I threw in a little play-on-words here, basing that Tien's supposed to be from China. Kanji is what you call an imported Chinese character in a Japanese anime. Weird, huh?
Hey Hyper Shark? Do me a big favor and cut down on the caffeine, okay? All your capitals are giving me a headache, which won't help me get the chapters out sooner…
P.S. - Of course all the chapters are supposed to begin with 'Lost'! Whadda think I was doing?! ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. But this story has always, will always, and…well, I guess there isn't really much after that, huh? Aw, forget it…
Lost
Chapter 4: Lost Friend
"Come over?"
Kari blinked at Tien in surprise. It'd been a week since the storm, and the boy was facing her by the school gates. Tien scratched the back of one leg with the other and licked his lips, avoiding her gaze anxiously.
"Well…yeah…" he laughed nervously. "I mean…just to chat, you know? To pay you back for keeping me out of the rain last week…"
Kari looked at his hopeful face. Now she was getting nervous, but nervous about her own decision. "I'm supposed to go to the Digital World with the others today…" she argued with herself. "The Digimon are waiting…and Patamon's even gonna be there."
"Aw, come on…" the other half whispered. "It's only once. And look at 'em…He really wants you to say yes."
"But…the others…"
"They'll understand. Go on. Make him happy. You know you want to. Say yes…Just say yes…"
"Sure." she said, smiling at him. "I'd love to."
Davis leaned on the windowsill, looking down towards the gate. "Kari's talking to that guy again…" he muttered in his head. "What's taking her…wait a minute…"
"She's leaving with him!" he exclaimed out loud.
"Who?" Ken asked, looking up from his math homework.
"Kari!" Davis cried. "She's leaving with that Tien guy! They just walked out together!"
Cody came to the window. "You're right…" he muttered. "What could Kari be thinking?"
Yolei leaned back. "Don't worry about it." she told them, not taking her eyes off the computer screen. "I think that guy's just what she needs."
The boys stared at her, but she didn't notice. "Kari's been so depressed lately…I think she needed something to pull her out of it. And you know…" she leaned back, looking at them for the first time. "Maybe he reminds her of T.K. He is more like him than anyone we've ever met."
She stood up and went to the window by the others. "Don't worry about her." she finished with a sigh. "She'll be back to normal soon."
~ * ~ * ~
Kari and Tien arrived at the door of his third-floor apartment. Kari noticed the name plate with surprise. Most of the family apartments said something like Mr. and Mrs. Arika or Jim and Lois Mikana. But all this one said was Tien Kanji. That's all.
Tien unlocked the door and showed her in. The room was bare, in comparison. There was a couch facing the fireplace, a coffee table, several pictures and a decorative box on the mantle, and a small wooden table with a single chair.
"Sit down." he said sheepishly, motioning to the couch. "I'll get you a drink."
Kari set her bag down by her shoes and crossed the room to the couch. She sat down and looked around her in curiosity. There were no decorations around her, just blank walls and the pictures on the mantle. This place looked.…empty…
With a jolt, she realized the truth.
"Tien…" she said slowly, looking up as he entered with two sodas. "Do…Do you live alone?"
The boy was quiet and looked down. Kari couldn't tell, but it looked like she'd touched something real sore. "I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "I didn't mean to…"
"It's okay." he assured her, smiling. "Really…I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later."
There was silence a moment as they sipped quietly. Then Tien looked up. "I've been meaning to ask you, Kari…" he muttered, looking at her. "That name your brother called me last week…what did that mean?"
Kari swallowed hard. "It's…nothing…" she croaked. "Nothing important…"
"Sure seams important." Tien said. "Was he…a friend?"
"A very close friend…" Kari admitted, holding in tears with a gulp. "He was…it's hard to explain…we were on a sort of team together…"
"'Were'?" Tien asked quietly. "What happened?"
Kari closed her eyes sadly and a tear drifted down her cheek involuntarily. She always got this way when she thought about him. "It was about three years ago…" she muttered. "He…He and his brother…they were in an accident. A plane crash. In the middle of the ocean. His brother got out…but T.K.…"
Tien reached out to her and gently brushed the tear away. She looked up and he was handing her a tissue. "Thanks…" she muttered, taking it and blowing her nose.
Tien looked at her, then away. "It feels…kinda good. The fact that you could share that with me, I mean." he sighed, then stood. "I've got something I want to show you, too."
He crossed the room to the mantle, took down the box and one of the photos from the top, returned to the couch, and handed her the picture. Kari looked at it and drew in a short breath.
The photo showed a thirteen-year-old boy, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was smiling and laughing on a beach somewhere, with two older people. One was a woman with white-gray hair and faded green eyes, while the man had dark-gray hair and brown eyes.
Kari was taken aback by the boy. It was defiantly Tien, it had to be…but at the same time it looked exactly like T.K.…But it couldn't be…
"These people…" she said, recomposing herself and pointing to the old man. "Who are they?"
Tien smiled. "That's my Grandpa." he said quietly. "And the woman's Grandma. They took care of me as long as I can remember…" he shrugged slowly. "Then…well, grandpa died about a year and a half ago. Then gramma…she went only about six months before I moved here."
Kari's hand covered her mouth. "He's an orphan…" she realized with a shock. She'd never thought about that before. "That's why he's so quiet…"
"Tien…" she whispered. "I'm…I'm so sorry…"
He shrugged. "It's okay." he muttered. "It's not like…they were my parents or anything…"
"They're close enough!" she exclaimed. "I mean…what happened to your real parents? Were they killed?"
Tien took a deep breath. "I don't know." he finally sighed.
"How could you not know?" she insisted. "One of them had to be their child…Didn't they tell you?"
"My parents…" Tien muttered again. "Weren't their children."
Kari jumped. Before she could ask another question, Tien answered her. "They found me."
"Found you?" Kari gasped.
Tien brushed his hair back from his eyes, gazing sadly at the picture. "Grampa, you see…Accordin' to Gramma, it was about three years ago…He was fishing off the coast when he literally reeled me in."
"Whatta you mean 'according to Gramma?'" Kari asked. "Don't you remember?"
Tien shook his head. "I guess I hit my head or something." he sighed. "I don't remember anything more than about two and a half years ago."
Kari listened intently as he continued. "According to Gramma, she and Grampa had to teach me everything…just about. I'd practically forgotten how to walk, and I could only speak Japanese. And after that…" he shrugged. "Well…I guess since I couldn't remember anything, they decided to take me in."
He sighed, fingering the box carefully. "That all?" Kari asked, although her heart was already racing.
"No…" he muttered, fingering the clasp on the box. "Do…Do you recognize this thing?"
He pulled something out of the box. Kari swallowed hard and her eyes widened.
Tien was holding out a small piece of molded green and white plastic, with a few buttons and a black screen. "W-Wh-Where did you get that?!" she gasped.
"I've always had it." he shrugged. "I dunno what it is, though…Do you?"
Kari stared a moment, then reached down to her own pocket slowly and pulled out an identical object…Only pink. Tien cocked his head curiously. "Then you do know what it is?"
Kari gulped, still not looking at him, exactly. She barely noticed him at all, but was closely studying his face, or rather, his eyes. Those captivating, beautiful blue eyes…She knew she'd seen them before…
"T.K.…" she whispered, then threw her arms around him, crying out with happiness.
The boy jumped. "Kari…what the…heck are you doing?!"
Kari pushed back so she could face him. She was blushing, sheepish, but smiling like she hadn't for years. "You don't get it, do you?" she asked quietly. Reaching forward suddenly, she took his hand and rubbed her cheek against it affectionately. "We thought you were dead…"
"What're talking about…?" Tien asked, confused.
Kari held up his object…the green D-3. "Only one person ever had this." she sighed happily, looking up. "When you washed ashore…from the Sea of Japan, right? That's where the plane went down. That's where T.K. died. At least that's what we think."
He looked at her a moment. Her eyes were sparkling through the tears as she closed the green D-3 into his hand. "Don't you see?" she asked quietly. "T.K.…Didn't die…Tien, you're T.K.!"
Tien…no, make that T.K.…widened his eyes. "There's no way." he gasped.
"There is." she urged. "That crash…you must've hit your head! Amnesia…"
Tien/T.K. stared at her a moment. "You're serious about this, aren't you?" he asked.
"Of course I am!" she exclaimed. "There's gotta be some way to help you remember…"
An idea sparked in her mind. She leapt to her feet, dragging the boy behind her. "Do you have a computer?"
"Uh…" he blinked. "Down the hall…"
"Good, come on." Kari pulled him down the hall by the arm. "I've got someone you need to meet…"
~ * ~ * ~
"So everyone has a different smell?" Yolei asked. "And you can describe it?"
"Yep!" Armodillomon laughed. "And the sweeter the smell, the more attractions they get from other humans, depending on their taste."
"For example." Patamon piped, living up for once. Since T.K. had died he'd been gloomy and sad, but he was feeling better today. "Kari smells like peppermints and green tea!"
Everyone snickered behind their hands, except Davis, who quickly demanded. "What about me?"
Gatomon sniffed, then answered. "Fresh cut grass and anchovy pizza."
The group laughed, and then everyone wanted to know what they smelled like: Yolei was instant rice and oil of violet (her favorite lotion) Ken, just like fresh spring rain. And Cody's was elm…the wood his Kendo stick was made of…and the slight hint of peanut butter.
Patamon suddenly perked up his ears. "I hear someone coming." he said.
Veemon leaned forward and sniffed the air his friend indicated the sound was coming from. "It smells like Kari!" he said excitedly.
Gatomon sniffed quietly, then frowned. "She's got someone with her."
"Is it Tai?" Cody asked.
"No…" Patamon followed his friend's leads and took a whiff. Digimon smell is very acute, and sometimes, with a good wind, can be even better than his hearing. "It's… It's T.K.!"
The humans stared at their partners. "Patamon…that can't be right…" Ken gasped. "T.K.'s…dead…"
"No!" Patamon looked like he was about to bust with excitement. "I'd know his smell anywhere! It's just like cherry blossoms and a new basketball! It's gotta be…"
At that moment, Kari appeared through the trees, pulling someone along by the arm. "Come on!" she urged. "This way!"
"I really don't know what the heck is going on here…" the boy muttered as she pulled him into view.
The group stared a moment. "Tien?" Davis asked.
He was going to stare back at them, but Patamon couldn't hold back anymore. With a happy cry, he flew through the air and practically tackled Tien, who fell over from the shock.
"T.K.!" the little creature cried happily, hugging his chest best he could with his short little arms. "Itsyouitsyouitsyouitsyouitsyou!"
The boy stared at him wildly. "What the…?!" was all he could think of to say.
Kari laughed a bit and the others stared at her. "Kari…" Ken said slowly. "What's going on?"
Kari stopped a moment, looking up. "Sit down…" she sighed. "This could take a while."
Hey! Be paitent! Matt will show up in the next chapter, I PROMISE!
