Authors Note:

Wow. First off, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read this story and to all of you that have added it to your follow/favourites lists. And especially to Shionomu, 25BAM50, ParasiticSquid and Fortitude501, for leaving such positive reviews. You guys really helped motivate me to keep writing part two.

In regards to part two, it has been finished far sooner than I could ever have imagined; owing to having far more time to write it than anticipated. Like part one, it was great fun to write, however, once I started writing chapter 2, I knew the direction I wanted to take it in. So had a clear end goal to sketch a rough plan for. Yet still had a lot of freedom with the content of each chapter.

So here it is, Part Two: His Secret. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Again, I would love to hear from all of you regarding your thoughts on the story, so please do leave a review or drop me a PM.

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Part Two: His Secret

Chapter One: Coming back to life

The sun shone through the sliding glass doors of Kari Kamiya's bedroom and over the bedsheets to where the bearer of light lay sound asleep. When she rolled over a particular bright ray caught the corner of her eye, causing it to flicker open. "Huh?" she said in confusion as she glanced around to find that she was in her own bed. A deflated sigh escaped from her lips. She'd had the dream in which she confessed her love to Tai again. Only last night it had been different, longer… much longer. They had gone shopping together; much like they planned to do today. He had bought her some CDs, they had gone to and then he'd bought her lunch and ice cream. Afterwards, he'd surprised her by taking her to a hair salon, where his friend, Teiko, had styled her hair so it looked like a lit match. She had loved it. Back home she had made dinner and then they'd sat on the couch together and listened to Tubular bells; one of her favourite albums. She'd been so happy that while they had been wrestling around on the floor, she had kissed him. The aftermath had been horrible she recalled. Having fled to her bedroom, her darkest thoughts had found their voice and attacked her viciously. Tai had then come in via her balcony and sat down beside her. During a long conversation she had told him the truth; that she was in love with him. However, unlike the prevalent version in which he demonised her and the rare one where he professed his love for her, this time he had been understanding and comforting. He'd accepted how she felt, even if he did not return her feelings. It had been liberating.

Sitting up, Kari found her headphones lying atop the sheets beside her head. That was odd. Had she fallen asleep while listening to her music? She glanced at her alarm clock; 9:03 am. For her that was late. Had she turned into Tai overnight? Granted, for once she felt quite well-rested. The nightmare version of her dream had been waking her quite a lot recently. Climbing out of bed she walked over to the desk and sat her headphones and mp3 player down on its surface. She turned around only for her mouth to fall open at the sight of her reflection in the wardrobe door mirror. Her hair looked like a lit match! It wasn't just a dream. All of it had actually happened. A wide smile formed on her face. Not only did her hair look awesome, but Tai now knew the truth and had not demonised her. She could now recall climbing into bed with her headphones on and that she had listened to at least three albums. It must have been well after two in the morning before she fell asleep. No wonder she had not woken before now.

For the first time in two years, Kari left her bedroom feeling genuinely happy. Was this the way she used to feel when she woke up in the morning? It had been so long that she honestly couldn't remember. Regardless, it felt good. A quick scan of the apartment told her that Tai was still asleep. After waking up at eight o'clock yesterday, her brother would probably not surface until after ten. In the bathroom, she had to root around in the cupboard under the sink to find a shower cap before stepping inside the cubical. She'd wanted her hair to look like this for so long that she wished to ensure it stayed that way for as long as possible. After showering, she returned to her bedroom to dress.

Today she pulled on a short red tartan skirt and the t-shirt she had bought the previous day from ; it was black with scrawled red writing all over it. Her other purchase, a black choker, also got a debut. Standing in front of the mirror she drank in her reflection and laughed. She was going to develop a complex if she kept doing that. However, something was still not right with her outfit. She pondered for a moment before picking up her school bag. A brief rummage later and she found what she was looking for. Pulling out the smooth wooden pendant she traced the etched pink star with her finger before slipping the cord over her head. She'd worn it for the longest time, before throwing it across the room after a particularly bad day had left her feeling like it was a cruel joke. It had been lost until she'd went hunting for that pen drive on Friday. She took one last cursory look in the mirror and nodded her head; perfect.

From under her bed, she fetched her CD box and withdrew her three new albums. Over at her desk, she opened her laptop and set one of them to rip while she made breakfast. Making her way into the kitchen, she made herself a bowl of cereal and found some raspberries in the fridge to put on top of it. She took it and a glass of orange juice back to her bedroom and sat down at her desk. The first CD was only halfway done as she chewed the first mouthful of cereal. In the peaceful quiet of her bedroom, she ate her breakfast whilst copying all of her new music to her mp3 player. She felt giddy with excitement at having three new albums to digest. Especially since one of them was by a brand new artist and she had no idea what to expect other than Iowa's assertion that it was something special. When everything had finished transferring she pocketed her music player and picked up her headphones. The walk to the store to buy some groceries with which to make dinner would give her the perfect opportunity to listen to one of them. She'd just have to decide which.

Leaving her bedroom once more she was slightly surprised that Tai had not surfaced. Thinking it best to check up on him before she went out, Kari crossed over to his room and knocked on the door. "Tai," she called out but received no response. She rolled her eyes. Between their eating and sleeping habits, it was no wonder her brother and his Digimon partner were made for each other. Opening the door she stepped inside and immediately frowned. Tai lay asleep face down atop his bed, still wearing yesterday's clothes. A can of soda lay on the floor in a pool of its own contents. What on earth, she thought as he reached out a hand to give him a shake. It looked like he'd completely crashed out last night. "Tai, are you ok?"

Her brother groaned as he raised his head, "urgh." He then turned in her general direction. "Kari?" he asked in confusion.

She laughed, "over here, Tai," and waved her hand in front of his face.

"What time is it?" he asked, his voice still sounding groggy.

"Time you got out of bed," Kari said in a no-nonsense tone. "However, you don't seem to have managed to get into bed last night so..."

Tai's eyes finally managed to locate her, "what?"

"Sit up and take a look."

She watched with amusement as her brother struggled to prop himself up on his hands. His hair was all tousled and he looked exceptionally cute. Eventually, he managed to look down at himself and his look of confusion deepened. "What happened to me last night?" he asked though she could tell he was talking more to himself.

Kari chuckled again, "before or after you leapt from mom and dads balcony to mine?" As she watched him it became obvious that his brain was still trying to process everything. "Tell you what, I'll go fix you some breakfast while you come to your senses. After which I need to go out."

Tai nodded his head in appreciation, but even when he mumbled, "thanks," it was clear that he wasn't all there yet.

Playfully Kari ruffled his hair before heading for the door. "And watch out for the puddle of soda on the floor," she said by way of a parting gesture.

From out in the hall she heard him say, "what soda?"

"The one you spilt last night," she called out as she entered the kitchen.

Kari put a pot of coffee on to boil while she cracked some eggs into a bowl. Adding some butter, milk and seasoning, she then whisked them until the yokes and whites had properly mixed. Heating a frying pan on the stove, she added a splash of oil followed by the mixture. It cooked slowly while she quickly grated some cheese, chopped half an onion and the last of a packet of cooked ham. When the underside had started to brown, she added the extra ingredients, waited until the cheese had fully melted and the onion cooked, then folded it over twice.

"Tai, breakfast's ready," she called as she plated up the omelette and poured a mug of coffee from the pot. Today she took pity on him and added the milk and sugar for him. She then sat both on the table along with a glass of fresh orange juice.

Tai appeared from his room still looking bleary-eyed and wearing yesterday's clothes. He staggered over to the table and sat down with a heavy thud in his chair. "Thanks, Kari."

She gave him a smile, "don't mention it. Now I'm going out to get some groceries or it'll be mom's abomination for dinner."

Her brother visibly shuddered and almost spilt his coffee. "Take care of yourself," he said before taking a mouthful.

"I will," she replied as she headed for the front door.

Putting on her mismatched converse she slipped her headphones on and left the apartment. Outside she immediately felt the suns warmth and looked up to see a pale blue sheet with only the smallest wisps of white. Like yesterday, today seemed as though it was going to be another good day. By the time she reached the stairs she already had her mp3 player in hand and was flicking through her new albums. In the end, she settled on the ironic choice; Oldfield's Crises. For as of today, she felt like hers had finally come to an end.