DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon in any way, shape, or form. If I did, a lot of things would have happened that didn't. I also don't own Iron Man or Marvel. That would be Disney.

A (Mostly) Harmless Night Out

Mei looked out the window at the rain coming down. She kind of liked days like this. It was The middle of June, so it was warm enough that some people were just draping their raincoats over their heads like makeshift umbrellas. It was raining softly enough that it didn't bum her out to look outside, but still hard enough that she didn't want to go outside too badly. She was shaken from her trance by the sound of the bell above the bakery door. She already knew who had entered the store from the sound of large claws clicking against the floor.

"Hey, Takato," Mei said as she walked back to the counter. Standing a few feet from the door was her son, Takato Matsuki, accompanied by a large, red, reptilian creature with a black hazard symbol on its chest.

"Hey, Mom, settle something for us quick. Who's a American actor? Robert Downey Jr. or Zach Galifinakis?" The red-eyed teen asked.

"Hmm, I'm gonna go with Robert."

"I told you, Guilmon!"

"Damn!" The red dinosaur's bat wing-like ears drooped, and he looked downward sadly.

"Aw, cheer up, Guilmon! Here, I have some bread I dropped a little bit ago. You want it?" Mei asked.

"Yay! Fresh bread!" Guilmon ran past Takato and his mother, right into the kitchen. Mei chuckled. She couldn't believe it had been over four years since she had first met her son's Digimon partner. Four years since Takato saved the world. He's grown up a lot since then, she thought, looking at her son proudly. Then she noticed a dark mark on his cheek.

"What's on your cheek, Takato?"

"Huh?" Takato brought his hand to his cheek, touched the mark, and looked at his hand. "Oh, it's just some mud. There was a bio-emergence in the park when I was walking home. I must've gotten some slung on my face somehow. I'll go wash it off quick."

"Okay. When you're done, can you wash the tray I dropped?"

"Sure, Mom!" Takato said. As he walked toward the stairs to the apartment above, Takato's mother saw that the back of his blue, short sleeved hoodie, along with a good half of his gray jeans, were now mud brown. She felt her eye twitch slightly.

"You should probably change your clothes, too, Takato!"

"What? Why?"

"I think you did a little more than get hit with mud!" Takato looked back at his mother with a confused expression. He took off his sweatshirt and looked at the back of it. Suddenly, he understood.

"Is my t-shirt okay?" Takato asked, pointing at the back of his black tee with his thumb.

"Looks okay to me," Mei replied.

Good, thought Takato. This is my only good shirt, and she'd never let me live it down if I showed up in the tattered garage rag.

Meanwhile, not far away, Rumiko was enjoying a cup of tea on her porch. This is nice. It's been a long time since I took a whole day to relax. Rumiko was a famous and successful model, but she had only started considering herself a success about four years ago, when she and her daughter had started to get close. She sighed contently. She was right. I have been working myself into the ground. I should listen to her more often. As she took another sip of her tea, she heard a set of footsteps running toward the house. Then, she heard the front gate open, then close, followed by the front door.

"Hey, Mom, We're home!"

"I'm out here, sweetie!" The door opened, revealing Rumiko's daughter, Rika, and her partner, a bipedal, yellow fox-like creature known as Renamon. Rumiko gave her daughter a strange look. It was a combination of confusion, amusement, and 1,00 thoughts a second. The reason she gave her this look was because Rika and Renamon were almost completely covered in mud. "Rika," Rumiko said seriously. "Did you get a spa treatment without me?" Suddenly, her face changed from serious to a demented, lewd grin. "Or did you have a little fun with someone in the park?" Rika knew what she was implying, and blushed. Luckily, there was mud on her cheeks, and she was a gifted actress.

"There was a bio-emergence in the park," she explained. "I'd be surprised if anyone went home without mud all over them!" Rumiko laughed, and soon, Rika started laughing, too. I'm so glad Mom and I can laugh at things like this together. I've always focused on our differences so much, I never thought about what we had in common. Rika thought once she'd finished laughing. "I should probably take a shower."

"Why, do you have a hot date tonight or something?"

"Shut up." Rumiko gasped, but because her daughter had just told her to shut up.

"You do! I want to know everything!"

"Not now, Mom," Rika groaned as she walked towards the bathroom. Her mother knew all of her friends, so now she was playing the "guessing game."

"Is it Henry?"

"No."

"Is it Kazu?"

"Hell no!"

Is it Kenta?"

"F**k no!"

"Is it Ryo?"

"Oh, dear God, no! He's a complete f**king a**hole, and you know it!"

"Okay, okay... Is it Jeri?" At this point, Rika turned around and gave her mother an extremely confused look. "I won't judge you, Rika. I love you, no matter what."

"No, Mom, it's not Jeri. You know I like boys."

"Well, sweetie, everyone experiments in life, so I just figured-"

"LALALALALA, I'm not gonna hear this!" Rumiko smiled. Even if they were friends, she was still Rika's mother. Rika walked into the bathroom connected to her bedroom. Rumiko sat on the futon sofa in front of the tv Rika had for her gaming consoles, and looked around the room for any clues. There were bookshelves, a desk with a computer on it that Rika's friend, Henry, had built by hand for her birthday last March. Rumiko knew that Henry was thinking about being a computer engineer or a programmer in the future.

He definitely has the talent for either, she thought. Henry had also written the operating system and most of the programs on the computer, as well as computers he had given to all of his friends.

Then she saw it. The piece of evidence that put all of the pieces together. It was a sketch book, but that's not what caught her attention. What did catch her attention was that it was open to a page with Rika and Renamon standing on either side of their bio-merged form, Sakuyamon.

I hope to God she doesn't figure it out, Rika thought as she finished putting on a clean shirt. Ever since her thirteenth birthday, she's always kept a spare change of clothes in her towel cupboard. She didn't want anyone she had over catching a perverted glimpse of her. Because then she would have to kill them. She didn't want to have to do that. She really liked her friends.

As soon as Rika opened the door, "It's Takato, isn't it?!" She wasn't expecting her mother to yell that excitedly while holding a sketch book.

Where did she get that?! Rika thought frantically. Don't freak out, just make something up! "Oh, Takato brought that over the last time he was here, and he forgot it. I was going to return it on my way to the movies." Rumiko hung her head and sighed in defeat. Huh. Maybe I should be an actress! Rika thought, pleased with her performance.

"Can you please just tell me who it is, Rika?" Rumiko pleaded.

"Okay, I'll tell you."

"Really?!"

"After I get home tonight." Rumiko growled in frustration. Suddenly, she positioned herself between her daughter and the door.

"Well you are not going out wearing that!" Rika was confused. She considered her outfit. She was wearing a yellow tank top with a yin-yang on it that showed her midriff a little, as well as a pair of dark blue jeans and her usual olive-green fabric belt, a pair of red tennis shoes, and a light leather jacket. She wore this outfit all the time, and never heard anything until now.

"What's wrong with it?" Rika asked.

"It's raining out! Leather gets destressed when it gets wet, and hardens when it dries!" Rumiko explained, grabbing Rika's favorite purple casual jacket.

"Thanks, Mom! Let's go, Renamon." At this, Renamon, who had been completely silent as of yet, said, "We won't be out too late."

"Renamon, 'too late' doesn't really apply to Rika anymore," Rumiko said amusedly.

As she was walking toward the mall, Rika thought about what her mother had said. I did the right thing by not telling her, she thought. The last thing I need is for her to relapse into her whole 'Awwww, you to make such a cute couple!' crap again.

"Rika?"

"Hm? What's up, Renamon?"

"Is something bugging you? You've been staring into space for a while now."

"Really? What street are we crossing?"

"Lotus Blossom Boulevard."

"I guess I'm just wondering why this is such a big deal for my mom."

"Maybe she has money on it."

"Renamon, I'm serious."

"So am I, Rika. A little less serious, perhaps, but serious nonetheless." Rika smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I'm starting to think I shouldn't let you hang out with Guilmon and Terriermon anymore."

"And how would you stop me?"

"Do the words 'Digi Modify' mean anything to you?" Rika quickly pulled out a card she knew Renamon hated.

"You promised you wouldn't use that card again!"

"You promised you wouldn't shake when you're wet like a dog anymore, but you still do it!"

"It's instinct! I'm trying to stop, but it's a difficult process!"

Rika laughed. She had noticed Renamon had a lot of canine-like habits. More so in the real world than the digital world. Henry's dad and his friends in the Monster Makers theorized that Digimon adapted to the real world in a way that caused their instincts to be stronger here. Maybe Guilmon acts like an actual dinosaur. Or maybe he doesn't have any instincts at all. No, that can't be, he fights almost purely on instinct. What the hell is Terriermon supposed to be, for that matter? Rika was so absorbed in her thoughts, she almost walked straight into the side of the Shinjuku mall.

"Rika!"

"Huh?! What is it Renamon?"

"You spaced out again! You almost walked into a glass wall!"

Sure enough, they weren't two feet from the floor-to-ceiling window just left of the doors.

"Oh. Sorry, Renamon. I just keep getting caught up in my thoughts today."

"It's okay, Rika. But if you're going to be early, now's the time to walk in, because-"

"Let me guess, the last person in any world I want to see is walking over."

"Mm-hm."

With that, Renamon vanished. Rika opened the door and rushed in. Before she rushed toward the cineplex, she heard the voice of one Ryo Akiyama yelling, "Rika, wait up-!"

"Takato, you never told me what I'm supposed to do while you're at the movies?"

"I don't know! Just... Don't go too far, in case there's an emergency."

"Okay, Takato." Guilmon turned to walk away, but instead walked straight into another Digimon. Guilmon looked up to see a humanoid, dragon like being approximately twice his size with four wings, a visor covering most of its face, and many cybernetic attachments. "Oh, sorry, Cyberdramon!"

"Grrrrrrrrrr!" Cyberdramon replied. Takato and Guilmon both knew Cyberdramon wasn't a big talker, but normally, the draconic cyborg at least nodded in greeting.

"Hey, Takato!" Yelled a much more friendly voice. Takato knew it belonged to Cyberdramon's tamer, Ryo Akiyama. Sure enough, another brown haired teen ran in their direction.

"Hey, Ryo. What's up? Haven't seen you around much lately," said Takato nonchalantly. Probably because Rika dumped your ass a month ago. As much as Takato didn't want to, he thought back to the two weeks that Ryo and Rika were going out. He knew the reasons why Rika dumped him. God knows she'd told him enough times.

(Flashback)

"First off, he didn't give me any respect! He always implied that just because he was one rank above me, he's better at everything!"

"Rika, I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you're making it sound-"

"HE STOLE ALMOST HALF OF MY CARDS! YOU THINK THAT'S NOT SO BAD?!"

"I'm sorry, Rika! You know I'm not trying to-"

"OH, YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO MAKE THAT JERK LOOK LIKE A F**KING BOYSCOUT?!"

"Talk about a foot-in-mouth moment... I'm sorry, Rika."

"... I'm... I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't take it out on you... Especially not when you're just trying to help..."

"It's okay. I know you're angry at Ryo and not me, but that's why I'm here. Think of me as some kind of outlet for your anger. I'd never forgive myself if I let you go through what I did... You remember, don't you?"

"Yeah... But... I don't want to hurt you, Takato... You're my best friend, outside of Renamon..."

"Then we need to find you a creative outlet of some sort... Like stamp collecting!"

"Pfffhahaha! You're such a nerd."

(End flashback)

"Yeah, I've been pretty busy with nationals and worlds qualifications lately," Ryo replied. (A/N: No he hasn't. He's been trying to keep the tabloids from finding out about the break-up and eating ice cream every night since.)

"Huh. Cool. Great for you, man," Takato said, unconvinced.

"Hey, did Rika run by here earlier? I wanted to talk to her."

"'Bout what?"

"Getting back together." Ryo didn't realize it, but he was wandering into dangerous territory.

"Why do you want her back?"

"It's good for publicity! Besides, people think we're just going through a rough patch, so a recovered relationship'll make us superstars!"

"And what makes you think she'd want that, Ryo?" Takato asked more coldly than he'd intended. Which is very.

"W-what? Come on, Takato, you know Rika and I are perfect-"

"For you! Perfect for you! Not her! But you never cared about her anyway, did you?! Do you even realize half the sh*t she put up with while she was with you?! All she did was give and give and give, but you didn't even so much as return a FRACTION the affection you were given! She dumped you because she couldn't take your crap anymore, Ryo! Wake the hell up!"

Ryo didn't know how to respond to Takato's outburst. He knew how dangerous Takato's anger could be. Everyone, including Takato himself, had told Ryo all about the Megidramon incident many times. The thought alone of Guilmon becoming an enormous monster of pure rage scared him. "... Wow..." He finally uttered in response.

After Takato had managed to cool his head a little, he said, "If fame is the only reason you want to be with Rika, then you sure as hell don't deserve her. C'mon Guilmon." With that, Takato turned and started walking.

"Bye, Cyberdramon! See ya later!" Guilmon said warmly. He then turned to Ryo, and his whole demeanor changed. The only farewell the Digimon King received was an icy, "Ryo." Guilmon caught up to his tamer, and both left without another word.

Rika looked at her phone. The time was 5:27 in the afternoon. "Maybe he's not coming," Rika said. "We should probably just leave."

"Woah woah woah! It's not even 5:30 yet. Besides, the movie doesn't start until 5:45," announced Renamon, who was wearing a rather nice satchel bag she had gotten at a store on the way in.

"Maybe he changed his mind, or got nervous or-"

Renamon chuckled. "Sounds to me that you're the nervous one, Rika."

"I just..." Rika sighed. "I don't know if I can handle this, Renamon."

"Rika, look at me. I'm a bipedal, yellow, four-foot-six talking fox wearing purple fingerless gloves and a satchel. If you can look at me with a straight face, there's nothing you can't handle from Takato. Don't you say a word or I'll slap you with this bag." Over the years, Renamon had come to understand dirty jokes, and could tell when Rika was going to make one. She'd found that they came more often in her teenage years, and even more when Takato was involved in any way. Teenagers... Renamon's mental sigh was met with the voice of none other than Takato Matsuki.

"Hey, Rika! Sorry I'm late," apologized the red-eyed tamer.

"Actually, you're about a minute early," Renamon chimed.

"Huh. I thought you telling Ryo off like you did took a lot longer," Guilmon blurted. Rika's expression changed from pleasant to confused and apprehensive as she switched her focus from Guilmon to Takato.

Great, now she's thinking I did something stupid to impress her... Takato thought, afraid of what she might do or say. "I-I just told him that he didn't deserve you after what he did. And he was gonna try to get you back just for the fame, so I told him to leave you alone," he amended. "Okay, feel free to punch me now."

"Why would I want to punch you? All you did was tell him to back off, right?"

"Well, I... May have done it with more hostility than I led you to believe."

"As long as you didn't tell him you were meeting up with me, I don't care. I still think it was sweet of you," Rika stated as she unconsciously laced her fingers into his. 'Sweet of you?!' What the hell did I say that for?! Now he'll think I'm falling for him! Well, maybe I am... But he doesn't need to know that!

"Uh, Rika?" Takato's words quickly snapped Rika back to reality.

"Y-yeah?"

"Can you let go of my hand? I've got my ticket in that pocket."

"Oh! S-sorry! I didn't even notice I was-" Rika quickly let go of Takato's hand as she stammered. Oh, God! What's happening to me?!

"It's okay if you want to hold my hand, Rika. This is a date, isn't it?"

"I don't know why, but... I'm just kind of... Nervous, I guess..."

"Just act like we're just hanging out. Shouldn't be too hard, 'cause that's really all we're doing."

"Okay... You're still paying for popcorn and dinner, though, right?"

"N-now hold on! Are you sure you don't want to commit more to the bit?" After a moment, they both burst out laughing. They gave the ticket guy their tickets, and walked into the theater. The mall cineplex always showed an older movie that had just left most other theaters for about half price. This week, the movie was Iron Man 2. Takato, of course, had already seen it with Henry, Kazu, and Kenta when it was new in theaters. Rika, on the other hand, had been busy with a big project for school, and hadn't seen it with them.

"So is this one as good as the original? Better? Worse?"

"Depends on who you ask."

"Well, I'm asking you."

"Henry and I liked it, but Kazu and Kenta were too busy arguing over who between them would be Iron Man."

"They're both idiots. Clearly, you're Iron Man. Henry's War Machine."

"And you're Pepper."

"Please, I'm clearly more like Black Widow."

"Okay, you're Pepper Potts with a vajra staff and a tazer."

"I don't need a tazer. In the Marvel comics, Pepper got her own armor and adopted the alias of 'Rescue,'" Rika's reply caught Takato off-guard. Not that he didn't know the information, as he had a respectable collection of Marvel comics, most given to him from his father, but the fact that Rika knew all of this information. He wanted to tell her how impressed he was with her knowledge, or ask her how she knew that, but instead, all that came out of his mouth was:

"That is so hot..."

"Oh, what? Now I have to put on a suit of armor to get your attention?"

"N-n-no! I-I meant, I was impressed with how much you know about Marvel comics! That's all!"

"So you don't think I'm hot?"

"No! You're very hot! I-I mean- grargh! Why is it I can't keep my foot out of my mouth?!" Takato's bumbling caused Rika to start laughing. "You knew what I meant all along, didn't you?"

"Hahahahahahaha! Yeah, I did."

"Then why did you let me blather on like an idiot?"

"Because... It's kind of cute when you blather on like an idiot..." 'Cute?!' There I go again! Why don't I just announce it to the whole theater? Damn! She saw Takato's face turn bright red as the lights dimmed for the movie. "Finally."

"I know. Hopefully I'll be able to catch the other half of the dialogue this time." The movie played, and for a while, the two teenagers stayed quiet. Suddenly, during a slower part of the movie, Rika leaned a little closer to Takato.

"Hey, Takato," she whispered.

Takato turned his head, and responded with a quiet "Wha-!" Before a single word could finish passing his lips, Rika had engaged Takato with a light kiss.

That proves it, she thought as she broke away. I'm definitely in love with him. Now let's see how he'll react...

Takato was completely stunned. He couldn't even break her gaze once her violet eyes met his red ones. She... Kissed me... He thought. Soon, his mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts. OhmyGodthisisthesinglegreatestdayofmylifeIswearevenmyparentscouldwalkinandseeustogetherandIwouldn'tcare! Soon, he calmed his mind, and forced himself to look up at the screen just in time to see Whiplash cut Tony's race car in half. Takato yawned and stretched his arms.

Is he going for that clichéd fake-stretch move? Rika wondered. Instead, he gently put his hand on top of hers. Subtle, but still effective. She thought.

The pair whispered a comedic commentary of the movie until after the post-credits scene. After the movie was over, they went to a restaurant in the mall which was owned by a family friend of the Matsukis. "So how do you know the guy who owns this place?" Rika asked while they waited to be seated.

"He and my dad have known each other since grade school," Takato explained. "He also had a part-time job in the bakery back when my grandparents ran it." The hostess seated them in a booth, and took their drink orders while apologizing for how busy it was. About a minute later, their drinks were brought to them by a middle-aged man of average height with black hair that was turning gray at the roots, a neatly trimmed goatee, and a round face to match his round body shape. He was also smiling from ear to ear. Rika noticed that, though his hair was graying, he looked youthful overall. The man clapped a hand on Takato's shoulder.

"Takato! It's good to see ya, kid!" He exclaimed happily. Rika noticed that even his voice had a bounding youthfulness to it. Almost like Santa Claus, but without the "ho ho ho." "How's your parents? Business doin' well?"

"They're doing great, and so is business. In fact, Dad's been talking about hiring some help for the summer!"

"That's fantastic! So who's yer friend? Ya tryin' ta muscle me outta the loop?" Rika noticed how similar his accent was to Impmon's, especially when he started trying to push Takato's buttons.

"Oh, right. Rika, this is Hideki Jesuto. Hideki, Rika Nonaka."

"Nice to meet ya, Rika!" Hideki said, reaching toward Rika for a handshake.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Jesuto," Rika replied, shaking his hand.

"Ah, you can call me Hideki! So what can I get you two?"

"I'll take a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and a pickle on the side," Takato stated.

"Matsuki Club, got it. And for you, Rika?"

"I'll have a bacon cheeseburger with everything and a double order of fries," Rika said. Both Hideki and Takato stared at her. "My mom just got back from Paris, and she brought a ton of French food home. I avoided eating all day just to get away from the frog legs and escargot! I'm starving!"

Hideki laughed, "And a Starvin' Farmer Supreme with double the Potata Surrenderin' Sticks for the lady!" Hideki walked back towards the kitchen, still chuckling to himself. Takato's jaw was still hanging open, so Rika reached over slowly, and pushed it shut.

"You'd think you just saw a miracle the way you're staring."

"O-oh! Sorry, it's just... You usually eat lighter than that when we go to restaurants," explained Takato. She knew he was trying to keep from being misunderstood again.

"That's because we're usually with at least one of the others when we eat together. Since it's just you, I can order as much as I want without getting self-conscious. Besides, like I said, I'm starving."

They started just casually chatting after that about the new Digimon card sets coming out soon, getting their motorcyclist's licenses, their favorite shows, and the bio-emergence earlier that day. Once their food came, however, all conversation ceased until both of them had completely cleaned their plates. Hideki handed Takato the check, and Takato mumbled, "¥4500... Damn, you're expensive!" Rika just smiled in reply. "You're lucky I like you so much."

"Oh, I think your feelings for me are a little stronger than that, Lover-boy!" Takato started sputtering, and he turned almost as red as Guilmon. It had been years since she had called him that, and, of course, this time it really threw him off, because she was entirely right.

As Takato slipped ¥5500 into the check tray, he regained his composure, and said, "So maybe they are. But cut me some slack. After all, you are my dream-girl!" Rika nearly spit out her cola upon hearing this. Now she was the one turning bright red. Upon seeing her blushing madly, Takato couldn't help but snicker. It took a lot to make Rika lose her composure like that, but he knew how to do it quickly with minimal effort.

Almost five years and he still remembers that dream?! "You really can't let go of the past, can you, Gogglehead?" Rika asked as soon as she had calmed down.

"Neither can you, it seems," Takato retorted, after hearing Rika's nickname for him. At first, she used it as a derogatory label of him, but now, she used it almost affectionately.

Rika smiled and sighed. "I guess some things just don't change."

"Guess not!"

They both got up to leave when both of their digivices started beeping wildly. They looked at each other seriously. "Bio-emergence," they said in perfect sync. Takato started smiling like an idiot, which caused Rika to grin amusedly. Takato slammed the check on the front counter before he and Rika ran out the door.

Before they got too far away, Takato looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Keep the change!"

"How big does it look?"

"Human-size, max. Is Guilmon in position?"

"Uh... Yeah! I'm getting something! WereGarurumon. Damn!"

"One from the show?"

"Fan favorite! And there's not enough room in here for Guilmon to matrix digivolve!"

"Renamon!" The vulpine warrior materialized next to her partner.

"I'm ready!" Takato pulled his blue lensed, yellow framed goggles out of his pocket, and put them on. Rika pulled out a pair of silver rimmed, purple tinted sunglasses, and put them on. Then, all three ran into a large, fog-like phenomenon in the middle of an intersection of the building. Once inside, Rika removed her glasses, and Takato moved his goggles to his forehead. What they saw was four figures. One blue werewolf like being wearing a shoulder guard on its left shoulder and tattered jeans. Or were they leather? The werewolf was fending off the attacks of Guilmon and a humanoid dragon cyborg they recognized as Cyberdramon.

"Ryo! Cyberdramon! Hold him off for about ten seconds!" Takato shouted.

"Roger!" Ryo shouted back.

"I can probably get you twelve!" Quipped Cyberdramon. Rika was amazed at how well Takato and Ryo could still work together so well after Takato being furious with Ryo just a few hours earlier.

I suppose that's what it means to be part of a team. Rika quickly pulled out a blue card and swiped it through her digivice. "Digi Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!" As she said those words, Renamon was engulfed in blue and gold energy. When she emerged a second later, she had digivloved into her ultimate form, Taomon. Rika was never really sure if saying "Digi Modify" or the card's name followed by "activate" was necessary, but now wasn't the time to test i

"Biomerge, activate!" Takato exclaimed. Soon, both he and Guilmon were engulfed in red energy.

"Guilmon biomerge to..." Takato felt power surging through him as he and Guilmon fused into their mega form...

"Gallantmon!" Soon, the shaman, Taomon, and the white knight, Gallantmon, joined the fight against WereGarurumon. They fought hard, but WereGarurumon was just too fast. None of them could land an attack. "Oof!" WereGarurumon kicked Gallantmon in the chest, using the hazard symbol as a target.

"Alright, wise guy, let's see you do it again!" Takato yelled in his bio-sphere of orange energy.

"Okay then!" Retorted WereGarurumon as he rushed toward Gallantmon.

Jackpot!

"Takato, what're you-"

"Shhh, Ryo! This is gonna be good!" Just before WereGarurumon made contact, Gallantmon vanished leaving only his crimson cape, which WereGarurumon got tangled up in.

Gallantmon reappeared overhead. "Lightning Joust!" He cried. His Gram lance began to glow blue. He thrust it at WereGarurumon, and a blast of blue lightning made contact, causing WereGarurumon to burst into data.

"Looks like you're finally taking a page from my book, Gogglehead," Rika mused as Gallantmon de-bio merged back into Takato and Guilmon. Takato walked over to her, and gave her a high-five.

"What do you mean? It's my favorite book!" He replied. Ryo, who had been silent until now, started putting pieces together when Takato and Rika started laughing. He noticed that hers was a genuine laugh, but it had a flirtatious undertone. He thought back to when he first saw Rika run into the mall after Renamon had noticed him and Cyberdramon. He also thought back to Takato's speech earlier that day.

(Flashback)

"If fame is the only reason you want to be with Rika, then you sure as hell don't deserve her."

(End of flashback)

"Oh my God," Ryo finally managed to utter. "You two are... But how's that... Since when?!"

"Officially?" Rika pondered. "This is our first time out together. Unofficially? Since you and I broke up."

"What makes him any better than me?!" Ryo demanded.

"Well, for starters, he treats me with the respect I deserve! Unlike you, you selfish, little douche!" Rika spat.

"Don't you talk to me like that! I'm still the Digimon King!"

"Oh, whoop-de-freakin'-do! Congratulations! You wasted your life playing a kids' card game! Good for you!"

"You're no better, my queen!"

"Don't you ever call me that again!"

"What're you gonna do about it, b*tch?!" When Takato heard what Ryo called Rika, he snapped. He slammed ran between them, making one last effort to quell the fight before he exploded.

"Okay, let's all just calm down, and get through this like adults," Takato said, hiding his rage aimed at Ryo. Rika took a deep breath, and unclenched her fists. Ryo, too, lowered his arms. Ryo turned around, and took a step. When Takato put his arms down, however, he turned around and punched him in the face.

"Takato!" Rika gasped as her date was knocked backwards by the blow.

"... That's it. I'm done playing the nice guy!" Takato yelled, launching himself at his assailant. He led with a left-handed jab aimed right at Ryo's nose. Ryo blocked, but Takato just kept trying to land a hard blow.

No way! Where'd he learn to fight like this?! Ryo thought still blocking each attack. "You can't do this!" He cried. "I'm the Digimon King!"

"Then consider this a coup." Takato slapped Ryo hard enough to leave a mark for a good two hours. Ryo stood there, stunned, as he finally realized what he was doing.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, falling to his knees. "Takato... Rika... I'm so sorry..."

Takato looked down at Ryo, and made either the kindest or the stupidest decision of his life. He reached down, offering Ryo a hand up. When Ryo looked up at Takato, the goggle headed teen smiled brightly. "We've all done something terrible in our lives, Ryo," Takato stated. "The only way to really get past it is to learn from it, and use it to make you a better person." Ryo was stunned. This guy could've killed me if he wanted... He realized. Looks like I could learn a thing or two from him... Ryo grinned, and took Takato's hand. The younger helped the older teen up, and they shook hands. "Rika," Ryo started. "I really am sorry. For everything. If you want, I'll leave, and you'll never hear from me again."

"You really don't get the concept of being on a team, do you?" Rika jested.

"Huh?"

"We all have to stick together! Sure, there'll be tough times, but that's what friends are for, right?" Guilmon answered.

"Yeah! No man or mon left behind!" chirped a small, white Digimon that had jumped into Rika's arms.

"Calumon? When'd you get here? Takato asked.

"There are some questions we'll never know the answers to, and that's the biggest one," Renamon quipped. "Although, there's one question I've been dying to ask all day."

"What's that, Renamon?" Rika asked. Her partner suddenly smiled deviously, and looked directly at her and Takato.

"So when's the wedding?" It was about three hours before Takato's and Rika's faces returned to their normal colors.