Disclaimer: I am quite happy doing this for no money at all. Digimon does not belong to me.

I watched helplessly when the doctor told Tai his mother was dead. I watched as Tai stared at him in shock. He turned to me and I ached for him. No one should have to hear that their mother was murdered by a madman. I opened my arms to him and he received my hug. I rubbed his back as he wept and I shared in his pain. I so wanted to take it away from him. I hated seeing him hurting like this. I shared in his pain and cried with him. He was surprised that I would do that but he needn't have been. I rocked him and murmured things into his ear, doing the best that I could. I helped him to Kari's room where he talked to her, reassured her that everything would be okay when he was really the one that needed comforting. When he could talk no longer, he crawled into my lap, sitting sideways, and buried his face in my neck. I held him and eventually, he cried himself to sleep and I joined him in slumber.

The next morning, Takeru popped his head in and sat down in Tai's former seat. Tai was still asleep in my lap. Takeru watched Kari intently, holding her hand. She stirred then and opened her eyes blearily.

"Takeru? Yamato? Tai?" She murmured, her voice hoarse. Tai immediately awoke and turned to her. "Tai? How's mom? All I remember is screaming and then was so much blood and the last thing I remember is pain and then everything went black. Is she okay?"

"Kari, Mom died early this morning." My heart wept when I heard the deadness in his voice. He was trying to control his emotions. Kari made a small noise in the back of her throat and tears started running down her face. She did not scream or make a scene but this was equally heart wrenching. Kari was someone who always tried to make everyone around her feel better even if it meant leaving her own wounds untended. She cared about anyone and everyone selflessly and always had a cheerful smile or a kind word for those who needed it.

"What'll happen to us?" she asked, her voice cracking. She swallowed and Tai handed her a glass of water which she took gratefully.

"I dunno," he answered truthfully. "But Kari, we'll take care of you. Yama and I. We're old enough and pretty soon, we'll be graduating. I'll get a job so you can go to school and we'll be a family. I promise." Kari nodded silently but her eyes flickered to me, obviously wondering if her older brother had actually discussed it with me before promising her.

"Can I be alone? Please?" she whispered and we respected her wishes, closing the door behind us. Takeru stayed behind; she'd asked him. Tai peeked through the small window on the door and we watched her cry into Takeru's chest. He held her just as I'd held Tai and did his best to comfort her. I gripped Tai's waist and pressed him close to me. He rested his head against my shoulder.

"Tai-" I began when he didn't say anything. He looked like he really needed to say something, the storm in his eyes told me, but he wasn't opening up. I could feel the smallest of tremors pass through his body when I spoke.

"Look, Yama. What I said back there, to Kari. I really mean it. I'll get a job to support her but if you don't want to-" he stopped talking when I put two fingers to his lips.

"Shh. You forget that I happen to be in a world famous band. I've got enough to support all of us without us having to work. Well, except me. I'll still have gigs and concerts and things like that but it'll be fun. Especially with you by my side." I grinned cheekily at him, trying to coax a smile out of him. He only looked away. "I'm really sorry about your mother, Tai. She loves you and Kari with all of her heart and she's still watching you. And I'm here. I'll be by your side whether you like it or not. I won't leave you just yet. I just wish I could have done something to help." I kissed him where my fingers had been just moments before and he smiled sadly against my lips.

"But Yama, you already have." He pulled away and ran his fingers through his unruly brown hair. "I suppose we'll have to get the funeral arrangements done and everything. We'll cremate her and spread her ashes in the ocean. I think she'll like that. She's always had a special affinity for the ocean."

Flashback

"Mommy, how did you and Daddy meet?" An innocent question posed by an innocent child. Mrs. Yagami smiled down at Kari who had crawled into her lap.

"Well sweetie, I was at the beach with my mommy and daddy. They wanted to be alone so they told me to go play. I was running down the beach, not watching where I was going, when I bumped into a handsome man. He laughed and caught me before I fell. You know who he was?"

"Daddy!" Kari giggled, already knowing the answer after having heard the story millions of times before. She clapped her hands in delight.

"That's right! It was your Daddy." The woman got a wistful look in her eyes and she spoke, "I looked deep into his eyes and I just knew that I was going to marry him. I was going to marry this man with his beautiful dark eyes and messy brown hair. It was love at first sight." She sighed and then smiled. "You know what happened next?" she asked, laughter ringing in each syllable.

"What?" Kari asked, awaiting her favorite part.

"We kissed! Right there on the beach, we kissed! Oh it was so romantic."

"Yuck. I will never kiss a girl!" Tai crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. He had been watching his mother and sister and was listening to the story as well.

"Someday you will." His mother beamed at him. "Just you wait. Someday you'll know what it's like to fall in love."

End Flashback

"I just can't believe she's dead." Tai's shoulder's sagged after he recounted the story to me. "I miss her so much."

"I know, Tai, I know." I rubbed his back, relieving the tension in his muscles as he leaned into me, my back pressed against a wall, his face on my neck, hands on my waist, one of my legs between his, trying to get as close to each other as possible without romantic intimacy. It was almost soothing, the world melted away and everything was silent, just us, just the sound of our breathing and the simultaneous beating of our hearts.

The funeral ceremony, in which we respected his mother's unspoken wishes, was quiet and small. Only four people were in attendance: Tai, myself, Takeru, and Kari. For the location, Tai had chosen a cliff that dropped directly into the ocean. Angry waves rushed at the stone flinging white foam as it broke into the stone. It was beautiful and wild at once. Takeru and I backed off and allowed the two of them a bit of private time as they said a final goodbye to their beloved mother. They turned back to us and nodded so we approached them once more. I wrapped one arm around Tai's waist and Takeru stood completely behind Kari, his hands resting on her belly, her hands clutching his. Tai closed his eyes, opened the beautiful urn that we had bought for this specific purpose and emptied the contents into the beautiful, wild, dangerous, calming sea below.

As we watched her remains float down into the water, it was strangely—peaceful. No one said a word, just watched with quiet reverence. I snuck a glance at Tai and he was watching the wind and the ashes with a look of calm finality. He was still sad, you could see it in his eyes, but it was as if he'd realized that there was nothing to do now but see to it that he remembered his mother, remembered all that she had taught him and carry on her memory. When it had all disappeared, he turned from the sight and squared his shoulders, wiping any stray tears from his face as he did so.

Later that night, we made love as if it was the only thing keeping us alive. It was frenzied and full of unbridled emotions, both good and bad, but it was still amazing. Afterwards, we collapsed in a heap of steamy limbs. I ran my fingers through Tai's sweaty hair and he lay his head on my chest, as he always did, and we closed our eyes, entangled in each other's arms.

"I love you." Tai murmured sleepily. "I love you."

"I love you more." I whispered back and he sighed happily, snuggling closer to me and I knew this was where I wanted to be for the rest of my life.

A/N: Told you I would get this one up soon. Next chapter should be posted a week (?) or less. Hopefully less. I am so behind on homework it's not even funny. O.o shit. And my mom's threatening to ban me AND to top it all off, volleyball tryouts are starting. So I will probably update a lot slower. Of course, this story's pretty much finished. I'm just figuring out how to wind it down in a way that satisfies me. Well that's it for now... but of course, review review review!