Kari stretched her arms as the bell went. It was lunch and she was happy to not have to think for the next 45 minutes. She gathered her things and joined the rest of her classmates out into the filling hallway. She smiled at a friend as she went to her locker.
"I thought the bell was never gonna ring." Kari looked over at TK who sighed and put his back against the locker next to Kari's. Kari smirked as she stuffed her books into her locker.
"Well you've got 45 minutes of freedom so how are you going to spend it?" Kari asked with a smirk. TK looked down at her and gave her a smug look,
"with my girlfriend." Kari rolled her eyes
"so cheesy." She commented and TK nodded,
"yeah I should go find her. Later Kar." Kari laughed as TK took two steps away from her.
"Jerk." She said giggling.
He tossed his head back and beamed at her. She laughed harder and then TK grabbed her waist. She allowed him to wrap her in a hug and Kari nestled her head into his chest.
After a moment she slowly stepped back. She wasn't totally comfortable being overly affectionate in school. TK frowned but Kari gave him a smile,
"let's go eat." She suggested. TK took her hand and Kari's face warmed feeling how perfectly their hands fit together.
They started walking and Kari felt content. She was just starting to relax when she thought she saw something.
She narrowed her eyes as she saw a long purple and white stripped tail. There was a glimmer as the light caught a gold ring wrapped around the end of the tail. It slipped around the corner and Kari let go of TK's hand,
"Gatomon?" She said dazed.
She didn't realize she was moving but suddenly she was standing in the adjoining hallway. It was empty and Kari felt confused and let down. She stared at the vacant hallway and then her mouth hung open. Fog slowly started drifting around her feet.
"Kari..." she could hear Gatomon calling faintly.
"Gatomon?" Kari mumbled finding it difficult to find her voice,
"RUN!" Kari heard her partner scream and suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder,
"AH!" Kari screamed and TK paled and quickly grabbed her,
"what?! Are you okay?!" He was frantic and Kari slowly caught her breath,
"I'm sorry, TK." She said between breaths.
TK looked down at Kari studying her, "what happened?" He said in a soft voice and Kari shook her head,
"I uh- Im sorry you startled me." TK frowned, "don't you dare do that Kari Kamiya." He said sternly and Kari held his gaze.
They heard a faded bang and suddenly a few students ran past them,
"TK! You gotta check out what's going on outside!"
Kari watched TK step to the side and call after his classmate,
"Byron! What is it?"
Byron walked backwards facing TK and shrugged,
"I don't know! I think there was an explosion!"
Kari went wide eyed and TK looked at her. The two then ran after Byron and went to the window at the end of the hall.
They joined the crowd forming and Kari's hand went to her mouth. She then quietly gasped to her boyfriend,
"TK, its Meicoomon!"
The group was huddled in a circle in the courtyard outside the high school. Tai had his digivice clenched in his right hand
"Mimi did Izzy get back to you?" He asked his eyes squinting in the sunlight
Mimi nodded, "just now, he's coming." She confirmed and Tai turned to face Matt
"You need to tell me what else you've heard." He spoke bluntly and knew it would be better to wait. However, Tai was not patient. The more Matt left him in suspense the harder it was for Tai to keep his cool.
"It started back in the digitial world." Matt started but then he stopped.
Tai rolled his eyes and clenched his teeth, "spit it out Matt!" He berated and Sora hissed at him,
"Knock it off Tai!" She stepped towards Matt and put a hand on his arm
"What is it Matt?" She said softly. Tai noticed Matt was very stiff. He turned his body to give his friend his full attention. He cringed slightly realizing that Matt wasn't holding back information to irritate Tai. But because he was trying to keep himself composed. Tai now felt bad and kept quiet while Matt breathed.
"In the woods, Tai you noticed it was familiar." Matt said slowly.
Tai nodded, "Puppetmons woods, right?" He clarified and Matt nodded.
"Yeah except it wasn't Puppetmon I was reminded of."
Tai took a step forward as Matt blew out a breath through his teeth.
"It was cherrymon."
Tai's eyes bugged out. He licked his lips before he spoke,
"that was the digimon that, well he..." Tai trailed off unable to put into words what had happened to Matt their first time in the digital world.
"Corrupted me? Made me believe you were my enemy? Yeah. That's the one." Matt said bitterly and Tai cringed at the memory.
"Do you think he's back?" Mimi's voice was soft and Tai almost forgot she was there. He turned to include her in the conversation and turned his head to Matt.
"Yeah I do. I could hear him. I heard him." Matt's voice was dark as if the last words he spoke tasted of venom.
Tai surveyed the girls then tried to think rationally.
"What did he say?" The leader asked and tried to keep his face neutral as he looked at his blond friend.
"He said he was coming. That he had corrupted her. That it was my fault. He failed with me so he had to try again. He said this time, he wouldn't fail. The last thing he said to me was, a digidestined blood shall be spilt. And it will be my fault." Matt clenched his fists and his shoulders vibrated. Tai watched Sora grip Matt's arm and try to ease his tension. Tai felt for Matt but remained focused on the information.
"Who's her?" He asked and Matt quickly shrugged.
"No idea. My guess would be Meiko. But I don't actually know."
Tai nodded agreeing. It made sense, she was suffering a great deal. Her partner was bread for evil and she was now separated from her. Tai then turned to Mimi,
"We need to go see Meiko." He announced and Mimi nodded,
"I think you're right, but I'm worried she won't talk to us." Mimi looked down at her shoes. Sora then spoke,
"She will Meem's. We have to take a page from TK and have hope. If she's in trouble, it's up to us to save her."
Tai turned and beamed at Sora. He was so grateful for her peace keeping ways. Ever since her downfall in the digital world Tai had been worried about his friend. It was nice and comforting to see her back to her old self. Tai then addressed the group,
"alright, let's go find Meiko!" He announced determined to get back to action.
The group nodded and Tai turned ready to lead them from the school.
"TAI! MATT! GUYS WAIT!"
Tai and the group turned to see Izzy running frantically towards them. Tai stepped forward and put his hands out,
"Slow down Iz! We won't leave without you." He tried to reassure his friend. Izzy stopped and tried to catch his breath,
"No...attack...junior high... digimon." The digidestined of knowledge huffed out and Tai turned his head. He could see smoke in the distance and immediately clenched his fists and stepped away from the others,
"Change of plans. Sora, Mimi, you two need to go get Meiko. Izzy you need to get Joe now!" He stopped and heard someone approach,
"What are we gonna do Tai?" Matt asked now standing next to Tai. Tai narrowed his eyes and spoke with gust,
"We're gonna go rescue our siblings."