Ah…Nothin' like bein' home after a much-too-long vacation my folks dragged me into, and working on those crazy ideas I came up with in our accumulative 22 hours on the plane, not to mention 10.6 in the rental car, and 6.3 in the airport. So I've got plenty of ideas for this fic, and Diamond in the Rough, and Grass is Greener, and a new one, and the ending for Future's Course. This'll be fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, but I own Sailor Moon Z, and all the fics above.

Of Rivets and Angels

Chapter 4: Past Wounds

Kari groaned and opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, a light was above her, a pillow and mattress below, and a blanket on top. She'd dried partly, but was still a little wet.

She sat up. Strange. It looked like a warehouse that had been spiffed up with beds and what looked like a makeshift table, with a hand-carved wooden cup on it. "Where am I?" she asked no one in particular.

"Our home."

Kari spun around. The black-haired girl sat across from her, legs crossed and eyes closed. Kari recognized her instantly. "You're Mia!" she gasped. "You've gotta help! T.K. is…"

"Be quiet." Mia snapped. Kari fell silent. Mia was meditating. After a moment, she spoke again, opening her eyes. "Where is he?"

"A warehouse…" Kari whispered. "In the Delta district. Route 32."

"Fine." Mia uncrossed her legs. "We've gotta find him. But before we do…" she leaned forward in order to hear Kari speak. "You tell me something. What happened between you two?"

Kari took a deep breath and glanced out the window. It was still drizzling a bit, and the sky was gray and cloudy. "I never really meant for it to go this far…" she whispered. "I guess it all started…we met about seven years ago, when we were eight. We were part of this group, with some other kids…We were friends, really close friends, but then, about three years ago…"

~ * ~ * ~

It was the Valentine's Day dance at Odiva Jr. High. Everyone was dressed up for the formal attire that was required. Kari wore a pink dress, with white ruffles. In the middle of one of the faster songs, T.K. pulled her over to the side.

"What's up?" she asked, smiling at her best friend.

T.K. swallowed. Do it! Do it now! his heart urged.

"Kari…" he croaked. "You…You know I care about you, right?"

Kari smiled at him gently. "Why, of course, T.K." she giggled. "You know I care about you, too."

She doesn't get it…She doesn't get it… his heart whispered.

"That's not what I mean!" he exclaimed, but then his courage failed and he started to stutter. "What…What I was trying to say is…Kari…I love you." he croaked out the 'l-word' with a high-pitched squeak.

Kari gave him a strange look, then laughed. "Oh, T.K., you're so funny!" she giggled. "I can't believe you set me up like that! You always make me laugh!"

T.K.'s face fell. She doesn't love me! She doesn't! She doesn't! his heart sobbed over and over.

Get a grip! yelled the mind Don't freak out! She'll just think you're even weirder!

For a moment, Kari was hesitant about what she had said. He looked upset…but before she could ask what was wrong, T.K. had taken to his heels from the gym. "T.K., wait!" she called.

"I've gotta go home…" T.K. muttered. "I'll…I'll see you tomorrow!"

That was the last time Kari ever saw him.

~ * ~ * ~

The next morning, T.K. was curled in his bed, blinking away tears hopelessly. The gossiper's words just came playing back in his head:

"I hear Kamiya's goin' steady with Motamiya now."

"No kidding! I caught them slow-dancing at the dance last night! They were, like, breathing down each other's necks!"

"Davis's always had the biggest crush on her, but she never showed any real interest in him…"

"She never showed interest in anybody! You know Kari, she always keeps her feelings to herself."

"They'll be the big couple at Homecoming this year!"

And on it went. T.K. was crushed. He'd always thought…deep in his heart…he'd always believed she'd be the one person who'd never send him away, the one person who'd never laugh at him, or hurt him, or anything. He'd always thought they were destined…destined…and the pain of rejection still burned in the pit of his heart.

He ditched school that day. All the rumors had been heard in the front yard. All he had to do was turn around and run, leaving Patamon in the computer room. No one had seen him, not Kari, not Davis, not even his mother, who had stayed over night on an undercover job and was to be back that evening.

His mind turned to the rest of his problems, tumbling over and over in his head: He'd been so alone his whole life, since the family had split up.

His brother… Always so cold and hard, like a rock, his seal never cracking, not even for his little brother.

His father… never got to see him anyway, not since the split.

His mother…Always so busy, not a moment of time to spend with him, not even when he was little. And Kari…

All this longing, all this loneliness, all this pain…he couldn't take it anymore! With a few swift trips around the apartment, stuffing food and other necessities into his bag, he was satisfied with what he had. He pulled the bag over his shoulder, and climbed out the window and onto the fire escape.

It was noon, the sun was high overhead, and anyone could have seen him, but no one did. Not as he dropped to the ground, not as he ran down the sidewalk, not as he crossed the bridge to a new part of town, across the river, never once looking back at the place that had been his home…

~ * ~ * ~

Someone pounded at the Kamiya's door. Kari stuck her head out of her room as Tai stood from the couch and answered it. "Matt!" he cried, genuinely surprised. "What brings you to this side of town?"

Matt's blue eyes looked stressed and he wrung his hands together. "I need to talk to Kari."

"Kari?" Tai blinked. "Why…What's up?"

"I already talked to Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken. She's the last one who saw T.K. last night." Matt gasped in one breath. "I've gotta talk to her."

"Why?" Kari stepped into the hall. Tai moved back so she could face Matt. "What's wrong with T.K.? He wasn't at school today."

Matt looked up and locked eyes with her. "He skipped." he whispered. "And some of his stuff is gone, clothes and things, along with all their bread, and cereal, and all those non-perishable foods, and his back pack. Mom wasn't at home last night, and he just…vanished."

"What?!" Kari gasped. "T.K.'s…Gone?"

Tai put his hand on his head, eyes closed. "I don't like the sound of it…" he muttered, distracted. "His was missing, what was it? A set of clothes, some food, and a back pack…" he shook his head. "I dunno Matt…sounds like a runaway."

"Runaway?!" Kari gasped, but Matt just nodded.

"That's what the police say." he whispered. "He ran away…and no one knows why…"

~ * ~ * ~

"And…that was it." Kari glanced sideways, away from Mia.

"What about his family?" the black-haired girls asked. "His mom and Matt? What'd they do?"

"Nancy…that's his mom…she was pretty upset at first." Kari shook her head. "Now Matt spends one month with her in T.K.'s old room, the next with his Dad, so neither gets lonely."

"I see…" Mia nodded. "And I know exactly what happened to T.K.…"

"Then would you mind telling me?" it was Kari's turn to lean forward. "I wanna know how he got so…so cold…"

"Well, alright." Mia crossed her legs again. "See, it was my first time out…"

~ * ~ * ~

Fourteen-year-old Mia leapt from rooftop to rooftop, her hair fluttering and brand-new jacket rustling in the wind. She stopped a moment and gazed out over the city.

"Alright, Mia ol' girl, this is it." she muttered, dropping to the ground and beginning to explore the street. "Just find the agent disguised as a Rivet, and I'll be a full-fledged Angel! Now where to start…Woah!"

She suddenly hit the ground, having tripped over something. She sprawled a moment, then sat up to see what it was. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god…"

The thing she had tripped over was a boy.

He was just about her age, tall and thin, with shaggy blonde hair and pale skin, dressed in tattered old clothes with an empty blue bag lying beside him. He seamed to have collapsed from hunger or exhaustion. There were big bags under his eyes, and he clutched his stomach and groaned in pain. Feeling his head, she realized he had a terrible fever.

"Holy cow…" Mia whispered. She scrambled to his side. "Buddy…hey, buddy! Are you okay? Hey, pal, speak to me!"

The boy groaned again and rolled over to see her. He opened his eyes, just for a moment, revealing them to be a beautifully crystal-clear blue, then they closed again.

As soon as she saw those eyes, those beautiful, strong, captivating eyes, Mia knew she couldn't leave him. Nothing could wipe the mission from her mind, and becoming a full member of the gang, but he had. She had to save him, she just had to!

With a groan, she grabbed him under the arms and dragged him towards the base. "Hang in there, buddy." she muttered. "Just a little while until we get there. Just hang on…"

~ * ~ * ~

T.K. felt a cool, gentle hand on his fevered brow. In his half-dazed state, he couldn't tell exactly who it was, or exactly why they were helping him.

He forced his eyes to open half-way. A girl was leaning over him, gently wiping the sweat away from his forehead with a cold, wet rag. For a second, his heart skipped a beat. Is it…really…Kari?

He blinked and the girl came into clearer focus. Her hair was long and black, not like Kari's short brown, and her skin was much darker from the sun. She smiled down on him joyfully.

"Good." she sighed. "You're awake."

T.K. sat up. His fever was gone, and he wasn't tired anymore. He was in some sort of shed or warehouse or something, lying on a straw bed. "Where…am I?" he whispered.

"This is the headquarters of the Angels based in the Yokohama Tokyo." the girl explained. "My name is Mia. I found you."

"Found…Me?"

"Yes indeed."

Both teenagers looked up. Standing in the doorway was a man, in his mid-forties, with silver hair and blue eyes. Mia immediately jumped up and bowed. T.K. just sat there, wondering what was going on.

"My name is Gabriel." the man said, smiling at T.K. "I'm the one that started this group, the Angels, a long time ago."

"Oh." T.K. whispered. "I'm T.K."

Gabriel nodded, then motioned to the girl. "Mia here found you out on the streets during her training mission three days ago." he explained. "She's been nursing you back to health ever since."

Mia turned a bit red, but Gabriel took no notice and continued. "You were malnourished, dehydrated, alone on the streets…clear signs of a runaway." at this point the smiled down at T.K. warmly. "We're all like that, at one point or another."

He held out his hand and helped T.K. up. "How would you like to stay here?" he asked. "And train to be a part of our group? It's quite rewarding in it's own sense."

"And you don't have to live on the streets, either!" Mia piped up. "We're here to protect against the Rivets!"

"Rivets?"

"They're these guys with holes in their jackets." Mia explained quickly. "A real mean group, attack people for no reason!"

T.K. though for a moment. "Holes in their jackets?" he asked. "I think…I think I got jumped by them, about a week ago. Took all my stuff, then knocked me clean out. I could of stayed another week if it hadn't been for that."

"Oh!" Mia gasped.

Gabriel nodded. "Ah. I see."

"Alright, then!" T.K. looked up, smiling for the first time in weeks. "I'll do it!"

Mia had to control her excitement, but it wasn't easy.

"Then it's settled." Gabriel nodded. "You, T.K., can begin the training in two days, Monday. And you, Mia…" he turned to the girl. "Are going to have to do it again with him."

Mia didn't have a response for that, except to stutter out, "But…But sir!!"

"No buts." Gabriel warned. "You didn't complete your actual mission, and you need to start over." he turned to leave. "We'll see you in two days."

The door slammed shut. Mia sighed. All that hard work… went through her head.

But when she glanced at T.K., and the boy she'd found lost, alone and hungry was smiling, even laughing, it just made it all feel better.

~ * ~ * ~

"So that's our story." Mia sighed, uncoiling her legs and climbing to her feet. "Now, we gotta find T.K."

Kari sat there a moment, sighing to herself. She's not fooling anyone. she thought longingly. She and T.K.… They've gotta be more than friends. I can tell. They are…He didn't really…

Mia's hand suddenly appeared. Kari looked up in surprise. The other girl was waiting for her to stand up. "Well?" she prompted. "Come on. Let's get going already!"

Kari finally stood. She looked over at Mia. "Can I ask you something first?"

"Shoot." Mia shrugged, bouncing nervously. "But hurry. We may not have the time."

Kari sighed again, then looked up. "Do you…Are you and T.K.…Are you…You know…"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" Mia asked wistfully, looking away. "I wish."

"So you…You do care about him!" Kari gasped.

"Yeah." Mia glared out from under her raven black bangs. "So you and I might be rivals. But for now, let's just focus on getting him back in one piece before we fight over who he belongs to."