Kari wiped her cheek as they found refuge inside a shallow cave. They got a fire going and Sora pulled out the last of the food they had brought from her bag.
"We'll have to catch our own food after this. This is all we brought." She commented and the digimon started eating. Kari pushed Gatomon towards the food and the cat joined the group. She sighed and scooted back, keeping her distance from the group and mainly her brother.
"You need to eat." TK sat next to her and handed her a roll. Kari smiled and took it from his fingers.
"Thank you TK." She said politely. TK's shoulder touched hers and if Kari wasn't so conflicted she might have blushed at the contact.
"Please eat?" TK whispered and Kari looked into his eyes. They were full of concern and Kari smiled trying to ease his worry. The rest of the group was in front of the two. They were huddled round the fire and focused on the food. Kari gently bumped TK with her shoulder and popped the roll into her mouth. TK smiled,
"that's better." Kari's smile faded as she chewed and her eyes watched her shoes.
"You should join the others. You need to eat as well." She suggested and TK smirked,
"the company's overrated over there. I like it here." He said and Kari saw him wink. She blushed and lightly hit him.
"Stop." She teased and TK laughed.
"It's too easy." He joked and Kari rolled her eyes,
"whatever TK." She watched Gatomon share some food with Tentomon and then she looked at her brother. He was neglecting his own food watching Koromon eat. She frowned and TK was quick to notice.
"What did Tai say to you?" He asked and Kari shrugged.
"Just making sure I was okay. Thanks for rescuing me by the way." She looked at TK who smiled,
"anytime." They were silent while the fire cracked.
"You were pretty brave you know. Entering Puppetmons mansion to rescue the digimon." Kari shook her head,
"I should have waited. Tried to find you and the others. I was foolish to go in alone." She whispered and TK gently grabbed her hand,
"then why'd you do it?" Kari was thoughtful a moment before answering.
"I knew someone in there needed help. And..." she stopped and bit her lip.
"What?" TK pried and Kari looked at him, "I thought you might be in there." Her cheeks burned and she quickly looked at her feet. TK squeezed her hand and whispered,
"you weren't foolish. You were very brave Kari Kamiya." Kari smiled at her shoes. TK let go of her hand and Kari frowned.
"Hey you two come join the group." Sora called to them and Kari quickly nodded. She stood and walked over and sat next to Mei and Sora. She stole a quick glance at TK who moved as well and sat between Joe and Izzy. He winked at her and Kari once again blushed.
"So what's the plan now? Do we just wait until gennai or Meicoomom show up again?" Joe asked and Tai shook his head.
"I don't know. I don't know what to do." Kari surveyed her brother and watched his brow crease. She felt bad and wished she could help.
"I think it's best I do this alone." Mei stood up and kept her head down.
"You guys keep getting hurt. It's Meicoomon who is causing all of this. I should be the one to stop it." Kari shook her head.
"You can't think like that Mei. It's easy to feel at fault but, taking it on yourself isn't going to help. We work as a team and as a digidestined, you're apart of that team. We aren't going to leave you to battle this on your own." She reached out and grabbed Mei's hand. Mei looked down at Kari and Kari gave the girl a smile.
"Kari's right. We are equally apart of this. We'll get meicoomon back together. And then we'll restore all that was lost together." Kari closed her eyes at TK's optimism. She looked over at the boy and saw he was smiling at her. Kari once again blushed and saw TK's smile grow. She hated how much he made her blush. She looked back to Mei and heard her brother speak up.
"We can do this Mei. No one blames you or Meicoomon. This is just part of being a digidestined." Kari looked at her brother who was smiling at Mei.
"Come on, lay down. We could all use some sleep. Let's just hope nothing shows up until the morning."
"Amen to that!" Matt added and the group laughed. "Thanks everyone." Mei said as she sat down. Kari released her hand and laid down. "Goodnight Mei." She whispered and soon she was asleep.
Kari awoke feeling something wet near her lips. She sat up and put a hand to her mouth. She pulled her finger into view and saw blood on her finger tips. She looked at the blanket she was sharing with Mei and Sora and saw small drops of blood on the fabric. She covered her nose with her hand and stood. She walked out into the open and heard Izzy call her name
"Kari? You okay?" He asked and kari nodded not looking at him,
"Bathroom." She whispered and she crept towards the water. Once the cave was out of site she got on her knees and leaned over the water. The blood fell from her nose into the lake and Kari dipped a hand into the water to try and wash her face. The bleeding soon stopped and Kari rinsed her hands in the cool water. She then looked over the calm water. The sun was rising and the sky was light. She closed her eyes feeling the cool breeze blow against her face.
"What am I going to do?" Kari whispered to herself and she hung her head. She wouldn't be able to go very long before she got worse. The doctor had warned her of all the side effects she'd experience.
"Strange isn't it. How calm the world can seem while there is a storm brewing inside of you." Kari quickly stood and faced Cherrymon,
"where'd you come from?" She asked clenching her teeth. Cherrymon chuckled and Kari stared the tree digimon down.
"You're getting worse." He stated and Kari growled, "leave me alone." She snapped and Cheerymon smirked,
"you're weak. A burden on the others. You are not needed." Kari was stunned and Cherrymon chuckled.
"Kari?" Cherrymon disappeared and Kari turned to see Izzy standing near her.
"Oh hey Izzy." She said quickly trying to look neutral.
"You okay?" He asked and Kari smiled,
"of course! I was just rinsing my hands." She moved towards him and Izzy frowned.
"You have something on the front of your shirt." He pointed. Kari looked down and saw a few drops of blood on her uniform. She smiled and waved,
"it's all good, pricked my finger on a bush." She lied and Izzy nodded,
"okay well, do you mind finishing for me? I think I'm gonna fall asleep on watch." Kari let out a breath of relief and nodded,
"course, get some sleep Izzy." Izzy smiled,
"thanks Kari." He then turned and Kari followed him back to the cave. He laid down and Kari sat on a rock at the entrance of the cave. She hunched forward and took a deep breath. She just hoped she could keep her secret until they got home.