Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or anything related to the franchise. All I own is the plot and my own characters.
A/N: After such a long time, I've finally come back to posting. I've been writing for my own personal enjoyment and out of that this story came together so I decided to post it. Hope you enjoy. Just a warning, you may need tissues.
Lifeline
Prologue
Imagine you are a young teenage girl and six years ago your mother died of cancer. From the age of eight, you are raised by your widowed father who works hard to keep you safe, loved and happy. He's your guiding light, your emotional support, taxi, coach and teacher while fulfilling the roles of both mother and father. The two of you are so close, you are practically inseparable. So then imagine how you would feel if tragedy struck and your father's life hung in the balance. Well, this situation became very real for one such teenage girl.
Like many stories of this nature, the day started like any other. A loud incessant beeping began ringing around the bedroom of a sleeping girl. Slowly, the girl began to stir. With a deep sigh, she turned on to her side and opened her eyes to spot the offending alarm clock. She reached out and firmly pressed the off button. With a yawn and a gradual stretch, fourteen-year-old Emiko Kamiya lay on her back for a few minutes, letting her body wake up. But, before she could drift back to sleep, she heard his voice.
"Emiko," He called, "Breakfast's nearly ready, Kiddo. Come on, we'll be late."
"Coming, Dad." She called back.
Outside in the kitchen, Emiko's father was already wide awake and ready for a busy day. Now in his forties, Tai was almost unrecognisable from that goggle wearing kid who helped save the digital and real worlds with his friends. He was now a highly respected ambassador, working to help maintain peace. The gravity defying hair of his formative years had been replaced by a much smarter cut but his free-spirited, outgoing personality was still mostly intact. As Emiko got herself dressed for school, Tai was finishing breakfast for them both. The house they called home contrasted strongly with the apartment Tai grew up in. It was in a much leafier part of the district with a small garden and no detached neighbours. Emiko spent her earlier childhood playing soccer with her cousins, friends and her father in the garden. As Tai dished up Emiko's breakfast, he quickly glanced at a white blossom tree that was in full bloom in the garden, closet to the back door. With a deep sigh, he smiled sadly to himself.
This tree was a reminder of the long emotional journey Tai and Emiko had endured together for the last six years. Before then, Emiko was blessed with the love and affection of two parents. Akira was one of the digidestined and she had been Tai's oldest friend when they two began dating in their teenage years. They were a strong couple and eventually got married then brought Emiko in to their lives. Akira was a dedicated mother, patient, compassionate, loving and beautiful. Emiko was the perfect addition to their little family, a bright and adorable baby girl. Those years were the most blissful Tai could remember.
But all of that was devastated when Akira was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Emiko was only six and for the best part of two years, Akira underwent many different treatments to try and fight the cancer. She suffered through the side effects of these treatments with grace and determination to be there for Emiko and for Tai. However, nothing worked and the cancer took hold. Akira knew time was running out and opted out of any more attempts to kill the cancer. She wanted her last days to be free of the terrifying side-effects so she could spend quality time with her family. She bravely and gently prepared Emiko for when she was gone, explaining that she was going to die but that Emiko would be well looked after by their extended family and digidestined friends. A few months after Emiko's eighth birthday, Akira failed to wake up one morning. She had died in her sleep with Tai at her side.
In the days that followed, Tai struggled to grieve as he tried to keep things normal for Emiko. The devastation of losing his wife was much more that he could've imagined. The anger and sadness were overwhelming, compounded by the need to help Emiko through her grief too. The rest of the digidestined rallied around the father and daughter, helping to look after them both as Tai got back some sort of normality for his daughter. Thankfully though, they got through the upheaval and were closer than ever. The blossom tree was planted in the garden the day of Akira's birthday, a year or so after her death. Now, it was stood proud as a memorial to Akira's love for her family and to how far they had come.
Finally, Emiko emerged from her bedroom in her school uniform ready for day ahead. Like her mother before her, Emiko was dressed in the green, sailor-inspired uniform of her school. The bangs of her shoulder length brown hair were clipped off to the left side of her face. Tai, prepared for important meetings, was sporting a fresh clean white shirt, navy blue tie, navy trousers and polished black shoes. The jacket to go with the trousers was waiting with his high-grade briefcase. The pair sat down and ate breakfast together then it was time to head off. Emiko grabbed her bag as Tai picked up his briefcase then they went to the car. Most days, Emiko would walk to and from school alone or with friends, but today Tai was starting work later than usual so was taking the opportunity to spend more time with her. As they drove along, they were quickly singing along with the radio. As usual, it wasn't long before Emiko was put off by Tai.
"Dad! You're awful!" She laughed as Tai sang loudly and out of tune.
"Nonsense! Your old man's a natural." He playfully insisted.
Shaking her head, Emiko smiled brighter and continued singing. Later that day, she would be glad she had this seemingly insignificant moment with her father.
After an uneventful but fun drive, they pulled up outside the school gates where Emiko's friends were waiting. In this group of friends were Izzy's daughter, Isaye, Matt and Sora's daughter, Kita, Emiko's cousins, Shin and Kai, as well as her friends Rhea Ashara, Arashi Maeda and Sammy Hyomi. Emiko picked up her bag then leaned over and kissed Tai on the cheek. She then climbed out of the car with a bright smile.
"Have a good day." Tai called after her.
"You too," She called back, "love you, Dad."
Tai sat and watched, beaming as Emiko greeted her friends. She looked so happy, he could watch all day. Finally, with a sigh, he set off on the drive to his office, near the centre of the city.
The drive was pretty mundane now that Emiko wasn't in the passenger seat. Tai was used to driving with only the radio for company. This was the quiet time for him to mentally prepare for the busy day ahead. He could also appreciate the sentimental value of the car he drove. Most of his peers were business-like, driving German and Japanese saloons in black or grey. But Tai's stood out a bit more. As a birthday present, Akira surprised her husband with a brand new blue Aston Martin saloon. It was very comfortable and well-loved by both Tai and Emiko. It certainly made Tai's commute more interesting and held another memory of Akira.
Soon, he pulled up at a set of traffic signals, set on red, and waited patiently. After a few long seconds, the colour changed to green and he began to pull away. But then, for Tai at least, the next few moments were almost in slow motion. He suddenly heard screeching tyres to his right. He looked around in time to see the other car bearing down on him. Motorists watched helplessly, in horror, as the Aston Martin was slammed into so hard, it was thrown on to its side and dragged a few meters. When it finally came to a rest, Tai's world had gone completely black.
