Next chapter! Thank you all so much for the encouraging reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own it!
Matt hated to do it, because his brother was sleeping so peacefully, but he had to wake him up. It was almost 7, and their mother was probably worrying herself gray over the fact that none of her sons were home. Besides that, Tai and Kari's parents had just gotten in and he didn't want to intrude any longer than necessary.
So, after much protesting and grumbling, the still half-asleep T.K. leaned against his brother as the older blond bid farewell to Tai and his parents. Kari was surprisingly still asleep, something that both worried and relieved Tai. He wanted her to get all of the rest she could, but he also didn't want to risk another attack.
Luckily, Matt reassured him enough to calm his nerves before putting his arm around his brother's shoulders and leading him out of the apartment and down to the car. By the time Matt made it to the driver's seat, T.K. had once again drifted off.
Matt smiled down at the younger boy and began driving toward his mother's apartment. The only thing on Matt's mind while driving was what his mother was going to say to him when they arrived. He and his mother never talked much, except if she was angry with him or if it had something to do with T.K. Just the fact that he knew T.K. had left school early and hadn't bothered calling her was enough for him to receive a good tongue lashing. T.K. hated the way he and his mother danced around each other sometimes, but knew not much could be done about it. The only thing he could do was get all three of them to spend more time together.
Matt loved T.K. for trying, and it was for that reason that he put up the effort. But he and his mother knew that they both needed to have a long talk if their relationship stood a chance of being mended.
Matt parked the car and nudged T.K. to wake up. Fortunately, he wasn't as grumpy as he was when they left the Kamiya residence. He yawned and stretched before taking in his surroundings.
"We're here, already?" He asked as he wiped sleep out of his eyes.
"Yeah, squirt. Now hurry up. I bet you mom's freaking out."
T.K. winced as the image of his mother's angry face came into his mind. He'd seen that face too many times to count, and desperately did not want to see it again.
"Man, I am so grounded!" He paused for a moment. "Do you think we should tell her what's going on?"
"Even if we did, she still wouldn't think this situation is a good enough excuse for you to ditch school."
"Yeah, I know. Do you think Dad told her?"
"Probably....not. Knowing dad, he most likely forgot to call and tell mom. I wouldn't be surprised if she was on the phone yelling at him right now."
T.K. laughed at that image and stepped out of the car, stretching his legs as he began walking toward the elevator. While T.K. walked away, Matt exited the car and opened the trunk. He pulled out an overnight bag he'd packed last night. He'd told himself the night before after he'd left his mother's apartment that he would stay over. He knew what T.K. was like when he was worried or stressed out. He was an emotional train-wreck. The best thing to do when he got like that was to constantly keep him grounded. That was something only he could do.
T.K. turned around from his place at the elevator to see Matt lock his doors and jog over with the bag in his hands. T.K. looked at his brother, smiling in thanks.
"Don't thank me yet, squirt. The worst part hasn't even started yet."
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Kari woke up to the sound of her mother's voice and the feel of the thermometer in her left ear.
"Oh honey, you still have a high fever." Her mother commented as she shook her head at the temperature the thermometer flashed. She turned across the room to face her son, who was leaning against the wall closest to the door.
"I'm calling the doctor tomorrow and asking that he come give her a check up."
"You don't have to do that, mom." Kari said as she sat up and leaned her back against the pillows. "I didn't get much sleep last night, but I promise I won't have a fever tomorrow. I just need to rest a little more."
Mrs. Kamiya studied her daughter more. "But Kari, this is a virus. The doctor will only be here for a few minutes and he will give you something to break your fever and allow you to get better. Don't argue with me on this, sweetie. Now, I'm making you some chicken soup and then I want you going right back to sleep after you've eaten."
"Yes, mom." She replied.
"And Tai, make sure you come home straight from school." Tai nodded and Mrs. Kamiya left the room, leaving the two siblings alone in comfortable silence.
Tai walked over to her bed and sat himself on the edge.
"I'm really proud of you, Kari." He said suddenly.
"Me?" She replied in utter surprise. "But why?" She didn't see what she could have done today to warrant anyone being proud of her.
"Because you were very brave today. You stayed in that room and told everyone one of your biggest fears. That takes courage."
"Well, I couldn't have done it alone. I had you and T.K. there to support me."
"Everyone was there to support you, and I'm glad you let them."
She smiled at him and he returned it before his face became serious again.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. I didn't have any nightmares or visions or anything. It was a normal nap."
"Well, just to make sure, I'm going to keep an eye on you tonight. Most of what you wrote in your journal happened when you were asleep. I don't want to give them any chance to do anything."
"Oh Tai, please don't give up your sleep for me. They haven't contacted me since yesterday morning. And I don't think they'll try again this soon. They don't have the strength."
Tai was skeptical about her explanation, considering how often she wrote about them in her entries, but if she thought they weren't strong enough to try again sooner, he would trust her.
"Alright, Kari. But if they do try to transport you back or you have a nightmare, wake me up right away."
She nodded her head in agreement as the door opened, revealing their mother with a hot bowl of soup.
"You're in luck, honey. I added some extra ingredients to the chicken soup using one of the recipes I learned in my cooking class. I hope you like it."
Kari took the bowl with a fearful look before glancing at Tai, who'd turned his back to the two women while holding in his laughter at the thought of what the secret ingredients could be.
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"T.K.! Where have you been?"
T.K. gulped loudly as he and Matt stepped into the apartment. Ms. Takaishi was standing in front of the two, completely red in the face due to all of the worrying she had done.
"Honestly, how could you both be so careless? One of you could have called and told me what was going on. I just now found out from your father that you skipped school today, T.K.!"
T.K. winced at the tone his mother was using.
"And Matt." She turned her attention to her oldest son. "You knew where he was this whole time and couldn't tell me either? You know better."
"I'm sorry, mom. We completely lost track of time." Matt replied before T.K. had a chance to speak. Matt was willing to take the blame for this, partially because he truly believed most of this was his fault. He had a cell phone, and he knew T.K. skipped. He could have easily given his mother a call to tell her why he missed his last few classes and what they'd been doing, but he didn't.
"Matt, you are the older brother. How do you expect me to trust you when you pull things like this?"
"Mom, please stop." T.K. interjected while stepping between them. "Matt didn't know I left early until after school ended. And then when he found out, he went to go find me. None of this is his fault; if anyone's to blame, it's me."
"Yes, it is you. But the point is that one of you should have been responsible and told me where you were and when you would be home." She took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "I'd like to know what it was that made you ditch school and not get home until now."
T.K. froze and looked to Matt for an answer. Yes, their parents knew all about Digimon and the digital world, but seeing how she reacted to the battle with myotismon and the Oikawa saga, both brothers didn't think their mother would respond well to another adventure, especially one involving someone very close to T.K.
At the same time, however, both boys hated lying to their parents and they always felt very guilty afterwards.
"See, mom," Matt decided to answer for him. "Kari has been sick for a little while. And when Tai called last night, he said she wasn't feeling any better and he didn't know what was wrong. T.K. was very worried and wanted to see her and make sure she was alright, so he left school early to check on her. I got there later and we all kept her company until her parents got home."
Ms. Takaishi had a few more choice words for her son before she let the matter drop. As T.K. predicted, he was grounded for a week.
"Dinner is on the table. I'm going back to finish my work." With that, she walked away from her sons into her study and closed the door behind her.
Matt and T.K. sighed in relief and walked into the kitchen to eat their dinner. While T.K. helped himself to another bowl of rice, he looked up to see Matt deep in thought, a dumpling hanging from the chopsticks he was holding.
"Hey, Matt?" He inquired softly.
"Yeah, T.K.?"
"What's the matter? You've barely touched your food."
Matt glanced down at his plate to see only a small portion of his meal had been consumed. He turned his attention back to T.K.
"Just thinking about the situation with Kari."
His answer was short, which made T.K. uneasy.
"Should I be really worried?"
Matt sighed. "It's hard to say, T.K. I really can't answer that. It's a hard topic to discuss."
T.K. nodded his head in understanding. Matt was thinking about his encounters with darkness and despair; how those dark emotions almost consumed him. T.K. knew he would never fully understand what that felt like, so all he could do was watch and try to be there for his older brother.
Matt cleared his throat in order to break the silence that had fallen over the two of them. Tonight was supposed to be about getting T.K. to calm down. He could analyze the situation later.
"C'mon, T.K., hurry up and finish eating. If you don't, mom will be even angrier at us. And besides, you'll need all the strength you can get if you have any hopes of beating me in Death Droids 5."
T.K. laughed and brought the bowl up to his face, preparing to scarf the rest of his meal down. "Oh, you're on!"
