DISCLAIMER: *RenaissanceGrrl is sitting at her computer* Uh...hi. I need to explain a few things. I will only have this big huge disclaimer in this chapter and then I'll just refer you to here in all following chapters. I don't own Digimon or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue. I don't own "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". I think it belongs to the descendants of Mark Twain but I honestly don't know. Please don't sue. I don't own Katina or her digimon, but I am the best friend of the girl who does and I have her permission to use her. If you want to ask to use Katina, you need to e-mail her. BKATV@excite.com Um, I own Kacie. (Although the idea for her came from a name dropped in "Izzy's First Crush" by the aforementioned KatGrrl. THANKS KAT! It's here at the FFN posted under Glenn Rentholen AND KatGrrl. This chapter won't make that too clear, but it'll make sense by the end of the fic.) In other words, you need MY permission to use her. Requests for her and all other comments, good and bad, on this ficcy can be sent to me at RenaissanceGrrl@excite.com And, by the way, if you *do* decide to sue me for ANYTHING in here, all you'll get is nothing. I HAVE NO CASH!! ^.^****
ANYWAYZ, let's get on with the ficcy!
Here goes!
Izzy and Katina entered their apartment. It was just after school on an unusually sunny afternoon. Izzy went into his room, set down his bookbag, and booted up his laptop. He poked his head out into the hallway. "Kat-chan, whenever you're ready we can have a Japanese lesson. I'll be in here."
"Okay, just a second." Katina called from her room.
Tentomon looked up at Izzy from the bed. "I think you have an e-mail."
Izzy clicked his blinking mail icon and found one message in his inbox. "Hey, Kat! There's an e-mail from Gennai!"
"What?!!" Katina was at his door in two seconds. The hall rug skidded under her feet a bit as she stopped. Her digimon, Havamon, was not far behind.
"E-mail from Gennai. Come on. He isn't the type that would send personal messages. There's probably news from the DigiWorld."
Katina sat on the bed next to him. Both their Digimon were looking over their shoulders as Izzy opened the message.
"Hello Izzy!
"I'd love to talk but there isn't much time. There's something strange in the DigiWorld. I can't explain now, but you'll soon know what I'm referring to.
"Goodbye for now, and, as always, please recycle!
"Gennai"
Katina frowned. "What now?"
Izzy shook his head. "I guess we ought to call the other kids and have them over so we can tell them."
"No," Katina said, laying a hand on his arm. "This seems to be our responsibility."
"And what are we supposed to if when we get there? Go up to every Digimon we see and say 'Excuse me? Have you seen anything strange around here?' Do you know how long that could take, Katina?"
"Izzy," Tentomon intervened, "I don't think it's *that* bad of an idea..."
Izzy was about to say something, but suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and the two kids and their digimon felt a jerking sensation, like they were being pulled into it.
"Izzy!" Katina screamed.
"Just hang on and hope for a smooth landing!"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Izzy was the first one off his feet and looking around. They had landed in a clearing in the middle of a very hilly forest. He began checking out the vegetation. "I was right! We're in the DigiWorld!"
Katina, who had landed on her side, rolled over onto her back. "Can I open my eyes?"
Izzy smiled. "Affirmative. We're in the DigiWorld, Kat. I guess we *are* supposed to be here--I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"It's okay." Katina shook her head as she sat up. "Havamon?" she asked, looking around.
"Right here," her digimon said from behind her. "I thought Izzy told you to hope for a *smooth* landing," he complained, rubbing his backside.
Katina laughed and held out a hand to the digimon. Havamon came up to her and cuddled up to her side.
Tentomon appeared, flying down from above and landing gently. "I didn't think it was that rough, Havamon."
"Tento, behave," Izzy ordered. "You know that the rest of us can't fly."
Katina looked around. "You've seen more of this place than me. Do you know where we are?"
Izzy took a look around. "Not really."
Katina flopped back down on the ground. "Great. It seems to me that every time we get lost in the DigiWorld, we end up fighting some dumb digimon who wants to either eat my friends or marry me."
Izzy pulled her back up by the hand. "Don't worry, Katina, we're simply here to find out..."
"I AM VENIMON!"
Katina looked toward the voice and screamed at the sight. It wasn't every day one saw a six-foot-tall black snake with hands and an ugly mop of olive-green hair. And very disturbing glowing green eyes. "What did I tell you, Izzy? Let's haul!" She was to her feet in an instant and started to take off, but paused when Izzy didn't follow. "IZZY!? ARE YOU INSANE? COME ON!"
"Wait, Kat! I think he has exactly what we're looking for!"
Katina turned to him. Sure enough, in the tight grasp of the digimon, was a *human* girl.
"You want her? Let's see you try to take her!"
Izzy looked at Katina. "She has to be part of this. We've got to save her! Come on, guys!"
"Tentomon...digivolve to...KABUTERIMON!"
"Havamon...digivolve to...WIZARDMON!"
"Electro Shocker!"
"Venom Beam!" Neon green light spouted from Venimon's free hand, breaking up Kabuterimon's attack.
"Magical Beam!"
"Venom Beam!"
Wizardmon's attack held, and the collision point of the two beams wavered back and forth momentarily before Venimon got blasted. He screamed in pain, dropping the girl.
The girl ran toward Katina and Izzy, ducking down behind them. "Humans!" she cried, but then she was silent, watching the goings-on with a mixture of fear and awe.
"Electro Shocker!"
"Magical Beam!"
Both the attacks hit Venimon. He screamed, more shrilly and louder than before. "NOOO!" He suddenly dissolved into tiny bits of information, and the two remaining digimon de-digivolved.
Izzy helped the girl to her feet, and he was mildly surprised to discover, on observation, that she was about two inches taller than him. She was wearing a denim jacket that was a little big for her...but...there was a digivice clipped to it!
Her breathing was heavy, like she'd had the breath scared out of her, which was probably the case. She stared hard at both the kids, and then dared to give voice to the question she desperately wanted a "yes" to. "Are...we...safe?"
Katina and Izzy looked at each other. Izzy nodded. "Relatively."
Suddenly, she exploded with a torrent of not-quite-incoherent questions. "Where am I, what just happened, why am I here, or rather, what am I doing here--what are WE doing here, just--just--can you explain what in the world is going on?!!? And could you tell me what this is?" she asked, jerking a thumb toward the digivice. "And I swear, I'll believe whatever you tell me, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, because after the two hours I just went through, nothing could surprise me. Just, please tell me you know all that stuff that I just asked!" Her hands waved about wildly, as if to make visible the exclamation points that she spoke.
"You trust us?" Izzy asked.
"You just saved my butt. I figure you must have my best interests at heart."
"Logical," he said. "My name is Izumi Koushiro, but you may call me Izzy, and this is Izumi Kat, and our digimon, Tentomon and Havamon. Tell us who you are, shiranai hito, and we can explain."
A puzzled expression crossed her face, but soon it switched to pure curiosity. ~Cat? What're the odds of knowing a girl named Kat and a girl named Cat in the same lifetime?~ She looked back and forth between them, and then down at the two digimon standing next to them. She realized he'd meant for her to introduce herself. "Um, I'm Kacie. That's K-A-C-I-E, not C-A-S-E-Y. And, thanks for saving me."
"Not a problem," Izzy said. "Let's sit down...this is a long story."
Kacie nodded. "I dropped my bag when he grabbed me, it's over by that tree. Let's go get it and we can sit there."
An hour's worth of explanations later...
"So I'm one of these DigiDestined?"
Katina nodded.
"And this is a good thing?"
"For the most part," Izzy told her.
"How can you be certain of this? What's tipping you off that I don't see?"
"You have a digivice. Only DigiDestined get digivices."
"So, if what you told me is true, I'll soon meet one of these little...digimon...*things* declaring it and myself to be friends for life?"
"I am not a thing!" Havamon reminded her.
She gave it a puzzled look, not sure what to say.
"Most likely," Izzy informed her before Havamon said anything else.
"Will I ever go home again?"
"Almost definitely."
She nodded, taking it in. ~this is too weird~ she thought. "So where do you go when you go home?"
"Tokyo," Izzy told her.
And at that, there was another blinding flash of light.
Izzy stood up and looked around. They were back in Tokyo--in his living room. "Kat? Tento? Havamon?"
"What about me?" Kacie stood to her feet.
"Nani?!!?" Izzy whirled to face her. "But...you...we...kuso...*KAAAT!* She came with us! She's *here*!"
Katina said something Kacie didn't understand. It sounded like Spanish, and Kacie could tell the general gist was "No way!", but Spanish? ~I don't ask. I'm probably better off not knowing anyway.~ She and the two digimon stood up and listened to the conversation.
Kacie was, by this time, looking around, hands on her hips. "I thought you said I would go *home*. I hate to inform you, but this *ain't* Chicago."
"I know that! This is Tokyo!" Izzy cried, momentarily irritated, until it struck him that she was probably a lot more irritated than he was at the moment.
She flipped. "Well, what am I supposed to do here?!" Again her arms were flailing.
"I suppose you'll meet the other DigiDestined." It was the best he could come up with on such short notice.
"Isn't there anything you can do to send me home?" she cried.
"No."
At first Kacie just rolled her eyes and let her arms flop, but then she sighed. "I guess I might as well...if I'm destined to do this, I'm not going to argue--there's no point. I know you said that one day in the DigiWorld is one minute here, but now that I'm here, will I be missed?" ~I hope not...anymore I'd rather not be found~
"Time will run congruently between here and your home, yes, but as to whether you're missed depends on what happens there."
Kacie blew out a breath at her bright red bangs. "With the way things have been going between me and my parents, I don't think they'd even look for me." A frown crossed her face as the bitter words came out.
Katina frowned also, but said nothing.
"Well, we'll find you a place to stay. Let's go back to our place and we can call up the others. Then we can go from there."
Kacie simply nodded. What choice did she have?
Within an hour, all nine--now ten--DigiDestined were sitting in various spots in the Izumi living room. Kacie was not properly introduced, because a few of them had to hurry home for various reasons. She learned no names, but she did try to remember the faces--from what she understood, she would likely be seeing a lot of them. The one she particularly noticed was the blond teenager with the hot blue eyes. ~gorgeous eyes...hard to forget!~
Izzy showed them the e-mail from Gennai, and then pointed to Kacie. "She may be part of this," he said. "This is Kacie-san, or I guess I should say the tenth DigiDestined."
"What?" Tai asked. "No way! How do you know?"
"Why else would she have a digivice?" Katina reminded him.
~They talk like I'm not here!~ "Hello!" she cried. "I'm not an object. I am not deaf and I do have feelings!"
"So do I, and I feel confused," Tai said, still ignoring her. "What happened to you today, Izzy?"
~What is with this kid? *I'm* the one who said it first, and so he uses it to say his piece and then ignores me completely! And *why* is he wearing those goggles?~
"Kat and I took a trip into the DigiWorld. Probably Gennai's doing," Izzy explained. "We met Kacie-san, and the very fact that she has a digivice proves she's one of us."
"Look, guys," Kacie said, "I understand that the DigiWorld needs me, and all of you guys, but I don't see how I can do it any good from here in Japan, so what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I have to stay somewhere until we can figure out what in the world is going on."
The other nine kids looked from one to another.
"She'll stay here," Izzy reassured them. "Kat-chan?"
Katina nodded, knowing that he meant Kacie could stay in her room, while Kat stayed with Izzy.
Kacie looked from Izzy to Katina and back again. It really wasn't her choice and she should be happy that she had a place to stay at all. "Thanks."
"No problem, Kacie-san."
Tai began to scuff his foot into the floor. "I guess it's settled then," he said. "There's not much we can do until something happens. The rest of us may as well go home."
Izzy nodded, and with that the meeting was ended. The rest of the kids left.
Kacie turned to Katina. "Where's your room?" Katina motioned silently and led the way. She pointed to the top bunk of her bed.
Kacie set her duffel on it and looked to the other girl for approval, and Katina nodded.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Kacie regretted it the second she finished saying it, because she knew it sounded rude, but this "Quiet Game" thing Katina seemed to have was really getting to her.
Katina chuckled and shook her head in agreement.
"So what do we do now?" Kacie asked.
Izzy stuck his head in the door. "Dinner's at six-thirty, Kacie-san. Let me explain the setup. Kat-chan will stay with me and you can have the guest room to yourself."
"That's not necessary--"
"It's customary."
~Why does he refer to her room as the guest room? Oh well...I'm in a different country, maybe it's their custom. A "make-you-feel-welcome" thing. He *did* say it was customary...~ She nodded as he left again, and tried asking Katina an open-ended question in hopes of getting her to talk. "What does that mean, Kacie-*san*? I've noticed him calling me that all day."
Katina, who was rummaging through a drawer for something, did not even look over her shoulder to explain, so Kacie barely heard her say, "It's a sign of respect."
So much for that approach. Katina found what she was looking for and pulled it from the drawer. She held a knee-length shirt out to Kacie. "For later...to sleep in," she said.
Kacie took it and laid it next to her duffel. "Am I allowed to be in Izzy's room?"
Katina blinked, and nodded. She could tell Kacie merely needed to be talked to, and that was something she simply did not want to do. Havamon did not chide Katina for not talking to her, and for that she was grateful.
At the next door in the hall, Kacie knocked.
"Hai?" Izzy asked. "Come in."
Kacie opened the door and peeked around it. He was sitting at his desk facing his laptop. There was a cable linking it to his computer. Tentomon was asleep on his bed.
"Yes, Kacie-san? Did you want something?" He turned toward her.
She bit her lip, knowing that what she was about to say probably wouldn't come out right. "It may sound rude, but, yes, just--someone who talks." There was a tone of resentment in her voice.
Izzy chuckled. "Kat is capable of speech, though she simply prefers not to converse. Believe me, it isn't that she dislikes you."
Kacie nodded, and then glanced at his computer screen. "You have Internet?" she asked.
"What use can you derive from a computer without it?" he retorted, grinning at her.
"That's exactly what I've always thought. I have a laptop in my duffel."
"Really? What kind?" Kacie could literally see the excitement spark in his eyes.
She told him the brand name, and instantly Izzy wanted to see the *American* laptop and compare. She warned him that although she could use it, she had never even seen the inside of a computer. He laughed and said they wouldn't open it up, (at least not that day,) and so she went and got
it. While she was momentarily in Katina's room she noticed that the dark, slender girl was drawing or writing something on some paper that Kacie presumed to be "borrowed" from Izzy's printer. The wooden pencil box filled with colored pastel pencils sitting next to her inclined Kacie to think she was drawing.
Back in Izzy's room, they traded off for a minute or two. Izzy was having a field day checking out her computer, but Kacie just stared at his keyboard in defeat.
"This...is...*not*...right..." She snickered to herself. ~I should have thought of this...~
He jerked his head up. "Nani? What's the matter?" For a few seconds he was afraid she'd deleted something.
"No, no, I didn't do anything to it. I *can't* do anything to it. I think they misprinted your keyboard." She smiled. Then he knew she was joking, and understood.
"Right...you don't understand Japanese, do you?"
"Not the last time I checked." They traded laptops again. "Do you understand English? I mean, obviously you speak it or we couldn't be having this conversation, but can you read and write it?"
"Yes. Most Japanese kids can read and speak English pretty well by the fourth grade."
Kacie nodded. "I see. They don't teach us anything like that at home. I mean, we know English, but usually we don't get to take a second language until junior high."
The fact that they were talking, and talking beyond trivialities, made her happy, made her feel a bit more secure. This DigiDestined stuff scared her, although she admitted it only to herself, and now she knew that she would--could, if she took the trouble to try at it--have a friend in Izzy. Kat, she was not sure of, it was hard to tell if you found approval or disfavor in someone's eyes if they never spoke to you, harshly or otherwise. As for the other kids, she had no way of telling, except for that one kid with the goggles. She knew he did not like her, for whatever reason he had.
After dinner Kacie simply laid on Katina's top bunk, in the borrowed nightshirt, reading.
Katina saw that the book was an unedited--although paperback--edition of Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Katina stared for a few moments, and Kacie held the book out to her. Katina shook her head, but did ask the one question that had popped into her head. "For...a book report?"
Kacie shook her head, smiling and holding back a laugh. "No way! This is just one of my favorite books--I'm reading it for the seventh time. I *wish* our teachers would assign us a book this cool."
Katina raised an eyebrow. She wasn't shocked, or even surprised, that Kacie would like that book, but it happened to be one of her own favorites.
"Do you read much?" Kacie asked her.
Katina nodded vigorously. "Of course."
"Have you read this?"
Another nod.
"I love the classics. Twain, Dickens, H.G. Wells..."
Katina nodded. She liked those too. "But...you're a teenager..."
Kacie paused, hoping Katina would say more, but when the silence became uncomfortable, she continued. "I know it must seem funny. Usually only older people and librarians like the classics, but I'd say they make up at least half of what I read."
Katina smiled, but left for Izzy's room in silence. Kacie went back to her book.
The next morning Katina and Izzy decided that Kacie could come to school with them and play "foreign exchange student". Kacie didn't have much time to think over it after that, but decided that it probably was the best idea.
At the school, they went to the main office and got Kacie a pass. The people there told her to stay with Katina, but she could not understand and Izzy had to translate. "Go with *Kat*. Stay with *Kat*," he told her. "We'll see each other during library period, right after that is lunch...and we might see Matt, Tai, Mimi, or Sora then as well."
"Okay, I think I can handle that."
It wasn't too bad. Since Kacie understood absolutely no Japanese, Katina gave her a few sheets of paper and a pencil and let her doodle--so long as the teachers couldn't see, or thought she was taking notes.
What bothered Kacie was that fact that all the other kids stared at her like a freak. Even the teachers seemed to look down on her.
She wrote on the paper--"Why are they staring?" The redhead slid it over to Katina and a few moments got her a response.
"They do not like 'outsiders'."
Kacie frowned, but it was the middle of an algebra class, so she left Katina alone so she could listen. ~Could it be that the kid with those goggles that ignored me yesterday simply feels a need to be loyal to his country? But Izzy and Cat here...~
Finally it came to library period, and Kacie returned to the world of the understood.
"Hey Izzy," she said. He was sitting at one of the tables working with his laptop.
"Hello, both of you."
Katina just smiled at Izzy and took the chair next to him. Kacie looked around, and with no librarians in sight, she sat on the table next to the laptop.
"How did it go, Kacie-san?" Izzy asked. He knew Katina would not be likely to tell him much in front of Kacie.
"In one word, boring. I had no idea one could find tic-tac-toe so interesting when one has no idea what's being said."
Izzy smiled. "Do you think you'll be okay for the rest of the day?"
"No problem--but how long do you think this will go on? How long to I have to play like I belong here? I mean, not that I haven't enjoyed it, it's better than home, but it's not right."
"At this point, I have no means by which to investigate. I have yet to hear from Gennai. He probably knows what's going on, after all. He lives in the DigiWorld, Kacie-san, so don't get the idea that I can just go to him and ask him."
"Rats!"
"Hey," another voice cut in. Kacie turned to see the blond hottie from the day before.
"Hello, Matt," Izzy said, purposely saying his name for Kacie's sake.
"Hi Iz, Kat, Kacie-san."
"Hello," Kacie smiled. ~*WHATTA HOTTIE!!!* man, this guy...ohhh yeah...~
Matt turned to her. "What have you been doing, Kacie? You can't be hidden like a digimon, in a backpack..." The latter was a joke, although he *was* curious about it.
She held up the pass she'd been given that morning. "Ever hosted a foreign exchange student?"
Matt raised his eyebrows and nodded in understanding before answering the question. "No, but it's a good cover." He looked around, and noticing the same lack of librarians Kacie had, sat next to her. He let his backpack drop to the table and pulled it around front. "All clear, Tsunomon, but there's no telling when another kid might pop around the corner. If you come out, be ready to go back in."
"Certainly, Matt." A small orange head with a large black horn bounced out of the backpack and sat between him and Kacie.
Kacie looked down. "You're a digimon?" ~DUH, Kacie, he--Matt--nice name--is one of the DigiDestined, what else would it be?~
"Yes. I am Tsunomon. When you saw me yesterday, I was Gabumon."
"He de-digivolved," Matt explained.
By this time, Motimon and Cajamon were complaining, so Izzy and Katina both opened their bags and let the small critters poke their heads out, at least.
Izzy explained that earlier they had been Tentomon and Havamon, and then she understood it a bit better. When he was done, he turned to Matt. "Where's Tai?"
"Uh, he said something about an extra-credit assignment."
Katina jerked her head up, eyes wide in semi-shock. "You're kidding. Tai doing extra-credit? No way!"
Kacie twirled a strand of her long ponytail around her finger. ~He doesn't want to be here because of me.~ She did not say it aloud. As long as she did not say it, no one could confirm it, and she didn't have to feel guilty.
Just then, the bell rang. The three digimon returned to their hiding places, and the four kids ran for the cafeteria.
Matt, Izzy, Kacie, and Katina sat out on the roof to eat. "Kat doesn't like the noise of the cafeteria," Izzy explained, "So she and I usually eat out here anyway." They were in an isolated spot sitting on the actual roof rather than at one of the tables, but there were plenty of other picnic tables filled with popular kids. Kacie saw "the goggles kid" at one of them, but said nothing.
Kat opened the lunch she had packed for their group of three and divided it up.
"Hey, Izzy, is your math class before or after mine?" Matt asked.
"I believe mine is prior to yours."
"Did the teacher seem a little off to you today, or was it just during my class?"
"Yes, he did. There is a rumor circulating that he is romantically involved with the girl's gym teacher."
Matt laughed. "Now that IS off!"
Kat ate in silence, and Kacie didn't talk much more, although she did laugh a lot. This Matt guy was really funny. And cute. And nice--definitely nicer than the goggles kid. And that was just from being around him for forty-five minutes.
~Kacie, Kacie, Kacie. You have got a crush major on this guy. Admit it.~
"Kacie?"
"Huh?" She jerked out of her train of thought, however pleasant it may have been. "Oh. What'd you say, Izzy?"
"The bell rang. Go on with Kat. I'll see you later."
Kacie nodded and followed the silent girl.
Authoress's Note: Cliffhanger? Not quite. I don't know, I guess it is possible for Kacie to die of boredom at school, right? Especially with the whole language barrier thing. Anyway, come back soon for chapter two!
ANYWAYZ, let's get on with the ficcy!
Here goes!
Izzy and Katina entered their apartment. It was just after school on an unusually sunny afternoon. Izzy went into his room, set down his bookbag, and booted up his laptop. He poked his head out into the hallway. "Kat-chan, whenever you're ready we can have a Japanese lesson. I'll be in here."
"Okay, just a second." Katina called from her room.
Tentomon looked up at Izzy from the bed. "I think you have an e-mail."
Izzy clicked his blinking mail icon and found one message in his inbox. "Hey, Kat! There's an e-mail from Gennai!"
"What?!!" Katina was at his door in two seconds. The hall rug skidded under her feet a bit as she stopped. Her digimon, Havamon, was not far behind.
"E-mail from Gennai. Come on. He isn't the type that would send personal messages. There's probably news from the DigiWorld."
Katina sat on the bed next to him. Both their Digimon were looking over their shoulders as Izzy opened the message.
"Hello Izzy!
"I'd love to talk but there isn't much time. There's something strange in the DigiWorld. I can't explain now, but you'll soon know what I'm referring to.
"Goodbye for now, and, as always, please recycle!
"Gennai"
Katina frowned. "What now?"
Izzy shook his head. "I guess we ought to call the other kids and have them over so we can tell them."
"No," Katina said, laying a hand on his arm. "This seems to be our responsibility."
"And what are we supposed to if when we get there? Go up to every Digimon we see and say 'Excuse me? Have you seen anything strange around here?' Do you know how long that could take, Katina?"
"Izzy," Tentomon intervened, "I don't think it's *that* bad of an idea..."
Izzy was about to say something, but suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and the two kids and their digimon felt a jerking sensation, like they were being pulled into it.
"Izzy!" Katina screamed.
"Just hang on and hope for a smooth landing!"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Izzy was the first one off his feet and looking around. They had landed in a clearing in the middle of a very hilly forest. He began checking out the vegetation. "I was right! We're in the DigiWorld!"
Katina, who had landed on her side, rolled over onto her back. "Can I open my eyes?"
Izzy smiled. "Affirmative. We're in the DigiWorld, Kat. I guess we *are* supposed to be here--I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"It's okay." Katina shook her head as she sat up. "Havamon?" she asked, looking around.
"Right here," her digimon said from behind her. "I thought Izzy told you to hope for a *smooth* landing," he complained, rubbing his backside.
Katina laughed and held out a hand to the digimon. Havamon came up to her and cuddled up to her side.
Tentomon appeared, flying down from above and landing gently. "I didn't think it was that rough, Havamon."
"Tento, behave," Izzy ordered. "You know that the rest of us can't fly."
Katina looked around. "You've seen more of this place than me. Do you know where we are?"
Izzy took a look around. "Not really."
Katina flopped back down on the ground. "Great. It seems to me that every time we get lost in the DigiWorld, we end up fighting some dumb digimon who wants to either eat my friends or marry me."
Izzy pulled her back up by the hand. "Don't worry, Katina, we're simply here to find out..."
"I AM VENIMON!"
Katina looked toward the voice and screamed at the sight. It wasn't every day one saw a six-foot-tall black snake with hands and an ugly mop of olive-green hair. And very disturbing glowing green eyes. "What did I tell you, Izzy? Let's haul!" She was to her feet in an instant and started to take off, but paused when Izzy didn't follow. "IZZY!? ARE YOU INSANE? COME ON!"
"Wait, Kat! I think he has exactly what we're looking for!"
Katina turned to him. Sure enough, in the tight grasp of the digimon, was a *human* girl.
"You want her? Let's see you try to take her!"
Izzy looked at Katina. "She has to be part of this. We've got to save her! Come on, guys!"
"Tentomon...digivolve to...KABUTERIMON!"
"Havamon...digivolve to...WIZARDMON!"
"Electro Shocker!"
"Venom Beam!" Neon green light spouted from Venimon's free hand, breaking up Kabuterimon's attack.
"Magical Beam!"
"Venom Beam!"
Wizardmon's attack held, and the collision point of the two beams wavered back and forth momentarily before Venimon got blasted. He screamed in pain, dropping the girl.
The girl ran toward Katina and Izzy, ducking down behind them. "Humans!" she cried, but then she was silent, watching the goings-on with a mixture of fear and awe.
"Electro Shocker!"
"Magical Beam!"
Both the attacks hit Venimon. He screamed, more shrilly and louder than before. "NOOO!" He suddenly dissolved into tiny bits of information, and the two remaining digimon de-digivolved.
Izzy helped the girl to her feet, and he was mildly surprised to discover, on observation, that she was about two inches taller than him. She was wearing a denim jacket that was a little big for her...but...there was a digivice clipped to it!
Her breathing was heavy, like she'd had the breath scared out of her, which was probably the case. She stared hard at both the kids, and then dared to give voice to the question she desperately wanted a "yes" to. "Are...we...safe?"
Katina and Izzy looked at each other. Izzy nodded. "Relatively."
Suddenly, she exploded with a torrent of not-quite-incoherent questions. "Where am I, what just happened, why am I here, or rather, what am I doing here--what are WE doing here, just--just--can you explain what in the world is going on?!!? And could you tell me what this is?" she asked, jerking a thumb toward the digivice. "And I swear, I'll believe whatever you tell me, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, because after the two hours I just went through, nothing could surprise me. Just, please tell me you know all that stuff that I just asked!" Her hands waved about wildly, as if to make visible the exclamation points that she spoke.
"You trust us?" Izzy asked.
"You just saved my butt. I figure you must have my best interests at heart."
"Logical," he said. "My name is Izumi Koushiro, but you may call me Izzy, and this is Izumi Kat, and our digimon, Tentomon and Havamon. Tell us who you are, shiranai hito, and we can explain."
A puzzled expression crossed her face, but soon it switched to pure curiosity. ~Cat? What're the odds of knowing a girl named Kat and a girl named Cat in the same lifetime?~ She looked back and forth between them, and then down at the two digimon standing next to them. She realized he'd meant for her to introduce herself. "Um, I'm Kacie. That's K-A-C-I-E, not C-A-S-E-Y. And, thanks for saving me."
"Not a problem," Izzy said. "Let's sit down...this is a long story."
Kacie nodded. "I dropped my bag when he grabbed me, it's over by that tree. Let's go get it and we can sit there."
An hour's worth of explanations later...
"So I'm one of these DigiDestined?"
Katina nodded.
"And this is a good thing?"
"For the most part," Izzy told her.
"How can you be certain of this? What's tipping you off that I don't see?"
"You have a digivice. Only DigiDestined get digivices."
"So, if what you told me is true, I'll soon meet one of these little...digimon...*things* declaring it and myself to be friends for life?"
"I am not a thing!" Havamon reminded her.
She gave it a puzzled look, not sure what to say.
"Most likely," Izzy informed her before Havamon said anything else.
"Will I ever go home again?"
"Almost definitely."
She nodded, taking it in. ~this is too weird~ she thought. "So where do you go when you go home?"
"Tokyo," Izzy told her.
And at that, there was another blinding flash of light.
Izzy stood up and looked around. They were back in Tokyo--in his living room. "Kat? Tento? Havamon?"
"What about me?" Kacie stood to her feet.
"Nani?!!?" Izzy whirled to face her. "But...you...we...kuso...*KAAAT!* She came with us! She's *here*!"
Katina said something Kacie didn't understand. It sounded like Spanish, and Kacie could tell the general gist was "No way!", but Spanish? ~I don't ask. I'm probably better off not knowing anyway.~ She and the two digimon stood up and listened to the conversation.
Kacie was, by this time, looking around, hands on her hips. "I thought you said I would go *home*. I hate to inform you, but this *ain't* Chicago."
"I know that! This is Tokyo!" Izzy cried, momentarily irritated, until it struck him that she was probably a lot more irritated than he was at the moment.
She flipped. "Well, what am I supposed to do here?!" Again her arms were flailing.
"I suppose you'll meet the other DigiDestined." It was the best he could come up with on such short notice.
"Isn't there anything you can do to send me home?" she cried.
"No."
At first Kacie just rolled her eyes and let her arms flop, but then she sighed. "I guess I might as well...if I'm destined to do this, I'm not going to argue--there's no point. I know you said that one day in the DigiWorld is one minute here, but now that I'm here, will I be missed?" ~I hope not...anymore I'd rather not be found~
"Time will run congruently between here and your home, yes, but as to whether you're missed depends on what happens there."
Kacie blew out a breath at her bright red bangs. "With the way things have been going between me and my parents, I don't think they'd even look for me." A frown crossed her face as the bitter words came out.
Katina frowned also, but said nothing.
"Well, we'll find you a place to stay. Let's go back to our place and we can call up the others. Then we can go from there."
Kacie simply nodded. What choice did she have?
Within an hour, all nine--now ten--DigiDestined were sitting in various spots in the Izumi living room. Kacie was not properly introduced, because a few of them had to hurry home for various reasons. She learned no names, but she did try to remember the faces--from what she understood, she would likely be seeing a lot of them. The one she particularly noticed was the blond teenager with the hot blue eyes. ~gorgeous eyes...hard to forget!~
Izzy showed them the e-mail from Gennai, and then pointed to Kacie. "She may be part of this," he said. "This is Kacie-san, or I guess I should say the tenth DigiDestined."
"What?" Tai asked. "No way! How do you know?"
"Why else would she have a digivice?" Katina reminded him.
~They talk like I'm not here!~ "Hello!" she cried. "I'm not an object. I am not deaf and I do have feelings!"
"So do I, and I feel confused," Tai said, still ignoring her. "What happened to you today, Izzy?"
~What is with this kid? *I'm* the one who said it first, and so he uses it to say his piece and then ignores me completely! And *why* is he wearing those goggles?~
"Kat and I took a trip into the DigiWorld. Probably Gennai's doing," Izzy explained. "We met Kacie-san, and the very fact that she has a digivice proves she's one of us."
"Look, guys," Kacie said, "I understand that the DigiWorld needs me, and all of you guys, but I don't see how I can do it any good from here in Japan, so what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I have to stay somewhere until we can figure out what in the world is going on."
The other nine kids looked from one to another.
"She'll stay here," Izzy reassured them. "Kat-chan?"
Katina nodded, knowing that he meant Kacie could stay in her room, while Kat stayed with Izzy.
Kacie looked from Izzy to Katina and back again. It really wasn't her choice and she should be happy that she had a place to stay at all. "Thanks."
"No problem, Kacie-san."
Tai began to scuff his foot into the floor. "I guess it's settled then," he said. "There's not much we can do until something happens. The rest of us may as well go home."
Izzy nodded, and with that the meeting was ended. The rest of the kids left.
Kacie turned to Katina. "Where's your room?" Katina motioned silently and led the way. She pointed to the top bunk of her bed.
Kacie set her duffel on it and looked to the other girl for approval, and Katina nodded.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Kacie regretted it the second she finished saying it, because she knew it sounded rude, but this "Quiet Game" thing Katina seemed to have was really getting to her.
Katina chuckled and shook her head in agreement.
"So what do we do now?" Kacie asked.
Izzy stuck his head in the door. "Dinner's at six-thirty, Kacie-san. Let me explain the setup. Kat-chan will stay with me and you can have the guest room to yourself."
"That's not necessary--"
"It's customary."
~Why does he refer to her room as the guest room? Oh well...I'm in a different country, maybe it's their custom. A "make-you-feel-welcome" thing. He *did* say it was customary...~ She nodded as he left again, and tried asking Katina an open-ended question in hopes of getting her to talk. "What does that mean, Kacie-*san*? I've noticed him calling me that all day."
Katina, who was rummaging through a drawer for something, did not even look over her shoulder to explain, so Kacie barely heard her say, "It's a sign of respect."
So much for that approach. Katina found what she was looking for and pulled it from the drawer. She held a knee-length shirt out to Kacie. "For later...to sleep in," she said.
Kacie took it and laid it next to her duffel. "Am I allowed to be in Izzy's room?"
Katina blinked, and nodded. She could tell Kacie merely needed to be talked to, and that was something she simply did not want to do. Havamon did not chide Katina for not talking to her, and for that she was grateful.
At the next door in the hall, Kacie knocked.
"Hai?" Izzy asked. "Come in."
Kacie opened the door and peeked around it. He was sitting at his desk facing his laptop. There was a cable linking it to his computer. Tentomon was asleep on his bed.
"Yes, Kacie-san? Did you want something?" He turned toward her.
She bit her lip, knowing that what she was about to say probably wouldn't come out right. "It may sound rude, but, yes, just--someone who talks." There was a tone of resentment in her voice.
Izzy chuckled. "Kat is capable of speech, though she simply prefers not to converse. Believe me, it isn't that she dislikes you."
Kacie nodded, and then glanced at his computer screen. "You have Internet?" she asked.
"What use can you derive from a computer without it?" he retorted, grinning at her.
"That's exactly what I've always thought. I have a laptop in my duffel."
"Really? What kind?" Kacie could literally see the excitement spark in his eyes.
She told him the brand name, and instantly Izzy wanted to see the *American* laptop and compare. She warned him that although she could use it, she had never even seen the inside of a computer. He laughed and said they wouldn't open it up, (at least not that day,) and so she went and got
it. While she was momentarily in Katina's room she noticed that the dark, slender girl was drawing or writing something on some paper that Kacie presumed to be "borrowed" from Izzy's printer. The wooden pencil box filled with colored pastel pencils sitting next to her inclined Kacie to think she was drawing.
Back in Izzy's room, they traded off for a minute or two. Izzy was having a field day checking out her computer, but Kacie just stared at his keyboard in defeat.
"This...is...*not*...right..." She snickered to herself. ~I should have thought of this...~
He jerked his head up. "Nani? What's the matter?" For a few seconds he was afraid she'd deleted something.
"No, no, I didn't do anything to it. I *can't* do anything to it. I think they misprinted your keyboard." She smiled. Then he knew she was joking, and understood.
"Right...you don't understand Japanese, do you?"
"Not the last time I checked." They traded laptops again. "Do you understand English? I mean, obviously you speak it or we couldn't be having this conversation, but can you read and write it?"
"Yes. Most Japanese kids can read and speak English pretty well by the fourth grade."
Kacie nodded. "I see. They don't teach us anything like that at home. I mean, we know English, but usually we don't get to take a second language until junior high."
The fact that they were talking, and talking beyond trivialities, made her happy, made her feel a bit more secure. This DigiDestined stuff scared her, although she admitted it only to herself, and now she knew that she would--could, if she took the trouble to try at it--have a friend in Izzy. Kat, she was not sure of, it was hard to tell if you found approval or disfavor in someone's eyes if they never spoke to you, harshly or otherwise. As for the other kids, she had no way of telling, except for that one kid with the goggles. She knew he did not like her, for whatever reason he had.
After dinner Kacie simply laid on Katina's top bunk, in the borrowed nightshirt, reading.
Katina saw that the book was an unedited--although paperback--edition of Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Katina stared for a few moments, and Kacie held the book out to her. Katina shook her head, but did ask the one question that had popped into her head. "For...a book report?"
Kacie shook her head, smiling and holding back a laugh. "No way! This is just one of my favorite books--I'm reading it for the seventh time. I *wish* our teachers would assign us a book this cool."
Katina raised an eyebrow. She wasn't shocked, or even surprised, that Kacie would like that book, but it happened to be one of her own favorites.
"Do you read much?" Kacie asked her.
Katina nodded vigorously. "Of course."
"Have you read this?"
Another nod.
"I love the classics. Twain, Dickens, H.G. Wells..."
Katina nodded. She liked those too. "But...you're a teenager..."
Kacie paused, hoping Katina would say more, but when the silence became uncomfortable, she continued. "I know it must seem funny. Usually only older people and librarians like the classics, but I'd say they make up at least half of what I read."
Katina smiled, but left for Izzy's room in silence. Kacie went back to her book.
The next morning Katina and Izzy decided that Kacie could come to school with them and play "foreign exchange student". Kacie didn't have much time to think over it after that, but decided that it probably was the best idea.
At the school, they went to the main office and got Kacie a pass. The people there told her to stay with Katina, but she could not understand and Izzy had to translate. "Go with *Kat*. Stay with *Kat*," he told her. "We'll see each other during library period, right after that is lunch...and we might see Matt, Tai, Mimi, or Sora then as well."
"Okay, I think I can handle that."
It wasn't too bad. Since Kacie understood absolutely no Japanese, Katina gave her a few sheets of paper and a pencil and let her doodle--so long as the teachers couldn't see, or thought she was taking notes.
What bothered Kacie was that fact that all the other kids stared at her like a freak. Even the teachers seemed to look down on her.
She wrote on the paper--"Why are they staring?" The redhead slid it over to Katina and a few moments got her a response.
"They do not like 'outsiders'."
Kacie frowned, but it was the middle of an algebra class, so she left Katina alone so she could listen. ~Could it be that the kid with those goggles that ignored me yesterday simply feels a need to be loyal to his country? But Izzy and Cat here...~
Finally it came to library period, and Kacie returned to the world of the understood.
"Hey Izzy," she said. He was sitting at one of the tables working with his laptop.
"Hello, both of you."
Katina just smiled at Izzy and took the chair next to him. Kacie looked around, and with no librarians in sight, she sat on the table next to the laptop.
"How did it go, Kacie-san?" Izzy asked. He knew Katina would not be likely to tell him much in front of Kacie.
"In one word, boring. I had no idea one could find tic-tac-toe so interesting when one has no idea what's being said."
Izzy smiled. "Do you think you'll be okay for the rest of the day?"
"No problem--but how long do you think this will go on? How long to I have to play like I belong here? I mean, not that I haven't enjoyed it, it's better than home, but it's not right."
"At this point, I have no means by which to investigate. I have yet to hear from Gennai. He probably knows what's going on, after all. He lives in the DigiWorld, Kacie-san, so don't get the idea that I can just go to him and ask him."
"Rats!"
"Hey," another voice cut in. Kacie turned to see the blond hottie from the day before.
"Hello, Matt," Izzy said, purposely saying his name for Kacie's sake.
"Hi Iz, Kat, Kacie-san."
"Hello," Kacie smiled. ~*WHATTA HOTTIE!!!* man, this guy...ohhh yeah...~
Matt turned to her. "What have you been doing, Kacie? You can't be hidden like a digimon, in a backpack..." The latter was a joke, although he *was* curious about it.
She held up the pass she'd been given that morning. "Ever hosted a foreign exchange student?"
Matt raised his eyebrows and nodded in understanding before answering the question. "No, but it's a good cover." He looked around, and noticing the same lack of librarians Kacie had, sat next to her. He let his backpack drop to the table and pulled it around front. "All clear, Tsunomon, but there's no telling when another kid might pop around the corner. If you come out, be ready to go back in."
"Certainly, Matt." A small orange head with a large black horn bounced out of the backpack and sat between him and Kacie.
Kacie looked down. "You're a digimon?" ~DUH, Kacie, he--Matt--nice name--is one of the DigiDestined, what else would it be?~
"Yes. I am Tsunomon. When you saw me yesterday, I was Gabumon."
"He de-digivolved," Matt explained.
By this time, Motimon and Cajamon were complaining, so Izzy and Katina both opened their bags and let the small critters poke their heads out, at least.
Izzy explained that earlier they had been Tentomon and Havamon, and then she understood it a bit better. When he was done, he turned to Matt. "Where's Tai?"
"Uh, he said something about an extra-credit assignment."
Katina jerked her head up, eyes wide in semi-shock. "You're kidding. Tai doing extra-credit? No way!"
Kacie twirled a strand of her long ponytail around her finger. ~He doesn't want to be here because of me.~ She did not say it aloud. As long as she did not say it, no one could confirm it, and she didn't have to feel guilty.
Just then, the bell rang. The three digimon returned to their hiding places, and the four kids ran for the cafeteria.
Matt, Izzy, Kacie, and Katina sat out on the roof to eat. "Kat doesn't like the noise of the cafeteria," Izzy explained, "So she and I usually eat out here anyway." They were in an isolated spot sitting on the actual roof rather than at one of the tables, but there were plenty of other picnic tables filled with popular kids. Kacie saw "the goggles kid" at one of them, but said nothing.
Kat opened the lunch she had packed for their group of three and divided it up.
"Hey, Izzy, is your math class before or after mine?" Matt asked.
"I believe mine is prior to yours."
"Did the teacher seem a little off to you today, or was it just during my class?"
"Yes, he did. There is a rumor circulating that he is romantically involved with the girl's gym teacher."
Matt laughed. "Now that IS off!"
Kat ate in silence, and Kacie didn't talk much more, although she did laugh a lot. This Matt guy was really funny. And cute. And nice--definitely nicer than the goggles kid. And that was just from being around him for forty-five minutes.
~Kacie, Kacie, Kacie. You have got a crush major on this guy. Admit it.~
"Kacie?"
"Huh?" She jerked out of her train of thought, however pleasant it may have been. "Oh. What'd you say, Izzy?"
"The bell rang. Go on with Kat. I'll see you later."
Kacie nodded and followed the silent girl.
Authoress's Note: Cliffhanger? Not quite. I don't know, I guess it is possible for Kacie to die of boredom at school, right? Especially with the whole language barrier thing. Anyway, come back soon for chapter two!