Kari

Tai and Gatomon were both gone. I knew immediately that something was going on, and I didn't like it. I knew they wouldn't have both left without me unless it was something involving me. What had Gatomon told him? Did she tell him about Malik?

Malik was my friend. Why was she against him so much? So he wasn't . . . Like the guy I used to be friends with. I needed different after everything that had happened.

Outside was almost pitch black when my window opened and Gatomon came in. I was sitting at my desk, and I turned to her.

"Where were you?" I asked, arms crossed.

She shrugged. "I went for a walk."

"With my brother?"

She hopped onto my bed. "What are you talking about? I was alone."

"Don't lie to me, Gatomon. I'm not dumb. You and Tai left at the same time and I bet he just came back, too."

"Kari, I really don't know what you're talking about," she said. "Why are you getting so defensive?"

On my desk, my D3 lit up. I opened the message and frowned, momentarily forgetting my annoyance. "Yolei wants me to come over after I get out of school tomorrow for a sleepover."

I replied, telling her I'd be there, but after I sent it, I realized there was one problem with that. TK lived in her building. That meant I would have to walk there with him.

"I need to tell her I can't," I said. "I can't go to that building."

"Yes, you can," she said. "This will be good for you."

I put down my D3 and sighed. Somehow, I would have to get through this.

TK

I went to school more focused than I was all week. Davis and I had the day planned out. He would keep an eye on Kari until last period, and then it would be my turn to take action, and I already had that figured out as well.

"You're a genius," Gatomon said as she approached me near the school.

I chuckled. "Thanks, but how did you know I did anything?"

"You told Yolei to invite Kari over so she would have to walk to your apartment building with you," she said.

I grinned. "I knew she wouldn't let me walk her home, so now she can walk home with me."

I looked over at Kari and saw her walking into the building with Malik, but Davis was also with them. Sometimes Davis got on my nerves, but when it came to keeping Kari safe, I knew I could count on him.

I waited anxiously for the next chance I would have to see Kari. When last period came, Kari took her seat in front of me, and something stirred inside me. When Patamon asked me about how I actually felt about her, it left me feeling more mixed up than I already was. I wanted to talk to her again. I wanted to make her smile and hear her laugh. I just wanted her to come back to me.

Davis tried to talk to Kari, but she acted like he wasn't even there. I wondered how his day had gone so far, but judging by her reaction, Kari didn't seem happy with him. That probably meant he did something right.

I didn't talk to Kari before or during class. I was saving everything for the walk home. But, after class, when she went straight to Malik, I almost lost my cool.

"Do you want to walk with me to my friend's apartment?" she asked him.

"That won't be necessary, because you're walking with me."

They turned to me, and Kari's face paled.

"I don't want to," she said.

I shook my head. "I don't care. We need to talk."

She wrapped her arms around Malik, but she was still looking at me. There was fear in her eyes. "Stay away from me, TK."

Malik held her protectively. "Back off."

I stepped closer to them, looking Kari directly in the eyes. I leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "I would die for you. Why are you afraid of me?"

I stepped back, watching her fear turn to surprise. But, I saw something else. Standing so close to her made me see the one thing everyone else was probably over looking. Her once warm, brown eyes had traces of black mixing with the brown. Something was happening to her, possibly worse than we thought.

In her surprise, I took Kari's hand, which had been easily pried off of Malik. He pulled her back and Kari groaned.

"TK, leave me alone," she said.

"No," I said. "As someone who cares about you, I can't do that. You need to come with me."

"You hate the forces of darkness," Malik stated, looking at me. "That means you hate her. You can't care about her."

I gritted my teeth. "What are you talking about? What did you do to her?"

She stepped forward, letting go of Malik. "Just leave me alone, TK." Then, she turned to Malik. "I need to be by myself. I'll walk to her apartment myself. And, TK." She turned to me. "Please, don't talk to me anymore."

Gatomon

Veemon, Patamon, and I spent the day searching for any signs of Tsukaimon. Veemon wasn't too much help, given his size and speed, but we left him in charge of the school's surrounding areas. Patamon and I split up, him taking the west end of the city while I took the east. We were to meet back at the school just before it let out.

Veemon was hiding in a bush in front of the school. I approached him. "Any luck?"

He shook his head. "I got nothing."

I glanced around. "Where's Patamon?

"He hasn't come back yet," he said.

I frowned. Patamon wasn't too thrilled about this development. I tried to ask him what the problem was, but he wouldn't tell me much, either. Whatever it was couldn't be good, and I had a feeling his being late was more than just loosing track of time.

Kari

TK listened to me. He didn't make any attempt to talk to me, but he stayed near me. I walked to the building with my arms crossed, trying to stay out of my head. All I wanted to do was cry, but I wasn't really sure why.

Malik and I had never talked about darkness, or my encounters with it. I didn't know how he knew it was inside me, but it was something I struggled to bury. Until recently, the Dark Ocean hadn't been an issue in a while. But, TK had to have known there was darkness inside me. Where there was light, there was always darkness.

A single tear rolled down my cheek, and I stopped, trying to keep the rest at bay, but there was no use.

I had felt TK's eyes on me since we left. He stopped, too, and got in front of me. "Kari, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, unable to find my voice. Looking into those blue eyes made me lose all control, and my tears flowed freely. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

"Kari, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay," he whispered.

No, everything wouldn't be okay. I needed to pull away from him, but I didn't have the energy.

He pulled back and pressed his hand to my face, wiping away my tears with his thumb. He searched my eyes.

"Kari, what's wrong?"

I shook my head. "It's okay, TK. I just need to be alone."

He dropped his arms, but he didn't move. "You know I'm here for you, right?"

"I . . . I don't know anymore. I don't know what to think."

He looked down at the ground, his expression full of determination. "I am, Kari. Whatever he's done to make you believe otherwise . . . You need to know it's not true."

I didn't respond, but something inside me was changing. There was still a dark cloud consuming my thoughts, but he somehow took away a chunk of it. He was giving me hope.

Patamon

I flew all over half the city looking for any sign of Tsukaimon. I was about to head back, but then something smacked into me, head-first, and I fell to the ground.

I looked up and found my attacker smirking down at me.

"Looking for someone?"

I flew back to Tsukaimon's level. "What are you and your friend doing with Kari?"

"That's none of your business," he said. "You should be more worried about that partner of yours. If he continues to interfere, he's going to be in serious trouble."

I glared at him. "Leave them alone or else you'll be sorry."

His smirk grew. "And just what are you going to do if I don't?"

I took a deep breath. "Boom bubble!"

He winced, but then his smirk returned. "It's going to take a lot more than that."

I needed to get away. I needed TK. I started to get out of there, but then he smacked into me again. "You're not going anywhere."

TK

I convinced Kari to come to my apartment until Yolei got home. She was quieter than usual, but at least she wasn't trying to fight me anymore.

"Do you want anything?" I asked, digging through the fridge.

She shook her head. "I'm okay."

I sat next to her on the couch with a drink. She stared at the floor. I set my drink down on the coffee table and stared at her. I couldn't hold back anymore. Before I could think about it, I wrapped my arms around her. She seemed surprised, but then she leaned into me.

"You look like you need a hug," I said.

She gave me a small smile. "Thank you."

A few seconds passed, and then she shot up. "Do you know where Gatomon and Patamon are?"

Gatomon wanted to do a search for Tsukaimon. They were supposed to have called it quits before school ended, but they could've still been looking. I couldn't tell her about it, though. "I'm sure they'll be here soon," I finally said.

She looked down at the floor. "I guess so."

I studied her for a moment. "Hey, Kari, what he said . . . None of that was true. You realize that, don't you?"

She shook her head. "Things are changing, TK. Even I don't understand. I feel different, and I think it's best if you stay away from me."

"I can't," I said. "Not anymore."

She stared at me for a long minute. The black in her eyes had faded since we left school. It remained, but it wasn't as noticeable. She was also acting more like herself. There was an obvious connection, and keeping her away from Malik seemed to be helping.

"Why did you say you would die for me?" she asked, a bit of hesitance in her voice.

I took her hand in mine. "Because I would, Kari. Simple as that."

This is a bit shorter than usual, but I felt like on that note was a good place to end this chapter. I could've posted this chapter sooner, but I decided to wait until Valentine's Day to give you all a little bit of Takari fluff. I hope you enjoyed it :) Thanks for reading.