I, Sakura Cherry Blossom, give Takari's Baybee permission to post this story as my continuing contribution to the starving Takari fans out there. May Takari forever live on in the hearts and minds of fans everywhere! (sorry. I kinda had a moment there. Ignore and read on ^_^' )

Title: Against Our Wishes

Author: Sakura Cherry Blossom

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A 19 year old girl walked down the streets of Odiba amidst the soft pelting of a spring rain storm. It had been four years since she'd walked these streets. Her father had to move for his job and so everyone, except her older brother who was in college, packed up and moved to some European country she hoped she would never see again. The cold wind blew as she pulled her blue coat tighter around her. She sighed as she stopped in the park. Past memories surfaced and silent tears began to form. Oh how she had missed everyone here. For some lame reason they couldn't get a proper telephone and the computer was off limits. That was why she hated moving so, bad. She'd lost all contact with her friends and for all she knew they could have dropped off the face of the earth. Not caring, she sat down on a nearby bench and just watched the rain fall. That's all it seemed to have been doing since she arrived in Odiba yesterday. Her brother had already graduated from college and had gotten an apartment not far from where they used to live. He'd let her stay with him while she was here.

Her ruby red eyes scanned the horizon as if looking for the past she had missed, or better yet, left behind. She got up from her seat and continued through the park. She figured she might as well get out of the rain so, she made her way to a little coffee shop not that far away. Once inside she was surprised to see that it was only halfway filled up with people. 'They probably had enough sense not to go out on a day like today.' She said to herself.  After ordering a latte' she found a seat by the window. She removed her coat, before sitting down, and let her light brown hair fall down her back. For some reason she kept watching the people walking by on the street as if she was waiting for someone. She wasn't. Her mind started to wander, as it did quite often, and she began to think of what her life might have been like if she hadn't have moved. Would she have a boyfriend to spend this day with? Or maybe she'd be hitting the mall with her girlfriends. Maybe there would be a good friend sitting across from her. They wouldn't necessarily be engaged in conversation, but just enjoying each others company.

The latte' started to warm her up as her depression started to kick in. Her life basically sucked. She'd made no friends in her new High School and was determined not to in diffience against moving. That worked about as well as any of her plans had. Only her mom seemed to realize how the move was effecting her. How much she hated that place she'd affectionately called a hell hole. Everytime she wanted to call one of her friends and rant about it, she'd be met with the reality that she couldn't. She knew there was 'snail mail', but somehow all of her carefully cataloged addresses had been lost! She stared into her half drunk latte' and asked herself the questions she always seemed to ask.  What the heck had her friends been up to? Had Yolie gotten over her fangirl type crush on Ken? Had Ken started to see Yolie in a positive light? Did those two hook up? What was Cody up to? Did he have a girlfriend? Did Davis ever outgrow his annoying habits? Did he find someone to crush on besides her?

What about T.K.? Did he miss her? Did he even think about her at all? Had he moved on and thrown their friendship in the dirt? Did he have a girlfriend or was he secretly pinning over her? She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

'Get a grip girl. You're just kidding yourself. They've figured you've moved on so they did too!' she told herself.

She finished her latte' and left the place. By now the rain had stopped and a mild wind had kicked in. It swirled her medium length brown hair around her as she walked down the street. She walked past a book store and stared in the window. She wasn't looking at anything in particular. Or was she? 'Stop it you idiot! Just forget about him. The chances of you running into him are one in a million! Even if you did see him, he'd have some gorgeous girl draped over his arm. He probably doesn't even remember you.' She berated herself. She sighed and glanced through the window one last time before continuing down the street. She walked past an outdoor café where two young girls were clearing off the tables.

"Did you see the girl she had with him, Suki? My gosh! How on earth did a guy like him get a girl like her. In my opinion he'd get more sympathy dates than a hot girl like her."

"I totally agree, Umi. What I can't understand was the blonde guy with them.

I was totally flirting with him and it was like I didn't even exist. He just kept staring into space. Either he's lost his mind or he's totally hung up on some girl."

"I hear you. I have to say I think the last one is closer to the truth. He's way to cute to have zero brain cells. I wonder if the girl he's thinking about is pretty? Maybe she dumped him and he's just completely bummed. Or maybe he's completely in love with her but she doesn't even know he exists."

"I dunno Umi. Maybe the girl left before he had a chance to tell her his feelings and he feels like he lost his chance and he'll never see her again."

"That would be so romantic Suki. I hope that's the reason. Did you need something?" Umi asked The brown haired girl. She had stopped in front of the

café and didn't even realize she was listening to the girls conversation.

"Sorry. I was walking by and accidentally overheard your conversation. Could you tell me, was the blonde hared guy, you were just talking about, with any other people?" The girl asked.

"Yeah." Suki replied. " A guy with spiky auburn hair, a girl with strawberry blonde hair that seemed very out of place next to him, a guy with blackish blue hair, and a girl with lavender hair."

"Do you know where they went when they left?" She inquired.

"Um I think they said something about going to the mall. No wait they couldn't' decided if they should go to the mall or go over to Ken's house. I think they were just going to start walking and see where they ended up. They left about five minutes ago in that direction." Umi supplied pointing to the left, opposite of where the girl had come.

"Thanks." She told them before taking off in the direction they told her. 'Six blocks ahead they would have to make up their mind 'cause the mall is to the left and Ken's would be to the right.' She stopped at the intersection and looked around. There wasn't any sign of them. She sighed. 'Like I thought I'd find them today anyway.' She thought. That was just like her life. Right when she thought things couldn't get any better, someone decided to disagree. She turned left and decided to try the mall. If worse came to worse she could always enjoy a day of shopping all by herself. A light rain began to fall.  Again. By now she was frustrated.

"What do you want!" She yelled at the rain as she looked toward the sky.

"Doesn't my life suck enough all ready?"

"Hikari Yagami? Is that you?" A woman asked coming out of the convenience store nearby.

The brunette turned towards the woman. "Yes. I'm Kari. Refresh my memory.

Who are You?"

"I'm Naomi. Yolie's sister. We met a couple of times when you would come in here with Yolie. She hasn't stooped talking about you since the day you left.

She thinks you either hate her or have totally forgotten about her. Please tell me it's none of the above."

"Naomi? Wait. You were the one who told Yolie that she couldn't go to that one concert but if she took your next three shifts you would cover for her."

Kari replied.

"Yes. I did." Naomi said.

"You look taller. So, Yolie thinks I hate her? I can't say as I blame her.

My dad gets all the credit though. You see…"

"Save it." Naomi said interrupting Kari. "Yolie needs to hear it more than me. If you hurry you might be able to catch them. They are on their way over to Ken's. I'll call Yolie and tell her it's very important that they wait for the next subway."

Kari's face light up. "Thanks Naomi." Kari told her before sprinting off towards the subway station. She didn't care that it was pouring by now and her hair was totally soaked.

"Hello. Hey Naomi. What's Up? You want us to catch the next train."

Everyone turned to look at Yolie. "Why? Stop being so mysterious! Just tell me. Fine." Yolie hung up her phone and turned towards the others. "Naomi said we needed to wait and catch the next train. Something about it being important or whatever."

"Oh come on!" Davis complained. "It's gonna take forever to wait for the next train."

"Relax Davis. It's only twenty minutes. I'm sure it will go by in no time.

Besides It sounds important for us to wait." Ken told him.

"Hey Ken, did you tell Cody to meet us at your house after his Kendo tournament?" Yolie asked.

"Yeah. I called him while you were talking with your sister." Ken replied.

Kari stopped running, a few blocks from the subway station, to catch her breath. If she was lucky she'd pass out before she ever reached them. She looked at her watch. She had exactly five minutes before the next train came.

She hurried as fast as she could. She took the stairs two at a time to the platform and hurriedly paid for a pass. She reached the platform just as the last people were boarding. She quickly scanned the area before barely making it on board. She sighed and plopped into one of the seats.

"Hey Ken I call a re match when we reach your place." Davis stated.

"No way. I don't feel like beating you again on every PS2 game there is." Ken replied. To which everyone laughed.

"You do not beat me on every game. "Davis retorted.

"That's right. Only on the ones with a skill level higher than a second grader." Ken shot back.

"To bad Naomi's surprise didn't show. It sounded really important. Oh well."

Yolie mused. "I wonder what Kari's doing right now? Probably hanging out with

her all important friends. Or maybe she has a boyfriend." Davis Kicked her.

"Ow. What was that for."

"You do remember he's sitting right here." Davis said. He was trying to get her to realize what she had said in front of the guy whom everyone knew had a major crush on Kari.

"It's o.k. Davis. Yolie is probably right. I mean why would she remember us.

She never calls us or writes us. Heck she doesn't even care enough to come and visit. And so what if I do happen to have a crush on her. It's not like I'll ever get a chance to tell her." T.K. stated.

"She probably hates us all." Yolie added.

Kari was sitting two sections away, but not far enough so she couldn't hear them. Tears started to form in her eyes as their words sunk in. 'I hate my dad' she muttered.

"I hate to be a party popper, but this is my stop." The strawberry blonde girl with Davis said.

"That's all right. I talk to you later Kristine." Davis told her.

"Bye." Everyone chorused.

"Maybe your right, Yolie. Maybe Kari does hate us. It's so totally not like her, but it's not un human." Davis agreed.

"I don't hate you guys." Kari said. She stood up from her seat and walked over toward them.

Their eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! Kari! Is that really you?" Yolie exclaimed.

"Yes. It's me." She smiled sheepishly and suddenly became aware of how wet her hair really was.

For a few seconds there was nothing but silence between them. Before she knew it Yolie grabbed her in a huge bear hug that turned into a group hug as her friends embraced her. She felt tears of joy well up in her eyes as they hugged her. She was reunited with her friends again. One thing still remained. She needed to get a certain blonde haired boy away from the others so she could tell him what her heart wanted him to know. They eventually released her and launched into conversation about their lives, the rest of the way to Ken'shouse.

Once at Ken's it was just like old times. Kari finally got her hair dry again and was praying she wouldn't catch a cold. Davis was totally getting creamed in every video game and Yolie was talking Kari's ear off. Cody joined them fifteen minutes after they arrived and was as surprised and excited as everyone else to see Kari again. Eventually it was time to leave. Davis and Cody left at the same time and Yolie volunteered to stay behind and help Ken clean up. That left T.K. and Kari to walk back home together.

The walk from Ken's house to the subway station was unbearable. For some reason Kari couldn't think of a single thing to say to her best friend.

Actually, she couldn't figure out HOW to say what she wanted to say. She sighed while they waited for the train. Man she was sighing a lot. She looked over at T.K. and caught him looking at her. For a moment their eyes locked. 'I can't believe how gorgeous his eyes are.' Kari thought. Just then the train arrived, breaking their gaze. They sat next to each other on the train. Silently Kari hoped T.K. was finding it hard, just like she was, to strike up a conversation.

Eventually the train arrived in Odiba. Neither one had said a word since they had left Ken's. 'Come on Kari. Say something. Anything! He's your best friend for crying out loud! If you can't talk to him then what?' She scolded herself.

They were walking by the park when T.K. found a way to break the silence between them. "Kari. Do you miss not being here?" T.K. asked his best friend.

Kari looked up at him. "Are you kidding? This place is way better then that hell hole my dad dragged me to. There is nothing to do and it always seems to rain. I have to admit I used to like the rain. Now I hate it."

"Did you ever try to come and visit?"

"I would constantly nag my dad, but he never got the idea or didn't care.

Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, but sometimes he is just so clueless. I would never willingly leave my only friends to travel some place I'd never heard of.  Especially if I couldn't contact them. I'm just surprised that you guys didn't move on and forget about me."

"That would be impossible. How could anyone forget you Kari?" T.K. replied. At this Kari blushed. Fortunetly T.K. didn't notice. "The truth is, everyone else wanted to hate you or believe that you didn't car about them anymore. I know you better than that and I knew you were probably trying your hardest to contact us."

Kari smiled as they stopped to sit on a nearby bench. "Thanks. The truth is, every time I tried to forget about you guys and move on, your faces would pop into my head and I couldn't erase that. The longer I stayed away, the more I missed you all. I know I missed you the most T.K. I missed not being able to talk to you about stuff like we always do. It sucked. I didn't even have any friends there. Everyone thought I was a loner. My dad just didn't get it.

It's not so much that I wanted my friends. I needed them. I realized how empty my life was without you guys. Most of all I realized that I needed more than just friends. I needed that special someone in my life. I needed you T.K.

Being away made me realize to what extent I cared about you. It also made me wish that I had said this before I left." She took a deep breath before turning to him. His sky blue eyes beckoned to her as she momentarily got lost in them.  "What I'm trying to say is that I love you T.K."

He smiled one of his famous smiles, reserved only for her. She could have melted right there. Before she could think she felt his lips on hers and she was in heaven. How many times had she dreamt of this moment? A hundred? A thousand? It didn't matter. All that mattered was she was where she was supposed to be and this was something her father couldn't take from her. There lips parted as they tried to catch their breath. Once again their eyes locked.

"Somehow I always knew you'd come back. That you had a reason for leaving and more than likely you were forced to leave. I just wish, like you I could have told you something before you left. Kari, I love you. "You're my life and my angel and I knew that nothing could keep you from coming back to me."

Kari broke into a smile as she put her arms around his neck and pulled him into another kiss. This time much more passionate. At that moment she didn't care about anything. Nothing her dad said would make her leave her one true love ever again. After the kiss ended, they continued walking home hand in hand.

They talked about their plans for college. T.K. wanted to be an author and

Kari couldn't decided between teaching and being a professional photographer.

T.K. inquired about Tai and Sora's relationship. Kari told him that they were making plans to get married soon. In some ways time seemed to be speeding up, but around the two it was slowing down. Almost as if they were they only two people around. Once they reached Tai's apartment, where Kari was staying, T.K. reluctantly kissed her goodbye.

"So, can I call you my girlfriend?" T.K. asked playfully.

"You'd better or else you'll be fighting the guys off me with a stick." She replied with a smirk.

"Just remember to warn me when your brother goes on one of his overprotective brother kicks that is bound to surface now and then."

"Deal." Kari agreed. She watched him walk away until he was out of sight.

She sighed, contentedly, as she entered the apartment. 'I can't wait to see the look on Sora's face when I tell her.' Kari thought.

The End

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Felt inspired by this story? Would you like to make a contribution to this growing collection? Write your own Takari story (4000 words or less) and send it to Takari's Baybee's email address. She'll talk with you after that. Lolz.