Morning dawned over the horizon, but Matt and the others were up well before that. Tai had insisted that his digivice got a weak reading from the others in the middle of the night and wanted to get moving. Matt was surprised at how concerned he was for his little sister.
Tai was running at a fevered pace, while Matt, T.K. and their digimon tried to keep up. Suddenly T.K. tried, landing on a sharp rock. "T.K.," Matt said, "Are you okay?"
Before he could answer Tai yelled at them. "Come on! We have to keep going!"
Matt had put up with him all morning and he couldn't take it anymore. "Tai," he said, annoyed,"If you keep running and pushing yourself, you won't be able to help Kari! I know how you feel!"
Those words made Tai realize what he was doing. "I'm treating him like he treated me!" he thought to himself. "Matt, I'm...I'm sorry."
He walked over to Tai and patted him on the back. "We'll find her. Don't worry."
As if on cue, the bushes started to rumble and shake, and a second later, Gatomon jumped out. "Tai!" she cried.
"Gatomon!" he said, running over,"Where's Kari?"
"She's coming, Sora had to carry her."
Tai felt a pain in his heart. "Why did she have to carry her?"
"She got a broken leg."
Tai hung his head low. Matt knew what was about to happen. "Here it comes."
"Its my fault," Tai said,"If I had been there, she wouldn't.."
"You don't know that, Tai," Matt said, trying to comfort him," Metalseadramon through us around like rag dolls! There was nothing you cold have done."
"I'm her brother, I should have done something."
"Tai!"
Looking up he saw the others walking towards them, Sora huffing and puffing with Kari on her back.
"Tai!" she cried again.
"Kari!" Tai said, picking his little sister up and hugging her. "What happened?"
"I got a broken leg. I'll be all right though."
"Yeah," he said,"Sora, I'll take her for now okay?"
Sora wiped the sweat of her forehead. "Sure," she panted. "Well," Izzy said,"Where are we going?"
"We have to make it up to the top of Spiral Mountain.' Tai said,"You know that!"
Kari grabed Tai's neck and hung onto him even tighter than she did with Sora. "Let's go then."
They walked for a few more hours, until Tai decided that it was time to camp out for the night. After everyone had gone to sleep, Matt and Tai were talking. "Are you okay?" he asked him.
Tai was staring at the sleeping form of his younger sister. "I was just noticing how much she looks like me."
"She acts a lot like you too!" Sora said.
"I'm sorry, did we wake you?"
"Not really," she said, stretching.
"What do you mean she acts like him?" Matt asked,"She's the complete opposite of him!"
"I mean with stuff like hiding what she's feeling at times. Earlier when Joe was examing her, I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was ready to cry, but didn't. She was obviously trying to be like you, Tai."
"Why?" Tai asked,"Why would she want to be a cold-hearted jerk like me?"
"Now you're being hard on yourself!" Sora said,"You are not a....jerk."
"Why would she want to be just like me?"
"Its obvious," Matt said,"She looks up to you. Its what younger siblings do."
"But I almost killed her."
"And she forgave you!" Sora said. She was desperately trying to get through to him.
"Okay, fine, but what about all those others time I wasn't there for her!"
"What other times?"
"I wasn't there for her birthday.. Mom said she was crying in her room for the entire party. Of course, when I got home she said she wasn't upset, but.... And the time when I was supposed to take her shopping, but I didn't, so she went with mom. She was really looking forward to that! And if I had stayed by her when Myotismon was attacking the city, she wouldn't have gotten captured!"
"Tai," Matt said,"She gave herself up to save us, just like you would have!"
"Tai," Sora said,"I was with you when you couldn't get to Kari's birthday, we were stuck in traffic, remember? And when you were supposed to take her shopping, didn't you get the Chicken Pox? Tai, you're beating yourself up over things that weren't your fault!"
Tai sniffled. "You're right. I'll..I'll be okay, get some sleep." "I have first watch, remember?" Matt said.
"Oh, right." Tai layed down next to his sister. "Kari," he wispered,"I'll be here for you now, for now on, I promise!"
THE END