Intro: Erm, here's a fic, the ages in the past were different from the actual ages in the show, k? Also, I have no idea what Kingston, New York looks like, but my old friend lives there. Really, I'm not a big fan of any of the couples I stuck in here, except for our little Hope and Light, of course. It just worked out this way.
Across America
Prologue
It was…so long ago. Four years, really. Funny, it seems like I can't really remember much of what happened, but of course I wasn't there for the most part. What's my name? It's Kari. Kari Kamiya. Although my name should be Yagami Hikari. My real name is Yagami Hikari. Why am I under a pseudonym? Because Kari is easier to say in English. Yes, I'm Japanese, and I live in America. Kingston, New York to be exact. My friend Mimi used to live a few blocks away. But she left. They all left a long time ago. Four years ago…
* * *
I was so nervous. Us girls of the Chosen Children group had gotten together and decided to tell the boys our true feelings. It was kind of awkward, I mean, we were a really close group, great friends. Something like this could blow us apart. I wish I'd known how true that was before, but I didn't really think. I just wanted to think of Takeru. I knew Daisuke would be crushed, but I didn't love him. That's understandable, right? Anyway, all of us had flown to Kingston to visit Mimi and Michael, and we were staying at Michael's big house. It was in the afternoon when we arrived, and it was (naturally) raining. It was summer too! But we didn't even put our bags on the ground of the living room when Mimi announced, "Okay! Girls, let's go! Hikari-chan, you go first!"
Of course, make Hikari go first, I thought sighing. But sooner or later, it had to be done. Rather shakily, I cleared my throat and said, "Takeru-kun, I have a confession to make. I've known you for a long time, and I've fallen in love with you. I love you!" I blurted, cringing at my wording.
There was a silence. No one really looked surprised, not even Daisuke. Slowly, Takeru's face lit up as the words processed. "Hikari-chan, I love you too! I'm sorry I was too chicken to say it first-"
I didn't let him finish as I through myself into his arms and hugged him hard. I could feel Takeru freeze and shout, "Daisuke-kun, wait!"
But it was too late. Daisuke ran out of the door and out into Kingston, still holding his bags of belongings. Takeru cursed. "Hikari-chan, I think I'd better talk to him. I think it'd be better if I talked to him, before he does something stupid."
I nodded and let go of him. Putting down his stuff, my beloved Takeru ran out the door, and that was the last time I've seen him. "Um, Miyako, maybe you should confess now…"
The purple-haired girl nodded slowly. Shifting uncomfortably, she said slowly, "Ken-kun, I…I have a crush on you."
Ken looked surprised that she had said it. "Miyako-san! I…I…how can I say this?"
Miyako dropped her eyes. "It's all right, Ken-kun. I understand. It's all right." But she couldn't stop the tears from falling off her face and fogging her glasses. "I understand. I understand what you want. Okay. I'll leave."
"Miyako-san! That's not what I meant at all!"
But sobbing her eyes out, the girl had already left with her bags, Ken hot on her heels. Mimi grimaced. "This isn't going well, is it? Well Sora, we might as well say it, but keep a grip on those boys!"
With her reddish eyes on Taichi, Sora opened her mouth, but Taichi cut her off. "Sora, I think we'd better find the others first! We all know what happens when the Chosen Children get separated. Please, let's talk later."
Sora looked shocked. "Taichi…how can you just say that? Don't I mean anything at all to you? Of course I know that this is a bad situation, but I vowed to tell you this today, and you won't listen!"
"Sora, please understand. I love you too!"
"Are you sure you're not just saying that? Because I honestly love you, and I've loved you since elementary school! But you know what? You're right, we do have to find the others. Let's go."
She turned and walked toward the door. So did Taichi. Yamato asked Mimi, "You too? Me?"
Mimi nodded happily. They embraced, then left too.
"Wow, that was something," remarked Jou. "Come on, we'd better go too. Hikari-chan, stay here in case someone comes back and they might need calming down."
I nodded mutely. That had gone horrible. Sora and Taichi would most likely be all right, with a little talking, but what about Miyako and Ken? Sighing, I plopped down on a couch and sat. For about an hour.
Yamato and Michael came in, and slammed the door. They looked unhappy. "Hikari-chan, I'm so sorry. I have to leave." Yamato said blankly. But he and Michael picked up all the bags on the floor, with an apologetic glance to me. What was going on?
They left, and I sat there, frozen. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, this can not be happening! My head screamed. Slowly, like my feet were made of lead, I made my way to a window. Michael's house was, like I said, big, and there was a very tall porch, so it was like being on the second floor on the first. Yamato and Michael were at the bottom of the stairs, along with Taichi, Jou, Koushirou, Miyako, and Daisuke. Sora, Ken, Mimi, Takeru, and Iori were already gone, and so were their stuff. They were talking, and…raising their hands in farewell?! What was going on? The group dispersed, and Michael came back up. "Hikari-chan? Are you there?"
"Michael-san…what's happening? Why is everyone leaving?"
"Hikari-chan, I'm…sorry. Things didn't go well. We…need to leave each other alone for a while. But Taichi asked me to take care of you until then."
I shook my head vigorously. "No, what's going on? What happened? Why didn't Oniichan talk to me? Why didn't Takeru-kun say goodbye then? Michael-san, What's going on?"
The blond sighed. "It's…complicated. Bad things were said. Everyone's hurt. I can't stop them. They won't stop themselves. They're leaving. You can stay if you want, but you'd probably want to go home now, right?"
My eyes hardened. "No. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here. Let me e-mail our parents. I can't leave without the others. Where did they go?"
"Well…I don't know. No one said where they were going."
Despair flooded my heart. How could they do this to me? "But, even a little kid like Iori-kun is going out somewhere? It's not safe!"
"You and Takeru-kun could take care of yourselves when you were eight. This is no different."
I sank down. Something in me didn't want to go after them. Something in me told me that this was what was right, but it wasn't! "All right, Michael-san. I understand. They want to be alone. That's fine. But may I stay here until they come back?"
And he agreed. What else could he do? It was the least he could do. But they didn't come back. And it's been four years.
* * *
Now that I think about it, I was really stupid for not doing something more. Not going after them before they got too far away. But I didn't. And I can't change the past. I'm still living at Michael's place. His parents were really nice. My parents want me to come home. They all want us to come home. But the only thing I can tell them is that no one is coming home. They said that they understood. They really understand, not the way we said we understood but really didn't. Now I'm 15, going to Levine Riviera High School. Back at home, I would have still been in middle school. But that's okay. English wasn't too hard to learn, with Mimi teaching us some before. I have lots of good friends, and they understand my situation without asking too many questions. I have lots of fun, and sometimes I can even forget about why I'm in Kingston in the first place. Now, searching is stupid. America is too huge to scour every city for them, and what if I don't recognize them anymore? I've been careful to keep my look as similar as possible to when I was 11, just in case. But even so, I know that one day I'll find them. Maybe I'll even need the digimon's help. I've gone to the Digital World a couple of times, but the gate isn't open very often in America. I feel so bad, every time they e-mail me, they want to know if their partner has shown up. But they haven't. And I'm sorry I haven't found them. I'll keep up my hope…
Haha, next time…I'll have to think of something.