Prologue

A/N: Hello, everyone! I know, you'd be thinking why I started a new story when I am only in the VERY early stages of my two stories LFAW and MotOS. However, this story bugged me a lot and I couldn't help but get started on it. Besides, it's almost Christmas! I wanted to write something winter themed :D

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, and all information about Ryo can be found through google. I am merely forming a story based on the Wonderswan games.

As of December 2001, it was little over a month since the Tamers defeated the D-Reaper and were separated from their partners. Shinjuku had recovered surprisingly quickly from the anomaly that wrecked a large part of the city. The children had returned to their daily lives, and all was well. Memories of the fun times they shared were fresh in their minds and each night before they slept, they would think about the Digimon, longing to be reunited once again.

As for a certain Tamer, he recalled more than just happy memories. That Tamer, was none other than Akiyama Ryo. He had experienced more than just the D-Reaper and a few hard months in the Digital World. He was not a saviour of one, but two universes. Now, he is back to being an ordinary boy but the days of being a Tamer and earlier on, a Chosen, would forever be with him…

The chilly evening air blew across Shinjuku, causing the citizens to pull their coats tighter over them. The pedestrians picked up the pace and hurried to their destinations, eager to escape the bone-chilling cold outside. The business of coffee shops bloomed as more customers stopped by to get hot drinks since It was two weeks away from Christmas and people had to leave the warmth of their homes and go out to do some shopping.

Akiyama Ryo strolled down the pavement outside the shops. He wore a brown winter jacket and orange earmuffs. The boy looked through the glass windows and seeing various discounted goods for sale. Almost all the stores were decorated with wreaths, baubles and trees, adding to the festive atmosphere that filled the air.

Ryo smiled, thinking back to the Christmas he had a couple of years ago. He'd have never thought that he would be spending the occasion alone back then. Well, he technically wasn't alone since he had his adoptive parents, but he missed his real parents. He wondered how they were doing right now. Every once in a while he would look up into the sky and think about them. It pained him to think that they had probably given up on finding him and would have to spend another Christmas without their son.

Ryo shook his head. He would give anything to go back and visit them, to let them know that he was safe. Also, he wondered how his old pal Ken was holding up. Last time they saw each other, it was after Milleniummon was defeated and Ken had become very sickly.

A pang of guilt struck Ryo. People seem to get hurt because of me, he thought sadly.

Two stores away, a door opened and two familiar faces stepped out, carrying a few paper bags. Upon seeing their happy faces, Ryo put on his smile and strode over.

Matsuda Takato was talking to Lee Jenliang, the former wore a red jacket while Lee sported a green one. Then they noticed Ryo walking towards them. Takato raised his free hand and waved. "Hello, Ryo-san!" he said while Jianliang just smiled politely.

"Hello, Takato, Jianliang. Doing Christmas shopping, are you?"

Takato nodded. "Yup, there was a sale going on so we got some chocolates." Ryo looked at the shop they just exited and saw the various chocolates displayed on the shelves. Most of them had 20% discount labels.

Ryo grinned and asked Takato. "Did you get some special ones for Kato-san?"

Takato blushed at the mention of the girl he liked. "Ah-h, yes. I did get her the ones she liked," he mumbled.

Jianiang smiled at Takato's reaction. It was quite clear that the goggle-bearing boy had feelings for his classmate. Still, Takato always went red when Juri was brought up. To save his friend the embarrassment, Jianliang asked, "What brings you out here, Ryo-san?"

The older boy shrugged. "I was bored so I came out to pass time. Maybe I'll stop by the video game store later to check out what new games they have."

Takato brightened and said, "That's great! We have the evening to ourselves as well. Why don't we go for dinner together? I know a good place."

Ryo checked his watch. It was six thirty already, but he had much time to kill anyway. "Sure, why not?"

The trio found stopped by a cafe two streets away. Takato knew the shop owner since he visited quite often last time before the D-Reaper incident. The boy rarely witnessed the shop so busy, though it was a normal occurrence during celebrations and holidays. People shuffled in and out, most bought drinks and left, others sat down and chatted merrily as they enjoyed their beverages and food.

"Oh, hello Takato. Welcome, my dear boy," the cashier and owner, Mr Hamada said with a grin. "Oi, Daigo! Get these Takato and his friends some seats!"

A young man with spiky green hair that looked about 17 walked out, wearing a waiter's uniform. He smiled and showed them to an empty table large enough for four. "It's great to see you again, Matsuda-san. You haven't visited for some time. Take your time to choose your order, I'll be back soon" He handed them menus and walked off to wait on another table.

Jianliang scanned the menu careful, looking for the food that suited his fancy and finally decided on a carbonara pasta and green tea. Ryo flipped through the pages and found his favourite Guangzhou style fried rice and carrot milk. Takato didn't even need to look at the menu. He had his usual Salmon Don with extra onions and a strawberry milkshake in mind.

After Daigo took their orders, Takato turned towards Ryo. "Hey, Ryo-san… We don't really know much about your past. What was it like, alone in the Digital World for a few months?"

Ryo leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling fan above. "Well, you could say that it was tough, but it wasn't that bad. I had a lot of experience surviving in the Digital World prior to that."

Jianliang interrupted, "Wait, you had been to the Digital World before being called into it by Monodramon?"

Ryo cocked his head. "You could say that."

"You three derps are here too?" A familiar female voice came from behind Ryo. Makino Ruki stepped towards the trio. Although her tone was sharp, she had a faint smirk on her face.

Ryo turned around and greeted her with a grin. "Ah, the Digimon Queen is here. Care to join us for dinner?"

Ruki raised an eyebrow coyly. "Well, seeing that all the other tables are taken, I have no choice but to crash your party, Mr Sunshine." She pulled out the chair next to Ryo and slid into it. She raised her hand and Daigo came over to take her order. She skimmed through the menu and selected Hamada's Signature Spicy Fried Rice along with a tropical fruit juice.

"Fried rice and juice, huh? You have good taste, just like me," Ryo commented. Ruki glared at him.

Takato hurriedly changed the subject before the two started to bicker. "So Ruki, what're doing out here? Are you shopping for Christmas as well?"

Ruki shook her head. "Gods, no. I despise shopping, especially when my mother drags me on those shop-till-you-drop outings. I just came out for a walk and happened to meet you three here for dinner."

Ryo looked slightly bemused. He knew how Ruki disliked being forced into doing girly stuff like shopping, modelling and dressing up. The girl noticed his look and raised a questioning eyebrow. He turned away quickly.

Jianliang cleared his throat and said, "Ryo-san, if you don't mind, please tell us about your past adventures."

Ruki snorted. "What's there to know? He probably just had a hell of a time beating up Digimon and loading data like I once did. That Cyberdramon was a beast."

Ryo gave her a hard look. "Ruki-chan, please you don't speculate what you have no knowledge of."

Ruki snapped at Ryo, "Well what did you do then? What happened before you beat me in the tournament and vanished? Why don't you tell us now, Mr Perfect?"

Ryo looked down at his legs and didn't answer. Takato held up his hands and tried to pacify Ruki. "Ruki, calm down. I'm sure Ryo-san has his reasons." He was stopped by Ryo who raised a palm.

"It is okay, Takato. It's time I told someone about my past." He took a deep breath. "It all started about two years ago, during that fateful Christmas day…"

A/N: This prologue is a lot shorter because the characters are already established and we needn't know more about them, Ryo aside.

The reason why I wrote this story is because I recently developed an interest in the backstory of certain side characters. Also, I noticed that many Digimon fans are unclear about the history of Ryo and how DA02 works. Most of these "plot holes" in the anime (02 especially) that we complain about are actually non-existent. My stories have the purpose of exposing readers to the details that tend to be glossed over. For example, many have at least heard of Ryo and Milleniummon but are unclear about how it is tied to the series. Also, there are so many canon Japan only CD-dramas that cover the plot points left unattended in the series. It seems that people don't know too much about them because of the lack of translations, so I intend to flesh out stories and explore those extensions from the franchise that we all love.

I got most of the information about Ryo online, and extensive digging can really produce results. If you're interested, you can visit Tv Tropes and look up the game stories to know more.

That being said, thank you for reading. Are you excited to know more about Ryo? Do you want to see more of him and read about his adventures in the Digital World? Please leave a review and tell me what you think.

Ultimateblack, signing out.