Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon 02: The Road Not Taken ❯ Pushing ( Chapter 6 )

Digimon 02: The Road Not Taken

By Robster80

 

Episode Six: Pushing

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon 02 or any of its characters. It is owned by Toei Animation, Saban (or whatever it's called now) and Jetix.

 

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Last time: Kari was warned by Tai to keep away form TK, and she had a nightmare where he gave himself up to protect her from Piedmon. Meanwhile, Ken shared a new program with Matt and TK: a stealth feature that would mask their digivices' signals so the other Digi-Destined wouldn't be able to track them when they went to the Digital World. Sadly, the program had several glitches as it only fully worked when other digivices were within a few yards of them, and it also limited the range of their scanners. Thus the three and their Digimon were caught by Davis and the other new Digi-Destined. During the fight, Angemon was injured saving TK form being killed by a falling control spire. Ogremon and Leomon, with help from Nefertimon, fought off Davsi and the others to allow the friends to escape. Gatomon (Nefertimon) paid for her switching sides as Kari disowned her, siding with Davis.

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Joe finished putting bandages on Patamon's tiny body before he closed up his emergency kit. “He'll be fine within a few days,” he told TK, Matt, Ken, Wormmon and Nancy. “But he's going to need some rest. I'd have him stay home while he recovers, TK.”

 

“Thanks, Joe.”

 

Joe put a hand to TK's shoulder. “He'll be fine. I promise. I'll check back in a couple days when I have a break in my studies.”

 

After Joe left, Ken took his one fist and rammed it into the nearest wall. “This is my fault! I was too confident in my programming skills to consider that there'd be glitches in my program.”

 

Wormmon hung his head in sadness. “But it was my dumb idea to hide in the control spires. We should have went straight for the monitor, but I had to open my big mouth.”

 

“But I was the one who ran out into that falling spire's path,” TK said emotionlessly. “It should have been me under it, not him.”

 

Nancy went over and hugged her youngest son. “But you would've been killed if you had. That's why Patamon saved you. If there's anyone to blame, it's Davis and his friends for attacking you like that.”

 

“And believe me, mom,' Matt said while hitting his one palm with his fist. “They'll pay for it. We're gonna get them good-.”

 

Tk suddenly broke away form his mother. “No, Matt! We can't sink to their level. Rememebr that email about the new enemy Arukenimon? Our priority is protecting the Digital World.”

 

“TK, Davis will gloat-.”

 

“Let him! I don't care! He got his victory, so maybe he'll leave us alone now.”

 

Matt went up to TK and took him by the arms. “TK, you can't let him walk all over you. Don't you see? He'll never let it go. He's got it in his head to repeatedly let you know he beat you. Are you going to let him do that?”

 

TK shook himself free form Matt's grip. “You're my brother, Matt, and I love you. But I'm not like you. I know when to accept defeat, and there's no shame in that. You said you were on my side, but if you keep trying to make me retaliate against Davis and the others, then you should leave now and forget you even know me. But if you're really with me, you'll respect my decision. So, Matt… Yamato… are you with me?”

 

It took all of Matt's willpower to keep him from shouting back at TK that he was wrong. He wanted his brother to stand up and fight, not cower before his obstacles. But, TK was standing up to him, his older brother. Perhaps that was the first sign that TK was standing up for himself. “…I'm with you, bro. But I don't know how long I can hold back.”

 

“Just try, Matt. That's all I ask of you.”

 

Deciding to change the subject, Nancy looked at her watch and said, “So, who's hungry? I can order Chinese take-out for all of us.”

 

Ken picked up Wormmon. “Actually, we need to get home. Thanks for the offer, Ms. Takaishi.” Bowing to her and then to TK and Matt, he added, “I'll wait until you're both ready to go back to the Digital World. Until Then, I'll be keeping myself busy getting that stealth program right.”

 

Matt and Nancy followed Ken out of the room. TK was now alone with his partner. Moving his desk chair beside his bed, where Patamon slept, he gently put his hand to his Digimon's tiny forehead. “You're my real best friend, Pata,” he said softly. “Thank you for today… and I'm sorry you got hurt.”

 

Suddenly, TK heard a tapping noise coming from his window. Turning, he saw Gatomon wrapping her claws lightly against the glass. He opened the window, allowing her to enter. Seeing Patamon bandages up and asleep on the bed, she immediately moved over beside him.

 

“Oh Pata,” she said, and then faced TK. “TK, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything.”

 

“Thank you for helping us earlier,” TK replied. “But shouldn't you be back at Kari's before she finds out-.” He then noticed the tearstains on her furry face. Oh no. Kari, you didn't-! Even Gatomon?!

 

“TK… I need a place to stay.”

 

TK moved and took Gatomon into his arms, hugging her gently as she began to cry softly into his chest. “You're welcome here,” he told her soothingly. “You can stay as long as you like.” He held her for a moment before he said, “Let's go tell mom. She should know you're here.”

 

 

**************

 

 

“Aren't you coming to bed, Tai?”

 

Tai laid out on his couch, using the remote to flip through the channels on TV. “Last I checked it's still Saturday night. I'll go to bed when I feel like it. Besides, you're a big girl now, Kari; you don't need me in the same room so you can sleep at night.”

 

“Whatever,” Kari said before closing the bedroom door behind her. Tai could have been more supportive to her. So what if she shouldn't have chased off Gatomon? Maybe it wouldn't have happened if her ex-Digimon hadn't have attacked Davis like that. It seemed everyone was against her and Davis going out, and sided with TK instead.

 

“This is all his fault,” Kari told herself as she snatched TK's white hat from her desk. “He didn't have to fall in love with me. He didn't have to isolate himself from the group just because of Davis and me. He didn't have to blame either of us because he got Patamon hurt. He really is a big baby.” As she talked, she wrung the hat tightly in her hands.

 

It was then she remembered the box TK had thrown out, that she had brought home with her. “Might as well see what that baby threw away,' she said to herself as she pulled it out from underneath Tai's bed. She pulled at the tape, ripping it off, and then opened the box. Her heart leapt into her throat and her eyes widened.

 

Inside the box were numerous items: CD's, books, pictures, several shirts she had bought him over the years when he came to visit. There was also a little box with a lid bound to it with a rubber band. On the lid, Kari saw, were the words “my greatest treasure” written in red marker. She started taking everything out of the box, pausing to look closely at each thing.

 

“My favorite bands… he bought these so I could be closer to him back when he lived far away. These books… they were his favorites, and mine, too. …He picked these shirts out with me… for his tenth birthday. But when he saw how much they were, he wanted me to put them back, but… but I wanted to get them for him.”

 

Her hands shook as she moved onto the pictures; some were in frames, others were not. They were mostly of her, but there were some of her and TK together: at his grandmother's house, in his old city, and inside the apartment his mom got when they moved back to Odaiba. Even the group pictures of them with the other Digi-Destined, old and new, they were in this box as well.

 

Finally, all that was left was the little box. Kari was almost afraid to open it up, but she willed her hands to remove the rubber band and put the lid aside. She gasped lightly at the box's contents, which she took out with one hand. It was her old pink scarf. She hadn't seen it in three years, not since that day…

 

It was during one of TK's visits to Odaiba shortly after the gateway to the Digital World closed for good. He and Kari were in the park, playing tag. They were laughing and running around without any cares at all. But then, when Kari was it, she tackled TK against a tree. “Tag, you're it-!”

 

“OW!”

 

Kari gasped. “TK, are you okay?”

 

Wincing a bit, TK put a hand to his right arm. “Y-yeah. I'm fine.”

 

But Kari saw blood trickling from between his fingers. She realized she made him cut himself against the tree's bark. “You're bleeding! Oh, TK, I'm sorry! Here.” Quickly she took off her scarf and forced TK's hand away.

 

“Kari, wait, that's your-.” But TK never finished what he was saying as Kari used her scarf to bandage his cut. Once she tightening it and tied it up, she looked at him. “There. Is that better? Oh, wait, I forgot.” TK was shocked as Kari quickly kissed his cut through her scarf. It made him feel warm inside.

 

“T-Thanks, Kari. It fells better now.”

 

“I'm glad.” Kari then stood up. “Come on, let's go home. We'll get my mom to fix this up for real.”

 

“What about your scarf? It'll get bloody.”

 

“It's okay, TK. Why don't you keep it for me? It'll be something to remember me by when you're back home.”

 

Smiling, TK stood up and took Kari's hand into his. “Thanks, Kari. I promise I'll keep this safe.”

 

Kari looked closely at her old scarf. She could hardly believe TK would consider it a treasure up until now. Her eyes noticed a trace of blood on the scarf. Tears blurred her vision as she held it to her chest.

 

“You never washed the blood out, TK… this meant so much to you, to remember that day… It is your greatest treasure… or it was.”

 

Kari put the scarf back into its box, and then carefully replaced everything she took out of the bigger box. She stopped herself when she realized she was putting his hat in as well. Taking it back out, she searched her closet and found an empty shoebox with a lid. She put TK's hat inside it and replaced the lid. She then took a red marker form her desk drawer and was about to write on the lid with it, but she paused. What would she label it?

 

“…A reminder… of my greatest mistake.”

 

Once she finished labeling the lid, Kari put it and the marker away, hiding the boxes under Tai's bed. She then turned out the room's light and made her way into the top bunk. The tears never stopped as she curled up under her bed sheets. While she loved Davis, she realized sacrificing her friendship with TK and Gatomon had left an emptiness within her.

 

I'll make it up to them, somehow…

 

 

**************

 

 

Come Monday, Patamon was awake, though he hurt all over. TK called Joe and was told to have Patamon ice his injuries several times a day and he would be fine. TK charged Gatomon with this while he would be at school and his mom at work. Nancy had accepted Gatomon into her home, mainly because the feline Digimon had tried to help TK that day Patamon was injured.

 

TK had left for school early that day. He didn't want to talk to Yolei or Cody at all, still feeling angry at them because they didn't help at all with his problem. He recalled Yolei trying to visit his apartment, but his mother politely asked her to give him space for a while. That at least made him feel less angry towards her because she at least wanted to try and make amends.

 

Still, TK wished he didn't have to go to school because most of his classes had Davis and Kari with him. Despite what he had told Matt, he was furious at them both. Why did he even fall for Kari at all in the first place? If he had known what she would do to him, he wouldn't have protected her from Piedmon, or would have left her to rot in the Dark Ocean.

 

TK shook his head violently; he shouldn't think such things. Kari hadn't intended for him to fall for her; he should have realized she was just teasing him all along. Aside from Sora and Tai, best friends didn't fall in love with each other.

 

“Morning, TK.”

 

Speak of the devil, TK thought as Tai joined him in walking down the streets. “Tai.”

 

“I'm not sure if I should be asking you this, but have you seen Gatomon lately?”

 

“She's staying at my place. She told me Kari told her she never wanted to see her again, so my mom and I took her in.”

 

“Good. I'm glad for her. Patamon okay?”

 

“Yeah, he's up but he'll be at home for probably the rest of the week. And that means I'll be out of the Digital World until he's healed.”

 

“I understand. TK, I'll talk with Davis after school. I'll make him leave you alone-.”

 

“I told you already, Tai; I don't want the other older kids involved. Matt I couldn't talk out of, but I won't drag the rest of you into my problems.”

 

“But remember, TK - I gave you my blessing.”

 

“Tai, I don't want to talk, okay? Just leave me alone, and mind your own business.” Having said this, TK picked up his pace and hurried off to his school.

 

Tai watched him almost run down the streets. “When the time comes, TK… I'll be there for you. That's a promise.”

 

When he reached his school's gates, TK wasn't surprised that Kari was standing by the gateway. He figured she was meeting Davis for something. Avoiding eye contact, he moved to walk right by her and enter the grounds.

 

“TK.”

 

He stopped. So much for avoiding her. “Kari.”

 

She noticed he didn't turn to face her. “TK, I want say-.”

 

“I got nothing to say to you, Kari,” TK said coldly, “Not now, and never again.”

 

“TK, wait,” Kari said, racing up to him as he tried to enter the school.

 

“Don't you get it,” he exclaimed, turning to glare at her. “I don't want to talk to you! I don't even want to look at you; that's why I've been keeping my distance from you and the others. I don't even know you anymore. We're strangers from here on. Just… you and your boyfriend just leave me alone.”

 

Kari stood there, watching TK walk into the school. His words cut her to the core; she felt numb. Yet in her heart, she knew she deserved his cruel words and his spite. He may never forgive her, but she wouldn't give up. However, she would at least give him time to cool off.

 

“Kari?”

 

Gasping, Kari turned to see Davis walking up to her. “Hey, what's wrong?”

 

“N-nothing. Nothing's wrong.” She moved for the school doors, but Davis gently held her back.

 

“Come on, you can tell me. We're dating now. We shouldn't keep secrets.”

 

“…Davis, I want you to keep away from TK. Just for a while.”

 

“What's he got to do with this? Did he say something to you?”

 

“Davis, he's still upset because of what we did-.”

 

“We did nothing, Kari; it was him. Now what did he do to you?”

 

Kari pulled herself away from Davis. “It's not what he did, Davis; It's what I did to him.” Kari then ran into the school.

 

Davis clenched his fists at the thought of TK. “I think he needs to be reminded which of us is Kari's man.”

 

 

**************

 

 

Throughout most of the week, Davis kept bumping into TK on purpose; elbowing him in the hallways, trying to trip him at lunch, and even knocking over his books at the end of classes. Before long, it was time for gym class day, and the instructor had decided on dodge ball. Luckily, TK and Davis were put on the same team.

 

However, once the game started, TK felt himself hit from behind, and hard. The instructor blew his whistle. “Motomiya, you're supposed to throw the ball at the other team, not your teammates!”

 

“My aim was off,” was all Davis said as he smiled at TK.

 

The game resumes, but minutes later, TK was again hit from behind by Davis. This time, he was hit harder than before.

 

“Motomiya!”

 

“He jumped into my shot, honest.”

 

“No he didn't,” one of the other guys on TK's team said, “you threw it at him on purpose!”

 

The instructor then pointed at one of the opposing team's players. “You, Kigestki! Switch teams with Motomiya.”

 

But that only made things worse for TK. Davis was determined to nail him with every ball they were using in the class. TK managed to catch the ball a few times, thus putting Davis out of the game, but his hands began to hurt from the force of the throws. Finally, class was almost over and the boys went to the locker room to change and shower.

 

“Hey, TK,” one of the guys stopped him as he finished redressing, “what's Motomiya's beef with you?”

 

“He probably thinks I'm going to steal Kari away from him, like I even have a chance or even want to.”

 

“No way! She picked him?! And here I thought you and her were tight.”

 

“Well, you were wrong. …And so was I.”

 

“Sorry, TK. But you're young, you'll find somebody new. Anyways, you'd better be careful. From what I hear, Davis never forgives or forgets.”

 

Most of the guys had left the locker room, but TK stayed behind. He had hoped Davis had gone out as well, leaving him alone at last, for the moment.

 

“Better stick to basketball, JP. Dodge ball isn't your game.”

 

TK didn't bother looking up at Davis. “What do you want, Davis? Why are you hounding me?”

 

“I just want to make sure you know that you lost to me, in winning Kari's heart, and on the battlefield.”

 

“You needn't have bothered. I already accepted that you won.”

 

“I don't believe you, mainly because of what you said to Kari earlier today, whatever that was.”

 

“I just want you and her to leave me alone. Is that so much to ask for?”

 

Davis grinned, but sinisterly. “Listen to me, DJ, I'm going to remind you, daily if I have to, that you're nothing; you are a loser, and I'll make sure you remember that as long as we both live. Say hi to that worthless Digimon of yours for me.”

 

Hearing Davis laugh as he left, TK's blood began to boil as he remained in then locker room. His friend and Matt had been right: Davis would never let it go, and would never stop tormenting him as long as he got a kick out of it. His hands formed tight fists as he was barely able to hold back in anger.

 

I don't care anymore if Kari chose you. You've pushed me too far, Davis; and it's time I pushed back!

 

When the final bell rang, TK raced home as fast as he could. When he got to his apartment, Ken and Matt were there waiting for him. He figured someone had informed them of what Davis had been doing all week. He just looked at them, and at their Digimon and Gatomon. “You know?”

 

Matt simply nodded. “What will you do now, TK?”

 

TK threw his books down to the floor. He was through being a nice guy. “We fight back.”

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

Author's notes: Davis/Daisuke fans, no flames please. You were warned when you started reading this series, so you should have stayed away. There is a method to my madness, as the saying goes, but if you don't want to wait it out, then that's your call.

 

Looking back on my grade school and high school careers, I wish I had TK's guts in deciding to fight back against the guys who picked on me. Maybe that's why I felt so strongly about this chapter, and for what's to come.

 

I just realized I forgot about Mimi since she showed up for one weekend. Well, I guess I can say that she honored TK's request and kept out of what was going on and then went back home on Sunday. Please read and review.