Author's Note: I'm really glad to know that your friend's doing well, crestoflight3 and I thank both you and Aveza for reviewing.

Circuits

Failure

The morning came, but its gentle rays marked a new beginning for the Kamiya family. Now, they must continue on with their lives without a mother or wife.

Although Kari was hesitant about the new lifestyle that she was about to have, her talk with Matt the previous night seemed to have eased her anxiety.

However, Tai wasn't coping as well with their mother's loss. He was still asking 'why?' and was growing irritable with himself, unable to find the answer.

"He's not doing well," Sora sighed, watching her childhood friend storm off to the soccer field to practice afterschool, "I don't understand…Tai seems like a different person now since Mrs. Kamiya's funeral…If only Tai would just tell us what's wrong, maybe we could help him."

"That's just the problem, Sora," Izzy stated, "Tai doesn't want help. At least, not at the moment…"

Unbeknownst to them, Yuuko's death coincided with another tragic event in Tai's life that had almost happened.

Kari's near-death experience, thanks to him.

…

Down at the field after the rest of his teammates left for home, Tai stayed behind and kept practicing, until he at last decided to take a break.

Sitting down in the cool grass, regaining his breath, he pulled out his digivice to check the time.

"Eight P.M.?! I've should've quit three hours ago!"

Despite his exhaustion, Tai quickly grabbed his things and ran at a fast pace towards home.

Dad's gonna kill me if he finds out!

After sneaking back into the apartment successfully, Tai saw Matt vacuuming the living room floor.

"Back from soccer practice?" the artificial blonde asked, setting the vacuum level down on low so that his owner could hear him.

"Yeah," replied Tai, pulling off his sneakers, "Has my dad come home already?"

"No sir, but your sister called your friends when you didn't come back from school."

"I see," said the bushy-haired teen, "I'll let her know that I'm here."

"You don't have to tell me."

The older boy turned and saw Kari in the kitchen nearby, getting out a plate of food ready to reheat for her brother.

Tai didn't know where to start as he left Matt to approach his sister.

"Kari…I…Y-you didn't have to…"

"Didn't have to what?" she questioned.

"You know that I can take care of myself," he quickly responded, "I just got a little carried away with my soccer playing and lost track of time."

Kari studied her brother's expression, completely unconvinced. She knew that Tai was hiding something despite what he just told her, but he showed no signs of hesitation.

"Okay, Tai, I believe you. Just don't do it again, okay?"

"You've got nothing to worry about, Sis!" he assured, "'Cause it won't!"

…

Unfortunately, Tai habitually continued to practice soccer until past evening for almost a week. It was slowly turning into an addiction rather than a hobby for the former goggle head, in attempt to escape from the memories of the past as well as the present.

But his efforts were in vain.

His little sister had been put in his care because Yuuko trusted him and she would take pride in her eldest son's responsibilities. Until he unwittingly made Kari's illness worse, putting her in a critical state.

He could still hear his mother's angry voice just as he had that fateful day in the hospital.

"TAI! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Tai cringed, biting his lip.

He made a low sweep and kicked but the ball missed the goal.

The Bearer of Courage gritted his teeth and tried again.

But the soccer ball stopped short halfway across the field, next to a familiar pair of black shoes.

Tai looked up. "What are you doing here, Matt?" he asked in-between breaths.

"Your sister's very worried about you, sir," answered Matt, walking towards his owner, "She asked me to check on you."

Tai didn't answer and went to try out another ball, ignoring the cyborg.

Suddenly, he stopped short, raising a hand to his left cheek.

"What could you have been thinking, you knew she was sick!"

"Sir, is something the matter?"

Hearing Matt's voice snapped Tai out of it and he turned around, staring at the robot. Seeing the calm, blank expression that was always plastered on Matt's face only seemed to boil Tai's frustration.

How could he, Tai thought, an android, possibly understand?

Tai tore his gaze away from Matt's and focused on the untouched soccer ball. But the sense of lifelessness that the ball possessed retriggered the memories that the Bearer of Courage had been desperately fighting. He felt a strong wave of guilt sweep over him, and fell to knees.

"Are you feeling alright, sir?" Matt asked.

The reply came in a low, whisper. "No…I'm not…This is just like before…"

"What do you mean by 'before'?"

With a weary sigh, Tai explained to Matt about how Kari had nearly succumbed to pneumonia as a small girl due to his carelessness and how the event continued to haunt him whenever she fell ill.

"In your defense, sir," Matt said, "the event could've been avoided if Mrs. Kamiya had stayed with your sister rather than leave her by herself."

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?!" Tai snapped, immediately standing up. "What difference would it have made?!"

Matt lowered his head, not answering.

The bushy-haired teen calmed down once more. "Now that Mom's dead, I feel as though I was responsible for letting her disease take her life, just like I almost allowed Kari to die…"

"I-I couldn't protect them!" he cried out suddenly, "I've become… such a failure to my own family!"

With that, Tai buried his face in his hands and wept, recalling Kari's words as well as his mother's as she was dying.

"You haven't failed your family."

Tai lifted his head away from his tear-stained palms, stunned.

"What do y-you mean, Matt? How h-have I n-not failed?"

"Despite what had happened, your sister still holds you in very high regards as an older sibling." Matt explained. "And Mrs. Kamiya trusted that you would continue to protect and guide Miss Kari when she couldn't be there, even now."

"Y-you're right," Tai added with realization, "Mom and Kari forgave me…because they love me…a-and they still do!"

Then it hit Tai.

What have I been doing? I've been running away from my past fears instead of facing them…I've given up before I even started. I'm so worried about how I failed my sister before that I'm starting to fail her now.

But I won't anymore.

"Say, Matt," Tai declared, "Let's go home, I think I've practiced enough."

Matt nodded in reply.

As the two left the field, Tai felt a renewed strength pumping through him, allowing him to look towards the future without fear but with courage.

-To be continued…