Intro: Hehe, it's me again! Man, I hate writing stuff besides fiction! Only two chapters to go! This and the epilogue…I hope it turns out all right. Wow, when I finish, it'll be the first story I'll ever have finished. School projects and my other completed fic don't count because it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Hopefully, this will! I hope the name changes aren't too confusing. Just remember, I'm calling them by their English names, but for instance, TK doesn't realize Hikari is now going by Kari. Hopefully, this chapter isn't really cheesy or anything, and it's not the end yet! One more chapter, the epilogue and final conclusion.
Across America
Chapter 10: Happy Ending…?
Former Takeru Takaishi wandered the streets of Chicago. Now he went under the name TK Ishida, not even knowing why. Because someone was looking for him? He glanced at his watch. Good, he still had 15 minutes to get to Dave's house. He could wander freely around throughout New Gardens Plaza, the new shopping center. Not like he needed to buy anything, but he was so bored…He missed her. He wouldn't be bored if she was there, next to him, smiling her angelic smile and laughing her shimmering laugh. I don't deserve her, not if I made someone else hurt so badly, on purpose, even. He recalled Daisuke's angry, hurt expression as he turned and ran away. I never even realized how much he cared about her…
TK pulled out of his thoughts. I just hope they're all right, and that's all. Nothing more. He entered one of the "courtyards" of the shopping center. This one had a beautiful white marble fountain in the center, and fragrant, rainbow-colored flowers growing in the pattern of a fully bloomed rose, which made it rather like a hedge maze of colors. He easily navigated to the center fountain and sat. He fumbled in his wallet for a penny, then hesitated. Should I? Should I wish to see her? Why not? It wasn't about to come true anytime soon anyway. The bright, orange sheen of copper caught in the sun as the blond boy tossed the penny into the sparkling clear water, revealing dozens of other coins, mostly pennies. He sat again and lost himself in dull thoughts once again as the minutes ticked by, totally forgetting that he should leave for Dave's by now. He was so deep in his thoughts, he didn't even hear the voice echoing on the loudspeaker at first.
"-most of you are out there. Please, wherever you are, listen! Please, it's important! All Chosen Children, you know who you are. I know you are probably listening anyhow…"
TK's head snapped up. No, it couldn't be! He recognized the voice right away, especially after just thinking about it. "Hi-hikari-chan?" he stammered, looking around confusedly. How-where-? Then he remembered the big screen in another "courtyard," although it had no flower maze or fountain, just a big square. The screen was as big as a movie screen, and all loudspeaker announcements were played on it, as well as ads. He gasped and flung himself to the nearest hedge maze exit, not remembering in his state of panic where the exit was. Dashing madly, he found himself at a dead end. But there were so few dead ends, and yet he managed to hit most of them. He could still hear her voice, clear and gentle. TK gave a cry of despair as he ran into another dead end! He'd never get out! He'd never see her again! In desperation, he turned and ran again.
* * *
Kari took a deep breath to steady herself. All of a sudden she felt faint. All the eyes of America were upon her, watching, wondering. And the five other Chosen Children…what were they thinking? Especially Takeru…This is no time to get stage fright! She scolded herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the crowd of Chosen Children and Digimon giving her encouraging signs and smiles. And her two best friends…she had to be strong for all of them. "Why do I have be the one to do it?" she had grumbled, although of course there was no other real choice. She had the connection to all the missing Children. Daisuke, who she had a big apology to give to. Miyako, her old best friend. Sora, who she had known since Taichi had befriended her when they met at the same elementary school after moving, her Oniichan, who had always been strong for her, and of course Takeru, who she loved and could only hope that he still loved her and was all right. That they were all all right. She drew another shaky breath and stood tall, although trembling. It was time to really talk to them.
* * *
TK finally cleared the maze. He looked around wildly. Which way was it to the big square? He stopped for a second to really listen to Hikari's voice, hear what she was saying. She had been saying something to Daisuke and then Miyako, now Sora. Whatever she had said, it had been important and emotional, for now he could hear the sorrow in her voice. Wait! Her voice! It was loudest going…to his left! TK gulped in a breathful of sweet air before taking off at top speed once again.
* * *
"First off…first off, Daisuke-kun, I owe you an apology. A big one. For two years, you had a big crush on me…and I…I knew about it." Hikari hung her head, ashamed and guilty. "I even had the nerve to play with your feelings, toying with you, making you jealous. Some all-good bearer of Light, huh?" she laughed sarcastically. "I knew it was so wrong, but I still did it! I don't know what happened, but I'm so sorry. I made you hurt, hoping, stuck, when I should've just told you straight out that I wasn't interested, that I…that I cared about someone else, longer than you knew me, but I didn't. I'm not going to pretend and say that I just didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you 'no' because you and I both know that that's not true. I mean, having the Crest of Light doesn't mean I have to be perfect and I can't enjoy myself, but definitely not like that." She closed her eyes, then looked at the ground. "I know you probably hate me now, so I won't ask for forgiveness," she continued humbly. "I just want you to come back, even if you can't stand me anymore. We all want you back, and if it means anything, you're still one of my best friends in the whole world. Please, wherever you are…please come back to our place.
"And Daisuke-kun wasn't the only one hurt. Miyako, you are also still one of my best friends. I know you were really hurt, too, especially as one of the holders of Love. But please forgive Ken, because he didn't realize your feelings for him. He's innocent, not like me. But our hearts should be as one, since we are Jogress partners, right? So, please understand, and I wish…but please come back to us, come back to the place."
Davis, Yolei, and Wallace had watched all of this in silence. It had been a shock, when the program they had been watching vanished into white, then to Hikari, but all three kept silent. Wallace had been wise enough not to say anything during the talk, and wasn't surprised to see tears in both of his companions' eyes as they struggled with their emotions.
Finally, Davis managed to say, "Well, I guess that's our cue to leave, Yolei."
Yolei squeezed his hand and nodded, but then sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Yes, we've put it off long enough, I guess. Let's go back…"
They stood as one and made their way to Wallace's laptop, with their two digivices that went everywhere with them. Davis paused and turned to face Wallace. "Um…we have to go…I mean, we'll come back, but for right now…"
Wallace shook his head. "You don't have to explain, buddy. I understand."
His friend nodded seriously. "Thanks for everything, Wallace. I'll see you again soon."
Yolei flashed a quick smile in the blond boy's direction. Both turned and held out their D-3's to the computer screen, and for a second, there was a blinding golden light that made Wallace shut his eyes and hide them with his arm. When opened his eyes and squinted to see, his two friends were gone.
* * *
Sora's eyes were wide with shock. Jenny had never seen her friend so surprised before. Of course, having someone start talking to you over a radio, and when you switched the station, the person was still talking, well! That certainly was a big shock. The voice had started talking to some other people Jenny didn't know, but then she said, "And Sora-san…" and Sora's eyes got even wider. It was obvious that Sora was the Sora the person was talking to.
"Sora-san, you have a reason to be hurt, too, but I wouldn't worry about it at all. Come on, you know Oniichan can be an insensitive clod if he's not thinking straight, and that was just a bad time to ignore your feelings and yes, his feelings. Sora-san, Oniichan loved you before our group every made it together. True, sometimes he didn't seem like it, but he has always cared about you, so please, don't be angry and hurt, because you both have cared about each other for as long as I can remember, so you'll make it through. You know where I am, and where Taichi will be. Please hurry."
Jenny waited for her to say something else, but she had fallen silent for the moment. She turned to Sora, who was still standing there, eyes wide and unmoving. "Er, Sora?"
Sora snapped out of her trance. "I…"
"Didn't that girl say to hurry? You should go to wherever you're supposed to."
Sora blinked, then smiled, wavering at first, but then she looked happier than Jenny had ever seen her. "You're right! Why am I standing around? I gotta go! I'll be back!" And with that, she grabbed her jacket and took off out of the open door.
Jenny smiled as well. Whatever this was all about, it looked like it was about to be straightened out. And then Sora would be happy. Whistling, she flipped the switch on the radio off (after all, what was important had been said) and went back behind the counter just as a fellow worker came in. He blinked. He was the manager's son, and knew that Sora should be with Jenny. "Where did Sora go?"
"Oh, she didn't feel well," Jenny lied quickly with slightly nervous laughter.
* * *
"And you, Oniichan! Sheesh, you could've told me that you were leaving! You made me worry," she said softer. "I hope you heard what I said about Sora-san, because it applies to you too. You two care too much about each other to let one incident with badly-chosen words to come in your way. Oniichan, I miss you so much! If you don't show up right away, then I'm going to get mad…so please be all right, okay?" The slight banter in her talk was obviously fake when a lone tear slid down her cheek. More tears followed, until she gave in and started to weep. "Oniichan, if you're not all right, I'll…I'll…" she stopped.
That was too much for Taichi, to see his sister crying. Immediately he stumbled over to his computer, as Joe looked on curiously. "What're you doing, Kamiya?"
"None of your business, Joe," he replied as his computer booted up. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out his digivice, hoping that even the older one would bring him back to the Digital World.
* * *
TK continued his frantic dash towards the square. He bumped into numerous people, apologizing loudly as he ran. Had…to…get…there! Her voice faded away after she talked to Taichi. He didn't hear what she said, and at the moment, didn't care, he just had to see her. There! He could see the square, filled with people staring at the screen. TK couldn't see it at first, it was on the side where he couldn't see it until he burst into the square and skidded to a halt and turned, and saw for the first time the girl that filled his dreams. She looked unhappy, as tears were streaming down her face. TK resisted an urge to wipe them away, anyhow he couldn't at the moment. What she said next he heard, for she said his name. "Takeru-kun."
He froze, his mind clearing as she spoke to him, and him alone. "Takeru-kun…I don't know where you are, or if you're safe, and it hurts! I still love you, more than anyone in the world! If you don't feel the same way anymore, it's okay, and I'll understand, but please don't make me wait and wonder about you…" Her sobs continued, as she struggled for the words to say. "I…I want you to come back! I need you! Please…" she whispered. "Please come to me."
As she reached her hand out as if to touch the screen, the scene disappeared. "Hikari-chan…" TK whispered softly, fingers fumbling in his jacket for the D-3 that he knew would be there; he never went anywhere without it. It would take too long to get back home…but Dave's house was only two blocks away! He wheeled around and ran, and ran, and ran…
* * *
Daisuke and Yolei had arrived hand in hand, and it was obvious they had gotten over their hurt, as they embraced both Kari and Ken with enthusiasm and happiness. Kari fought to control her tears, but they kept coming, and coming. As luck would have it, Tai and Sora arrived simultaneously. As soon as they saw each other, they ran to each other's arms and shared a passionate kiss. It was a sweet scene, but disrupted as Matt cleared his throat noisily and extremely exaggerated, as Tai broke off the kiss to glare at him. Kari enfolded her brother in a hug, which he returned with a hug of his own.
"I'm so glad you're all right, Oniichan," she whispered.
"Me too," he whispered back. "But I have to ask now, before I forget: did you use Kamiya?"
She nodded, and the two smiled, reminiscing at games played years and years ago. For a few moments, she felt extremely happy. But as the minutes ticked by, there was no Takeru.
"Perhaps he didn't hear it?" suggested Sora. "I just happened to flip on the radio just then."
Izzy shook his head. "It would've turned it on anyway. Or at least, it should've."
The group waited in subdued silence. Kari felt tears sting in her eyes again, and she buried her face in her brother's shoulder and sobbed.
"If he doesn't show, I'll personally tear apart the U.S. and kill him!" Matt offered sincerely. "He'll show, Kari. Don't worry."
But the silence became more pronounced, as there was no new arrival. Kari bowed her head, despair filling her. He'll never come, he doesn't love me anymore. Even as she stood up, eyes still downcast, he suddenly appeared. He hair was wild, even his eyes looked slightly wild, but they calmed as soon as they saw her. "Hikari!" he choked out.
At first Kari just stared at him, hardly daring to believe it. "T-takeru?" she stammered. "Is it really you?"
He nodded, and she gave a cry of joy and ran into his embrace and a passionate kiss all their own. And this time, no one interrupted.
Well, here's the next chapter. I did this in one day when I should've been working, but oh well. Anyhow, there's one more chapter left (hopefully not as sloppy) and next time I'll give a story preview for my next story. Of course, I have so many ideas, I have no idea which story I'll write next. Maybe I should ask the audience…Ü