A lighthouse stood tall in the thick fog, yet the light it cast was black. Against the surrounding white mist, it made everything feel bleak and lifeless.
A gigantic head slowly rose out of the sea. Just its ears were already higher than the lighthouse. Its eyes glowed red as it stared into the distance. At last, the massive shadow fully stood up—pitch-black seawater only reached halfway up its calves. Compared to its height, everything around it seemed to shrink.
Black waves washed over a gray shoreline. Not far from the beach were black mountain peaks, and at the foot of those peaks lay a deathly pale village. The eerie thing was that the village showed no sign of life at all—there wasn't even the slightest hint of color.
The enormous black figure opened its mouth, releasing a burst of sound. The seawater around it was forced away in an instant, spreading outward in rippling rings.
On a bustling street, cars passed back and forth and crowds flowed along the sidewalks. It was morning—the time when kids went to school. Both sides of the road leading to Odaiba Elementary School were filled with children walking toward the gates.
Kari walked ahead with her backpack on. Just as a hand reached from behind to tap her shoulder, she suddenly turned around.
"Tai."
T.K., who had his arm raised, froze in shock. His hand dropped halfway, awkwardly stuck between lifting and lowering.
Kari blinked, then smiled and greeted him, "Good morning, T.K."
"Uh…" T.K. was about to say something when Davis came rushing up from behind.
"Hey, morning! If we don't hurry, we'll be late for school!" Hearing that, Kari quickly ran after him. T.K. could only swallow what he was going to say and follow along.
Up in a nearby tree, Gatomon and Patamon poked their heads out, watching Davis, Kari, and T.K. run into the school.
"Kari looks like she's in great spirits," Patamon said, eyes wide and sparkling in admiration.
But Gatomon looked like she had something on her mind. "Even though we don't seem to have changed at all… the kids keep growing up, day by day." As she spoke, Gatomon's ears drooped.
"What's wrong?" Patamon asked, puzzled by Gatomon's sudden lack of energy.
"It's nothing." Gatomon paused, then continued, "I just feel like Kari's been troubled lately."
"Troubled about what?" Patamon pressed.
"I don't know… maybe it's just my imagination. Let's go." Gatomon didn't want to say more and jumped down from the tree.
"Hey, wait up—I'm coming too!"
In the classroom, the teacher wrote on the blackboard. The steady, rhythmic tapping of chalk against the board echoed through the room. T.K. watched seriously, but as if sensing something, he unconsciously looked toward Kari.
At that moment, Kari's eyes weren't seeing the blackboard at all. She was seeing a faint mist—and that mist slowly thickened. Her ears filled with the sound of seawater washing over a beach.
Everything before her eyes gradually faded away, leaving only dense fog. The sky slowly darkened. When Kari lowered her head, she saw that her calves were completely submerged in pitch-black seawater. Only around her legs, a layer of light wrapped them like a barrier, illuminating the darkness of the water nearby.
"Whose voice is this…? It's that voice again." Fear rose in Kari's chest. Light began to pour from her body as well, enveloping her and separating her from the surrounding darkness.
From T.K.'s perspective, Kari's body began to flicker—constantly shifting between color and black-and-white, and the black-and-white seemed to be taking over. T.K. didn't know what was happening, but he knew it wasn't anything good.
Without thinking, T.K. stood up. "Kari!"
At his shout, everyone looked at him. Davis immediately turned to Kari, but he saw Kari staring back at T.K. with confusion, as if she had no idea why he'd called out.
The class looked at Kari again. Kari suddenly pressed a hand to her forehead. A wave of dizziness hit her and her body swayed; the student behind her hurriedly supported her.
"Not feeling well? How about going to the nurse's office to rest?" the teacher suggested.
Kari stood, gave the teacher a small bow, and walked out of the classroom.
In another classroom, Tai sat with his left hand propping up his head while his right hand idly spun a pencil. On the platform, the teacher continued explaining dull, boring lessons.
"Hm?" The pencil slipped from Tai's fingers and fell. A thread of unease tightened in his chest. "What's going on? Why do I have such a bad feeling?"
Kari walked down the hallway, murmuring to herself. "How can this be? It hasn't been like this for a long time…"
Suddenly, Kari stopped. She had reached a familiar place, and a familiar scene flashed before her eyes: Tai, furious, staring straight at her—while she kept her head down and apologized.
"I'm sorry, Tai."
Kari knew that moment well. It was the same as the previous times—just like today, when that unknown voice called to her. She hadn't told anyone; she had simply hidden. Tai found her here. Right as she was about to be pulled into that fog, a familiar strong arm yanked her back. That was when she saw it—her brother, who always doted on her, had gotten so angry. That face that always smiled at her was filled with rage as he scolded her harshly… yet in those words, Kari could feel concern and affection.
Kari turned her head, sorrow in her eyes.
Drip.
Drip.
The sound of dripping water echoed through the corridor. Kari's body trembled.
A ripple spread through the space behind her. The world around Kari seemed to change in an instant—everything turned into nothing but black and white.
Kari's neck stiffened as she slowly turned her head. In the stairwell stood a black figure, its eyes glowing red, its entire body wrapped in a thin mist. Pitch-black water constantly dripped from it, splashing onto the floor with each sharp "drip."
"Kari!" Tai abruptly sprang to his feet with such force that his chair scraped and slammed against the floor, making a loud noise. Everyone's eyes immediately locked onto him.
"Yagami, you—" the teacher at the front started to say something, but Tai didn't have time to listen. He threw open the window and jumped out.
When he landed, he only bent his knees lightly. Then he pushed off and sprinted at full speed. Behind him, the windows of the third-floor classroom opened, packed with classmates' heads—eyes wide—watching Tai race away. The teacher's mouth moved as if shouting after him, but Tai couldn't hear a thing.
Right now, Tai only had one thought:
He absolutely could not let anything happen to Kari.
This time, he would destroy that guy for good.
Ding-ling-ling!
The bell rang. T.K. was the first to bolt out of the classroom, running straight toward the nurse's office. Behind him, Davis watched T.K.'s back with a face full of confusion.
Crash!
T.K. yanked open the nurse's office door, but he only saw an empty bed. "Excuse me—has Yagami come here?"
"No one's come in," the nurse replied.
"Uh… thanks." T.K. took off running again.
He sprinted through the school, searching anywhere Kari might have gone. As he passed a long corridor, he spotted a familiar figure sitting on a bench outside.
Not far away came the playful noise of kids laughing and running around on the playground. But sitting here, Kari seemed unable to feel any of it. She looked completely out of place in this world—cold and isolated.
T.K. walked up beside Kari in silence.
Kari didn't move, still holding the same posture. "I just went to the seaside."
"Huh?" T.K. didn't understand what she meant. "The seaside?"
"I might be leaving here soon," Kari said. Her voice was full of sadness and reluctance. "I keep feeling like someone is calling me."
"Someone's calling you? Who?" T.K. asked, baffled.
"I don't know." Kari's tone sank even lower. "But if he calls me again… I'll definitely go to him."
"How can that be?" T.K. blurted out in shock. "Who is calling you to leave?!"
Kari didn't answer. She just continued speaking to herself. "Tai always says he'll protect me. He's always exhausting himself to protect me, but now…"
Before she could finish, T.K.'s anger cut her off.
"It's Tai again. Tai, Tai, Tai—when are you going to be able to manage without your brother protecting you? Kari, you can't keep doing this."
Kari lifted her head and stared at T.K. with surprised eyes. The confusion and disbelief in her gaze made T.K.'s voice drop until it faded into silence. He didn't say anything more.
Under Kari's stare, T.K. didn't know what else to do. He took two steps back and quietly walked away.
Kari watched him go, then lowered her head again and continued speaking softly.
"I really don't want Tai to be so tired. He's always done all of that because of me… I'm the one dragging him down."
She lowered her head further, burying her face in the shadow—and once again, she heard that call coming from within the fog.
T.K. stood around the corner with his head lowered. Under Kari's gaze earlier, there was one sentence he hadn't said out loud:
I want to protect you too.
But now, he no longer had the courage.
Kari walked out through the school gate and looked toward the road across from her. By the curb on the opposite side, there was a small step—but in Kari's eyes, it had become a vast black ocean. Fog spread over the shoreline, hiding the distance. A column of black light kept shining through the white mist.
Kari took one step back, but T.K.'s words echoed in her mind:
"When are you going to be able to manage without your brother protecting you?"
Kari hardened her resolve. She strode toward the black sea across the road. A sea wind from nowhere blew her hair back.
Up in the tree, Gatomon, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly opened her eyes as if sensing something. She saw Kari walking step by step toward the other side—and immediately felt that something was wrong.
Gatomon jumped down, only to see, in shock, that Kari's body was constantly shifting between color and black-and-white.
Gatomon tried to rush over, but a large truck blocked her path. When the truck passed, Gatomon stared in horror as Kari's backpack fell from midair—
—but the girl who had been carrying it had vanished into nothing.
"Kari disappeared!!"
The distortion of time and space made Kari's head feel heavy and dazed, but faintly, she seemed to hear that familiar voice again.
"Was Tai calling me just now?"
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