Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Sincerity ❯ Sincerity's Choice ( Chapter 3 )

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"Why look." Mimi said blandly. "A cliff."

"And all our devoted Takimi fans are hanging from it." Ken said dryly.

"Pretty strong cliff." Kari remarked.

"I think they're saying something." TK said.

From below a faint cry rose up. "Damn you Arch! Finish the Takimi."

"So much for the picnic." I sighed pulling out my laptop. "Where was I?"

Mimi seemed to think for a minute. "Well, after TK left my apartment, he found out about Sora's seizure, and I found out that Matt wanted to get back together. Though we missed each other at the hospital, we met up again at a Chinese restaurant where we were having lunch with friends of ours. We went to my martial arts Dojo where TK's uncle taught him a valuable lesson about rage. After explaining to his mother what happened, TK made a choice. When I found he went over to the Kamiya apartment, I thought he was going back to Kari, but then I found out he was going to Tai for advice not Kari. I was shocked but not half as shocked as when I learned..."She trailed off and I took the opportunity for a lead in.

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"Kari and Matt are what?" TK demanded nearly passing out from shock.

"They're married." Tai repeated.

"Thanks Tai." TK murmured heading for the elevator. "Why would he do that..." He mused more to himself than anyone else. "Unless... No. Not even he's that stupid. Is he?" His mumblings were cut off by the closing door, but had he been listening, he would have heard a faint sobbing and a fainter apology.

"Gomen nasai, Takeru." Mimi whispered as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you." She continued to cry as she slipped silently down the stairs.

***

Mimi cried herself to sleep that night and awoke refreshed the next morning. Her parents took note her strange behavior and were satisfied with her assurances that she was fine.

She was on her way out when her D terminal chirped.

All masks off . Be at the high school soccer field after school. Takeru.

The first thing Mimi noticed was that it had been sent all the 'destined, new and old, except for two.

Yamato and Hikari.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard with practiced ease.

What are you up to Taki-chan? She sent.

The response chilled her.

Better wear something you can fight in, cause all bets are off.

What do you mean? She sent anxiously, but no response came.

"See ya mom." She said closing the door and running down the stairs.

***

"I'm here to see Takenouchi Sora." Mimi said breathlessly.

"And here I am!" Sora said waving her hands flamboyantly from her wheelchair. "Not entirely out the woods yet, but well enough to go home. Maybe watch a little soccer practice after school."

"Would it be all right if I took my friend the rest of the way?"

"As long you promise to keep her in the wheelchair until you clear the hospital grounds."

The duty nurse said moving so Mimi could stand behind her friend.

"Thanks!" Mimi said pushing her into the elevator as Sora hit the door close button. "We've got to stop him."

"No Mimi. He needs this closure. And he needs you to be there."

"He isn't thinking clearly." She protested.

"Isn't he?" Sora asked lightly. "I think you may have that a little backwards. Why are you so intent on preventing this fight?"

"I... just am."

"You love him. My crest wouldn't have healed this fast if you didn't. I'm not whole yet and I may not be for some time," She paused as the doors opened and Mimi wheeled her outside. "But you both need to finish this together. I know Matt wanted to get back together with you and I know you were divided between the two brothers."

"How did you know that?"

"It's all in the crest." Sora said with a sardonic smile as Tai opened both passenger side doors.

"I'm serious!"

"So am I!" The child of Love replied. "I could feel your love growing and shifting and at one point it actually felt like it was going to split in two. That gave me a headache."

"Well sorry!" Mimi said rolling her eyes. "What are we going to do?"

Surprisingly it was Tai who answered her question with one of his own. "What are you going to do?"

Mimi sighed in resignation. "Take me to the dojo. I have to train."

***

Anyone who saw the young blond haired youth waiting on the soccer field would be more likely to mistake him for the next Digimon Emperor than the Child of Hope. TK now sported black jeans and a turtleneck under an ankle length trench coat with black sunglasses

"TK!" A familiar voice called.

Showtime. He thought with a grim smile as Kari hugged him.

"Hello Mrs. Ishida." He whispered in her ear as the other 'destined began to fill the field.

"I- I don't know what your talking about." She stammered backing away.

"Don't you?" He said, calmly hooking a finger under the gold chain she wore and drawing out the wedding band and engagement ring. "Tsk, tsk. No wonder I wasn't invited to the wedding. My brother must be a pretty stingy husband if that's the engagement ring."

"It's not what you think Taki-"

"Save it." he bit off savagely.

"Yo, bro." Matt said coolly. "What's up?"

"Tell me something Matt." He said leaning close to his older brother. "Is she any good in the sack?"

Matt's jaw dropped as he began to stammer. "It's not- How-"

"How do I know?" TK held up a small silver object. "It's amazing what you see when you have your own key." He said tossing it distastefully to his brothers feet.

"'Keru-chan!" Mimi cried catapulting out of the car as Tai and Sora exited more sedately.

With a great effort Mimi resisted the urge to vault the fence and jogged briskly around to the entrance to embrace TK. "Whatever happens, no Ki blasts. Promise me that?" She whispered.

"Only if you promise the same Mimi chan." He murmured nestling his face in her hair.

"Promise." They said in unison.

Oh no. He looks so ... dark. Mimi thought.

"Gee Matt, stooping to robbing cradles now?" She taunted moving away from TK but keeping her arm wrapped around his waist.

"At least he's not dealing in garbage." Kari shot back.

Mimi was about to go after her when TK said lightly. "Been looking in the mirror again, have you?"

This brought a collective gasp from the 'destined. Matt however remained unperturbed.

"Face it Meems. You're second hand merchandise. You should be grateful my little brother is that desperate to take you."

Again Mimi moved to attack, but TK held her and ran his knuckle gently down her cheek.

For a moment nothing existed but the two of them. "Better a second hand rose discarded by a fool, than a first hand slut discarded by all."

That simple truth clenched it. Kari came hurtling at TK but Mimi stepped between them with a simple, "She's mine."

"Be gentle." TK urged as Mimi swept Kari's legs from under her, sending the younger girl tumbling forward into a handspring to land in a battle stance.

"Kari! Don't!" Matt yelled chasing after his wife.

"No you don't bro." TK said slide tackling Matt and recovering his footing with a double roundhouse kick to Matt's face. As he rose up he slipped fluidly out of his long coat and tossed it aside. "Ken, if anything happens to that coat, I'll do things to you that would scare the Digimon Emperor. We clear?"

"Crystal." Ken said briefly allowing TK to return his full attention to the fight.

"I don't want to hurt you, TK." Matt said throwing a punch.

"Too late for that now." He said blocking the punch and countering with a spinning backhand.

Nearby Kari and Mimi were having a discourse of their own. "Matt's mine now and you can't have him back."

"Have him..." Mimi burst out laughing as she ducked under a high kick.

"You're lying." Kari said catching Mimi's punch and wrenching her arm up behind her.

"I can't believe you did this to me." TK said dodging a kick to his stomach. "How could you face me for the last two years?" He punctuated the last three words with a kick in chest, stomach, and groin, flooring his older brother.



Mimi taunted.



Mimi flipped into the air and twisted around reversing the position.



She whispered before shoving the child of Light towards the dueling brothers. TK however jumped up and over leaving the couple hopelessly entangled.



Mimi was trying desperately to talk some sense into Kari as TK went on the defensive, intent only on keeping Matt out of the girls' fray.

"You're lying." Kari said. "Matt loves me. He left you for me."

"Is that his story?" Mimi said going into a defensive position herself.



"What do you mean reasons?" She said circling warily.

"I left Matt because he was cheating on me. Among other things."

"Matt would never cheat on me." She snarled throwing a high kick at Mimi's head, who caught and held it effortlessly. "He loves me!"

Mimi was quiet for a long moment and when she spoke again it was almost as she were speaking to herself.



Kari face softened a moment before she whipped her free leg around smashing it into the older girls face.

"Matt is mine totally and completely." She snarled as Mimi went sprawling. "He loves me and he would never cheat on me."

"You poor deluded girl." Mimi said wiping the blood away from her mouth. "He was cheating on both of us with the other. Whatever he feels for you, it isn't love. He called me the first day I was back in town wanting to get back together."

"That's a lie!" Matt yelled trying futilely to get past his younger brother.

"I am sincerity. I do not lie." She said simply.

Kari snapped and lunged at Mimi with an animalistic roar wielding a knife. Mimi sprang up and kicked the knife out of her hand with one foot as the other slammed into her chest hammering her back into TK. Without warning she spun and plunged another blade deep into his side. Matt took advantage of the moment and charged past his his brother.

"NO!" TK shouted lashing out with a scissor kick. A moment later Matt crumpled to the ground his leg twisted at an impossible angle.

"'Keru!" Mimi shouted moving to aid the man she loved. Suddenly Kari was there snarling with insane fury.

"Never! Matt is all mine."

Mimi snapped and whipped around landing a backspin kick in Kari's stomach sending the girl sprawling. She knelt by TK tense and ready for another attack.

It never came.

Instead she looked up to see the child of light on her knees rocking back and forth holding her stomach and sobbing. "My baby...my baby."

"Baby?" Mimi said numbly as TK managed to get to his feet and Matt lurched to his wife's side.

"I thought as much." TK said. "I couldn't understand why Matt would marry Kari at such a young age. Then I started noticing things. Running to the bathroom often, eating more than a training level in the real world, often complaining of nausea. The pieces all fell together to make an unmistakable picture."

"There was an accident and Kari got pregnant." Mimi said.

"And you just killed it." Matt snarled.

"All for the best." TK said. "You can't bring a baby into a union of love if you don't love each other." He said gravely.

"Matt, be honest with Kari. My sensei said that all relationships are built on trust, so you have to be sure Kari can trust you."

"Like you're so perfect." Matt spat venomously.

Mimi's eyes saddened. "No, I'm not perfect. I was going to turn my back on someone who truly loved me because I didn't trust him and I am so sorry for that. I was wrong Takeru." She said laying her head on the younger boy's shoulder.

The field was silent a moment before TK unwound himself from Mimi and knelt in front of Kari. "Hey, Heeks."

"Lemmelone." She sobbed.

"Fine. I leave you with these thoughts. You were my first love, and you'll always have a place in my heart. But you also broke my heart. At first, I wanted to destroy you for that, but now... I've let go of the pain and the rage. In another life, we might have..." He trailed off as he got to his feet and took his coat from Ken. "I wish you and Matt happiness." He turned and walked away, his coat draped loosely over his shoulders as Mimi pressed her hand over his to stop the bleeding.

Kari ceased crying and drew a long slim dagger out of her boot. Gripping it by the blade, she drew back and flung it at the retreating couple.

"TK look out!" Davis shouted.

TK turned too slowly to avoid the flying weapon and just as it was about to pierce his heart, a white blur flew in between them and slammed into TK's arms.

"Gatomon?" Mimi said in shock.

"It's a flesh wound." Gato said as she wrenched the knife out of her shoulder and threw it to the ground before storming over to confront Kari. "You arrogant self centered bitch! Do you have any idea of how many people you affected? I love Patamon, but you know what I feel when I think about him, or hold him in my arms? Nothing! I've been trapped with Gabumon and I can never be free as long as I'm bound to you. So I say goodbye Kamiya Hikari and may your life be everything you deserve. LIGHTNING CLAW!"

The attack lashed out not at Hikari as everyone thought, but instead at her D3, reducing it to a pile of smoldering plastic and silicon as Gatomon herself vanished back to the digital world.

"She deleted herself!" Mimi cried.

"No." TK said with a faint smile. "She weaned herself from needing so much of Kari's energy. When she destroyed the digivice, she destroyed her anchor to the real world."

"Ga... to..." Patamon said weakly.

"I release you old friend, and I hope that you two are truly happy." TK said feeling a final surge though his own digivice as Pata faded to data bits and return to the digital world as his D3 went dark.

Kari burst into hysterical wailing as Mimi and TK left the field. "She cracked you good with that kick." He said suddenly afraid of what he was about to ask.

"Yeah. She got that knife in pretty deep." She said before she took a deep breath and discarded all pretense. "TK I was there the day you talked to Tai and I'm sorry I didn't trust you, but I thought you were going back to Kari and..." She trailed off and started to sob again.

"Shush" He soothed. "I didn't know that would hurt you like that. Reach into the inside pocket of my coat. There's something in there for you."

Curious she reached in and pulled out a ring box. She opened it to reveal a stunning diamond and emerald engagement ring in the shape of the crest of sincerity.

Attached to ring a simple note.

Bearer of sincerity,
Will you share your life with me?
Chosen one of purity,
Mimi, will you marry me?

Mimi looked at him with tears in her eyes and whispered "Hai." as she sealed it with a kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I look up and wipe the tears from my eyes. It's obvious the muses were crying as well.

"Not a dry eye in the house." I note sardonically.

"Well it was a good fic." TK said.

"What's wrong Kari?" Ken asked.

"I got thumped." She mumbled.

"Yeah, you did get your ass handed to you." I mused. "I'll make it up to you and write you a proper Takari."

"Oh no! You're writing that death fic next."

"No. Osirus is going to write the death fic. What kind of fic would you like?"

Kari thought a moment and whispered in my ear. "Can you do that?"

"No sweat. But first I'm gonna take a little break, crank out another chapter of Neo card, then handle that one." I stretched and leaned over the keyboard. "I do not own Toni Braxton's 'He Wasn't Man Enough' though I do have a few copies of it on tape. And the various crossover factors were inspired by Robster's fic 'The Boyz' Until next time, Archangel signing off."