Me: Ok, I guess it's time for me to start writing a new chapter!

TK: Great. I'm ready anytime.

Me: We'll see my friend. We'll see.

CHAPTER 5

Sprout of Darkness

"Are you ready to go, Kari?"

"In a minute, bro." Kamiya Hikari said as she came out of the bathroom, ready for a new day of school. She had returned to her usual way of life with time, and her brother was happy to see that. She gave a peek on the cheek to her Digimon, Gatomon, and picked up her schoolbag. She was ready to go, when her mind came up with the idea that she had forgotten something. Then, she looked at her desk, and smiled when she saw the picture. His picture. She remembered the day she put that picture on her desk. Tai didn't like the idea, but she looked at him with a smile and told him "that way he'll be always with us." She remembered that Tai just sighed and surrendered. Kari walked to her desk, and gave a look at the picture, as she did everyday. Yes, it was always the same picture, but she had this weird idea that she was missing a detail. Tai always said that it was nothing more than a normal picture, but she insisted that there was something in it, something unique. It was a picture of herself, with TK, on a Tokyo street. Matt was the photographer, and he also said there was nothing strange about it. "It's a normal picture. It is you who has changed." Matt always said when she asked him about it. She looked at the picture for the last time and then looked at the note, which she always kept next to the picture.

"Farewell, my sunshine. Now I must leave... forever.

Never allow your light to fade; and, no matter how dark things look,

Never lose your hope."

She smiled when she read it, and finally decided to leave the bedroom. It was time to go to school.

"And today I count….16 months." Mina said loudly when she looked at the calendar. To her, those had been the longest months in her life. She had never felt so lonely ever. And she didn't hide the fact that she missed him. "Yes, I miss him. So what!? I'm not perfect. Although…nah…I'm not…" As she cooked her breakfast, she prepared herself to do what she had done during the whole sixteen months: absolutely nothing. There was nothing to do. She had successfully accomplished her mission: finding the Chosen One and delivering him to the Masters from the World of Darkness. And it had been relatively easy. TK didn't make any kind of resistance. The complete opposite, she looked as he left this world with a smile on his cute face. "I wonder what he is doing. What kind of things Tomari is teaching him? I mean, he's the Chosen One, he must get some kind of special training…" she thought as she walked to the living room, carrying her breakfast. She sat on the couch, and turned on the TV. The news were on display. "The news…it's always the same. Humans always do the same. They keep killing themselves, and when they don't have anyone left to kill, they create Hitlers everybody can hate. When will they learn? Don't ask me, I'm just a cute witch." She thought with a smile. "Yes, Humans are always the same, but there are some exceptions. TK, for example. His heart is filled with light, and his mind is the mind of a sorcerer, even if his body is as weak as a human's…" she stopped thinking, when she felt the awkward idea that she was observed. She tried not to move, as the mysterious watcher could know that she had discovered him. She didn't worry very much, as she had the advantage of her own powers. She deeply inhaled, and looked for any human presences. Nope, there's no human being in her house. "An animal?" she thought. No, that wasn't an animal, it was an intelligent being. That when she noticed it. It was magic. A very powerful magical aura. "It's a sorcerer. Friend or foe?" then, a thought came to her mind. "Could it be…? No…" No. It wasn't Evil, it was something else, very powerful, but not from the dark side. "Then, this aura must be…" She quickly looked back, and she saw the boy.  A tall boy, 15 or 16 years old, his hair was dark as the night, but his eyes were green as emeralds. He wore a black cape and very special gloves covered his hands. Those were magical gloves. They were fingerless, and carried a jewel on them. She recognized them. Pearls, the jewels of an apprentice. Black boots and what seemed to be a katana on his back completed his outfit. She couldn't recognize the body, but she could recognize the heart inside it. She was about to talk, but he looked at her, smiling, and said the first words. Words that made her feel relieved.

"I'm back."

The car stopped in front of the main entrance of the High School. Kari opened the door and jumped off the car, just to see that Davis, Yolie and Cody were waiting for her. "Guys! …and you too, Yolie!" she shouted. The three friends walked to her, and smiled. Davis, of course, was the first to speak.

"So, what's up, Kari?" he asked with a very big smile on his face. Kari gave him a very big smile, and Davis' heart filled with light.

"I'm fine, thanks. What about you?" Too bad Davis was too happy to answer.

"We're fine. Thanks, Kari." Cody said. Kari looked at her friends with great interest. "Davis has grown up a lot and he's also a lot more mature than when I met him. It's like if he had…given up with me. Yes, that's it. After what happened, he looks at me with the face of a friend, who just wants to help. He has the attitude of a 16-year-old boy. Interesting, rebel, but mature. Maybe we aren't so different after all; know that I think about it." Kari thought, as she remembered that Davis and she had the same age. On the other sides, Cody was younger and Yolie was older. "She is 17 and he's…14? I don't remember. Cody and I never had had a close friendship, and that's probably because his best friend is Yolie. The problem is that she's got new interests and responsibilities, and he's too young to understand that. That's the reason he always seems so distant, and lonely. And I have to take into account that Yolei is spending more and more time with Ken…" she thought with a grin. Then, her brother interrupted her.

"Hey, deep thoughts, I've got to go."

"Oh, Tai, I'm sorry. Thanks for the ride."

"Whenever you want. " Tai said proudly. "See ya."  Kari watched him as the car got away. "Tai is now 19. He's in the ´Yay! I'm an adult´ phase. He drives his car proudly, and he won't say no when you ask him for a ride. Of course, that's something I use for my own advantage. However, he has this sickness he will never get rid of: Jealously. He always feels below Matt. The moment he proudly told us that he had gotten his driver's license; Matt ruined his joy and told us he had decided to join the Air Force, and become a pilot. Of course, combat pilots are much more interesting…and exciting than simple car drivers…or at least, that's what Sora thinks, and in the end, that's what really matters to Tai….poor Tai…but, now that I think about it, Sora spends waaaay more time with Tai than with her boyfriend...it must be tough for Matt's parents…one brother is in the Air Force…and the other is…" Kari sighed. She made a sign and the others began following her. "There are lots of variables in the love equation…that sounds like something Izzy would say…" she sighed again.

"What are you thinking about?" Davis said, at the same time Kari opened her locker.

"I don't know, Davis. You three, myself, my brother, Matt, everybody…"

"…and TK, too. Am I right?" Kari nodded.

"Davis, it's being a year and four months. I have this big bunch of questions, and I can't answer anyone."

"But you have the feeling that if you answer just one, you'll answer all of them."

"Yeah! How did you know?" Kari asked, with a face filled with curiosity.

"I know you, Kari. And I think I'm beginning to understand how your mind works. I'd really like to help you, but I don't know the answer to any of those questions."

"Thank you, Davis" she said, and kissed him on the cheek. Davis blushed (TK: But I think that's pretty obvious. N/A: I think someone is jea-jea-jealoooouusss…). "But there was only one person in this world who could understand me."

"I know."

"He would always say the right phrase at the right moment."

"Kari, I was his friend too, and I know he always had the right thing to say, not only to you, but to every single person he cared for."

"It's nice from you to say that." Kari noticed that Yolie and Cody were already gone to their respective classrooms. "Let's go Davis. I don't want to be late." Davis nodded and followed her. "Maybe I know that you'll never be mine, Kari, but I still love you. I just want you to know that I'd do anything for you…" Davis thought. "Yeah, let's go." They both began walking. Kari, with a strange feeling of sadness mixed with anxiety. Davis, with the feeling of having done his good action of the day.

"So… what now?" Mina asked to his roommate while he cooked his own breakfast. It was nice to have TK back, so she was smiling, and felt cheerful.

"Don't ask me." TK answered. "I've finished my training. I think it's time to look for Evil's material form and destroy it."

"And what if it's a cute lady like me?" she joked, smiling from ear to ear.

"I'll destroy it. No matter the appearances. But, now that you said it, Tomari once told me: ´Body is just a shape for your soul. If your soul is bright and filled with the light of the right path, then there's nothing that stops you from having an excellent body.´ Pretty weird, coming from the oldest wizard from the World of Darkness." Mina laughed.

"And then…what if Evil takes possession of a human body?"

"Can he do that?" Mina nodded.

"Didn't your teachers tell you?"

"Nope. Now that's a problem. I wouldn't like anyone to die in that battle. But if it has to be done, it will be done."

"How macabre."

"I know. But that's the way of war." TK was done cooking, so he waited for his breakfast to be at an eatable temperature. In the meanwhile, he began sharpening his sword. Mina walked next to him, and looked at the weapon with curiosity.

"That's a kodachi, right?" Mina said, more like an affirmation than a question. TK nodded.

"Master Davalos told me: ´Weapons should be only used to protect you. White magic to protect others, and black magic to control the Evil.´ that's why I chose a defensive weapon."

"It's a nice choice, but you can't go around the city carrying that." Mina joked.

"Any suggestions?"

"Well, I've seen your aura, and it's quite a powerful one. Let me give you something more…advanced." Mina said as she dashed to the library. TK walked to the kitchen and began eating his breakfast. Mina returned with a pair of gloves. They looked a lot like the ones TK was wearing, but the new ones had emeralds, not pearls."

"Pearls are the jewels of an apprentice. They don't suit you. I want to give you this." Mina said as she handed the gloves to her friend. She continued explaining. "As you should already know, magic jewels do not only amplify magic spell, but they have the ability to carry magic objects within them."

"You mean…there's something inside that emerald?" TK asked, while changing gloves.

"It's called the Staff of Hope. I think it suits you perfectly." Mina said. TK looked at her and smiled, and she did the same thing. "Thanks, Mina; you really are a life saver."

"Heh, I know. Now, changing topics, what about Evil?"

"What about him?"

"Well, he will probably take a very particular form."

"What kind of form?"

"He probably knows you're a teenager, so he'll take a compatible form so that he can stay close to you, and watch your moves."

"You mean he'll take the form of a teenager?" TK asked. Mina just nodded. "And what do you think normal teenagers are doing at this precise moment?" It didn't take long for TK to answer.

"High School."

"Yep. So, we'll go together. I complete the whole paperwork, pay the fees, and in the meanwhile, you look for him."

"What paperwork?"

"You're very slow. Don't you see? He's going to watch you, right? So you better keep a permanent vigilance on him, too."

"Does that mean…."

"You will have to go to the High School everyday, as a student."

"Oh, man…" TK sweatdropped. He was hoping to run away of school, now that he was the Chosen One and all that stuff. "Ok, I'll go with you, but I really need a bath right now."

"There's no hurry, sweetie. I'll go ahead and you can visit the school at lunch time, when all the students are out of the classrooms, and it's easier to watch them all. And, hey, you did a pretty nice job with your body change." Mina said, mentioning TK's new form. "It must have been easy, after the training."

"Easy for you…"

"Oh, and one last thing."

"Now what!?"

"If you find him, don't even dare to think about fighting him."

"In the school? No way!"

"That's not what I meant. You're still too weak to stand a match. You must become stronger. Stronger than me, and stronger than any other sorcerer that has ever existed. That's the only way you'll be able to defeat him."

"Easier said than done…but that explains why Tomari isn't the Chosen One."

"Tomari mastered the arts of Magic after hundreds of years of practice. You're the Chosen One because you have a natural talent for magic, and a unique ability, too."

"Which is…?"

"Creating your own spells."

"Nice…"

TK looked at his watch while standing at the entrance of the High School. "12:15 PM. Lunch time. Man, I can't believe I'm here again. What if…? There are lots of possibilities!" he thought. He looked at the main building. The same good old prison. But he had more important things to think about. "What if I find Evil, and he tries to kill me, right in front of everybody? What if someone recognizes me? What if SHE recognizes me!? I guess there's no point in thinking about it just right now." He sighed. "Let's go." He took a deep breath, and walked inside.

As he walked, he could feel it. The strange sensation of being a stranger. Everybody was wearing their green uniforms, and he had to be the outsider, with his black cape and his emerald gloves. A lot of people looked at him as he walked, mostly girls, who giggled and said who knows what kind of stuff. TK sighed. "Why must this happen to ME!?" But, he was curious about something. The boys were practically ignoring him, and he knew there was a reason. He tried to use his well trained audition to gossip one of their conversations.

"Did you see her!?"

"Who?"

"That chick!"

"What chick?"

"The one who came this morning. She was talking with the Director, and they seemed to be talking about a new student, or something."

"So?"

"She's hot as hell!"

"Really? Is she still here?"

"I think so."

"Then what are we doing here?"

"Good point."

"Man, I just hope she is the new student."

"I don't think so. Too old to be one."

Then, the two guys stood up and entered the main building. TK laughed silently. "Mina…always tries to be above everybody." He walked to the main door, and opened it. As he walked in, he began thinking again. "I just hope things stay as quiet as they have been…aww, crap!" TK thought as his body froze. Because on his left, walking in his direction, he saw Davis, Cody, Yolie and…her. He gasped as they approached. Davis was looking at the ceiling, ignoring Cody's words. Yolie seemed to be drooling, for reasons he completely ignored. And Kari…well, Kari was looking at him.

"Act normal. Act normal. Act normal, for God's sake! Emotions just leads to mistakes…remember that, Takeru…man, this couldn't get any worse…" Takeru thought. But he had no idea how wrong he was. Because in that same moment. Someone shouted.

"TK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Me: Well, I'm done. What do you think, TK?

TK: I'm dead meat.

Me: Hey, that's a good thought. I'll include in the next chapter.

TK: So, what's next?

Me: You always keep asking that. Well, the next chapter is titled "First Encounters". I think that gives you a pretty good idea of what's next.

TK: Yes, it does.

Me: From now on, the chapters will be longer, because I'm filled with ideas and I really want to include them all in the fanfic.

TK: Whatever.

Me: Anyway, I know you're getting tired of this but, any reviews or comments will be gladly accepted. Anything but flames or envelopes with white powder, ok?

TK: That was mean.

Me: Geez, what makes you think I don't know that?