Last Time: Finally, we saw Sakura's dream. After seeing those three weird creatures and Li bleeding on the ground again, Sakura knew it was time to tell Tori now. But once she found her brother wasn't home, Sakura decided to go take a walk. So what could possibly happen now?
Keeping Secrets: Part 2
With the house empty, Kero knew he had free access to the kitchen. But for some reason, the little guardian beast wasn't hungry. Usually he'd be scarfing down numerous cups of pudding, but he wasn't in the mood tonight. Having seen Sakura suffer through seeing this dream was worrying Kero more than anything. He wished there was something he could do.
Before he could think of anything else, though, the front door came open.
"Tori? Are you here?"
It was Julian Star, Tori's best friend. But Kero knew who he REALLY was and the timing couldn't be better. Kero needed to have a long talk with Julian's alter ego. Julian looked around the living room and didn't see Kero casually fly over towards the couch.
"We need to talk," Kero said. "YOU know who I need to talk to."
And as if on cue, before Julian could react, the transformation began. The wings had spread and Julian had transformed into the guardian, Yue. Yue found Kero on the couch and just looked at him with his expressionless eyes.
"I wasn't expecting this," Yue said in his suave, yet cold, voice. "We hardly ever talk anymore, Kero. What's the occasion?"
"You've been keeping secrets from me!" Kero said indignantly. "How long has Tori known about me?"
"That's a dumb question," Yue said casually. "I thought you said he was on to you. That was seven years ago."
"Yeah…but…about a week ago, he actually called me by name!" Kero shot back. "He's known about me and if he knew, you should have told me!"
"This was something you should have figured out for yourself," Yue said. "Come now, Kero. If Tori knew about ME for seven years, how could he possibly have not known about you? Especially knowing how you can't keep a secret."
"Hey, I can keep secrets!" Kero whined.
"The point is, you should have known all along. I don't know why you're surprised. Even AFTER Tori lost his powers, he still knew you existed."
"Huh? Wait, back up a minute!" Kero exclaimed. "AFTER Tori lost his powers? You mean Tori doesn't have powers anymore?"
"I thought I told you that," Yue muttered.
"No, you didn't. See?! You HAVE been keeping secrets!"
"How do you think I'm still here?" Yue explained. "If it wasn't for Tori, both I and Julian would have disappeared. We needed magic to sustain us both and Tori willingly sacrificed his powers to save us. That's when Tori found out who I was. How could you have gone so long without knowing any of this?"
"Because a certain guardian won't tell me…or his mistress!"
"I wanted Sakura to discover her brother for herself," Yue said. "So how did she find out?"
"The night Tori and Julian were recalling the night Sakura sneaked out to seal the Cloud Card," Kero answered. "Sakura heard the whole thing."
"So Sakura knows Tori's secret and Tori knows hers. Have they told each other?"
"Um…Sakura's looking for the right opportunity. It hasn't been easy with this dream she's been having. And knowing the dreams Sakura has, this sounds more like a prophecy."
"What is this dream?" Yue asked.
"Sakura and Tori are both at Penguin Park confessing their secret to each other," Kero began. "Then three…things…come out and tie them up. The Chinese brat tries to save them, but he gets attacked and is stuck bleeding on the ground. Then they say they're going to take them to something called the 'Digital World'."
"Digital World?" Yue repeated incredulously. "Sounds preposterous."
"Hey, our whole existence would be preposterous to a lot of people," Kero pointed out. "So I don't rule ANYTHING out. We always have to expect the unexpected. Besides, Sakura says it all feels so real…so who am I to argue?"
"Has she told her boyfriend?"
"She refuses to. She thinks if Li finds out about this dream, he'll fall right into it. She thinks if he stays unaware of everything, he'll be fine. Of course, that's not always the case, but Sakura doesn't want to see that. I just hope that dream doesn't come true."
"If you're so worried about Sakura's safety, then why didn't you go with her to protect her just in case?" Yue asked.
Kero sweatdropped. "That thought…never crossed my mind."
"How irresponsible could you be?" Yue snapped. "If this is as serious as you say it is, then we shouldn't let the mistress out of our sight! We should find her immediately!"
Kero didn't want to admit it, but Yue was right. He should have been by her side through this whole thing. Kero should have been a bodyguard, but he wasn't. What if something was happening to her?
"You're right," Kero said. "Let's go." Yue was about to walk out, when Kero cleared his throat. "Ahem…the BACK door."
Yue shrugged and went towards the back door. Kero flew onto his shoulder and once they were out the back door, Yue took to the sky. Hopefully, they would find Sakura soon.
It had been a few minutes since eighteen-year old Madison Taylor told Sakura to take a walk and clear her head. Madison was the first one to find out about Sakura's dream and, like her best friend, she didn't know what to make of any of it. But there was nothing the dark-haired Madison could do at the moment. So she took out her video camera and decided to go visit Li Showron.
It wasn't a long walk. When Li came back from Hong Kong, he needed a place to stay, so Madison gladly opened up her guesthouse for him. Li had lived there since then and they had grown to be a happy family…unless Madison was taping him.
Madison got to Li's guesthouse and opened the door with her key. Inside, Li was wearing his robes and practicing with his sword. Madison immediately started taping.
"The Chinese warrior takes his stance and begins to practice his technique. See how he gracefully handles his sword."
Li looked towards the camera and sweatdropped. "Madison…why are you taping me?"
"I wanted to see your awesome technique," Madison grinned. "AND…this might even be a good audition tape for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2!"
Li frowned and sweatdropped again before putting his sword back in his jade charm. "I suddenly need to take a walk. I'll be right back."
Without hesitation, Li was out the door and was walking out towards the mansion's gates. But before he was out, Madison posed a question to him.
"Where are you walking?"
"I don't know. Penguin Park, I guess."
Madison sighed and went back to her house. Without Li to entertain her, her mind was back on Sakura. More than anything, she wished she could help her figure this all out. But all she had to work with were the details.
~* "Where did all this happen, Sakura?"
"We were both at Penguin Park" *~
Madison stopped walking.
~* "Well…why don't you take a walk for a little while?" *~
She shrugged. What were the odds?
~* "Where are you walking?"
"I don't know. Penguin Park, I guess." *~
That's when Madison began to put it all together. Sakura was taking a walk. Tori wasn't home. Li was taking a walk in Penguin Park. Li was WEARING HIS ROBES! It all seemed to be just a coincidence, but after everything that had happened in their lives, Madison couldn't take that chance. She already had a purple blouse and matching skirt, so she immediately went into her mansion to grab her trench coat and head out to Penguin Park.
Her friends could be in grave danger.
The moon was out and the moonlight shone down upon the pond. Eighteen-year old Kari Kamiya was captivated by the sight and thought Penguin Park was just beautiful. But it was pretty far from home and she had to wonder why her friend would ask her there.
"Where is he?" Kari asked.
"Just late…I think."
Kari gasped. She looked up a tree and knew who was hiding in there. "Gatomon! What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait in the car!"
Kari's Digimon companion, Gatomon, came out from hiding and leaped down from one of the tree's branches. Like any other cat-like Digimon, Gatomon landed on her feet. Kari had known Gatomon since she was eight and discovered she was the eighth DigiDestined. While Gatomon made her home in the Digital World, she came out a week ago to visit Kari. But her visit was interrupted by that certain friend who wanted to meet her out in Penguin Park.
"I don't think Davis would stand you up, Kari," Gatomon said. "I think he's just late."
"He knows I have homework!" Kari frowned. "Why would he ask me to meet him here? Maybe he wants me to help him with his."
"I don't think that's it," Gatomon sang.
"Maybe DemiVeemon got in his engine again he needs help fixing his car…or maybe he's still looking for that album he can't find…or maybe he just wants to talk about the soccer game he had earlier."
"No, no, and no," Gatomon grinned. "I think *I* know what Davis wants."
Kari wanted to shrug that thought off. Davis and Kari had been friends for many years and he had always had crush on her since they first met. But Davis hadn't acted upon his crush in a long time. And maybe it was better that way. Because Kari wasn't into the idea of getting into a romantic relationship at this point in her life. Not since the day she and TK...
"What do you know?" Kari huffed. Gatomon was her dear companion, but lately when it came to Davis, she could be a pain.
"I know more than you on this one, Kari," Gatomon giggled.
"Oh…go hide in the tree or something!"
Gatomon giggled again before going up the tree to hide. At least that would leave Kari alone with her thoughts. Why HAD Davis asked her to be here?
"You just HAD to come along, didn't you?!"
"I couldn't let you go by yourself, Davis. I wanted to see this for myself."
"But how many times do I have to tell you, DON'T hide in my engine! Now I have to get my car fixed again! And I'm supposed to meet Kari in…FIVE MINUTES!!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know you're supposed to meet Kari. That's why I wanted to come along."
"I don't NEED you here! You could've stayed home! Who asked you to come along, anyway?!"
"I think you're still nervous, Davis. Why else would you be hiding me in your backpack?"
"You're lucky you fit. And since you've already gone to the trouble of busting my car again, I might as well being you along."
"I still think you're nervous…about seeing Kari. You're finally going to ask her out, aren't you?"
"Oh, be quiet. I can't let it look like I'm talking to my backpack. And I'm already LATE!"
The timing couldn't be any worse for eighteen-year old Davis Motomiya. Finally, after all these years, he was actually ready to ask Kari Kamiya out on a date, but he wanted the occasion to be special. So he asked her to meet him in this place called Penguin Park in the neighboring city of Reedington. But he didn't count on his visiting Digimon companion, DemiVeemon, hiding in Davis' engine.
Davis had known the rookie-level Veemon for many years since he first became a DigiDestined. After the adventures in the Digital World, Davis and Veemon parted ways, but Veemon would always come visit occasionally. This was a bad occasion, since Davis was on edge. He didn't know what Kari would possibly say or what her answer would be. A lot had happened in the last seven years. But Davis knew one thing was for sure. He didn't know how he could deal with rejection from the girl he's had a crush on since he was 11. And he was running a huge risk, because he didn't know what Kari's state of mind would be. She might still be recovering from the day she and TK...
Davis shrugged. In the back of his mind, he knew he had to try again someday. And tonight was a good night.
With Davis' car temporarily out of commission, he had to walk all the way to Reedington, which wasn't easy. But it was still quite a distance to Penguin Park. And even in his in-training form, DemiVeemon was quite a load to carry. Luckily, the streets were seemingly empty. But only seemingly. Because when Davis turned a street corner…he crashed into someone.
"OW!"
Davis dropped his backpack.
"OW!" yelled the voice inside the backpack.
Davis helped the person up. It was a long, dark-haired young girl about Davis's age. She was wearing a purple blouse and skirt and had a trench coat. Such bright colors didn't indicate her mood at the moment, though. She didn't look happy.
"I'm sorry," Davis apologized.
"Me, too," the backpack added. Davis promptly kicked it before DemiVeemon could blow his cover.
"Um…I must have taken a bigger hit than I thought," the girl said. "I thought I just heard your backpack."
"Uh…no!" Davis panicked. "Wasn't my backpack. Backpacks don't talk. Look, I'm really sorry. I should watch where I'm going next time, but I'm in a hurry. I have to go!"
"Um…it's ok," the girl smiled. "It's not your fault and…I'm kinda in a hurry myself."
Silence.
"Gotta go!" shouted both Davis and the girl.
The girl got up and ran off, in a hurry just like she had said. Davis was in a hurry himself, so he tried to pick his backpack up, underestimating how heavy it was, and he fell over.
"DemiVeemon! What do you eat down in the Digital World? You've gained weight!"
"Hey, I've been watching my figure," DemiVeemon whined. "I think I look pretty slim."
"Never mind," Davis groaned. "I'm already late. We have to hurry up!"
Hopefully, DemiVeemon wouldn't make any more noise or do anything else to attract attention. Davis was still quite a distance from Penguin Park, so he needed to move faster. But the weight of his companion wasn't helping, so Davis wasn't moving as fast as he needed.
Hopefully, Kari would wait for him.
The wind felt so cold and Sakura's hands felt like ice. If anything, this walk gave her a chance to clear her head. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and just reflected on the blowing wind. She felt much more relaxed and this would have been more than enough to calm her nerves. But at that moment…
"Sakura?"
Sakura looked out towards her left. Penguin Park was across the street…and standing there was…
…her brother Tori.
Next Time: Sakura and Tori are both in Penguin Park. That can't mean anything, can it? (I think we all know the answer to that) And where is everybody else at? Li? Madison? Kari? Davis? Kero and Yue? Come back to see what happens!
