Three weeks passed. Three weeks of intense training, heated arguments, and loving consolation. Neither pair of teens really noticed how quickly time had passed between the first week of training and the fourth.

Not that they needed to notice it.

Ken adjusted to the training course rather easily. Due to size differences, he wasn't able to practice any of his groundwork with his personal trainer, but that didn't stop the young teen from offering direction and advice from the sidelines while said genius worked with T.K.'s trainer.

Said blond, however, didn't have as easy of a time as his younger friend. Basketball workouts condition the body for a completely different set of strenuous activities than preparing for a cage fight. Sore and strained muscles, bruising and difficulty hiding said injuries from his mother and father (when he visited) made the weeks that passed much more strenuous than necessary.

Kari and Yolei continued their apparent feud. Both teenage ladies tried their best to ignore the other when the two couples were in the same room, lest either attempt to choke out the brunette again. Yes, Kari considered choking herself out in order to drown out the painful nails to a chalkboard that was Yolei's voice. Yolei considered choking her older former friend out, but not for a quick nap. She would prefer that the sleeping period last a little longer than normal.

None of the four teens noticed that the calendar had turned much more quickly than they would have expected. Such a lapse in time awareness was thanks to one thing.

A small, orange, double-arrow shaped rock that Kari kept in her room. An accidental brush up against the rock during a heated make out session (for which, nobody was conveniently home for) sent the world careening into a dimensional-tailspin that resulted in a forward leap in time.

Kari turned the page on a magazine she was reading. An expression of boredom made its home on her face. A set of deep grunts broke the silence that Kari would have otherwise been enjoying. T.K. accompanied his girlfriend in her room, missing a key piece of clothing. Another page turned as Kari bounced on her boyfriend, who strained with each effort he gave.

"Hey," T.K. groaned. "How did you get on top of me in the first place, anyway?"

Kari turned another uninteresting page. "Simple. I got top of you when the opportunity presented itself."

T.K. pushed off against the floor again, lifting the weight of both himself as well as the girl who sat cross-legged on his bare back. "So, how did I get down here in the first place?"

"I'm not sure." Kari said as her eyebrows wrinkled. "The last thing I remember before sitting on you was you viciously attacking me in my own room."

"As I recall, you dragged me in here."

"Only because you didn't want to stay in the living room. Anyway, we came in here, pushed a few things out of the way and..."

"Let me guess. Everything flew by and, when it finished, everything kinda tasted purple for a second?"

"Yeah. How do we know what 'purple' tastes like, anyway?"

T.K. pushed off again. "Kari, we've crossed between dimensions multiple times in our lives. We've saved two worlds numerous times, while risking our own lives at the same time. We have friends who can grow in size, strength and B.O. almost at will."

Gatomon chose that particular time to exit her usual nest inside Kari's closet. "Hey, I take offense to that. I swear that fishy smell doesn't wash away that easily!"

T.K. rolled his eyes. "It helps if you actually use water when you bathe."

"I do use water! I just...don't get in it..."

"You're just as bad as Patamon, you know that?"

Kari rolled up her magazine, climbed off of T.K. and thumped her boyfriend and her digital partner on their heads. The former lost his balance and fell a whole six inches to the ground, while the latter jerked her head back in surprise and felt her ears twitch over and over again.

"Now that you two have stopped your childish bickering," she said, brandishing her disciplinary tool. "We've got someplace to be. Get dressed, T.K."

The blond picked himself up off the floor. "I need to take a shower. I don't want to go anywhere smelling like sweat."

"Fine, but hurry up. We don't have all day."

T.K .sighed. It's a Friday during the summer, he thought to himself. We've got forever and a day to do whatever. Without saying a word, he made his way to the door that led to his girlfriend's room. He opened the door, took a step back, plastered a look of shock in his face and took in a sharp breath at the sight on the other side of the hinged wood.

Not necessarily in that order.

A familiar floating mass of white and brown fur glared at the blond with uncharacteristically evil blue eyes.

"Gee, T.K." Patamon growled. "It's good to know that you think I stink."

"I never said that." T.K. said. "I just said that you don't take proper baths."

"And you don't take proper shots in basketball." Patamon shot back. "Your form sucks. No wonder why your numbers are down."

T.K.'s entire form, clothes and all, faded to a sickly white while he sulked over to a corner.

"I suck...?" He whimpered to himself. "I suck..."

Kari followed her boyfriend to the corner and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, T.K. He's just upset. He didn't mean it." She turned to where Patamon was. "Right...?"

Was.

Patamon disappeared. So did Gatomon. Puzzled, the two teens looked around, searching for any sign of the two data-based creatures. Nothing could be seen, but several thumps inside Kari's closet caused the two to sweatdrop.

"I hope they're not doing what I think they're doing in there." T.K. said.

"Let's just give them some privacy." Kari said, shoving her boyfriend out the door. "You need to clean up, anyway." The two teens left the room, giving the two Digimon the privacy Kari wanted them to have so that they could do their...thing.

Inside the closet, however, things weren't quite what T.K. had suspected they were. Patamon and Gatomon lay side by side while the former held a flashlight. The light shone down on a photo scrapbook that Gatomon's human partner had forgotten about.

"And here's a shot of her as a baby." Gatomon whispered, fighting back the urge to flip out over the cuteness in the shot. Patamon sighed as he eyed the shot.


Elsewhere, Ken snapped a punch into the air directly in front of him. A slight breeze blew through the open space just outside the apartment complex. His eyes focused on a spot in front of him. Another punch followed the first, the snapping of the loose, heavy cotton jacket he wore slicing through the air. He had shed himself of all outside distractions. Nothing at this moment could distract him from his exercises. His focus was intense. His mind was completely clear. Sliding one foot back, he envisioned an attacker coming at him from the side. Preparing to face said attacker, Ken turned with a fist drawn to his waist. As soon as his turn ended, he snapped his fist forward in an attempt to strike the attacker's chest.

Unfortunately for him, his "imaginary attacker" wasn't so imaginary. Nor an attacker.

A yelp snapped Ken out of his mental state and forced him to stop his strike before it made contact with a familiar set of ribs. An equally familiar mass of lavender hair suddenly dropped down as the owner fell to the ground in surprise.

"What the hell was that for?" Yolei cried out, rubbing her sore bottom.

"Yolei? What are you doing here?" Ken asked as his own sense of surprise washed over him.

"Well," she said. "I came here to pick you up."

Ken scratched his temple in confusion. "Pick me up? For what?"

"For our date, you ninny!" Yolei threw her hands into the air. "I can't believe you forgot about our date!"

"I didn't forget about it!" Ken defended. Martial arts weren't the only form of self-defense Ken practiced in his lifetime. "I thought we were going out later on tonight."

"Right. So you thought you could get away with wearing your little pajamas before seeing me?"

Ken scowled. Not the one he'd worn years before as an interdimensional terrorist, mind you. "You know, I think you'd have a little more respect for my interests than that. After all, I don't get onto you about constantly playing video games when you should be studying for college entrance exams."

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Well, excuse me. Not everybody's you, Ken. Not everybody can pass an entrance exam without studying thanks to a little black ball in their necks."

"Hey!" Ken snapped. "My intelligence didn't spawn from evil intentions! I studied on my own to perform as well as I do! The Spore just helped out a little, that's all!"

"Right, because a sudden drop in GPA after seeing the light means you're still smart as hell."

Both teens stared each other down in silence as moments passed by. Neither one seemed to mind the looks they got from random passerby, as minimal as they were. The staredown continued for what seemed like forever before either one spoke again. Yolei initiated the next sequence of events.

"So are you going to kiss me, or do I gotta smack you around first?"

Ken stepped forward and crashed his lips against hers. The two embraced one another and held on for a few fleeting moments. The two separated, looking longingly into one another's eyes.

"Does this seem like something out of a sappy romance novel to you?" Yolei asked.

Ken shrugged. "Wouldn't know. I've never read one."

Yolei rolled her eyes. "So, do you plan on changing out of your gi anytime soon?"

"Only if you do one thing."

"What?"

"Get off my foot." Yolei looked down so see that she was indeed standing on one of her boyfriend's feet.

"Whoops!" She quickly stepped to the side."So then, you going to get ready or what?"

"I'm going to need to take a shower, you know."

"As long as you don't take as long as I do, we'll have plenty of time to go out."

Ken sighed, following with a chuckle. The two grasped each other's hands, lacing their fingers together as they made a silent trek toward the Ichijouji residence.

Well, almost silent.

"By the way, thanks for bringing up the Spore again."


The two couples went on their respective dates. Neither pair thought of the other, as the day was intended to be a day for themselves.

T.K. and Kari visited a movie theater. The lineup sparked an interest with Kari, which amused and satisfied T.K.

"That movie looks interesting." Kari said, pointing to a poster advertising a suspense flick. T.K. raised a brow.

"Since when were you into thrillers?"

"Don't know. It just looks interesting, you know?"

T.K. shrugged, then led the pair to the ticket booth to purchase the necessary documents in order to allow them entry.

Er, sorry. Too much time with Cody. He bought the two of them tickets to get into the movie theater..

Hours later, the two entered the Takaishi residence, dissatisfied with Kari's choice of films.

"That's the last time you pick the movie." T.K. huffed as he discarded his shoes.

Kari followed suit, her own pout in full force. "Fine by me. I don't want to pick out another two-hour suckfest for us to waste our time on."

"Goo-ack!" T.K., shortly after setting the shoes to the side, noticed the dark glare coming from his family's living room.

"Takeru..." The figure, shaped eerily like his mother, growled. "Come here, son..."

T.K. gulped. He turned to Kari. "You should...probably head home..."

"No!" The figure snapped, forcing both to stand straight suddenly. "She stays...maybe she could help you explain something interesting I've found..."

The two teens nervously walked into the living room, drawn by an unknown force. Natsuko lifted a television remote and, thumbing a button, started a recording of a particular segment of a television show aired earlier that day. Upon its conclusion, the two teens stood in the room, blanching to an almost sickly pale.

"Mom..." T.K. said. "I have to make a phone call."


Ken and Yolei attended a baseball game, both watching in excitement. The pair rooted for the home team, even though neither payed attention to sporting events other than the ones the navy-headed teen participated in. Once the game finished, the two exited the baseball stadium as a part of the usual mass exodus.

"That was fun!" Yolei cried out. "Our team lost, but that doesn't ruin the excitement."

"It was a really close game," Ken agreed with a smile on his face. "This makes me glad you pulled me from practice earlier."

"Doesn't it? You would've missed something great if I didn't."

Ken nodded. A thought related to his earlier activities crossed his mind. "Hey, Yolei?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever considered taking a martial arts class?"

Yolei scrunched her brows in thought. "Not really. I don't think I could make it through a karate class. I'm not too athletic, you know."

"Yeah, but when you put your mind to it, you can climb up a ninety-degree angle with no handholds for support."

Yolei blushed sheepishly. For all the impulsive reminders she had given Ken about his cloak and shade days, she'd completely forgotten about the depression she fell into at the time.

"Well, I wasn't exactly myself when I did that."

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but you might want to give it some thought. It could help control your emotions when things don't go your way."

At that time, Ken's cellphone rang. He answered it immediately, not stopping to check the Caller ID.

"Hello?...Yeah...no...why?...alright, I guess. Talk to you later then." Ken hung up, noticing the furrowed eyebrows on his girlfriend's forehead. "That was T.K. He said we needed to watch TV later on. Said there was something we needed to see."

"Huh. Alright then. Let's go home, then. It may be super important."

"Promise me one thing first, Yolei."

"What?"

"You'll give it some thought."

"I promise. Now let's go see what that brunette brat's boy-toy thinks is so important."