Disclaimer: light*hope gives TB permission to post this story in Tea and Biscuits for the Takari Fan's Soul.

Title: Takari Story

Author: light*hope

~

"Kari!!!"

In the chaos that surrounded them, Hikari could hear someone calling her name. She turned wildly, trying to find the familiar voice, trying to find familiarity in this strange place. It was chaos. An innocent shopping trip had turned into an all-out catastrophe; people were running and screaming, as debris started to fall from the ceiling and the earth kept shaking. Kari shook her head.

Of course, she suspected that she was the only one here who had ever lived in California. She had stayed there for a year in secondary school, as an exchange student. They had always done what they called "earthquake drills," just in case an earthquake hit them while they were studying. One did, but by California standards, it wasn't much.

Kari's search for the familiar voice grew more desperate.

"Kari!!!"

She turned wildly again, and then saw it. A flash of blonde. A hand struggling to make itself visible through the raging crowd. She sighed with relief and pushed her way past the crowd to find him.

"T.K.!" she yelled back. Takeru heard her, apparently, because in the next few moments, he appeared in front of her and embraced her as if it was the last time he'd ever see her again.

And it may have well been, since the ground was still shaking.

"Do you know what's going on?" she yelled over the din.

"No, do you?" he yelled back. Suddenly, there was a huge roar, and a deep voice called out, "Where is she? Where is the Child of Light?"

"Oh, no," Kari moaned. "Not again." It had been four peaceful years since the Digidestined's adventures in the Digital World; four long, uneventful years. But now Kari's past—Kari and T.K.'s past—was coming back to haunt her.

"Don't worry," T.K. reassured her, still holding her. "I'll keep you safe." He kissed her forehead tenderly and began to move them off to a less crowded area. With much difficulty, of course.

Before he could get anywhere, a huge hand blasted a hole through the ceiling and many screams were heard. The person who screamed the loudest, however, was Kari, as the hand was coming towards her. And she knew it. T.K. tried to help by moving her around, but it was to no avail, as the remains of the mall were still littered with people, and the debris was particularly blocking the nearest exit.

"I won't let you take her!"  T.K. yelled. But the evil creature—a Digimon, apparently—laughed menacingly and plucked Kari from T.K.'s hold, despite T.K.'s valiant efforts to keep her there.

"No!" he yelled. "Kari, don't give up! I'll save you!"

But Kari wasn't listening—somehow, she knew that no matter what T.K. did, he wouldn't be able to save her. She saw her life flash in front of her eyes—the life that she and T.K. had shared.

*Flashback*

"It's so pretty out here, isn't it?" Kari sighed. A whole bunch of her friends had come out to visit her in California. It was early June, and even though she was set to leave soon, they wanted to come see California for themselves. At the moment, they were at the beach, in a not so crowded area. Many of her friends—Tai, Sora, Yolei, Davis—were keeping themselves occupied by boogieboarding or by playing beach volleyball, or Frisbee, or soaking up the warm California sun… but Kari was on a walk with T.K., her best friend. He nodded his agreement to Kari's statement and they just kept walking, not needing any words. She looked up at the sky, brilliantly blue—reminiscent of T.K.'s crystal blue eyes—and smiled. They slowed to a stop, the water lapping around their feet, and T.K. turned to face her. "What is it?" Kari asked, noticing the just-setting sun made his eyes sparkle even more. She sighed in contentment.

"Nothing." But he kept looking into her eyes, staring, gazing, and before she knew it, he took her by surprise and kissed her.

That was the beginning of their beautiful relationship. Later, they had walked back, lay on the beach towel and watched the stars, her head on his chest, promising each other little things, like how T.K. would take her to go see one of his brother's concerts… or she would take him to Disneyland… little things that made all the difference. The stars and the night sky seemed to favor these two, pure souls, as each star picked out a promise and held onto it, their shining light a testament to the promises that would come true.

*Real time*

But would she be alive to keep those promises? Kari looked at T.K. through tear-filled eyes and thought sadly, "And I never got to tell him…"

(Remember that blue crystal sky,

the sun reflected in your eyes?

You kissed me unexpectedly

A moment I just can't forget

We filled the air with promises

And sealed them up so tenderly

But life never asks you what you want

It's just gonna have its way

Sometimes it doesn't give like it takes

If I never see your face,

If wings take you away from me

And tomorrow never happens, baby

If the world comes tumbling down

And crumbles all around us

Fate turns cruel, you're on your knees

So desperate for one truth,

Know that I have loved you

"Kari!!!" T.K. yelled after her. "Don't give up! I'll find you!" The hand was slowly retracting itself, and though T.K. tried to jump, climb, make his way to the big, menacing, black, evil hand, he couldn't reach it. Soon, the earth had stopped shaking, and many of the people left were in a daze. But T.K. had only one mission; to find Kari.

Once he got out of the mall, tired, sweaty, and lonely, the scent of Kari's hair still lingering on him, he sat down on a park bench to compose himself and try to formulate a plan. In the past, so many evil forces had been after her, because she was the Child of Light. The one force that kept coming back for her, however, was…

"The Dark Ocean!"

T.K. tried to remember the way he had gotten there the last time they had captured Kari. Was it… He looked over, across the street at the lakeside. That was it—that was how she had disappeared the last time. Maybe…

He ran across the street and started to walk along the shore. Nothing happened. He looked up for inspiration and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the sun setting, so perfect. It reminded him of Kari, because it was full of light, and it was pink. He tried to imagine what she was going through right now, if she was scared, if she was crying. He hated to see her cry, especially if he couldn't wipe her tears away. How would he be able to live if he couldn't find her?

Don't think I'll write another letter
Or watch another pink sunset
Without thinking about you
I take a walk along the blue seaside
How will I sleep at night
How will I wipe the tears from your eyes

If I never see your face
If wings take you away from me
And tomorrow never happens, baby?

~*~

Kari trembled as she was thrown into a dark cell, void of light. If she had only told him… she loved him. She loved T.K. with all her heart, and she didn't know for how long, but she knew that no matter what happened, if the world ended, that she had and would always love him, not regretting a single moment of it.

If the world comes tumbling down
And crumbles all around us
Fate turns cruel, you're on your knees
So desperate for one truth
Know that I have loved you

Without a single hesitation

Without thought or reservation

~*~

T.K. sighed, his head in his hands. Why hadn't he told her? He was afraid, too afraid of what would happen if he did. He was afraid that he would lose her, just like he'd lost almost everyone in this world that he had loved. He looked up at the now setting sun, and made a promise: "Kari, no matter where you are, I'll find you, and I promise I'll be here waiting, no matter what happens." He looked down and a single tear met the water beneath. "I promise, because I love you, Kari."

Baby, I'll be waiting,

Even if I never see your face,

If wings take you away from me

And tomorrow never happens, baby

If the world comes tumbling down,

And crumbles all around us

Fate turns cruel, you're on your knees,

So desperate for one truth,

Know that I have loved you)

With those words, he suddenly felt himself disappearing slowly from this world and into some unknown place.

~*~

"T.K.! T.K., wake up."

"Huh?" He looked around. Where was Kari?" Suddenly, he was aware of a presence holding him down. He looked down and found Kari smiling up at him. "Hey, it's time to go. Everyone's packing up."

He looked around and found himself lying on a beach towel, looking up at the stars. He sighed and smiled. "Okay." He kissed her forehead. She was about to leave when T.K. pulled her back. "Hey."

"What is it?" she asked, her dark ruby eyes gazing into his.

"I just wanted to tell you that…" He kissed her softly. "I love you."

Kari beamed. "I love you too, T.K." And holding each other tightly, they kissed once more, underneath a ceiling of sparkles.

~

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.