K, I owe this fic to Fallon-chan, I promised I'd write it. Um, it's a Season 3 one, a Takato/
Rika one (I didn't use their Japanese names, sorry). And I don't think it's that good,
because I'm not as inspired by season 3 as I am by season 1 and 2. But Fallon-chan, if
you're reading this, I hope you enjoy it, alright? ^_^ About three days later than promised,
but I was grounded (typical me ^^*). K, R&R!
I CAN CRY TOO
She shut the bathroom door behind her, the noise echoing through the dark empty
house. All she could do at the moment was thank God that she was all alone at home...
she didn't think she'd be able to bear it if anyone saw her this way. Her chest was so
tight and choked up from crying, she could barely breathe. And it was a completely
new experience for her. She hadn't cried in years, she doubted she had even remembered
how to. Certainly, she couldn't remember such extensive pain the tears brought
She leaned against the door for a moment, the strength leaving her body suddenly. She
stared bleakly at the floor. This was how it felt to cry? She didn't like it at all.
And to cry over something like this...who'd ever have thought that the one thing to make
her cry in years...would be him?
Pushing herself off the door, her feet somehow made their way over to the mirror. Why,
she didn't know. It was the last thing she wanted to look at...she didn't want to see
what she was.
But either way, she found herself looking at her reflection in the glass. Long red hair,
usually pulled up in a ponytail, now hanging limply around her pale face. Haunted violet
eyes...puffed and red.
She wanted to turn away, so badly. The desire was so strong to just look away, to tell
herself that the pale ghost in the mirror was not her...but something rooted her in her
place, made her stay in front of the bathroom mirror and stare at a girl she hated.
What is wrong with me? she cried inwardly. This isn't me!
Then she cringed, as a fresh stab of pain shot through her. Induced by the thought she'd
just had..one too identical to the day before.
All she wanted to do was erase the memory of that day away. She didn't want to remember
it. She didn't want to remember why she had been reduced to such a pathetic state.
No, what I really want to do, she thought dully, is to wipe the day that I first met him
from existence. I wish I didn't even know his name. I wish I'd never heard of him...why
did I have to meet him? Why did he have to be a tamer...and why did he have to know
me?
It wasn't fair....
******Flashback******
Rika stared at herself in the mirror, a faint look of disgust on her face. The girl who
stared back at her in the glass had clear violet eyes, and long reddish-blond hair--but
she was used to all that. What she hated about the girl, though, was that it looked
nothing like her.
"This isn't me," Rika muttered, yanking out the butterfly clips that held her red bangs
back from her face. She glared at the mirror, especially at what she was being forced
to wear. A long, pale-lavender sundress that went down to her ankles--a dress! Rika
wanted to puke. And as if that wasn't enough, her hair which was usually held back
in her ponytail, was now hanging loose down her back in tight curls.
"I can't believe I let them do this to me!" she cried in frustration, turning away from
the mirror with a sneer. Why had she agreed to do this? It was another one of her
mother's fashion shoots that she had begged her daughter to participate in ("You're
such a natural, honey!") Rika had been fully ready to say no, but her grandmother
had told her to give it a try..and Rika didn't say no to her grandmother.
Which might have been a mistake in this case, Rika thought ruefully now. It was
turning out to be the same as the last shoot she had been in, even with the same
idiotic photographer. Except this time, it had been almost the entire day. The sun
was beginning to set.
Just then, her mother and that photographer charged into the room.
"Rika, are you ready to start again?" her mother asked, giving her daughter the once-
over look. She frowned slightly.
Rika glared at the floor and clenched her hands into fists, trying to hold her annoyance
in. She had already made a promise that the same thing that happened last time, wasn't
going to repeat itself.
Her mother turned to the photographer. "You go back out," she suggested. "I'll handle
this."
"Oh, I'm guessing she's still nervous under the camera, huh?" asked the photographer,
grinning at Rika. "Well don't worry, baby, the camera's gonna love you. Your mom's
right, you are a natural." It was all Rika could do to keep from throwing her digivice,
which was hidden, right at his head.
The photographer left. Rika's mother turned to her, a faint look of annoyance. "Rika!
WHY don't you have your hairclips on?" she demanded, eyeing the butterfly hair
accessories strewn onto the counter.
Rika turned back to the mirror with a frown. "They make me look like a geek," she
complained.
"That's a very immature attitude to take, young lady," her mother replied sternly. Then
she sighed and knelt down in front of Rika. "I know this isn't really your thing, Rika honey,
but it's only a few more hours, and a few more pictures. Surely you can handle that. I
mean, I am telling the truth when I say you could be a natural model, you're really
beautiful. You know that, don't you? This is such a good opportunity."
Rika's frown deepened. She hated it when her mother did this. Trying to play the 'good
mother' role when at the same time, trying to force a future she hated onto her.
"Mom, I told you before, and I'll say it again: I hate modeling!" Rika answered in a
clipped tone.
Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Rika, you'll thank me when you eventually change your
mind and see what a good career you can have. I know you're still in that tomboy stage
of life, though God knows where you got it from." She stood up. "Put the hairclips back
on. Third break is in half an hour, so you have to get back out in a few minutes. It's only
a couple more pictures."
She left. Rika glared at the door which had just shut behind her mother, her violet eyes
darkening with anger. Why didn't she understand? Rika didn't want to be a model. Her
mother always thought that Rika was a carbon copy of her, and she refused to accept
that she and Rika were nothing alike, inside or out.
"That's it," Rika muttered, finally snapping. Luckily, there were no photographers to push
cameras into their faces, but she didn't care. "I'm outta here."
The back door of her temporary dressing room led to the interior of the mall. Rika
hesitated for a moment, glancing down at herself. She definetly didn't want to go out
in this--what if someone who knew her saw? She cringed at the thought.
On the other hand, the alternative's not much better, she reminded herself, glancing
over her shoulder at the other door, which led to the fashion room. She could hear her
mother calling someone to come in and get her.
That settled it. Rika slipped out the back door, closing it silently behind her.
The mall was crowded, and for a moment, Rika couldn't even tell where she was. I
should've remembered, she thought wryly. Saturday afternoon. Explained it all.
She realized that she was in the left wing of the mall, on the top floor. The only exit
anywhere near here was downstairs, and she'd have to go through the food court.
Trying to remain as incognito as possible, in case her mother had already sent people
out to look for her, Rika swept along with the crowd to the escalators, and down
to the first floor.
Okay, she thought, looking around as she got to the food court. She hadn't exactly
spent all her life in the mall, so she didn't know it too well.
"I guess the exit would be that way, right?" she muttered, glancing down one hallway,
wracking her memory.
"Actually, that would be the entrance, we just came in through that way," said a voice
from behind her, very familiar. Too familiar.
"Terriermon, it's the same thing," explained a second voice patiently.
"Uh...Rika?" asked a third voice.
Rika froze, then groaned. I might've known, she thought in exasperation, turning to
face the three. "What are you guys doing here?" she demanded.
Sure enough, Henry, Takato, and Terriermon (in Henry's arms) were right behind her,
looking at her quizzically. Actually, it was more like they were trying hard not to laugh.
Rika narrowed her eyes.
"Rika, is that you?" asked Takato hesitantly, fighting to hold back a grin. He wasn't
doing too well of a job. Rika glared at him. "What do you think, Gogglehead?" she shot
back in annoyance. This was not a good time to run into them, when all she wanted
was to get out of that mall as fast as she could.
"Well, someone's not in a good mood," Terriermon remarked. Stating the obvious, as
usual.
"Actually Rika, this is the last place we expected to run into you," Henry explained.
"And dressed like that, too," Takato added, smothered laughter erupting from him.
"Is that a dress? Rika, YOU'RE wearing a dress?" He and Henry nearly broke down
in laughter.
She had forgotten completely about what she was dressed in, in her haste to get far
away from the studio. Now, the colour rushed to her face, and her eyes grew radioactive
with anger. "Hey, you want me to kick your butts right here and now?" she hissed, her
voice dangerously low.
They shut up. "We're sorry Rika," Takato explained, sweatdropping as he tried to worm
his way out of certain death. "It's not that it looks bad, because it doesn't. Just that, we
definetly didn't expect to see you running around in the mall in a dress, you of all people.
We thought the world was coming to an end, that's all."
"Uh, yeah," Henry agreed, raising an eyebrow. "Is there something going on that we
should know about?"
"No!" Rika shot back hotly. Then she crossed her arms defiantly and looked away. "It's
for my mother's fashion shoot. I promised her I'd be a model, but I hate it. So I left."
She glanced around the food court again in apprehension. Surely her mother had noticed
that she was gone by now. The mall would be crawling with her mom's people.
"Oh, I get it," Takato murmured, studying her face. "You ran away, and now you're
afraid you're gonna be caught."
"I'm not afraid of getting in trouble," she declared quickly, glaring at the two boys. "But
I am not going back in that studio." She noticed their mystified faces and sighed, softening
her tone slightly. "Look, I have to go."
Rika whirled around and started toward the exit she had been going for earlier. But she
barely went three steps before Takato grabbed her wrist, halting her. She spun back
around in a semi-defensive state..but for some reason it was hard to stay completely
on guard with him. She told herself it was because he was so clueless, he wouldn't have
been able to attack her if he tried.
"You don't want to go out that way," he told her. "That's an exit, sure, but it also
happens to be the front entrance. And if your mother's really after you, then that'll be
the first place she looks." Next to him, Henry nodded in confirmation.
Rika blinked at them, confused. "Alright then, which way should I go?" she demanded.
Takato tugged her along, leading them back through the food court. She gasped and
tried to pull her wrist away. "Um, hello? I just came from this way, Gogglehead!" she
snapped in frustration.
Takato kept pulling her along. "Yeah, I noticed," he replied, rolling his eyes. "But this way's
the side exit. It's probably the best way to go."
Rika's frown shifted to a puzzled look, but she didn't say anything else until the trio (and
Terriermon) had exited the mall. Sure enough, she hadn't seen her mother's people
anywhere.
Rika glanced at Takato. Not only had he actually had a good idea, but... "Why are you
helping me?" she asked, a hint of defense in her voice. "This has nothing to do with you."
Takato blinked, as if surprised. "Well, if you're gonna be in trouble, why shouldn't I help
you?" he wondered, scratching his head. Then he smirked. "I mean, you would have
done the same for me, wouldn't you?"
Rika wasn't even gonna bother replying to that. It looked like he already knew what the
answer was going to be...or so he thought.
Would I help him, if the situations were reversed? she wondered to herself, surprising
herself because she had never remembered caring before.
Rika wandered away from the two guys.
"Hey Rika, where're you going?" Henry called after her. She paused for a moment.
"I'm going home," she answered.
"Okay," said Takato. "But if you ask me, you should keep the new look, alright?" There
was a slight hint of teasing in his tone, but a lot less than there should have been. Henry
just smirked at him.
Rika stiffened. Just what does he think he's playing at? she thought. She whirled around
and gave him a venomous stare, clenching her fist in front of her in warning. Takato
froze and sweatdropped again, Henry breaking into laughter.
These guys are clowns, Rika thought, turning and leaving. Why do I hang out with them
at all?
"You know, if you ask me, I don't think she's going home," Takato murmured
after Rika had gone.
Henry glanced sideways at him. "You're right," he said, as the three of them left the
mall. "I mean, wouldn't she get in trouble if her mother gets back?"
"That's right," Terriermon chimed in sleepily. "So she's hiding something."
"Isn't she always?" Henry wondered, as the two made their way toward the park, to
visit Guilmon. He turned to Takato again. "By the way, do you have a serious death
wish or something?" he asked. "Picking on Rika isn't exactly the safest thing to do."
Takato shrugged. "I don't pick on her," he defended himself. "I just, uh, play around
a little."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see, that's a lot better in her books," he muttered
sarcastically.
"Well, Rika needs to have fun a little bit more, you know?" Takato pointed out, as they
entered the park. "I mean, she always takes everything so seriously...and she hides
everything that's wrong inside of her. That worries me." Then noticing Henry's look, he
added hastily. "I mean, it's dangerous when people keep things all bottled up inside
themselves."
Terriermon smiled at him knowingly. "Which just adds up to what you just said," he
pointed out.
Takato sighed in exasperation and pulled ahead of Henry and Terriermon. He was really
getting tired of this. It had been bad enough when his friends from school had been on
him about Jeri, but now he had to deal with Henry and Terriermon, who had somehow
gotten it into their heads that he liked Rika. Just because he'd once said he cared about
her...
"Maybe it's just a thing he has for redheads," Terriermon snickered.
Takato threw up his hands and turned to face the two jokers. "When I said I cared about
her, I meant it as a friend!" he declared, for what seemed like the 167th time. Then
he rolled his eyes and turned back around.
Chuckling, Henry ran to catch up with him. "Come on Takato, even you have to admit
that your 'dream girl' jokes have definetly increased in the last month or so."
Takato paused, right outside Guilmon's little homeplace. "What do you mean?" he
wondered, genuinely curious.
Henry rolled his eyes in exasperation. Guilmon came out of the crumbling stone structure.
"Takato!" The red dinosaur-like creature hurled himself at Takato, literally knocking him
over.
"Yeah, great to see you too Guilmon," Takato grinned, hugging the digimon back just
as hard.
"Has anything bad happened?" Guilmon wanted to know.
Takato shook his head. "No, it's been really quiet today," he replied, then raised an
eyebrow in confusion. "Um, why do you ask?"
"Well, I thought I saw Rika run by before you came," he said. "But it went by very fast,
so I don't know. I'm sure it was a girl with red hair. But it might have been someone
else. Rika doesn't wear a dress, does she?"
Takato and Henry exchanged glances. Terriermon jumped down from Henry's arms and
turned to Guilmon. "What colour was the dress?"
"Um..." Guilmon seemed to think hard. "I think it was purple, light purple. But she ran by
too fast for me to see--"
Terriermon faced the two boys. "Well, that settles it. Unless it's one heck of a coincidence,"
he stated. "How many redheads are running around the park in a purple dress?"
Henry sighed. "Rika's house is in the opposite direction from here, just thought I should
point it out," he muttered. "Guilmon, which way did she go? Should we go after her,
Takato?"
Takato turned to him, a thoughtful look on his face. He didn't say anything.
"We have to find out what she has on her mind," Henry continued. "You know it only
leads to trouble if she keeps her feelings closed away."
"There might not be anything wrong with her," Terriermon piped up. "Maybe she's just
being her normal self. She seemed alright to me."
Henry glared at his digimon. "Terriermon, that was mean!" he snapped.
Terriermon looked at Guilmon with a bewildered look. "What did I say? I was telling the
truth."
"And maybe that's the problem," Takato said in a quiet voice. They all turned to him as
he looked up. "Look, Henry, Terriermon, you guys go home. I'll look for her."
Henry frowned. "Not a good idea, Takato. What if it's an evil digimon?"
"Come on, do you think she'd keep that from us?" Takato demanded, then seeing their
faces, sighed. "Never mind. But I'll handle it, alright?"
Henry hesitated a moment, then looked out at the darkening sky. "I don't like it," he
mumbled. "But I've really got to get home. Come on, Terriermon." He turned to Takato.
"Listen, if anything shows up--"
"--I'll call you on the first phone I find," Takato finished, running down the park's path. "I'll
see you later."
Rika leaned against a tree, panting. She had run all the way to the park, just to get away
from the mall...from her mother...
She sighed and looked up at the sky, where the first evening stars were coming out. She
had been hoping and waiting for Renamon to appear, but she didn't know where Renamon
was this time.
Why can't she just understand? Rika wondered. I'm not like her. I'm nothing like her.
She slid to the ground at the base of the tree and just sat there. She wasn't sure how
long it had been, or when he showed up..he was just there.
"Wow Rika, I could have sworn that you lived in the other direction," he said from behind
her, sarcasm evident in his voice.
Rika clenched her eyes in frustration, stood up, and whirled to face him. "WHY are you
here, Takato?" she demanded. "What, are you following me?"
Takato shrugged. "Well, you said you were going home," he reminded her.
"What does it matter to you what I do?" she retorted, turning her back on him. "It's
none of your business."
Takato sighed, then came to stand beside her. "It matters, Rika, because you're my
friend, whether you like it or not. So tell me, what's wrong?"
Rika exhaled impatiently and walked a few feet away from him. "Seriously, Gogglehead,
are you asking for a butt-kicking? 'Cause I'm getting really, really annoyed with you."
Takato was silent for a minute, then spoke up again. "Do you always do that?" he
wanted to know.
Rika was surprised. "Do what?"
"Whenever you don't know what to do," he said. "Whenever you don't want anyone to
know what's going on, you always threaten to fight them?"
Rika was actually speechless for a minute. "I, uh...."
Takato came up to her again. "If you need to talk, I'm always here, Rika."
Rika glared. "I don't talk to anyone except Renamon," she shot back. "Leave me alone,
Takato, and don't talk about things you don't understand."
Takato shook his head, and Rika could tell he was mad. "I think I understand about
this," he said. "I always thought it was an attitude problem. Then I tried to believe it
was just because you're scared."
Rika's eyes widened, and she turned to face him again, tilting her head slightly in fury.
"Me? Scared?" She stared at him incredulously.
Takato made an impatient gesture. "Well, I don't know what it is, Rika. But you can do
something better about it then acting like a b**** all the time."
Rika's violet eyes went round, and even Takato seemed surprised at his choice of words.
She was shocked. That was definetly the last thing she'd expected Takato to say, but
what she was even more stunned about was how it actually seemed to hurt. And a lot,
too.
A heavy silence settled over them, and Takato's eyes met hers. "Uh Rika, I--"
She took a step back from him, giving him the most poisonous look she could muster
without bursting into tears. Bursting into tears...over Takato?
She broke the silence by spinning around on her heel and marching away, not saying a
single word.
The instant she was out of sight, she broke into a run.
******Flashback******
Rika glared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Mere disgust was long gone, now replaced
by pure loathsome.
"You're disgusting," she whispered to the girl staring back at her. "You're weak. It's
disgraceful that of all people, HE's the one that had to bring you down. And what's even
more disgusting is that...." she couldn't even finish her sentence as she collapsed to her
knees, the sobs coming back in full force.
What was disgusting was that he was right. She was everything he'd said she was. And
the way she had let herself be so easily read, by HIM, of every idiot in the world.
And on top of that, it didn't help that she was now in a battle of emotions with herself.
She wanted to hate him, but she couldn't because...
"I'm in love with him," she realized in a stunned whisper, now sitting stiffly on the bathroom
floor. "Oh God...."
Rika pulled herself to her feet, and hesitantly looked into the mirror, afraid that she'd see
the vivid images of the day before, once again playing through her mind the way they
had all day.
No. All that was watching her in the glass was that girl that she hated, that she couldn't
stand.
"I hate you," she mumbled quietly. Then she backed away from the mirror as if it was
a demon that were looking back at her. Instinctively, she threw out her hands, smashing
the mirror.
"I hate you!" she screamed.
Then everything went eerily silent as she stared, breathing hard, at the smashed mirror.
She only began to feel the pain in her hands after a few minutes, a delayed reaction. But
finally, Rika looked down at her hands, feeling sharp stabs in them, the shards of glass
protruding from them. Her hands were all scratched up, and bleeding.
Rika looked up at the mirror again, stunned. "I really am messed up," she murmured.
Then tears flooded her eyes again. Her hand kept hurting, throbbing with pain. Nothing
to the pain inside, however.
The phone rang, and she looked up, surprised. She hadn't had any contact with anybody
since yesterday. Both her mother and grandmother were out, she still didn't know where
Renamon was, and even though it was a Monday, she hadn't gone to school.
Rika hesitantly picked up the phone. "Hello?" She winced at her now-small voice.
"Hello? Rika?" said the voice on the other end
She sighed. "Oh hello Henry."
"What's going on?" he demanded.
"Nothing."
"Takato and I went to your school this afternoon, they said that you didn't go today,"
Henry informed her.
Rika shuddered at the sound of his name. What IS this doing to me? she wondered
silently. And where did it come from...
Out loud she said, "So how's that any of your business?"
Henry sighed in exasperation on the other end. "I'm not going to answer that," he
replied. "But I called you to know if you can meet us today in the park. It's just some
Tamer stuff we have to discuss. But if you're sick..."
Rika didn't answer for a long time, her mind shrouded in confusion and uneasiness. She
knew that Renamon would meet her if she went to the meeting, and Rika really wanted
to talk to her. On the other hand, HE would be there....
She wasn't sure if she could face him again. But then, am I going to keep running from
him forever? she asked herself. I can't do that, it would be even worse than seeing
him, it would let him know that I actually cared about it...
"Uh Rika?" Henry asked from the other end of the line. "You still there?"
"Okay, I'll come," she agreed quietly.
"Alright, see you there."
The meeting did not go well. The tension between Rika and Takato were enough to
send warning waves over the entire park. Henry kept glancing between one and the
other nervously. Takato had told him what happened that morning, but he had sure
left out a lot of details. Like how hard Rika seemed to be taking it, no matter how
hard she worked to display the opposite. He knew that the words must have really
stung her.
Guilmon wasn't playing around as usual. Even Terriermon's normal chain of jokes was
cut in half. Renamon was silent, refusing to say a word.
Needless to say, after less than half an hour, Henry looked up at the evening sky, and
picked Terriermon up. "I've got to go, you guys," he informed the others. "Why don't
I drop Guilmon off at his hiding place?"
Takato looked up. "No, that's alright-" he began, but Henry gave him a piercing look.
"It's okay, I'll do it. It's not that far," he replied.
Takato nodded in resignation, missing when Henry turned his look to Renamon. She
spoke up.
"Rika, I have to leave," she said in her soft voice. "Impmon said he had to talk to me
about something tonight."
Rika wanted to protest, but then she stopped herself, and nodded as well. "Okay. I
guess I'll see you tomorrow, Renamon."
Renamon disappeared, as Henry and the other two digimon started down the path
toward the exit of the park.
Leaving Takato and Rika alone under the grove of trees.
The silence was unbearably heavy, enough to weigh on anyone's nerves. And Rika's
nerves were already to the breaking point, she was sure she'd go nuts if she stayed
there with him any longer. She couldn't even look at him.
Rika finally pushed herself off the tree she was leaning against. "I'm going," she said
sharply, the only words she had said to him that day. She turned around and was
about to head off after Henry...when he grabbed her hand, just like yesterday.
"Wait," he said. "Henry's right, we need to talk."
Rika didn't really pay attention to these words. Takato had grabbed her hand, where
she had at least a dozen cuts from smashing her fists through the mirror. As much as
she tried to control it, against her will she flinched and let out a tiny cry of pain, yanking
her hand away.
Takato froze, and stared at her. "Rika-"
Rika closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, waiting for the pain to subside. She had
tied bandages around the deep scratches, even though blood had still soaked through,
and she had kept her hands dug into the pockets of her jacket during the whole
meeting. There was no way she was letting him know what he'd caused her to do.
"Leave me alone," she stated quietly, not looking at him. "I told you, I have to leave."
It was as if she hadn't even spoken, as he walked up and grabbed her hand, this time
around the forearm. He pulled them gently out of her pockets, and pulled down the
sleeves, so that her bandaged hands were revealed.
Takato was silent for a long time. Finally, "What happened?"
Rika refused to meet his gaze, tugging her arm out of his grasp.
"Or maybe I should rephrase that. What did you do to yourself?"
"It's none of your business," she snapped.
He rolled his eyes. "Do you want to start all this over again?"
"Start all what?" she demanded angrily. "I don't want to start anything with you. You
know, you're lucky I didn't seriously injure you yesterday-"
He shook his head. "You don't have to always act so brave and angry," he murmured.
"What would you know?" she said in a low voice. "You don't know a thing about me."
He was quiet again. Then he took both her arms, forcing her to stare straight at him.
"Well, I know I care about you," he said softly.
Her anger was suddenly pacified, and yet intensified at the same time. She smiled
bitterly, looking away. "Or so you say," she muttered.
"But not in the way I meant it before," he whispered.
Rika narrowed her eyes at him dangerously, and tried to back away, but he still had
a hold on her arms.
"Now you're just being malicious," she retorted in her deadly whisper. "That is low,
even for you, Gogglehead. Like I need you to make fun of me after yesterday--"
To her horror, she realized that she had burst into tears without even knowing.
Takato was watching her, stunned. "So you CAN cry," he murmured.
"That's a blinding flash of the obvious," she retorted, trying furiously to wipe away her
tears.
Then he did the job for her. And all she could do was stare back at him.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. Just two simple words, the only two words she needed to
hear at that moment.
"I never meant to make you cry, Rika," he continued. To her surprise, there were
tears in his eyes, too. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean what I said the day
before, you've got to know that. And I never wanted to make you hurt yourself."
Rika wanted to protest at first and insist that it wasn't because of him that she'd hurt
herself, but she was too tired of lying to herself. "Takato-" she began.
He cut her off. "I really do care about you, Rika. I know you don't want to believe it,
but it's true."
Yet another silence, as she stared into his eyes, struck speechless for the second time
in 2 days. Then tears welled into her eyes as she jumped into his arms, throwing her
arms around him.
"Takato," she cried. "I care about you too. I really hate it, but I can't help it. And it's
scary, because I don't care about anyone else except Renamon...and I don't care
about even her this way...I don't even know what I'm feeling."
"Well, I think I might know, if it's anything like I'm feeling," Takato said softly, hugging
her gently. He whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied in a small voice. "I'm sorry for not telling you before."
"That's alright, I think I already knew," he told her innocently.
Rika's head shot up in shock. "What? How long have you known?"
He smiled. "Does it matter anymore?"
Rika smiled back in agreement. "No, I guess it doesn't."
K, I know that must've really sucked -_-;;. Believe me, I wrote this under some really
bad conditions, but also, I don't know as much about Season 3 as I do about the other
seasons. It's kind of hard to write a romance on two characters who haven't been
thrown together by fate (at least, the same kind of fate as the Digiworld thing), but...
whatever, I hope whoever read this enjoyed it, and please review too, k? ^_^
Rika one (I didn't use their Japanese names, sorry). And I don't think it's that good,
because I'm not as inspired by season 3 as I am by season 1 and 2. But Fallon-chan, if
you're reading this, I hope you enjoy it, alright? ^_^ About three days later than promised,
but I was grounded (typical me ^^*). K, R&R!
I CAN CRY TOO
She shut the bathroom door behind her, the noise echoing through the dark empty
house. All she could do at the moment was thank God that she was all alone at home...
she didn't think she'd be able to bear it if anyone saw her this way. Her chest was so
tight and choked up from crying, she could barely breathe. And it was a completely
new experience for her. She hadn't cried in years, she doubted she had even remembered
how to. Certainly, she couldn't remember such extensive pain the tears brought
She leaned against the door for a moment, the strength leaving her body suddenly. She
stared bleakly at the floor. This was how it felt to cry? She didn't like it at all.
And to cry over something like this...who'd ever have thought that the one thing to make
her cry in years...would be him?
Pushing herself off the door, her feet somehow made their way over to the mirror. Why,
she didn't know. It was the last thing she wanted to look at...she didn't want to see
what she was.
But either way, she found herself looking at her reflection in the glass. Long red hair,
usually pulled up in a ponytail, now hanging limply around her pale face. Haunted violet
eyes...puffed and red.
She wanted to turn away, so badly. The desire was so strong to just look away, to tell
herself that the pale ghost in the mirror was not her...but something rooted her in her
place, made her stay in front of the bathroom mirror and stare at a girl she hated.
What is wrong with me? she cried inwardly. This isn't me!
Then she cringed, as a fresh stab of pain shot through her. Induced by the thought she'd
just had..one too identical to the day before.
All she wanted to do was erase the memory of that day away. She didn't want to remember
it. She didn't want to remember why she had been reduced to such a pathetic state.
No, what I really want to do, she thought dully, is to wipe the day that I first met him
from existence. I wish I didn't even know his name. I wish I'd never heard of him...why
did I have to meet him? Why did he have to be a tamer...and why did he have to know
me?
It wasn't fair....
******Flashback******
Rika stared at herself in the mirror, a faint look of disgust on her face. The girl who
stared back at her in the glass had clear violet eyes, and long reddish-blond hair--but
she was used to all that. What she hated about the girl, though, was that it looked
nothing like her.
"This isn't me," Rika muttered, yanking out the butterfly clips that held her red bangs
back from her face. She glared at the mirror, especially at what she was being forced
to wear. A long, pale-lavender sundress that went down to her ankles--a dress! Rika
wanted to puke. And as if that wasn't enough, her hair which was usually held back
in her ponytail, was now hanging loose down her back in tight curls.
"I can't believe I let them do this to me!" she cried in frustration, turning away from
the mirror with a sneer. Why had she agreed to do this? It was another one of her
mother's fashion shoots that she had begged her daughter to participate in ("You're
such a natural, honey!") Rika had been fully ready to say no, but her grandmother
had told her to give it a try..and Rika didn't say no to her grandmother.
Which might have been a mistake in this case, Rika thought ruefully now. It was
turning out to be the same as the last shoot she had been in, even with the same
idiotic photographer. Except this time, it had been almost the entire day. The sun
was beginning to set.
Just then, her mother and that photographer charged into the room.
"Rika, are you ready to start again?" her mother asked, giving her daughter the once-
over look. She frowned slightly.
Rika glared at the floor and clenched her hands into fists, trying to hold her annoyance
in. She had already made a promise that the same thing that happened last time, wasn't
going to repeat itself.
Her mother turned to the photographer. "You go back out," she suggested. "I'll handle
this."
"Oh, I'm guessing she's still nervous under the camera, huh?" asked the photographer,
grinning at Rika. "Well don't worry, baby, the camera's gonna love you. Your mom's
right, you are a natural." It was all Rika could do to keep from throwing her digivice,
which was hidden, right at his head.
The photographer left. Rika's mother turned to her, a faint look of annoyance. "Rika!
WHY don't you have your hairclips on?" she demanded, eyeing the butterfly hair
accessories strewn onto the counter.
Rika turned back to the mirror with a frown. "They make me look like a geek," she
complained.
"That's a very immature attitude to take, young lady," her mother replied sternly. Then
she sighed and knelt down in front of Rika. "I know this isn't really your thing, Rika honey,
but it's only a few more hours, and a few more pictures. Surely you can handle that. I
mean, I am telling the truth when I say you could be a natural model, you're really
beautiful. You know that, don't you? This is such a good opportunity."
Rika's frown deepened. She hated it when her mother did this. Trying to play the 'good
mother' role when at the same time, trying to force a future she hated onto her.
"Mom, I told you before, and I'll say it again: I hate modeling!" Rika answered in a
clipped tone.
Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Rika, you'll thank me when you eventually change your
mind and see what a good career you can have. I know you're still in that tomboy stage
of life, though God knows where you got it from." She stood up. "Put the hairclips back
on. Third break is in half an hour, so you have to get back out in a few minutes. It's only
a couple more pictures."
She left. Rika glared at the door which had just shut behind her mother, her violet eyes
darkening with anger. Why didn't she understand? Rika didn't want to be a model. Her
mother always thought that Rika was a carbon copy of her, and she refused to accept
that she and Rika were nothing alike, inside or out.
"That's it," Rika muttered, finally snapping. Luckily, there were no photographers to push
cameras into their faces, but she didn't care. "I'm outta here."
The back door of her temporary dressing room led to the interior of the mall. Rika
hesitated for a moment, glancing down at herself. She definetly didn't want to go out
in this--what if someone who knew her saw? She cringed at the thought.
On the other hand, the alternative's not much better, she reminded herself, glancing
over her shoulder at the other door, which led to the fashion room. She could hear her
mother calling someone to come in and get her.
That settled it. Rika slipped out the back door, closing it silently behind her.
The mall was crowded, and for a moment, Rika couldn't even tell where she was. I
should've remembered, she thought wryly. Saturday afternoon. Explained it all.
She realized that she was in the left wing of the mall, on the top floor. The only exit
anywhere near here was downstairs, and she'd have to go through the food court.
Trying to remain as incognito as possible, in case her mother had already sent people
out to look for her, Rika swept along with the crowd to the escalators, and down
to the first floor.
Okay, she thought, looking around as she got to the food court. She hadn't exactly
spent all her life in the mall, so she didn't know it too well.
"I guess the exit would be that way, right?" she muttered, glancing down one hallway,
wracking her memory.
"Actually, that would be the entrance, we just came in through that way," said a voice
from behind her, very familiar. Too familiar.
"Terriermon, it's the same thing," explained a second voice patiently.
"Uh...Rika?" asked a third voice.
Rika froze, then groaned. I might've known, she thought in exasperation, turning to
face the three. "What are you guys doing here?" she demanded.
Sure enough, Henry, Takato, and Terriermon (in Henry's arms) were right behind her,
looking at her quizzically. Actually, it was more like they were trying hard not to laugh.
Rika narrowed her eyes.
"Rika, is that you?" asked Takato hesitantly, fighting to hold back a grin. He wasn't
doing too well of a job. Rika glared at him. "What do you think, Gogglehead?" she shot
back in annoyance. This was not a good time to run into them, when all she wanted
was to get out of that mall as fast as she could.
"Well, someone's not in a good mood," Terriermon remarked. Stating the obvious, as
usual.
"Actually Rika, this is the last place we expected to run into you," Henry explained.
"And dressed like that, too," Takato added, smothered laughter erupting from him.
"Is that a dress? Rika, YOU'RE wearing a dress?" He and Henry nearly broke down
in laughter.
She had forgotten completely about what she was dressed in, in her haste to get far
away from the studio. Now, the colour rushed to her face, and her eyes grew radioactive
with anger. "Hey, you want me to kick your butts right here and now?" she hissed, her
voice dangerously low.
They shut up. "We're sorry Rika," Takato explained, sweatdropping as he tried to worm
his way out of certain death. "It's not that it looks bad, because it doesn't. Just that, we
definetly didn't expect to see you running around in the mall in a dress, you of all people.
We thought the world was coming to an end, that's all."
"Uh, yeah," Henry agreed, raising an eyebrow. "Is there something going on that we
should know about?"
"No!" Rika shot back hotly. Then she crossed her arms defiantly and looked away. "It's
for my mother's fashion shoot. I promised her I'd be a model, but I hate it. So I left."
She glanced around the food court again in apprehension. Surely her mother had noticed
that she was gone by now. The mall would be crawling with her mom's people.
"Oh, I get it," Takato murmured, studying her face. "You ran away, and now you're
afraid you're gonna be caught."
"I'm not afraid of getting in trouble," she declared quickly, glaring at the two boys. "But
I am not going back in that studio." She noticed their mystified faces and sighed, softening
her tone slightly. "Look, I have to go."
Rika whirled around and started toward the exit she had been going for earlier. But she
barely went three steps before Takato grabbed her wrist, halting her. She spun back
around in a semi-defensive state..but for some reason it was hard to stay completely
on guard with him. She told herself it was because he was so clueless, he wouldn't have
been able to attack her if he tried.
"You don't want to go out that way," he told her. "That's an exit, sure, but it also
happens to be the front entrance. And if your mother's really after you, then that'll be
the first place she looks." Next to him, Henry nodded in confirmation.
Rika blinked at them, confused. "Alright then, which way should I go?" she demanded.
Takato tugged her along, leading them back through the food court. She gasped and
tried to pull her wrist away. "Um, hello? I just came from this way, Gogglehead!" she
snapped in frustration.
Takato kept pulling her along. "Yeah, I noticed," he replied, rolling his eyes. "But this way's
the side exit. It's probably the best way to go."
Rika's frown shifted to a puzzled look, but she didn't say anything else until the trio (and
Terriermon) had exited the mall. Sure enough, she hadn't seen her mother's people
anywhere.
Rika glanced at Takato. Not only had he actually had a good idea, but... "Why are you
helping me?" she asked, a hint of defense in her voice. "This has nothing to do with you."
Takato blinked, as if surprised. "Well, if you're gonna be in trouble, why shouldn't I help
you?" he wondered, scratching his head. Then he smirked. "I mean, you would have
done the same for me, wouldn't you?"
Rika wasn't even gonna bother replying to that. It looked like he already knew what the
answer was going to be...or so he thought.
Would I help him, if the situations were reversed? she wondered to herself, surprising
herself because she had never remembered caring before.
Rika wandered away from the two guys.
"Hey Rika, where're you going?" Henry called after her. She paused for a moment.
"I'm going home," she answered.
"Okay," said Takato. "But if you ask me, you should keep the new look, alright?" There
was a slight hint of teasing in his tone, but a lot less than there should have been. Henry
just smirked at him.
Rika stiffened. Just what does he think he's playing at? she thought. She whirled around
and gave him a venomous stare, clenching her fist in front of her in warning. Takato
froze and sweatdropped again, Henry breaking into laughter.
These guys are clowns, Rika thought, turning and leaving. Why do I hang out with them
at all?
"You know, if you ask me, I don't think she's going home," Takato murmured
after Rika had gone.
Henry glanced sideways at him. "You're right," he said, as the three of them left the
mall. "I mean, wouldn't she get in trouble if her mother gets back?"
"That's right," Terriermon chimed in sleepily. "So she's hiding something."
"Isn't she always?" Henry wondered, as the two made their way toward the park, to
visit Guilmon. He turned to Takato again. "By the way, do you have a serious death
wish or something?" he asked. "Picking on Rika isn't exactly the safest thing to do."
Takato shrugged. "I don't pick on her," he defended himself. "I just, uh, play around
a little."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see, that's a lot better in her books," he muttered
sarcastically.
"Well, Rika needs to have fun a little bit more, you know?" Takato pointed out, as they
entered the park. "I mean, she always takes everything so seriously...and she hides
everything that's wrong inside of her. That worries me." Then noticing Henry's look, he
added hastily. "I mean, it's dangerous when people keep things all bottled up inside
themselves."
Terriermon smiled at him knowingly. "Which just adds up to what you just said," he
pointed out.
Takato sighed in exasperation and pulled ahead of Henry and Terriermon. He was really
getting tired of this. It had been bad enough when his friends from school had been on
him about Jeri, but now he had to deal with Henry and Terriermon, who had somehow
gotten it into their heads that he liked Rika. Just because he'd once said he cared about
her...
"Maybe it's just a thing he has for redheads," Terriermon snickered.
Takato threw up his hands and turned to face the two jokers. "When I said I cared about
her, I meant it as a friend!" he declared, for what seemed like the 167th time. Then
he rolled his eyes and turned back around.
Chuckling, Henry ran to catch up with him. "Come on Takato, even you have to admit
that your 'dream girl' jokes have definetly increased in the last month or so."
Takato paused, right outside Guilmon's little homeplace. "What do you mean?" he
wondered, genuinely curious.
Henry rolled his eyes in exasperation. Guilmon came out of the crumbling stone structure.
"Takato!" The red dinosaur-like creature hurled himself at Takato, literally knocking him
over.
"Yeah, great to see you too Guilmon," Takato grinned, hugging the digimon back just
as hard.
"Has anything bad happened?" Guilmon wanted to know.
Takato shook his head. "No, it's been really quiet today," he replied, then raised an
eyebrow in confusion. "Um, why do you ask?"
"Well, I thought I saw Rika run by before you came," he said. "But it went by very fast,
so I don't know. I'm sure it was a girl with red hair. But it might have been someone
else. Rika doesn't wear a dress, does she?"
Takato and Henry exchanged glances. Terriermon jumped down from Henry's arms and
turned to Guilmon. "What colour was the dress?"
"Um..." Guilmon seemed to think hard. "I think it was purple, light purple. But she ran by
too fast for me to see--"
Terriermon faced the two boys. "Well, that settles it. Unless it's one heck of a coincidence,"
he stated. "How many redheads are running around the park in a purple dress?"
Henry sighed. "Rika's house is in the opposite direction from here, just thought I should
point it out," he muttered. "Guilmon, which way did she go? Should we go after her,
Takato?"
Takato turned to him, a thoughtful look on his face. He didn't say anything.
"We have to find out what she has on her mind," Henry continued. "You know it only
leads to trouble if she keeps her feelings closed away."
"There might not be anything wrong with her," Terriermon piped up. "Maybe she's just
being her normal self. She seemed alright to me."
Henry glared at his digimon. "Terriermon, that was mean!" he snapped.
Terriermon looked at Guilmon with a bewildered look. "What did I say? I was telling the
truth."
"And maybe that's the problem," Takato said in a quiet voice. They all turned to him as
he looked up. "Look, Henry, Terriermon, you guys go home. I'll look for her."
Henry frowned. "Not a good idea, Takato. What if it's an evil digimon?"
"Come on, do you think she'd keep that from us?" Takato demanded, then seeing their
faces, sighed. "Never mind. But I'll handle it, alright?"
Henry hesitated a moment, then looked out at the darkening sky. "I don't like it," he
mumbled. "But I've really got to get home. Come on, Terriermon." He turned to Takato.
"Listen, if anything shows up--"
"--I'll call you on the first phone I find," Takato finished, running down the park's path. "I'll
see you later."
Rika leaned against a tree, panting. She had run all the way to the park, just to get away
from the mall...from her mother...
She sighed and looked up at the sky, where the first evening stars were coming out. She
had been hoping and waiting for Renamon to appear, but she didn't know where Renamon
was this time.
Why can't she just understand? Rika wondered. I'm not like her. I'm nothing like her.
She slid to the ground at the base of the tree and just sat there. She wasn't sure how
long it had been, or when he showed up..he was just there.
"Wow Rika, I could have sworn that you lived in the other direction," he said from behind
her, sarcasm evident in his voice.
Rika clenched her eyes in frustration, stood up, and whirled to face him. "WHY are you
here, Takato?" she demanded. "What, are you following me?"
Takato shrugged. "Well, you said you were going home," he reminded her.
"What does it matter to you what I do?" she retorted, turning her back on him. "It's
none of your business."
Takato sighed, then came to stand beside her. "It matters, Rika, because you're my
friend, whether you like it or not. So tell me, what's wrong?"
Rika exhaled impatiently and walked a few feet away from him. "Seriously, Gogglehead,
are you asking for a butt-kicking? 'Cause I'm getting really, really annoyed with you."
Takato was silent for a minute, then spoke up again. "Do you always do that?" he
wanted to know.
Rika was surprised. "Do what?"
"Whenever you don't know what to do," he said. "Whenever you don't want anyone to
know what's going on, you always threaten to fight them?"
Rika was actually speechless for a minute. "I, uh...."
Takato came up to her again. "If you need to talk, I'm always here, Rika."
Rika glared. "I don't talk to anyone except Renamon," she shot back. "Leave me alone,
Takato, and don't talk about things you don't understand."
Takato shook his head, and Rika could tell he was mad. "I think I understand about
this," he said. "I always thought it was an attitude problem. Then I tried to believe it
was just because you're scared."
Rika's eyes widened, and she turned to face him again, tilting her head slightly in fury.
"Me? Scared?" She stared at him incredulously.
Takato made an impatient gesture. "Well, I don't know what it is, Rika. But you can do
something better about it then acting like a b**** all the time."
Rika's violet eyes went round, and even Takato seemed surprised at his choice of words.
She was shocked. That was definetly the last thing she'd expected Takato to say, but
what she was even more stunned about was how it actually seemed to hurt. And a lot,
too.
A heavy silence settled over them, and Takato's eyes met hers. "Uh Rika, I--"
She took a step back from him, giving him the most poisonous look she could muster
without bursting into tears. Bursting into tears...over Takato?
She broke the silence by spinning around on her heel and marching away, not saying a
single word.
The instant she was out of sight, she broke into a run.
******Flashback******
Rika glared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Mere disgust was long gone, now replaced
by pure loathsome.
"You're disgusting," she whispered to the girl staring back at her. "You're weak. It's
disgraceful that of all people, HE's the one that had to bring you down. And what's even
more disgusting is that...." she couldn't even finish her sentence as she collapsed to her
knees, the sobs coming back in full force.
What was disgusting was that he was right. She was everything he'd said she was. And
the way she had let herself be so easily read, by HIM, of every idiot in the world.
And on top of that, it didn't help that she was now in a battle of emotions with herself.
She wanted to hate him, but she couldn't because...
"I'm in love with him," she realized in a stunned whisper, now sitting stiffly on the bathroom
floor. "Oh God...."
Rika pulled herself to her feet, and hesitantly looked into the mirror, afraid that she'd see
the vivid images of the day before, once again playing through her mind the way they
had all day.
No. All that was watching her in the glass was that girl that she hated, that she couldn't
stand.
"I hate you," she mumbled quietly. Then she backed away from the mirror as if it was
a demon that were looking back at her. Instinctively, she threw out her hands, smashing
the mirror.
"I hate you!" she screamed.
Then everything went eerily silent as she stared, breathing hard, at the smashed mirror.
She only began to feel the pain in her hands after a few minutes, a delayed reaction. But
finally, Rika looked down at her hands, feeling sharp stabs in them, the shards of glass
protruding from them. Her hands were all scratched up, and bleeding.
Rika looked up at the mirror again, stunned. "I really am messed up," she murmured.
Then tears flooded her eyes again. Her hand kept hurting, throbbing with pain. Nothing
to the pain inside, however.
The phone rang, and she looked up, surprised. She hadn't had any contact with anybody
since yesterday. Both her mother and grandmother were out, she still didn't know where
Renamon was, and even though it was a Monday, she hadn't gone to school.
Rika hesitantly picked up the phone. "Hello?" She winced at her now-small voice.
"Hello? Rika?" said the voice on the other end
She sighed. "Oh hello Henry."
"What's going on?" he demanded.
"Nothing."
"Takato and I went to your school this afternoon, they said that you didn't go today,"
Henry informed her.
Rika shuddered at the sound of his name. What IS this doing to me? she wondered
silently. And where did it come from...
Out loud she said, "So how's that any of your business?"
Henry sighed in exasperation on the other end. "I'm not going to answer that," he
replied. "But I called you to know if you can meet us today in the park. It's just some
Tamer stuff we have to discuss. But if you're sick..."
Rika didn't answer for a long time, her mind shrouded in confusion and uneasiness. She
knew that Renamon would meet her if she went to the meeting, and Rika really wanted
to talk to her. On the other hand, HE would be there....
She wasn't sure if she could face him again. But then, am I going to keep running from
him forever? she asked herself. I can't do that, it would be even worse than seeing
him, it would let him know that I actually cared about it...
"Uh Rika?" Henry asked from the other end of the line. "You still there?"
"Okay, I'll come," she agreed quietly.
"Alright, see you there."
The meeting did not go well. The tension between Rika and Takato were enough to
send warning waves over the entire park. Henry kept glancing between one and the
other nervously. Takato had told him what happened that morning, but he had sure
left out a lot of details. Like how hard Rika seemed to be taking it, no matter how
hard she worked to display the opposite. He knew that the words must have really
stung her.
Guilmon wasn't playing around as usual. Even Terriermon's normal chain of jokes was
cut in half. Renamon was silent, refusing to say a word.
Needless to say, after less than half an hour, Henry looked up at the evening sky, and
picked Terriermon up. "I've got to go, you guys," he informed the others. "Why don't
I drop Guilmon off at his hiding place?"
Takato looked up. "No, that's alright-" he began, but Henry gave him a piercing look.
"It's okay, I'll do it. It's not that far," he replied.
Takato nodded in resignation, missing when Henry turned his look to Renamon. She
spoke up.
"Rika, I have to leave," she said in her soft voice. "Impmon said he had to talk to me
about something tonight."
Rika wanted to protest, but then she stopped herself, and nodded as well. "Okay. I
guess I'll see you tomorrow, Renamon."
Renamon disappeared, as Henry and the other two digimon started down the path
toward the exit of the park.
Leaving Takato and Rika alone under the grove of trees.
The silence was unbearably heavy, enough to weigh on anyone's nerves. And Rika's
nerves were already to the breaking point, she was sure she'd go nuts if she stayed
there with him any longer. She couldn't even look at him.
Rika finally pushed herself off the tree she was leaning against. "I'm going," she said
sharply, the only words she had said to him that day. She turned around and was
about to head off after Henry...when he grabbed her hand, just like yesterday.
"Wait," he said. "Henry's right, we need to talk."
Rika didn't really pay attention to these words. Takato had grabbed her hand, where
she had at least a dozen cuts from smashing her fists through the mirror. As much as
she tried to control it, against her will she flinched and let out a tiny cry of pain, yanking
her hand away.
Takato froze, and stared at her. "Rika-"
Rika closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, waiting for the pain to subside. She had
tied bandages around the deep scratches, even though blood had still soaked through,
and she had kept her hands dug into the pockets of her jacket during the whole
meeting. There was no way she was letting him know what he'd caused her to do.
"Leave me alone," she stated quietly, not looking at him. "I told you, I have to leave."
It was as if she hadn't even spoken, as he walked up and grabbed her hand, this time
around the forearm. He pulled them gently out of her pockets, and pulled down the
sleeves, so that her bandaged hands were revealed.
Takato was silent for a long time. Finally, "What happened?"
Rika refused to meet his gaze, tugging her arm out of his grasp.
"Or maybe I should rephrase that. What did you do to yourself?"
"It's none of your business," she snapped.
He rolled his eyes. "Do you want to start all this over again?"
"Start all what?" she demanded angrily. "I don't want to start anything with you. You
know, you're lucky I didn't seriously injure you yesterday-"
He shook his head. "You don't have to always act so brave and angry," he murmured.
"What would you know?" she said in a low voice. "You don't know a thing about me."
He was quiet again. Then he took both her arms, forcing her to stare straight at him.
"Well, I know I care about you," he said softly.
Her anger was suddenly pacified, and yet intensified at the same time. She smiled
bitterly, looking away. "Or so you say," she muttered.
"But not in the way I meant it before," he whispered.
Rika narrowed her eyes at him dangerously, and tried to back away, but he still had
a hold on her arms.
"Now you're just being malicious," she retorted in her deadly whisper. "That is low,
even for you, Gogglehead. Like I need you to make fun of me after yesterday--"
To her horror, she realized that she had burst into tears without even knowing.
Takato was watching her, stunned. "So you CAN cry," he murmured.
"That's a blinding flash of the obvious," she retorted, trying furiously to wipe away her
tears.
Then he did the job for her. And all she could do was stare back at him.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. Just two simple words, the only two words she needed to
hear at that moment.
"I never meant to make you cry, Rika," he continued. To her surprise, there were
tears in his eyes, too. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean what I said the day
before, you've got to know that. And I never wanted to make you hurt yourself."
Rika wanted to protest at first and insist that it wasn't because of him that she'd hurt
herself, but she was too tired of lying to herself. "Takato-" she began.
He cut her off. "I really do care about you, Rika. I know you don't want to believe it,
but it's true."
Yet another silence, as she stared into his eyes, struck speechless for the second time
in 2 days. Then tears welled into her eyes as she jumped into his arms, throwing her
arms around him.
"Takato," she cried. "I care about you too. I really hate it, but I can't help it. And it's
scary, because I don't care about anyone else except Renamon...and I don't care
about even her this way...I don't even know what I'm feeling."
"Well, I think I might know, if it's anything like I'm feeling," Takato said softly, hugging
her gently. He whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied in a small voice. "I'm sorry for not telling you before."
"That's alright, I think I already knew," he told her innocently.
Rika's head shot up in shock. "What? How long have you known?"
He smiled. "Does it matter anymore?"
Rika smiled back in agreement. "No, I guess it doesn't."
K, I know that must've really sucked -_-;;. Believe me, I wrote this under some really
bad conditions, but also, I don't know as much about Season 3 as I do about the other
seasons. It's kind of hard to write a romance on two characters who haven't been
thrown together by fate (at least, the same kind of fate as the Digiworld thing), but...
whatever, I hope whoever read this enjoyed it, and please review too, k? ^_^