Disclaimer: I don't own digimon (is this annoying or what?)

Chapter Six: A Promise is a Promise: Kari's Story
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T.K. was walking me to second period when we ran into Sora, Matt and Tai. It seemed so weird seeing them there; it had been so long since Tai and I went to the same school. When Tai started high school I was only in elementary, and by the time I came to Odaiba High he had already graduated. It was, for some reason, a comfort to see him there today.

We talked for a bit and then T.K. and I had to get to class before we were late. Second period was history for me, and it was so boring! That was one class that could put me to sleep every time. It dragged on and I found myself staring at the clock, unable to wait for the lunch bell to ring and spring me from the prison I was currently in. It finally did, at 11:13am. I jumped out of my chair, collected my books and rushed to my locker.

When I got there, I dumped my books in and slammed it shut before they tumbled out. Okay, okay, I'm not the most organized person. I think my bedroom at home shows that. But whatever, it doesn't really matter. Compared to my brother, I'm a total neat freak.

Anyway, T.K. met me at my locker and we walked to the cafeteria together. All through lunch I had this really weird feeling at the pit of my stomach, kind of like the feeling you get when you're going down a really steep drop on a roller coaster. Since I'm devastatingly afraid of heights, this image didn't make me feel any better.

"You're probably just hungry," T.K. suggested. I shook my head.

"No, this is different. Something doesn't feel…right. It's like something's going to happen and everything is going to change," I said. I tried to convince him but I don't really think he bought it.

"I'm sure everything will be just fine," he said taking my hand in his. He stared into my eyes and I just melted.

T.K. has this way about him that basically left me at his mercy. His gorgeous blue eyes could always get to me…and just about every other girl at our school. It didn't really bother me that much, though. I knew how much T.K. cared about me and that he wouldn't cheat on me. He wasn't the kind of guy that would do that, anyway.

We got in line and bought our food, then sat at our regular table with our other friends. This particular lunch period, I was pretty quiet. Granted, I'm usually a little quiet, but I was really quiet this time. I looked up and saw T.K. staring at me, concern plastered all over his face. I think he knew something was up, but he still didn't really believe me when I told him about the weird feeling I had earlier. I decided that I was just overreacting and nothing was going to happen. I shook off the feeling and joined into the conversation, a forced smile stuck on my face.

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The bell went off and I threw the rest of my lunch away. I wasn't really hungry. Truthfully, I still couldn't get rid of the bad feeling I had. I tried to act normal, for T.K., but I think he knew that something was definitely up.

"Hey, I'll walk you to class," he suggested. T.K.'s next class was on the opposite end of the school, on a different floor. Normally I would have insisted that he get to class so he wasn't late, but today I didn't. I just nodded and we walked.

"Thanks for walking me," I told him when we stopped outside my class.

"No problem," he said as he quickly kissed me. He walked away, got about two feet, and turned back around to face me. "Relax, it'll be fine," he told me.

"I know...thanks."

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BANG

I flew out of my seat, startled by the noise. It sounded like it came from the classroom right next door. I looked around and saw that a bunch of other people had done the same thing that I had. I heard a loud, bone-chilling scream and could feel myself starting to panic. A bunch of people took off, running out of the classroom. What was happening had finally sunken in. I ran out the door, leaving my purse behind. I could replace the things in there but I couldn't replace my life, right?

I was in the hallway when I heard the next shot. I ducked, thinking a bullet was coming right at me. I was right outside the front doors when I glanced back and could see into one of the classrooms. It was the classroom the shooter was in. I stopped running. I stopped moving altogether, actually.

There I stood, still as could be, peering through the open door into a world of sheer agony. I winced as another shot went off and I saw someone in the classroom hit the floor.

Correction: I saw someone's body hit the floor. They weren't a 'someone' anymore. They didn't have a soul, or any of that other junk. They were dead now. I tried to move, tried to run, tried to scream for help, but I couldn't. As much as I wanted to, my body simply wouldn't let me. That was all there was to it.

A girl fell on the floor in front of me. She was dead, too.

I stood there, paralyzed in fear, staring into those cold, dead eyes when I realized I knew that girl. Her name was Anna; her locker was two down from mine. I had second period history with her. In fact, she sat in front of me. Or at least she used to.

I finally regained control of my legs and tore out of the building as fast as I possibly could. I reached the safety and security of outside and didn't stop running until I saw people. They were all huddled in a group in the front of the school as police and ambulances pulled up. I joined the group that was growing larger by the second, and stood by myself in a corner.

My eyes scanned the area looking for T.K., Tai or one of the others. I looked for a familiar face. I looked for a friendly smile that would somehow ease my pain, cause the nervousness to subside and somehow let me know everything would be okay. Instead, I found nothing.

I was alone with my thoughts for the time being. I tried, unsuccessfully, to not think anything at all. It worked for a brief moment, until I remembered Anna. I could still picture her face, the way her lifeless, stiff body fell to the floor. All of it was stuck in my memory for the rest of my life and there was nothing I could do about it. Not a damned thing.

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Eventually, I found T.K…or he found me. I freaked out when I saw him: there was so much blood. It turns out that most of it wasn't even his. I would have asked where it came from, but I couldn't bring myself to form the words. There was a look in his eyes…he was no longer naïve, no longer innocent. When I looked at him, I knew something happened in there that he would never forget. It wasn't just something he saw, like my seeing Anna, it happened to him. He would never be the same…none of us would.

After a while, T.K. and I were re-united with the rest of the group. Well, all of them, except for my brother. We didn't really know where he was until T.K. asked around and found out he was at the hospital. I don't really remember too much of what occurred after that. It was kind of a blur. My mind was racing, going a mile a minute and yet I didn't really have any thoughts. Time stood still and I knew it wouldn't start back up until I saw my brother and knew for a fact everything would be okay.

We rushed to the hospital and mom met us there. I'm not really sure who called her but I'm glad they remembered, because I sure didn't. I have to find out so I can thank them…that must have been pretty hard to call someone and give them news like that.

Mom and I went to talk to the doctor and he told us that Tai was in a coma. I guess time would be standing still for quite a while.

"Tai was on the top floor; therefore it took longer for us to get to him. Because of this, he lost a lot of blood. His brain lost blood and a lot of oxygen, causing him to become comatose," the doctor told us.

I started crying again, but mom actually managed to keep her composure. She squeezed my hand tight; so tight that I had to bite my lip to keep from groaning. I squeezed back and we walked back to the rest of the group.

When we told them, I couldn't even look at their faces. I just stared at the floor and tried to stop the tears that were incessantly streaming down my cheeks. I finally looked up and my eyes came to rest on Sora.

I had been so self-involved since I found out about my brother. I didn't even stop to think that someone else had been affected by what happened. But when I looked at Sora I could see the same emotions I was feeling reflected onto her. I knew how much she loved Tai; this must have killed her.

T.K. stood up and came over to me but I didn't want to be comforted by him. I needed Sora, the only person here who truly knew what I was going through. I sidestepped around T.K. and went straight to her. We embraced for a moment; I was trying to stop crying and Sora was trying not to start.

When we separated I looked at T.K. and he looked pretty hurt. At first I thought about telling him I was sorry and explaining why I acted the way I had, but then I decided against it. I grew angry with my boyfriend. Why couldn't he understand that not everything could be solved by one of his hugs?

He had tried to do it to me at lunch, when I told him about the weird feeling I had. Well, well, look who had been right all along. T.K. had no way of understanding what I was going through, so why would he act like he did?

No, I wouldn't apologize to him for overreacting because I wasn't. If anything, he was under reacting. Is that even a word? Well it must be, because that's exactly what T.K. did!

I stood there thinking about how insensitive T.K. was, getting angrier by the second. Okay, okay, maybe I was being a little melodramatic about the whole thing, but whatever. Hindsight is twenty-twenty.

"You can go in now, Kari," my mother said to me. It took me a second to figure out what she was talking about. I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice my mother had gone in to visit Tai. Well, she had just come out now which meant I could go in. I walked through the door and sat down at the chair beside Tai's bed.

I never really understood why only one person was allowed to visit at a time…how would they know? As much as I'd like to believe it, I really doubt Tai even noticed I was there.

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Sometimes, like now, I think back on my first day of school. I was so nervous that day; I didn't know anyone and all I wanted was my mommy. I got on the school bus and was really afraid because I didn't know where to sit. Tai grabbed my hand and instead of sitting with his friends that day, he sat with me in the front of the bus. When we got to school, he walked me to my class and I begged him to stay with me. He shook his head and told me,

"Sorry sis, but I got to go. You're a big girl now and you can take care of yourself." I was so upset that he was leaving that I wrapped my arms around his legs and tried to make him stay. I didn't want to be a big girl! He dropped to the ground beside me and looked in my eyes. "Don't worry Kar, you're gonna have a great time. If things get really bad, I'll always be there for you." That was Tai for you. Even at seven, he would do anything to comfort me.

Tai and I never really fought like normal siblings. Growing up, we had always gotten along great. Actually, I can't really think of a time I had a fight with him. Of course we had the occasional argument but it never really blew up into anything big. My friends think it's totally weird, saying that they fought like cats and dogs with their brothers and sisters. I don't think it's that weird. In fact, I like what we have a lot better. But maybe it isn't a good thing. Being so close only makes it hurt so much more when something like this happens.

Instead of fighting, we did a lot of other things. No matter what it was though, Tai would always be there by my side to take care of me. Every time I had trouble with my homework he would try his best to help me, or come up with a great excuse for why I didn't have it done. When I started dating, he got really protective. Even now, he still doesn't like me being alone with T.K.

But I don't really find it annoying. I think it's cute how Tai doesn't want me to grow up. I guess when he looks at me, he still sees that scared little girl who didn't want her big brother to leave her alone to face the big, bad world of kindergarten.

He was my hero, my protector, the only guy that would always be there for me when I needed him. And where was my protector now? He was in the hospital, clinging to life, hooked up to a ton of machines. Would he always be there for me, or was this our last adventure together? I tried to stay hopeful by telling myself that he would get better and we'd have many more good memories when he did. But sometimes, like now, hope is hard to come by.

If I talked to you, would you be able to hear me, Tai? Because I'm calling out for you to come and save me. I need you, so why aren't you coming to rescue me? You promised me that you would always come when I needed you, so why aren't you coming now?

I know why.

But just like I made it through kindergarten, I could make it through this. So would Tai. I had to believe that was true because I would die if something happened to him. He had to be okay, because he promised he would be there. He promised that he would always be there to rescue me from danger, and I wasn't done being rescued. Not even close.

I was feeling so many things at that moment. I was sad and alone, but maybe I would always feel like that without Tai.

I was angry…I was so angry. I was mad at T.K., for not being more understanding. I was furious with myself…why didn't I tell Tai how much I loved him this morning when I saw him? Why didn't I do it every time I saw him? Surely he knew how I felt about him, right? I would just die if he didn't. He had to!

But most of all, I was angry at the shooters. Those sick, perverted creeps! Why would they do this? How could they do this? How could they intentionally take someone's life?

Before today, I couldn't even imagine doing something so cruel.

Before today, I never had any desire to cause another human being even the slightest bit of pain and suffrage.

But before today, I was a different person.

"Don't worry, Tai. I'll find the people who did this to you, and I'll fucking kill them. I'll be there for you like you've always been there for me."

I made a promise to my brother, and if there's one thing anyone will ever tell you about me, it's that I always keep my promises. Always.

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This was the day I learned that the world was a cold, uncaring, cruel place. It didn't matter who you were, or how much money you had. The world didn't care about the marks you got in school or the kind of clothes you wore. In the grand scheme of things, it can all boil down to a very simple fact:

You live…and you die. There's a time in which you're born and a time at which you die. All that really matters is what you do in between those two phases of life. You might have nine years in between; you might have ninety. Or, like Anna, you might have seventeen.

Seventeen...it's barely enough time to do any living at all. There were so many things that Anna, like so many others in that school, would never get to experience.

She could never graduate from high school. She'd never get fall in love, or get married, or start a family. She wouldn't have a career, a house or a car. Hell, she wouldn't even get another Friday night out with her friends. All that changed when some twisted bastard decided to drive a bullet through her chest.

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I sat there, I'm not sure for how long, trying to convince myself what I was seeing was real. I still couldn't believe it…it's like my brain just refused to accept it. Maybe it was better that way; I'm not really sure. All I knew was that my brother was hurt and for some reason I couldn't fully comprehend that.

I stood up and left. If I wasn't going to talk to Tai or anything, I might as well let Sora and the others have some time with him.

"You can go in now," I told Sora when I entered the hallway. She nodded and went in, smiling softly as she passed me.

I sat down in the vacant seat that Sora had been sitting in. T.K. came over and put his good arm around me, but I didn't really notice because I was too busy thinking. I wasn't thinking about Tai, or any of my other friends. I wasn't thinking about my family, or even the promise I made to my brother a while ago.

All I could think about was that empty seat in front of me in second period history. The seat Anna won't be in, when and if we ever return to school.

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Sorry that Kari was kind of OOC and bitchy, especially to T.K., but hey…the girl is going through a stressful time!