Puck won't be appearing (yes I will) in this chapter (you can't keep me locked up forever!).
We don't own Digimon, and well, after that final episode, we're not sure why anyone would want to. It was a real let-down. Just Puck's style... Sometimes you gotta wonder if he moonlights in other writers' bodies at times... oh well...
And now, for some more of the same, or something completely different:
The Whisperings of Two Hearts
or,
(as I like to call it,)
A Takari Psychosis
Part Two
TK slumped onto his bed, seeking solace from his troubled existence in the form of a late afternoon nap. Sleep evaded him, however, and all he found he could do was toss restlessly in bed. Damn this! he thought as he growled in frustration at the futility of his efforts.
"What's wrong TK?" A familiar voice asked.
TK opened his eyes to see Patomon hovering above him, his digimon eyes filled with concern for his human friend. TK sighed and sat up as Patomon landed on the end of the bed.
"Well..." TK started, "I've been having these dreams lately..."
"Nightmares?" Patomon asked, trying to encourage TK to go into more detail.
"Not really... at least I don't think so." Seeing that Patomon didn't quite understand, TK continued. "You see, I've only been able to remember bits and pieces of them. The parts that I have been able to remember weren't unpleasant at all."
"Then why are you so upset by them?" Patomon asked, sounding more than a bit confused by his human friend's odd behavior.
"Well, the dreams were of Kari. And me. Together. Kissing . . . and stuff"
The digimon blinked. "So?"
"So?!? I've known Kari for years! She's one of my closest friends!! I'm not supposed to think of my best friend like that!"
Patomon shook his head, confusion evident in his eyes. "I still don't get it, TK. Why are you not supposed to think of Kari like that?"
"Because..." TK began, readying himself to explain to his digimon the nuances of the human world that were commonly taken for granted by him but completely alien to digital beings, however he suddenly found that he really couldn't easily justify a reason. "Well because... well, its really complicated."
"Tell me anyway." Patomon said, trapping TK. "You know I'm always interested in learning about your world."
TK desperately struggled to find some way to put into words how wrong such feelings for Kari were. No answers were forthcoming, no matter how hard he tried to think.
"Is there some sort of law against it?" Patomon asked, trying to pull his partner from the silent state he'd slipped into.
"No, there's no law against, per say... It's just... well, She's my friend... and I don't want to lose that."
"Oh!" Patomon exclaimed, flashes of comprehension sparking in his soulful eyes. "I get it! You mean that Kari won't be your friend if she finds out you feel this way about her! But..." Patomon's countenance grew to one of confusion again. "You've known each other for so long... I don't see why she'd suddenly stop being your friend just because your feelings towards her have changed a little."
"She might not feel the same way towards me..." TK said, trying to explain.
"What makes you think that, TK?" Patomon asked.
"Well, er... I don't know." TK replied "I hadn't really thought about that possibility, to be completely honest with you."
"You haven't?" Patomon asked, surprised. Normally, TK was not one to miss such an obvious possibility like that. "Why not?"
TK sheepishly scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Well... uh... I guess the idea just never occurred to me." He sighed thoughtfully as he reclined back on his bed. "Is it worth finding out, though?"
"That's up to you to decide, TK." Patomon said sagely, "Remember though, dreams can often be a glimpse of your own soul. These ones you've been having lately could be trying to tell you something."
"But what?" TK wondered aloud.
* * * * *
Kari left Yolie's apartment in high spirits. Yolie had been right, it did help to share your problems with someone else.
As she made the trip back to her own apartment building, she pondered over what could have possibly hurt TK so much that it made him become as emotionally inhibited as he was. She knew he was a very sensitive boy, no matter how hard he tried to hide it sometimes. He also often took things upon himself that weren't necessarily his responsibility or his fault. She knew from talking with Yolie that he had blamed himself for the incident in which she had disappeared into the digital realm, though there wasn't really anything he could have done to prevent it from happening eventually.
"How do you break through an emotional barrier?" She asked herself aloud. Kari knew that if she found the answer to this, she'd have found a way to assess how TK really felt about her. As of thus far, though, the riddle had her completely stumped.
She puzzled over it the rest of the way home, but got no closer to the answer she sought. She barely heard her mother's greeting as she kicked off her shoes and closed the door to the apartment, being to wrapped up in thought to pay attention to anything else. She mumbled a response and headed to her room.
She collapsed on her bed and proceeded to stare up at the ceiling.
Little did she realize that she was being stalked by one of the world's most renowned predators...
Sensing its prey obviously unaware as to its coming fate, the predator fell to a crouch, readying to pounce on its victim's soft underbelly.
"Still playing 'jungle cat', Gatomon?" Kari said.
The predator had just began uncoiling its muscles to pounce upon its hapless target when the said target acknowledged her. Needless to say, it threw her badly off balance, causing her to crash clumsily onto Kari's torso.
"No fair!" Gatomon complained, feeling her hunter's pride had been wounded."You cheated somehow!"
"Silly." Kari said as she began to rub beneath the digital feline's chin. "I can always tell when you're near. Remember?"
Gatomon purred blissfully from Kari's attentions. "I'll get you one day, Kari."
Kari smiled, feeling the warmth of this routine conversation replace the feelings of trouble and worry she had been experiencing on her journey home. "I'm sure you will, Gatomon, but not today."
"Kari," she heard her mother call, "Dinner time!"
Once she was at the table, Kari began eating mechanically, not really paying attention to what was on her plate or the conversation the rest of her family was involved with. She was so lost in thought that she failed to hear her mother say her name the first two times.
"Kari, honey," Mrs. Kayima said, trying for the third time to reach whatever planet her daughter's mind had gone off to, "Is there anything wrong dear? You usually love my cooking."
Kari at last snapped out of the daze she had fallen into. "No mom," she replied. "I was just thinking, that's all."
"Something wrong at school, kiddo?" her father asked.
Kari stirred her rice bowl with her chopsticks. "Sorta..." she replied evasively.
"You want to talk about it?"
Kari thought silently for a moment before she responded. "Not really. Its not a big deal. Really. Forget about it."
"Alright, Kari. If you say so." Her mother said, not sounding totally convinced, but let it drop anyway.
After dinner, Kari went straight to her room on the excuse that she wanted to start on her homework for the weekend, hoping it would gain her some privacy. She sat at her desk and took out her textbooks, but even though she pored over them, she got very little in the way of work done. Her mind was so preoccupied with her other dilemma that she could hardly concentrate on much of anything else.
She was brought out of her daydreams by the sound of a knock on her door. "Kari, it's me," her mother's voice said from the other side. "May I come in, please? I want to talk to you about something."
"Sure mom." Kari replied, "Come on in."
Mrs. Kamiya entered and sat on the bed as Kari turned her chair to face her. "I know you probably didn't want to talk about your problem with your brother and your father listening like that, Kari. I thought I'd come in and see if you felt like talking about it with me, woman to woman."
"Like I said, it's nothing, mom." Kari insisted.
"Is it a boy?" her mother ventured, ignoring Kari's statement as if had never been said.
'Am I really so transparent?' Kari wondered. This made twice in the same day! She sighed. "How'd you guess?"
Mrs. Kayima smiled. "Though it might be hard to believe, Kari, I was your age, once. I'm quite familiar with the signs. So... what's he like?"
Kari groaned internally. She felt a bit awkward discussing this with her mother, but it was unlikely she could get away with doing otherwise. "He's ... nice." Kari replied, still not giving up hope that she would be able to evade her mother's questions.
"Oh reeeaaaallly. Nice huh?" Her mother teased. "Is he cute?"
The question immediately brought to mind the images of TK's straw blond hair and sapphire blue eyes. "Yeah, he's cute..." Kari replied, "but that's not the only reason I like him..."
"Oooh, it sounds like this could be more than just a simple crush, dear." Her mother said, smile still growing.
'A simple crush?!' Kari was shocked at the suggestion. She already knew that her feelings for TK ran way deeper than a girlish crush. "It might be, mom." Kari replied.
"So..." her mother continued. "Besides the fact that he's cute, what else do you like about him?"
Kari sighed and leaned back in her chair. The awkwardness was quickly fading. "I like that he's kind and gentle with everyone, even those people I know he doesn't like that much. When he smiles at me, he seems to smiling at me and me alone, and it makes me feel warm and safe inside for some reason. He always seems to know what to say to cheer me up when I'm feeling down. He's always willing to listen to any problems I have, and tries to help even when I don't think even he can."
Mrs. Kayima studied her daughter critically for a moment before speaking again. "Oh my..." She said.
Kari looked up at her mother in alarm. "What is it?"
"It sounds like you really like this boy, Kari." Mrs. Kayima replied gravely. "And it sounds to me that its very possible that he likes you too. Have you asked him about that, yet?"
Kari sighed again. "I've tried... but it seems he's not exactly comfortable talking about relationships and stuff like that and..."
"So you haven't been able to find out exactly how he feels towards you." Her mother finished for her. "I think I'm beginning to see the problem. Do you know why he feels so uncomfortable?"
"It... It seems as though a... a barrier goes up every time he gets close to saying anything about it." Kari said, at last confiding in her mother.
Mrs. Kayima nodded sagely. "An emotional barrier, huh? Boys do tend to get pretty big ones at times."
Kari took a breath in preparation for the next question she was going to ask. "So... how do you break through an emotional barrier, mother?"
Mrs. Kayima smiled at her daughter. "The thing you have to remember, dear, is that everyone has emotional barriers that they put up, consciously or otherwise. It's part of being human. The only way to lower them that I know of is never an easy thing to do."
"What is it?" Kari asked, excited that her mother might have the answer to her problem with TK.
Mrs. Kayima took in a deep breath and exhaled it in the form of a sigh. "The only real way to get past someone's emotional walls are to lower your own to them, first. It requires you to be completely honest and open with them, and success is in no way guaranteed."
"But..." Kari started, but realized she didn't know what she could possibly say.
"I said it wasn't easy, Kari, but it is the only way that I know how." Mrs. Kayima said. Seeing the dejected look on her daughter's face, she felt the need to add something more. "Kari... you mentioned that you thought he was a gentle person. If you truly believe that, you should already know that he wouldn't do something to hurt you. You could do nothing, and things would likely stay the same as they are now. But what about if someone else goes and does what I said, and manages to bring down his emotional walls and get inside. How would you feel then?"
Kari thought about it. 'TK... with someone else?' The thought gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'It would hurt, but as long he was happy... I....' she felt her eyes begin to water, the pain at just thinking that it would be someone else making him happy being more than she had ever imagined.
Mrs. Kamiya noticed how sad her daughter had looked at the suggestion. 'She really must like this boy.' she thought to herself. "Don't look so upset dear, it hasn't happened yet, has it? You still have some time to prepare if you want to do what I suggested. Just don't wait too long." She got off the bed and gave Kari a hug, making Kari feel a bit better and taking her worry away.
'Tomorrow...' Kari thought to herself. 'Tomorrow, I 'll do it. I don't want to risk waiting any longer than that.'
"Thanks for the talk, mom." she said as her mother turned. "I think I know what I'm going to do now."
Mrs. Kayima smiled approvingly at her daughter. "I'm glad I could help dear." she said, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Shoving her textbooks farther back on her desk, she got up and made her way over to her bed. After changing into her bedclothes and turning off the light, she slipped into bed and stared at the ceiling. 'How am I going to be completely open and honest with him?' she asked herself.
'Tell him how you feel about him' the voice inside her said. 'Tell him what he means to you.'
'Right.' Kari thought, agreeing with the anonymous voice 'It shouldn't be so hard. Besides, I trust TK. He'd never hurt me. Ever.'
She rolled over onto her side. "Tomorrow..." She whispered closing her eyes.
Tomorrow.
Any good? Puck slipped out for a little while and got in here somehow, so please excuse the angst he put poor Kari through. We're working on better ways to restrain him so he doesn't interfere with our writing as much. Though, his additions seem to make the story a little more interesting, so we decided to leave them in.
This fic was originally posted as just a test piece, being my first ever submitted to FF.net, since my main project, Mind Games wasn't ready for posting yet (still isn't either, though its over 100kb already). It was of my many projects, the farthest along, but had not been worked on for nearly six months(!) But the day I signed up for my account I just couldn't stand to leave it so empty looking. In all honesty, we thought we'd never have the urge to finish it. Due to the positive feedback though, we've taken it up once again.
One more final thing. Please excuse how long it takes for us to get these out, but when on a time-sharing basis with a physical body, its not easy to crank these things out. -sigh-
Hope you had a pleasant time, and don't worry, there is some more coming in the future, as long as you reader's are somewhat patient with me.
