Part One: Her Secret

Chapter Two: A great day for freedom

"See you on Monday, Tai."

Tai Kamiya turned his head and caught sight of the short auburn hair that belonged to his friend Izzy. "Later, Izzy," he called out before turning back to walk in the opposite direction.

Traversing the milling crowd, he made his way across the entrance hall of Odaiba High School and out into the warm early evening sun. Free at last, he thought to himself as he waved a hand at one of his soccer team buddies who was too far away for a verbal goodbye. The week had been gruelling, a far too common occurrence of late. And he had been living on a knife-edge all day. Each lesson bringing with it the threat of weekend homework. His class had come close to slipping over the edge twice but had somehow managed to dodge the bullets. While not a fan of homework in general, what school kid was? He had worked all week to clear his schedule in the hopes of catching a lucky break. Perhaps it had been his turn. Even lotteries had to be won by someone. Regardless, the reason for the effort, prayer and human sacrifice, ok so that last one was a joke, had been because his parents were out of town this weekend and wouldn't be back till sometime Monday afternoon. Yep. No parents and no homework at the same time. It was virtually the teenage equivalent of a full planetary alignment.

Reaching the bike racks, he unchained his red bicycle, pulled on his helmet and set off for home. He hadn't gotten far before his mind began to ponder how he would spend his miracle. He'd made no plans, for had he done so, the universe would probably have taken it as a slight and thrown him a barrel load of homework for the weekend and a snap test first thing on Monday to remind him who was boss. However, having now escaped the reach of his teachers, he felt it safe to begin making some plans. The first thing to cross his mind was some manga that he had sitting on his bookshelf that he hadn't even had time to open yet. While it didn't exactly scream, 'FREE WEEKEND', he was sure there would be plenty of time to read at least one between the bigger stuff that would make the list. Video game marathon, yes. Now there was something worthwhile. He'd barely had a chance to play any video games since summer vacation. In fact, he could even go to the rental store, get something new and try completing it before the end of the weekend. Wait, scratch that! Though it was short notice, he should call the DigiDestined and invite them over for a... He hung his head for a brief moment almost causing him to crash into the back of a car. Slamming on the brakes he came to a stop and let out a sigh of relief. That had been too close. He set off again but found his happy mood somewhat deflated. Not all of his old friends saw eye to eye anymore. Indeed he himself had played a central role in the main feud.

It had all happened so suddenly that Tai still had trouble trying to comprehend just what exactly had happened. What he did know was that, for once, it had not started as a fight between himself and Matt. They'd simply been pulled in on opposite sides. Understandable, given that the epicentre had been the breakup between their respective siblings. Naturally, he'd been the first to learn of it. He'd been standing at the living room window, watching the lightning storm, when the apartment door had opened. Having not expected Kari to return from her date for at least another hour, it had immediately drawn his attention. Into the main living space had walked his sister, causing his eyes to widen in horror. Her hair was plastered to her head while water dripped to the wooden floor from the hem of her new dress.

"Kari!" he'd called out in alarm, darting across the room to reach her.

She'd not responded, her eyes vacant like black holes in the sky. And had it not been for the redness, he probably would never have known she'd been crying. With their parents also out, he'd been left to help her into the bathroom so she could undress and dry. Leaving her to remove her underwear, he'd gone to fetch her some pyjamas. After handing them in, he'd headed straight for the kitchen to make her some hot chocolate. When she'd eventually come into the living room, Kari had still looked pale and like her mind had not come home with her. Tai had sat beside her on the sofa and made sure she drank the beverage, waiting until she looked more lucid before asking what had happened.

In a voice little more than a whisper, Kari had said, "TK and I broke up."

The news had both shocked Tai, yet come as no surprise, as oxymoronic as it sounds. For the state his sister had arrived home in, had suggested as much. Yet it left him wondering what the hell had happened. He'd immediately given her a hug and told her he was sorry to hear that. Then asked for the details. Kari had been unwilling to talk about it so he had not forced her. She'd then thanked him for everything, disentangled herself from his loving arms and went straight to bed. Leaving Tai to wonder just how bad the breakup had been to result in his sister walking home in amidst a thunderstorm. It would be over a week before he found out.

Tai guided his bike into the undercroft of the building that housed his families apartment. Locking it up next to Kari's he looked down and noticed that her front tire was flat. He hoped it hadn't been like that this morning, otherwise, she would have been stuck walking. Sliding the pump from the frame of his own bike, he bent down and unscrewed the offending wheels dust cap. A few minutes of furious pumping later and it was back up to pressure. He stopped and held his ear next to the tire. A gentle hiss was just audible.

"Guess you're punctured," he said out loud to the slowly deflating wheel. "I suppose you'll just have to be the first thing on my weekend bucket list then."

After reattaching the pump to his own bike, Tai made his way over to the stairs and up the multiple flights to the apartment. Inside his eyes took in the empty living space and his ears enjoyed the sweet, sweet sound of nothing.

"Kari?" he called out as he made his way over to her bedroom to see if she was inside.

The door was closed so he knocked, but received no reply. Poking his head inside revealed no trace of his sister. Neither did a trip to the bathroom. Poor Kari, he thought as he went into his own room. She must have found her bike tire like that when she'd went downstairs that morning and been forced to walk. He'd left first that morning as he had early soccer practice and hadn't even noticed. While he would not have been able to repair it, he could have nipped back upstairs and given her the heads up. Along with the key for his bike lock. Granted she probably wouldn't have taken it. Kari always had been selfless like that. Something he'd always admired about her.

Changing out of his school clothes, he hauled on a pair of blue jeans, a white long-sleeved top and an orange shirt. Dropping onto his stomach he rooted around under his bed and pulled out a large plastic crate. Strewing most of its contents across the floor, he found his bike tools at the bottom of it; typical. At least he'd got the box right first time. Checking that everything was accounted for, he left the apartment and made his way back down to the bike racks. Without Kari's key, he did not have the luxury of being able to move the bike out into the open. Instead, he had to bend over the handlebars so he could undo the bolt that held the front wheel on. However, apart from the somewhat awkward positioning, it was fairly straight forward to unthread it using a spanner and socket wrench. After that, it took only a little manipulation of the frame to remove it so he could take it out and work on it. While he worked leisurely it did not take long for him to remove the tire and extract the inner tube. Pumping some air into it quickly revealed the leak. It was small and so could be repaired rather than replaced. Finding a suitable patch, he glued it over the hole and waited for it to dry a bit before rebuilding the wheel. He then pumped it up and re-attached it to the frame. Job done.

Back in the apartment, he cleaned up the mess he'd made of his bedroom and then headed for the sofa. Turning on the TV, Tai started to channel surf. His mind returning to his scant weekend bucket list. If he was going to rent a video game, then he would wait for Kari to come home so they could go to the store together, as she might very well want something too. However, as he tried to think of other things to add, his mind kept slipping back to the events of last year and the fallout from Kari and TK's breakup. Consciously remembering that his best friends were now splintered had certainly put a downer on things and clearly still played on his mind.

Kari had come down with a bad bout of flu because of her walk through the rain and so missed a whole week of school. However, she barely said a word to anyone over the entire week. Come the following Monday, Tai had woken up early to make her breakfast; thus sparing her from their mothers cooking. Afterwards, he'd purposefully walked her to school and told her he would be back to walk her home. The hope had been that at some point she would open up to him about what had happened on her date. By the time he'd arrived at his own school, he'd had the bright idea of asking Matt if TK had told him anything. It turned out to be a bad one. An icy Matt had simply told him that if he wanted to know so badly he should ask his sister. The boy's refusal to say another word to him all day had given him an early warning sign that it had not been pretty, but in no way prepared him for what was to come.

When the end of day bell had rung, Tai had bolted from his school and ran the whole way to Kari's. He'd arrived in time to encounter Davis and a few of his soccer friends, who told him Kari was still inside. A little cajoling was all it had taken to convince him into a quick game of head tennis while he waited; his reputation still preceding him. They'd played for five, maybe ten minutes before a raised voice from the other side of the playground caught his attention. He'd known the voice but never before heard it sound so angry. Turing in its direction had revealed TK following someone towards the exit; Kari. Tai had sprinted over to intercept and caught the tail end of the argument.

"Kari, you can't just walk out on me without an explanation!"

"I'm sorry, Tk. Please just leave me alone."

"You can't expect me to just drop this after you ran off on Saturday!"

Tai had watched Kari turn around and say, "please just let me go, TK," before turning back and trying to walk away. Her voice had been so full of sorrow that it had made Tai feel like he'd just been stabbed. And her words had not even been directed at him. Then came the first surge of anger. How dare TK upset his sister like that.

He looked on in horror as TK then reached out a hand and forcibly grabbed her shoulder, pulling her backwards. Hearing Kari utter the words, "TK, you're hurting me," had been the final straw.

Crossing the last few strides at full pelt he'd yelled, "GET YOUR HAND OFF MY SISTER," seized his arm and thrown the boy backwards.

Turning his attention to Kari, he'd seen the tears run down her face and had just enough time to ask her if she was ok before TK had shoved him back. Declaring that this had nothing to do with him.

"It does if you're upsetting my sister," he'd spat back, forcing himself between them.

However, TK was not to be deterred. "She ran out on me on Saturday and won't even give me a proper explanation. So either tell her to talk to me or get out of my way, Tai!"

"She doesn't have to explain anything to you if she doesn't want to. So go home, TK."

Perhaps if he had not been so angry, he might have said something different and been able to diffuse the situation Tai mused. Unfortunately, his words had served only to enrage the other boy. TK had lunged for him, leaving Tai with little choice but to kick him back or be floored. However, the sudden sound of a new voice had resulted in the shit well and truly hitting the fan.

"WHAT THE HELL, TAI!" It was Matt.

Like himself, Matt must have come to check up on his sibling and had arrived at exactly the wrong moment. There had been no more words spoken as his best friend took a swing at him. While he'd been able to dodge it, Tai had known he was now in trouble. Matt or TK by themselves he could have handled, but not both at the same time. He'd quickly found himself on the defensive as both boys came at him. Less than a minute later he'd found himself eating dirt. Only for Davis, who it transpired had watched the entire thing from distance, to leap to his rescue. The fight had become two on two and resulted in all four boys accumulating several injuries. It had only ended when they all heard Kari fall to her knees in floods of tears. Tai had immediately rushed to her side, wincing in pain as Matt had landed a kick that had cracked one of his ribs. A teacher had then come running to ensure it did not restart. TK and Davis had been marched to the principal's office, with Matt and himself told to leave immediately.

To say he had taken Kari home would not quite be accurate as it had actually been her supporting him as they walked. Back in the apartment she'd burst into tears once more and apologised for him getting hurt on her behalf. In her mind, TK had been within his rights to feel upset and that it had been her refusal to talk to him that had resulted in the four-man brawl. She'd then told him the whole story. It had been hard to listen to his sister talk with so much pain in her voice. However, afterwards, he had assured her that if she did not feel the same way about TK as he did about her, then she had done the right thing to end the relationship. That and TK should have respected her decision, instead of getting angry at her. And that he certainly should not have grabbed her like that. She'd then helped him patch up his wounds. If only something could have been done to patch up the group.

Tai pulled out his phone and checked the time. School had finished almost two hours ago yet Kari had still not come home. Even without her bike, it should only have taken her just over half an hour. He looked to see if he had any missed calls or texts; nothing. It was not like Kari to go somewhere without telling some… he paused mid-thought. That wasn't quite true anymore. Of late he could recall their mother asking him on several occasion about her whereabouts. In fact, now that he thought about it, that was not the only difference in her. For one thing, he rarely saw her out with meal times. And he was sure he'd caught a glimpse of her wearing black last week. Kari never wore black. Tai's face fell upon this sudden realisation. Had he been that busy with school work and soccer practice that he'd only recently started to notice changes in his sister? Hell, it had been her birthday two weeks ago and he'd blindly accepted it when she'd explained the lukewarm reaction to her presents as being down to having a headache. Other incidents that he'd either ignored, swallowed an odd explanation for or simply forgot about started to play through his mind. And it shocked him to realise that they stretched right back to her breakup with TK.

Tai looked at his message log, as though the sheer absence of texts from his sister confirmed his theory. Kari had changed and he'd barely noticed. Well, starting tonight that was going to change. He had an entire free weekend and he intended to use it to reconnect with his sister. Sending her a quick text asking if she was ok, Tai then scrapped his scant weekend bucket list and started again. Pizza and movies, he decided quickly. Surely even new Kari would enjoy that. That way he would have a chance to talk to her and gauge what she might like to do. Yeah. This weekend was no longer about him, it was about both of them.