A question for you readers: it's Friday night, your Cable TV doesn't work and you have nothing to do. What's the solution?
TK: Write a fanfic about me, of course! *Crowd cheers, applauses everywhere*
Author: Hey, Taki, good to see you! These people really love you!
TK: Anyway, who are these people?
Author: Dunno, they're always here when I'm about to write……anyway, where were we?
TK: hmmm, I was dead, so I think that now it's the funeral. Am I right?
Author: Oh, yeah, thanks, Taki. Get ready for an extremely psychological chapter. On to chapter 2!
TK: Yeah!
CHAPTER 2
Hearts in Pain
I can't believe it. I just can't…
Everything we lived, everything we built together…
Gone…
Light and Hope…always together…
I don't understand…Why does this look so fake?
"Kari…Kari, are you ok?"
Kari looked up. It was Cody. From all of the Digidestined, she never expected him to be the one sent to comfort her. She was already waiting for Tai, Matt, or even Davis. Or maybe a girl like Sora. She always looks so mature, and she always seems to know the best way to deal with problems. Sora was her big sister, she always thought that. Kari looked for her. She saw in a corner, crying. Tai and Matt were trying to help. Tai noticed that his sister was looking at him, and returned the look, but he didn't have the courage to smile. Kari felt sad again, and tears fell down her face. It was like, the fifth time this hour. Cody tried his best shot.
"You know, Kari, I think I know how to deal with this kind of things. I…I lost my father a long time ago, so, if you need someone to listen what you need to say….." he was interrupted.
"Shut up! You….you have no idea!" Kari shouted, as she ran into TK's room, and locked the door. However, everyone could hear her. She was crying. But Tai knew she wasn't the only one he would have to worry about. "Matt can help his girlfriend and he seems to be ok. But, Davis..." Tai walked into the balcony and started looking at the night sky. He looked to his right, and he saw Davis. He was also looking at the sky. "I've never seen Davis so sad before…it's not hard to guess why." Tai knew he had to say something. He trusted that his image of Davis' hero would help.
"So, Davis, what now?"
"What do you mean?" Davis said, almost in a whisper.
"You know what I mean…what will you do?"
"I guess you're talking about Kari, right?" Tai nodded. "I knew since the beginning. I just…didn't want to accept it. But after this, I guess I have to accept the truth: Kari will never be mine. Not after this." Tai nodded again. Davis kept talking.
"But, who would believe it? You saw him yesterday…I mean today. He was, well, cheerful as always, and we both left him that way. Matt said nobody else but Kari entered his room during the rest of the party, and when the party was over, he was already asleep. Don't you think…?" Tai stopped him.
"No! Don't ever dare to think that again! She would never do something like that! And remember who we are talking about! She loves TK! …..sorry."
"No prob, man. I know she loves, I mean, loved; I mean… you get the idea." Davis was about to say something else, but he heard something.
"Someone's knocking. Let's check it out." Tai said, as he walked to the main entrance. Davis followed him, as Tai opened the door. When he opened it, Davis saw Mimi, Michael, Willis, and two men in black he had never seen before.
"Whoa! How…how did you get here!?"
"Well, Matt called Mimi, Mimi called me, I called Willis, and we Americans are used to move very fast." Michael answered.
"You bet!" Tai shouted, as he hugged Mimi.
"Where's Matt?" Mimi asked. She got an immediate answer. "Right here. Hello, Mimi. Never thought you'd arrive so fast."
"Hey! We're friends, you know? I would never let you face this just by yourself." Mimi said, as she hugged him.
"Hello, Mimi" Sora said, with tears on her face. At the moment Mimi saw the tears on her friend's face, she started pouring tears of the own.
"Oh, Sora!" Mimi shouted and hugged her friend. They both sat down and started crying together.
"Well, at least Sora now has a partner" Matt said as he carried seats for the ones who recently arrived. However, Michael had already found a seat next to Ken, and they were talking about who knows what. So, he went to the door, to receive the men, who obviously looked like detectives.
"May I help you?"
"You must be…Matt Ishida. Am I wrong?" one of the men said. This one was a brunette. Probably 30 years old, he looked pretty scary, and dangerous. "But, well, every single man carrying a gun is dangerous, you call it cop, you call it thief. Good can often be as violent as evil…damn! Now I'm using TK's phrases!" The other guy, much shorter (and older) than the other one, was a black-eyed blonde. He looked damn serious, but he seemed like a nice man, or at least that's what Matt thought.
"I am Matt Ishida. How can I be of your service?" He made that question, even if he already knew the answer.
"We're here to investigate the death of…Takaishi Takeru." The blonde said, as he checked the name of the deceased on his notebook. In the meantime, Willis made a crucial question.
"Where is she?"
Meanwhile, Matt was talking with the cops.
"If you need to know anything, you should talk with his parents."
"We've already done that. His mother denied our request of an autopsy, which means our next step is the death scene. Would you please guide us to the deceased's room?" the brunette said.
"Hmmm, I don't think that's possible right now. You see…" Matt was about to say that someone was in the room, when Kari opened the door.
"Don't worry, Matt. I'm done crying. Allow the detectives to do their job."
"As you wish, Kari" Matt guided the cops inside the room, but how big was his surprise when the blonde asked him:
"That was his girlfriend?" Matt was about to say they were best friends only, when Kari interrupted him with a word that crushed everybody's minds, and some hearts, too.
"Yes." Kari walked silently to the empty balcony, and started watching the sky.
"This is the end." Tai thought.
These two days… have been a nightmare. Please, God, let me wake up.
Kari silently cried while Tai, Matt, Izzy and Davis carried the coffin through the cemetery, as the crowd walked to TK's final resting place. She didn't want to think about it, but, what else could she think about?
Now, what will I do? Who will help with my school homework, when my mom is not there for me?
Who will call me by phone in the same moment I was about to call him?
Who will be my partner when I want to watch the sunset by the beach?
Who will be by my side when I'm going to take an exam?
Who will help when I face the dangers of the Digital world?
Who will say the right phrase, at the right place, in the right moment?
Now that you left me, who can I love the way I loved you, TK?
Kari noticed someone was next to him.
"Joe?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have a tissue, or something?"
"A tissue? No, but I've got…yes, it's here. A handkerchief"
"A handkerchief? Why do you have something like that in your pocket?"
"You don't want to know."
"Oh, sure I do."
"I'm very sure you don't."
"Oh, just spit it out."
"Whatever. TK gave it to me."
"Say what?" Kari said, surprised. She noticed Willis had traded places with Davis, and Davis walked next to her.
"What are you talking about?"
"Handkerchiefs." Kari answered; with a smile wanna-be.
"Oh……sure. Whatever." Davis said with a smile.
"So, as I was telling you, I met TK at the library, a couple of days ago, and I asked him to join me for lunch.
"Wait a sec." Davis said. "What was TK doing at the library?"
"Reading. Something you rarely do." Joe answered. Kari giggled while Davis made a mean look. In a moment, they saw Ken, who walked next to Davis.
"Anyway, Joe. Continue."
"Well, as I said, I invited him to join me for lunch. It was a normal meal: we ate, we talked, and when we finished, we cleaned our hands and mouths. Then, we had two handkerchiefs left. I was about to do what any normal person would have done: pay the check and leave. But nope, I had to be with TK. He took the handkerchiefs, wrote a few words on both of them, and gave them to me. The first one had the solution to this math problem I told him I hadn't solved."
"Brilliant." Ken said.
"Yeah." Joe replied. "And the second one, well, check for yourselves." Kari checked the words on the handkerchief. Davis and Ken read with her.
Nobody knows when you'll need me, so, in the mean time, carry me as a present.
When the time comes, I know you'll be grateful.
TK Takaishi
"I guess he was right." Joe said softly. "I had no idea I would need it in such an important moment." Davis and Ken were silent. And Kari, she wiped out her tears with the handkerchief, trying not to do any harm to the message it had written.
"I never thought I had to be the one who read this speech. In fact, I always thought it would be the exact opposite or something like that. And now, I have to say good bye to my little brother. I knew this would be painful, but I had no idea…" Matt dried his tears while he talked, but it was impossible. "Why me?" he thought "Why must I be the one who gives the final good bye? TK, if you're listening to me, I hate you! I hate you for abandoning your family, your brother, your Digimon and your friends. But there's no sense in saying that aloud. You have no idea about how I feel, TK. I hate you and I love you. Now help me do this less unpleasant."
"I know everybody feels the same I feel, losing and important part of our big family…" Matt continued, as he looked at his close friends, the Digidestined. "We shared a lot of experiences together. I remember the first time we all met. Was it five, or six years ago? I don't know, and I don't really care right now. I have nothing else to say, but we all know that, even if he left us, hope hasn't left our hearts. Hope will live forever, and TK, Hope, will never be forgotten." Matt smiled as he saw how all his friends stood up, and made a circle around the tomb, each one carrying a white rose. He picked up another one, and gave his brother one last good bye.
"Good bye, TK. I'll never forget you. This is for being the best brother…I could have had." Matt said as he threw the rose on the coffin. Next to him, Cody talked. He didn't have to think a lot about what to say, and he just had to remember all the fights we went through, together. TK was his DNA digievolution partner. Those things made him feel a strange sensation in his heart, as if he had a void inside it.
"Good bye, TK. Thanks for being my battle partner. Thanks for your help. Now I trust in me, as you taught me." Cody said as he threw his rose. He looked at Yolei, who was next to him. She began to think, soon after that, she giggled. Ken, who was next, stared at her with a "What's so funny?" face, and then she talked.
"Good bye, Takeru. Thanks for being my best client, and the nice chats we had when I was busy at the store. You always made my afternoons better. I'll miss you." She threw her rose, and looked at Ken with a smile. It was his turn. He immediately talked.
"Thank you, TK. For being a fighter. For believing in your ideals, and for kicking my ass back then at the Emperor's Fortress. That was probably the first time I doubted about the evil things I was doing. Thank you for opening my eyes. Good bye." He looked at his right. It was Davis' turn. Ken knew he would say something weird, and probably stupid, but he also knew Davis was a great person, and whatever he said, it would come from his heart. Davis began to speak.
"See ya, buddy. You were a great friend, and a great rival." He looked at Kari when he said that. Tai sighed. "Davis……" Davis kept talking. "But the most important thing, you helped me understand the worlds. The real world and the Digital World. You helped me understand how close a person and his Digimon can be, and how friendship is the key to greatness. Good bye. I never thought I'd say this, but I'll miss ya." The next one was Izzy.
"Good bye, my friend. Thanks for being a great listener, and teaching me that the heart can solve problems your brain can't. We'll never forget you." He threw his rose, and looked at Joe, who was the next.
"Good bye, TK. You were great when facing problems. Always with a big smile, but with serious thoughts. I never could thank you for helping me back then at the restaurant. I guess this is good bye. Thank you, my friend. Be good." Joe looked at Mimi, who could barely hold her tears.
"Thank…thank you for never forgetting me, no matter the distance between us. You sent me e-mails all the time, and you wrote about everything and everyone. That way I never missed my friends, because their words and their feelings were in your messages. I…I'll miss you. Good bye!" Mimi quickly threw her rose and hugged Sora, who was next. She took some time to help Mimi clean her tears, and then she talked.
"Each one of your phrases was filled with wisdom. I always thought you were a brilliant kid. I can't believe I have to do this…saying good bye to you. Now who will be my tennis partner?" Everybody looked at Sora with the animesque "Say what!?" look, but she continued. "Our lives will be different without you. We'll miss you, my friend." Then, she looked at Tai. "Tai… you look so sad. I have never seen you like that. Your heart is in pain, just as your sister's. Was he…was TK so important to you…?" Tai began speaking.
"I have to thank you for lots of things, man. A long time ago, you asked me if I could be your older brother…" In that moment, Matt looked at him, and whispered "Is that true?" Tai continued. "I had loved to have a brother like you, but I know you helped me more as a friend as you would have as my brother. Thanks for teaching me about hope, while I taught you about courage. Thanks for your kind words, your happy smile, and your caring thoughts. Thank you… thanks for taking care of my sister when I couldn't…" Tai heard something when he said that. Kari had gasped. He just smiled. "Thanks for being you. TK, my little brother." Tai threw his rose, and looked at Kari, who was lost in her own thoughts.
"How could I? How could say good bye to him?
I… I just can't…Please…please, TK, don't leave me…
Don't make me do this…" she looked at the others. They were waiting for her to talk.
"What can I say? They expect me to say a couple of nice things about him, and then…it's over…
What can I say? What can I do? The last memory I have from you……a good night kiss…a good bye kiss…
What did I mean for you? Were we…just friends? No… I remember…
(N/A: Warning! Flashback! *flashback alarm activates*)
The Digiworld. It had been two months since the death of MaloMyotismon. After all the meetings with the presidents and the media, after all the chaos, after explaining everybody that the Digiworld wasn't an amusement park, or a military objective, it was the first she had some quality time with her best friend.
"Are you tired?" she asked
"No, I'm not. Are you?"
"With you by my side, how could I?"
She sat next to him, and they both looked at the sunset in the Digiworld. She never noticed the moment when he wrapped her with his arms. She blushed, just a little.
"Did you miss this?" he asked
"Yes…a lot."
"Did you miss…me?"
"Yeah…"
TK was chosen to represent the Japanese Digidestined in the United Nations "Meeting for the Discussion of the Digital World and its Meaning in the Development of the Human Race." He was in NY for a month, and there he fought and succeeded in his mission own sending a peace message, about a place where humans and Digimons could share together.
"And…TK?"
"What?"
"Did you miss me?"
"Of course. How wouldn't I miss my sunshine?"
"TK…"
(N/A: End of flashback! *Flashback alarm goes off*)
Kari organized the words in her mind, and then she talked.
"Once you told I was your sunshine…
Today I thank you…for being my soul mate…"
Done with chapter 2! Yay!
TK: I just have a question…
Author: What is it?
TK: When did this fic become a Takari?
Author: Good point. That wasn't the initial idea, but I like how the story is moving.
TK: So, you said I was the megastar, but I'm already dead…
Author: Don't worry, my friend. Just wait for the next chapter…Beautiful Tomb-Raider, Rebirth of Hope! Any reviews and comments will be gladly accepted. See ya!
