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

Hey, you guys! Thanks a million for all your reviews. Anyway, here's the new chapter, hot off the press. Hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter VII: Reconnecting

The next morning, TK and Akira had finished eating breakfast and were now clearing the table and washing the dishes. TK had just finished putting away the last dish when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it, Daddy." Akira said running towards the door.

When the little girl opened the door, she was surprised to see Kari smiling down at her.

"Ms. Kamiya? What are you doing here?"

"We're gonna spend the day together."

"Huh?"

TK came up behind his daughter. "I invited Ms. Kamiya to spend the day with us. Since it is your first time in Odiaba and I haven't been here in such a long time, I figured Ms. Kamiya could give us a tour around town." Suddenly the phone rang. "I'd better go get that. Excuse me for second." TK disappeared inside.

"Would you like to come in, Ms. Kamiya?"

Kari smiled. "Why, thank you, Akira."

Once Kari was inside, she kneeled down in front of the little girl. "You know, when we're outside of school, you don't have to call me Ms. Kamiya. Just call me Kari, okay?"

"Okay…Kari." Akira smiled.

Kari arose and scanned the apartment. She was surprised to see that all the furniture was already set in place and there were no boxes or luggage anywhere to be seen.

"Wow! You two sure got this place looking like home in no time."

"Not really. My Uncle Matt and Aunt Sora got this place ready for us before we got here."

"Well, that was nice of them. So, where's your mother? Is she coming with us?"

Akira looked saddened by Kari's question and was about to answer when TK came back.

"So, are we ready to go?"

"Yeah. I was just asking Akira if Yumi was coming with us."

TK was taken aback by Kari's reply. A moment later he turned to his daughter. "Um…Akira, Sweetheart, why don't you go find Patamon and tell him that we're leaving."

Akira didn't say anything, but left to search for the orange fur ball and deliver her father's message. Once she was out of sight, TK turned to Kari with a somber expression.

"Yumi died about 5 months ago in a car accident."

Kari gasped. "I'm sorry, TK."

"That's okay." TK paused. "Part the reason we came back was to get away from all the memories. There were just too many things in Tomoeda that reminded Akira and I of Yumi. And I hardly saw Akira happy anymore. I figured a whole new environment could change that."

Kari nodded her head in comprehension. Then she saw Akira walking back towards the twosome.

"I told Patamon, Dad. I'm not sure if he heard me, though. He was too busy sleeping."

TK and Kari smiled.

"Well, shall we go?" TK asked, gesturing towards the door.

"Let's go." Kari said, walking out of the apartment with TK and Akira following closely behind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

TK, Kari and Akira spent the day going to numerous shops. Then, they had lunch at the same café TK and Kari had used to go to when they were teenagers and later watched a movie. Akira was clearly enjoying herself and TK was glad to see his daughter so happy for the first time in almost five months.

The trio decided to make one last stop at the park before heading home. It was in the midst of autumn and the leaves on the trees were painted with shades of yellow, orange, brown and red. A crisp autumn breeze blew briskly through the tree that TK and Kari sat under as they watched Akira leap from one pile of leaves to another.

As they were enjoying the calm weather, a question that TK had been meaning to ask Kari suddenly popped into his mind.

"Kari, where are Kazu and Suzi? I thought you would bring them with you today."

"They're spending the weekend with Ryo."

TK nodded his head understandingly. When Kari saw this she turned to him, dumbfounded.

"You know?"

"That you and Ryo divorced? Yeah, Matt told me." TK looked thoughtful. "But why? You two really seemed to love each other."

Kari snickered. "Yeah, it seemed that way for awhile. Then, things started to change and we constantly got into arguments. It would start out with us talking and then we end up yelling at each other over the smallest issues. Poor Kazu and Suzi would just sit aside, watching from the corner, terrified." Kari sighed heavily. "I couldn't let the kids see Ryo and me like this. Getting a divorce, we figured, was the only way to solve our problem."

TK watched his best friend in sympathy. "I can relate to what your kids are going through. Hearing my parents yell at each other had scared me also. I wasn't all that happy when I found out that Matt and my dad were leaving, but I guess it was for the best."

Kari nodded her head in agreement. "It's getting late. Should we get going?" She looked over at Akira who was, now, lying atop a pile of leaves laughing. Kari grinned. "I don't want to spoil her fun."

"I don't plan on camping out here tonight, that's for sure." TK said, standing up. He held out his hand to Kari who gladly accepted it. TK pulled her up then turned to his daughter. "Sweet Pea, we're leaving!"

"Coming, Dad!"

Akira ran up to her father and took hold of his hand. Then she reached over and grabbed Kari's hand, as well. TK and Kari stared at each other in confusion, but then smiled. And, together, the trio headed towards TK's car and drove home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The weekend flew by quickly and soon Akira was back in school with a new sense of respect for Kari. When school was over, Matt picked her up, since TK had to go to a meeting with his publisher, concerning his new novel. As much as Matt tried to entertain her, Akira thought she would soon die of boredom, unless she found something to do. She would much rather be playing with her cousin, Janice, at the moment, but she was out with Sora running errands.

"I know, Akira! How about we play charades? You can go first."

"Uncle Matt, I know you're doing your best humor me, but it just isn't working."

Akira then spotted a cardboard box sitting in the corner of the living room. From the looks of it, the box seemed to be filled with mostly old albums.

"Hey, what's that?" the little girl asked, walking up to the box and pulling out an album.

"Those are just some albums with pictures of us digi-destineds when we were younger."

"Really? Could I see?"

"Sure." Suddenly, the phone rang. "Excuse me, Akira."

As Matt left, Akira was already flipping through the pages of the album, studying the pictures carefully. Later, she came across a section of the album that consisted mostly of pictures of TK and Kari. The picture that caught her attention the most was the picture of TK and Kari on their first date. Her eyes widened at the photo as Matt was just coming back from answering the phone.

"One of these days, those telemarketers are really gonna drive me up the wall." Matt said, clearly agitated. Then, he looked at Akira who was still staring at the picture. "What are you looking at, Akira?"

Akira held up the album, showing Matt the picture. In Matt's case, he almost choked and fell back when he saw what she was looking at.

"Dad told me that they're only best friends." Akira looked up at Matt with questioning eyes.

Matt sighed heavily and sat down on the floor, beside his niece. "No. To tell you the truth, Akira, your dad and Kari were much more than that. They were once in love."

Akira's eyebrows furrowed. "What happened?"

"Well, your grandma had gotten a job promotion in Tomoeda and so your dad had to leave. Then, he came back to find that Kari had fallen in love with someone else."

"Daddy must have been heartbroken."

"Oh, trust me, he was. But, he met your mom and…he was happy again." Matt smiled.

"What about Kari?"

"Well, Kari got married but later got a divorce. It's when…"

"It's when two people who are married split up. Yeah, Dad told me about that."

Akira averted her gaze back at the photo. "Do you think they still love each other?"

"I'm not so sure."

Silence dawned upon the two. Akira looked thoughtful for a moment then smiled slyly. "Uncle Matt, you and I are gonna play a little game of Cupid."

Matt blinked a couple of times. Then he smiled along with her. "Okay, what's the plan?"