By The Shattered Angel (a.k.a. Carter Tachikawa)

(I know what everyone is thinking...why am I continuing this? Didn't I already finish the two-part "SFI"? Well, technically, yes I had. But I was rereading it this afternoon and realized how I left out the fact that I never revealed who won. I forgot to mention that at the end. Well, I decided to finish this up once and for all. Yes, we'll get to see who won and whatnot. This is a short part, I might add. I don't own Digimon. Takari ending? Oh yes. Well, let's begin)

"blah"- person is speaking
*blah*- person is thinking

* * *

THREE MONTHS LATER...

"Okay, TK. What causes a cloud to form?" Patamon asked, looking at TK's science book. However, his partner wasn't paying attention to anything the little brown Digimon had been saying. TK Takaishi only looked out of the window, wondering if the mail had come yet or not. It had been three months since he entered that contest and he would be hearing from the judges soon. Schoolwork, namely science, didn't seem to be in his mind anymore. His Digimon was helping him study but it was clear that he wasn't in the mood to study. He wasn't in the mood to do anything until he got that letter in the mail. Patamon realized this and was starting to get impatient.

"TK!"

"Huh?" TK looked up sheepishly. "Sorry, Patamon. You said something?"

Patamon sighed and closed the book. "I think you need a break. Are you waiting for the mail again?"

"Yeah. I mean, three months have passed..."

"That may be true but you shouldn't ignore everything else." Patamon reminded him. "I will take you back to three months ago when you shut everyone and everything out because you were looking for inspiration just to write that story..."

TK remembered all too well and it made him blush. Three months ago, he'd entered a romance story contest that he'd heard about in one of those writer magazines his mother had subscribed to. He always had the passion to write fiction and figured that this was the best way to test his skills as an author. But every time he sat down in front of the computer or with his pen and pad, no words seemed to come out. He had a million ideas yet not one seemed to make a worthy story. He then realized his problem: he had no inspiration.

So began TK's second quest, a search for inspiration. The deadline was approaching fast and all the ideas he came up with ended up in the trashed as crumbled pieces of paper. From that point on, his main focus became writing the good story. He pushed aside everything else: school, basketball, his friends, and worst of all, the girl he adored: Kari Kamiya. He didn't think they would be affected by his search but they were. The more he looked, the further he pushed all he cared about away. Finally, Kari had reached a breaking point and entered the contest herself. TK's brother, Matt, had urged her to enter and she agreed with him. She used the way TK had been treating others and her love for him to write a tragic romance called "Sunlight and Moonbeams". Her inspiration all along had been TK.

TK knew none of this until he went to the Kamiya's house when he was walking outdoors. Kari wasn't at home but he found her disk sitting on her computer. Curious, he hadn't meant to look at it but the temptation overwhelmed him. He found out that this was Kari's story and was amazed at how wonderful it was. It was a mystery where a young woman lost her lover and had visions of him telling her how much she meant to him and who the killer was. When he finished the story, everything dawned upon TK. He realized what he had done to her and the others. He knew how much she cared about him. And above all, he had found the inspiration he'd been looking for.

After he made up with Kari, he went home and wrote the story from top to bottom. Occasionally, he'd take a break to eat something or rest his fingers but he finished it all in one night. Seeing that Kari had written a tragedy, TK decided to write a comedy called "Lemon Cake and Vanilla Pudding" about a young man trying to win the affections of his next door neighbor by stealing her prize-winning cake and pudding. He let everyone in the group read it before he sent it out and they enjoyed it. Now he had another copy of that story but there was one difference on his. Underneath the last page were the following word: This is dedicated to Kari Kamiya, who's all the inspiration I could ever need.

Three months had gone by since that incident and TK had been waiting for the letter to come saying who won. He secretly hoped that he or Kari had gotten in. But he didn't stop writing. In fact, after that contest, Kari inspired him to write several more poems and stories. He even sent some to publishers. Unfortunately, he was rejected every time.

*It doesn't matter.* TK thought to himself, still staring out the window as Patamon rummaged through his drawers. *If I'm going to be a writer, I might as well get used to the fact that not *everyone* is going to accept my work. I just have to keep trying and who knows? Someone may like it one day.*

"TK, check it out!" Patamon came out of the drawers, wearing a T-shirt with a yellow smiley face on it. TK had to laugh at that. The shirt was a free gift for entering a poetry contest. He hadn't won but the gift was nice. Patamon looked incredibly funny, seeing that the shirt was ten times bigger than the digimon.

"You look ridiculous, Patamon." TK grinned. "So are you gonna help me study or not?"

"Study? You've been waiting for the mail all this time! I don't think you're in the mood to study!"

"No." TK sighed. "Sorry but knowing if I won or not will make my life easier."

"Why don't you call Kari and see if she got the mail yet?" Patamon asked.

TK nodded. His digimon had a point. Kari probably got the mail before he did and she would know if they had won or not. Then again, if one of them had won, she'd have called him first. He sighed once again. Waiting was terrible. Maybe he could write something or listen to music while he waited. Yes, that was it. Writing was the best medicine for him now.

"Turn on my stereo, Patamon." TK nodded towards it. "I'm gonna write some more."

"Make it short." Patamon suggested, turning on the radio. A song called "Broken" by Committing the Sin 101, TK and Kari's new favorite band [1], was playing. TK hummed to the melody of, thinking of how the song reminded him of all the times he'd been rejected. CTS 101 were experts when it came to writing lyrics. They weren't trite or simple; if anything, they were meaningful and strong. TK could only hope stories and poems would be like their songs one day: entertaining yet filled with meaning and truth.

"Let's see..." TK murmured and started to write his poem. "My heart is...my heart is...like a wine glass...no, that doesn't sound good...my heart is...a bottle. Yeah, I like that! My heart is a bottle! [2]"

"Oh no!" Patamon groaned. "I don't want to know what'll happen if someone breaks it. Then all the contents pour out!"

"Contents pour out...excellent, Patamon! You should write poetry!"

"Huh? TK, I can't even write!"

TK ignored Patamon's last comment and began writing his newest poem, "My Heart Is a Bottle". His inspiration? Kari, of course! By the time he finished, CTS 101 finished their song on the radio and a new J-pop hit came on. The doorbell rang at that moment. Stuffing his poem into his desk, TK ran downstairs to greet whoever was there.

"Hi, TK!" Kari exclaimed cheerfully. They shared a quick kiss. Ever since the incident, TK and Kari were a lot closer and started going on dates. But today, TK noticed that there something was different about her. Her kiss felt more powerful. She was smiling and she looked beautiful but there was something more. She held an envelope in her hand. "Can you believe it?"

TK was puzzled and he let her go. "Believe what?"

"You don't know?" Kari asked. She waved the envelope in his face. "Haven't you checked the mail yet?"

"No, I haven't. I've been waiting for it and it hasn't come."

"Um, actually", Patamon began slowly, "I saw it come."

TK stared at his digimon. "You...did?"

"Uh-huh. I was going to tell you but you were too busy writing that poem." Patamon looked down at the floor, knowing he had done something wrong.

TK didn't know whether to hug his digimon or strangle him. Lucky for him, Kari intervened.

"Go check the mail." She suggested. "You'll like what you see. I promise."

TK nodded and got the mail from outside. Sure enough, there was the envelope from the judges. Placing that one on top, he carried all the mail back in the house. Kari and Patamon patiently waited to see his reaction.

"Patamon, put these in my mom's room." TK instructed. Patamon looked disappointed but did as he was told. Clearly, he wanted to know his partner's reaction.

Carefully, TK opened the envelope to see the letter. He pulled it out and read it to himself.

* * *

Dear Mr. Takaishi,

Thank you for entering your story "Lemon Cake and Vanilla Pudding" in our contest. As you know, we've had several other entries and picking the winners has been the most difficult this year. Nevertheless, here they are:

1st place: Aino Kenji "Stars"
2nd place: Ito Maya "Every Good Feeling"
3rd place: Yamada Midori "No More Chances Left"

Honorable Mentions:
Watanabe Eiji "How To Destroy A Future"
Kamiya Kari "Sunlight and Moonbeams"

* * *

"Hey, Kari! You won!" TK exclaimed. Kari nodded, beaming with pride. She had done the best she could and it paid off. Patamon had come back in time to hear this bit of news and congratulated her. She gave him a hug as TK finished reading the most important part of the letter.

* * *

Congratulations, Mr. Takaishi. We have decided to award your story with an "Honorable Mention". It will appear in this month's issue as will the others. In addition, the honorable mentions receive a free subscription to our magazine and 1contributer's copy of the issue your story is in. [3]

We enjoyed reading your work and look forward to seeing more from someone as young and talented as you are. Once again, congratulations and keep on writing.

* * *

"Well?" Kari asked. TK was in too much shock to respond. Honorable mention? Publication? He had won? None of it was making any sense at the moment. Finally, after a minute of silence, he let out a whoop.

"I did it!" He exclaimed, throwing the envelope in the air and his arms around Kari.

"WE did it." She reminded him. "If I hadn't written my story, you'd never find the inspiration to write yours."

TK kissed her on the nose. "I never needed to look. You were always here."

"Oh?"

"Yes. That story was for you...my inspiration." He leaned forward and kissed her. Patamon could only sit back and watch as Kari returned the kiss. If Kari thought that this story was sweet, wait 'til she saw TK's latest poems. Those kisses would last forever and the hero would have the maiden in his arms 'til the end of time, kind of like a happy ending.

And Patamon loved happy endings to stories.

[1] Okay, CTS 101 is actually the main characters of my original anime/manga "Pandora's Shadows". I plan to write a crossover between them, Digimon, Pokemon, and Yugioh. You'll hear more of that later.

[2] "My Heart Is a Bottle" is actually a poem I wrote and I have uploaded on this site. Check it out if you want! It's in the Poetries section under original poetry or you can click on my profile.

[3] A contributor's copy is usually a free copy of the magazine. Many non-profit organizations give this as gift should you be published in their magazine.

(And thus ends this three part story. Now you know who wins so everyone will be happy. Yeah, I know it's short cause it's the epilogue. I never thought I needed it but it worked out well. I also know I have asked others if they want to read TK or Kari's story "Lemon Cake" or "Sunbeams". I've written a little bit of TK's story and haven't begun Kari's yet. If anyone wants it, just ask.)

Some final notes: I don't know how many of you read "Number 1 Fan", my Mimato/Takari/Taiora horror/mystery story I posted eons ago. If you did, you will notice that I took down "Return of the Number 1 Fan" due the fact that I wasn't feeling inspired to write it and I was running out of ideas. Well, I rummaged through my stuff and I found ten of the thirteen chapters I had written. I still need to find chapters 4, 7, and 9. I'm rewriting it again, with changes in the stories. This time, I PLAN on finishing it. I just hope that when I'm writing, my brother decides not to interrupt with his theory on how math relates to cucumbers and disks. I wished that baka would spend more time on his schoolwork than he does on these things-_-0 (He claims it is schoolwork...whatever.

Many thanks to my reviewers. God, I wish I could put all your names down here but I can't. You know who you are and I thank you.

Keep it real, everyone. ~TSA