Tai opened his eyes and was crest fallen to see the Odibia sky line. He rolled over and saw the others all slowly sitting up.
"What do we do now?" Mimi choked out. Tai could see her eyes were watery. Non of their digimon had come back with them. Tai saw Izzy with his face in his hands. He went over and put a hand on his back.
"It's all my fault." Izzy spoke,
"had I not found that tear, we would still be there. We'd still have our digimon." Tai squeezed Izzy's shoulder.
"It's not your fault Iz. You did great." Tai tried to comfort. He stood and opened his mouth the address Mimi,
"Meem's this isn't over-"
"yes it is." His sister cut him off and Tai saw her back was to the group.
"We need to move on. We aren't needed anymore." Tai shook his head,
"how can you say that Kar? Of course we are!" Kari shook her head.
"There's nothing more we can do." She then started walking away. Tai gritted his teeth,
"hey! Kari you can't give up! You're a digidestined! You have a duty!" He yelled but his sister ignored him and continued walking. Tai saw TK run after her and he rolled his eyes,
"TK shouldn't comfort her. She's being a coward." Tai hissed and Sora stood next to him.
"You need to ease up Tai. I think there's more to what Kari's going through. You should go after her." Sora's voice was gentle but Tai huffed,
"I think I need to go for a walk." He turned and walked away from the group. He hoped no one would follow and no one did. He felt like a failure and he didn't feel like the group was helping. He had finally made up his mind to do something, to fight and then he's told it's wrong. Tai was so frustrated he wanted to hit something. He clenched his fist and then looked into the river. He could see Agumon smiling back at him and Tai relaxed his hand.
"I've failed." Tai whispered and then he cried.
"Kari please wait!" Kari could hear TK running and knew she'd never out run him. Though she still tried to stay ahead of him. He caught up to her and pulled on her to stop. She obliged since TK was stronger but she frowned and crossed her arms as he turned her to face him. TK stared at her and sadness over took his face. Kari tried to ignore this fact but her eyes kept flashing to him. He exhaled and then wrapped his arms around her pulling her close. Kari closed her eyes and felt tears fall down her face. TK then backed up and used his thumbs to wipe her face. He rested his forehead against hers.
"You are needed. We all are. Don't think for a second you're not." He said firmly. Kari nodded not trusting herself to speak. She didn't want to cry anymore and speaking could invite more tears. He wrapped her in a hug once more and Kari welcomed it.
"What do you thinks going to happen now?" Kari asked in a whisper feeling safe with her friend. TK looked at her and cupped her face in his hands,
"this is your area of expertise. You always seem to know what comes next. So I'm asking you. Is this it? Is this the end of our adventures as digidestined?" Kari took a sharp inhale. She wasn't sure. TK slowly moved his lips to hers
"what do you think?" He whispered against her lips and Kari closed her eyes.
"Our adventure is far from over." She whispered and TK captured her lips in his own.
TK had walked Kari to her home and Kari smiled as he looked for signs of Tai.
"I think you're okay." Kari giggled. TK smirked,
"can't be too careful." He stood in front of her while her back was pressed up against the door.
"You need to rest." He informed her and Kari sighed,
"yeah..." her voice trailed off and TK moved his finger to her cheek. He made her face him and he sighed.
"I'll come over first thing in the morning. And I want you to call me tonight. Deal?" Kari nodded
"Deal." TK relaxed and stole one more glance to his left.
"I should get home." He said and Kari nodded.
"Be safe." She said and TK smirked,
"of course." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Kari's. Kari put her hands on his cheeks and held his face against hers. TK slowly pulled away,
"call me tonight." Kari nodded and TK kissed her forehead. He then stepped back and walked away. Kari frowned watching him leave. She sighed as she turned and entered her home. The house was quiet and Kari wondered what had happened to her folks. She removed her shoes and walked to the living room. She stood still taking deep breaths. The phone rang and Kari jumped at the sound. She walked over to the table and answered
"hello?"
"Oh good Kari you're awake. How are you feeling?" Her mother asked and Kari sighed,
"fine mum." She answered.
"Well your father has a big dinner tonight so we won't be home till after you and Tai go to bed. Make sure you eat what I've left in the fridge and get plenty of rest for school tomorrow." Kari nodded,
"sure mum." "And Kari? Make sure you call me if anything changes okay?" Kari nodded,
"I will."
"Alright be safe I love you." Kari sighed,
"love you too." She then hung up the phone and looked at the calendar. They had spent nearly five days in the digital world and yet no time had passed in their world. She thought about calling Izzy to tell him that. She shook the thought away thinking he probably already figured that out. Kari looked over the empty apartment. She closed her eyes and hummed. She needed to change her clothes and shower. She walked into the bathroom and turned the water on. The steam slowly filled the room and Kari sleepily got into the shower.
Tai finally made his way home. He didn't keep track of how long he had been gone but as the sky started to fade he figured it was time to go home. He opened the front door and kicked off his shoes. He prepared himself for a lecture from his parents. He was greeted with silence. Tai stood confused,
where is everyone?
He thought. He looked down and saw his sisters shoes. He frowned and figured she was sleeping already. He decided he'd take a shower and watch some TV. He went to the bathroom door and turned the knob. The knob didn't budge and Tai groaned,
"Kari are you in there?" He asked and he heard her reply.
"I'll be out in a bit." Tai shook his head,
"now would be better!" He yelled and he heard his sister shuffle on the other side of the door. "Just a minute." She called and Tai huffed,
"now kari!" He didn't need her taking hours. He then heard a thud and pressed his ear to the door, "Kari?" Kari's reply was quiet,
"just a second." She sounded out of breath. Tai jiggled the door handle,
"Kari Kamiya open the door." He heard her cough,
"one. Second." She said between coughs. Tai then got impatient and went to the kitchen. He opened the cutlery drawer and found an old knife they used whenever the bathroom door got jammed. He slammed the drawer shut and marched back to the bathroom. He then used the knife and jimmied the lock open.
"I'm coming in." Tai announced as he pushed the door open. He saw his sister sitting with her back to the wall and a towel firmly pressed to her face.
"What's going on?" He asked and Kari closed her eyes. She then slowly removed the towel and Tai saw blood pouring from her nose.
"Jesus." Tai swore and he quickly crouched down and pulled the blood soaked towel away from her. She was in her pyjama's but her top had blood down the front. He tossed the used towel to the side and grabbed a fresh one and ran it under the sink. He then handed the wet one to his sister who gently used it to clean her face. "Thanks." She mumbled and Tai shook his head.
"Let's clean you up and then we'll talk." Kari nodded and Tai moved to stand. He paused, his sister was growing up but in this moment she looked just as scared and fragile as she did when she was five. He knelt down and kissed her forehead. He then picked up the old towel and went into his room. He tossed it in his laundry basket and went to Kari's dresser and pulled a clean pyjama shirt out and went back to the bathroom. He handed over the new shirt.
"Change into this." Kari said nothing but took the shirt. Tai took the wet towel and left his sister to change and went and put that towel in the hamper. He then stopped outside the bathroom,
"you done?" He asked and he heard Kari reply,
"yes." She said softly and Tai walked in seeing her changed. He took the old shirt and tossed it out of the bathroom.
"I'll carry you to the couch." He insisted and Kari shook her head,
"I can walk." She said unconvincingly. Tai ignored her and scooped her up and carried her to the couch. He laid her down and then put a hand to her forehead.
"You're warm." He stated and he quickly went to get a cool cloth and some aspirin from the kitchen. He returned with the items and a glass of water. He placed the cloth on Kari's forehead and the tablet in her hand and the water in her other hand.
"I'm gonna go clean the bathroom." He left his sister and quickly got to work. There was quite a bit of blood, it went from the sink to the floor and Tai mindlessly cleaned it all up. He put away the bleach he used and threw away the paper towel. He flicked the light off and went to the living room. He grabbed the blanket from the other couch and draped it over his sister. He then sat on the coffee table and faced her.
"What's going on?" He asked sternly and Kari went pale.