Here you have a little ShadAri lore ~
With Shadow and Kari's relationship, I wanted to explore relationships that take time to develop (Because not everything have to be love at first sight, you know?)
So, their relationship took a lot of time and work.

Their relationship is divided into three phases: The first is when they first met.
Being both immature, their personalities collided a lot.
For Kari, Shadow became someone to beat, because, without wanting to admit it, she sees him as a strong opponent (+)

and would make her feel like a worthy warrior if she were to defeat him (And to hit him in his pride XD)
Shadow on the other hand, just saw her as a nuisance, hating having to endure Kari's somewhat childish attitudes.
Also, working as a team was not a good option for them.

The second is that it takes place on their way to adulthood.(Here they are 17 and 18 years old with Shadow being the oldest) The biggest change here is Kari. She had to mature a lot in order to control her ice power (+)

(since it is not magic, it is something that she carries inside her and is influenced by her emotions) Here, she openly admits that she was jealous of Shadow, and that she wanted to be like him, as she saw in him someone brave, strong, and unafraid of anything.

things that she lacked. She begins to treat him as a friend, and not simply as someone she must defeat.Shadow, begins to enjoy the company of the cat, helping her in her trainings.
They start to work well as a team, and there is more communication between them

This is when both begin to feel attraction for each other, (Shadow, even confusing his "symptoms" with an illness, since he had never felt something like this for someone)
starting to act nervous when they are next to each other

In the end, both end up saying how they feel about each other, but, something stands between them.
And it is duty.
Kari, must return to her hometown to return an invaluable gem ... since although her home no longer exists, she feels the need to return it to where it belongs

This forces them to separate form each other, with the promise that she will return to him and the rest of Team Dark. Both now take separate paths (which aids in the growth of both)
I did this, more than anything, to prevent Shadow from being the center of Kari's world

and so that she also has goals that don't involve him.
Along the way, Kari meets new people, new places ... which helps her finish her training and thus fully dominate her power, and become the warrior she always aspired to be.

Later, she joins the G.U.N academy, a training place for new recruits, since her desire to protect others and to be a guardian never went away, and this is the closest she has to it. In this looong time, she only has communication with Shadow and Rouge through letters

It has been 5 years since she left, to finally return as promised and reunite with Shadow, to finally start a relationship with him.
Kari loves Shadow, but her dreams and goals were just as important, and for me, it is important to emphasize that (+)

a relationship should not take you away from what you want to do and keep you awain from your dreams.
Likewise, they needed to grow, learn from each other, and support each other during that growth so that they were both better with themselves and with each other.

Love takes time and dedication, in addition to respect and care. You don't need to be with the person you love 24/7 and there are many ways to show love to someone.
And I hope I can deliver that message with this silly ship of mine

Thanks for comming to my Ted talk (?)
Also, thanks if you read all this X'DDDU