Here is the second part of the two shot.
The moments of happiness we enjoy takes us by surprise, it is not that we seize them but rather they seize us. -Ashley Montagu
Why am I here?
This was the first thought that ran through the mind of a certain Redhead as she leaned her back against an iron railing, head bent to stare at snowflakes falling from the cloudless black sky above. As far as Rika could tell she was standing on some kind of a cement structure feeling how solid the white ground underneath her feet felt and the fact that there was a lamppost next to her whose light continually flickered within the glass container.
The structure wasn't very large, she clearly saw that it would only take about fifty steps to cross it yet for some reason she could not bring herself to do so. On one side she could see in the distance speckles of light outlining the tall silhouettes of city buildings. While on the other side was a large forest stripped completely bare of foliage and stacked together up like a line of soldiers.
Rika did not recognize her surroundings however her mind deduced that she was standing on a small bridge judging from how wide it was. In addition to the fact that if she tilted her head a little she would see a river that would run through what she assumed to be the gaping mouth of a tunnel under her shoes. Right now the river was frozen, trapped within a layer of frost, which kept it from flowing like everything else in the passage of time.
The girl exhaled and watched another puff of breath float away toward nothing, Rika noticed that the most peculiar thing was not that she seemed to be in a place she had never been to before nor did it seem important to question how exactly she had gotten here. Rather it was how she found that there was no color anywhere, not just that everything was covered in snow but there was absolutely no color to anything except her. She also noted the absence of her partner, being unable to sense her nearby through their connection made it seem like Rika really was alone out here.
Is this a dream? Well obviously, can't think of any other reason why the world would suddenly look like an old black and white movie.
Her clothes were the normal blue coat and pants she wore during the winter. Thankfully, she wasn't sporting that same scarf again.
As she stood in the snow waiting for something to happen, hopefully soon as she was beginning to lose her patience with the dream suddenly she was made aware of a presence on one side of the bridge when the faint sound of a twig snapping reached her ears and she quickly faced the direction it had come from. Her only greeting was the same scenery she had just been watching, there was no indication that anything had been there.
Mentally scolding herself for being so jumpy Rika turned and returned to her original position to continue staring at nothing in particular. When the sound came back, this time on the other side of the bridge she snapped it in the direction of the noise only to once again find that there was no one there. Annoyance proceeded to her face Okay that's it, either whatever's supposed to happen in this dream happens now or I'm just going to wake myself up. Reaching up one arm the girl prepared to give herself a light pinch to the other arm that would conceivably induce the proper sensation of a shock to her brain and yank her back to reality.
The unexpected chime of a small bell at her feet stopped her motions and Rika bent her head down slightly to gaze at whatever had made the curious jingle, at her feet lay the one thing Rika would never have expected to find in one of her dreams. It was a small present, the package was grey like everything else but at the same time it had been decorated in colorful things; such as a red ribbon tied in a little bow with a piece of Mistletoe hanging from one loop, adorned with three small bells which Rika assumed had been the cause of the noise.
Looking from left to right trying to find some trace of whomever left the gift to her; Rika's sight was only met with the same scenery she had been staring at for what felt like hours now. Staring back at the wrapped thing Rika was hesitant to pick it up at first, not that she had anything against getting gifts but when receiving one and not knowing who the giver was kind of sent an uncomfortable feeling of being stalked through her body. Deciding to just go ahead and test the waters a bit she carefully reached down and picked it up, turning it from one side to the other and upside down taking in every detail. Finding nothing even remotely suspicious about it the girl merely stood there holding it with heedful finger, she made no move to do anything with it. Reasoning within her mind over the significance of what to do with her possession Rika sought to understand why it was even here.
Well if this is a dream it could become a horribly cliché one where I open the present and a face-hugger or something jumps out at me.
Rika paused in thought to try and image what that might be like, before shaking her head.
Then again I don't normally know if I'm dreaming and whatever is inside this present is probably important if I'm holding it like it's going to drop and shatter.
As Rika continued to debate with her own introspection she grew mindful of another thing added to the present that she hadn't been paying much attention to. There was a small blank card hanging from the bottom half of the gift, grasping it in her fingers Rika tentatively turned it over searching for any insignia that could give her a better idea of the sender. Finding it just as white as the other side she decided that the inside might hold a better hint to her mysterious sender and opening it up was surprised to find that instead of any actual signature there were only a few lines of words and a picture.
A picture of her, or to be more precise a hand drawn sketch of her face colored by markers and with a little smile that seemed to have been made so naturally even Rika herself believed it was real. Underneath that she could read the words:
Expecting a little more?
Well here's something I got just for you.
Happy holidays to you with a warm greeting, Rika.
"Well that's really helpful but really is it too hard to just leave a name or something?" Sarcasm her forte as always Rika took another look at the card to see if she had accidentally missed something. In the back of her mind there was only one person she knew who could have drawn her face as a signature like that, an image of a certain chestnut brown haired and crimson eyed tamer wearing goggles filled her mind then Rika actually felt a spread of pink across her face.
Not that the red ribbon wasn't a bit of a dead giveaway but still, why would I be dreaming about a gift from Takato?
Staring again Rika suddenly yet swiftly took the card right off and stuffed it into her coat pocket then exhaling a deep breath that turned to steam in the air she lifted the gift up closer to the vicinity of her upper body using one arm while the other began unwrapping her gift. Down fell the mistletoe to embrace hard cement while the ribbon when pulled surrendered itself to a passing breeze and was gone in a wild serpentine flutter. Long nails picked apart crevices in the grey wrapping paper until it was promptly torn in two. The deed was done slowly but not carefully as though some lingering doubt prevented her from moving any faster.
Let's just get this over with was the last thought in Rika's head having become fed up with understanding the dream she impatiently opened the box releasing illumination from within it.
"Rika, time to wake up. It's Christmas!"
A small groan of annoyance and slight shuffling of covers was the only response Rumiko Nonaka could garner from the still half sleeping girl, frowning at her daughter's stubbornness to remain dreaming the mother decided to try a more incessant approach. With a wicked grin she began rapidly poking random places of the blanketed body causing it to muddle and twitch through the material until finally rolling itself off the futon then Rika's head immediately shot upward looking around for an unknown enemy.
"Huh! Wha... Renamon?" She rubbed the dusts of sleep from her eyes the bipedal kitsune appeared to melt into solid form out of empty air, piercing blue eyes only half watching for any signs of a threat. Rika blinked out the last remains of drowsiness from her vision then took a closer look at her visitor, seeing the older woman with her hands clapped together and radiant features in the semi-dark room.
"Mum! What are you doing her it's..." She paused to peek at a small clock observing the time the girl covered her face with one arm moaning.
"Four-forty in the morning!"
Rumiko did not answer, she merely giggled with lighthearted vigor. "Now Sweetie its Christmas, don't tell me you plan on sleeping this one special day away and not spend time with your family and friends." She played the guilt card like a true actor would but Rika was not one to be persuaded so easily, lying back down she attempted to cover herself back up.
"Of course not, but couldn't this 'Special Day' wait a few more hours like maybe when the sun is up?"
The covers were then unexpectedly yanked straight from her fingers forcing Rika back up to gawk at her mother as she pumped her fist robustly in the air. "Nonsense! Haven't you heard that those who rise the earliest seize the day?"
Rika briefly wondered if the person in front of her was really her mother before dismissing the thought as a product of sleep deprivation. She disdainfully rose on this sunless morning; having abandoned the notion of returning to sleep so long as Rumiko remained within the room, smoothing out the wrinkles from her pajama shirt and strands of red hair.
"Then why don't you ever apply that kind of logic to your normal routine?" She whispered out of her mother's earshot, opening the sliding closet door Rika's hand instinctively reached out for one of several white shirts decorated with hearts before abruptly stopping. Deeming it too tenuous to change all her clothing right now her hand changed direction and grabbed a simple pair of jeans instead, the fervent chattering of Rumiko went on to fill the air as she did so.
"Hurry up now dear. We don't want to keep mum waiting for too long."
Rika's face showed surprise as she pulled the pants legs up. "Grandma's up too?"
Rumiko's reply was to practically dance out the door and pop her head back in. "Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas if all of us weren't celebrating."
Then she was gone, Rika stared at the empty space her mother had just stood in before shaking her head and turning back towards Renamon. The digimon had remained silent through the entire event however the communicable smirk she wore could tell a million stories. Rika fixated her digimon with a spurious irritation.
"Do you have anything to say about all this Renamon?"
The fox appeared to essay with choosing her words but she spoke regardless. "Why nothing at all Rika, except that your mother seems even more lively than normal."
Rika looked back. "Yeah I never knew mum could act like that, usually the only things she gets excited over are her work and fashion but now it feels like watching a little kid at the festival." She then picked up a hair band to tie the limp follicles of hair into a manageable pony tail
"Perhaps then as others would say it is simply because she has the Christmas spirit?"
Rika almost actually laughed at the obvious humor in her partner's words, but that would have been cruel as it would have only come out as sarcastic. "Hardly, I know my mum well enough to figure out something's up." Rika walked out the door saying "C'mon. We'll just go with it for now." The Kitsune nodded and disappeared using the same method as she had appeared.
Rika took a second to stare at her room, the dream she had still remained within her train of thought.
I wonder if it meant anything?
As expected when she came across the large living room of sorts in the Nonaka household Rika found her grandmother, Seiko Nonaka sitting at the wide maru table pleasantly drinking a cup of warm tea within her palm, though her eyes were so barely open one would assume she had done so in her sleep. A cup had been placed out for both her and her mother as well though Rika doubted the woman would even need hers.
Must be more tired than I thought, just how early did mum get her up anyway? Rika thought noticing that despite how tired she seemed, the elderly Nonaka was still dressed in her normal morning clothes. The grandmother opened her eyes and acknowledged her granddaughter with a simple nod, gesturing for Rika to sit down next to her. The girl complied with her unspoken request and together they both enjoyed the serenity of the winter day as well as the various decorations strewn about the walls of the room. Most of which led back to a moderately large pine tree covered in Kusudama, or as they were generally called origami paper balls..
Underneath said tree were piles of presents neatly stacked and presented with colorful papers that made them look a mixture of celebration, none of the gifts however would be from Rika as it was a tradition for only children to receive gifts. Adults like Rumiko and Seiko would be given their gifts by other people, mostly either by her grandmother's fellow Internet chat pals or Rumiko's adoring fans although those would probably be treats like Dried Kakis or maybe mint chocolate Macarons.
Thank God that's at least one thing I don't have to worry about, I'd never know what mum wants anyway unless it was a boyfriend, and she's not exactly unsold Xmas cake either so she would probably have one even if I didn't do anything at all.
The Christmas season being a commercial event more than anything else in the Japanese culture had in recent years become the subject of jokes concerning women's, age and love life, since it was a time connected with romance. If a woman over twenty-five was not either married or in a relationship then she was referred to as unsold X-mas cake. The reason being that stores normally did not sell any Christmas cakes past Christmas day, considering it too old to make a profit from.
"You know Grandma, isn't it normal for us to celebrate on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day?"
The eldest Nonaka took another sip from her cup. "Yes well, your mother is... having a rather special guest over later today; apparently she managed to come across the acquaintance of a certain American model and wants him to feel more at home."
If noise be praise then the sound of coughing from Rika's mouth across the table would have been as a choir of angels. It wasn't as though Rika were surprised to find out her mother already had someone to spend the evening with, however the fact that he was from another country entirely was definitely not something Rika would have been expecting.
What? Now she's dating foreigners? Well that certainly explains the good mood but is she really getting that despera-?
"Okay. Let's close the chatter session and open some presents!" Rumiko had chosen that particular moment to interrupt Rika's thinking with her ceaseless exultation, the woman then paused in her revelry to glance at her daughter's current attire. "You know I didn't notice before but what happened to the scarf I gave you as a Christmas present yesterday Rika?"
Hmm, I wonder how you say 'I left it out in the woods after my digimon destroyed it because I hated the gaudy thing' in a nice way? Rika tried to picture her mother's reaction in a positive way with said 'nice way' but it only came out as an upsetting mental scene.
"I put it up in my closet," She casually replied then returned to sipping the tea with her grandmother while her mother put her finger to the chin as if she was determining the truthfulness of her daughter's words.
"I see, well that means you can always wear it later."
Rika almost visible groaned. Sometimes her own mother was insufferable with the fashion sense.
Who would even need a seven foot long scarf like that anyway? While she contemplated this Rumiko was already going for the first gift and hastily checked the card before tearing it open herself. Inside was predictable a small bottle of fine conditioner from her modeling company, as a way of thanking her for all the hard work she put in during hours.
The presents came and went and as suspected Rika only received a small, which was putting things in the lightest terms, portion. After that, things actually quieted down quite nicely since they were able to enjoy a normal breakfast of rice mixed with raw egg and shuyo sauce, curry too was added to finish off the meal. When they were down Rika neatly placed her chopsticks back on the wooden platter and quietly excused herself.
"I just remembered, I have something else to do today." Then she was off back to her room to change clothes and was back out the sliding door wearing only what she had the day before.
"Well now what do you suppose that was about?" Rumiko scrutinized to no one as she watched her daughter walk out, ignoring the gnawing feeling in her stomach to pursue the girl and say a thing or two about her choice in clothing.
"Just let it go dear," Seiko stated having not moved from her place at the table. "Rika probably wants a little fresh air and a little time to herself right now."
The younger of the two women folded her arms and walked the room in circles looking nixed before she finally stopped and sighed. "I swear there are times I think I'll never know my own daughter and I'll definitely never understand how you can always tell what she needs."
Seiko simply smiled. "Give it time Rumiko, you'll find that the two of you aren't really that different at all."
This captured the attentions of the model.
"Hmm really like what?"
"Well for one thing you are both equally impatient."
The chill of winter wind stung itself like wasp stings upon her face unlike the gentle falling snowflakes to the streets of Shinjuku prompting the girl to pull her blue collar up for protection against the cold spell having white washed the pavement.
Okay so I'm here now what? Truthfully she had no prior arrangements for anything today except of course to try and allocate her time with the family something she might have looked forward to on another day. Now that she had already equivocated to them it seemed that Rika was no longer able to carry that motion, thus she resigned to putting her hands in both coat pockets and strut a collected walk down the blanched byways with only the link between her and the trailing imperceptible Renamon to serve as a passing comfort.
Traveling the proverbial lanes and boulevards well known to her Rika paused in her stead a moment to take in the residuums of yesterday. Most of the shops and stores were closed, their walls still decorated with lines of blinking florescence or floral decor of some type. The city itself a grey thing with stones and festivities sewn from the immemorial years long passed.
Eh, I'm probably just over thinking those things a bit. I mean what's the big deal about this holiday anyway? With that deliberation in mind Rika resumed her trek in the moderate hustle of passing cars and unnamable strangers. She knew not her destination nor did she care to place on in her mind but somehow the redhead discovered herself to have wandered near the corner of a very familiar bread shop where aired fragrance of fresh bread and assorted goodies drew an irresistible lore to her stomach. Realizing she had probably not had a full breakfast Rika hesitantly moved closer to the front of the store, understandably not too many people visible behind the frozen glass.
There were still so many kinds to choose from, so much that Rika would have sworn she almost drooled at the sight of such delicacies. Wiping her mouth on a sleeve to be sure Rika proceeded to enter the abode and almost immediately her senses were assaulted with a heavenly lucidness in every nook and cranny. A bell chime sounded her arrival as she took in the atmosphere. There was a quaint charm to the place which projected a certain life to everything.
Rika having lost all concentration in everything else almost bumped into someone if a firm hand had not set itself on her shoulder and pulled the girl away. Mie Matsuki was the culprit looking at the girl in a welcoming yet somehow surreptitious manner.
"Why hello Rika."
Before the girl knew it she was turned in the direction of the counter away from the other customers.
"If your here to see Takato, I'm sorry but he's working on something right now, would you like to make a purchase instead?"
The gurgling of an avaricious stomach answered this time and Rika glowered in embarrassment at being caught.
Reaching into both pockets she fumbled around for currency, grumbling she quit the attempts and scolded herself internally for making such an irreflective decision as coming into a shop without any yen to spend. Not that she actually planned to come here and spend money but still.
"I'll tell you what, there are some day old leftovers of yesterday's sales in the back where Takato's working. Why don't you just help yourself to some and visit him?"
Rika looked up at the venerable woman and opened her mouth to protest the offer but Mie would not hear of it, eventually Rika complied and headed off toward the small hallway where she heard someone whistling in the kitchen oblivious to everything else and guessed it was Takato's dad.
Takato forced the heavy breath from his lungs as he carefully kneaded the dough into a perfect shape, despite what most people thought bread making was not easy to do. Near him slumped against the wall lay a content and astonishingly full Guilmon with a piece of Guilmon bread hanging limply uneaten in his maw. Wiping the perspiration with a chalky sleeve Takato studied his project so intently that he did not notice the shadow of a person standing directly behind him.
"So what are you making?"
"Oh nothing it's just a little something for every-aahhh Rika!"
There was a resounding crash as Takato lay dazed on his back using a few unopened boxes of bread as cushioning, Rika decided to spare the Gogglehead a little humility and was quick to help him back to his feet.
"You know that was funny the first time but now it's just too easy," She said watching him rub the back of his head in discomposure and pain.
"Rika? What are you doing here?" His tone made the question seem more like an innocent query than an insulting demand, being incredulous as he was.
Rika just shrugged and looked at a random spot on the wall. "To be honest I don't know." Her attentions then directed themselves to a bin filled with day old creampuffs and melon bread. Taking a few as though she were at a buffet Rika casually enjoyed a second breakfast as both observed the other in solace. "So your mum told me you were working on something back here. Mind if I lend a hand?"
Takato blinked in perplexity. "Really? You want to?"
Rika avoided making eye contact with him. "Yeah so, I don't think it's any big deal." Then she looked back at him with a prideful glance. "Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing better to do anyway, so what are you making?"
He put his finger to his chin trying to find the best way to word it. "Have you ever eaten Manjou before?"
"What, you mean like Suzaku Manjou?" She asked referring to what her mother had brought back with her from the trip she took in the Kyoto region.
"Actually I was talking about the Shiratori Manjou; I wanted to try something similar to that," He said cheerfully picking up some leftover dough from his earlier work and carefully kneading it until it looked like a snowman with a misshapen nose. "I wanted to try and see if I could make the world's first Roku Jizou Manjou."
Rikas look made him feel as though he had entered Char Bydis. "The Roku Jizuo. The six old monks that watch over and deliver gifts to children?"
"Yeah I figured making some manjou in the shape of the six would make a perfect late holiday gift."
He was being completely serious with her. Rika sighed sometimes she felt as though she would never understand his logic. "Honestly the things you come up with, okay so what are you going to do with them after that? Give them to everyone?"
"You got it; today I'm like a secret Santa." He said putting on a smile so sanguine Rika could not help but feel herself be moved by the boys demeanor. It was hard to argue with someone like that when they did things for unselfish reasons and expected nothing in return. The worst part was that it was contagious as Rika felt herself return the gesture but she managed to conceal it before he noticed and proceeded to searching for an apron underneath the sink.
Once adorned in the proper garb she quickly set herself up as best she could to begin assisting him but ignoring his curious stare proved difficult and distracting. As they worked neither of them seemed able to keep their focus on the task at hand and Rika having very little experience in cooking became prone to more than one incident. She almost burned Takato's foot with hot water while he almost hit her in the back of the head with a pan. They were even worse when close to one another as recent memories led to nervous movements and frequent awkward moments, including Takato almost dropping the mixing bowl while Rika stirred the Anko.
By the time they were finished and loaded the manjuo into the oven the rest of the room resembled a compost heap of unbaked dough coating everything. As for the two tamers they could have passed themselves off as snowmen being covered from head to toe in flour. Takato was chuckling half-heartedly while Rika scowled, and Guilmon was happily licking batches of bread batter from his claws.
"Heh, well that could have gone better," The gogglehead stated while wiping some of the flour from his shoulder
"Yeah we really are the worst combination for cooking," Rika said running using her fingers to run some water through her hair.
"Hey don't say that it was fun and we did get done," he replied peering at her.
"Yeah I guess," Rika responded simply. Conversations were stopped there as they cleaned up themselves then the room. By the time they were finished so too were the little majuo men in the oven, the only thing left to do was package them then make the deliveries.
"Tamatebako? That's how you plan to deliver these?" Rika asked watching him try to fold the construction paper into the correct shape only to fail miserably.
He nodded once and she let out an indignant huff before gently moving him out of the way then to his shock effortlessly folded the paper into a box within seconds. "Whoa Rika I didn't know you had this kind of skill."
The girl shrugged her shoulders acknowledging the compliment somewhat. "My grandmum taught me; she said Origami was supposed to be relaxing and that I should practice whenever I felt like exploding." Takato's mouth formed an O in understanding. When Rika held up her hand he just stood there looking at it until she became impatient.
"Well come on Gogglehead. If I make the boxes the least you could do is get the contents."
His mind seemed to register her words as he blinked then scrambled all over to follow her command, with the two utilizing this strategy of Rika making the boxes and Takato adding the Manjuo and doing the wrapping they were able to pack the treats in record time. Then both were out the door in a flash trying to deliver the goods before they grew cold. Guilmon wobbled after them though his stomach was too heavy and got in the way. Takato actually had to run back and use a modify card to get the saurian on his feet again then he was off once more, Renamon appeared and the two digimon shared a look with each other in silent conversation.
Sometime later in the area known as Shinjuku Chou Koen the silhouettes of two running figures could be seen coming up a flight of stairs, the first of those figures to reach the top was a girl with red hair and ponytail. She was panting slightly and had turned to look at her accomplice who was still on the stairs practically suffocating from trying to catch his breath. A few feet behind him lay a dragon like giant red lizard with spirals for eyes and deep snorts for breath.
"C'mon Gogglehead don't tell me you're out of breath already I was just getting warmed up!" Rika yelled while Takato lifted his head up with incredulous eyes.
This girl's trying to KILL me! He thought before saying between shortened breaths. "Sorry... I'm not... In as good shape... as some people."
To that Rika only gave victorious smirk. "Yeah well it's your own fault; I mean it was your idea to have a race."
This was true. After stopping by Kazu, Kenta, and Henry's (whom she had Takato just leave the Tamatebako and move on though somehow Terriermon discovered them from the window and both ended up being bombarded with water balloons.) They tried Jeri next but found out that the trains going to Shibuya would be unavailable for the time being and so Takato had foolishly proposed a race forgetting about Rika's physical prowess leading up to this. She stopped here to pace a few times on the stone steps to let Takato recuperate. "So stop complaining and get over it, you need to toughen up."
"Besides now we're tied." Her words confused him until he remembered the snow fight and the kiss, nervously the gogglehead shuffled around in his pockets. Thankfully he had been able to hide it from Rika and that the jacket he currently wore over his blue one was large enough to hide it from plain sight.
"Um, Rika?" The girl ceased in her internal celebration to notice the seriousness of the boys face, it unnerved her slightly to see him like this.
"What?" That was the question which sealed Takato's decision.
Okay I can do this. Just take a deep breath and go for it.
"About yesterday..." he started taking that first step forward while Rika took one back.
"What about yesterday?" In the back of her mind Rika could tell this was steering toward an uncomfortable issue but she had her pride and wouldn't back down from whatever he had to say which Takato used to gain a jump start of confidence.
"It's just that I've been thinking about it a little since then." At that moment his voice showed weakness and Rika Pounced on it.
"Well don't. Like I said before it shouldn't have happened." Her back had now brushed against a surface preventing her from keeping the distance between them however she was too preoccupied to notice.
What am I getting so high-strung for its just Gogglehead, she thought, observing his every movement as he continued the trek. That alone though did not give much reassurance especially when the soft smile came to his face.
"I know," he said stepping a bit closer practically within her personal space which caused a warning growl to resound from her throat. Takato swallowed hard knowing he was crossing a line at some point and he wouldn't be surprised if she were to lash at him. Slowly he was getting around her icy perimeters and had come so far, backing down now was something he would not do.
Within her mind Rika found this whole scenario just ridiculous and unnatural Takato wasn't the type to take control of any situation. Yet the fact remained that he had somehow triggered her defenses without even meaning to and she refused to look at him now. Instead she focused on moving away from him however she stopped when she realized that their location held a familiarity to it. It was that same bridge from her dream, peering up she could see that everything was exactly the same way, well except for the color and one other thing.
"I know that it shouldn't have happened but that's why I've been thinking about it," he said having not moved from his spot too busy with shuffling around in his pockets once more. "I don't want to put any wedges in the friendships we have and I definitely don't want some kind of drama to form out of this so." He finished by pulling out whatever was in his pockets and held it up to her in both palms with his head bowed. "Please accept this as my way of asking if you would still be my friend?"
For awhile Rika just stood there incomprehensive until a voice echoed in her head. Well do you wish to accept or not. Rika shook a little from her partner's mental voice and tentatively snatched the gift from his grasp. Giving her small thanks then their eyes met. Crimson orbs penetrated her violet hues and her face suddenly felt scorched both of them turned away red in the face as it was an unusual occasion. Then from nowhere Guilmon appeared.
He walked up to his tamer and talked as if the boys face wasn't the same shade as a tomato. "Takatomon can we please grab something to eat now? I'm hungry."
Takato's face could only be described as priceless, after the initial shock wore off their was a cry of "Guilmon!" The moment of silence passed between them before being broken by the sound of a gurgling stomach. Takatos expression scrunched in defeat.
"I can't win can I?" He let out a sigh and continued. "Okay there was a convenience store a little ways back we could get a bite to eat." He turned back to look at the girl still staring at her gift like it was going to sprout legs or something and run away.
"Hey Rika." The proclamation snapped said redhead back to earth as she gave him a quizzical look the gogglehead pointed behind himself with his thumb. "I'm going to get Guilmon something to eat, do you want to tag along." Rika peeked at her present again then looked back at him before she placed the thing in her pocket.
"Sure," was her response. Tugging at her coat she joined him in a walk during which she was half-certain she heard him mumble about needing more allowance.
The rest of the day passed fairly smoothlythough Guilmon tried to eat out all the stores wares and would have too if both Tamers had not dragged the baby dino out. Dropping by Jeri's had been pleasant if perhaps unnecessarily quiet on the way there and Takato had almost gotten caught standing in the door like an idiot when the girl's father walked by. At least he had enough left over to get them back in Shinjuku where Ai and Mako lived with the rambunctious imp who almost ate it himself. But when it came time to see Ryo Rika simply said they would mail it to him instead later or maybe never.
Of course by the time they returned to their homes it was nearly dark and Rika had yet to open his gift the entire time. She also walked to her house without Takato since his mother had all but yanked his arms off pulling him in; apparently he had taken longer than expected and worried Mie more than he originally thought. Quite the spectacle to behold however it was brought to an eventual end by Takato pretending to suffocate from his mothers embrace and as he turned away to head up to his room Takato paused and turned back to her offering a smile which she unconsciously returned before leaving.
Standing in front of her wooden gate with a gentle wind blowing through her hair she took out the gift once more feeling a sense of irony to be found in the way she had received it, being that he himself once admitted to having dreamed her.
He would know about having strange dreams, she thought watching the sides of the wrinkled paper. Even though I had fun, I can't help but feel like there was something wrong about the whole thing. However reviewing events in her mind's eye she could find nothing wrong with her day after all it had only been a friendly meeting and her helping him out with something though if she didn't know any better she might have misinterpreted it as something akin to a.
Date? Her partner finished within her mind, which nearly caused Rika to drop her gift.
Whoa, back up just a bit, Renamon. What are you talking about? That's just ridiculous.
She thought back dismissing the idea completely as just a random thing that popped into her partners head.
The fox for her part did not respond instantly but carefully dragged her thoughts out and transferred them to Rika.
Forgive me for being so blunt with you. I do not mean to cause discomfort and the idea was more of a joke than anything else but there are some very convincing points. After all you two did eat together, enjoyed each other's company, and participated in friendly competition. As I have learned from observing humans when a male conveys a gift to a female around the holidays it usually symbolizes more than just a normal companionship.
Rika shook her head and scratched at it furiously trying to relieve the strain of thoughts she was having.
Then you have been obviously misinformed about humans and should know it's nothing like that between me and him, I mean he's a gogglehead. And besides if I ever do get a relationship, which I'm not saying I will, I don't want it to be like one of those sappy romantic fantasies where old friends become a couple.
Would that include Ryo? Her partner asked before appearing on one of the tree branches to gauge Rika's reaction for herself.
Rika simply scoffed.
"Yeah right as if I'd ever go out with that pompous egomaniac." She then looked back at her gift and sighed. "Well since he already went to the trouble of getting this for me the least I could do is see what it is already."
She did not open it as carefully as she had done before but she did manage to keep the ribbon intact and remove the card before she began taking the rest apart. When the box was open she carefully reached inside and pulled out something she never would have expected to see.
At first she could not tell what it was other than it was round, silver toned, and had various markings such as Kitsunes and half-moons chasing the sun, it even held a mandala or two on its surface but other than that she could not place a name for it. Holding it in one hand she looked at the intricately carved and darkly colored shapes card into it. Maybe it's some kind of decoration, it does look like one of those round things people hang on their trees but why would Takato give me something like that?
She decided to take another look at the card and see if there was anything to help her with this, underneath the drawn picture of her the text was familiar as it read:
Expecting a little more?
Well here's something I got just for you.
Happy holidays to you with a warm greeting, Rika.
Yet below that text there was a long sentence that read:
You're probably wondering what this thing is, right? Well the owner of the store where I found it said it was called a Scribe Chain, he also said that if a piece of paper was attached to it and given to someone whom you wanted to be friends with then it would grant that desire. I know that sounds like some sort of cliché mumbo jumbo and that you'll probably scold me for wasting my time and money on something like this later. Heh, I'm probably rambling again right well I guess that means I'm about as good at writing things as I am saying them. Rika, I don't know what becomes of the future and I won't pretend to know. But if the impossible were to happen, well then this is about the most romantic I can get.
Well, now that I've got that off my chest I have nothing else to say except that I hope we can always be friends.
When she finished reading Rika read it again to be sure she hadn't missed anything then holding the Scribe Chain in her other hand she gently held it up and observed the surface, against the glow from the still melting snow the orb was bathed in more light than any star to her. And the black markings on some of the carvings only made it seem even more beautiful to her eyes.
"Takato you dork," she whispered with a pleasant smile on her face. Sometimes Takato worried about others too much for his own good, though she wouldn't complain about it. Indeed at the moment she was feeling very odd about the whole thing as her heart had started pounding and a light giddy sensation rose from somewhere buried in her chest almost as though she was happy. Ignoring the questions her partner was asking about what she had read Rika opened her pocket and dropped the Scribe Chain in strangely she felt as though she were carrying a snowball around.
A pocket of Snow, huh? She thought opening the gate and walked up to her front sliding door, maybe tomorrow she would give him her own answer but for now all she felt like doing was be with her own family, maybe that modeling guy was gone by now or her mother might be calling the police to look for her being as late as it was. With one hand on the handle she briefly contemplated how life like the seasons was bound to change but before she could go into anything deep or meaningful she decided to just put those kinds of thoughts on hold for now.
After all she had all the time in the world to prepare for whatever life threw her way.
Okay well that's the end of the story, to all those who waited for me to complete this I am so sorry. I promise to make it up to you all and I would also like to make an apology for a mistake I made last chapter, the park where Guilmon lives is not the Gyoen but the Chuo Koen, my bad. Anyways if you were confused by anything here are some helpful meanings to some of the terms used within this chapter:
Tamatebako- Gift box
Suzaku Manjou- steamed bun like cakes popular in kyoto
Anko- sweet bean paste
Shiratori- white bird
Tamatebako- Little origmai boxes people put small treats into and give to one another.
Shuyo- Soy
Roku Jizou- the six guardian deities who watch over children and deliver presents, the six stands for the six ways of transmigrating the soul
Scribe Chain- I'm not making this one up, though technically that isn't the exact name people call it, just a tag name people tend to associate it with because of how similar it is to chain mail. What a scribe chain actually is would be a Papier-mâché ball with various notes attached to it by different people, each of which is closed and marked with a special sign changed a little every time a new note is attached by the same person so people will be able to tell which ones are old or new. Anyways the purpose of a scribe chain is to leave secret messages between friends or members of a club, there is even a game where you add notes to try and see how large it can get before some adult figure notices what the person leaving notes on it is doing and catches you. It's very popular in some schools though you have to be careful not to make a note of anything like insults or something the Teacher can be offended by usually is just gibberish.
Anko, Shiratori, Manjuo, and Roku Jizou are all terms that have been used in anime like Digimon.
Roku Jizou is from Shaman King.