Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters.

And so the story keeps on going. So, we're moving ahead about 13 years with the opening of this new chapter. The digidestineds are all grown up and things are going to get interesting (hopefully). Anyway, hope you guys like it! Please don't hesitate to review.

Chapter VI: Like Father, Like Daughter

A young woman with chestnut brown hair and crimson red eyes walked through the crowded hallways of the school, flooded with students, hurrying to get to their classes.

Twenty-nine year old, Kari Kamiya briskly walked into her classroom to see her kindergarten students already seated at their desks, waiting patiently for her to arrive. She scrutinized the classroom, looking, at the same time, suspicious yet astounded.

"Good morning, Ms. Kamiya." The children chorused.

"Well, this surely is a surprise. It isn't everyday I walk into the classroom and see my students so well behaved and ready to learn."

"We're just hoping to get more free time today." A little boy called out.

"Oh, is that so? I knew there would be a catch." Kari smiled. "Well, if you want some more free time, we'll have to get all of our work done first."

The kindergarteners all groaned.

"Now, why don't you all get your math books out while I put some problems up on the board?"

As the children followed Kari's instructions, a knock came from the classroom door. The door opened revealing a middle-aged woman and a little girl.

Kari stopped her writing and turned her attention towards the door. "Good morning, Mrs. Ohmaki."

"Good morning, Ms. Kamiya. It seems that we have a new addition to your class."

The little girl had a bright smile across her face as she stepped into the classroom.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ohmaki."

The woman bowed her head in reply and left the classroom. Kari then turned to her new student and smiled.

"Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?"

The little girl nodded her head then she turned to look at the class, who were watching her intently.

"Hi! My name is Akira Takaishi. It's a pleasure to meet you all." She smiled widely.

Kari almost fell back as a small gasp escaped her mouth. 'Takaishi? Could this be TK's daughter?' Kari studied Akira's adorable features. 'She does look a lot like him.'

The little girl's golden hair ran just past her shoulders and was held back by a navy blue headband. She wore a light blue sweater and a skirt that corresponded to the color of her headband. But, Akira's most stunning feature was her crystal blue eyes.

'No doubt it. This has to be TK's daughter.' Kari smiled adoringly. "Well, Akira, why don't you go choose a seat and I'll go get you a math book, okay?"

"Okay, Ms. Kamiya."

The day passed by quickly for Kari and before she knew it, the dismissal bell rang loudly throughout the campus as all of her students rushed out of the classroom.

"Have a great weekend!" Kari called to her students, but they were already too far ahead.

The keeper of light sighed and started to gather the papers on her desk when she noticed that Akira was still in the classroom, packing her belongings.

"You don't seem to be in any hurry." Kari raised an eyebrow.

"Am I supposed to be?" Akira asked innocently.

Kari laughed as Akira gave her a quizzical look.

"So, Akira, how old are you?"

"I'm six years old."

Suddenly, a little boy walked into the classroom. He had brown hair and crimson red eyes and was about the same age as Akira.

"Hi, Mom. What are you laughing about?"

"Hi, Kazu. How was your day at school?"

"It was a lot of fun! I also drew you a picture. Want to see it?"

"Maybe later, Dear. Right now, we have to get going. We still have to pick up your little sister at Aunt Yolie's." Kari walked towards the door, beside her son, and took hold of his hand. "C'mon, Akira. I'll walk you outside."

Akira slung her backpack over her shoulders and followed Kari and Kazu out the door. Together, they walked outside to the front of the school. In the distance, Kari spotted a man waving to them.

"Akira!"

"Daddy!"

The little girl ran towards her father who immediately took her into his arms and lifted her into the air. Akira laughed and spread her arms wide as her father spun her around. Then he set her back down on her feet and kneeled down in front of her.

"How was your first day in school, Sweet Pea?"

"It was sooo much fun!" Akira gestured her hand towards Kari who was, now, advancing towards the two. "That's my teacher, Ms. Kamiya."

TK's eyes shot wide-open as he stood up and stared at Kari in shock.

"Hi, TK." Kari greeted casually.

"Kari? It's great to see you!" He said as he walked up to her and embraced her. Kari hugged him back.

Akira and Kazu cocked their heads to the side and stared at their parents in confusion.

"How do you know Ms. Kamiya, Daddy?"

TK released Kari as he turned to his daughter. "Ms. Kamiya just happens to be my best friend." Then he noticed Kazu staring up at him. "Who could this be?"

"This is my son, Kazu." Replied Kari.

"Hi, Kazu." TK smiled.

"Hi." Kazu said reluctantly.

"When did you get here, TK?" Kari asked a minute later.

"Yesterday afternoon." TK raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Matt tell you I was coming back from Tomoeda?"

"Yeah, he told us, but he said you would be arriving next Monday."

"Well, it turned out that we decided to come here a little bit ahead of schedule."

Kari smiled. Then, remembering something, she looked at her watch. "Oh…we gotta go, TK. I still have to pick up my daughter at Yolie's."

"What's your daughter's name?"

"Suzi. Now, we'd better get going. Unfortunately, Yolie charges me a dollar for every 5 minutes I'm late." Kari chuckled. "Oh! And before I forget, here's my phone number in case you ever want to call me." She wrote her phone number down on a piece of paper and handed it to TK.

TK smiled "Thank you. Bye, Kari. Bye, Kazu."

"Bye, Ms. Kamiya!" Akira waved good-bye.

"Bye, TK. Bye, Akira." Kari said as she and Kazu headed for the parking lot.

That night, as TK and Akira ate dinner, the little girl rambled on non-stop about her day in school. The keeper of hope merely nodded his head as he listened to his daughter, making occasional comments here and there.

"And then, Daddy, after we did some reading, we did arts and craft. I painted a picture of you, Mommy and me. Then we had free time."

"Wow! Sounds like you've been very busy today."

"Yup! I even made a lot of new friends." Akira said, taking a sip of her tea.

After dinner, Akira helped her father clear the table and wash the dishes. Then the twosome watched a little TV until TK declared that it was time to go to bed. There was 10 minutes of controversy until Akira obliged to her father's order and got ready for bed. Once, she was ready, TK went into her room to tuck her in.

"What story would you like to hear tonight?" TK asked, seating himself on the side of the bed.

"Do you mind if we skip the story tonight, Dad?"

TK stared at her for a moment. "Is something wrong, Akira?"

"No. Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

There was a long interval of silence before she answered. "I…I miss Mommy." She whispered.

TK felt a lump in his throat. "Oh…Sweetheart…" He reached out a hand to gently caress his daughter's cheek. "I miss her, too. But, we can't bring her back and you know that."

"Why did she have to die? It's just not fair!"

"No one said life was fair, Sweet Pea. But, I want you to know that your mother is always watching over you wherever you go, making sure you're safe."

"I know, Daddy." Akira said, pulling the covers up to her chest.

TK smiled and bent down, tenderly kissing Akira's forehead. "Good night, my little Angel. Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Daddy."

With that, TK arose from the bed and departed the room. He quietly closed the door behind him then sadly sighed.

"Something wrong, TK?" came a squeaky little voice.

"I don't know, Patamon. I just miss Yumi, that's all."

Patamon flew towards TK and landed upon his usual perch on TK's head. "We all miss her, TK."

"I know, little buddy."

"Maybe you should go to bed, too. You've been working hard all day."

"Yeah, you're right." TK said as he headed towards his own bedroom.

Suddenly, he remembered the phone number Kari gave him. He took it out from his pocket and looked at it for a moment as if trying to make a decision. After coming to a conclusion, he headed towards the phone and dialed Kari's number. TK waited for about a minute until someone on the other line picked up.

"Hello, Kari? It's TK."

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"I was just wondering if you were busy tomorrow."