Disclaimer: Uh, I obviously don't own Digimon or its characters, I think it belongs to Toei Animation so don't like sue me
A/N: Hey, this is my first fanfic so r/r. Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Don't be too harsh on the reviews though.. ^^;;; Everything in italics is someone's thoughts so you should keep that in mind. I'm not including the Digimon's attacks because its just a plain waste of words. Oh yea, I'm sure most of ya'll have heard of the Digimon Express Runs Wild, right? Anyways, for those of you who don't, Rika gets possessed and you seen a glimpse of her past with her father. I like that idea, so my story has a similar plot-line except with a darkness kinda bad guy/digimon. So, uh, on with the story...
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Leaning casually against a school wall, listening to music, Rika Nonaka closed her eyes and sighed. It had been a couple months since they had destroyed the D-Reaper. It had engulfed areas around the city. After the D-Reaper incident, Rika had become ::suprisingly:: sensitive and more caring about the people around her. She didn't lose the attitude or her bravery however.
"Hey Rika!" A girl called out to her.
Rika eyed her and waved. She had begun to connect with the girls at her school although they all weren't close enough to call "friends" yet. She lost her best friend after the D-Reaper was destroyed. After all the digimon had to leave their tamers, Rika felt as though a part of her was gone. She refused to eat and dwelled in a bitter loneliness, barely managing to hide it from her family and the other Tamers.
School dragged slowly, minute by minute faded away. When it was finally over, Rika fled home.
"I'm back." She hollered. Thank god school is over...
"Hello dear, how was school today?" Her grandmother called. Her mother was at yet another fashion shoot.
"Ugh... boring as usual..." Rika sighed. Thank god it's winter break...
After she got changed to her usual attire, she sped out to walk through the city. With her walkman at hand, she walked for what seemed like miles until someone called her name.
"RIKA! HEY IT"S JERI! WAIT UP!" A hazel-haired girl yelled.
She took off her headphones. "Huh, what? Oh, hey Jeri. How are you?"
"I'm just peachy. How are you?" Jeri breathed heavily from running.
"Okay. Bored."
"Hmm, well uh... I got some good news and I got some bad news." Jeri looked down. "The bad news is that another enemy is back and we're supposed to fight it." She paused. "The good news is that we can see our digimon again. Well, I mean, you guys can...." Her voice trailed off.
"Oh Jeri, don't be sad... Hey, you still got Gogglehead. Haha, I think he's more than enough for you to handle." Rika cracked a smile, something that was more common for her now.
"Right," She laughed, "but he's not my boyfriend yet. By the way, I've gotten over Leomon's death you know."
"That's good." Rika laughed.
"Yeah, you bet. Well anyways, about the enemy. We dunno what it is but it's more powerful than the D-Reaper! They've taken the sovereigns of the Digital World captive. We hafta save them and the world." Jeri said nervously.
"Fun, fun, fun..." Rika yawned.
"It's winter break I think we're all spending our break in the Digital World. I think we're all going tomrrow. You can make it right?"
"Yea sure, whatever. So, I'll meet you guys where?"
"Takato's house I think," Jeri shrugged. "Then we'll go to Yamaki. He can open a Digital gate for us. That's what Takato said at least."
"Sure, trust Gogglehead. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Later!" Rika casually waved and started to walk towards the park. Ah, a walk down memory lane.
The Devas were so fallacious; they were completely misleading. That kept Rika pondering about this new enemy.
"Rika!"
"Huh?" Rika watched as a petite white creature run up and gave her a hug. She hadn't seen any digimon for a while.
"Oh Rika! I'm so glad to see you!" It laughed.
"Hey, you two Calumon! Wow, I've missed you so much. Have you grown? I thought you were Azulongmon for a second there." Rika placed him gently on the ground and grinned.
"Nah, not that big," Calumon laughed. "I will be someday though, I can feel it. Impmon's here too you know." Calumon smiled. "You can come out now Impmon!"
A violet colored digimon crawled out behind a bush and blushed. "Hey Rika."
Rika smiled and walked up to Impmon, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. She bent down. "Hey there tough guy. What's up?"
"Bored to death. Ready to show this new enemy what I'm all about." Impmon clutched his fists.
"Oh yea! I almost forgot. Guess what? I'm going back to the Digital World tomorrow with the others. Do you guys wanna come along? You can stay at my place for the night." Rika clasped her hands together. "It'll be fun, besides, it's been a while hasn't it?"
"I wanna come, I wanna come, I wanna come, I wanna come!" Calumon jumped up and down excitedly.
"I think I'll pass 'cause Ai and Mako won't let me go." Impmon dashed away.
"Uh, alright. Well, it's just you and me Calumon. C'mon, let's get home. Hmm, do you wanna go grab something to eat? We can stop by Gogglehead's bakery." Rika looked at Calumon. "Sound good?"
"Yuppity yuppers!" Calumon stopped jumping up and down and smiled. "Let's go! Alrighty dighty?"
Rika nodded and couldn't help but laugh.
The rest of the day went by fast and Saturday came before they knew it.
"Rika, get up! It's time to go! Yay, Digital World here I come!" Calumon laughed.
Rika yawned and sat up. "Hold your horses cowboy, breakfast first."
While Calumon pigged out, Rika got dressed and packed her bag. "Bye grandma, bye mom, I'm gonna be gone for break." She yelled. She heard a muffle as a reply. As she started towards the door-
"Wait! Rika!" Her mom called.
Oh god, can't she just let me go!? "Yea mom?"
"If your fighting that D-Reaper stuff again, I'm not letting you go..." Mrs. Nonaka's voice trailed off.
Rika gave her mom a thumbs up. "You don't need to worry about me mom. Renamon will be there. Besides, I'm kinda helping to save the world."
"Just, b-be careful." Her mom stuttered.
"Uh huh. Calumon, ready yet? C'mon, we don't wanna be late!"
"YIPPY, let's GOOOO!!!!" Calumon jumped onto Rika's shoulder.
"See ya mom." Rika whispered as she walked out of view.
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Rika rang the doorbell and took a deep breath.
Takato answered the door. "Hey Rika!"
"Hi there Gogglehead. Guess who I brought with me, you'll be happy to see him."
"Uh..." Takato stared at her blankly. "I dunno?"
Calumon appeared from behind Rika. "TA DA!!!"
"Oh!!! Hey Calumon. Come on in you guys." Takato laughed.
Everyone Rika expected to see was already there.
They all greeted her and engaged in a lively conversation. Rika listened to everything said, putting a couple comments occasionally. Everyone was ready to go when the doorbell rang.
Takato answered the door and there stood Ryo.
"Hey! Come on in, I think we're all set to go now." Takato said cheerfully.
"Wuddup everyone? Nice to see you all again." Ryo smiled and walked inside towards Rika.
"Hey there." He grinned.
"Hey. Well, now everyone's here, let's get going." She said excitedly. She walked towards the door when she saw something flash. A little girl sat by a swing, tears streaming down. "It's all your fault..." She sobbed. She stopped walking and shook her head. "What the?" She murmured.
"Rika?" Jeri walked up to her. "You okay?"
"Of course. Let's go."
"Oh yea, Takato forgot to tell you guys. I'm gonna stay here in the Real World and contact you if anything weird comes up." Jeri said.
"It's safer for her here." Takato nodded.
"Suzi's gonna stay too. I don't want to put her in danger." Henry decided.
"I'll take care of her, good luck you guys." Jeri smiled, leading Suzi to her house.
Takato, Henry, Kazu, and Kenta talked non-stop. Ryo and Rika talked quietly to each other.
"How's life?" Ryo asked.
"Boring." Was her answer.
"Oh, um. About before, uh, well, I know I've told you this a million times but um, thanks." He murmured.
She smiled at him. "Yea, you have told me about a million times."
************************************Flashback*********************************
Rika had become decent friends with Ryo and was walking towards his house. He had phoned her pretty late right about now, wanting a "talk".
Hmmm, wonder what he wants to talk about...
She walked up and rang the doorbell. There was no answer. She rang it again numerous times and gave up. She opened the door, surprised to see that it was unlocked.
"Ryo, hey, you here?" Hmmm, now where could that kid be? She listened closely and heard a faint song playing upstairs. If she knew any better that song was....
Last Resort?? Um, Ryo would never listen to that. She trekked up the steps and walked up to the room where she heard the music. She slowly turned the doorknob. "Ryo?" She whispered.
"Huh? Rika...." He stared at her with blank eyes and a bleak face. He was hugging his knees, gathered in a corner. Tears streamed down his face, his eyes twinkled, an obvious hint of pain. In his hands were a knife.
"Ryo! Oh my.... What's wrong!? Are you okay?" She raced over and kneeled before him.
"Everything's wrong. I want all the suffering to go away. I want to die."
"Ryo," Rika stared at him. "Why?? What are you talking about?"
Ryo brought his knees closer to his body. The tears fell faster now.
"You have the perfect life. You're the legendary tamer! You've got a girlfriend, an awesome dad, tight friends, everything!" Rika continued. "Besides, I'm not going to let you." She gently took the knife out his hand.
"She dumped me." He whispered.
She looked at him in awe. She held back the urge to scream WHY?? You're as good as any boyfriend gets. "Who, Lindsay? Oh Ryo, it's alright. You still got everything else in your life."
"I thought," He choked back tears. "That a girlfriend would give me the love I never got from my mom. Instead, she just left a scar."
"Hey, your dad still loves you. All your friends still love you. Face the truth, everyone loves you. C'mon Ryo, a breakup is no reason to kill yourself."
"Everyone likes me only because I'm the legendary tamer. Nobody likes me for who I am. That's why Lindsay, left me. That's why mommy left me." A/N: Awwwzzz lil kid talk ^_^ Ryo's just the perfect character of Digimon... I HAD 2 C THE POOR GUY BREAK DOWN!!!
"Ryo...." Rika closed her eyes. "I like you." She threw her arms around him, and Ryo blinked, shocked and surprised. He hugged her back and sobbed. He told her details of their breakup, the day his mom died, how he felt, everything. "That's right, let it all out. Tell me everything, I'm here to listen Ryo." Rika sat next to him, her arms wrapped around his, her head resting on his shoulder. They were there for what felt like forever: Rika holding Ryo, his broken heart now mending...
****************************End Flashback**************************************
"Well, we're here. Digital World, here we come." Takato said as they made their way up the steps to the Hypnos building.
Yamaki ushered them to the Digital Gate. "Be careful, and remember, you can come back to the Real World anytime you want."
Everyone nodded and entered the gate. They fell, falling into nothingness, a numbing feeling.
Rika expected a harsh landing but was caught gracefully by Renamon. As she was placed down, Rika blinked back tears. "Renamon, I've missed you so much."
"Rika...." Renamon closed her eyes. They had a relatively silent reunion when compared to all the other Tamers.
Once everyone settled down. Takato led them on their expedition.
"Alright, now that we're all back together, let's go." Takato said cheerfully.
The group continued on, the Tamers engaged in an enthusiastic conversation with their digimon.
"So Renamon, have you been training lately?" Rika couldn't think of anything else to say. She was all too happy to see Renamon but her head was so scrambled she couldn't sort her thoughts out.
"Not really." Renamon looked at her Tamer. Rika was staring at the ground as she trudged along. "You seem troubled, anything wrong?"
"Nah, not really." Rika gazed into the distance, evidently bothered by the fact that she couldn't for once swallow her pride and just let herself be overcome with joy.
"So, Rika, you don't seem too excited to see Renamon." Ryo ran a hand through his sleek brown hair.
"I am, I just-" Rika was cut off by Calumon. "She just can't admit it." Calumon laughed.
Rika reached down to grab him and missed. Calumon jumped on her shoulders and giggled uncontrollably. "Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Calumon man!"
Rika let out a laugh but continued walking. "He's gone now. He left because of you. He doesn't love us anymore and it's all your fault!" The little girl creeped back into Rika's sanity and started to rip it into little puzzle pieces she tried to put back together.
Rika stopped walking, closed her eyes, held her head, and caused the group to stare at her. "What the..." She shook her head and looked at the confused faces staring at her. "Don't mind me people, just go on to your lovely conversations..."
"Uh, you okay?" Henry stared at her with a concerned look.
"Uhhh, yea. Don't sweat it, it must have been the heat. Um yea, that's right, it's giving me a headache. Heh heh...." She tried to bury the confusion and fear inside of her.
"Well, in that case, let's take a break." Ryo concluded.
"No, it's okay, really..." Rika tried to protest.
"I'm kinda tired too." Takato shrugged. "Let's sit over near those big rocks."
Rika sighed audibly, just to make sure everyone heard her. She plopped down on one of the isolated rocks and crossed her arms. Who is that little girl?? She looks so damn familiar. It's almost like I know her. Wait a second, I-I know who she is. But it makes no sense...
"WUUUUUSSSSSSUUUPPPP!!!???" Kazu screamed as he gave Rika a playful, yet forceful push off the rock.
"KAZU! YOU RETARD! WHAT THE HELL!!??" Rika regained her balance and glared at him.
"Just having a little fun...." He smiled gleefully.
She brushed herself and sighed, stomping away. Of course, Ryo followed her.
"Has she ever heard of the word flirting??" Kazu shook his head.
"Let's go everyone. Break's over." Rika commanded.
"That was like, 1 minute!" Kenta wailed.
"Yeah, well it was a break, not an afternoon nap." She rolled her eyes. It was gonna be a loooong day..... .
A/N: Next scene is like a new chapter... It will include a flashback, I hope it's not too confusing.... ^^;;;
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It was formless, black emptiness that enveloped the Tamers in their dreams. It was a
blackness that blanketed the darkness. Only a few stars glimmered in the sky. A gust of wind
danced around her hair, whistling to her, howling to the crescent moon. Everyone was asleep but the girl was awake for an odd reason even she couldn't explain. She carefully glided into the forest. The wind started to bite and tear at her sanity. The coldness felt like a knife piercing, molding, carving her. Something wasn't right.
She knew it wasn't safe to wander off alone, especially when she was most vulnerable.
The group was told that the darkness would take "the one" and reach down into the depths of
their soul, taking advantage of all their negative thoughts. Yea right, whatever. The girl wandered
deeper and deeper into the forest, trying to forget what happened that day...
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Flashback...
Takato, Henry, Kazu, and Kenta all cheered their digimon on as they fought against the two
Ladydevimons. Unfortunately, cheering didn't do anyone any good.
Rika looked at them and raised an eyebrow.
"We can't beat all of these Digimon!" Henry looked concerned. Rika glanced at him. Finally,
Mr. Feasible came to his senses.
"I'm gonna stay and fight. You guys go ahead." Rika answered.
"No way, you'll never win. I'm not gonna let you stay here by yourself." Henry frowned.
"I'm gonna go save the world while you go run and hide. I don't know about you guys but
I'm gonna fight," she paused. "And I'm gonna win."
"Then uh, let's run for safety!" Kazu yelled.
"I'll stay with Rika," Kazu exclaimed. "Or else she might get her butt whooped and-"
Ryo cut him off. "Don't worry, I'll stay and fight with her. You guys go ahead and find shelter."
Kazu cursed under his breath. Henry nodded and wished them good luck. He started running
off with the other Tamers trailing behind him.
"Hey there." Rika looked at him from the corner of her eye. She then turned
to Taomon. "Let's go."
Ryo turned and watched Cyberamon instantly destroy a Ladydevimon.
"Taomon!" Rika yelled. Taomon was instantly blasted by a Ladydevimon. The attack managed
to hit Rika and she stumbled backwards, covered in wounds.
Ryo rushed to her. "Rika! Are you alright!?" He helped her regain her balance.
"Duh." She said briskly and rushed over to Taomon.
"Just let me take care of this." Ryo looked at Rika and he motioned for Cyberamon to
finish the job.
He walked over to Rika and Taomon. "You okay Taomon?" He asked.
Taomon nodded and stood up. "Well, let's go find the others."
They continued to walk until another scene shattered the silence collected in Rika's head. "Daddy's gone now. He's never coming back. He doesn't love us. It's all your fault. " The little girl sobbed and disappeared. Rika breathed heavily. That little girl was so familiar...
"Rika, are you sure your alright?" Ryo looked at her.
"I said I was okay!"She snapped.
Ryo stared at her. She rarely acted like this anymore. "Well um Rika, you have cuts and
bruises all over your body! Maybe we should get you some medical help."
"Psh, yea right. So I have a couple cuts, a couple bruises, whatever. It's not a life and death
situation. You don't need to worry about me."
Ryo sighed as the rest of the group rushed to him. Rika slipped away into the shadows,
alone; a once forgotten trait, found again.
"I knew you could beat 'em up all by yourself!" Kenta cheered.
"All right Ryo, you sure showed those Ladydevimon who was boss!" Takato exclaimed.
"That was the easiest fight I've ever seen." Henry complimented.
Kazu watched them all, murmuring, "I could've that too."
Ryo ignored them all and surveyed the area. "Where's Rika?" He muttered. "Um, I'll be
back in a few minutes." He walked off, leaving the rest of the group in a lively conversation.
"Rika!" He called, wandering into the forest. "Rika! Where are you?" He glanced over
near the gleaming river and saw Rika. She was staring into space; her once lively, vibrant eyes, now
blank and lost.
"Rika!" He yelled. She looked up and stared at him.
"Go away. Leave me alone." She murmured.
"Why? Are you okay? You look, um, not good."
"Just go away."
"Why"
"There's something bothering me.." Rika's voice trailed off. She stood up and started to walk
away, if he wasn't moving, she was.
"Rika, wait!" Ryo called just as the rest of the group charged in.
"Ryo, dude, it's gonna be nightfall soon. We gotta' make camp." Kazu said.
"Yea okay, hold up a sec. I'm waiting for Rika. So Rika, c'mon, let's go." Ryo persisted.
The group all turned to Rika. "Aren't you gonna come? Or are you gonna keep us all
waiting?" Takato joked.
Rika sighed. "Fine, whatever Gogglehead, but if I come, nobody talk to me. I've got
something on my mind."
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Present Time...
Rika walked deeper and deeper. Ryo got all the attention from everyone, nobody even
noticed me. I might as well be invisible. She sighed and leaned against a tree, looking up at the
velvet sky.
Thinking and pondering, she just confused herself even further. Her thoughts were
interrupted by sudden yelps of pain. With a feeling of curiosity and concern, she headed off in the
direction the sounds came from. She saw Impmon and gasped. He shouldn't be
in the Digital World, he said he wouldn't be.
"What do you want?!" His voice echoed through the young night.
"Everything, but that's something you don't have. One by one, you will all fall to me." A
voice suddenly boomed. A purple blast hit Impmon. He screamed out in pain and started to cry.
Rika felt a grip of anger and lost control.
"STOP IT, LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Rika screamed.
The voice chuckled, laughing as Rika was sent alone in a bright fog...
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"Daddy, where are you going?" A little auburn-haired girl asked.
"Daddy is going, aw-ay for a little whi-le." A tall man bent down and whispered. "Tell
your mother that I love her. And who's daddy's little princess?"
"Me of course. Why are you crying daddy?" The little girl looked caringly at her father and
began to cry herself.
"Daddy's crying because he has to leave."
"When are you coming back?"
"Daddy doesn't know. Daddy needs to be alone for a while. Now give your dad one last
hug."
The girl hugged him lovingly for a long time.
"Daddy," she whispered. "If you're going away, will you remember to love us?"
"Always." He stared at the little girl.
"Don't forget to come back!" The girl yelled as loud as her little voice would allow.
Her father didn't answer and he began to fade away, smiling, crying...
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Rika woke up and found herself where she was before the fog overwhelmed her. The sun
dotted the horizon and an array of colors were painted and streaked across the sky. She hugged
her knees and shuddered. She couldn't take it and decided to go home. She walked over to
Impmon, who was still unconscious, and took him back to camp. She cleaned his wounds,
bandaged him, placed him into her sleeping bag, and kissed him on the forehead which was quite
an odd thing for Rika to do.
Impmon opened his eyes for a split second and took one last look at Rika walking away.
Where is she going? He fell back asleep with a feeling of unease and worry.
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Ryo was the first to wake up. He got up and stretched. As he looked around, he saw
Impmon laying in Rika's sleeping bag. Impmon was wrapped in bandages, badly injured.
"Impmon?" Ryo rushed over to Impmon with a sense of confusion.
Impmon slowly opened his eyes and saw a tan, sapphire-eyed boy staring at him.
"Are you okay?" Ryo asked.
"I'm okay, I think." He murmured. "Dunno about Rika."
Ryo stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"So sleepy..." Impmon yawned and shut his eyes.
"Impmon! You're not helping!"
Impmon took a peek at Ryo and sighed. He began to tell the story. "Well," Impmon
sighed. "She was wandering in the woods last night, and she met up with me and this darkness
digimon. I guess you could say she kinda saved my life. Anyways, the darkness sent a fog over her.
The fog takes the emotional breakpoint from your memory and replays it into your head. It's enough
to drive a person insane. In the prophecy, it stated that the evil would send its victim to an ultimate
weakness, make em' emotionally unstable, you know? But the thing is, he only sends the fog to
'the one'."
Ryo stared at Impmon until he could process what had happened into his head. "So she's
in trouble huh?"
Impmon shrugged. "Guess so."
"Yea, then I'm gonna go find her. When everyone else wakes up, tell them I've gone to
find Rika." Ryo looked up. Hope you're okay, stay strong Rika.
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Rika strolled on the sidewalk, glancing here and there. It started to drizzle, and moments
later, the rain plastered itself to the ground. The pattering noises were calming, which was a good
thing for Rika.
She walked slowly across the bridge, staring at the rain's effects on the river. Ripples
infected the water's perfectness. She sighed and looked into the distance. It was nothing but a dull
gray. The rain caressed her cheeks and the wind kissed her neck.
Rika was a candle; barely maintaining herself .Wisps of smoke danced playfully in her.
Down in the depths of the flame, there was still that last flicker of hope. Hope that her dad would
come back.
"Take me away..." She whispered. Closing her eyes, she sank slowly to the nearing
ground. She kneeled and sighed. She knew her dad was never going to come back. That
was okay with her because she still had the memories. The thing that was she was wondering about
was if he still loved her family, and her.
"Rika..." was whispered in her ear. She turned around and saw nothing. Note that I said she
saw nothing...
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Ryo surveyed his surroundings. He pushed through various crowds of adoring fans, guys,
girls, and reporters. He flashed them a fake smile and glided through the city, looking for
Rika. He sat at a nearby bench and thought about where she could've went. It was a BIG city,
finding her was like finding a needle in a haystack. He looked up and saw a funny purple light in
the sky. Following his instincts, he headed in its direction.
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Rika overlooked the river, staring at the water's imperfect complexion. A purple gas coiled around her body, going unnoticed by her. She climbed onto the railing, stood up, and carefully balanced herself on it. She walked on top of it step by step, generating a crowd.
Ryo had made it to the purple light. Strangely enough, it was wrapped around a figure on the railing of a bridge. He squinted his eyes and ran closer to get a better view. It was Rika!
"Rika!" He yelled. "What the hell are you doing!?" He pushed through the crowd.
"What does it look like I'm doing? You are so naive." She glared at him.
"It's not safe! You'll get hurt!" He retorted.
"Yea? And you care because?" She turned away.
"You're my best friend." Ryo blushed visibly. "Just get down from there!" He reached out his hand.
"I don't need you, I don't need anyone." Rika looked down on him sadly. She looked through the crowd and saw the little girl, once again. Rika stared at her tear-stricken face. "What the... that's impossible." The little girl walked up and glared at Rika angrily holding up a teddy bear. "One day, I'm gonna be the best tamer, and I'm gonna kill you and anyone who hurts me!" The girl screamed. Rika's face drained of color. No one else in the crowd could see the little girl. Ryo's voice was drifting far away, into its own world. She backed up and found no footing. She plunged into the raging river.
Ryo watched the scene in horror. Rika had for no reason backed up, her face clouded in a fear. Just as Rika touched the water, he jumped in, without thinking, only with love twisting his heart and a sense of courage... For courage is not the absence of fear....
Cliff hanger, wooo.... Ne ways, that was like just a sample of mah writing. Alright people, I know that was kinda long... Oh well.... I'm probably not gonna get the next chapter up for a while. Maybe if I get enuff reviews, emails, or Ims saying I should continue soon mayb I will... I gots lots of hw right about now so don't count on it... Remember, this is mah first ficcie! R/r.... Talk to ya'll lata! E-mail me or IM me... mah email is blinknlifehousexxx@email.com Mah s/n **for AIM** is NiNaDo0dErZ59