Chapter 10

"One last look," Ken muttered as he met his own eyes in the mirror. "I'm going to figure this out."

He made a fist, narrowed his eyes, and stared at the image. He was determined to remember. "I'm so close," he whispered. "I know I am. I can feel it."

Long minutes went by, Ken thinking all the while, but nothing came to him. Aggravated, he turned away from the mirror. "Why can't I remember?" he asked through gritted teeth. "I'm tired of this."

He, without thinking, left then, not knowing where he was going or what he was going to do.

Slowly, he strolled down the sidewalk. All the while, he mumbled things to himself: "Digimon. D-Terminal. Dark Spore. Dark Ocean. Wormmon. I don't get it."

Suddenly, he bumped into someone.

"Hey!" came an irritated voice.

Ken mumbled, "I'm sorry," and looked up, only to find TK Takaishi in front of him. Beside him was Kari Kamiya, who was holding onto his arm. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

Kari, her cheeks rosy, let go of TK, saying, "It's alright."

"Ken!" TK exclaimed. "You're just the person we were looking for!"

"I am?"

"Well, sure," TK went on. "Our brothers are planning this three-day camping trip, you see."

"Brothers?" Ken asked. "I didn't know you two had brothers."

"They're older," Kari filled him in. "My brother's name is Tai. He's a soccer player like you, Ken. As for TK's brother, his name is Matt."

TK nodded, then continued, "Anyhow, Kari and I are going along, and we're allowed to invite some others too. So, how about it? Would you like to come, Ken?"

Ken thought for a moment.

"Cody, Davis, and Yolei are coming too," Kari added.

"I don't know," Ken told them.

"It'd be good for you," TK urged. "You'd get to know all of us a little better, and maybe you'd remember something."

"Hmmm…"

"Well, think about it, Ken," Kari said, "and tell us your decision later. We'd love to have you along, so I hope you'll decide to come."

"As for us, we're going to get some lunch," TK concluded. "See ya later, Ken!"

"Bye," Ken said, waving.

Kari waved back at him, and then she and TK went on their way.

It took some thought, of course, but Ken's decision came to him by the end of the next day: He would go on the camping trip. There was nothing he wanted more than to remember himself, and perhaps this was the perfect chance. He easily got permission from his parents as they too saw the opportunity, and, after a few days, was then on his way.

He sat in the back of a van, in the middle, squished in between Yolei and Davis, with Cody to the very left by the window. Just ahead of them were two individual seats, holding TK and Kari, and in the front, TK's brother, Matt Ishida, was at the wheel, Kari's brother Tai beside him.

They'd been driving for more than an hour, and the cramped position was tiring. Ken grunted from the discomfort and shifted in his seat.

Apparently, the trip was setting in on the others too: Cody yawned, Kari- head in hand- let out a sigh, Yolei was already half-asleep…

Davis decided to pep everyone up, especially the clueless, uncomfortable Ken. "Hey, Ken," he said with enthusiasm, "you'll love this, trust me!"

Ken glanced over at him.

"Yep," Davis went on optimistically, "we're going to the mountains, you know, to this nice, nice park. We're gonna hike on the trails!"

"Yeah?"

"We'll see all the sights! There's a little waterfall! And there's this one trail that goes up a hill, and when you reach the top, you're above everything, and you can look down at the lakes and over at the other mountains and stuff!"

Tai decided to come in then: "He's right, Ken. It's a great place; you'll have fun. Plus there's always-"

"Campfires-" -Davis interrupted- "-camp songs, and roasting marshmallows!"

"Sounds good," Ken commented. Beside him, a dozed-off Yolei slowly fell to the side, her head landing on his shoulder. Bewildered, he glanced down at her, then back up at Davis, wearing an abashed expression.

Davis's only reply was a wink.

Ken sighed. Yolei would only add to his discomfort. He stiffened his posture and shifted a little more, searching for a good position that was comfy and also suitable for his… situation.

The girl stirred and Ken winced, fearing she'd been wakened. However, she resumed her pleasant sleep. After a while, her glasses slowly slid down the bridge of her nose, and Ken unconsciously pushed them up.

Davis, observing this gesture, chuckled to himself.

Ken eagerly hopped out of the van. He stretched for a few minutes, glad to be finished with the drive. The others were tiredly stretching too, also relieved to have reached their destination.

The park, from what he saw before him, was indeed nice, and he could only imagine the other beauties it might hold. Along the way, he'd spent time looking at a brochure: The waterfall was especially intriguing, and there was also supposed to be a cave you could go through, which sparked an adventurous interest.

This was going to be a marvelous trip, he predicted, especially in the accompaniment of such good friends. He was actually still a tad uncomfortable around them, and lacked full trust in them, but he knew- or at least hoped- that the trip would restore the true bonds he'd had before his accident. It was definitely a brilliant opportunity to bring back his lost memories.

Recovery was in his grasp, at his fingertips- he felt it- but he just needed a longer reach…