends before they'd started dating. She would have known ages ago if T.K. were gay. Kari was no longer jealous of Koichi, but there was the naggingly uncomfortable fact that the two boys were extremely close to Mai, who was girl and a beautiful one at that.

Now there was a person whom she had mixed, rollercoaster-like feelings towards. She had resented Mai at first for what she'd done to Tai as Paressemon, but she'd begun to forgive her after she saw that her brother had already forgiven the beautiful red-head and had become her friend. Kari had always admired that about Tai. Even though she'd known him her whole life, he still managed to surprise her with how quickly or easily he could forgive someone. It was Tai's unconditional trust and belief in others that made her strive to better herself even though everyone thought that she was already perfect. She was the Child of Light who could do no wrong in other people's eyes, but in truth she felt far from perfect. She was human after all. And so was Koji who was the Warrior of Light. Everyone seemed to notice his shortcomings and mistakes, so wasn't only reasonable that she had a few flaws of her own? Koji seemed to be the only one other than T.K. and Tai who ever noticed any of her shortcomings, but then again the two DigiDestined of Light had been spending a lot of time together now that his brother and her boyfriend were best friends.

Not many people were comfortable around the rather anti-social and often cold Warrior, but Kari felt an odd sort of kinship with Koji. They were equally possessive of their loved ones. She had been relieved to find out that she wasn't the only one who had continued to dislike the idea of T.K. and Koichi being so close to Mai. Koji was only being cautious though, like always, while Kari's concern had stemmed from jealousy towards the redheaded beauty. But that spark of jealousy had been doused the other night after she had over heard Mimi tease Mai about having a crush on Tai. Now that had been a shocker. Kari wasn't sure how to feel about that. She was relieved that Mai had no interest in T.K., but at the same time she was concerned for her brother. So after a lot of thought, Kari finally came to the conclusion that the best thing for her to do was to keep an open mind about the former Zaigou. She didn't dislike Mai, but she didn't have to like her at the moment either. Being neutral was always the best position to hold in such matters.

"…Kari?"

Rousing herself from her wandering thoughts, Kari slowly and carefully untangled herself from T.K.'s hold, trying not to disturb him more then necessary, and looked up. It was Tai. How long had she been lost in thought?

"Time for your shift to start sis," Tai whispered, helping her up.

Kari nodded and, after waking Gatomon, wordlessly headed towards the center of camp where Koji, Rika and Matt were waiting for her with their Digimon.

"Hey," Matt yawned while Rika and Koji nodded their heads towards her in acknowledgement.

"Hey," Kari smiled, standing opposite of Matt while Gatomon jumped up to perch on her shoulder as the cat Digimon usually did.

Gabumon was yawning softly at Matt's side as he shook the sleepiness from his eyes, but managed to give Kari and Gatomon a drowsy wave. Renamon, like her Tamer, gave the two new comers a nod from her position behind Rika in the shadows.

"Right," Matt sighed once the wordless greetings were exchanged between humans and Digimon. "Koji and I'll patrol the front half of camp while Rika and Kari patrol the back. You guys know the drill."

The three younger DigiDestined nodded in agreement and went off into their assigned pairs. To be honest, Kari was a little surprised that Matt had voluntarily paired himself with Koji. She'd been one of the few who had noticed the older boy's unease around Koji during their trek through the tunnels to Netsusa, but lately it appeared that the two were starting to get along. Maybe it was because Koji was a little more stable now that he had his brother and his best friend back, but Kari had a theory that it was more because of what Izzi had said about the strong possibility that the two lone wolves would be bonded together like Tai and Takuya had been.

"Anyone in there?"

Kari nearly started, making Rika offer up an amused chuckle.

"It is rather weird," the fiery redheaded Tamer mused as if she could read Kari's mind. "I'd thought that I might have to put up with Koji for our watch shift tonight."

Kari blinked.

Rika raised an eyebrow, her piercing lavender eyes digging into Kari's reddish-brown ones.

"Uh," Kari stuttered, trying to collect her thoughts. Rika had this uncanny way of making her feel uneasy. She was quite intimidating even without catching Kari off guard.

"I suppose you're right," Kari said slowly. "Although honestly I'd thought Matt was going to pair me up with Koji since the I get along better with him than he does."

Rika snorted.

"It is rather interesting," Renamon spoke up from the shadows behind them. "Matt hasn't hidden his discomfort about being around Koji all that well."

"Matt wasn't the only one who felt uneasy around Koji during that time," Gatomon retorted from her position on Kari's shoulder, defending the DigiDestined of Friendship.

"Koji was a little hard to be around after Koichi and T.K. were taken by Paressemon," Kari added softly, unconsciously throwing a glance towards Mai's sleeping form with Sora and Mimi.

"I suppose that coupled with the strain of developing in his newfound powers as a psychic wasn't helping his mental stability either," Rika mused. "But whatever. The guy's not much of an issue anymore. I'm more concerned about your friend Davis."

"What?" Kari gaped. Where had this come from?

"Are you blind?" Rika scowled. "Or are you really so naïve to believe that that guy is fine now that he's smiling again?"

Kari frowned. Davis had appeared to revert back to his usual self after the battle with the Golemon that afternoon. What had Rika seen that made her think differently? Kari was Davis's friend after all. She knew Davis a lot better than Rika.

"Oh Please," Rika scoffed. "You don't know your friend at all do you?"

That made Kari mad. She'd known Davis for four years and Rika had only known him for the couple of weeks that they'd spent in this world. What did Rika know about Davis?

"And you do?" Kari retorted softly, a hint of anger hidden in her tone, telling Rika that she'd better drop the matter.

"No," Rika frowned, "but apparently I know him a lot better then you, and I've hardly spoken to the guy."

Kari clenched her hands into fists, reigning in her anger. Now was not the time to start a fight. They were supposed to be patrolling camp for signs of the enemy. As if reading Kari's mind again, Rika's eyes carefully swept around the camp before focusing on her once more.

"Look," Rika huffed softly, her voice also dangerously low. "I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, Miss Righteous, especially since I've never been good with these friendship matters, but you will listen and listen good. I'm not going to pretend to know Davis, because I don't know or care two licks about him. To me he's just another annoying goggle-head like Takato. But I do know when someone's lonely. I'm no stranger to that emotion myself."

Kari blinked.

"You think Davis is lonely?" Kari frowned. Even Gatomon was looking at the Tamer incredulously.

"It is possible to be surrounded by others, friends even, and still feel lonely," Rika scowled defensively. "You're just so wrapped up in your boy friend that you see only what Davis wants you to see. Like I said, I don't know Davis personally, but I've noticed that he's surprisingly good at keeping unwanted emotions submerged. I've seen the way he looks at you when you walk past him. He likes you, but I'm sure you were already aware of that."

Kari flushed.

"It's almost painful to watch," Rika whispered, a touch of sympathy mixing in her voice now. "He tries so hard to smile around you and be friends with T.K. to prove to everyone that he's alright with your relationship."

"He is alright with my relationship with T.K." Kari said coldly. "He saw it coming for an entire year before we became official."

"Just because he's accepted it doesn't mean he's alright with it," Rika glared.

The two of them had stopped walking now and been stationary for the last three minutes. Kari opened her mouth to say something, but a voice from a few feet away from the shadows that they were standing in made her stop, drawing her gaze away from Rika.

"Davish? Ish somethin' wrong?"

Kari recognized Veemon's lisp and automatically listened, Gatomon, Rika and Renamon doing the same, their gazes intent on the resting figure of Davis and Veemon.

Davis didn't reply at first so it was silent for another moment.

"…I'm sorry Veemon," he whispered. "I've been a real jerk lately, haven't I?"

"Huh?" Veemon's voice gaped.

"I've worried you," Davis sighed. "I don't mean to. I guess I've just been out of it after all that's happened. I let Netamashiimon's clone get to me, I tried to kill Takuya and Cody, and now I'm causing you to worry. Can I do anything right anymore?"

"…I wouldn' worry so much if I knew what was botherin' ya," Veemon said hesitantly.

Kari waited, tensing slightly.

Davis only sighed in answer.

"…Ish it T.K. and Kari?" Veemon ventured.

Air seemed to get caught in Kari's lungs as she waited for the answer, dimly aware of Gatomon nuzzling her cheek in an attempt to comfort her.

"That ship sailed long ago," Davis snorted, making relief spread through her until he continued. "…Or at least I'd like to think it did. I don't mind them going out anymore. T.K.'s a good guy. He and Kari are perfect for each other, as much as I hate to admit it."

"So ya still love Kari," Veemon stated, much to Kari's irritation. Could they get off her and move on to the real matter?

"…Yeah," Davis admitted almost too softly for them to hear. "But that's not what's been bothering me. I've been getting over her. …Trying to at least."

"Then what ish botherin ya?" Veemon asked, Kari and her group wanting to know the same.

Davis was silent for another long moment and Kari thought that he wasn't going to answer until he let out another long sigh.

"A few weeks before we came to this world… before the DigiDestined reunion… a girl, Nami, asked me if I would like to go see a movie with her some time," Davis started. "I said that I'd love to and we went that weekend. We had a good time. We started dating unofficially and went out a few times afterwards. I liked her. I really did. …"

Kari instantly thought of the girl mentioned. Nami had been Kari's friend for almost as long as Davis had been. The two of them were practically sisters.

"…But?" Veemon pressed when Davis stopped, bringing Kari's attention back to the conversation happening in front of her.

"…But… during one date we ran into Kari and T.K. We were eating at the same restaurant and happened to be sitting in booths situated next to each other on opposite sides of a divider. Kari knew Nami so they lowered the divider and the struck up a conversation while T.K. and I watched a sports game on one of the TVs. …When we left, it wasn't until I saw Nami and Kari standing next to each other that I realized how… similar they were. ...Nami really did look a lot like Kari. Same hair and eye color, similar body types, nearly identical smiles…"

Kari had been aware that she and Nami looked alike. They'd even dressed alike a once a year during their school's spirit week for Twin Day.

"And that was just looks," Davis continued softly. "After I gave it some thought, I realized that she had a lot of the same personality traits that Kari has as well. …A couple days later, I broke it off with Nami. After seeing how much she reminded me of Kari, I realized that it just wouldn't be fair to continue seeing her. It wouldn't have been right to keep seeing her once I realized that she was acting as Kari's replacement... a Kari that chose me over T.K. But what killed me the most about ending the relationship… was the fact that she didn't seem to mind breaking it off at all. In fact a week later she was dating someone else. Ironically, a tall blond guy like T.K."

Kari hadn't known that Nami and Davis had broken up. She'd thought that they were such a cute couple and might actually stick together for a while. Of course she hadn't seen Nami since they'd "double dated" at the restaurant.

"…So… you're upset because this girl reminded ya of Kari?" Veemon asked.

"No," Davis sighed. "I'm upset because it wasn't the first time that this had happened. I seem to compare every girl I see to Kari. Whether it's her appearance or her personality, I always find something that reminds me of Kari or think if she were Kari she'd say this or do that. …I'm so sick that I can't get Kari out of my head no matter how much I try or how much I accept the fact that she's with T.K."

Davis was crying now, his voice barely audible in the silent night. Kari felt her heart ache as she listened. She wanted to run. She didn't want to hear that it was her fault that Davis was suffering, but her feet remained rooted to the ground.

"What about Netamashiimon?" Veemon asked softly. "What was his clone doin' ta ya?"

Kari took another deep breath as she listened to the answer.

"He kept mocking me and telling me how pathetic I am," Davis said softly. "He tried to talk me into killing T.K. a couple of times by telling me that if T.K. were out of the way then I could finally have Kari. I knew that that was bull though so I resisted… but that didn't stop him from possessing me in his attempt to kill Takuya and Cody…"

Kari waited for Davis to continue but he never did. She saw Veemon lie back down next to his human partner and curl into his side.

"He must be asleep," Rika whispered, resting a hand on Kari's shoulder.

Kari jumped under the sudden contact and whirled around to face Rika, who was looking at her sadly. Rika had been right, but Kari saw that the girl held no pride in that knowledge. How? How had this girl who'd hardly spoken to Davis known that he was hurting? Had Kari been so blind not to notice her friend's pain? The effect she apparently had on him? Kari started to shake, tears coming unbidden to her eyes and trailing down her face.

Rika looked at her apprehensively. The Tamer wasn't good when it came to dealing with crying girls, or crying in general for that matter. She tentatively took a step towards Kari and tightened her grip on Kari's shoulder. Kari then let out a sob, bringing her hands to her face, her shoulders shaking in earnest, making Rika frown. She shot a helpless look over her shoulder at Renamon and the Digimon came to her rescue. The fox Digimon nodded and stood by Kari's other side, resting a hand on the crying girl's back since Gatomon occupied the shoulder.

"It does not do to dwell on matters that are out of your hands, Kari, especially matters you are not supposed to know about," Renamon said in her soft and mature voice.

"But what do I do?" Kari gasped, trying her best to wipe her tears away. "It's all my fault. I never realized that he felt that way. I knew he liked me, but that much? Enough to cause him pain?"

Rika scowled.

"It's not all your fault. The world doesn't revolve around you, you know," she said rather roughly.

Gatomon narrowed her eyes that the redhead.

"Rika," Renamon said softly.

"I should have noticed," Kari cried, "but I was too wrapped up my own little problems. I was too busy thinking about T.K. and Koichi and Mai to see that I was hurting him."

SMACK!

The sound echoed softly around camp, but it wasn't loud enough to wake anyone. Kari gasped and stared wide eyed at the other girl. Gatomon's fur stood on end, a low snarl rumbling in her throat, while Renamon simply looked on her Tamer, eyes widening only a fraction, but enough to betray the small start of surprise she felt towards Rika's actions.

"Get a grip Kamiya!" Rika growled, the hand she'd slapped Kari with balling into an angry fist. "Just how many friends do you have here? Hmm? Last I checked there were fifty-seven of us; thirty-one humans, twenty-five Digimon. And even assuming you're good friends with at least half of them, I can't see how you could possibly notice every little problem with them all. So you didn't realize Davis's feelings until now, big deal. Are you telling me that you're going to break up with T.K. just to make him happy? Huh? Well even if you did, then T.K. would be sad, so it's a lose-lose situation no matter how you look at it. You're not perfect Kari, so stop trying so hard to be!"

Kari blinked at Rika.

"…You're right," Kari sighed, a small smile forming on her lips. "Thanks Rika. I needed to hear that."

Rika let out a heavy sigh as well, offering Kari her own rare smile.

"Anytime," she shrugged. "Just don't give the matter too much thought. There is nothing either of us can do about Davis right now except be his friend. That's all he really needs right now. I don't think his Digimon is quite capable of handling it on his own."

Kari nodded and they began to resume their patrol around camp.

How's Kari going to handle this new revelation? Will Davis find the strength to recover on his own or will he need help? Find out next time on Digimon Digital Monsters!

Wow... Shortest chapter ever for this story... but Yay! I managed to fit Rika in here! I like Rika. She is my favorite Tamer by far, with Henry and Ryo running her a close second and third (Ha! I laugh at those of you who thought I hated tamers). This was my sad attempt to try to integrate some more Tamer action into the story other than just mentioning their presence. Renamon even got her two cense in. XD

I've found that I suck at writing Kari's character, but hopefully this chapter didn't come out too bad even though it's nothing but a load of fluff (I am perfectly and depressingly aware that there was no movement in the plot whatsoever!) TT . TT

I hope you enjoyed this chapter at any rate and if you didn't I TOTALLY BLAME IT ALL ON THE WRITERS BLOCK! SO DON'T SHOOT THE WRITER! ...please review...

WARNING! I am going back and fixing the previous chapters now, so if you spotted any mistakes please let me know! I'm mostly going to be adding in Veemon's lisp, fixing spelling mistakes i missed the first time around and seeing if there's anything I can do to fix the lack of Tamers presence (especially their use of cards). Note that anything that I may add to the previous chapters will not ultimately effect what happens in future chapters, although it may be wise to reread my fic anyway just for the fun of it and to be on the safe side. ^_^