I'm soo happy! I can't believe you guys gave me reviews! Thank you so much! Sorry I couldn't personally thank all of you and I'm also sorry this chapter took too long…

Oh.. oh.. I'm so sorry! I know they're all ooc… sorry, can't change it though…

I got this all in my head but it's getting kinda messy…

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon… I'm a 14 year old for crying out loud!

CHAPTER TWO: Bars and Brawls

Takeru stretched lazily as he gathered his razor and other bathing utensils. He glanced around his spotless room, satisfied with its appearance. His bedroom was decorated as carefully as the rest of the place. In the center, a four-poster bed with a black bedspread covered one wall. The rest of his furniture consisted of a man-sized cherry wood dresser. The wall opposite the bed had a small television mounted on a low table. His room even contained an expensive desk, complete with a computer. In spite of the fact that a female had decorated the room, it was distinctly masculine. He couldn't have designed it better himself.

Smiling slightly, he headed for the connecting bathroom. The room was covered in dark blue tile and wallpaper, and it included a Jacuzzi tub. Takeru still couldn't believe his luck. This place was a dream come true.

As the front door slammed loudly, Tekeru groaned. Almost a dream, he thought sourly. His roommate was shaping up to be a complete pain. He'd lived with the girl for only two short weeks, and already he was becoming profoundly sick of her. She came in at all hours, waking him up each time, though she obviously tried to be quiet. She left her things everywhere, and she never remembered that not everything in the apartment was hers. He'd be having a peaceful breakfast by himself, and she'd walk up and literally steal the food from his plate. She was sickeningly happy all of the time, and she constantly spouted off odd sayings that didn't make the slightest bit of sense.

On top of all that, her stupid cat seemed to have it out for him. Every time Takeru entered a room already occupied by the cat, the beast would snarl and leap for his throat. Takeru knew that there was pure hatred in the animal's mad grey eyes. The cat's mistress never noticed, of course. She continued to smile and laugh, never registering his attempt at freezing her out. She was, quite simply, driving him nuts. He'd never been around any one like her, and he wasn't sure that he liked her type. She was just too happy.

Takeru hurried to get his bath, wanting to be out of the house by the time the girl got around to pestering him. As he came out of the bathroom, dressed only in his robe, the brunette whirlwind ran through the doorway. She didn't see him in time, and she ran right into him. She literally bounced off his chest, landing with a thud on the floor. She gazed stupidly at him for a moment, and then grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," she muttered. "I was out of shampoo and figured you wouldn't mind too much if I borrowed some of yours."

He glared down at her, not bothering to hide the irritation in his gaze. The silly girl was wearing one of his extra robes, and her hair was pulled back in a hair tie. Was nothing sacred to her? "What you mean," he growled, "is that you thought you could steal some without getting caught."

She shrugged. "You climb the potato, I climb the rock." He rolled his eyes. There she goes again. "I swear, you are about as intelligent as a chair." She just grinned, blithely ignoring his insult. "Which one?" she asked nonsensically. "What?" She winked sagely. "Which chair? The one in the far corner is fairly smart, you know. It's got exactly one one- millionth of a brain cell. The others don't have any at all. It's a shame, really, that even the intelligent chairs get lumped in with the rest."

He glared at her. "So," she persisted, "can I borrow your shampoo?" He groaned, but jerked his head in the direction of the bathroom. He'd learned by this point that there simply wasn't any stopping her. If she wanted something, she eventually got it through a combination of sheer stubbornness and her continued obliviousness to anything resembling a hint. The truly annoying part was that she didn't act this way out of discourtesy or meanness. She was completely innocent in her invasion of his solitary life.

While the girl was occupied with his shampoo, Takeru quickly fled the house. He pulled out his cell phone as he descended in the elevator, eliciting a glare from the youth behind the front desk. He dialed a number, and a sleepy voice answered, "Hello, Takeru." Takeru blinked. "How'd you know it was me, Willis?" Takeru could hear Willis's sigh. "You're the only person who'll call at such an insane hour. Don't you realize that it's not even noon yet?"

Takeru grinned involuntarily. In spite of all of his brains, Willis spent most of his time bouncing from one club-and half a dozen women-to another every night. As a consequence, he often slept in until three or four each afternoon. Like Takeru, Willis didn't have to work. He earned his living through the software company they'd started with two other friends back in high school. Takeru, though, spent many hours making sure the company was running properly. Willis was content to simply pick up his check every week.

He and Takeru had an unlikely friendship. Willis was suave and flirtatious, while Takeru was perpetually stone-faced and never laughed. TK was solitary, but Willis was happiest in a large crowd. For the life of him, Takeru could not figure out how they'd become friends. It seemed to him that they'd always known each other.

This odd bond extended to Takeru's other two companions, as well. Davis was a joker who treated life as a never-ending game. He was rarely serious, and his favorite targets were Takeru and Willis. Ken, on the other hand, seemed to always have one foot in the stars. He often answered straightforward questions with riddles. Somehow, the four of them had remained friends against all odds.

Their friendship had only been strengthened by the events of the past few years. They'd been successful businessmen, and their company had taken off thanks, in part, to the combined skills of the four of them. Their lives couldn't have looked better, but then everything changed. One day, about six years ago, something serious had happened to them. One moment, they were having dinner together, and the next, they were lying in a ruined cave in the middle of a frozen wasteland.

They'd nearly frozen to death before they were rescued by a team of British scientists. The scientists reported that they'd registered great amounts of energy at the location, but when they arrived, they found only the four men and the rubble of a cave that had stood for thousands of years. Since Takeru and his friends couldn't explain what had happened, they were reluctantly sent back to America. When they arrived, Takeru discovered that they'd been missing for nearly a year. Davis joked that they'd been kidnapped by aliens, but they never actually remembered what had happened during those months.

After a while, the scientists started to pester the four men, wanting to study them. Rather than being subjected to various blood tests and CAT scans, they'd taken off. They'd flown out of the country during the night, heading for Tokyo. They'd heard that a lot of strange things had been happening in the capital, and they figured that they might find some answers there. Their suspicions increased when they'd discovered that the number of odd monsters attacking the city had temporarily disappeared around the same time that they had awakened in the cave. Realizing that their research might take a little longer than they'd expected, they'd found apartments and settled into a life in Tokyo. Five years later, they weren't any closer to solving the mystery.

"TK?" asked Willis as the silence continued. "Sorry, man. I guess I just got caught up in my thoughts. Did you want to try out that new club tonight?" There was a long silence on the other end of the line. "Doth mine ears deceive me?" queried Willis facetiously. "You want to go to a club? What brought that on?"

"I've got to get away from that girl before she kills me. She's driving me up a wall. Call the guys and give them a heads up, will you?"

"Sure thing, pal. I heard that this club is really something. I'll see you tonight. You can tell me all about this girl that you're so crazy about."

"I'm not the crazy one. She is." Willis chuckled. "Whatever, man."

"Shut up, Willis."

"You were right, Will. This place rocks!" Davis gazed enthusiastically at the club around them. "Look at all of the women!" he shouted loudly, earning glares from every female in the place.

The foursome threaded their way to the bar, where Takeru immediately tried to drown himself in.ice water. "Come on, TK. You have to get drunk sometime. If this girl's everything that you say, you deserve it." Willis took a sip from his own dirty martini. "I don't want to lose my judgment, Will. You know that." Willis shrugged dismissively.

"Who's the girl you're talking about, TK?" Takeru shrugged. "My last apartment didn't work out, so I moved into a different place. I'm stuck living with a silly college girl. She's loud, she never shuts up, and she butts into everything. I'm seriously considering strangling her tonight."

The other three blinked at him. "Wow, she must really be something. Nothing ever bothers you." Davis seemed astounded. "What does she do for a living?"

Takeru thought hard. She'd said something about photo shoots, hadn't she? "I think she's a model or an actress or something like that. All I know is that her apartment is incredible. It must cost her a couple grand a month to live there."

Ken held up a hand. "Let me get this straight. You get to live in an incredible apartment for practically nothing, and you live with a model. She's pretty, right?"

Takeru shrugged again. "Sure, she's gorgeous, but she's still a pain. She's a slob, and I'm a neat freak. She's loud, and I'm quiet. She's too sunny, and I'm." He paused, but Davis finished his sentence for him. "As gloomy as a rainy day in the middle of winter in Chicago." Takeru made a face at him, but Davis just laughed.

Takeru glanced up as a sudden silence descended on the club. For a place where the music was so loud that Takeru had practically been shouting, the abrupt lack of noise was deafening. He looked around, but he didn't see anything unusual. "What's going on?" he asked the

bartender.

The bartender just pointed over to the door, where a couple had just entered. One of them, a tall, young woman with auburn hair, glanced quickly around, and then made for a table in the back. At her side was a guy with big bushy brown hair. "Who are they?" asked Davis curiously.

The bartender shrugged. "That's Sora and Tai. They're regulars." Ken looked closely at the couple. "That's cute and all, but what's so special about them that made everybody suddenly get quiet?"

"They're both pretty big celebrities. Sora is a violinist in the Tokyo Symphony. Her companion is Taichi, one of the best drivers down at the racetrack. He's won every race he's ever been in. They're both filthy rich, of course, and they carry a lot of political and social clout. If you ever want a favor, they're the people to turn to. The problem is that they won't tolerate very much. I wouldn't mess with them if I were you."

Takeru turned back to his ice water. The noise slowly started back up, and then cut off once more. Takeru didn't turn around this time, but Davis gave a low whistle. "Man, look at them! They're gorgeous!" The bartender chuckled lightly. "Those gals are Sora and Taichi's closest friends. I gotta warn you, pal, you don't want to go near them. Sora doesn't take well to people who mess with her friends."

Takeru glanced at Davis, whose mouth was hanging open unattractively. "But look at them!" He elbowed Takeru. "TK, you've got to turn around!" Takeru turned, more to quiet his friend than because he actually cared about the women. The first woman was a dark- haired, mulberry-eyed beauty in a short red dress. The second girl was a tall, leggy blonde with sky blue eyes in a medium length blue gown. The third girl had glossy purple hair and eyes, and she wore a simple, elegant purple dress. The next girl was in white, and her pink hair draped down her back. The last girl was.

"I don't believe it!" he spat. "Is she stalking me or something?" Davis turned to his best friend in surprise. "What's wrong, TK? Do you know one of 'em?" Takeru slammed his drink down onto the counter. "The brunette in the gold is my roommate!"

The bartender whistled. "You know Kari? You lucky dog! Just about every guy in this bar is after that group, but fully half of them want just Kari. And you say that you live with her?" He clapped Takeru on the shoulder. "If I were you, I wouldn't let that little fact get bandied about. You're liable to get mugged in the parking lot by a mob of jealous guys."

Takeru rolled his eyes, but even he had to admit the truth in the man's statement. In spite of all her faults, Kari was exceptionally beautiful. Her hair was pulled up into the pink bow that she was never without, and she wore a short, gold dress that seemed to give off a light of its own. In the dim light, she looked even lovelier than she usually did. Still, he couldn't suppress his groan of annoyance as she and the brunette picked their way through the throng to the bar.

"Hey, Mac," Kari called in her soft voice. "Four champagnes and one water, please." Mac turned to get her order. "Who's the pinky, Kari? I recognize her, but she's not a regular." Kari grinned. "That's my friend, Mimi. She just turned 22 today, so we brought her here to celebrate." Mac handed a bottle and four glasses to Kari, who gave them to the blonde. "Here, takes these back to the girls, will you, Cathy? I want to talk to Mac for a minute." The blonde took the drinks and left.

Kari turned back to the barkeep, who handed her an unopened water bottle. "Aren't you going to drink, too, Kari? I'd accuse you of freeloading if it weren't for the fact that most of the men in here come in to see you, and end up paying for drinks to console themselves when you inevitably turn them down." She shook her head, not commenting on his compliment. "You know I never have any alcohol. I like keeping my head on straight."

Takeru couldn't repress his grunt of disgust. "Yeah, it's hard enough for you to keep it on as it is." Kari turned in surprise as she noticed Takeru for the first time. She grinned widely. "Hi, Taki! What are you doing here?" He grunted. "I was hiding. Obviously the other end of town isn't far enough to get away from you."

She blinked, but, as usual, blithely ignored his comment. She was about to continue her conversation with Mac, but the dark-haired girl sauntered over and joined Kari at the bar. "Hey, Mac," she called. "Yeah?" Mac answered as he refilled Davis's glass.

"Other bars have karaoke. Why don't you?" Mac stared at the girl, who grinned wickedly. "This isn't that kind of bar, Jade. My customers wouldn't go for that sort of thing. I'd lose money."

Jade's eyes glinted with evil intent. "Even if Kari were the one singing?" Kari whirled on her companion. "Hey! I don't sing, Jade! That's your thing, not mine!" Jade laughed cruelly. "It'd better become your thing. If you don't get your bod up on that stage, I'll tell everyone that you're dating Marvin." Kari scoffed at her friend. "Nobody will ever believe it." Jade pulled a photo from behind her back. "I had Yolie design this on her computer. Nobody'll be able to tell that it's fake."

She held the photo up, and Takeru couldn't resist taking a close look at it. It showed Kari sitting with her arm around a nerdy little man with glasses and a puckered face. The Kari in the photo was leaning close to the boy, her lips just inches from his. Takeru cringed just from looking at it.

Kari snatched the photo from Jade's hand. Jade grinned, and said in a sing- song voice, "I haavvee cooppiess!" Kari groaned and hung her head. "You win, you evil wench. I haven't sung in years, though. If I flop, it'll be your fault." She turned to the ecstatic bartender. "Do you have a microphone, Mac?" Mac nodded swiftly, saying gleefully, "There's some music- only CD's in the back that she can use, too. Man, this is going to up my sales for weeks! Do you realize how many guys would pay for you to sing? They'll come back every day in case there's a repeat performance!"

Kari shrugged. "You exaggerate too much, Mac." She turned and headed for the seldom-used stage in the back of the bar. Jade followed her, still grinning mischievously. Takeru turned to watch, curious to see if his air-headed roommate could actually sing.

Jade hopped onto the stage, pulling the microphone from Kari's hands as she went. She turned the thing on, calling for everybody's attention. Every eye in the place turned to her, and Kari sighed audibly. "Hey, everybody! We've got a special treat for you tonight. The lovely Kari has graciously consented to sing for us!" As cheers-noticeably male dominated-erupted from the crowd, Jade jumped off the stage and ran toward the stack of CD's next to it. She picked a CD at random, and showed it to Kari. Kari rolled her eyes, but nodded, so Jade slid the disk into the music player. "She'll be singing a song by Selena. Let's give it up for Hikari Kamiya!"

Kari rolled her eyes again as Jade returned the microphone. The lights dimmed even more, and soft music began to play. Kari stood, graceful and slender, in the center of the stage. The few lights that remained on lit her hair to a glossy beam of sunshine, and she gazed at the crowd through half-lidded eyes. As the beat picked up, she opened her mouth and began to sing.

I could lose my heart tonight,

If you don't turn and walk away.

'Cause the way I feel I might,

Lose control, and let you stay.

'Cause I could take you in my arms,

And never let you go.

I could fall in love with you.

I could fall in love with you, baby.

Takeru couldn't believe his ears. Her voice was a lovely as the rest of her. It was husky and low, and he doubted that she knew just how sultry she sounded. The men in the audience certainly knew, though,

because they stared at her with open mouths and glazed eyes.

I could only wonder how,

Touching you would make me feel.

But if I take that chance right now,

Tomorrow will you want me still?

'Cause I should keep this to myself

And never let you know.

I could fall in love with you.

I could fall in love with you, baby.

And I know it's not right,

And I guess I should try

To do what I should do.

But I could fall in love.

Fall in love with you, baby.

I could fall in love with you.

"My gosh," muttered the barkeeper as Kari's voice rose to match the music. "She's going to be fighting them off with a club. If the guys thought she set the moon before, they won't be able to keep their hands off her after this." Though Takeru remained silent, he couldn't help but agree with the awed bar tender. Kari was incredible.

I should keep this to myself,

And never let you know,

I could fall in love with you.

I could fall in love with you, baby.

I could fall in love

I could fall in love with you, baby.

I could fall in love with you.

As the music ended, Kari jumped down from the stage. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, but her eyes were shining. "That was awful, Jade. Don't expect me to do that again."

Jade grinned at her friend. "Yeah, but think of all the guys who will be calling you after this. You'll have a date every night for the next year." Kari's other friends overheard the comment as they surrounded the brunette. "She already has a date every night," teased the blonde sarcastically. "She even has a waiting list for her dates."

"Yeah," interjected the purple-haired young woman, "but maybe now she'll be able to find a guy that will last for more than a single evening." Kari's four friends looked at her for a second, and then burst out laughing. "That'll never happen," scoffed the pink-haired. "Kari's goal is to date every single guy on the planet." She pretended to calculate something on her fingers. "I'd say she's about half-way there."

Kari groaned. "It's only nine o'clock, and you're already mocking me. Will I never get any peace?" she complained as she directed her eyes to the ceiling in a mock-prayer.

The pinked-haired shrieked suddenly. "Is it already nine? Oh, no!" Jade lifted an eyebrow. "What's the deal, pinkie?" The girl-aptly named- scowled. "I'm supposed to meet Matt (TK and Matt don't know each other…) for a special birthday dinner! I totally forgot! Can one of you guys give me a ride?"

"I'll take you, Meems," a deep voice announced. TK turned to see the racer and violinist from earlier. "I can get you there in no time." Her purpled- haired companion scoffed, "That's because you don't understand the concept of speed limits." Tai shrugged, and Mimi jumped up and down in enthusiasm. "Oh, thank you, Tai!" She practically dragged the older boy from the room. Tai called over his shoulder to Sora, "I'll be right back. Don't leave for a little while, okay?" They disappeared from the bar before Sora could respond.

"Hey, Sora," greeted Kari. "So, how are you and my brother?" shook her head slightly. "I told you, we're just friends."

As they chatted, a young, seedy-looking man sidled up to Kari. "You're the singer," he announced in a drunken voice. Kari smiled politely at him, but turned back to her conversation with Sora. The man scowled and grabbed her arm roughly. "I said, 'You're the singer'." Kari lifted an eyebrow. "I'm aware of that, thank you," she said, less politely this time.

The man gave a greasy little smile. "So, you want to come back to my place for a little while? You could give me a private performance." He leered at her, and Kari didn't bother to hide her disgust. "No, thanks," she said.

The man let Kari go, but didn't leave. Instead, he pulled something from his stained leather jacket. Pointing the gun at Kari's temple, he gestured to a group of similar men lounging in a corner of the room. They, too, pulled weapons from their coats and started waving them around menacingly. The crowd suddenly hushed, and the closest dancers backed away from the gunmen. The first man grinned, and grabbed Kari's arm again. He pointed the gun at the bartender. "I want everything you have," he said. "Everybody else can line up against the wall while I decide what I want to do."

Takeru moved to help, but the first man pointed the gun back at Kari. "Move again, and I'll kill her," he growled. Takeru glanced at Kari, but her face was perfectly calm. There was something in her eyes that he'd never seen before. "Do as he says, Taki," she commanded in a voice that would brook no argument. Takeru and his friends joined the other dancers along the far wall, where the gunmen had already started gathering the crowd's jewelry and money.

As far as Takeru could tell, there were a total of fifteen gunmen. Several of them had grabbed onto some frightened women, and were whispering disgustingly into their ears. They'd also taken Kari and her four friends, but these women didn't seem frightened at all. Instead, they stood with folded hands, waiting patiently for the gunmen to make a move. Takeru blinked. How could Kari, an acknowledged ditz, act so calm when she had a gun pointed at her forehead? She should, at the very least, be terrified.

After a few moments, the first gunmen ordered his men to return the women to the crowd. They obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Kari was the only one that remained, clasped tightly in the arms of the ringleader. Takeru continued to watch her, waiting for some sign that she was bothered by what was happening around her. She didn't give any.

Just when Takeru was getting ready to make a move against the gunmen, one of the bouncers appeared, dragging Tai behind him. Like his friends, he didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was in mortal danger. "I found this one skulking outside. He saw everything," the traitorous bouncer announced. The first man grabbed him by the shirt, forcing him to look at him. "Did you tell anyone?" he demanded. "Just the cops," he grinned, and the man struck him hard. Tai didn't react, and the man threw him into the crowd, where Sora quickly pulled her to her feet.

The first man turned back to Kari, seizing her by the hair. "It looks like we're going to have company, pretty one. Maybe you can entertain me until they get here, eh?" He forced her head up and covered her mouth with his. Kari scrunched up her face in loathing, but she didn't try to pull away. Instead, she lifted one of her hands and started to gesture behind the man's back.

Takeru glanced at Tai, and noticed that both she and Kari's other friends were watching Kari's movements with an intensity that belied their outward serenity. Kari held up a fist, crooking her elbow at a right angle. Sora echoed the action, and then held up a single finger. Kari winked, and jerked her fist to the left. She held up two fingers, and pointed to the right. Sora nodded subtly, and Kari dropped her arm.

As the man finally pulled his lips from hers, he murmured, "That was wonderful, my dear. I can't wait to see what other skills you have." He stopped talking as he noticed that Kari was smirking. "What's so funny?" he demanded, slapping her roughly. Kari continued to smile, ignoring the bruise that immediately colored her cheek. "Just this," she said, bringing her knee into his groin with enough force to knock him onto his back.

Before the other men had time to react, Kari's friends leaped on them. Within seconds, they'd managed to knock several of the men to the ground, kicking their weapons out of reach. The remaining gunmen opened fire on the spot where they'd stood, but the women were already hiding behind some overturned tables. The people in the crowd quickly followed suite, ducking behind tables of their own. Takeru could clearly see the fight from where he crouched behind a counter.

Kari was the only person still exposed. She avoided the bullets ricocheting off the walls around her, moving with an astounding speed. She back flipped over a table, grabbing a metal serving tray as she went. She made her way over to the D.J.'s table, using the metal tray

as protection against the guns.

While the gunmen were occupied with Kari, Sora and her friends left the safety of the tables, moving steadily closer to the men. Takeru's own group quickly did the same. Kari finally ducked behind the music player, taking a handful of disks with her. She popped out from behind the counter long enough to throw a handful of the disks at the men. They flew out like Frisbees, slashing across wrists, throats, and any otherwise exposed skin. The men dropped their guns, grabbing violently for the resulting wounds. As they dropped their weapons, the people in hiding brought them down, the women using a series of kicks and punches that strongly resembled the martial arts. They look like black belts, mused Takeru of the women as each of the men dropped, unconscious, to the floor.

Kari left her counter, nodding coolly to her friends. "Excellent job, girls," she said in an unusually professional voice. "You too, guys." She helped her companions collect the guns scattered across the room. Takeru's group started tying the gunmen up with bits of the rope that Davis found in a storeroom. Takeru looked around, noticing that the bouncer that had grabbed Sheena was nowhere to be seen.

He looked up, searching frantically for some sign of the man. As he glanced toward a curtain, he finally noticed the big bouncer, weapon pointed at Takeru. Takeru heard the gun as it cocked, but there wasn't time for any reaction. In the split second that felt like an eternity, Takeru waited to die. He heard a gun go off, and wondered idly why the bouncer had collapsed from the bullet meant for Takeru. He turned to face Kari, who was holding a still-smoking weapon. At least one of them had reacted in time.

He jerked toward Kari, face pale and eyes wide with shock. She calmly removed the cartridge from her gun, tossing it onto a pile with several others. He thought he saw her expression waver as she gazed at the man she'd just killed, but he wasn't certain. She was such a different person now than she'd ever been in the two weeks that he'd known her. Her eyes were colder, more cynical. She moved like a soldier, and her face was hard and serious. Where had the sunny child gone?

A.N.: Note: This is not a song fic. I was writing this part of the story, and this song just happened to come on the radio. I was stuck, so I integrated the lyrics in. I don't even own a copy of Selena's song, so I don't know that I got all of the lyrics correct. I also don't speak Spanish, and I have no idea what the Spanish lyrics meant. Naturally, I couldn't add them, either!

I know they sound like super heroes or something, but I wanted some action… ihihihihihih

Oh, and I might be using the English/Japanese versions of names later. Usually, I'd write them out, but I don't have time right now! I've got to go!

What a perty purple button!