** Disclaimers: I don't own digimon. Never will. This fic was produced for entertainment purposes only, and will not be sold. Leave me alone, you vultures!

** Additional Disclaimer: I don't own the anime movie "Grave of the Fireflies" either. Just borrowing the plot-line. And no, it will not be sold.

** Author's notes: A word of warning, this is a very weird (hopefully original) tearjerker. A very sad story. Tearjerker means I am literally going to try my hardest to make you cry. Considering my amateur writing skills, whether I succeed or not is another story. This was just an experiment, to see whether I could write a dramatic short story. (BTW, this is totally unrelated to "Out of the Ashes"). Please read and see if tell me if my experiment worked or not. I would greatly appreciate it. ^_^ Now, why is this fic weird?

1. This is a Tai-Kari brother-sister fic (don't even think about incest. Get your minds out of the gutter people!! I'd never write something like that). I admit it's not totally unheard of, but it's relatively rare. S'about time someone did something like this.
2. Totally AU, completely unrelated to digimon universe, with just character names from digimon. I've seen people set their fics in medieval times (Caspian, Time Lady, sailormoonshadow, etc. etc.), in 16^th century France (Hikari Takaishi, "Heaven's Land"), and even in Ancient China (I forgot _*). Well, here's something new for you. This fic is set in World War Two, Kobe, Japan. Wrap your minds around that. That's the first I've ever seen it. ^_^
3. This fic is best described as a novelization (conversion from video format to written format) of the anime movie "Grave of the Fireflies". Of course, Tai and Kari are inserted, but if you've watched that movie, the plot is very similar. There were some major modifications to the plot though.
4. Has some Christian overtones and hints. If you're offended by that, consider yourself warned. You waive the right to flame me for the minute Christian content in this by going on.

**********

The room was almost impenetrably dark. The silence was total. A single candle flickered quietly on its stand, pushing the darkness back with its bright glow. The orange light illuminated a man's face as he hunched over the table, gleaming off his chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes. He looked to be about forty years old. His features were kindly, but somber as he gazed upon a faded, creased photograph in his hand.

The old black and white photograph was of a beautiful, eight-year-old girl, smiling a shy grin. Beauty not of youth and health, for those were fleeting things that passed away with time. She seemed to possess something special, something more…

Her brown bangs was held back by a simple hairclip, adorned with a white flower. Beside the man's hand, the same, white hairclip rested, a little faded with the ages, but still pure white. The girl was dressed in an old-style white kimono, her crimson eyes sparkled with an eternal, youthful innocence.

The man remembered that even when she was not consciously smiling, her features always conspired to make her seem that she was. Something about her eyebrows, and the shape of her mouth. She was that kind of person.

Slowly, the man put the photograph back down. Pulling a piece of paper out of a drawer, and producing a pen from his pocket, the man carefully laid the paper flat on the table. Taking the pen he began to write. The only sound in the room was the quiet scratch of pen on paper.

A casual observer would have thought the man was simply penning a letter. His jacket was draped over the back of his chair, and his tie loosened. The man was a successful writer, in his own apartment, and what he decided to do with his time was his own business. And in truth, the man was writing a letter.

But to whom…perhaps the world will never know.

The air alert sirens blared out over the small city of Kobe as panicked citizens ran every which way, looking for shelter. It was the dreaded signal for an air attack. Allied bombers were coming their way. Crying children and harried adults rushed along to the bomb shelters.

Amidst the confusion, a small boy hurriedly shouldered the emergency supply pack that his family always kept handy. Taking his younger sister's hand in his own, he prepared to bolt out the door. "Mother?! We really need to get going!"

Behind him, his mother was busy pottering around, making last minute arrangements. "Tai, go ahead. I have to look after grandmother and grandfather. I'll meet you at the bomb shelter."

The little girl holding Tai's hand hesitated. "Mother? Are you sure- "

"Yes I am! Now go!"

The boy stalled for a few moments longer, then nodded fiercely. Gripping his sister's hand tightly, he threw open the door. For a moment, the bright sunlight outside silhouetted his small frame to the occupants of the room. The shouting and confusion of the streets flooded into the home.

"And Tai…"

The boy turned back, inquisitively. The girl looked between her brother and her mother with wide eyes.

"Take care of Kari for me."

The boy flashed his mother a reassuring grin. "Don't worry mother. I promise I'll look after her." Then he was gone, bolting through the streets with the small pack of supplies on his back, and his younger sister beside him. As they ran, the air alert klaxon continued to clang in their ears. By now, the streets were all but deserted, as everyone made their way as fast as they could to the nearest bomb shelter. A few odd policemen and soldiers shouted at stragglers as they directed the remaining citizens. In the distance, Tai could hear the boom of AA guns strafing the incoming bombers, but he knew they'd never be able to cut them all down.

Finally, the boy and his sister reached a shelter. Crawling inside, they joined the scared crowd of people already occupying the cramped, but shielded room. A single, naked bulb provided illumination in the otherwise dark space. As Tai ushered his sister in before him, deeper into the shelter, he suddenly noticed the sunlight dimming rapidly. Turning, he saw two men closing the shelter door.

"Hey! My mother's still out there!"

Neither men spared the boy a glance as they tugged the door shut, and locked the deadbolt. Beside Tai, a woman tugged his sleeve. "It's too late, we have to close the door. The bombers are almost upon us."

"But my mother! And my grandparents!"

"Do you think it's fair that this entire shelter has to die because we have to wait for your mother?"

Tai was about to respond when he clamped his mouth shut. There was no arguing logic like that. The woman patted his arm comfortingly. "Maybe she'll make it to another shelter, or the bombs will miss her. She'll be fine."

But that was all the solace one person could give to another in wartime. The woman turned to others that demanded her help, with elderly, or perhaps with children. Beside Tai, Kari tugged on her older brother's sleeve. "Where's mother? I thought she was going to meet us here."

Tai didn't respond right away. Ushering his younger sister along, he finally sat down with her on the ground, hugging her close. "Mother's not joining us right now."

"But we'll see her again soon, right?"

Tai forced a smile. "Sure. And grandpa and grandma too."

Apparently satisfied with the answer, Kari settled down beside her brother. Tai allowed the smile to fade from his face as the girl looked away, replaced by a look of worry. In truth, he was scared. Very scared. He knew the truth. How else was an eleven-year-old boy supposed to react when he was about to be bombed? And what about his mother? His friends? Did they make it to a shelter in time? How much time did they have left…

Then all thought was cut off as the bombs started falling.

Kari cried out in fear as the ground trembled, and frighteningly close explosions thundered above them. More and more bombs rained down upon the city of Kobe. They were incendiary devices, designed to explode, and incinerate whatever they touched. And Kobe, constructed mainly with primitive wood buildings, caught fire like a tinder-box.

Entire blocks went up in flames as the raging fire spread across the town. The fire was so intense it created hurricane-force winds as the flames sucked air greedily, a literal firestorm. People screamed and sobbed as the shelter was rocked about. Thunderous explosions sounded above them, and showers of dirt rained down upon the people as they hid their faces.

Tai hugged his sister to his chest tightly, and bowed his head, trying to shelter the girl from the explosions. He realized it was a futile gesture, but he didn't care. Kari sobbed into her older brother's chest, crying with fright. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, and her breathing came as ragged gasps.

Then, with a shower of sparks and glass shards, the single light bulb burst, plunging the room into utter darkness…

Back then, there was no war-time aid. Red Cross? Orphanages? Never heard of them. Japan was a society in a losing war, and all resources were sent to the front-line. At first, we stuck out, hoping for father to return from his duty as a naval officer. It was a week later when we found out his ship, the Shinji, had been torpedoed and sunk. We were only two out of hundreds of kids orphaned in Kobe alone. In the whole of Japan, who knows?

One day, an exhausted Tai returned to the makeshift home, the abandoned bomb shelter he shared with his sister. It was mid-afternoon, and the boy was bone-tired from working all day in some cheap factory, but the grin he wore on his face stretched from ear to ear.

"Look Kari! I scraped together a few yen, and I bought this!" The boy waved a fruit candy container in the air as he saw his sister pop out of the shelter at the sound of someone approaching. The sunlight glinted off the metal box.

Kari squealed as she clapped her hands. "Yea! Candy!" Running up to her brother, she hugged his waist tightly.

Tai laughed as he sat down with his sister, who was almost bursting with excitement. Opening the metal box, he watched as Kari eagerly popped a couple sweets in her mouth, even as he took some himself.

It was the first treat they had had in weeks. Tai had spent the last two weeks scraping together every last yen for this. And watching his sister as she bounced up and down in excitement, he decided it was worth every last cent. "Like it?"

Kari nodded enthusiastically. "They taste like strawberr- " Suddenly, she was overcome with a coughing fit. Tai pounded on her back worriedly. "Kari? Y'all right? Did you choke or something?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I'm fine." Apparently, putting the incident behind her, she continued to chat about the day's events. How she'd found an old farmer's hat and tried it on, and how she'd caught a grasshopper in the field, but let it go afterwards. Tai frowned, but said nothing, chewing on the candy.

Several minutes later, Kari gazed sadly at the empty metal can on her lap. "We've finished them already? Gee...that was fast."

"Do you want some more?"

Kari shook her head. "Tai, I know candy costs a lot, and we can't afford it. I'll live."

Tai sighed as he heard the disappointment in his sister's voice. She was right. They simply couldn't afford anymore. In a way, he was glad his sister had such a sweet temperament. Other kids her age were liable to throw a temper tantrum. But how he wished he could give her more…

Then, a smile spread slowly across his face as inspiration struck. "Here, let me show you something."

Taking the can, he hopped nimbly down to a nearby river. Kari squealed as she ran after her brother, hopping over and around riverbed rocks. Running over green fields and a grassy riverbank, the two children were a comical sight. When she finally caught up to him, Tai was leaning over the river with the can in his hand. Dipping the can in the sparkling stream, he allowed the metal container to fill with water, mixing with the sugar leftover from the candy.

Handing the can back to Kari, he winked. "Try it."

Confused, Kari lifted the can to her lips, and took a sip. Then her face lit up. "It tastes like strawberries!" Taking another sip, she hugged her older brother. "Thanks Tai."

The boy laughed. "I thought you might like it."

It was midnight. Inside the bomb shelter, Tai sat silently in the utter darkness, a thread-bare blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The boy could not sleep. Behind him, he could hear the light breathing of his sister.

How many times had he done this? Standing a vigilant guard over his sister, knowing full-well that tomorrow would bring another day of work. It seemed he was bone-tired all the time now, and almost unbearably so by evening. And yet, his heart refused to let him sleep, refused to relinquish its incessant care for his beloved sister.

"Tai?"

Slowly, the boy turned to the sound of his sister's voice. "Kari? Aren't you supposed to be asleep? You know you need your rest when you're sick."

"But Tai…aren't the fireflies beautiful?"

Tai smiled as he cast his gaze back towards the entrance of the shelter. The fireflies were indeed beautiful. Outside the cave entrance, they could see the fiery motes dancing on the gentle night breeze, flickering this way and that. "Yes, they are."

Behind Tai, Kari shifted in her pallet, and prepared to get up. "I wonder what they look like- "

Then, she was cut off by a savage coughing fit. Putting her hand up to her mouth, she tried to stop hacking, but it was useless. Her entire body jerked as the fit racked her slim frame. Tai was at her side in an instant, pushing her back into bed. "No Kari, you're sick. You need to rest." It was true. Kari had been sick for the past couple days, coughing viciously. Tai prayed fervently that it was a simple cold that would pass.

"But the fireflies…"

"I'll go bring some in. I'll use a sheet to catch some." Tai gently stroked his sister's forehead, brushing her brown hair back. "Alright?"

The little girl reluctantly nodded. After making sure Kari was settled, Tai slowly stood up, stretched his tired frame, grabbed a thin sheet he had managed to salvage from their belongings, and exited the cave.

Once outside, he swirled the sheet around like a net, and managed to snag a couple fireflies. In the country, fireflies were common, so it was not difficult to catch them. And they were on the outskirts of Kobe, not exactly a metropolis. The bugs were trapped in the enveloping white fabric as effectively as any net. When Tai had caught enough, he returned to the cave.

Once he entered, he frowned. The walls of the shelter looked bright, as if lit by a flickering lamp. But they had never been able to afford a lamp, nor the oil required to burn it. The night had been warm, so Tai had decided against building a fire.

So what was lighting the shelter?

Then Kari giggled. "Tai, look at your hand."

Looking down, the boy almost laughed. The sheet which held the fireflies was glowing brightly, as the light filtered through the thin, white cloth. Padding over to his sister, he sat down beside the girl, holding up the makeshift bag up so they could both examine it carefully.

"It's just like a lamp." Kari breathed. The light illuminated her childish face, and lit a sparkle in her eyes. A small smile of wonder graced her pale features.

Taking a piece of coarse string, Tai tied the cloth together, and hung it from an overhanging support beam. "That it is. Y'know, for this one night, we're going to have lighting." Looking down at the round, childish face of his sister, he smiled. "Neat huh?"

Kari nodded, and laughed. It was not the usual, musical laughter that came from her, but a weak giggle, strained with her sickness. But it was laughter all the same, and to Tai, it sounded wonderful. Sitting down with his sister, Tai wrapped his blanket around her shoulders as well, sharing what little warmth the clothe offered, and together, they watched the fireflies…

The next morning, Tai awoke to the sounds of scratching, of digging. Feeling beside him, he realized that Kari was gone. Sitting up in alarm, he called out for his sister. "Kari?"

"I'm here Tai." The reply drifted from somewhere outside the shelter. Frowning, Tai got up, and padded after her. As he exited the cave, he opened his mouth to reprimand his sibling…and stopped.

Kari had scooped a small hole in the ground, and was slowly dropping in the dead bodies of the fireflies from the previous night. Fireflies did not live long. Each small corpse was gently laid into the earth, and carefully covered back up again with painstaking detail. Slowly, Tai walked over to join his morose sister.

"Kari…" he started gently. "You should be resting."

Kari stared at the ground as she continued to stir the soil around. "Tai?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do fireflies die so soon?"

The boy was struck by the simplicity of the question. Six words. Asked with the straightforwardness of a child. And yet, he found he could not answer…

"I…I don't know."

"But they're innocent! They didn't do anything wrong. God will take care of the innocent, right?"

"I'm sure of it Kari."

"Then they must be in heaven right now…"

And all the time, you got sicker and sicker. Oh Kari, you don't know the anguish I went through, watching as you faded away like a dying flower. And the worst part was, there was nothing I could do! Everyday, I fretted for something, anything to give you, even a scrap of bread, but all I had was some river water to bathe your brow. Curse the war! Curse the damned Allies and their bombers crapping all over our cities! They were the ones responsible for this…

I had to at least try…

"There's nothing I can do for her."

Tai grabbed the doctor's collar and shook him, no mean feat considering he was an eleven-year-old boy. "What do you mean there's nothing you can do?"

The doctor brushed the child off like a gnat. "What she really needs is some good food, clean water, and rest. That's my prescription, and I'm sticking with it."

Tai was incensed. "Don't you have any medicine? Something to lower her fever? Deal with the coughing?"

The doctor's reply chilled him. "There's no need to waste precious medication on something like that. Just do as I tell you, and she'll be fine. Next please," he said in a bored tone.

It took two nurses to hustle the outraged Tai out of the room. And as the boy was dragged away, the next, paying patient came in.

It was a dark night. A small fire lit up the entrance to the cave, its flickering orange light casting shadows on everything in the cave. Back in the shelter, Tai slowly removed the warm clothe from Kari's brow. Wordlessly, he washed the clothe in the basin of cool river water beside him, and wrung it out. As he was about to place the clothe back on Kari's forehead, the little girl stirred.

"Shh…" Tai whispered. "Just rest, Kari. You'll be fine…"

"Water…" the word came out as a pained croak.

Hurriedly, Tai gave her sister a sip of water, but it just seemed to dribble off down her lips. It triggered another fit of coughing, and Tai pressed a handkerchief to his sister's mouth, trying to stem the hacking. It was useless. When the fit subsided, Kari seemed drawn, her breathing laboured as she lay on the simple pallet.

"Tai?" she whispered.

"Yes?"

"Would you get me my hairclip please?"

Tai frowned in confusion, but did as he was asked. Walking over to the pitifully small pile of their worldly belongings, he searched about until he found the hairpin.

It was a simple family heirloom, one of the few things they had managed to salvage from the ruins of their home. A small, pure white flower decorated the hairclip, faded with years of use. The piece had been passed down through the generations, and didn't carry any value (or they'd have sold it), but was worth a fortune in memories…

Walking back to Kari, the boy gently placed it in the girl's brown hair. It shimmered lightly in the dark room. "Why do you want it?"

The girl smiled. A weak smile, but pure, untainted.

"I want to be beautiful for God when I see Him."

And she closed her eyes for the last time. Her chest stilled as she exhaled her last breath…

An anguished scream resounded through the country for miles around. Tai collapsed on his sister's chest, sobbing, and crying bitter, bitter tears. His salty tears stained the ragged shirt his sister wore. "Kari…Kari…" he kept whispering, numbed with anguish as his hands gripped the little girl tightly, as if in so doing, he could keep her soul from leaving her body. Now, he had truly lost everything…

An observer would've thought that the boy had taken leave of his senses.

And he would've been right.

And so it was. In some forgotten corner of Japan, an eleven-year-old boy huddled in an abandoned bomb shelter, grieving for his dead sister…

The next morning was overcast, the sky a lead gray. A cool wind whistled through the forest. A curious raven cocked his head as he perched on the branches of a tree.

A small boy slowly dragged out a large basket, and put it down on a pyre of dry wood he had built. The boy looked tired, his eyes red and puffy with crying, but his expression was resolute. As he piled hay and dry tinder around the basket, the raven hopped closer for a better look, hoping for something to eat. And as he did, the raven noticed the boy was holding something.

In the boy's hand was a small, simple hairclip, adorned with a white flower. The bird was puzzled. It had been his experience that such objects were worn by girls, and not boys. But this particular boy seemed to be clutching the hairpiece tightly, almost desperately, as if it was his last lifeline to hope.

Then the boy did something most peculiar. Striking a match, he dropped it on the tinder. Within seconds, the pyre was smoking as the fire caught hold. Stepping back, the boy collapsed on his knees as he stared at the column of smoke rising into the sky. His eyes were dry. Any tears he had had been shed already. There was simply nothing left to cry with.

The raven looked at him in confusion, then at the smouldering pyre, now beginning to burn properly. Within minutes, the bone-dry wood was blazing, and the basket collapsed in on itself as the straw caught fire. When the raven looked back, the boy was still on his knees, just…staring at the burning basket.

The bird shrugged, spread his wings and flew off. It was nothing special. A little puzzling to be sure, but it was clear that there was nothing to be gained by staying here.

He had witnessed similar scenes numerous times before…

I'll never forget your last words. "I want to be beautiful for God when I see him." Oh Kari, you remained faithful to the last, didn't you?

I remember I even considered suicide. But then, there was always your hairclip. That white clip that kept staring me in the face. And whenever I looked at it, it was if I could hear your voice, "It'll be better tomorrow, Tai. I promise."

These are questions that will never be answered. Nowadays, it seems that all the world wants to do is forget all about World War Two. Forget the atrocities committed there, and pretend none of it ever happened. History is written by the victors, but then again, is it truly history? I cannot, and will not let them forget. For if mankind forgets what happened, then history may repeat itself all over again.

The man laid down his pen as he breathed a deep sigh. In the darkness, one could not be sure, but the flickering candlelight seemed to illuminate two, glistening tracks of moisture running down the man's cheeks. And yet, he was smiling…

Taking the letter he had written, the man dangled it over the candle, watching as the edges started to blacken, curl, and finally catch on fire. Dropping the burning letter into the empty trash can, he watched as the paper was consumed by the flames.

Perhaps this way, the letter would reach his sister in heaven…

** Author's notes: Well? My first experimental try at writing drama, and I'd like some feedback. I didn't enjoy writing a sad ending (believe it or not, I'm actually a happy kind of guy). Oh, I enjoyed the technical challenge it presented, but to be honest, it was pretty painful to write. Did you know that in WW2, they literally carpet-bombed civilians? I'm talking about the Allies, not the Germans.

Perhaps this was better suited for an original fic, but I wanted to put this under "digimon" so you guys would read it ^_^. Hey, fanfiction is fun 'cause you get to break rules! And no, I don't hate Kari (quite the opposite actually). It's just that Tai and Kari were the best suited characters for this.

Don't worry, my next fic will likely have a happy ending. I want to write a romance (Takari, *rolls eyes*), but with eleven thousand digimon fics, the majority of which is romance, it's gotten to the point that no matter what I do, it'll seem stale and overdone. I really need to be inspired. Anybody got any ideas?