It's a bit longer than usual but that's a good thing right? Anyways if there is any grammar/spelling errors I am sorry. I look it over but well I'm only human so I might have missed something.

Chapter Seventeen: The Calm Before the Storm

(Takuya's P.O.V)

I had expected the reaction Kari would have when she saw Koichi so I wasn't too surprised. Kari had only seen Koichi that night when she was attacked by 'Myotismon' yet he had been in his spirit form and only dropped in when she passed out. He had chosen to hide the fact that when she got attack his arm got broken, he hadn't wanted her to feel guilty for something she couldn't have changed.

"That's why you avoided me isn't it?" I didn't know what was worse an upset Kari or an angry Kari.

Kari was really upset when she first saw Koichi especially when she learned about how he broke his arm. Kari was now kinda angry it seemed like. It seemed like she was now mad that he had kept the secret from her. So that came to my uncertainty, was an upset Kari or an angry Kari worse?

"Kind of, the other part was because well I didn't really like moving around after that." I glanced at Koji who was oddly silent.

I mean Koji was usually silent so that wasn't so odd but it was the fact that he had been talking to Kari when Koichi showed up. Koichi had pretty much taken all of Kari's attention and Koji just shut up, he didn't even attempt to talk or get her attention. I noticed that Koji looked kinda angry himself, after noticing that I took a side step away from. Don't get me wrong, he's one of my friends but he still kind of scares me when he's angry.

"Are we going or are you two going to talk all day." I winced slightly, it sounded like Koji had forced his words to come out calm not to mention he sounded a bit cold.

"Oh yeah, we're supposed to be meeting up with Zoe and them today aren't we?" Did Koichi seriously just remember that?

"Yeah we are so we should get going unless you wanna be late." With that we began towards the train station.

I don't know why we trust him, especially after what Lady Ophanimon did, we were going to meet up with Seraphimon. He had called out to Zoe a while ago, apparently while we were dealing with getting Kari settled in and other Demon Lord stuff those three were doing things for Seraphimon. I wanted to believe that Seraphimon wouldn't be like Lady Ophanimon but there was that part of me that warned me not to trust him.

I looked away from Koji, who was walking in front of us and I could tell he was pissed off just by how he walked to behind me where Koichi and Kari was. They were having a hushed conversation, which actually made Kari smile. Since she was attacked her smiles were either forced or very small yet she was smiling like nothing had happened. I noticed something but before I got to ponder on it I ran into someone. I heard a girl let out a surprised squeaked. I quickly looked to who I had bumped into and I was surprised. A familiar white haired girl was now rubbing her forehead which I guessed had hit the ground.

"Sorry Chrono." She jumped slightly and she looked over her shoulder at me, her red eyes were widened slightly.

"T-Takuya?" I quickly stood up and offered her a hand up.

"Hey." She laughed slightly but she accepted my hand and pulled her up, I did notice that she was kinda easy to pull up which meant more than likely she was on the light side.

"Again sorry 'bout bumping into ya Chrono." This time she wasn't startled but she adjusted the strap of her bag slightly.

"It's ok, I shouldn't have zoned out." She gave me a smile and for some reason I couldn't help but smile back.

"Where are you headed?" She shrugged.

"I was wondering where I should go for the day, I was looking for something fun to do but since I'm new I don't know where to go?" I placed my hands behind my head and smiled a bit more.

"Did you also forget we have somewhere to be, Takuya?!" I jumped and I looked to Koji, he glared at me slightly but I saw a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Ah sorry but I gotta go." She nodded and I turned to leave but I turned, still walking backwards though.

"There's a fair downtown and something at a shrine tonight." She was confused but I turned and I quickly made my away over to them and I got into the elevator, Kari was giggling slightly.

"What are you laughing at?" She just began to laugh a bit harder while Koji had a 'smile' on his face whereas Koichi was completely confused.

"Who was the girl?" Koichi sounded absolutely lost.

"Her name's Chrono Aleksander, she's a new student." When I said Chrono I saw him narrow his eyes slightly.

"You meant the girl from that night when you two attacked Lilithmon? When we found out about Lady Ophanimon's betrayal?" I shook my head.

"Nah we're pretty sure she's this world's version of Chrono, she's a bit too shy to be that Chrono." He nodded and glanced in between Koji and Kari.

"You know, it's become all that more confusing since I learned about there being different worlds and different 'versions' of people." I glanced at Kari; unlike us she hadn't gotten a proper explanation about it but she got bits and pieces of that information from us.

"I really don't know how to clear that up for you because it still confuses us some." As Koichi spoke he shrugged his shoulders.

"They can have flipped personalities, like the T.K. you know and the Takeru that's in our class." Yeah from what she said the two sure did have opposite personalities.

Seconds later we reached the bottom floor and we exited the elevator. We were meeting Zoe and them here and then traveling to the Digital World together. Seraphimon was going to send a special Trailmon for us, one that the Demon Lords couldn't track. Even if we were all here I was wary of letting Kari go to the Digital World since she had no way of protecting herself.

"Takuya!" I laughed slightly when Tommy nearly yelled my name.

I felt slightly guilty that I had pretty much ditched them as soon as Kari came around but at the same time I didn't. I knew Kari long before them and she was always like my sister, well perhaps maybe once upon a time I liked her but she was nothing more than a sister now of days.

"Hey guys." I smiled; it was nice to have my group of friends all together.

"I see you guys finally made." I rolled my eyes slightly at Zoe's jab, I knew that was her way of saying we were always late which isn't true but she thinks it true.

"Excuse us for actually sleeping, also why did we have to meet at ten in the morning?" It was a day off; I didn't wanna be up at ten in the morning I would rather be at home either asleep or just waking up.

"Any normal person gets up before ten Takuya." I sighed and shook my head.

"Good thing Takuya ain't normal then." When Kari said that they realized that she was with us and it wasn't just us.

"Who are you?" Kari scratched the back of her head and I wondered if I had rubbed off on her since I do that quite often.

"I'm Kari Kamiya." She had said that she was going to introduce herself to them as 'Kamiya' instead of 'Kanbara' even though she was practically a part of my family already.

"That means that you were the girl that befriended them before right?" Kari nodded her head.

"Yeah, I hope you guys didn't mind that I tagged along with them." I have a feeling that if she hadn't come one of the twins would've ditched this meeting and hung out with her all day, Koichi had actually planed on spending the day with her while Koji was still not one for a group.

"Actually we were kinda hoping that it would just be the original DigiDestined here." Zoe seemed slightly hesitant to say it and I had to wonder why.

It was a bit tense after that, I don't know what they all know but saying that probably wasn't the best thing. Kari's still a bit weary of going off by herself since she feels pretty vulnerable, she hasn't admitted it to anyone but Koji. I only know because I overheard it when they were talking. I glanced at Koji, who had already been in a foul mood when we came down. It seemed that Zoe's words had only served to worsen his mood.

"Why did you only want the 'original' DigiDestineds?" Koichi sounded rather annoyed but I caught it, he was surprised that she used the term 'original'.

I was confused but after a few moments it dawned on me why. Kari was not only a DigiDestined before us but has been a DigiDestined longer than us. She was a DigiDestined when she was nine while they only became a DigiDestined in the past year. We're fourteen now so that means five years she's been a DigiDestined so if anything Koji, Koichi, Kari and I would be considered 'original' DigiDestined not the group from this world.

"Seraphimon wanted to talk to us about Lady Ophanimon's betrayal. She wouldn't understand it; being a newbie she wouldn't it." I looked to J.P., rather surprised by his words.

Even if I knew what he meant and knew from that, that they knew nothing about what happened I couldn't help but be angry. I curled my hands into fists and I tried my best not to narrow my eyes but I ended up narrowing them ever so slightly. If anything they're the newbies! They don't know half the shit that Kari went through or know a fraction of what she knows about the Digital World! I don't understand why J.P. said it; it was out of character for him.

"Who the hell are you calling a newbie?" I saw J.P. take a step back and hold his hands up, it clicked then that Koji's foul mood had yet again been worsen and J.P. sadly might've just become the poor person he's gonna let it off upon.

A mad Koji was one thing. A pissed silent Koji was another thing. A pissed off talkative Koji was a scary thing. He's not only was rather strong for his age, especially after being a runner for what time we've been one for, he was smart. He didn't have to beat you up to make you hurt or feel small he could lash you with his words alone if he wanted to. The only person I had ever met that could hold a candle to his ability of hurting people with words alone was Kari and I only saw that side once. It was a time I hate to relive and a side of her I hope I never see again.

"She's been a DigiDestined for what, maybe a couple of months?" I almost wanted to laugh but I knew this was a rather serious situation since Koji might actually start a fight, an actual fight.

"She's been a DigiDestined for." When Koji's voice was muffled I turned to look, also because of their surprised looks.

I saw a sight that even surprised me. Kari had stepped up and placed a hand over his mouth, something I think only Kari could get away with without getting hit. After a few seconds he just stopped trying to talk, his shoulders shook slightly and that wasn't a good sign. Kari removed her hand and placed her hand on his shoulders, she gave the best smile she could when he glanced at her.

"That's enough Koji; I'll go so go ahead and talk to Seraphimon. I'll be fine I promise." She stepped back and she looked over Zoe and J.P.

"Am I counted as an 'original' DigiDestined?" I glanced at Koichi who was also rather angry.

Hm, I wonder if the twins still like her. If they did that would be interesting. Koji was silent over half the time but he spoke to her while Koichi seemed rather protective of her. Kari walked passed Koichi, placing a hand on his shoulder since his right arm was the one that was broken but the cast would be off soon enough.

"Yes you're counted as one of the original DigiDestined." Kari walked off before Koichi could say anything to her though.

As she walked to the elevator she glanced back once. She was always on the outside. She was usually always left alone. I hated the fact that my 'friends' had chased her away. She smiled and she got in the elevator and leaned on the wall facing us.

"Seraphimon's the Mega Evolution of Patamon; he's one of the three Celestial Angels. I've been a DigiDestined for five years by the way. I know more than you probably do about the Digital World, oh also my partner was Gatomon who was actually one of the Miracle Four." She laughed slightly.

"Oh wait; you guys probably don't know what the Miracle Four are. Oh well I guess you'll have to ask Seraphimon, maybe he'll know." The elevators doors closed after her words.

I glanced around my group of friends, my anger put to the side after witnessing Kari snap ever so slightly. Zoe seemed rather surprised while J.P. was laughing a little nervously. Tommy was biting his lip, probably not knowing what to do. I noticed that Koji laughed ever so slightly while Koichi wanted to laugh but he managed to restrain his laughter.

"S-she's been a DigiDestined for five years?" J.P. sounded so surprised but nodded.

"Yeah she has, she's really smart too. She knows quite a lot about the Digital World, stuff that probably only the rulers would know here in our world." I remembered back in the nights, before Lilithmon attacked, when we had made a plan of action against the Demon Lords.

"How would she know that stuff if it's Digital Ruler knowledge?" I glanced at Tommy since it's the first time he's talked since we arrived.

"In her world the Digital Rulers were sealed away so her group was supposed to know as much as they could about the Digital World. I don't know where she learned it all but she just did." She learned it from observing things, placing things together, and research but they didn't need to know that about her.

"Lady Ophanimon said that she was the DigiDestined of Light in her world, was she telling the truth?" Koji laughed just a bit more at Tommy's question but nodded before shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah she's the DigiDestined of Light there but her true title is the DigiDestined of Harmony." I don't know how she'll fight now that she lost her only means of fighting.

"Lady Ophanimon also called her the Warrior of Harmony." I looked to Koji and Koichi.

They also looked a bit confused; Kari had never gained the title of Warrior of Harmony. Did Lady Ophanimon know something about Kari that we didn't? Did Kari get a title that we never learned of or perhaps was she given that title by a different Digital Ruler?

"When did she tell you guys of her being the Warrior of Harmony?" Was Lady Ophanimon leaving a trail for us to follow and she was being controlled or had she accidently let something slip?

"When she fell from the sky, she also said that the spirit within her gives her strength but when she can't use it that strength goes to Koichi which gives him the ability to become Rhihimon." I glanced at Koichi, he was rather surprised.

We never knew why he could only become Rhihimon when Kari was in trouble. If it was true that he could only become that when Kari was in trouble that would coincide with what we already know but why would Lady Ophanimon tell them something that we didn't know? Was she not aware that we didn't know why that happened? No she had to know that we didn't know?

"Stop thinking before you hurt yourself Takuya." I glared at Zoe.

Zoe's been a little off for a while now. She seemed to be a bit quick to judge recently and not like herself. She was well I guess you could use the words berating and condescending to describe how she's been acting recently. I thought back to something that Lady Ophanimon had said that the Demon Lords could control people, was she telling the truth or was she lying to us when she said that?

"Let's just go and get this over with." I noticed the Trailmon arrive when Tommy spoke, he seemed a bit off too.

As I walked over to the train I thought about the way that they've acted since they changed recently. Zoe's been a bit more berating and condescending. I haven't had much interaction with J.P. recently so I can't say. Tommy's a bit more down beat, tired almost every time I see him though. I crossed my arms at that thought. They sat down but I didn't sit down which got Koji and Koichi's attention.

"Hey why don't we seat in a different compartment Koji, Koichi? You two are a bit hot tempered right not and I don't think they want their heads bitten off." I got a glare from both of them while Zoe and 'em didn't bat an eyelash when the three of us went to a different compartment.

"I am not hot tempered." I rolled my eyes and sat down right before the train started moving.

"I said that so I could get you two alone." They both turned serious; when I sounded serious they knew it was serious.

I placed my elbows on my knees and lent forwards slightly. If what Lady Ophanimon said was true then we might really have to watch our backs, we might have to be careful of our other 'friends' for now. They called us saying that Seraphimon wanted to talk to us but they didn't say what about, we just came blindly because they were our friends.

"What are you thinking about now Takuya?" I sighed and I began to explain my thoughts to them my thoughts to them.

Once I was done they were both silent. They learned that even if I seemed oblivious I paid attention, very close attention. Koji knew firsthand that behind this 'stupid' façade I hold in front of many people was a very smart person. There was a reason why I had some of the top grades in my year. They shared a few glances. Koji sighed and shook his head while Koichi just put his head in his hands while his elbows were rested on his knees.

"I thought we would be able to trust them Takuya." Even if Koji was never one for a group or team he really did trust the others so this must've been hard for him in a way.

"I don't know if what she said is true, it's possible that they just learned things from Seraphimon that put them on edge. They could've learned the horrors of the Demon Lords and just don't know how to react." I thought about how we had 'defeated' the Demon Lords, we never defeated them but we had sealed them away with outside help from a fifth team member that we never met.

Those five years ago there had been a fifth team member. Their Digital Ruler had sent them out to help from the shadows; they had sealed the Demon Lords by some unknown method to us. In that cloud of dust that day, I had seen the shadow of a person. The person disappeared in a flash of what looked grey but that might've been from the dust. We never met this fifth member but they knew us, they had seen us but we never knew what they looked like or what their name was.

"It's possible because learning about them could easily scare anyone; it could scare any DigiDestined who didn't know how to handle something like that." We would lie if we said fighting them didn't scare us, I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared.

The opponents we're up against are demons, in every meaning of the word demon. They destroyed countless worlds, killed countless people and Digimon for 'fun'. They're sick and twisted. We were against opponents that aren't afraid to kill. I don't know how we managed it five years ago but I hope we can manage to defeat them again this time. In truth I wish we could find out how to destroy them so they can't cause any more trouble ever again.

"Do you think Kari will be ok by herself?" I wanted to yell at Koichi for bringing it up, I had been trying not to think about Kari being somewhere by herself when the Demon Lords seemed to want to take her out.

"She's never by herself." We all jumped.

There standing in the middle of the walkway was a ghostly appearance of a Digimon. It kinda looked like Sorcermon but the cape was dark purple and the clothes it wore was yellow not white. Who was this Digimon? Wait how does he know Kari?!

"She's never alone as long as she has friends, she'll continue to fight but one day she'll have to embrace the other side of her." Kari didn't know any Digimon from our world so who was this Digimon?