Author's Note: I heard a funny little story today and it gave me the idea to write this little one-shot. Hope you all enjoy it!
Summary: This takes place shortly after the events of 01. Sure the Digital World's been saved, but for Tai Kamiya, the worst is about to happen. And it's all because of his little sister Kari…
Don't Ask Me!
Life in Odaiba was just starting to get back to normal. After all the events with the Digimon in the Digital World, everything was going back to a state of normalcy. And in the spirit of normalcy, eleven- year-old Tai Kamiya reached into his closet for his soccer ball. He and Sora were about to have a two-on- two at the park.
He grabbed his ball and was about to walk out, nearly tripping over their cat, Miko. But he didn't make it to his door.
"Tai?"
Tai turned around to see his little eight-year-old sister, Kari, sit up from her sickbed. She had caught another cold and was once again bedridden. Tai walked over and laid her on her back again.
"You're still sick," Tai said. "You need to rest. Go to sleep, Kari."
"But I wanted to ask you something," Kari replied. "I can't stop thinking about it. The more I try to get it off my mind, the more I think about it."
"What is it?" Tai asked.
Kari sat up again and asked the one question that no big brother ever wants to hear.
"Tai…where do babies come from?"
Tai stayed silent. A huge sweatdrop formed on his head. His jaw dropped open. He couldn't believe his little sister just asked him that question. His innocent little sister just asked him…where babies come from. He barely found out himself a few months ago and he sure didn't want innocent little Kari finding out the filthy truth.
"Tai?"
Tai shook off the shock and once again looked at his little sister. Her face was full of curiosity. He didn't know what to say. But from the look on Kari's face, he knew he had to give some kind of answer. He couldn't just leave her with that curious look on her face.
"Oh…uh…what was that, Kari? I…I don't think I…heard you…right."
"Where do babies come from?"
Tai honestly didn't know what to say. He COULD tell her the truth, but he quickly dismissed that idea. He wouldn't be doing that for…another ten years at the least. But he knew he had to do SOMETHING.
"Uh…I'll be right back."
Tai quickly ran out of his room and headed straight for the living room. He dove over the couch and grabbed the phone. He dialed the only number he could dial in such a situation.
"Hello?"
"Sora?"
"Oh hey Tai! I was just about to leave. Should we meet up at the park…?"
"Sora, forget the game! I've got a big problem! It's an emergency!"
"What's wrong?"
"How fast can you get here?!"
"I'll be over right away!"
Sora hung up the phone and Tai just slumped down off his couch. She couldn't get there fast enough for him. He needed help for this one. He knew he couldn't do this one on his own.
"Tai?"
"AAH!"
Tai turned around and saw Kari standing right by the couch in her pajamas. She still had that curious look on her face and at this point it was starting to scare Tai.
"Tai, you didn't answer my question."
Tai wished for something, ANYTHING to create a distraction. Luckily, he got it. Someone knocked at the door. Tai got up and ran to the front door. He opened it up and there he saw a very concerned eleven-year-old Sora Takenouchi.
"Tai, I'm here! What is it? What's wrong?"
Tai didn't want to say anything out loud in front of Kari. So he leaned over and whispered everything into Sora's ear. Sora's look of concern faded and it grew to a scowl. She turned around and punched Tai in the face, just like Matt liked to do on certain occasions.
"You jerk! You called me here for THAT?! Why don't you tell her yourself instead of making me do your dirty work?!"
"I thought you'd want to do me that simple favor," Tai grinned sheepishly. "I mean, you two are girls. You'd be more comfortable telling her…you know…"
"Isn't she a little young for ANYONE to be telling her…you know…"
Kari walked over to Tai and Sora. "Tai? Is something wrong?"
"Uh…nothing's wrong, Kari."
"Then can you please answer my question? Where do babies come from?"
Tai shrugged casually. "Don't ask me. Ask Sora. She knows."
Sora shot Tai a cold glare. "Tai Kamiya, I'm gonna…"
"Sora, do you know where babies come from?" Kari asked curiously.
Sora hesitated, trying to get her words together. Trying to stall for a little time, she led sick little Kari by the hand towards the couch and sat her down. Sora sat beside her and put her arm on her shoulder, like a mother would.
"Uh…Kari…um…it's like this……uh……well……um………could you hold that thought for one second?"
Sora got up and headed over to Tai. She grabbed his hand and led him to the bathroom, where they could have some privacy. She closed the door behind them, making sure that Kari wouldn't hear. Then she focused on Tai.
"I can't tell her! She's just a little girl! She shouldn't know about……you know…IT. Do you remember how YOU reacted when you found out?"
Tai thought about that…and shuddered. "Yeah. What do I do? I can't tell her!"
"Then let someone else do it," Sora smirked.
Tai smirked back. "Got someone in mind?"
Sora nodded. "Let's make a phone call."
Five minutes later, Tai and Sora were back in the living room. Kari had briefly dozed off, mostly from the fatigue that came with having a cold. But she was quickly awakened by the knocking on the front door. Tai couldn't answer the door fast enough. And there was eleven-year-old Matt Ishida.
"Am I glad to see you," Tai said in relief.
"What's the problem?" Matt asked.
"You probably have a lot of experience with this," Tai responded. "I mean, I'm guessing you've had to deal with this sort of thing with TK."
"What are you talking about?" Matt asked.
Kari walked over to Sora. "Sora, you didn't answer my question. Where do babies come from?"
Sora giggled nervously. "Don't ask me. Ask Matt. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to tell you."
Matt gasped and turned to Tai. "You called me for THAT? She's YOUR sister! Why don't YOU tell her?!"
Kari discreetly walked up to Matt. "Matt? Do you know where babies come from?"
Matt sweatdropped. "Uh…do *I* know? Uh…well…I'm sure your brother knows."
Tai chuckled nervously. "Don't ask me. Matt knows A LOT more about that than I do."
Kari tugged on Matt's sleeve. "Do you know, Matt?"
Matt looked over and saw the pleas in the eyes of Tai and Sora. "Uh…hold that thought for a second, Kari. Tai, Sora, can I see you two in the bathroom really quick?"
Matt didn't even wait before he started dragging Tai and Sora towards the bathroom. Kari just stayed standing with that curious look on her face. As soon as they reached the bathroom, Matt shut the door. When he did, he punched Tai in the face.
"What was that for?" Tai whined.
"Did I call YOU when TK asked ME that question?! Do your own dirty work, Tai!"
"I can't tell her the truth!" Tai cried. "I need a good lie! But I can't lie to Kari! I need someone else to do it for me!"
Matt raised an eyebrow. "You can't think of a lie, can you?"
Tai sweatdropped. "That might be PART of it, yeah. What'd you tell TK?"
Matt sweatdropped next. "I…might have…forgotten what I told TK."
"How could you forget ALREADY?!" Tai demanded. "It couldn't have been THAT long ago! He's only eight!"
"You think I want that memory running through my head?!" Matt shot back. "I don't want that question in my head, period! Especially if it's coming from my little brother!"
"Stop fighting!" Sora snapped. "The important thing is, there's an impressionable eight-year-old girl out there waiting for us to tell her where babies come from! What do we do?!"
"Call someone else!" Tai and Matt answered at the same time.
Sora flinched. "Ok then. What are we waiting for?"
Tai grabbed the phone and made that call. He waited patiently, but someone finally picked up.
"Hello? This is Izzy."
"Izzy! We need your help!"
"We? Who's 'we'?"
"Me, Matt, and Sora. Izzy! Kari…she just asked me…the question!"
"The question?"
"She asked me where babies come from."
"Oh…have you told her?"
"NO! I don't know what to tell her! I sure don't want to be the one to tell her…the truth. Do you remember how YOU reacted when you found out?"
Izzy gulped on the other end of the phone. "I sure can. I locked myself in my room for days. I see what you mean. I think I have a suggestion. If you don't want to be the bearer of the truth, then there are plenty of Internet websites that'll do it for you."
"Internet! Why didn't I think of that before? You're a lifesaver, Izzy! Thanks."
"You're welcome. Good luck, Tai. I don't envy your position."
"Thanks," Tai muttered dryly before hanging up the phone. But at least now he had an idea of what to do. He turned to Matt and Sora, who were waiting right next to him. "I think we've got something!"
It was all so simple. Tai stood behind Kari while Matt sat in the chair and browsed through the PC. The proper website HAD to be there and thus this difficult question would be answered easily without giving Tai any premature gray hairs.
"Where should I look?" Matt asked.
"Check some place like wherebabiescomefrom.com," Tai answered. "I'm sure that'll have everything we need."
Matt typed the URL in. "Ok, here goes…"
Matt clicked the 'Enter' key and the browser went to the site. Unfortunately…
Sora gasped. "Uh…Tai…"
Matt's eyes widened. "I don't think THAT'S quite what we're looking for."
Kari curiously walked over to the screen. "Tai, what's…?"
Tai gasped. "KARI, NO!!"
Tai immediately tackled his sister to the ground and covered her eyes.
Sora gasped again. "TAI! Don't tackle her like that, you idiot! She's sick!"
"Matt, for the love of all that's good, shut that thing off!!" Tai cried.
Matt stayed frozen and almost enraptured. "I know I should shut this off, yet…I can't take my eyes off…"
Sora smacked Matt upside the head. "Gimme that!"
Sora grabbed hold of the mouse and shut the browser off. Seeing everything was safe, Tai took his hand off his sister's eyes.
Kari coughed and looked at Tai tearfully. "Tai…I'm really sorry. Did I do something wrong? Why did you tackle me like that?"
Tai just lied on his back and groaned. "I can't believe this is happening to me! WHY ME?! Why aren't my parents here the one time I really need them?! I'm not equipped for this!"
Suddenly, someone knocked on the front door. Tai crossed his fingers and hoped it was one of his parents to end this agony. But when he answered the door, it was only eight-year-old TK Takaishi.
"Hey Tai, is Matt here?"
Tai moaned. "Come in."
TK walked in. "Matt? Dad called Mom and he said that I should come get you. Are you here?"
Matt came out along with Sora. Kari came walking out right behind them.
"Hi Kari! How are you feeling?"
"I'm getting a little better," Kari answered. "I'm a little sore since Tai tackled me, but other than that, I'm feeling better. But I'm a little curious about something and whenever I ask anybody, they get weird on me. Maybe you can help me. TK, do YOU know where babies come from?"
TK nodded. "Sure do."
Tai's jaw dropped open. He looked over at Matt, making a plea for him to stop his little brother from telling Kari the truth. But it was too late, because TK was already starting his explanation.
"It's kinda like with Digimon. Babies are born in a place like Primary Village, only humans don't know where it is. And from there, there's a big bird called a stork that takes them to the hospital. And that's where mommies and daddies get them."
Kari blinked. "That's it?"
TK nodded. "Uh huh."
Kari looked over at Tai. "What was so hard about that?"
Tai sweatdropped and chuckled nervously. "I…I…wanted to think of a better way to say it. But…TK hit the nail right on the head. Primary Village…stork…hospital. Just like that."
Kari turned to TK and smiled. "Thanks a lot, TK. That was just something I had to know."
"You're welcome, Kari. I'd better go. I'm supposed to bring Matt back to our dad. I hope you feel better."
Kari smiled and headed back to her bed. "Thank you. Good night everybody."
Tai grinned. "Good night, Kari."
TK rushed over and grabbed Matt by the hand. "Come on, Matt! It's getting late!"
TK was dragging Matt out, but Tai intercepted him by the other hand.
"THAT'S what you told him?" Tai whispered.
"Do you actually think I'm crazy enough to tell him the truth?!" Matt whispered back. "What kind of big brother do you take me for?"
TK pulled Matt's arm harder. "Come on, Matt!"
Matt followed TK out the door. "Ok, ok, I'm coming!"
Matt and TK ran out and Sora was about to follow their lead, but she made sure to stop and grab Tai by the collar.
"Tai…promise we will never go through anything like that EVER again!"
Tai sweatdropped. "I promise. Thanks, Sora."
Sora released her grip on Tai's collar. "You owe me, Tai Kamiya."
"I owe you? You didn't even DO anything! It was all TK."
Sora just shook her head. "I'm gonna go home, before I get REALLY frustrated. Good night, Tai."
Tai waved sheepishly as Sora walked out the door. He hadn't seen her get this upset since the time he threw up in her hat. But it was a small price to pay for Tai dodging a major bullet.
Being a big brother was a tough job.
THE END
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