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A/N: Digimon- not mine! Wish it was. If it was… damn, Rika and Takato would have been together without a seconds hesitation. Anyway, I own very little. Still no help on the breaks so once again… we're gonna have bolded X's! Love and be loved. Read… and review please.
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When it rains… it pours
The radio was playing a soft tune when I walked in from the drenching rain, the song sounded familiar. I wanted the sound to wrap me in its melody and carry me away from this wretched rain, this wounded world, this devil of a day. It was both wonderful, and yet strange. I couldn't make out the tune, almost as if the sound from my alarm clock was coming from it, as if I could no longer hear any sound at all, no matter it being good or bad. Maybe soon my ears will just shut off entirely and I won't have to deal with the unending talk of my mother and the sound of strangers talking. Maybe –
"I love this song!" said a strange goggle headed person, who was soaked worse then myself.
I was quiet for a moment. I knew that I knew the song, it sounded familiar, but I just couldn't make it out. So I guess I could play dumb and pretend like I didn't know the song. "And? What song is it?" I questioned him.
"Wha… you mean… you've never heard it?" he asked back.
"You idiot, if I did know why would I be asking!" I retorted.
"Oh… right. It's ah, called 'Caring is Creepy' by The Shins." He told me.
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A/N: I also don't own that song, or the lyrics, or the band. Once again I ask- why would I be here if I did?
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Now I could make the song out. Yes! That's right, now I remember. I made a mental note to let Takato slide on something stupid he did next time. My ears tuned into the song just in time for my favorite part:
"It's a luscious mix of words and tricks
That let us bet when you know we should fold
On rocks I dreamt of where we'd stepped
And the whole mess of roads we're now on."
This was a good song, I thought to myself. But why does Takato like it? "Well, lets get us some towels." I said walking towards the laundry room for the second time today.
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Gee, I haven't been in Rika's house in a long time. Way back… back… when was the last time I was in Rika's house? Probably before we defeated the D-Reaper, I guess? Whoa, that was almost four months ago!
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A/N: Yes, there is a little bit of reason behind this. I'm gonna go ahead and assume they defeated the D-Reaper in like… June. And since it's fall, I'm gonna make it November.
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Has it really been that long since I saw the entire gang together? I mean… whoa! After the entire thing Rika kind of just stayed out of touch. Losing Renamon was a horrible thing to happen to her, considering everything they'd been together, but after that, I would have just assumed she would come to us for friendship, I mean… I sure did. Henry and me became better friends even though we didn't have Guilmon and Terriermon we still stayed friends, but Rika… she just kind of disappeared off the map. Since we didn't go to the same school none of us saw her as much… if at all? Now that I think about it… I haven't seen her at all since we won. Her grandma comes by the bakery occasionally, but I never talked to her. The summer had been hectic, but I can't believe, now that I'm looking back, that none of us ever called her to invite her to do anything, to have some fun with everyone.
Gee… I guess she has even more reason to hate us. Does she hate us? It has been almost four months, has she changed? Is she nice now? Holy crap… I'm talking to myself again! Ugh… Jeri was right… I should defiantly not keep to myself all the time. It is Rika… maybe I should talk to her about 'just friends'? No! She'll mock you! She won't pity you, she'll despise you! But I desperately need a friend now. And while were four months removed a friendship, some bond still has to be there, right? I mean, if I do talk to her about it, she won't have anyone to tell and make fun of me with; she doesn't talk to anyone from my school. I think…
"Here you go." I heard about a second before a white cloth hit me in the back of the head.
I turned around and picked the towel up off the floor and Rika walked past me… where was she going? I stood up and followed her as she turned the corner into a room that seemed to be full of life.
"Hey grandma, we've got company now." I heard her say as I turned into the kitchen.
There stood her grandma making… food.
"Why hello young man, may I ask who you are?" she asked me.
What? Four months later and she didn't remember me? What should I say? Should I-
"It's Takato Matsuki grandma, you know, his family owns that bakery you go to sometimes." Rika answered for me.
"Oh yes! That's right, good bread their… good bread." She said turning away to clean up a bit.
"Umm, Grandma, he also fought with me last June, remember?" She said again.
"Oh yes! The brown haired boy, yes he was cute." She said with her back to us.
I felt my eye twitch for a second. "Umm… thanks?" I got out.
"For what dear?" she replied, as if forgetting what she had just said.
"Never mind." I said.
"Riiiiiiiight…" said Rika.
"So anyway, what the… (She looked at her Grandma, still turned around) heck, were you doing on this side of the park?" she asked.
"(I already lied about this) I told you, I was on my way-"
"Home?" She interrupted me.
"Yeah…" I said.
"No you weren't." She replied.
"(What!) Umm, I think I know where I was going." I said.
"I don't think you do. Unless you were lost, because your house is on the other side of the park…" she pointed out.
Busted! Whoa, I can't believe I missed that one. "Well ya see, I was just ah, just um-"
"Don't lie again." She warned me.
"Ugh… can we talk about this somewhere else?" I asked. I had decided, I've got to talk about it, and talk to Rika about is a good person to talk to, if you can stand the occasional snide comments.
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What? What's he got to say that he can't say in front of my Grandma? I should ask, but I can in a few seconds. "Alright, whatever," I said. "follow me."
I lead him out of the kitchen and into my room. It wasn't clean… it was tidy. Almost to the point I wanted to hit myself it was too tidy. A few of my cards spewed on the floor, I just stepped over them and while they weren't any good, if he stepped on them I would make like they were. But, he didn't step over them and sat in a chair near the window, where you could see easily that it was still pouring. And lightning was becoming a part of the mix and every now a few grumbles of thunder.
"So what do you have to say that you can't say in front of my grandma?" I questioned him.
"Well, it's not so much of in front of your grandma, as it is embarrassing." He responded.
"What?" I asked again.
"Well, you see… I was in the park right before it (he glanced outside) started."
"Yeah, and?" I said. I was interested in where this was going.
"And I was meeting Jeri at Guilmon's old hang out." He went on.
"What, did you and crazy girl make out?" I half asked, half insulted him; I was interested in his response.
"Hahaha," he gave an extremely shaky laugh, as if nervous… or scared? "No, nothing like that." He told me
"I ah, I kind of asked her out." He told me, something in his voice said failure, or rejection, but I couldn't help but ask.
"So let me get it from here," I started and he looked up at me with surprise, "she said yes and you got so excited you ran away jumping around like an idiot? Am I right?" I said.
"Huh," he started an looked back out the window. "it was more like the complete opposite." He said.
I was quiet again. What? Why would Jeri say no to him? It didn't make sense. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"She ah… she wanted to be just, 'just friends'." He stammered out.
Whoa. Lover boy and crazy girl… not together? Just because she only wanted to be friends? Wow. I might have hit her if I was him.
"You see, I was kind of… depressed about it and just ran away after she left. I just… felt like… there was no point in walking. Because I didn't have anything to gain from walking." He finished.
I was shocked. Goggle head had done so much to get her back from the D-Reaper. He freaked out when Leomon died, and even risked losing Guilmon himself. We all risked our lives for her. She owed him a debt of gratitude.
"Well… that's just too bad. Move on, ya know. There are plenty of other girls out there, goggle head." I said.
"Please, spare me. There aren't any other girls out there." He said.
I gave him a very threatening look that spoke volumes… "for me." He corrected himself.
"Bull… sh-t." I said.
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A/N: I don't know if I can say that in a T rating so, no risks. There 13 remember… at 13 I was saying some worse things.
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His eye's lit up, like he was prepared to actually defend her. I was a little stunned that after what she had put him through earlier today, he was ready to defend her actions… justify them! Was her really that thick? That while she refused to even go out on a date with him, he was ready to accept that and see how it was the obvious right choice? I had to change… but now was about time the old Rika showed herself. "Don't you defend her."
"She was right we need to-
"Don't justify it either. She doesn't see what is right in front of her. You do though! Your one stupid guy you know, but that doesn't mean you're a bad guy. Or not a good-looking guy, girls like you. More then you think. You've got to pull yourself together, because once you see Jeri's not the only girl on the face of the earth, you'll be alright. Weak, and pathetic… but alright." I finished.
He pulled his eyes away from me and looked out the window again and the hailing rain, and seemed to be mulling over what I had just said. He seemed to be alright though… not good, just alright.
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Rika's right. Jeri's not the only girl out there for me. I'm not quite ready to move on, but I'm ready to forget about her. I made the right choice in choosing to confide in Rika. Now that that's over with, maybe now we should try and catch up with one another. Four long months without a word to one another and then one rainy afternoon were suddenly back on speaking terms. "So ugh," I said looking away from the window, "what have you been up to?"
She looked at me with a kind of exasperated, tired look and gave a laugh as if what I had said was completely off subject, which it was. But I didn't care, we hadn't spoken or even seen each other in four months and it's about time we started seeing what the other had been up to.
"I've been kind of busy with school, working in the bakery, and other crap. You?" I asked.
"Well… I haven't been up to much. The summer was kind of boring. I guess without Renamon I just… well I've just got a lot more free time, ya know." She said.
I was afraid she'd bring up the summer. "Well my summer was alright. It could have been better… or worse." I said thinking of the complications that could have resulted from asking Jeri out during the summer. Would it have been better? Or worse? Nah, she said she always-
"So where you thinking about going to high school?" She interrupted my thoughts.
I actually had done some thinking about this. Not lately though. My thoughts had been on Jeri, but now that she asked, I realized I still wasn't sure where I wanted to go. "Well… my parents want me to go to an all guys school, but I kind of want to go to a mixed one." I responded.
She didn't seem to be paying attention. I could tell because the next moment she was standing up and halfway to the door before I realized I was still sitting down. I got up fast and chased after. She was in the kitchen when I finally caught up. I looked at her with a questioning look and she simply replied, "Your slow, lover boy."
I smiled at this; I guess 'lover boy' was a small price to pay to be able to talk to someone about my problems. "So, anything interesting happening in your life?" I asked.
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I could easily tell him yes, that I was trying to change, but what's the point. This side of the city would know about it before dawn tomorrow if I told him. Although… he had told me about his problem with Jeri, maybe this was a trust thing? It be an easy way to re-start our friendship… if that's what we were before, 'friends'. I looked out side and saw the rain was coming down a little less hard, then looked at the clock, 5:12. Hmm, it's almost time for dinner… where's grandma? Then I saw a note by the sink,
Rika dear,
I've gone to the store for some foods for dinner, be round back round 5:30-ish.
Love,
Grandma
Hmm, so I've got about 15 minutes to kill. I guess I could tell Takato that I'm trying to change. Trust… hmm, I think I can handle this.
"So… can I, ugh," I fought over the thought of telling him a second longer in my head, and telling him won. "Trust you, to keep a secret. Since I'm not gonna be talking about your rejection anytime soon?" I asked.
He seemed a little confounded by this at first, but recovered quickly. "Yeah, sure." He said.
"You swear you won't tell anyone, what I 'trust' you with?" I dared him.
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A/N: Yeah I know, that sounds really cheesy to me too.
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"Yeah. Besides, in this town, who will listen to me?"
I unexpectedly let a laugh escape my lips. I found it funny that he was assuring me of his trustworthiness, by making fun of himself. "Okay, well… and I know you won't believe me, but-" I started. "I'm trying to… to change, I realize I've been a jerk in the past... and I'm trying to change for the better." I let it get out before I could pull it back.
He looked at me with a quiet stupidity, as if confused. How much clearer could I have made it? "You mean, like… to being a nice person?" he asked.
I pulled myself onto the top of the counter and sat on it, and looked away. "Yup."
Three…
two…
one…
"That's cool. I mean, I was afraid you had made the transition when we weren't talking." He said.
What? What! He… he wasn't going to laugh about it? He wasn't going to say how it was impossible for the 'heart of ice' Rika Nonaka to change who she was? How I could never be a nice person like himself. I thought for sure he would. I needed to know why he wasn't going to mock me. "You're not going to laugh? Or say how it's impossible? Or how I could never possibly do it. That I'm too wrapped in myself and the past to let it happen?" I asked.
"Nope. You didn't laugh at me for being rejected my Jeri, or for thinking she was the only girl for me. So… I'm not going to tell you it's impossible. But personally," he said. "I think it's awesome, and think you can do it."
I was stunned for a moment. He thought... I could do it? He even believed I could do it? I hadn't counted on this to happen. So… this whole trust thing really doesn't backfire does it? But I had to say something to him. "Thanks." I said.
"You don't need to thank me for believing in you." He said.
I looked back at the clock; it was now 5:26. "So umm… my grandma is gonna be home soon with stuff to make dinner. Do you-"
"Yeah. I'll start heading home" he interrupted me.
Not what I was going to say… but okay. If he didn't want to stay around, that's his life. He started walking towards the front door, and I looked out side… It had stopped raining.
I opened the front door for him. "So, I guess I'll see you around." I said, rather then asked.
"Yeah. Yeah defiantly." He said.
He walked down the steps and started to walk down the soaked concrete path, before turning around. "Umm, do you think it would be all right if I came back tomorrow around four?" he asked.
"… Sure." I said.
I didn't have any plans. I had a little bit of homework to do for school, but other then that, I've got nothing to do. I guess he still wanted to talk. Whatever, I'll probably see him tomorrow and that'll be the end of it.
"Great! I'll see ya tomorrow." He said walking away, and waving.
I raised my hand to wave back, but realized how stupid that would be and made it to be that I was pulling some hair out of my eyes. So I guess I'll be seeing lover boy some more. Oh joy, I thought to myself sarcastically.
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So, Rika Nonaka is trying to become a nice person, and I'm trying to cope with rejection. Looks like were going to be helping one another. I still need someone to talk to that won't look down on me, and she'll definitely need a little bit of help changing. This is good, I thought to myself, the first good thing my head had thought all day. Plus, no more rain! I get to walk home dry. But gee… mom is gonna be pissed I'm so late home from the park. So I ran… I ran because, I had noting to lose by running, because there was nothing to gain from walking home late.
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A/N: Yeah! Chapter two, done. Now I can take a breather. Not so much to explain this time. Oh, first of all, I realized a HUGE mistake I made in chapter one while writing the first time Rika looks at the clock this chapter. If you go back to the first chapter, you'll see that I have her just waking up to start the chapter, then Grandma asking if she wants breakfast, while meanwhile in the park it's 4pm and Takato and Jeri are just meeting. Whoa. A four o'clock breakfast is like what I do, but that's because I sleep in. Yikes. Then I just cut out Rika eating breakfast at all, and made her grandma disappear by going to the store. Don't worry, I plan to make Rika's mom appear in a few chapters, possibly the next. Other things- I love that Shins song so don't flame that please.
Oh yeah, if you've read my profile, then you know I love the movie Batman Begins, and if you go back to when Takato says something like 'who will listen to me?' if you've seen BB then you'll get this- the original line was "And besides, in this town, whose there to rat to anyway?" But I didn't feel like putting in another disclaimer about something I wish I owned. Anyway, it doesn't seem that Jeri and Henry are going to come into the story together. Honestly, its hard enough just to get these two (Rika and Takato) together already, I can't put them together too! But I do plan on putting them into the next chapter. In fact the entire gang makes an appearance in the next chapter, I hope. It depends on how well I can write it out. Sorry everyone, but this might evolve into a few more then 5 chapters. :-/ I love writing this though. But what do you think? I need you guys to review so I can have some idea of what I should do with this story. Also, I need a show of hands, who thinks I should bring Ryo into the story? (Looks around and sees some people leaving just because I suggested it) Right… no Ryo it is. I do have plans for another story where he'll be a major character. That too will be a Rukato, but first I have to finish this, and I'm not gonna be able to do that without some reviews so please people, do me a favor.
Remember, love always, and Rukato forever. Peace.
(Truck horn sounded and trucker talking) Honk! Honk! I thank you.
(Chappelle in the background) I'm Rich Bitch!
(I also don't own 'The Chappelle Show' closing or anything remotely like that.)
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