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Chapter 2: After School Activities

Jeri Katou was considered a good student by both her teachers and her peers. She did the work that was assigned to her and almost always got high marks. Still, there were some subjects that she wasn't particularly interested in. Chemistry was one of these subjects.

Not helping matters was the fact that it was her last class of the day. As much as Jeri liked to try to be the responsible and hard-working student others labeled her as, even she was not immune to the eager anticipation that took over everyone at this time of day. It was for this reason that she didn't mind sitting in the back of the class.

Takato sat to Jeri's immediate left, looking back and forth between the window and his notebook. Of course, she knew that her lab partner's mind was even farther from the class than hers was. Takato was drawing rather than taking notes, a habit which he had not dropped for as long as Jeri had known him.

Unfortunately for Takato, this fact was not lost on their instructor. Mr. Nakamura, who liked to walk around the room as he gave his lecture, had made his way to the back of the room. He had paused upon spotting Takato and was now standing over the boy.

"Mr. Matsuki," Mr. Nakamura announced. "Would you care to repeat anything I just said?"

"Uh…" was Takato's only response. The leader of the Tamers turned pale as he looked up at his teacher. Jeri had watched many scenes like this one over the years, to the point where they had become nostalgic. She tried not to smile at Takato's expense.

"Come on, your pencil hasn't left your notebook since I started lecturing. This should be easy for you."

"I, uh, w-well… y-you see…" Takato stuttered as he looked at his notebook and around the room. All eyes were trained on him. The room was filled with snickers and giggles, the most audible of which belonged to Kazu and Kenta, who sat at a table to Jeri's right.

"Here, I'll help you out." Mr. Nakamura lifted the notebook off the table and began to flip through the pages. He sighed as though he weren't surprised at what he found. "Well, I'm not seeing a whole lot of chemistry here, Mr. Matsuki."

"Well, about that-"

"I do want to extend congratulations to Ms. Katou, Mr. Shioda, and Mr. Kitagawa. You three, among other things, are apparently more interesting than anything I have to say. Is that Henry Wong? He's in my second period class."

"Imagine that…" Takato slouched in his seat, obviously wanting to disappear.

"I take back what I said before," Mr. Nakamura said quietly. He grinned as he turned a few more pages. "I may have found some chemistry in here after all. Who's the girl, Matsuki?"

"What do you…?" Takato paused for a second, and then the confusion on his face turned into realization. Kazu and Kenta began to laugh out loud as his face turned red. "Aw, nuts."

Jeri needed no clarification as to what was going on. Only one Rika Nonaka could provoke that kind of response from Takato. Jeri felt a brief pang of jealousy, as there had been a time when she was the one most often responsible for making Takato flustered. She quickly pushed the feeling away before it had a chance to turn into guilt. She and Takato had come to terms with their feelings for each other a long time ago, and she never wanted to be what stood between him and Rika. That was, of course, if the Tamer's leader and the Digimon Queen ever did sort out their relationship.

"How long do I have detention?" Jeri heard Takato ask meekly, which brought her back to reality.

Immediately after the question was asked, the school bell rang, indicating that the day was over. Mr. Nakamura closed the notebook and handed it back to Takato. "I'm going to let it slide this one time, Takato," he answered. "Just try to pay closer attention in the future."

"I'll do my best."

"I'm sure." Mr. Nakamura turned to the rest of the class, who had all started gathering their belongings. "Alright, get lost, all of you."

Jeri followed Kazu and Kenta out, but paused after realizing that Takato was lagging behind a bit. Something was bothering him, and had been at least since they defeated the second D-Reaper a few months ago. It was something Jeri planned on getting him to talk about as they walked home.

Waiting had become more difficult for Suzie Wong as she got older. When she first became a Tamer, she often ended up sidelined due to her lack of experience. The fact that Henry and the others did this to keep her safe eventually stopped being a consolation. If nothing else, it meant that she was doing nothing when she could be helping to protect her friends and family.

Fortunately, Suzie's current situation wasn't so life-and-death, so she was able to maintain some self-control. She peered inside the convenience store's window, trying to gauge how much longer she would be waiting.

"I'm sure it won't be much longer, Suzie," assured Lopmon, who was currently sitting on top of Suzie's head.

"You always say that, Lop," Suzie replied.

"And I'm right often enough, aren't I?" Lopmon said with a smile. Suzie's partner had once been servant to the digimon equivalent of a god, so she had always been the most humble and polite of the Tamers' digimon. Years of living with Terriermon, however, had led to Lopmon gaining more confidence and even picking up a little snark.

"Still, there's no reason he should be blowing all his allowance on these cards," Ai said. She stood next to Suzie as though she refused to look in the window. They were waiting on her brother, Mako, who had gone into the store in the hopes of adding to his collection of modify cards.

"I keep tellin' 'em ta save his money," Impmon declared confidently. Standing right at Ai's side, he was being surprisingly patient. "I mean, who needs all dem fancy cards when yous got me for a partner?"

"A Tamer doesn't turn down an advantage over pride," Suzie recited, echoing the words of her late mentor. She felt a knot form in her chest as she spoke and tried to suppress the feeling. She was not going to have an episode.

"I'm not a Tamer. I'm a Demon Lord."

"Do you even know what that means?" Lopmon asked.

"No, but everyone keeps sayin' it and it sounds cool."

Lopmon sighed as Mako finally exited the store. As usual, he was having a little trouble opening the pack. He lifted his head from it upon realizing he had four sets of eyes staring at him.

"What took you so long?" Ai asked sternly.

"Relax, Ai," Mako replied casually. "I had to make sure I chose the right pack."

"Let's just get going," Suzie suggested, and the two siblings followed her away from the store. Over time, the older Tamers had made it a point to include Ai and Mako in the group's activities. Due to them being about her age and attending the same school, Suzie and the two became friends pretty quickly. Though their bickering sometimes annoyed Suzie, she had largely gotten used to it.

"I mean, we gotta be ready for what Impmon saw last night," Mako continued, still struggling with the pack of cards as he spoke.

"We're still not sure what he saw," Ai countered. "We should wait to see what Henry says before we run off looking for a fight."

"Well, whatever it is, we can take 'em. Right, Impmon?"

"You know it," Impmon chimed in.

"I agree with Ai," Lopmon said calmly. "If this Guilmon is as strong as ours, we can't afford to take him lightly."

"What do you think, Suzie?" Ai asked.

"I think you're both right," Suzie answered. She paused for a beat, again trying to recall what was taught to her. "We shouldn't rush into a fight blind, but we have to be ready in case the fight comes to us."

"I guess. I'm just worried-"

"Gotcha!" Mako called out. He had finally managed to open his pack of cards. Ignoring the fact that everyone was looking his way, Mako began look over the cards. "Cool, I've been looking for this one."

Suzie froze as Mako held out the card he was referring to: Myotismon. During her time as a Tamer, Suzie had faced a number of digimon, but none haunted her nightmares quite like he did. Despite trying to assure herself that it was just a trading card, Suzie found herself flashing back to when she first faced the monster a few months ago. With an eerie grin plastered on his face and maniacal laughter echoing in her ears, Suzie watched Myotismon stand over a kneeling Justimon. Without any remorse, the demon digimon struck him down. Before Suzie had been able to do anything, Ryo Akiyama, her friend and mentor, was removed from the world.

Suzie forced her mind back to the present, resulting in her falling on her backside. Her heart was pounding and she was having trouble breathing. At some point during all of this, Lopmon had jumped off her head. The brown and pink digimon was currently at Suzie's side, holding her hand in an obvious attempt to calm her. Ai ran to the opposite side as Mako and Impmon looked on, probably confused as to what was going on.

"Suzie!" Ai called out. "Suzie, what's wrong?"

Suzie didn't answer, partially because she was embarrassed. It was just a stupid picture, she thought. Pull it together. In addition to trying to steady her breathing, Suzie was also fighting back tears. She refused to cry in front of everyone. She reflexively buried her face in her knees.

"Why don't you guys go on ahead?" Lopmon suggested.

"Are you sure?" Ai asked.

"Definitely. I can get her home."

"Okay, but you have to promise to call if there's anything we can do to help." Lopmon gave no verbal confirmation that Suzie heard, but she did hear Ai, Mako, and Impmon walk away.

"Suzie," Lopmon whispered. "They're gone."

Suzie wasted no time in grabbing hold of her partner digimon and holding her close. She had no misgivings about releasing her tears now. Lopmon would never judge her. This was despite dressing her up like a doll when they were first partnered and the training she was put through as Suzie got older. Suzie didn't think it was possible to have a more loyal friend.

"I don't know what do, Lop," Suzie cried. "It's supposed to get easier. Why isn't it getting easier?"

"I don't know," Lopmon replied. No one seemed to have an easy solution.

Takato leafed through the pages of the notebook Mr. Nakamura had returned to him. He had already known he would sketch pictures of Rika from time to time, but he also drew his other friends. The notebook's pages, however, revealed that he drew Rika at least twice as often as the others. Takato was somewhat relieved by the fact that he hadn't subconsciously drawn anything provocative, but the sheer number of sketches was still a little off-putting. Part of his mind tried to rationalize this fact, saying Rika was more complicated than the others and a more difficult subject to draw. Another part simply insisted it was because she was prettier than most of the others.

"Man, Chumley," Kazu commented. He and Kenta looked over Takato's shoulders as they walked home through Shinjuku Park. "You really are obsessed."

"At least he hasn't started drawing her in wedding dresses yet," Kenta added. "Or nothing at all."

"That we know of."

"Okay, enough!" Takato snapped. He slammed the notebook shut and swung it in their direction to get them to back away.

"Jeez, I guess she's rubbing off on him," Kazu said with a grin. "So when did this start?"

"When did what start?"

"Don't play dumb, Chumley. You know what I'm asking."

"I really don't," Takato lied. Even if he had wanted to answer Kazu, he wouldn't be able to provide a straight answer. Takato wasn't exactly sure when his feelings for Rika had come to be, or if there even was a definitive moment at all. Like everything else in his relationship with the Digimon Queen, they seemed to have developed over time. He only knew when he had started admitting he had feelings for her to himself, which occurred sometime after they had defeated Myotismon and the second D-Reaper.

Of course, accepting the fact hadn't really made things any easier. Takato would be the first to admit that he didn't have the highest self-esteem, and that his initial hesitation was due to Rika being well out of his league. The more Takato thought about it, however, the more he realized that he was holding back due to his recurring nightmares. If there was something to be had between him and Rika, he didn't want it hindered by his own demons.

"Leave Takato alone, guys," Jeri ordered, though her teasing tone told Takato that shouldn't be grateful just yet. "Why does it matter when Takato fell in love with Rika?"

"Traitor," Takato breathed, sending a glare in Jeri's direction. She only giggled in response.

"I'm more interested in the 'why' than the 'when'," Kenta said. "I mean, I smiled at her one time and she threatened to dislocate my jaw."

"That's just because you two annoy her with every opportunity you get," Jeri explained. "Rika's rough around the edges, yeah, but she's also smart, funny, and thoughtful when it comes to the people she cares about."

Takato agreed with Jeri on all counts, but felt like his current position wouldn't benefit from saying so out loud. Besides, they had reached the point in their walk home when they went their separate ways. Takato thought he had snuck off when he felt someone tug on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Jeri asked as he turned to face her.

"Yeah," Takato answered with a smile. "I got used to those two a long time ago."

"Is something bothering you, Takato?"

"I've… just got some stuff on my mind."

"Anything that you want to talk about?"

"Not right now, Jeri." Takato opened his cellphone as he spoke. During lunch, he had received one of Rika's customarily vague responses to him asking about her plans. Since opening a message saying "Haven't decided yet," he hadn't heard from her. "But I appreciate the offer."

Takato waved goodbye to Jeri and headed off. He felt bad blowing her off, but he would also feel bad for wasting her time on bad dreams. Besides, if need be, there would be time to talk later.

Rika darted off the subway car and began to make her way up to street level. Her D-Power had lit up just as they pulled into the station. Given its location, she doubted that any of her friends would be able to deal with this particular bio-emergence.

Not that that bothered Rika. It had been a while since she and Renamon dealt with one on their own. Since defeating the original D-Reaper, Hypnos had been pretty good about maintaining the barrier between the worlds. With the exception of the portal underneath Guilmon's old utility shed, most portals were neutralized before they could fully develop. While a number of contingencies were put in place to drastically reduce the number of bio-emergences, some still managed to slip through the cracks.

Not long after she was above ground, Rika found herself looking at the familiar site of a digital field. Renamon appeared to her right, ready as ever for a fight.

"Do you want to stretch first?" Rika asked her partner.

"I think I'll be able to manage," Renamon replied.

Rika pulled her blue-lensed shades over her eyes. Renamon obviously didn't think the digimon inside was much of a threat, so there was no reason to worry. Of course, there was also the possibility that they wouldn't have to fight at all. Either way, the pair didn't hesitate to enter the field.

Once inside, it didn't take long to find the digimon they were looking for. At the center of the field sat a hulking green monster that Rika instantly recognized as Ogremon. If she recalled correctly, this particular digimon was known more for his brute strength than anything else. Renamon had the advantage when it came to speed and most likely intelligence as well.

"Looks like I found myself a fight," the Ogremon said excitedly.

"I'm hoping it won't come to that," Renamon countered. A couple years back, the Tamers faced a Locomon under the control of a Parasimon. After dealing with the incident, Takato became adamant that not all digimon who wondered into the Real World were evil, and should be offered a chance to return home. The others were easily convinced, so it became their policy when dealing with "wild ones." To both Rika's surprise and relief, a number of the wayward digimon accepted the offer to be returned home.

"That makes one of us." Ogremon pointed his club at Renamon as he spoke. Obviously, he was not going to be easily swayed.

"Look, we know of an easy way to get you back to the Digital World," Rika explained. "We don't want to kill you."

"Don't worry, human. That won't be an issue." Ogremon leapt into the air, targeting Rika specifically. Before he could bring his club down, Renamon grabbed hold of Rika and pulled her off to the side.

"I guess peace talks have broken down," Rika said as she looked up at her partner. "You wanna digivolve?"

"No," Renamon replied with a touch of anger in her voice. She glared at her opponent as she spoke. "In fact, I'd like to deal with this one on my own."

"Are you sure?"

"He just made things personal."

"Then walk all over him."

Rika stepped back as Renamon launched herself, kicking Ogremon in the middle of his face. He rolled backwards, doing his best to make sure he landed upright. Ogremon lifted himself up and moved for a counterattack, but Rika knew he wasn't fast enough to land a hit. Still, Renamon wasn't above making a show of how outclassed her opponent was. She waited until the last second before phasing out of the way of the attack.

Ogremon roared in rage as his club hit nothing but concrete. Renamon appeared again behind him, leading to the ogre taking another swing at her. This repeated a few more times, to the point Rika almost started to get bored.

Ogremon brought his club down in vain again, this time showing signs of fatigue. Before he could lift it, Renamon phased into view, this time landing on top of her opponents weapon. She crossed her arms and sighed. "What's the matter, big guy?" she taunted. "I thought you wanted to fight, not dance."

"Shut up!" Ogremon bellowed. He swung his club upwards, propelling Renamon into air. Renamon spread her arms, a sign to Rika that the fight was over.

"DIAMOND STORM!"

The shards that made up Renamon's signature attack rained down on Ogremon, with some embedding themselves in his skin while others passed right through him. Renamon landed on the ground just in time to watch her opponent burst apart into data.

"Show off," Rika teased as the field around them faded away.

"I learned from the best," Renamon returned in kind.

Rika had planned on leaving without another word. There was no point in sticking around to explain the damages to whatever authorities responded first, as that job usually fell to Hypnos. She was stopped by energy building up in front of her. She recognized the energy as the result of the reality tears they had used to travel a few months back. What shocked her more was what she saw when the portal finished forming.

Rika removed her shades and blinked a couple times, not convinced she wasn't hallucinating. She took a single step closer, as did the mirror-image of herself on the other side. This wasn't a reflection, however, as she was dressed differently. The "other her" wore a t-shirt with a broken heart on it, just like she used to wear, as well as a worn out, grey trench coat.

Then, before either of them could speak, the portal shut and the energy dissipated. While Rika wasn't easily scared, she found herself unable to move or speak. Something about what she had seen had left her cold and, for whatever reason, she was not eager to find out why.

So this fic will have a larger Rukato component than my last one did. I'll leave it to you to decide whether or not that's a good thing.

If you feel up to it, leave a review to let me know how I'm doing.