A/N: Challenges:

Diversity Writing Challenge, c9 - write a letter
The Becoming the Tamer King Challenge, Sheer Valley (wild encounter)
Valentines to White's Day Advent (2016), day 14 - include a love letter/love poem/something along those lines (granted, unconventional but do you see Ruki writing the sappy sort of love letter?)

A Letter Kinda to Renamon

For the record, this is a school assignment. Which means the teacher's going to read it. And the class, if it comes to that. So I can't write things for your eyes alone... not that I ever have, because I've got no way of knowing whether they're even reaching you or not. Jenrya's idea's probably been the best, but Takato's is the easiest to follow, silly as it is. Tuck the letters in between branches and watch the wind carry them away and hope they'll reach you one day.

And hope it's not so long after the fact that the letters don't make sense anymore...but at least you'll know I'm thinking of you. That's about all these letters are good for, anyway. I mean, you guys barely understand our school system. What does it matter that linear algebra is as much of a pain as it always was and now we've got quadratics to keep it company? For the record, if linear is a straight line, quadratics is a square. Twice or four times the trouble, depending on how you look at it. Think Zhuquiamon problem to D-reaper problem. Or something like that.

Somehow Ryo got wind of this assignment. Probably thinks I'm going to write to him. Missed the fact that it says to write to someone you LOVE and there's no love lost between us two and everyone but him seems to know it. Or everyone but him and most of the girls in our year. You know, the sort that are can't seem to comprehend that girls and boys can be just friends. But I suppose they do comprehend that, to an extent, because no-one gives Takato a hard time about going to my place sometimes (or at least, I don't think they do), considering he's got a girlfriend and all. Though I wonder who he's writing to. He's got a lot more options, and he's the sort of idiot who can't make up his mind in a hurry.

Knowing him, he'll be writing multiples. Assuming he has the assignment, since guys don't write Valentines letters or give Valentines presents as a general rule. In that case, he'll probably only have to reply to Juri on White's Day. Juri might send a cream bun for Calumon, though. That sounds like something she'd do, and Leomon's not around...

Enough about that. How's the world now? Is Guilmon still as much of a baby as he always was? Is Monodramon chomping on everything that moves and thensome, and then rampaging when he finds someone fun to fight? Or did he manage to crack his skull on his latest opponent? Not that anything can crack his skull. I'm sure Ryo's dad for one is happy to have Ryo in the house and Monodramon out of it. For that matter, have they grown up yet or are they still the little babies we saw being taken away? You were quite a cute baby yourself (but don't tell Mum I said that).

Oh yeah, the assignment. I think I'm supposed to declare my love for you at some point but you already know how much you mean to me and that's not for other people's eyes, so let's skip right over that. We've stood side by side enough together to know how important we are to each other, and the rest of the world doesn't need to know that too.

I wonder...did you find a shop that sells that juice? You seemed to like it. Unfortunately, juice in glass bottles are rarer than in paper boxes. Can't get them from a small convinience store but you guys have lots of weird and wonderful things so it might be there, I guess. If not, there might be a floramon or few who want to start up a new business. Maybe some of them are sick of making soup on their heads and wouldn't mind switching to juices instead.

Speaking of, what are you all doing now? You could babysit, I guess, if you really wanted to. You might even like doing that. Remember when we chased after Impmon? Can't imagine Guilmon or Monodramon doing anything worthwhile - unless they grow up quickly. Gallat and Just is a bit of a different situation, after all. Funny how those virtues go so well together too. A big rabbit on the other hand... Still dunno why Jenrya of all people got the rabbit. Maybe it was his sister's fault. The rabbit actually suits her. Though Lopmon has a way with words and manners and other things that Terriermon distinctly lacks. If only Shuichon had been older, she would have been far better company than those boys.

Granted, there'd been Juri for a while. I sure screwed up there. Or...I guess we all did. Takato included. Can't really say Impmon most of all because we didn't really make him feel welcome, did we? Did feel bad for him afterwards, and I know you felt that even before the rest of us. That's why we chased after him. Dragged his sorry behind back. Huh, do you think he wound up listening to us eventually and that's why he came with us to save Juri?

It was pretty depressing how Juri never got to see him trying to make amends like that. Lucky Takato got to hog the spotlight all to himself for that rescue. She missed her father driving his father's van into the D-reaper too. The height of family love, and I learnt about my own family during that time as well, didn't I? The arms length I'd been keeping my father all this time. When Juri never had the option of going back to her mother.

Guess all this stuff softened me up. Wouldn't have cared about all that before. Would've taken the failing grade for this assignment by not handing anything in because there wasn't anybody I loved. And look at me now. Writing to someone who might never get this letter, but here's to hoping you will.

We still go out, every now and then, looking for portals, you know. Takato found one a year or so ago. Unfortunately, it vanished by the time he rounded up the rest of us and we're half convinced he was just imagining it. And we haven't found another one. But imagination or mirage or neither of the above, it gave us a bit of an energy boost. And Yamaki's helped us out, so next time we don't have to risk losing the hole while waiting for everyone else to get there. Too bad he can't open the portal for us too...but we might start worrying if he winds up with that kind of power. He's still kind of scary, after all.

If I'd found the portal first, I might have forgotten to wait for the others and gone straight through. I'm sure you'll have scolded me for that. Or given the impression. But you'd have been flattered deep down, I bet. Like how oddly you'd stared at that juice. But you drank it all. And liked it. And kept the bottle in my bedroom like it was the first gift I ever gave you... which it kind of was, I suppose. It struck me at some point, and I kept on buying those juices and you kept on keeping those bottles. You put the shell Guilmon gave you in one of those bottles too, didn't you? Though really, of all the silly souveniers to bring back - but it's touching, in a way. That Guilmon never did grow out of doing things like that.

Of course, all the moments we share together are personal, and they'll stay that way. Treasures we - you know I'm hopeless at this sappy stuff. You know what I mean, at least. You've always known, sometimes even before I quite knew myself. We hardly needed to speak. Just having you nearby was enough.

Hey, maybe you can drop pebbles or something through any portals you happen to come across and we can come through. Sucks it can't be the other way.

Hope this finds you.

Ruki