Matt and I ran all the way to his apartment. His dad greeted us and we sat at the table. For dinner we were having pizza.
"It's a shame T.K. had to leave," Mr. Ishida frowned.
I took a bite of my pizza and nodded.
"And there wasn't even a good reason for going to America."
Matt and I looked up.
"Mrs. Takaishi didn't tell you why they left?" I wondered.
"Nope."
"She found T.K.'s real father," Matt looked away.
Mr. Ishida was puzzled. "Real dad? I am T.K.'s real dad."
"What? I can't believe she'd do something like that! Sh-she took T.K. away from Japan for no reason. I-I'll kill her! I don't care if she's my mother…She can't do something like that!" Matt yelled.
"Calm down Matt. Lets just call T.K. and tell him," I decided.
Matt handed me the phone. I dialed Mrs. Takaishi's cell phone number.
"Hello?" T.K. answered.
"Hey T.K., it's Kari. I have to tell you something very important," I looked towards Matt.
"Important? What is it?" he wondered.
"T.K., you're mom lied."
"Huh?"
"Matt is your full brother. Mr. Ishida is your real father, not the man you're living with."
"No…Y-you're lying! I don't believe you!"
"You have to believe me. I'm telling the truth."
"No!" there was a click.
I put down the phone and looked at Matt. "He doesn't believe me."
Matt formed two fists. He stormed off to his room and slammed the door behind him. All of a sudden Matt began to yell. Something then broke. I walked over to the door and opened it.
"Matt?" I softly questioned.
"I hate her! I hate him!" Matt sat on his bed and held a picture in a picture frame.
"Matt…"
He threw the frame at the wall. It broke. I saw the picture that it held. It was of T.K. and himself.
"I can't believe that he won't believe us. T.K. thinks that man is his father," he looked at the floor.
I took a deep breath. "I have an idea. May I call Yolei?"
"Sure…"
I took the phone and dialed Yolei's number.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Yolei, how much money do you have?" I asked.
"Uh…About fifty dollars. Why?"
"We have to buy two tickets to America."
"What?"
"Mrs. Takaishi took T.K. away for no reason. Mr. Ishida is his real father. I called him and told him, but he doesn't believe me. The only way to convince him is for us to go to America and tell him inperson. You understand?"
"How dare her! Don't worry Kari, I'll get us the money. We'll be out of here as soon as possible."
"Yolei, you're the best."
"Ok, I'll talk to you later," she hung up the phone.
"I have to get home. I'm sorry about tonight," I frowned as I left Matt alone.
I quickly walked back home. By the time I got home it was 8:30PM. I was tire so I went right to bed. Tai was asleep too.
"T.K., please, you have to believe me. This guy is a fake!" I yelled at T.K.
"You're wrong," he moaned.
Yolei looked at the ground. "You're an idiot. You rather believe your mom who is telling lies. I can't believe you."
T.K. rolled his eyes.
"We came all the way out here and you still won't believe us. Who would you rather be with T.K., this fake dad or your friends?" I demanded.
"He's not fake Kari!" T.K. shouted.
"Fine, if that's what you believe…Our friendship must not be important to you."
"Huh?"
I looked away to hide the tears. "I just can't handle this anymore. I would have done anything for you, but you don't believe us…So why should I even care?"
"And, I can't wait any longer. Our relationship has gone nowhere. It hurts me to tell you this, but we can't go on any longer. I love you and all, but if you won't believe the truth…I guess this will have to be good bye," Yolei frowned.
Anger filled T.K.'s eyes. "Fine! I don't need any of you! I-I can find better friends here. I-I'll have a new girlfriend who will care about my life and how I feel. I-I won't ever need you guys ever again…I never needed you guys to begin with!"
I raised my hand and quickly punched T.K. to the ground. "You jerk! You'll never understand how we feel! We trusted in you, you were my best friend…Now it's all gone. I can't believe you would put us through so much pain. We loved you…I loved you. Now…We can't stop what has happened…Now that we have drifted apart so much. Good bye T.K., I'm going to miss you, but it's for the best…"
"No!" I slightly yelled. I jumped up and hit my head on the bed. "Oww…"
I stood up. My eyes were filled with tears. I turned to see the clock: 4:30AM. I decided to take a walk. I got dressed and walked to Davis's apartment.
"I know you aren't awake Davis…But I need you," I looked at the door. I walked over to a window. It was Davis's bedroom window. I knocked on it loud.
The curtains were pulled back. Davis gave me a shocked look and opened the window. "Kari?"
"I had another dream…"
"C-come to the door Kari. I'll let you in and we can talk about it. Ok?" Davis tried to smile.
I nodded as he closed the window. I walked to the door as it opened. I walked inside and we sat on the couch. Davis handed me a bottle of juice.
"Tell me all about it," Davis told me.
I took a deep breath. "Ok…I haven't told you this, but there is no reason for T.K. to be in America. Mrs. Takaishi lied. Mr. Ishida is T.K.'s real dad. So, Yolei and I have a great plan to get T.K. back. You see, I called him and told him everything when I was over at Matt's, but he didn't believe a word I said. Now, in my dream, Yolei and I go to America to convince T.K. that this guy he's living with is a fake. He still doesn't believe us. So, I told him that our friendship was over, and Yolei said that their relationship was over. T.K. told us that he could find better friends and an even better girlfriend where he was. I…I then hit him so he fell to the ground. I yelled at him and said that I loved him, but that our friendship has died. I said that we're no longer friends and that I would miss him. After that, I woke up in tears."
"Kari," Davis softly said and placed his arms around me. He let a sigh out. "Kari, we'll get him back. Do you already have a plan?"
"Yes, but I can't tell you here…No one other than our team mates can know. Ok?" I said.
"Right…We'll let everyone know today. We'll hang out, just us two, after T.K. is back," Davis smiled at me.
"Davis…I'm sorry I woke you up so early," I frowned.
"Hey, don't worry. I'm here for you…No matter what time or what day," he told me.
I sighed and slowly formed a smile on my face. "Thanks, I'm happy to know that."
Davis stood up. He pulled me off the couch and close to him. He slowly placed his lips on my cheek. He pulled away and turned around.
"I wonder if the others would be up," I giggled.
"I doubt it. It's only 5AM…That's way to early for our friends," Davis laughed.
An evil smile formed on my face. "Lets wake them!"
"Shh…Lets not wake up my parents and June," Davis placed his finger on my lips.
"Ok, ok! Get your phone…We have some calling to do."
He shooked his head and handed me the phone. He opened the front door and we walked out. It was funny, Davis was still in his pajamas.
"Davis, I'll get calling everyone…You should get dressed," I told the boy.
He looked down at himself. "Oh! I didn't even notice I wasn't changed. I'll do that right now."
I smiled and nodded at him as he walked back into the apartment. I slightly giggled as I dialed Izzy's cell phone number.
"H-hello?" Izzy stuttered when he answered his phone.
"Hey Izzy, it's Kari!" I chirped.
"Kari? Wh-what time is it?" he questioned.
"5:05AM…"
"Are you ok?"
"Not really…I'm just calling everyone to wake them up. We need to get together as soon as possible…I have something very important to tell everyone."
"Ok, call me back at ten and then we'll see if I'm ready to get up."
"Izzy! This is important! Get dressed, I'm going to call Yolei and she'll get Cody up."
He coughed. "So demanding…"
"You ok?"
"I'm a little sick…Don't worry, I'll be there."
"Take some medicine. How did you get sick?"
"Mimi and I were out late last night. It was cold…I gave Mimi my jacket…I was freezing!"
"You'll have to tell me about it later."
"Ok, I'll call Mimi."
"No! C-call…Tai."
"Right! I'll talk to you later," Izzy laughed.
"Bye Izzy," I hung up the phone and called Yolei.
She answered. "Kari! What's wrong? Why are you calling from Davis's? Is everything ok? Why did you call so early? Where do you need me to go?"
"Calm down. I need you to call Cody. We have to meet right away to tell everyone about our plan. This is very important Yolei…You know?" I explained.
"Don't worry! I'll even call Mimi for you…And she's mean in the morning."
"Oh, you're truly the best."
"Get calling the rest of the group. We'll meet at the tree."
"Of course!" I smiled to myself as I hung up the phone.
Who next? Sora or Matt…Joe? Ken! I think I'll call Ken, I thought to myself.
I quickly dialed the Ken's cell phone number.
"I'm trying to sleep! Why are you calling me this early?" Ken yelled at me.
"Ken Ichijouji! Do not yell at me!" I shouted at him.
"Huh? Kari? Sorry…Bad reaction. Uh…What did you need?"
"Get dressed, get on a sub, and get to the meeting spot. There is some important information you need to know."
"Do the subs even run this early?"
"Ken! Come on…This is so important. Please, this is a time you shouldn't fool around."
"Fine…But could you at least tell me what is so important?"
"Mr. Ishida is T.K.'s real dad…He has no reason to be in America."
"Oh! Oww!" the phone dropped.
"Ken? Are you ok?" I wondered.
"Uh…Sorry, I dropped the phone…I tripped over a picture."
"A picture?"
"In a frame…It fell on the floor."
"A picture of Sam?"
"Huh?"
"Was it a picture of Sam?"
Ken didn't answer. I knew it was. The thought of ever losing my older brother scared me. I felt sorry for Ken. It hurt to know things like this.
"I'm sorry Ken," I softly whispered in the phone.
"Don't worry about it Kari. I'll be there as fast as I can," he told me.
"Ok, see you then."
"Bye," Ken hung up the phone.
I dropped the phone on the ground and fell to the ground in tears. The door opened; Davis came out. He rapped his arms around me and held me tight.
"What's wrong?" Davis questioned.
"I don't want to lose them," I mumbled.
"Lose who?" he asked.
"Any of them," I whispered.
"Is it about T.K.?"
"Yes…"
"Anyone else?"
"Yeah."
"Tai?"
I cried even harder. "I don't want to lose them."
"They're not going anywhere. Nothing's going to happen to them…I promise you that."
"T.K. doesn't believe me, and Tai has been lying to me. I'm going to lose them now."
"No Kari, you're not going to lose them."
"What makes you so sure Davis?"
"Don't do this to me again Hikari! I can't go through it again. It…It sc-scares me to…It scares me to see you this way! I just can't stand it anymore. I don't want you to feel like nothing is going right. I don't want you to have this pain that always creep inside you. P-please Kari, just tell me what I can do to make this all be better. Just…T-tell me what I-I have to do. I love you Kari, and I can't see you this way anymore. Sometimes…I-I f-feel like it's m-my fault…And I-I j-just hate that f-feeling!"
My eyes widened. "Oh Davis! It's not your fault."
"But you said yourself that I was your pain."
"Not this time…This time, I'm my own pain…I've always been my own pain."
The phone rang. Davis answered it. "Motomiya family, this is Davis."
I looked at him with a puzzled look.
"You're great Yolei. We'll be there in a few minutes," he hung up the phone.
"What was that about?" I wondered.
"Yolei called everyone else for us. We just have to meet them at the tree," Davis explained to me.
"That's awesome! I'm sorry about this little moment…I'll explain it to you later."
"Let me just put the phone inside and we can get going."
"I'll go in with you," I smiled as we walked in the door.
Davis placed the phone on the charger and wrote a quick note explaining where he was going. I heard a door open, and Davis's parents came out of their bedroom. Davis had grabbed my hand, not knowing his parents were coming.
"Davis…What are you doing up? And why are you holding Kari's hand?" Mrs. Motomiya questioned the boy.
Davis was shocked at seeing his parents and let go of my hand. June was standing next to them.
"Oh, didn't Davis tell you?" June snickered.
"Tell us what?" Mr. Motomiya wondered.
"Told you th-"
"That I had plans to see the sunrise with Kari and the rest of the group," Davis quickly said.
"You're a little late," Mrs. Motomiya giggled.
"Kari came over to see where I was…Of course I was still sleeping. You know me, I can never get up early! So, of course, I was going slow…So…We missed the sunrise. Now, we decided just to hang out since we're all up!" he nervously laughed.
"Davis is lying. He's hiding something, and I know what it is! I'll tell you Mom and Dad because I hate keeping secrets. Kari is Davis's girlfriend…They've been going out for about a year," June smiled.
"What?" his parents yelled.
"Uh…Let me explain," Davis begged.
"Oh, there'll be a whole lot of explaining mister!" Mrs. Motomiya pointed at him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya, this is my fault. If I knew Davis didn't tell you, I would have done it myself. I am very sorry about all of this. I really thought Davis told you, but I guess he was doing the same thing I was doing to my father…And even my mother for the first few days. I blame myself for Davis's actions, please, don't punish him," I explained.
"June, go to your room. Davis, call your friends, tell them both you and Kari will be a few minutes late," Mr. Motomiya told us.
"Davis is in trouble, Davis is in trouble," June chanted as she skipped to her room.
Davis went over to the phone and quickly called one of our friends.
Mrs. Motomiya pointed at the coach. "Sit guys."
"Now, Kari, I'm guessing your parents have already gave you the t-" Mr. Motomiya tried.
"Dad!" Davis shouted.
"Uh…I-I…" I stuttered.
"Honey, I think she has…You know that Davis has," Mrs. Motomiya said.
"I can reassure you that I have, but I think we're too young for you to be thinking about that. I mean…We're only fourteen!" I looked away.
"I-I'm leaving…I d-don't want to listen to this," Davis stood up.
"We're just joking Davis, calm down. Now, lets get talking seriously. Ok, we know you're a really nice girl Kari, so we have no problem with you going out with our son. You are very good for him…You'll teach him a lot. But, please, watch out for him. He can get in a lot of trouble…The detention on the first day of school is a great example. Kari, I'm very happy to see Davis pick someone as nice and smart as you. Please, just don't let him make you do stupid things," Mrs. Motomiya smiled.
"Mom! I'm better than that…You're treating me as if I was stupid. You always do, and I hate it! When will you treat me as if I was the teenager I am? I'm so tired of all of this stuff," Davis yelled.
"Calm down Dai…Calm down," I softly whispered to myself.
"Davis, leave, go with Kari to see your friends…We'll talk to you later," Mr. Motomiya pointed to the door and motioned us to leave.
Davis quickly walked out the door, I followed slowly behind him.
We walked to the meeting tree in silence. When we got there, everyone stared at us like we were strangers. I quickly walked to the tree and stood facing our friends.
"Sorry that we're so late, we had some issues with Davis's parents. Now, that isn't important right now. If Yolei would join me up here, I'll explain to you why we're all here so early," I tried to smile.
Yolei walked up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'll give you the honor."
I sighed and looked at my friends. "As we already know, T.K. is in America because he was told that his mom found his birth dad, but it was a lie. Mr. Ishida is really T.K.'s dad, but he won't believe me. So, I came up with an idea that shouldn't fail. Yolei and I will somehow come up with the money to get two tickets to America. We'll go to T.K.'s house, and we're going to get him back. Now, the hard thing is, our parents won't go along with this, so somehow we have to be able to pretend we're in two different places at once…Any ideas?"
Some of them nicely raised their hands so no one was yelling over each other.
"Matt," Yolei pointed at him.
"We could lie and say we got locked in the concert place again. It could stall for a day," Matt said.
"Don't worry Kari," I saw Tai holding Sora's hand. "I'll just say you had to stay at the flower shop for a very important project. Also, Yolei, you'll just tell your parents the same thing."
"We'll all pitch in a few dollars to get the tickets. We need T.K. back here," Ken decided.
"You guys can't leave until after Monday because Kari has to bring in her poem," Izzy smiled.
"Oh no! I forgot about that!" I yelled.
"Oh boy, so did I," Davis moaned.
"We better get home, our parents will get worried. If we need anything else, we'll call. Ken, because you wasted your money coming out here, I'll give you the money you need to get back," Mimi offered the boy a bill.
"Thanks Mimi, I should get home…My parents get scared if I leave too early!" Ken laughed.
"But the next sub doesn't come for an hour," Yolei said.
"You can hang out at our house until you're ready to go back," I smiled.
"I would offer you to come over, but I have a feeling I'm going to be in a lot of trouble when I get home," Davis looked away.
"What did you do this time?" Ken wondered.
"I don't want to talk about it."
I sighed. "It was your own fault."
"I know it was when I didn't tell them about going out with you, but they didn't have to put me down right in front of you."
"Huh?"
"It's like I don't get any credit. If I do something good when they're gone, they think it's June. I never get any credit. I'll clean my room, but they never seem to care. When I get good grades, they don't care anymore. It's like they're wanting me to fail. I just can't handle it! I hate how they treat me. I'm so much smarter that they think I am…I just wish they would notice. Of course, they're too busy watching their precious June! It's like they don't want me anymore…That's how they always were. I guess they don't really love me like I thought they did."
"Davis…"
"I hope they all die!"
I turned away. "I can't be around you when you're like this. When you're out of steam, give me a call and I'll talk to you about this morning. Davis, I want you to go home…And, next time, when you want your parents to know how they feel…Don't yell at them."
"You don't know anything…"
"Daisuke Motomiya! I know a lot more when it comes to this! I do know how it feels when your parents don't treat you the way they should. My mom treats me as if I'm weaker than I am…And my dad treats me as if I'm the strongerest person in the world. So, don't tell me I don't know anything! It hurts, doesn't it? When you cool down, we'll talk, but I don't want to lose my temper anymore than I already have. So, just go…I'll have Yolei make sure you go straight home."
"I'm not a baby."
"Well you could of fooled me!" I walked away to Yolei.
"Kari, I think your plan is going to work," Yolei smiled.
"Right…Yolei, do you think you can make sure Davis gets home? I'm not trusting him right now…He's having issues with his parents, and the last thing I want is him to run away," I frowned.
She
nodded. "No problem! Anything for a friend!"
"I would do it
myself, but I don't think it would be smart of me to be around him
when he's having such a terrible temper."
"Don't worry, I got it."
"Thank you so much! I don't know how to repay you."
"You came up with a way to get my boyfriend back to Japan, that's all I could ever ask for and so much more!"
I sighed. "I have to get going. I left early again…Tai probably wants to give me a lecture of some sort. We'll leave after tomorrow."
"No problem," she walked away.
I walked up to Tai and Ken.
