Author's Note: This takes place about five years after Tamers and is from Ryo's point of view. To understand this, you'll probably need to have at least a brief understanding of the first three seasons. You will also need to understand the occurrences of the Ryo-based WonderSwan games. If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest quickly skimming over his wikia page and maybe a few others (.com/wiki/Ryo_Akiyama ). If there are any questions, suggestions, or thoughts please review and I would be happy to clear things up, etc. Any comments or reviews are most welcome. Enjoy!

PS. If the text has looked funny recently, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened.

A painful picture that I can't forget
Now what I see is what I get
It's too late to look back
I've got no way to switchback

-Switchback by Celldweller

"Next stop, Shinjuku Station."

Ryo Akiyama sighed, staring down at his MP3 player as it changed to a new song, and got up, preparing to get off the train. It had been five years since the last time he was in Japan and he was a little anxious. He had been trying to keep in contact with everyone, but it was hard when you didn't stay in one place for more than two weeks at a time and refused to carry a cell phone. It was right after Rika's thirteenth birthday that he had left again. It wasn't like he had wanted to leave; it was that he had to. He had to; to protect everyone. A nightmare from his past had come back to haunt him, and he couldn't let that endanger those he cared for.

The brunette stepped off the train as it reached the platform and frowned slightly, his piercing blue eyes searching the faces around him. He felt like a stranger in his home town, but he knew certain people might recognize him. And that was attention he was not in the mood for. He needed to make sure the coast was clear before he let anyone know his location. It was a Digimon he was running from; he didn't want to add humans into the mix unless he was sure that he could. He would visit his friends from five years ago, but they didn't need to know the whole truth. No, that would only put them in more danger. Sighing, Ryo walked out of the train station and into the busy streets of West Shinjuku.

"Ryo? Hey! Ryo Akiyama!"

He froze. This is exactly what he didn't need right now. Plastering on a smile, Ryo turned to see Kazu running towards him with a wide grin. "Hey there, Kazu... It's been a while."

"Heck yeah it's been," he said crossing his arms. "Where the hell've you been all this time anyway? Without you here, we've had to deal with the wrath of Rika tenfold." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Does she know you're here?"

Laughing slightly, he shook his head. "No... No one knows yet. Well, except for you now, of course. I...wanted to settle in before I let anyone know."

"Oh, yeah, I totally understand. Still use the same email?" When he received a nod, his smile widened. "Sweet. We should gather up the gang; you know, have a reunion. I'll be sending you an email once I figure things out. Well, I gotta get going sooo... Later!" At that, Kazu ran off before Ryo could even begin to protest.

Unpacking took much longer than it should have. It was probably because much of the time was spent with thoughts of the past and possible future. Ryo had no problem at all navigating the apartment building he was now going to live in, but even so, the land lady had found it necessary to describe every inch of the place in detail. She had also been puzzled and quite curious as to why a smart-looking nineteen-year-old would be out here living on their own and not off to college somewhere.

Nineteen. Was that how old he was? Somehow he felt much, much older. "It's because time flows differently in the Digital World," he clarified to himself as he put the rest of his clothes away. Walking out of his bedroom and out into the main living space of his apartment, he looked around at it carefully as if to take it all in. It had come only semi-furnished and was relatively small compared to the average size, but still it all felt like too much.

Sighing, Ryo walked back into his room and out onto the balcony it connected to, looking down at the city streets three stories below him. This part of the city was generally busy all the time, so he wasn't surprised to see it as crowded as ever. It was a Friday night and they all had places to go. He watched these people go about their business and thought of his friends. Sure, he'd see Takato and the others relatively soon, but what about the other Digidestined he'd befriended long ago? Tai and the other original chosen along with the second generation of kids. And then there was Ken Ichijouji... He and Ken shared a history; one of friendship and betrayal. Light and darkness. Ryo hadn't seen the blue haired boy since he had been planted with the dark seed and sent home from the Digital World to heal.

Of course, he had known about the whole Digimon Kaiser ordeal – no one in the Digital World at the time didn't. Though he had been unable to do anything about it at the time and it had gnawed at his conscience non stop until Davis and the other were able to solve the problem. The whole thing was almost amusing to Ryo because that particular struggle had been caused by MaloMyostismon, who had thought since his master seemed to be gone for good, he would be able to use the power of the dark seed to his advantage. He was dead wrong and ultimately failed.

"Ryo... You have a message," came a voice from within his room.

Blinking, he separated himself from his thoughts and walked back into his room, looking down at the open laptop on his desk. A three inch avatar of Monodramon sat at the bottom left corner of the screens desktop, yawning. He pointed up at a 'new message' icon that had appeared above him and said, "It's from Kazu."

Ryo laughed slightly, sitting down at the desk. "That was fast... Did he actually let everyone know?" Clicking on the icon, he quickly went over the message that popped up and gave another short laugh, leaning back in his chair. Apparently Kazu had started telling everyone right after their meeting at the train station. They all seemed thrilled at the thought of having him back... All except Rika, who had not replied to Kazu's email. Ryo smiled to himself, saying, "What a surprise... I knew that she'd be mad at me."

"What's a club?" asked Monodramon, reading over the email as well. "And why does Kazu want you to hang there?"

"A club is a public place where people go to eat, drink, and dance. Hanging out is just a way of saying 'spend time'." The purple dragon Digimon gave an understanding 'oh' and Ryo looked to his half empty closet. "A club, huh? What am I supposed to wear to something like that?"

"You've never been to one?"

"Not once.

"You'll think of something." There was a silence of contemplation before Monodramon asked, "Do you think it's safe?"

Ryo let out a heavy sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "I sure as hell hope so... I really hope...that I don't regret coming here..."

"Hey!" shouted an extremely cheerful voice from within the club. "Hey, there you are, slowpoke! What took you so long?"

Walking into the club, Ryo looked towards the voice and saw Jeri standing by a table not too far from the entrance. He put on a smile and made his way over, taking in his surroundings as usual. The place had a very old, yet new feel to it; as if it had been around for quite some time but was more popular with the younger generations. The walls were littered with pieces of art donated or up for sale from local rising artists and the dimness of it all was washed away by hundreds of brightly colored lights dancing about. It was rather large and had clusters of tables surrounding a dance floor in the center. There were second floor balconies that were probably reserved for separate parties and went completely unheard to those below over the load music coming from large speakers in the corners and panels of the ceiling. Ryo looked back at Jeri as she waved him over and pulled out a chair for him. He sat down as the others greeted him and noticed another empty chair at the table. "I guess she didn't come, huh?"

"She's just mad, as usual..." said Takato, laughing slightly. "I'm sure she'll get over it eventually."

"I can understand why she's mad though," commented Henry, taking a sip of his drink. "I mean it's been, what, five years and none of us have really had much contact with you at all."

"Yeah..." Ryo stared into his glass as the waitress came by and filled it with ice water. "Sorry about that. It's a little hard to keep in good contact with all the traveling that I do..."

"And the fact that you don't have a cell phone." mentioned Kazu with a grin, his mouth half full. "You don't like phones and you never stay put. You are one weird dude, you know that?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I know."

"Akiyama!"

"Oh no..." Kenta shuddered, seeming to shrink in his chair. "Duck and cover."

Ryo looked to the source of the voice and literally had to duck to dodge getting punched in the face.

"What the hell are you doing here, Ryo?" Rika scowled, bringing her fist back for another swing. "You're gone for years and you suddenly appear out of nowhere without any explanation or warning? You're unbelievable!"

He caught her next punch, frowning. "Would you calm down please? I have my reasons, you know."

"Yeah, like what?"

Sighing, Ryo glanced at the others before looking back at Rika. "Can we talk outside please?" Receiving a glare and a nod, he sighed, getting up and headed for the door, Rika following. Once outside, he turned to stop in an alley next the club and looked around to make sure no one else happened to be in hearing range. Rika stood across from him and leaned against the alley wall, crossing her arms. Ryo frowned, sighing. "I'm sorry...that it's been so long. It's been hard to come back or even keep in contact. I had to make sure it was safe. And not just safe for me, but for you guys as well."

She frowned, unimpressed. "So you're running from what, another Digimon? I doubt it's anything we couldn't handle."

"It's more than just another Digimon, Rika. He's..." Ryo's eyes widened as he looked across the street to a television store, the screens flickering a message when they shouldn't be.

Rika followed his gaze and her frown deepened. "What the hell is that..."

Across the clustered screens, a message that read 'I found you...' scrolled across over and over, the image of something like a two-headed dragon flickering in the background. Ryo swallowed hard, and looked back at her. "That is what I've been running from..."