Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Digimon.

Shards of Light

Chapter One

"Kids! Wake up! It's time for breakfast!"

Eight-year old Tai groggily opened his eyes, groaning in protest as he reluctantly got up from the top bunk and made his way down the ladder.

"Come on, Kari," he said, before walking away from his sister's lower bunk bed, leaving the room.

When Tai got to the kitchen, he was in awe when he didn't see any liver sticks, fungus cookies, or beef jerky shakes sitting on the table, just regular breakfast food.

At least, that's what it looked like.

"Well, this is a surprise," exclaimed Yuuko, "Usually Kari's up and ready before you are, Tai."

"Maybe she didn't hear me because she prefers whistling over talking." Tai grumbled as he sat in his chair about to eat some scrambled eggs.

"Now, Tai," Yuuko said firmly, "that's no way to talk about your sister. Now go and try to wake her up."

Tai put down his fork, "Okay, Mom, I'm sorry."

Tai reentered the room, quite unhappy because this was probably the only time he was ever going to have normal food for breakfast instead of his mother's homemade recipes he deemed as 'uneatable' and now he was going to miss it!

"Wake up, Kari!"

But she didn't move.

Tai tried nudging her awake but that didn't work either. He thought about using Kari's whistle against her to wake her up but she apparently had hidden it somewhere.

Soon, Kari's head poked out from under the bed sheets but she looked pale and weak.

Worried about his little sister, Tai forgot all about breakfast and called for their mother to see what was wrong.

"Kari just has a slight cold, Tai." Yuuko said to her son, handing him his backpack, "I gave her some medicine and all she needs now is some rest."

As Tai turned to leave the apartment, his mother said to him,

"If I'm not here when you get back, be sure to watch Kari for me, okay?"

"I will, Mom!"

…

On his way home from school, Tai contemplated on whether or not he should do as he was told earlier that morning.

I want to go and play soccer...but I can't leave Kari home alone…

Then, he had an idea.

Maybe Kari's feeling better now! thought the bushy-haired boy hopefully, If not, I'll just take her outside and watch her there while I play! A little sunshine never hurt anybody!

As Tai entered the apartment, Kari's shrill cry for help sounded in his ears. Running into the living room he gasped in horror when he saw a dark figure with his left hand covering Kari's mouth, stifling her screams while the other arm wrapped around her tiny body as she squirmed with only one free arm, desperately reaching out for her brother.

Throwing off his backpack, Tai raced towards them grabbing his sister's arm, trying to pull her loose, but the assailant's grip on the girl was too strong.

"I'll never let go! You're not taking Kari!"

Annoyed by the boy's resistance, the kidnapper kicked Tai aside, the force breaking his hold on Kari, as his head hit the side of the wall.

...

Brilliant white light blinded Tai as he slowly came to. Averting his eyes from the lights, he looked around and realized that he was not at home but instead was in the hospital.

Slowly sitting up, he turned to his right and saw his mother by his bedside.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Tai, you're awake!" Yuuko cried, gently caressing her son in a warm hug, "I'm so glad my baby's okay!"

Tai was confused.

"But, Mom, what am I doing here? Where's Kari?"

Yuuko stopped, releasing her embrace, and turned her gaze away from his.

Tai asked again.

"Where is Kari, Mom? Is she here too?"

"Tai," Yuuko began, "when I came home today, I found you lying on the floor unconscious. Your head was bleeding. After I called an ambulance, I went to check on Kari…"

She started to choke up.

Then Susumu came into the hospital room, attracting the attention of mother and son.

Yuuko got up from her seat, clinging onto the wrist of her husband.

"Did the police search the apartment?" she asked, "Did they find her?"

Susumu only hung his head solemnly.

"No…please…" Yuuko pleaded, "Kari can't be…She must be…Please tell me!"

He sighed sadly, "They found no trace of our daughter, nor the person who may have kidnapped her. The chief of police told me that they will keep looking, but with kidnappings like these, the outcome is usually not in our favor."

Yuuko broke down in tears. Hearing those words shattered the hope in her heart of finding her daughter.

"W-what have I done!" she sobbed, "It's a-all my fault!"

She had failed as a parent, a mother but ultimately, she had failed as a protector.

A few days later, Tai was released from the hospital. However, the hunt for Kari's kidnapper and Kari was quickly going cold and after three months of searching for her, the police gave her up for lost.

Life wasn't the same for the Kamiyas afterwards. Yuuko spent most of her days looking through photo albums of happier times…times of which Kari was a part of and hardly ever left her room except to cook for the family. Susumu was having difficulty in maintaining his job due to the stress of loss as well as the fear of losing his son.

But for Tai, it was something else.

One day, after coming home from school, he wandered into the bedroom that he and Kari used to share, when something caught his eye.

Kari's whistle.

Seeing the little trinket reminded Tai of when Kari first received the stringed whistle as a birthday gift from him, recalling the way she used to wake and annoy him to death with it, and how she always had it in her mouth like a pacifier as well as her own way of 'talking' to him.

He picked it up, gently holding the gray whistle as if it were made of glass.

Then, a sudden feeling came over the boy.

Clutching the whistle tightly in hands, Tai whispered,

"I promise Kari, that wherever you are...I will find you…someday…"

-To be continued…