Present: Somewhere in the Digital World

"It went through!" Cody smiled.

TK was equally as jubilant.  "Great!" he said.  He had an armful of digi-fruits.  Patamon sat on top of his head as the two boys walked.  "That was a good idea sending a message with the D-Terminal.  Now the others will know we're alright."

"Let's just hope they get it on the other side," Armadillomon added.

Cody stepped ahead a little bit, pushing branches and leaves out of the way as the two boys and their digimon made their way back to camp.  They hadn't wandered far, so it didn't take long to return.  Within a matter of seconds, they arrived at the small clearing they had found just minutes before.

"Hmm..." TK paused a moment.  "The girls aren't back yet."

Then, as if on cue, nearby bushes started to rustle.  A girl's voice could be heard coming closer and closer to the small grassy area where TK and Cody stood.

"You're going to be okay," Kari tried to reassure her newest friend.  She walked ahead of Tsuriai, leading the way back to camp while Gatomon swiped away branches and vegetation in their path.  "We'll get you something to eat and you'll feel better."

TK and Cody stood frozen as they watched Kari and Gatomon come out of the shadowy trees followed by a pale, not-so-healthy looking Tsuriai and her digimon.  Kari's arms were full of firewood, which she rushed to the center of the clearing and dumped on the ground.  The blonde boy looked at the girls with worry.  "What's wrong?" he asked.

Kari ushered Tsuriai and Rakunamon to a spot on the ground.  "Here," she said.  "Rest."  The furry digimon curled up in Tsuriai's lap, hugging her.  He knew the pain she was feeling.  At his level of power, their empathic link to one another did not exist.  But he didn't need to hear her thoughts or sense her emotions to know how she was feeling and what she was thinking.  The discovery that the TK and Kari here in the past may never get together was hitting Tsuriai hard.  Because, if they didn't get together, then they'd never marry.  And that would mean that Tsuriai and her brother would never be born.  This realization was a bit much to handle.

"Oh," Cody breathed in.  He could see that Tsuriai wasn't feeling well.  Immediately, he went to her side.  "Tsuriai," he said.  "What's the matter?"

The blonde girl's once bright eyes were rather dull, their rich burgundy color having lost its luster.  She looked at the dark-haired boy but didn't answer.  She couldn't answer.

Cody couldn't believe how sad and mournful the girl looked.  It was as if all life had been drawn from her.  The last time he saw her like this was the previous night when the Digi-Destined brought her to the Real World.  That's when she fainted and had to be carried to Joe's and Izzy's apartment.  "Tsuriai..."  He reached out and touched her quivering hand.  Just moments ago, that very hand had vanished in thin air.  It was the very same arm that started to fade in and out when Tsuriai learned that things between her parents were not as she remembered.  Their relationship was changing, and now the blonde girl knew what was causing her disappearing episodes.  Thankfully, the bout stopped while she and Kari trekked back to camp and no one saw what was happening.  And now, Cody laid a gentle hand on top of hers.  "Oh!" Cody gasped.  "She's freezing!"  Her skin was cold to the touch.

Armadillomon wasted little time.  "I'll find something to cover her up."

"We should start the fire," Patamon suggested.

Gatomon stepped up to the pile of wood.  "Already on it."

Cat's Eye Beam!

A fire-hot laser shot from her eyes and ignited the kindling.

Someone stepped up to Tsuriai, Rakunamon, and Cody.  "Here," TK spoke up.  He held some food out for them to take.  "You should eat," he told the blonde girl.

Tsuriai turned her face up to see her very young father.  A lump developed in her throat.  She could feel herself start to cry, but she couldn't let that happen.  As it was, she was garnering too much attention to herself.  And attention was the last thing she needed.  Because, with attention come questions.  She just wasn't ready for that, yet.  She wasn't sure she ever would be.  So, in an effort to stifle the tears that threatened to fall, she swallowed hard and blinked her eyes.  Then, to show that she was alright, she reached up and accepted the fruit her father offered to her.  Her voice was soft and plaintive as she said, "Thanks."

Both Rakunamon and Cody gave a slight smile at the girl's show of strength.  She was going to be okay.

Then the ground nearby started to rumble a bit.  The earth shifted and then gave way to a burrowing creature.  Armadillomon crawled out and headed straight for his partner and Tsuriai.  He dragged something behind him with his mouth.  "Here ya go," he said.  He walked right up to the girl, placing his paws on her knees as he handed her a big, giant leaf.  "This is all I could find, but it should keep ya warm."

Tsuriai took the blanket-sized leaf from the little armadillo and smiled faintly at him.  "Thank you, Armadillomon."

Cody's digimon smiled brightly at her, blushing as the blonde girl pet him.

TK found a seat beside his best friend, Kari.  As night fell, the firelight twinkled in her wine-colored eyes.  She's so beautiful, he found himself thinking.  He couldn't help staring at her as she and Gatomon ate their food.  Then he recalled everything that they had been through that day.  I almost lost her today, he realized.  The pit of his stomach turned.

"Poor, Tsuriai," Kari's voice broke through his musings.  "She's been through a lot already," she said.  "And things just keep getting worse for her."

TK swallowed a piece of fruit.  "What happened to her back there?" he asked.  He gestured toward the part of the woods Tsuriai and Kari had come from.

"I don't know," the brown-haired girl answered.  "We were just talking about her parents on our way back here when I heard her drop the firewood."  The whole incident replayed itself in her mind.  "She didn't look well at all when I tried to help her."  Then Kari turned her eyes up to look at the blonde girl across the way.  Tsuriai and Rakunamon were curled under a large green leaf, barely munching on the fruit in their hands.  "I think maybe she misses her family."

"Yeah," TK agreed with a soft sigh.  He, too, looked across to the other side of the campfire at Tsuriai.  He pitied the blonde girl.  "She's lost and she's tired."

"She's been here long enough," Kari spoke sadly.  "I wish there was a way we could just take her home and leave the Digiworld to us.  She shouldn't have to be here."

Suddenly, Kari felt a comforting arm place itself around her shoulders.  She turned to see TK sitting right beside her, looking lovingly at her with his angel-blue eyes.  "Tsuriai will be fine," he spoke softly.  "You and Cody and I will make sure of that."  Now he turned his gaze back toward the blonde girl that would be their daughter in the future.  "She needs friends now, and we're the next best thing to her real family."  Both he and Kari sat side by side, his arm wrapped around her as she leaned into him.  Over the firelight, they watched over the girl they had just met a few days ago.  Neither one of them could explain it, but there was something special about that girl, and it seemed to affect them somehow.  "And when we're done here, we'll take her home personally," he said.  "I promise."

Kari smiled at the thought.  "Yeah," she sighed.  "It'll be nice to see her reunited with her family."

Episode 19

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