NOTE: Very special thanks to my first five reviewers! Chris Kugler, Tashona Ambrosia, Silent Shadow, and a VERY special thanks to Waldo Terry and Fallen Angel of Hope! Hope you enjoy this chapter (even though this whole fic is very sad…)
Welcome to chapter 2, readers! Last time we were witnesses of TK and Kari's "breakup". Now, who will both of them deal with it? Will Davis and Mina take advantage of their friends' fragile hearts? Or will TK and Kari find happiness again, together? Let's go find some answers! (If not all of them, hehe…)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon. It belongs to some Japanese guy. I'm not even Japanese, so I don't know why I'm writing this…
CHAPTER 2
Nothingness
What did I do?
Where did I go wrong?
All those words…all those feelings…were they only…an illusion?
No…I remember…I used to be happy…
Maybe…someday…I will feel that way again…
TK looked out of the window. A weak rain poured its drop on the empty Odaiba night. Artificial lights illuminated the place, while the shy stars hid from their fake, yet brighter imitations.
But then…what now?
What am I supposed to do with my life?
There are lots of other fish at the sea…yeah, right.
I bet the guy who said that never felt this way…
He tried to think about something else, but, what else could he think about? His mind was filled with memories of his lost love. Happy memories, sad memories, all of them part of a whole. Most guys after a breakup try to forget and start again, from the very beginning. But he wasn't one of those guys.
No…I don't want to forget…
It may be sad, but…damn, I love her…
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Why did you have to do it?
I thought you understood me, but…
You failed to me, Takeru…
As a friend…as a partner…
But maybe…it wasn't your entire fault…
Kari Kamiya looked at the rain, while sat on her desk. Her partner, Gatomon, looked at her with concern. The Digimon had been very worried when she saw her human friend crying that night a week ago, after she got back from TK and Mina's house. Only when Tai told her what had happened, she could understand the reason for Kari's sadness. But she still hadn't understood the reason of the "breakup", as neither did the Digi-Destined. But there's something she knew: Kari couldn't stay like that forever. She had to do something.
"Kari…"
"………"
The girl didn't answer. But the Digimon had to keep trying.
"Kari…"
"…what?"
"Thank God…"
"What?"
"You actually talked to me."
Kari sighed and looked at her Digimon partner, realizing she was right. She had ignored Gatomon for the last week, the same way she had ignored her brother, her parents, everyone. The only thing in her mind was…him. And the longer the time she spent without him, the stronger his image grew in her mind. Why can't I get him out of my head? She wondered, even if she already knew the answer.
Of course. I may have said something different, but the reality is…that I love him. Then why can't I just go to his house and tell him? Why can't I openly declare my feelings? What's wrong with me!? I love him…but I hate him.
Suddenly, the door opened, revealing the face (and the hair) of Tai Kamiya. He had a worried expression on his face, almost as if he feared talking to his little sister.
"Mmm…ahem…Kari?" Kari looked at his brother, wondering what his intention could be.
"What?" she said coldly. Tai took a couple of seconds, but he had to say it.
"Sora is here. We're leaving to…" Tai thought a little and then continued, without forgetting to gulp before. "…to Takeru and Mina's house. Aren't you coming?"
What Tai ignored was that Kari's attention had ended when she heard the name. However, she could get Tai's intentions.
"I'm not going." Tai sighed.
"But it's Matt's birthday party. You should come. After all, he's your friend."
Yes, just as his brother used to be… Kari thought.
"That's not true, Tai. Matt's birthday was more than a month ago. That was just your excuse to get drunk tonight. Besides, you know I don't like that kind of parties." "And the most important thing: I can't be in the same place HE is…"
"Oh, ok. But I bet Matt will be disappointed. And you know I haven't drunk alcohol since I started dating Sora. She hates drunks." Tai finished, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Kari sighed. "Somehow, he always manages to convince me. Besides, he won't be there anyway. He hates Matt's parties." She got up and walked to the closet, trying to choose what to wear.
"So you're going, after all."
"Sure thing, Gatomon. I can't stay like this any longer. Life goes on, doesn't it?" Kari replied, forcing her best fake smile out. "But maybe…we just spent too much time together. Maybe…it's time to meet more people…"
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"Nobody has arrived yet." TK said softly as he walked inside the living room. He slowly sat next to Mina, who was finishing her dinner.
"Well, it's raining outside. I guess that should delay them a little. Besides, it's just 7:00 PM. Night is young, very young." She answered, and then took the last sips of her orange juice.
"It didn't even show any signs of a storm coming. This rain is clearly unexpected." TK said, more to himself, but Mina replied anyway.
"Yeah. Very weird."
TK looked at her friend for a while. When the glance became a stare, Mina looked back at him, seemingly worried.
"What's wrong, Takeru?" TK remained silent, looking at her.
"You're scaring me, TK…"
"You know, Mina? I just noticed something."
"What is it?"
"You're really, really attractive."
"What the!?" Both TK and Mina thought at the same time. "Did he/I just say that?"
"Well, that's a start." Mina said, with that cute smile TK liked so much. He walked to the kitchen, to prepare a snack. Mina followed him, until she began washing the dishes. "What else did you find out?"
"Nope, nothing more than what I already know about you. Only that I haven't really seen you out of this place, except when I was fighting and stuff. I think we should go out. I don't know… to the movies, maybe. Or dancing. Or I should take you to a very fancy restaurant for dinner. You know, like real friends do."
"Ok, that was completely unexpected. Mina, think! This is a sudden twist…I mean; he hadn't shown any signs of interest, but…maybe this is just because of…"
"But you know you can't go out, Takeru. You're supposed to be dead." She said, even if the words tasted bitter in her mouth.
"Well, maybe I can't…but your cousin Takeru has no problems with it." TK said, referring to the fake identity he had used to remain unidentified. It had completely failed, as Cody, Izzy and Mimi could see through the disguise almost instantly. Mina was puzzled. "Well…after all, he's right. Real friends hang out together, they don't stay locked in their houses. It's just that…I've actually never been asked out before…this is a completely new feeling…but I like it."
"Sure, why not? Maybe some other day." She said, with a warm smile. She couldn't help but blush when he smiled back. But the happiness ended when the bell rang. Someone had arrived.
"I'll get it!" TK said as he dashed to the door. Mina didn't say anything, until she realized who might be behind the door.
"TK, I really think you shouldn't…"
But TK opened the door, just to meet the face of Kari Kamiya.
"…open the door."
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Kari almost couldn't recognize the face of the man who was looking at her. Yeah, she recognized the hair, blonde and a little spiky. She could recognize the eyes, soft and big cerulean eyes. She recognized the factions, masculine, yet soft and charming. But the man in front of her wasn't the Takeru Takaishi she knew. This one had a cold, expressionless face. His eyes traveled from her, to her companions, Taichi and Sora. The three of them tried to talk, but they gave up when Takeru walked away of the door and made his way to the hallway.
"I'll be at the library studying some dark magic. I don't want to be bothered, Mina." And then, he looked at the three teenagers, with the same cold expression, that made them feel chills. "And if one of your friends gets too noisy near the library, I'll make sure they get to know what dark magic is." With those words said, he locked himself in the library. Tai, Sora and Kari finally caught their breath, as they seemed to have not done that since the moment TK opened the door. Tai and Sora made their way to the couch, while Kari looked at the library door, silently, sadly.
"Man he's in a bad mood today!" Tai said to Mina, who had already walked in the living room with drinks for everyone.
"I guess this means we won't get to have some of that wonderful cocktail he makes." Sora said, looking very disappointed. "It was the only thing that kept Tai away of alcohol."
"Hey, I can stay sober! With or without TK's ´Sunshine Fantasy´!"
"Sunshine Fantasy? What is that?" Kari asked.
"Oh, didn't you know? It's the cocktail's name. He invented it, so he got to name it." Tai explained. "Didn't he teach you how to do it, Mina?" Tai asked, with a last glimpse of hope.
"Sorry, Tai. I didn't even know Takeru made cocktails. And I don't think he's in the mood for teaching me. He's been like that since the morning. I guess he just got up with the wrong foot." Mina lied, as she knew he had been really nice (maybe nicer than the usual…) until they got there. Tai sighed in defeat.
"Well, Sora, I guess I'll need your help. You know Matt and the guys will try to get me drunk. I do stupid things when I'm drunk, and they find that hilarious."
"Tai, you made stupid things when you sober." Kari joked. Everybody's laughter helped her raise her spirits for a while.
"Well, honey, if they try to get you drunk, we'll just make our way to the guest's room. You know we can have fun without them, do you?" Sora said softly, which made Tai blush to a shade of red Kari and Mina hadn't seen before. Sora giggled when Tai finally put his arms around his waist and moved his face closer to her.
"Sora, you're so sexy…" he said before they began to kiss passionately.
"Ok, ok, no make-out sessions on MY couch…unless I'm the one on it, of course…" Mina joked, but nothing seemed to stop the two lovers. "Kari, please stop them before they do something not decent…" Kari just shrugged and sat on one of the lots of chairs that place seemed to be. "They'll eventually stop." She concluded. Then, she looked again at the library door, where she knew Takeru was studying, or staying away of her, she still wasn't sure. That just leaded to a sigh from Mina, as she watched the couple finishing their diary passion interlude, sweating and panting. For a moment, Mina wished those two would be Takeru and herself, before she discarded the thought out of her mind. "Why can't I seem to get him out of my head, after he has rejected me for who knows how many times?" She tried to rediscover the reason for her endless love for Takeru Takaishi.
Then she remembered.
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Well, that seems to be the trick.
TK finally closed the book he had been reading for the last three hours. It had been tiring, tedious and had made him remember high school, but it had been worth the effort. He knew how to use dark magic.
It's so easy I can't believe it. I find healing spells much tougher. But maybe that's the point.
He knew dark magic gained its power from the bad, corrupted things in nature. He knew Evil was immortal, so dark magic couldn't be destroyed. Bt he knew that the use of dark magic slowly corrupted the user's heart, if he didn't know how to control the forces of darkness. It was a very big risk.
But I'm the Chosen One, after all. I can do anything.
He realized he was too tired to keep reading, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until that party was over. And the party was far from over. After the short lapse with Hikari, he had relaxed a little. At least he wasn't out of control anymore.
I guess Izzy is right after all. A good read makes wonders. But I must admit Mina has a point. A good bath is a lot better. But if she finds out I used her bathtub she'll kill me.
He realized he had to show up anyway. He had to see his brother. After all, he never gave him the "Happy Birthday" congrats the real day. Besides, there were some things that intrigued him.
Are actually Joe, Izzy, Cody and Ken in that party? I wouldn't wonder about Yolei. She's always up to something crazy. I guess opposites do attract. Same happened with Mimi and Izzy. And what about…her?
He knew Kari didn't like big parties. They were too noisy, too confusing, and the chance of getting drunk was too dangerous for her. He quickly took her out of his thoughts, and prepared to make his way to the living room when an unfamiliar noise disturbed him. TK looked back, and found the source, which made him get even more worried. It was the crystal orb. The same one he used to communicate with his masters in the Dark World. But he was always the one who began the communication. He hadn't been called by the Academy since the Evil crisis. What could be possibly happening?
Geez, Takeru, don't get paranoid. Maybe it's just someone who wants to talk. That's it.
But the fact that it was 10:00 PM took that thought out of his head. Even if they were in the Dark World, they knew it was a little late around Odaiba. They wouldn't call him at that time if it weren't an emergency. A real emergency. So, slowly and softly, he touched the crystal, which immediately activated the magic screen. But, this time, there was no one on the other side. Just static.
"This is a message from the Headquarters. All sorcerers in the world are receiving this message right now. This is an Emergency Call. We're demanding Total Gathering. All sorcerers report to Headquarters ASAP. This is a direct order. The message will repeat itself until the transmitter is disabled…"
TK didn't need more information. There was something going on, and he had to be there. He closed the communication, and the magic screen faded. Immediately, he walked out of the dark library, and made his way to the outside world. But he didn't care for the party, or Matt, or Kari, as he know had a bigger priority. Something told him he was going to fight again.
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Kari sat shyly on one of the chair. It was easy to find a place, as everybody was up, dancing, drinking, some couples were even making out on random places around the house. For a second she hoped nobody had invaded Mina or Takeru's rooms. And then his image came back to her mind.
Takeru…
He hadn't come out since the moment she arrived there. But maybe it was for the better. She wasn't really ready to face him, to have a conversation with him.
She sighed as she took a sip of the only non-alcoholic drink in the house: Coke. She had already rejected five dancing offers, six drinking offers, two girl-talk offers from girls she hadn't seen before in her life, and a couple of "hey, you wanna have a good time with me…*hic*, babe?". She was definitely bored, and tired.
Where are the others? She wondered. Immediately, her eyes made their way to one of the corners of the house, where Izzy was actually using his laptop, probably trying to communicate with Mimi, on the other side of the world. With this noise? Good luck chatting, Iz. Then, she found Matt, dancing with one, not, two girls at the same time, following the tune of a trance beat. It seems like Matt's dancing skills haven't gotten any better. She thought as she saw his footwork. I wonder if Mina has something to do with it. She wondered when she saw the dark haired girl in the kitchen, laughing at the scene, while avoiding the drool of three sophomores looking at her. But of course, coming to this party with a white sleeveless shirt and black MICRO-shorts is dangerous. If someone pours beer on her white shirt, she'll be in serious trouble…unless she wants to play a wet t-shirt contest, that is. But even Mina had to be drunk to do something like that. A couple of seconds later, she found Joe, Cody, Yolei and Ken on the couch. Joe, of course, was bragging about his new girlfriend, while Cody looked at him impatiently. Yolei and Ken, on the other side, were…
Making out!? Whoa, Ken, of all the guys in this place… she thought with a smirk.
"What's so funny?" a masculine voice said next to her. Only then she realized a man was sitting next to her. It was a guy she had never seen before. He had spiky black hair, which went down almost to his shoulders. He looked strong and he was well-tanned, she could notice. He was wearing a tight black T-shirt, which matched his eyes perfectly. He finished the outfit with dark blue jeans and black tennis shoes. Kari actually found him…kind of cute. And as she looked at his black eyes, she made her conclusions.
Obviously one of Tai's college friends. Twenty, probably. But…there's something about those eyes…such…mystery…I find it…intriguing.
Kari immediately made her warning. "Before you make your move, I'm not interested in dancing, or drinking, OR making out, alright?" The guy just showed his perfectly aligned white teeth in a smile.
"I'm tired of dancing, I don't drink and I don't plan on making out with anyone tonight." He said simply. "My name's Ryo Asamiya. May I have yours?"
I guess I can trust in him. "Hikari Kamiya." She noticed his eyes widened a little.
"So you're Taichi's little sister, huh? Actually when he mentioned you I thought of someone a little younger." Kari giggled.
"Yes, he loves treating me like a little girl." "And so did Takeru…maybe that was it. He didn't realize I wasn't just a little girl that needed to be protected and taken care of. I'm a woman."
"Is…is something wrong, Hikari?"
"Oh, no, nothing. Just got lost in my thoughts."
"I see. Nice party, huh? No! The word is not nice…it's weird. This is a weird party." Kari giggled again.
"I don't think this is a party anymore. It's just a bunch of people…doing…stuff…" she concluded. Ryo laughed, and Kari was impressed at his charming laugh.
"Yeah, I think. After all, I see Matt over there, doing something that looks a little like dancing…" Kari couldn't help but laugh. Ryo continued just after she stopped. "…but…where's the host?"
"Tai? He must be with Sora…making out…yeah, probably." When Kari noticed Ryo's puzzled look, she explained. "His girlfriend." Ryo nodded.
"I understand, but I wasn't really talking about Tai. I meant the owner of this house. Because this isn't Tai's, I can tell." Kari's expression changed when the thought of Takeru haunted her mind once again. "You don't know when to stop bothering me, huh?"
"Well, Mina is over there." Kari said, pointing at the girl in white and black, who had left the building, with at least four men after her.
"And I guess that's her escort. With her beauty, I'd think they would be more." Ryo admitted. Kari sighed. Everyone was prey of Mina's charm.
"I wonder what she will do to get rid of them." She explained.
"Does she live alone in this huge house? Doesn't she have a roommate or something?" Ryo asked. "Well, it seems like it's unavoidable."
"Well, she lives with Take…" But with a sudden move, the library door opened, revealing the image of Takeru Takaishi. But this wasn't the TK she knew, or the one she met a couple of hours before. This TK was, much to her surprise, the Chosen One.
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Takeru looked disgusted at the scene in front of him. Alcohol, noise, and dirtiness were all he could see. He could what he could only relate to Sora's moaning from the guest's room. An orgy of alcohol, heavy music and a little sex floating in the air. Lovely, just lovely… But he had to ignore the scene before him, and the female voices already wondering for the new cutie's identity. He had something to do. He quickly scanned the area. In a matter of microseconds, he found Matt, Izzy, Joe, Cody, Yolei, Ken and Davis, who just came out of the bathroom. An instant later, he found Kari, with a man he hadn't seen before. He instantly ignored Kari's eyes, but for some reason, his eyes met the unknown man's black eyes. For a second, or more like an eternity for him, electricity flowed in the air, and obviously Kari and Mina noticed it. Kari grabbed the guy's hand and led him to the dance floor. But TK wasn't a fool. He realized that Kari's only intention was to sneak close to him. Suddenly, he felt Mina's soft touch on his arm.
"Could you help a little, honey?" she said. Almost like a robot, TK looked at the four or five guys who had been chasing her, looking for a chance to take her under the sheets. And for some reason, they backed away like scared puppies. Such was the power behind the Chosen One.
"Thanks, hon."
"Thank me later. I need a favor."
"Anything for you, sweetheart." Of course, Mina ignored Kari and Ryo were eavesdropping while they danced. TK noticed the other Digi-Destined, except for Matt, Tai and Sora, had gathered around him. Maybe they were lured by the sudden change in TK's mood.
"Mina, I need to know what a Total Gathering is." TK didn't need to deduce it was something bad after hearing Mina's gasping.
"Why…why do you ask me that?"
"Because I just got a message demanding a Total Gathering, and I have no idea what that may be. I'm still not very familiar with the world of magic, so, talk!"
"Well…as you know…sorcerers and sorceresses don't gather themselves in large groups very often, yet we keep in touch with the magic screen…" TK nodded while the others listened carefully (including Kari and Ryo), even if they still didn't know what was going on. Mina continued.
"Only when life is threatened in some way, and more specifically, the existence of magic, we make a Total Gathering. I mean, all the magic users in the world join together in the Academy of Magic, to discuss the threat together. The last time one was required was after the nuclear bombings during the WWII, and the one before was long before I was born, during the Magic Wars of the ninth century."
"Then why are they requiring one now!?" TK almost shouted.
"I…I wouldn't know…could it be…?" Mina gasped in terror with just the mere thought. TK hastily walked to the library, followed by the Digi-Destined, Mina, and a very curious Ryo, who stayed outside, but without forgetting to listen to what was going on inside.
"It can't be, Mina! Evil was defeated. It couldn't take this little for it to regenerate!"
"I know, but…"
"Open the gate."
"What!?"
"Open the gate to the Dark Ocean! I'll make my way to the Academy."
"The Dark Ocean…" Ken mutter could be easily heard. Everybody in room looked at the Digi-Destined of Kindness, then at the Digi-Destined of Light.
"Are…are they gonna be okay, TK?" Davis asked worried.
"They should. It's not like they are going to open the gate, anyway." TK said coldly. "Now Mina, could you please hurry? Something is happening in there, and I want to check it out."
"Should…should I go with you?" Mina asked.
"No. After all, for some reason, I can't open the gate by myself. I need you to keep track of me with the magic screen, so I can tell you when I want to get back, ok?" Mina nodded and stepped forward.
"Void of Darkness, open up!
Lead our souls through the path of the Darkside…"
The Digi-Destined gasped at the ease Mina had opened the gate. The only saw a portal and some flashy lights, but behind all that, there was the obvious image of the Dark Ocean.
"Man, we could have really used Mina against Daemon…" Davis joked. But everyone was too surprised to listen to him. TK was actually going through that gate.
"Takeru, will you be ok?" Mina asked.
"Of course. I've been through the gate before, don't you remember? I've been in the Dark Ocean twice." TK answered, with the memories of his experiences in the World of Darkness. Kari, Airdramon, the Scubamon, Dragomon, the Control Spire, Kari again…
"Please, take care. We'll be watching you…" Mina said. TK just gave her a thumbs-up, and dashed through the portal. Before anyone could gasp, he was gone.
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Nothingness…
That was the constant of the Dark World. He knew there were evil Digimon lurking around, but they lived in the shadows. There was no way he could easily see them. So, he focused his mind in the distance, in the direction of the academy. And then, he noticed something different in the horizon.
Light? But…how?
TK wondered about the origins of the light. Even the Academy's golden statues and clean rooms were ruled by different shades of gray, but that definitely light. But it wasn't the pure, white light he was used to. It was another thing, dirty, and not pure, yet familiar. It was…
Fire! The Academy is on fire!
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End of Chapter 2…
Hey, it's over. Shorter than the first time, but I couldn't get into the details of the Academy crisis without making this a veeeery long chapter. Anyway, for next chapter: What happened at the Academy? Who is actually behind this? And, after all, who will Ryo react to his more than awkward discoveries? Find out next time you see me with another chapter. See ya!
DaneelRush (daneel_ff@hotmail.com)