Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Presents And Promises ❯ Chapter 4

Presents and Promises 5: Loyalty and Sincerity
By Archangel Bloodraven

"Kari, listen to me." Yari said patiently.

"Huh?"

"You have to climb Protectorate Mountain. Understand?"

The sickly child looked from the mountain to the young gatekeeper, her brow wrinkled in thought. "Me… me go up?"

Yari choked back a sob. "That's right little one. There's a prize for you at the top, so go on."

Kari stared at the girl a moment before pulling her into a hug. "'anks Yari."

Yari pulled the young girl to her as tears flowed down her face. "No problem Kari." Reluctantly she forced herself to let
go of the ailing light bearer. "You be careful, 'kay?"

Kari nodded and started to climb.

***

Kandasia rapped on the door of the state room.

"What is it, Kandasia?" Matt asked.

"Bad news, crest bearers. There's a storm coming and we'll have to drop anchor until it passes."

Matt frowned at the thought of a delay, then nodded. "Do whatever you have to."

Kandasia bowed and left. "I heard." Sora said slipping up behind Matt. "I don't like the delay any more than you do, but
maybe I can take your mind off Itami, since I was the one who reminded you of her."

"What about you Sora?" Matt asked suddenly. "Do you have a sad love story you want to share?"

"Not really." She said. "Mine is more a story of betrayal. Girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, and girl walks in on boy friend
and best friend screwing like rabbits. Needless to say, I don't have many friends anymore." Matt chuckled. "I'm glad you
find that amusing!" Sora snapped peevishly.

"It's not that." Matt said holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Look at the irony of this: The bearer of
friendship can't feel love,"

"And the bearer of love can't feel friendship. How sad is that?" She murmured looking more than a little green.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked. "You look a little queasy."

"Just a bit. You look a little off yourself."

"It's the storm." He said leading her over to the bed. "We'd better just lay down and ride it out." With that he lay beside
her and gently wrapped his arms around her waist.

Maybe… Just maybe…This time… will be different. They thought in unison as they drifted off to sleep.

***

It was about noon when Kari dragged herself over the ledge with a Herculean effort.

"Turn back child." A harsh voice growled. "Your journey ends here."

Kari blinked hard, forcing the darkness from her eyes. Before her stood a blazing crimson dragon, resplendent even to
her fading vision. "No." She said firmly, forcing her fever addled mind to focus.

"You will go no further child!" The dragon bellowed. As if to illustrate this point, he spewed a jet of white hot fire at the
stupefied girl.

Kari recovered her wits in time to stumble away from the brunt of the blast, crying out in pain as her right shoulder was
singed filling the air with the stench of scorched skin and burnt blood. "I will not turn back." She snarled through pain
gritted teeth.

"Be realistic child!" The dragon bellowed. "You are sick, alone, and now wounded. Even your staunchest guardian has
abandoned you. Turn back while you have your life."

Kari thought over his words. True, Gatomon couldn't be here with her now. Also true, she was sick and the damage the
creature had done hurt like nothing she had ever experienced before. But something wasn't true. Unsurprisingly she
found her thoughts turning to the others and their crests.

Taichi. Courage. She had always depended on her brother's strength and thinking of him now made her stand a little
straighter. She had faced the worst the digiworld could throw at her. She had felt fear, but like her brother, had the
courage to face it if she looked deep enough.

Izzy. Knowledge. A smile tugged at her lips as she though of the ebony eyed, scarlet haired genius who acted as the
voice of reason. Once he got to following an idea he didn't stop until he was satisfied, and she wasn't going to stop until
she had the cure.

Mimi. Sincerity. She closed her eyes and let the tears flow. She hurt in places she didn't know she had, her objective was
tauntingly close, and to turn back now would mean the only thing she couldn't face. Failure.

Joe. Reliability. He'd never let any of his friends down. Thinking of him gave her the determination not to do so either.

Sora. Love. Kari frowned. Several of the riddles had that underlying theme. Why was that becoming so obvious in her life
now, when she had never thought of it beyond the brother & sister relationship she and Tai shared? Was that why she
was doing this?

Matt. Friendship. His brother was counting on her. He and the others had been like a family to her and nothing was
going to happen to any of them if she could help it.

TK. The child of Hope. She had always drawn hope from his presence and now, she was his hope. Failure was no longer
an option.

"No." She said in a flat emotionless tone. "I will not turn back. I may be physically alone, but I carry the spirit of all my
friends." She continued her voice rising in strength. "None of us will ever forsake any of the others, and I will not back
down while I live and breathe. You tell me to turn back?" She paused now, each word carrying a heavy and deliberate
emphasis. "I. Tell. You. DEATH FIRST!"

To her surprise, the dragon clapped its paws together and laughed. "Well spoken, light bearer. I am Chujitsu, the
Gatekeeper of Loyalty. Time grows short so here is my riddle.

Sometimes glitters, but often not.
May be cold, or may be hot.
Ever changing, though the eye can't measure.
Concealed within may be many treasures.
Some find safety beneath its gate
While others may die beneath its weight
Cracked and broken it brings forth life.

What am I?"

"My onii-chan told me this a long time ago, but it doesn't make anymore sense now than it did then. The answer is a
human heart."

"Correct, light bearer." Chujitsu said shrinking to the size of a small cat and moving aside. Pausing only long enough to
pet the diminutive Gatekeeper, the weary girl continued her climb.

***

"Crest bearers!" Yari called as Matt, Sora and their digimon descended from the Generosity. "This way."

"Who are you?" Sora called, jogging to catch up with the young girl.

"Omoiyari, Gatekeeper of Kindness." She said briskly as she led them through the crowd. "You both understand the
nature of this journey, though your light bearer has one final step before she understands."

"So what do we do?" Matt asked.

"Wait, rest, and hope." She said.

***

With the last of her strength, Kari heaved herself over the last plateau with her pulse thundering in her ears as the last
of her vision faded to inky blackness.

"And now it ends." She mused quietly before coughing violently. She tried to stand only to have her legs crumble
beneath her. "But not like this."

"And how would you have it end, light bearer?" A voice like crystal wind chimes asked.

"I will face you as I have faced you all, Gatekeeper." She said drawing on the last of her already overtaxed resources to
rise unsteadily to her feet. "As an equal."

"Very well light bearer. I am Seijitsusa, Gatekeeper of Sincerity and my riddle is this.

What must you keep even after you give it away?"

"I am sick of these riddles, Gatekeeper. You're playing with my best friend's life and I don't appreciate this. I gave him
my word I'd return with the cure and if you won't give it to me, sick or not, blind or not, crippled or not, I will take it by
force." She snarled. "I will keep my word.."

"Very well done Light bearer. That is correct. Now tell me, why?"

"I don't understand."

"Why are you here?" Seiji asked. "Why have you traveled the path of love?"

"The path of love?" Kari repeated dully.

"You have proven worthy of the other Virtues. Patience to bear with your love through anything, Generosity to give what
must be given for love, Kindness to carry you spirit and nurture your love, Loyalty to support your love and forsake all
others, and now Sincerity to be open in all things. So I ask you again, light bearer. Why?"

"My friend is sick. I knew nothing of the path. I sought only the cure."

"Bah!" The harsh rejoinder clashed with the melodic voice that delivered it. "You cannot expect me to believe that you
braved a blizzard, crossed the ocean and climbed a mountain for a mere friend. Look at yourself."

And suddenly Kari could see, not with her blind physical eyes but with the clarity and sharpness of her minds eye. She
saw her physical self, an ugly maroon blossoming under her bandaged head. Her face was marked with angry red
scratches and one particularly nasty one still trickled fresh blood around the dried crust near her chin. Her right shoulder
was cracked and bleeding through the blackened skin. Her cloak and clothing were so badly shredded that they barely
left her decently covered and her usually fair skin was marbled with black and blue bruises.

She was about to turn away when she glimpsed something beneath her own battered shell. What's this? She
wondered.

The seat of your soul. Seiji replied silently from her side.

If she was startled by the intrusion, Kari didn't show it.The truth, the answer I seek is here. I know it is. She mused
peering more closely into the golden light. To her surprise, there were two figures there instead of the one she had
expected.

Half souls. Seiji said helpfully. Why don't you look closer?

One was clearly Kari with her chocolate brown hair and warm ember red eyes and caring nature. The other was foreign
and yet familiar with dusty blonde hair, laughing sapphire blue eyes, and a compassionate spirit that never lost hope.

Takeru? Kari gasped. If I have half of his soul, what does that mean?

What do you think it means, child of light? Seiji asked patiently.

It means… Kari paused thinking. Then it came to her as clearly as anything had ever come to her in her life. In the core
of her being she knew. It means he has half my soul. Together we are complete.

"You two are lucky. Half souls are very rare and sadly, most half souls never meet their significant other." Seiji said aloud
as Kari's vision faded to inky blackness once more. "I ask you again. Why are you here?"

Kari didn't waver, but instead answered with a clarity that she had never known before this moment. "I love him." She
said simply. "I love him and I'm afraid to live without him."

"Now you understand." Seiji said pushing a cloth wrapped bundle into Kari's hands.

"Arigato Gatekeeper." She said before pitching off the cliff in a faint.