Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Presents And Promises ❯ Chapter 2

Presents and Promises: Gatekeeper Generosity
By Archangel Bloodraven

Kari and Gatomon reached the small seaport as the sun sank below the horizon. "According to the map, we have to cross the ocean to reach the continent of Matrix where Protectorate Mountain is located, so I guess we'll need a boat."

"Let's ask in here." Kari said leading the way into a smarmy looking tavern. "Excuse me..."

"Bugger off. Ye ain't ol' enough to buy nothin' and you're holdin' up our payin' customers." The bartender snarled.

"I see you're still running the seedy dives, Tavernmon." Gatomon said springing onto the bench.

"Gatomon ye sly cat! Wher've ye been?"

"Here and there but that's hardly your concern. Get us a couple bowls of soup and a ship out of this burg will ya?"

"Th' soups easy, th' ship might be a lil' harder to come by." He snapped his burly fingers and a Gotsumon scrambled up to him. "Hit th' docks an' find me a ship headed to- " He looked to Gatomon for a destination.

"Protectorate Mountain." She said smoothly as Kari exploded into a coughing fit. "The kid and I are a little under the weather."

"Ye heard her, kid." Tavernmon nodded towards the door. The Gotsumon nodded and slipped outside. Once he had left Tavernmon leaned close to Gatomon. "Th' only sick people headin' out there have the CBF."

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't. What's it to ya?" Gato said flashing her claws suggestively. "How ya doing kid?"

"I-I-I'll s-s-surv-v-vive." She managed moving closer to the fire.

"Gato, ye know I don' care one way or another but… follow me you two." Kari sighed and reluctantly moved away from the fire as Tavernmon led the pair past the bar, through a door and down a corridor to a storeroom. "Ye understand I can' have ye in wit' the gen'ral populous. Health concerns an' what not."

"Yeah, we'll scare away all the healthy customers and their fat purses." Kari snarled bitterly as she started to unzip her jacket, then changed her mind as another cold flash left her shivering violently.

"Ye okay kid?" Tavernmon asked.

"Just coolin' mon." Kari snapped back.

"I like 'er Gato!" Tavernmon roared. "She's got spunk!"

"So what are we supposed to do, sleep on the flour sacks?" Gato said snidely as she shook off a chill of her own.

"Gatomon, ye cut me t' th' quick!" Tavernmon gasped miming a dagger twisting in his heart as he reached up and tugged on a wine bottle. A moment later the wall swung away to reveal a small but well furnished room. "I keep this place for those customers that be wanting a lil' more discretion abou' their location, shall we say?"

"In other words, mons with a price on their heads." Gato said cutting through Tavernmon's shoddy attempt at finesse.

"Righ' ye are, Gato. Why don' ye get some rest, and I'll be back later wit' yer soup and th' infermation on yer passage."

"Hey Tavernmon." Kari said reluctantly relinquishing her coat.

"Yeah kid?"

"Thanks."

***

"Leaving us so soon friendship bearer?" Nintai asked as Matt and Gabumon gathered their things.

"Yeah." He said. "Patience has never been my strong suit, Gatekeeper."

"Why don't you wait? You and the love bearer can search for the light bearer together." Nintai suggested.

"I work better alone." Matt said. "Now where did Kari go?"

Nintai sighed in resignation. "There's a seaport four days east of here. That's where the next Gatekeeper awaits."

"Thank you." He said swirling his coat around him as he knelt beside Sora and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "See ya around girl." He whispered before moving towards the door.

"You can feel love too you know." Nintai said quietly. "Not even your heart is that cold."

"Sometimes it's safer to have a heart of ice." Matt said distantly. "Ice can't feel pain." With that, he slipped into the snow with Gabumon by his side.

"Perhaps." Nintai said to the silence. "But even a heart of ice can be broken."

***

"Wake up, ye lazy cat." Tavernmon whispered.

"Whaddyawant?" She snarled, opening one eye from where she lay curled by the fire. Indeed if she were any closer she'd be in the fire.

"There's a ship heading t' Hippocratos Bay tomorrow. It's righ' at th' base of Protectorate Mountain, an' th' cap'n's only chargin' two gold coins apiece. I brought yer soup, just a lil light broth, with a dollop o' brandy in 'em."

"The kid's too young."

"It'll warm 'er up from the inside, an' besides, it's already done."

"So what do I owe you?"

"Nothin'. I put it on yer tab. Now eat up an' get sum sleep, 'cause yer ship leaves a' first light." He said slipping back out the secret door as quietly as he had entered.

"What's Hippocratos Bay?" Kari asked sitting up despite the screams of her aching muscles.

"A healer's colony. Don't get up." She said crossing to the human girl's bed. "One of the more expensive ones since the plants found near Protectorate Mountain are impossible to find anywhere else." She said gently tipping the broth into Kari's mouth.

"Thanks." She said as her shivers subsided somewhat. "I was shaking so bad I'd have spilled half if it on myself."

"That's what friends are for." Gato said laying the empty bowl aside and pushing her human partner back into bed. "You get some rest. I'll wake you in the morning."

"Mmm kay." She murmured as the small cat resumed her place by the fire. "And Gato?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for being here." She whispered as she dozed off.

"Of course little one." She replied quietly.

***

Kari dreamed she was walking beside a stream holding hands with TK.

"I'm not sure I can do this TK." She said. "It's so hard."

"I know Kari, but nothing worth doing is ever easy, and I know you can do anything you put your mind to."

"Sorta like when I learned to ride a bike. I fell off a lot, but I didn't give up."

"That's right, and you can't give up now, because I'm counting on you."

"But I've always had Tai and the others to help me before, but now it's just me and Gato and… Oh TK, I'm scared."

"There comes a time in everyone's life when they must stand alone Kari. For you that time is now. Remember what you told me when you left? About how you'd always be with me?" Kari nodded. "Well it works both ways. I'm with you too."

"But I feel awful, and I'm getting worse by the hour. Can't I come back and let one of the older kids do it?"

TK nodded solemnly. "You could, but you would always have a nagging doubt if you did. You say they don't treat you like a mature member of the team, but if you turn back, you'll never know if you were mature enough to handle this. You'll always wonder, because you'll never know for sure if you could have done it. That is part of what you seek."

"Nintai said that!" Kari said excitedly. "What am I seeking?"

Kari, wake up.

"No! Not yet!" She cried as her hand slipped through TK's as she left the realm of dreams.

"Understanding." He whispered as he faded away.

"Kari." Gatomon gently shook the young girl.

"No!" She moaned in dismay. "Why did you wake me up?"

"I know leaving your dreams can hurt. Sometimes the only refuge we have is in our dreams." She trailed off, her blue eyes out of focus for a moment. "But it has to be done. I'm sorry. We have to go or we're going to miss our boat."

Kari pulled her screeching body out of bed as her stomach began to roll. "Kami-sama please don't let me be seasick. That's the last thing I need." She murmured as she slipped into her snowsuit. When they were ready, Tavernmon escorted them out he back door and down to the dock.

As they milled about waiting for the boarding call, a scabby old man and a teenage girl approached them.

"Forgive me stranger," The girl said. "but my father is a leper and cannot find work because of his condition. If we could afford passage, he could be cured and then be free to work and feed his family."

Kari looked to Gatomon, who was wary of everything, but she merely nodded. Trusting her friend's judgment, she opened the purse and dropped some gold coins into the girl's hand. "That should pay for passage and treatment." She said.

The leper's daughter gaped in delight. "Oh thank you stranger! May you be well blessed for your generosity!"

As the pair scampered happily away, Kari turned to her digimon. "Were we just conned?"

"No Kari." Gatomon said. "We did what we would want someone to do for us if the situation were reversed. We did the right thing."

"All right then." Kari said as a little boy tugged on her leg. "Hey guy. Where are your parents?"

He tried to answer but his body was racked by a series of painful coughs. "All gone." He managed finally. "They got sick and now they're all gone."

"How sad." Gatomon said. "I know what it's like to be all alone. Do you have any money?"

He shook his head. "They spent it all trying to get better."

Kari delved into her purse and dropped two golden coins into the child's hand. "I'm sick too, so we can travel together. Maybe somewhere we'll find something to help."

The boy smiled and clung happily to her leg. Kari barely had time to return the smile before a leathery hand touched her elbow. "Excuse me child..."

And so it went. No sooner than one ailing party leave her than another took their place. Finally Kari's purse was empty and the supplicants abated.

"How are we going to pay for passage, Gato?" Kari asked leaning against a pole.

Before the little cat could reply, a young girl who couldn't be more than ten or twelve at the most approached Kari with a pale thin sickly boy half her age in tow.

"Forgive me stranger." She said bowing respectfully. "I know you have been greatly taxed already, but my mother is dead and my brother is deathly ill. He's all I left. Please..." She trailed off leaving her request hanging pregnantly unspoken.

"I'm sorry. I have a brother and he means everything in the world to me, and I don't know what I'd do without him, but my purse is empty. I have nothing to give."

"I understand." The girl said. Her face showed no resentment or anger, only the understanding that she was denied not out of greed, but out of lack.

As she turned to walk away, Gatomon said. "Wait. Take these." She pulled off her paw glove and shook four golden coins into the girl's hand.

"Oh thank you! But what of yourselves?"

"We'll find a way." Kari said with a gentle smile. "Go and take good care of your brother."

"Hippocratos Bay! All aboard who's coming aboard!" A voice bellowed.

As Kari and Gato watched the others board the ship, the little orphan boy tugged at her sleeve. "Let's go!"

"I can't." Kari said sadly. "I have no money."

"Then I'm not going." He huffed. "I'm gonna stay with you."

"If you stay with me, neither one of us will get better. Go on."

"Here!" He said trying to press the coins into Kari's hand. "You go instead."

"No. I gave you that and I'm not going to take it back. Now go." She said gently pushing him towards the gangplank where the sea of people swept him onboard. Once she saw her new friend safely on deck, she turned to walk away.

"And would you be leaving us before you've joined," The captain called. "light bearer?"

"I cannot pay for passage." She replied.

"But you already have. You were willing to give all you have to help another. For your selfless generosity, I will let you come aboard."

"Thank you." Kari said gratefully.

"Provided," He continued stopping them with a raised hand. "You can answer my riddle."

Kari sighed. "Very well Gatekeeper. What is your riddle?" She asked wearily.

"I am Kandasia, Gatekeeper of Generosity. My riddle is this:
I am never quite what I appear to be
Straightforward as I seem
But it's only skin deep
For mystery most often lies beneath my simple speech
Sharpen your wits, open your eyes
Look beyond my exteriors,
Read me backwards, forwards, upside down
Think critically and answer the question:
What am I?
Think carefully light bearer. I will only accept one answer."

"Hmm." Kari mused aloud pacing the dock. "Never quite as it appears, seems straightforward but hides mysteries. Love, the heart, a puzzle." She paused her feverish mind trying to grab onto a train of thought. "Puzzles, mysteries, enigmas, riddles. You are a riddle." She said confidently.

"Brilliantly deduced light bearer." He smiled. "I am Captain Kandasia and I welcome you aboard the good ship Generosity."

"Well named." Kari said as her orphan friend locked around her leg.

"Now now child!" Kandasia said reprovingly.

"Let him be." Kari said wearily. She just wanted curl up somewhere and sleep for a while. "He's my buddy, and besides, he doesn't have anyone else."

"What's your name?" He asked smiling.

"Hikari, but everyone calls me Kari." She said managing a weak smile. "What about you?"

"Uwabuton, but my family used to call me Wabby."

"Nice to meet you Wabby." Kari said stumbling slightly.

Kandasia frowned. "You're tired. I'll show you three to your stateroom." He said leading them below decks, through a labyrinthine trail of twists and turns until they stopped at a pair of oak doors. "Here you are. Try to get some rest." He said unlocking the door and hanging a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door.

"Thank you Captain." Kari said leaning heavily against the door.

"You're welcome light bearer. May you find all that you seek." He said before disappearing down a corridor.

Kari pushed open the door and allowed herself a moment to take in the opulence of the room, then shed her snowsuit and headed straight for the queen size bed. She kicked off her shoes, climbed in and was asleep in moments, Gatomon curled up behind her.

Wabby smiled as he carefully hung up the pair's foul weather clothing on the back of the door. He then adjusted the covers, straightened Kari's shoes, and placed a cold compress on her head. She smiled and sighed happily. Wabby smiled again as he took off his own shoes and slipped into bed himself. It made him happy to make others feel better.

After all, He thought as he dozed off. I am a comforter.