by Leto
Part 6
~~Kari~~
Kari was afraid.
Nobody else seemed to notice anything. Nobody ever commented, or pointed, or acted like anything was out of the ordinary.
But the Digimon were still there, just like they were before she went into the digital world.
She'd been beginning to relax, as she hadn't seen any Digimon for several hours. But then, down at the beach, a Monochromon had come lumbering out of the water. Nobody else seemed to be able to see it. When she had moved over to it, it didn't seem to register that she was there either. When it walked right through Mimi and back into the sea without sinking very deeply into the water, she realised.
There was still a link between herself and the digital world. What she was seeing was the Digimon as if they were in their own world, and to them, they thought they were. It was almost like one dimension of reality superimposed on another, although of course Kari didn't think of it in those words. She could just somehow tell how it was.
Ever since she saw a DemiDevimon fly up through her floor and up through her ceiling one night, she took to sleeping in her parents' room. That was the one place where she had never seen any Digimon. She could see monsters on TV in news reports; some of them were still responsible for natural disasters.
Her dreams offered no comfort. The main difference between them and reality was that in dreams, the Digimon were fully aware that she was there, and keen to attack.
Tai had problems of his own to work out. She knew that. She didn't want to burden anyone else with what she saw.
But then, the next Monday morning, she couldn't help letting it slip.
Tai and herself were getting ready for school. Their mother was setting out breakfast, Kari was almost dressed, and Tai was groaning like a beached whale and still muttering things like "do I have to get up" (or "mrrrfhgup" as it sounded), trying to muster up the will to drag himself out of bed. The smell of good food sufficed, and suddenly he was leaping up, pawing through his wardrobe throwing clothes all over the floor to find something to wear, then throwing it on, running out to the living room and tripping neatly over Miko.
"Ow," he croaked. Kari giggled and sat down at the table.
Her brother still hadn't changed that much. She smiled a little and started to eat, feeling a little relaxed after a good night's sleep - the first in over a week.
There was suddenly a horrible screech and Seadramon's long serpentine neck arched through the wall of their house, its cruel, sleek head hesitating just by Tai's head. Tai didn't notice anything, of course, and would have continued to shovel food down if Kari hadn't screamed and jumped back. She tripped over her chair and landed painfully on her back.
"Kari!" shouted Tai and their mother in unison, and Tai jumped from his own chair (spilling food everywhere in the process). Kari was sobbing now. All things aside, she was really just a little kid.
"Kari, what's wrong?" asked Tai, sounding frantic.
"Shhh, Kari, it's okay," said Mrs Kamiya, putting her arms around Kari. But Kari didn't want this, she pushed her away and pointed.
"Look," she said, sounding almost angry through her tears, "can't you see it?!"
Seadramon seemed to smile coldly at her before turning its head and sniffing the air. Its long body flicked and suddenly it was gone, diving down through the floorboards. A moment later, a Divermon came swimming frantically through the air with Seadramon in hot pursuit, roaring and showing all his teeth.
"See what?" asked Tai blankly.
"Oh honey," said Mrs Kamiya, "there's nothing there. Did you have another bad dream?"
"No!" said Kari loudly, "no, there's a thing that kinda looks like MetalSeadramon here, and he's chasing a Divermon!"
Mrs Kamiya looked a little blank and Tai sighed.
"Kari, it's just your imagination," he said gently, "Mimi said she got the same sort of thing - flashbacks."
"No," she protested, "I know it's not flashbacks! I haven't seen this Digimon before, except... on TV."
"What?" asked Tai, "what do you mean, on TV?"
"Don't you remember, when you came home for a day with Koromon?"
"Oh yeah! Hm, you have a better memory than I do, I don't remember what Digimon we saw that day except for Ogremon..."
The two monsters were gone from sight now and Kari had calmed down. Her mother patted her shoulder awkwardly and then moved to clean up the dishes Tai had spilled. Her kids talked about Digiworld sometimes and it made her feel left out and a little afraid. She felt it would be best for Tai - who obviously understood things better than she could - to deal with it. She hated feeling so helpless.
"Tai, I can see into the digiworld," said Kari, "I can see all the Digimon still."
"What?!"
"I don't know why, but they won't go away!"
Tai was very obviously at a loss.
"Well, I... what can... I mean... that's weird."
He hugged his sister and Kari nearly started to cry again. But she would be brave. For Gatomon's sake, if nothing else.
"Let's go to school," said Kari finally, sounding resigned.
"Huh?! Oh yeah, school! Sure! Um... yeah, let's go!"
Tai grabbed up his and Kari's bags and ran towards the door, glad to see her being more sensible than he was. He turned to say something, still moving, and tripped over Miko again.
"I swear that cat lies in wait for me!" fumed Tai. Kari smiled a little and went to help him up.
The two walked to school together. Kari kept up a commentary in a monotone.
"Wow, there are lots out today," she said, "there's a whole lot of Yokomon in that person's garden there. They look like they're doing some kind of weird dance... Oh, I'm not sure what that Digimon is, looks mean though... it's sitting very still on that person's fence. And there's a Digimon with a big drill on its face, looks weird! OH!"
"What?" asked Tai, who was becoming more and more unnerved. Kari ran a few steps away from him to peer under a mailbox.
"I thought I saw Gomamon!" she said, "but I guess it couldn't have been the same one..."
"You never know," said Tai helplessly.
"But I guess he wouldn't really be Gomamon 'cos of Izzy, would he?"
"Izzy! That's it! We'll go to Jennai's after school today!" said Tai.
"Okay," she said nervously, remembering how he had seemed so mad at her before.
***
"Should we knock?" asked Kari nervously.
Tai opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again.
They were standing outside Jennai's house, and from behind the heavy wooden door came the sound of shouting - muffled and difficult to make out, but shouting nonetheless. The two kids had been standing outside for five minutes, listening, and were a little unsure of what to do.
Suddenly, the door was flung open, nearly braining Tai, and Mr Izumi held the door open, shouting back into the house, "I'm nowhere NEAR finished, you'll be hearing from us again!"
Mrs Izumi ran out past him, in tears. Her husband put a hand on her shoulder and led her away. Neither had seemed to register that Tai or Kari were there.
Tai ran into the house, with Kari trailing reluctantly behind, closing the door behind her. They crept through the house until they found Jennai, who was sitting at the desk, head in hands, his dark silver hair hanging over his face.
He glanced up, startled, at the sound of Tai's entrance. (The boy was rarely quiet or subtle in anything, even when trying.) Jennai quickly rubbed his face and looked levelly at the two children.
"Well, now, what brings you two here?" he said pleasantly.
Tai wasn't going to accept that. "What was all that about?"
"All what?"
"Izzy's parents running out... you sitting here looking depressed... all that shouting..."
Jennai sighed. "Family problems. I suppose they'll work themselves out soon enough."
"Don't give me that! I want to know what's going on! You and Izzy have been acting kinda weird."
Jennai's eyebrow twitched. "Tai, you can be quite a rude kid."
"Sometimes that's the only way to get answers."
"I suppose you know that Izzy has been contemplating changing his last name to mine. And there are... issues relating to legal guardianship of Izzy. And of course we have been working very hard on the Digimon project..."
Tai looked unconvinced.
"Tai, you needn't probe, it's really none of your business and I prefer not to disclose personal matters."
"But the Izumi NEVER get mad!"
"Taichi Kamiya!"
Tai blinked, alarmed. Very few people called him by his full name. He didn't know what the digital world's guardian was so upset about, but for once had the good sense to shut up. The two looked at each other for a few moments, as though sizing each other up.
Kari finally broke the silence. "Perhaps we should come back another time, Tai. I don't think Izzy's here anyway. It's really no big deal... I guess..."
"Why DID you come?" asked Jennai, "more problems? Seems like there are problems with everything, lately." He looked tired.
"I think this is a bad time," said Kari, really not wanting to dump more problems on anyone, "it really doesn't matter, I can -"
"Kari's been seeing Digimon in the real world," said Tai.
Jennai's whole expression changed. His jaw literally dropped.
"What do you mean?!"
"Well," said Kari, "it's like I can see them but nobody else can, and they can't see me. And it's almost like I can see them like they're in their own world. Like I could see a sea dragon Digimon swimming, but it was swimming through floorboards and stuff like they weren't even there."
Jennai looked almost excited. "How long has this been happening, Kari?"
"Well," she said, "since the day Tai left for summer camp. And all the time since we came back from the digital world. But before them, sometimes if I closed my eyes I could see Digimon. And when I dreamed."
"Remarkable!" said Jennai, face brightening.
Tai looked unimpressed. "Remarkable? It's not a good thing, you know! Wouldn't it scare YOU half to death if you suddenly saw huge monsters appearing everywhere?"
"Oh, I didn't mean that," said Jennai, "but you know, there's an old legend that speaks of this..."
"Why do I get a bad feeling whenever you mention another legend or prophecy," muttered Tai.
"When the powerful light is released from the clutches of darkness," quoted Jennai, "in the diverging of two worlds, the Guardian of Light will emerge."
"In plain English?" asked Tai.
"My theory is, when Gatomon and Kari's crest were released from the clutches of Myotismon, something powerful must have happened, possibly something we didn't even realise, or attributed to something else. Perhaps the digital world was never meant to be fully seperated from the real one - after all, there were gates between them, and the health of one world affects the health of the other."
"Our worlds are joined now? Does that mean we can go back to the digital world?"
"Not that kind of join. Not a physical bond between worlds, but one of light."
"What do you mean, exactly?" asked Kari, with one hand on her chest where her crest had been.
Jennai was careful with his words. "If my hunch is correct - and my hunches generally are - then you, Kari, may well be the force that is connecting the two worlds."
Kari cocked her head to one side, not seeming too alarmed by this awesome statement. Tai, by contrast, was silently freaking out. Jennai continued.
"It may explain many things. You are aware that you were the only one the light, the overruling, overseeing powers of the digital world were able to communicate through. Light was channeled through your crest. It could explain your affiliation with Digimon, your empathy with them, and your connection to the digital world. Even your name is appropriate."
She nodded, trying to understand all the words he was using.
"Remember when you and Koromon came back to this world for a day, Tai?" asked Kari. Tai nodded. She continued, "remember how I said I thought I'd been in the digital world before? Well, I went there every time I was asleep. I couldn't find Salamon, though."
"You know, Kari," said Jennai, "I am not acting as guardian of the digital world any longer, and that world ought not to be left without an acting guardian for very long. I realise why I was allowed to return to this world."
"Why?" she whispered.
"Because you, unlike me, were chosen for the role by destiny... Because you are the new guardian of the digital world, Kari."
Tai made a strange choking noise, but Kari seemed more resigned.
"Does that mean..." she began, "does that mean... I have to..."
"You don't have to leave this world, Kari," said Jennai, seeming to understand, "your existence maintains the balance of both worlds. You are guardian of this world too, you know."
At this stage, there was a loud 'bang' as Tai fainted.
"Tai!" cried Kari, alarmed. She bent down and put a hand on his cheek. Jennai laughed.
"He'll be alright," he said, "it's not every day you find out that your little sister is probably the most important person in the world."
Kari blushed. "I'm no more important than anyone else," she said, "but I gotta say this stuff you're saying somehow doesn't surprise me all that much. It's like I almost knew it already..."
"That's perfectly understandable," said Jennai, "you have been in the digital world for around half of your life."
Kari hadn't thought of it that way, but he was probably right. Babies sleep for a long time, and she was only young.
"Is there anything I have to do, to be this Guardian of Light?" she asked softly.
"Only this: maintain the balance."
She blinked.
"Kari, so long as you're a good person, the two worlds will be harmonious, and there will be peace."
"Does that mean I wasn't a good person before?" asked Kari, "because before, Devimon and Etemon and Myotismon and the Dark Masters were causing trouble..."
"It was different, Kari. Everything was imbalanced then. When you reached the age where you were awake for much longer than you were asleep, you visited the digital world less often than you were in this world, and so things became imbalanced. Also, you had not yet discovered your crest or become joined with Gatomon. The time when you first went to the digital world while awake was a turning point. It was the time when things could begin to happen."
"So..."
"So, to maintain the balance between the worlds, you must be in each world. As the Guardian of Light, you alone can go to the digital world while awake."
"Does that mean the digital world is in danger now?" asked Kari, worried.
"No, because Gatomon is like your second self, and represents you. While she is in the digital world, and you are in the real world, it balances things. It is as though you are in both worlds at once. And you can both see into each world."
"I think I understand," said Kari awkwardly, "so when Gatomon comes to this world, does that mean there's gonna be a big problem? I mean, if we keep the worlds balanced somehow by each being in one world, if we're both in the same one, won't that be bad?"
Jennai's expression sobered. "That could be a problem. I am not sure. I will try to carry out more research. Your ability to see into the digital world while awake is most interesting. I suppose it is so that you may act as a guardian, overseer and protector of the Digimon even while here.
You are the Guardian of Light and would sense an imbalance far more than I could. But, I ought to tell you something, Kari. Izzy and I have had great difficulty reconfiguring Gatomon, and she ought to be the most easy one. After all, her digivolved form is similar to a human, and as Gatomon she is the creature most resembling a human of any of the Digimon. Yet we haven't been able to do anything with her. We haven't been able to make her like a human."
Kari understood, and nodded, tears running silently down her cheeks. "That means I can't be with Gatomon forever... except in here," and she pressed her hand to her heart again.
Jennai smiled sympathetically and said, "isn't that the most important place to be with someone?"
"Jennai, why do you still do so much to help us?" asked Kari suddenly, "I know you didn't like being the guardian of the digital world, but you're still acting like it, a little."
He looked at his hands. "I was the one who helped with some of your Digimon. It wouldn't be fair of me to make such perfect partners for you all, and then make you leave them forever."
Tai groaned, coming to, and Kari started. By his head, she could see Gatomon, looking at her. And she knew that her Digimon partner could see her.
The two smiled at each other, a little sadly. Kari reached out her hand and Gatomon reached out her paw. They touched without feeling.