Till The End Of All
By CyberDracomon
Chapter 9 of 26 - Intentions
It was now nearing five o'clock and TK's legs were still a little sore, getting very little relief from the hour of rest. He was starting to regret bargaining such a short time period out of Kari, who was looking a little impatient, but her legs hadn't even twitched in the last hour so at least she was resting them as best as she could. TK reached for his D-3, still set to go off at five, hoping he could at least delay the timer a bit longer. Just as he took hold, though, the timer went off, beeping loudly. TK quickly turned it off, but it was too late as Kari had already taken the chance to stand.
"That's one hour." Kari said, her voice sounding very glad the time was up. TK replaced his Digivice and stood, groaning slightly as he did, his legs still strained from the constant use.
"You sure I can't talk another half hour out of you?" TK said, knowing the answer already. Kari smiled at him, almost in silent apology.
"Sorry, but you picked the time, not me." She replied. "We can walk a bit slower this time, though. To be honest my legs are still sore from the last five hours." TK smiled a bit, glad she would at least admit it this time.
"Well the temple can't be that much farther." He said. "Check the map, maybe we're closer than we think." Kari withdrew her Digivice and pressed the button to display the map. TK studied it, finding their marker almost three quarters of the way across the path. He was glad to see it that far down the path, the constant walking was too much to take much longer.
"That's better than I thought." Kari said, closing the map and putting her D-3 away. "Maybe we could have rested longer." Hearing that made TK wish they had checked the map before agreeing to only an hour's rest. Still being closer than he thought gave him a bit of a moral boost.
"Nah, if we're this close, let's just get it over with and get to the temple." He said. "We can rest all we want at home once we're done at the temple." Somehow Kari preferred that idea, better to get the next temple as soon as possible and rest later.
"What happened to pacing ourselves?" She asked. "I thought you were the one concerned about pushing ourselves too far." TK grinned nervously a bit, not sure himself how his attitude changed.
"Maybe this long walk has a way of changing someone's mind." He guessed. "I want to get to the other side as soon as possible now, not only to get off this bridge but to see Patamon again." Kari had almost forgotten that their Digimon were still expecting them to open the gateway for them.
"Yeah, Gatomon, too." She added. "I wonder what they've been doing all this time..." TK had wondered the same thing, realizing the time he's been with Kari on this bridge haven't exactly been the most exciting ever.
"Don't worry about them, they're both resourceful." He assured her. "I'm sure they're fine... but just in case let's get going." Kari nodded, starting back down the path with TK beside her, both now in a bit of a hurry to get to the end of the pathway.
**********
Gatomon slowly regained her senses as she woke up from her catnap, her eyes still closed. She felt a strange warmness over her, like there was a blanket on her, but somehow much more comforting. She opened her eyes, seeing two leathery wings draped over her from the shoulders. She guessed Patamon was behind her and used his wings to blanket her. Gatomon couldn't help but think about how sweet the gesture was. She also heard a light snore behind her, meaning Patamon must have dozed off, too.
As carefully as she could, Gatomon stood up, brushing Patamon's wings to the side. She felt a sharp pain go through her back as she stood, making her flinch. Sleeping against Patamon may have been comfortable but it bent her back in some weird position. Gatomon shook it off and took a few steps away from him before turning, seeing Patamon's sleeping form. It was hard to believe when she first met this orange hamster Digimon all she could see was how immature he was, like a newly hatched Digimon. Of course now she had known him for much longer, ten years now. All she could see now was the most important Digimon in her life. Before he was childish, quick to throw a fit, even cried the second something sad happened. Now he was caring, sweet, friendly... Thinking about all of this made Gatomon rethink much of her thoughts on Patamon, realizing how important he was to her and that she couldn't see her life playing out without him in it. Just the thought of that gave her a warm feeling in her, unexplainable but at the same time very welcome.
"...Gatomon..." Patamon whispered in his sleep, rolling over on his side a bit. Gatomon watched on, not sure what to think. Was he dreaming about her? She didn't have much time to study him further as he woke up, regaining alertness faster than Gatomon had. He also probably only fell asleep from boredom rather than the exhaustion Gatomon had fallen asleep from.
"Have a good nap?" Gatomon said, greeting him as he woke up. Patamon looked at her with a bit of confusion, unaware he even fell asleep.
"Guess I dozed off..." He said, standing from his seat against the wall. "How long have you been awake?" Patamon stepped closer, looking Gatomon over quickly. She looked like she was still a little tense from the unusual sleeping position.
"I just woke up a second ago." She said. "I thought for a second I'd have to wait for you to wake up, this place is too boring to be left alone." Patamon had to agree, which was probably why he fell asleep to begin with.
"You know me, I wouldn't leave you alone, even if I am unconscious." Patamon joked. Gatomon giggled a bit, but the sudden movement aggravated her back again, sending a pain through it and making Gatomon flinch from the sudden pain. Such an action was easily caught by Patamon. "Gatomon, what's wrong?" The feline Digimon shook her head, not wanting to worry him.
"It's nothing." She said, trying to reassure him. "Just slept weird laying against you, it'll go away. " Now Patamon felt bad, he only thought about how to keep her warm, he didn't think about how she slept against him. He took a second to think of how to correct his mistake, trying to recall how TK handled things like this with Kari. Unable to remember when TK had use wings to keep Kari warm, however, he went with the next closest thing.
"Gatomon, sit down." Patamon said. "Let me try and massage it out." Gatomon looked at him with confused eyes, not sure how to take this offer.
"Patamon, it's nothing, it'll work itself out." She said. Gatomon jumped up, attempting to show Patamon that her back was already feeling fine. Upon landing, however, that same sting of pain hit. She tried to hold back any reaction from it, but she hardly convinced Patamon.
"Gatomon, please let me try." He pleaded. "It's my fault it hurts in the first place, at least let me try and make up for it." Gatomon couldn't help but feel flattered by this whole ordeal, and knew she wasn't going to win this one.
"Alright then." Gatomon said in defeat, carefully sitting back down on the ground. She curled her tail up and laid it on the ground behind her so it wouldn't get in the way. Patamon walked around her and stood behind her, gently placing his small paws against her back. He was trying to recall how TK did this when Kari had a sore back, remembering he always started higher up, where the neck met the shoulders. Patamon gently squeezed with his paws, sending a surge through Gatomon's upper back, but not an unwelcome one.
"There, how's that?" Patamon asked, continuing his massage. Patamon could only purr in response, though she couldn't even remember the last time she responded to anything like that. The luxury of this wasn't something she was used to, living so much of her life trying to be tougher than others. Meanwhile Patamon was still trying to remember what he saw TK do in this situation. He thought of moving to her neck but it wasn't the problem, so instead he went lower, pushing his thumbs into her upper back. He could feel her shoulder blades, using them to guide his thumbs down her back.
"...A little lower..." Gatomon managed to say, still relaxing under the backrub. Patamon responded my moving down a bit, now in the middle of her back. Her purr suddenly jumped in volume as Patamon hit them main spot that was sore. He picked up on it, focusing more on that area around the spot. Gatomon sat with her eyes closed, relaxing under Patamon's massage. He continued for around ten minutes, making sure he covered her entire back, then stepped back to give her room. Patamon just now noticed his hands were sore from the constant effort, somehow while he was massaging Gatomon he didn't notice.
"Thanks, Patamon." Gatomon said, standing up and stretching out. "I don't think my back has felt that good in a long time." Patamon smiled, again forgetting his hands were sore, now just glad she was feeling better.
"Don't mention it." He replied. "Like I said, it was kind of my fault in the first place." Gatomon turned to look at Patamon, smiling at him. Seemed like everything he had been doing today was for her benefit, first he kept her from getting bored with the conversation, then keeping her warm with his own wings, now the backrub. Of course he did things for her before today but never to such an extent. Free from exhaustion and now of her sore back, Gatomon suddenly remembered what they were supposed to be doing.
"I forgot about the monitor." Gatomon said, now walking over to it. She quickly glanced at it, but to her dismay it hadn't changed.
"Don't worry, they'll get there soon enough." Patamon said, reassuring her before she could even complain about it. "We just have to keep busy until then." That was what the feline Digimon was afraid of, the cliff was barren and even behind the monitor they appeared from was barren for as far as they could see. There wasn't even a tree to climb for miles.
"How do we do that?" She asked. "We ran out of things to say hours ago." That wasn't entirely true, but she didn't want to bring up anything else she had to say for
"We'll think of something, we can't be completely out of things to talk about." He said. Gatomon had known him too long, knowing he was probably as desperate for something to do or say as she was. Her thoughts again shifted to something Kari had told her, something Patamon should know... Gatomon figured it was as good of a time as any, she just hoped he would take it well.
"...Hey, Patamon?" Gatomon said, now decided. "Think you can keep a secret?" Patamon's ears perked up a bit, curious by this sudden request.
"Of course, what is it?" He asked, eager to know. Gatomon shook her head, fearing he didn't understand.
"Patamon, I'm serious." She continued. "You can't tell this to TK no matter what, okay?" Patamon wasn't sure what she was getting at, but it made his anticipation only grow further.
"Alright, I promise I won't tell." He said. Gatomon nodded in approval, then walked closer to Patamon, bending a bit to reach his ear. She cupped one of her paws over his ear, making sure he heard every word of this secret.
**********
TK was now dragging his feet a bit as he walked, again getting tired of the constant movement. The end still seemed nowhere in sight and they had been walking for what seemed like forever. He looked down at the Digivice in his hand, reading 6:30 on it's face. The sun was going down and the sky was turning orange, signaling the Digital World was ready for night. He looked forward, realizing he let Kari get farther ahead of him, but she had stopped and was leaning against the wall, her arms holding her up on top of it, staring out into the sky to the west. TK looked over, seeing her looking at the sun setting over the endless span of clouds around them. He stepped closer, still watching her stare at the horizon.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kari asked. TK stood beside her, now looking at the sunset himself. He had to agree, so many colors were coming from the clouds and sky it that it made a sunset in their world almost dull.
"I wish it wasn't so hard to see, though..." TK said. "It's a great view but the trip to see it kind of ruins it." Kari smiled a bit, just glad she actually got a chance to see it.
"Well I'm sure it's not the only place in the Digital World with this view." Kari replied. "You just have to work to get to this one." TK knew that was probably the case, this couldn't be the only place in the Digital World that was found in the clouds.
"I guess so." TK said. "Maybe once this quest is over we can see the view from them." Kari looked over at him, smiling at him faintly.
"Yeah..." She said. There was a tone to her voice TK couldn't place, but it wasn't noticeable enough to worry about. He returned his glance to the clouds in front of him, watching the sun as it continued to illuminate them, changing their colors with every second it continued to set.
"This whole quest could be longer than we think, who knows when we'll have another peaceful moment like this..." TK hadn't thought about that fact, from what Baihumon said the quest seemed short enough, but here they were taking an entire day just to make it to one of the temples. Who knew how long the next two would take to reach.
"Well that's why we're on this quest, right?" TK said. "Once we've finished, we'll have plenty of peaceful moments together." Kari looked over to him, making an attempt to smile, an attempt TK could easily see through.
"...Yeah..." She said hesitantly. Again something about the tone in her voice made TK worry a bit, but decided not to question her. He turned his attention back to the sunset over the clouds, trying to clear his thoughts in the peaceful setting. Unfortunately trying to do that just brought up his most common thought, the engagement ring sitting in his pocket. He looked over to Kari, who was lost in the view, smiling as she watched. TK decided there, even if the timing wasn't the best, the setting was more than he could have asked for.
"Kari?" TK began, suddenly becoming very nervous. She looked over to him, a curious look on her face. "We've been together a long time, right?" Kari's curious look turned to one of confusion.
"Longer than I can remember." She answered. "You know that, though. What are you getting at?" TK's nervousness only increased, knowing this was the moment he had tried to work up to for months.
"Just something I decided a long time ago." He replied. "I decided... that those years weren't long enough." Kari turned from the wall, now unsure of what to think.
"TK, what are you talking about?" She asked. This was it, TK swallowed a lump in his throat that had somehow formed there, trying to force back any worry of her reaction.
"I mean that I want to be with you forever..." He replied. With that TK fell to one knee, pulling the box from his pocket as he did. Kari gasped as he held it out to her, opening it. The light from the sunset made the diamonds sparkle in many colors and the gold seemed to glow. "Kari Kamiya, will you make me the happiest man in two worlds and marry me?" Kari looked down in disbelief, not sure this was really happening or not. A moment of silent passed, which TK used to take in the fact that he actually went through with this. All that was left was to hear her answer.
"TK... Nothing would make me happier..." She said, making TK's heart jump. "...But..." His joy suddenly turned to fear, not liking that word at this moment. "...I can't accept..." TK didn't know what to say. He stood up, still holding the ring and box in his hand.
"Well I don't mean as soon as possible." TK said, guessing the reason. "I know it's bad timing with this quest, but you can take all the time you want." Kari shook her head, now confusing TK as well as worrying him.
"It's not that..." She said. "I want to marry you, TK, but after this quest... I won't be able to..." TK wasn't sure what he was getting at, but it made his worry grow as it went on.
"Well if you think we're too young, that's no problem..." He said, trying to find any excuse he could. Again Kari shook her head, however.
"It's not that, either..." She replied. "TK... It's something Azulongmon told me in that dream, something I didn't want to tell you... He warned me that even though my Digivice would hold the energy to defeat the Cataclysm, it would still have to go through me to use... and that I wouldn't survive it..." TK couldn't believe his ears, he had to have missed something here.
"...You can't be serious..." He said in disbelief, but to his dread he received a nod in response. "...and you still accepted?!" TK snapped, breaking down suddenly. "Kari, you can't! I won't let you!" Kari stepped back, putting some distance between her and TK.
"TK, this isn't something I could just say no to." She said sternly. "This is the fate of two worlds, if it costs my life to save them, that's what it takes." TK didn't know what to say, or even what to think. It felt like his world just crumbled into dust under him.
"Kari..." TK said, but was unsure what to follow it with. Kari shook her head, though, not wanting to hear anything. He didn't believe this was happening, it couldn't be real... Sure, there was always a worry about the worst happening in any of their adventures but there was always a chance of surviving and winning. Winning here meant death for Kari, something TK refused to accept.
"TK, I know you don't like it." She said. "This isn't something I like anymore than you do, but my death is nothing compared to all the others that this evil will cause. If that's what it takes, it's a small price." TK shook his head, refusing to accept it.
"Kari, that's ridiculous!" He shouted. "This can't be the only way! There has to be some way to beat it without killing yourself!" Again she shook her head, slowing showing more sadness as this went on.
"I'm sorry, TK, but there is no other way..." She said, an upset sound to her voice. "Azulongmon already told me that the Guardians looked for any mother possible answer and there was none. It's no different from Angemon sacrificing his life to save you... I just won't be coming back... but it also means you, Gatomon, my family, all my loved ones, will survive and thinking about that... I'm sorry, but I can't turn away from this." TK stood silent, mouth slightly open from surprise and confusion. "...Let's get going... It's getting late and we still have a long walk." With that Kari turned and continued down the path, leaving TK in a state of absolute shock.
Once Kari was a few yards away TK dropped to his knees, too lost in thought to even stand. He let the box fall from his hand, knocking the ring loose as it his the stone path. The ring rolled a little before falling on it's side. TK noticed none of this, too lost to think of anything but what had happened in the last minute. Kari had to die to save both worlds, he couldn't get those words from his mind... At this moment he didn't care about either world or anyone in them, not even himself, only Kari mattered to him... and now she was expected to die in just a few days... TK clenched his eyes shut, forcing back tears he felt forming. Everything was just now hitting him at once, fear, sadness, anger, depression, everything was just too much for him to take, too much to bear... He was angry at Azulongmon for sending them on this quest, angry at the Cataclysm for making it necessary, even angry at Kari for accepting the quest. It didn't even seem real, but when he regained his senses and returned to reality, it was still true, and it couldn't be avoided. Kari's life would end in a few days, and as far as TK was concerned, his was already at an end.
End Chapter 9
Next: Chapter 10 - Jester
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By CyberDracomon
Chapter 9 of 26 - Intentions
It was now nearing five o'clock and TK's legs were still a little sore, getting very little relief from the hour of rest. He was starting to regret bargaining such a short time period out of Kari, who was looking a little impatient, but her legs hadn't even twitched in the last hour so at least she was resting them as best as she could. TK reached for his D-3, still set to go off at five, hoping he could at least delay the timer a bit longer. Just as he took hold, though, the timer went off, beeping loudly. TK quickly turned it off, but it was too late as Kari had already taken the chance to stand.
"That's one hour." Kari said, her voice sounding very glad the time was up. TK replaced his Digivice and stood, groaning slightly as he did, his legs still strained from the constant use.
"You sure I can't talk another half hour out of you?" TK said, knowing the answer already. Kari smiled at him, almost in silent apology.
"Sorry, but you picked the time, not me." She replied. "We can walk a bit slower this time, though. To be honest my legs are still sore from the last five hours." TK smiled a bit, glad she would at least admit it this time.
"Well the temple can't be that much farther." He said. "Check the map, maybe we're closer than we think." Kari withdrew her Digivice and pressed the button to display the map. TK studied it, finding their marker almost three quarters of the way across the path. He was glad to see it that far down the path, the constant walking was too much to take much longer.
"That's better than I thought." Kari said, closing the map and putting her D-3 away. "Maybe we could have rested longer." Hearing that made TK wish they had checked the map before agreeing to only an hour's rest. Still being closer than he thought gave him a bit of a moral boost.
"Nah, if we're this close, let's just get it over with and get to the temple." He said. "We can rest all we want at home once we're done at the temple." Somehow Kari preferred that idea, better to get the next temple as soon as possible and rest later.
"What happened to pacing ourselves?" She asked. "I thought you were the one concerned about pushing ourselves too far." TK grinned nervously a bit, not sure himself how his attitude changed.
"Maybe this long walk has a way of changing someone's mind." He guessed. "I want to get to the other side as soon as possible now, not only to get off this bridge but to see Patamon again." Kari had almost forgotten that their Digimon were still expecting them to open the gateway for them.
"Yeah, Gatomon, too." She added. "I wonder what they've been doing all this time..." TK had wondered the same thing, realizing the time he's been with Kari on this bridge haven't exactly been the most exciting ever.
"Don't worry about them, they're both resourceful." He assured her. "I'm sure they're fine... but just in case let's get going." Kari nodded, starting back down the path with TK beside her, both now in a bit of a hurry to get to the end of the pathway.
**********
Gatomon slowly regained her senses as she woke up from her catnap, her eyes still closed. She felt a strange warmness over her, like there was a blanket on her, but somehow much more comforting. She opened her eyes, seeing two leathery wings draped over her from the shoulders. She guessed Patamon was behind her and used his wings to blanket her. Gatomon couldn't help but think about how sweet the gesture was. She also heard a light snore behind her, meaning Patamon must have dozed off, too.
As carefully as she could, Gatomon stood up, brushing Patamon's wings to the side. She felt a sharp pain go through her back as she stood, making her flinch. Sleeping against Patamon may have been comfortable but it bent her back in some weird position. Gatomon shook it off and took a few steps away from him before turning, seeing Patamon's sleeping form. It was hard to believe when she first met this orange hamster Digimon all she could see was how immature he was, like a newly hatched Digimon. Of course now she had known him for much longer, ten years now. All she could see now was the most important Digimon in her life. Before he was childish, quick to throw a fit, even cried the second something sad happened. Now he was caring, sweet, friendly... Thinking about all of this made Gatomon rethink much of her thoughts on Patamon, realizing how important he was to her and that she couldn't see her life playing out without him in it. Just the thought of that gave her a warm feeling in her, unexplainable but at the same time very welcome.
"...Gatomon..." Patamon whispered in his sleep, rolling over on his side a bit. Gatomon watched on, not sure what to think. Was he dreaming about her? She didn't have much time to study him further as he woke up, regaining alertness faster than Gatomon had. He also probably only fell asleep from boredom rather than the exhaustion Gatomon had fallen asleep from.
"Have a good nap?" Gatomon said, greeting him as he woke up. Patamon looked at her with a bit of confusion, unaware he even fell asleep.
"Guess I dozed off..." He said, standing from his seat against the wall. "How long have you been awake?" Patamon stepped closer, looking Gatomon over quickly. She looked like she was still a little tense from the unusual sleeping position.
"I just woke up a second ago." She said. "I thought for a second I'd have to wait for you to wake up, this place is too boring to be left alone." Patamon had to agree, which was probably why he fell asleep to begin with.
"You know me, I wouldn't leave you alone, even if I am unconscious." Patamon joked. Gatomon giggled a bit, but the sudden movement aggravated her back again, sending a pain through it and making Gatomon flinch from the sudden pain. Such an action was easily caught by Patamon. "Gatomon, what's wrong?" The feline Digimon shook her head, not wanting to worry him.
"It's nothing." She said, trying to reassure him. "Just slept weird laying against you, it'll go away. " Now Patamon felt bad, he only thought about how to keep her warm, he didn't think about how she slept against him. He took a second to think of how to correct his mistake, trying to recall how TK handled things like this with Kari. Unable to remember when TK had use wings to keep Kari warm, however, he went with the next closest thing.
"Gatomon, sit down." Patamon said. "Let me try and massage it out." Gatomon looked at him with confused eyes, not sure how to take this offer.
"Patamon, it's nothing, it'll work itself out." She said. Gatomon jumped up, attempting to show Patamon that her back was already feeling fine. Upon landing, however, that same sting of pain hit. She tried to hold back any reaction from it, but she hardly convinced Patamon.
"Gatomon, please let me try." He pleaded. "It's my fault it hurts in the first place, at least let me try and make up for it." Gatomon couldn't help but feel flattered by this whole ordeal, and knew she wasn't going to win this one.
"Alright then." Gatomon said in defeat, carefully sitting back down on the ground. She curled her tail up and laid it on the ground behind her so it wouldn't get in the way. Patamon walked around her and stood behind her, gently placing his small paws against her back. He was trying to recall how TK did this when Kari had a sore back, remembering he always started higher up, where the neck met the shoulders. Patamon gently squeezed with his paws, sending a surge through Gatomon's upper back, but not an unwelcome one.
"There, how's that?" Patamon asked, continuing his massage. Patamon could only purr in response, though she couldn't even remember the last time she responded to anything like that. The luxury of this wasn't something she was used to, living so much of her life trying to be tougher than others. Meanwhile Patamon was still trying to remember what he saw TK do in this situation. He thought of moving to her neck but it wasn't the problem, so instead he went lower, pushing his thumbs into her upper back. He could feel her shoulder blades, using them to guide his thumbs down her back.
"...A little lower..." Gatomon managed to say, still relaxing under the backrub. Patamon responded my moving down a bit, now in the middle of her back. Her purr suddenly jumped in volume as Patamon hit them main spot that was sore. He picked up on it, focusing more on that area around the spot. Gatomon sat with her eyes closed, relaxing under Patamon's massage. He continued for around ten minutes, making sure he covered her entire back, then stepped back to give her room. Patamon just now noticed his hands were sore from the constant effort, somehow while he was massaging Gatomon he didn't notice.
"Thanks, Patamon." Gatomon said, standing up and stretching out. "I don't think my back has felt that good in a long time." Patamon smiled, again forgetting his hands were sore, now just glad she was feeling better.
"Don't mention it." He replied. "Like I said, it was kind of my fault in the first place." Gatomon turned to look at Patamon, smiling at him. Seemed like everything he had been doing today was for her benefit, first he kept her from getting bored with the conversation, then keeping her warm with his own wings, now the backrub. Of course he did things for her before today but never to such an extent. Free from exhaustion and now of her sore back, Gatomon suddenly remembered what they were supposed to be doing.
"I forgot about the monitor." Gatomon said, now walking over to it. She quickly glanced at it, but to her dismay it hadn't changed.
"Don't worry, they'll get there soon enough." Patamon said, reassuring her before she could even complain about it. "We just have to keep busy until then." That was what the feline Digimon was afraid of, the cliff was barren and even behind the monitor they appeared from was barren for as far as they could see. There wasn't even a tree to climb for miles.
"How do we do that?" She asked. "We ran out of things to say hours ago." That wasn't entirely true, but she didn't want to bring up anything else she had to say for
"We'll think of something, we can't be completely out of things to talk about." He said. Gatomon had known him too long, knowing he was probably as desperate for something to do or say as she was. Her thoughts again shifted to something Kari had told her, something Patamon should know... Gatomon figured it was as good of a time as any, she just hoped he would take it well.
"...Hey, Patamon?" Gatomon said, now decided. "Think you can keep a secret?" Patamon's ears perked up a bit, curious by this sudden request.
"Of course, what is it?" He asked, eager to know. Gatomon shook her head, fearing he didn't understand.
"Patamon, I'm serious." She continued. "You can't tell this to TK no matter what, okay?" Patamon wasn't sure what she was getting at, but it made his anticipation only grow further.
"Alright, I promise I won't tell." He said. Gatomon nodded in approval, then walked closer to Patamon, bending a bit to reach his ear. She cupped one of her paws over his ear, making sure he heard every word of this secret.
**********
TK was now dragging his feet a bit as he walked, again getting tired of the constant movement. The end still seemed nowhere in sight and they had been walking for what seemed like forever. He looked down at the Digivice in his hand, reading 6:30 on it's face. The sun was going down and the sky was turning orange, signaling the Digital World was ready for night. He looked forward, realizing he let Kari get farther ahead of him, but she had stopped and was leaning against the wall, her arms holding her up on top of it, staring out into the sky to the west. TK looked over, seeing her looking at the sun setting over the endless span of clouds around them. He stepped closer, still watching her stare at the horizon.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kari asked. TK stood beside her, now looking at the sunset himself. He had to agree, so many colors were coming from the clouds and sky it that it made a sunset in their world almost dull.
"I wish it wasn't so hard to see, though..." TK said. "It's a great view but the trip to see it kind of ruins it." Kari smiled a bit, just glad she actually got a chance to see it.
"Well I'm sure it's not the only place in the Digital World with this view." Kari replied. "You just have to work to get to this one." TK knew that was probably the case, this couldn't be the only place in the Digital World that was found in the clouds.
"I guess so." TK said. "Maybe once this quest is over we can see the view from them." Kari looked over at him, smiling at him faintly.
"Yeah..." She said. There was a tone to her voice TK couldn't place, but it wasn't noticeable enough to worry about. He returned his glance to the clouds in front of him, watching the sun as it continued to illuminate them, changing their colors with every second it continued to set.
"This whole quest could be longer than we think, who knows when we'll have another peaceful moment like this..." TK hadn't thought about that fact, from what Baihumon said the quest seemed short enough, but here they were taking an entire day just to make it to one of the temples. Who knew how long the next two would take to reach.
"Well that's why we're on this quest, right?" TK said. "Once we've finished, we'll have plenty of peaceful moments together." Kari looked over to him, making an attempt to smile, an attempt TK could easily see through.
"...Yeah..." She said hesitantly. Again something about the tone in her voice made TK worry a bit, but decided not to question her. He turned his attention back to the sunset over the clouds, trying to clear his thoughts in the peaceful setting. Unfortunately trying to do that just brought up his most common thought, the engagement ring sitting in his pocket. He looked over to Kari, who was lost in the view, smiling as she watched. TK decided there, even if the timing wasn't the best, the setting was more than he could have asked for.
"Kari?" TK began, suddenly becoming very nervous. She looked over to him, a curious look on her face. "We've been together a long time, right?" Kari's curious look turned to one of confusion.
"Longer than I can remember." She answered. "You know that, though. What are you getting at?" TK's nervousness only increased, knowing this was the moment he had tried to work up to for months.
"Just something I decided a long time ago." He replied. "I decided... that those years weren't long enough." Kari turned from the wall, now unsure of what to think.
"TK, what are you talking about?" She asked. This was it, TK swallowed a lump in his throat that had somehow formed there, trying to force back any worry of her reaction.
"I mean that I want to be with you forever..." He replied. With that TK fell to one knee, pulling the box from his pocket as he did. Kari gasped as he held it out to her, opening it. The light from the sunset made the diamonds sparkle in many colors and the gold seemed to glow. "Kari Kamiya, will you make me the happiest man in two worlds and marry me?" Kari looked down in disbelief, not sure this was really happening or not. A moment of silent passed, which TK used to take in the fact that he actually went through with this. All that was left was to hear her answer.
"TK... Nothing would make me happier..." She said, making TK's heart jump. "...But..." His joy suddenly turned to fear, not liking that word at this moment. "...I can't accept..." TK didn't know what to say. He stood up, still holding the ring and box in his hand.
"Well I don't mean as soon as possible." TK said, guessing the reason. "I know it's bad timing with this quest, but you can take all the time you want." Kari shook her head, now confusing TK as well as worrying him.
"It's not that..." She said. "I want to marry you, TK, but after this quest... I won't be able to..." TK wasn't sure what he was getting at, but it made his worry grow as it went on.
"Well if you think we're too young, that's no problem..." He said, trying to find any excuse he could. Again Kari shook her head, however.
"It's not that, either..." She replied. "TK... It's something Azulongmon told me in that dream, something I didn't want to tell you... He warned me that even though my Digivice would hold the energy to defeat the Cataclysm, it would still have to go through me to use... and that I wouldn't survive it..." TK couldn't believe his ears, he had to have missed something here.
"...You can't be serious..." He said in disbelief, but to his dread he received a nod in response. "...and you still accepted?!" TK snapped, breaking down suddenly. "Kari, you can't! I won't let you!" Kari stepped back, putting some distance between her and TK.
"TK, this isn't something I could just say no to." She said sternly. "This is the fate of two worlds, if it costs my life to save them, that's what it takes." TK didn't know what to say, or even what to think. It felt like his world just crumbled into dust under him.
"Kari..." TK said, but was unsure what to follow it with. Kari shook her head, though, not wanting to hear anything. He didn't believe this was happening, it couldn't be real... Sure, there was always a worry about the worst happening in any of their adventures but there was always a chance of surviving and winning. Winning here meant death for Kari, something TK refused to accept.
"TK, I know you don't like it." She said. "This isn't something I like anymore than you do, but my death is nothing compared to all the others that this evil will cause. If that's what it takes, it's a small price." TK shook his head, refusing to accept it.
"Kari, that's ridiculous!" He shouted. "This can't be the only way! There has to be some way to beat it without killing yourself!" Again she shook her head, slowing showing more sadness as this went on.
"I'm sorry, TK, but there is no other way..." She said, an upset sound to her voice. "Azulongmon already told me that the Guardians looked for any mother possible answer and there was none. It's no different from Angemon sacrificing his life to save you... I just won't be coming back... but it also means you, Gatomon, my family, all my loved ones, will survive and thinking about that... I'm sorry, but I can't turn away from this." TK stood silent, mouth slightly open from surprise and confusion. "...Let's get going... It's getting late and we still have a long walk." With that Kari turned and continued down the path, leaving TK in a state of absolute shock.
Once Kari was a few yards away TK dropped to his knees, too lost in thought to even stand. He let the box fall from his hand, knocking the ring loose as it his the stone path. The ring rolled a little before falling on it's side. TK noticed none of this, too lost to think of anything but what had happened in the last minute. Kari had to die to save both worlds, he couldn't get those words from his mind... At this moment he didn't care about either world or anyone in them, not even himself, only Kari mattered to him... and now she was expected to die in just a few days... TK clenched his eyes shut, forcing back tears he felt forming. Everything was just now hitting him at once, fear, sadness, anger, depression, everything was just too much for him to take, too much to bear... He was angry at Azulongmon for sending them on this quest, angry at the Cataclysm for making it necessary, even angry at Kari for accepting the quest. It didn't even seem real, but when he regained his senses and returned to reality, it was still true, and it couldn't be avoided. Kari's life would end in a few days, and as far as TK was concerned, his was already at an end.
End Chapter 9
Next: Chapter 10 - Jester
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