Never Far

Chapter 1- Shattered

"Time to switch!" Yolei's voice cried out, quickly bringing Kari out of her drowsy state. Reluctantly, Kari rolled over onto her back so that her front side would now be exposed to the sun's unusually hot rays. However, it wasn't as if any of the digi-destineds were complaining, rather, they chose to celebrate the end of a great summer vacation, and the scorching heat wave, with a trip to the beach.

The boys, as in Tai, Matt, T.K., Davis, Ken, Izzy, Cody, and Joe were occupied in an intense game of volleyball, while Sora, Yolei, and Kari pretended to be cheering them on, though actually just falling asleep in their lounge chairs. To keep herself from drifting back to sleep, Kari watched the game. It was the older kids versus the younger kids; Tai, Matt, Izzy, and Joe against T.K., Davis, Ken, and Cody, and it was not going well. The younger digi-destineds were kicking the other team's butt. Tai looked like a volcano ready to erupt.

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to get going. My first class is on Monday and I still have some preparing to do before then," Joe, of course, said.

The others merely rolled their eyes at Joe's insane study habits, since they had long since given up debating the matter with him. "Oh well," Davis laughed, "I think you guys were only getting worse anyway." He high-fived T.K., Cody, and Ken, who laughed as well.

Tai's face was as red as a tomato as he began what eventually became a very heated shouting match with Davis. While Matt and Ken tried to interfere and calm everything down, T.K. walked over to where the girls were lounging.

As he walked towards her, Kari didn't miss the chance to check out his half naked body from behind her pink sunglasses. Spending his summer playing basketball had given him a nice tan that matched his gorgeous golden hair, sexy blue eyes, and currently sweaty and heavily muscled upper body. She was expecting him to come invite one of them to take Joe's place so they could keep playing, but Kari noticed that the closer he got, the faster he was moving. Kari threw off her sunglasses and leapt out of her lounge chair, catching the playful glint in his baby blue eyes as he smiled mischievously at her.

"T.K. don't!" she cried as she tried to run away, but it was no use, because he easily outmatched her. Catching up to her, he effortlessly lifted her body into his arms and made a dash for the shore. She struggled against him for a second before giving in, enjoying this type of contact with him.

He didn't slow down when they reached the water, rushing deeper until it was well over waist deep. The water was like ice as it touched their heated skin, causing Kari to wrap her arms around his neck, clinging to him for both warmth and stability. She pulled herself away from him as her body adjusted to the temperature. Discreetly, she wound back her arm and playfully splashed water in his direction. Smiling mischievously once again, he splashed her back, and before he could retaliate, he grabbed her. He wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her underwater with him.

The instant that they were beneath the surface and hidden from view, their lips met in a deep, passionate kiss. Her hands were raking through his hair, and his tongue explored her mouth. Kari had to admit that she was a little surprised by this sudden action, but she was in no way unresponsive. T.K. had been her best friend since the first time that they had saved the digital world eight years ago, and they had always been attracted to each other in more ways than friendship. Yet, it was only a few weeks ago that they had started delighting in these satisfying secrets kisses.

They both knew that eventually they would have to tell their friends about their relationship, though they were still trying to figure out exactly what was going on themselves.

They emerged from the water, gasping for air, bodies still entwined. Immediately, though, they checked to see if their friends had noticed anything, and the spectacle that they witnessed caused them both to erupt into fits of laughter. Sora and Yolei had managed to escape Kari's fate by clinging to their lounge chairs for dear life. So, instead, Tai, Matt, and Davis were attempting to drag them and the chairs into the water while Matt, Izzy, and Cody were on the sand laughing.

Since they appeared to be thoroughly distracted, T.K. turned to face the gorgeous girl beside him, "Kari," he hesitated, "would you want to go out with me tomorrow?"

"Do you mean, like on a date?" she asked cautiously, and he nodded in confirmation. "Would it be as friends, or as boyfriend/girlfriend?"

He smiled and said, "I want to be your boyfriend," and he hugged her once again.

"So…" Kari replied, "pick me up at seven?"

"Does this mean you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked, and she nodded in response.

He leaned in to kiss her once again, when the rest of the group hit the water, initiating huge amounts of splashing, kicking, and laughing. Instead of making out, they swam towards their friends, though they did so sticking close together so that they did not lose contact.

Later on, when Matt drove Tai and Kari home, T.K. walked her to the entrance of her apartment building. He waited until Tai had gone inside before giving her a quick kiss and telling her that he would see her tomorrow.

Kari stepped inside, her stomach fluttering like it only did when she was around T.K. Tai was waiting for her by the elevator after having witnessed everything between the two of them. Though he did not appear as if he approved of the new situation, he didn't speak a word to her on the way up. They walked towards their apartment door and Kari broke the silence. She shoved him gently and laughed at his surprise.

"Come on Tai," she said, "Your baby sister's all grown up now and she can take care of herself."

He rolled his eyes and opened the door. "I just can't believe that you're cheating on Davis."

Kari instantly fumed. "Tai!" she squealed. "I can't believe you just said that! I'm not going out with Davis! I never have and I never will!"

She moved to tackle her brother but saw the amusement in his face and realized that he had just mentioned Davis to set her off. She changed her mind and slapped him playfully. He raised his arms to defend himself when, suddenly, he froze, his liveliness gone in a split second to make room for concern and anxiety.

Kari stepped into the living room to see her mother sitting on the couch crying with a box of tissues on her lap.

"Mom what's wrong?" Tai asked, giving her a hug from behind.

Kari couldn't help it, but she panicked. The T.V. was off, so her mother probably wasn't crying over some dumb soap opera or those hallmark commercials.

"Your father and I…" Mrs. Kamiya began, before bursting into another round of sobbing and clutching of her tissues.

The clock on the wall read six thirty-two. Mr. Kamiya gets off of work at five o'clock, even if he had to run an errand after work, he should be home by now. At six thirty on a normal day they would be sitting down to dinner as a family. Where was her father? Why wasn't he here for her mother?

"Mom," Kari said slowly, trying not to upset the woman even more, "where is dad?"

There was a huge honking sound as their mother blew her nose, then she took a deep breath and said shakily, "Your father is gone. We have decided to get a divorce. He left this afternoon with his twenty-two-year-old girlfriend for Kyoto."

And just like that, the wonderful, picture perfect life that Kari had been taking for granted cracked like a broken mirror. Her father was gone. Divorce. Kyoto. Kari collapsed on the couch beside what was left of her family, trying desperately to process this overload of new information.

Her mother put an arm around her. "Kari, sweetie," she said gently, "I need you to get your things together. We're leaving Monday morning to go stay with Grandma Kate."

Grandma Kate? Kari couldn't take any more surprised. She had never met her Grandma Kate. Realization flooded into her and shattered the rest of Kari's life. She had never met her maternal grandmother before because the woman lived in San Francisco, California. In America!