Trust

At the Nonaka household, Rika got ready for her day. She did her typical routine of brushing her teeth, combing her hair, and putting it up in a ponytail. She shot herself a quick smile in the mirror, knowing that Takato was looking forward to seeing her again. After the battle between Renamon and Guilmon, she was unusually excited to see him. That scared Renamon because she knew her Tamer never got excited. If she had a yen for every time Rika showed that she was in a good mood, she wouldn't be very rich. "Rika, don't you think you're overexerting yourself?" Renamon asked.

"Oh come on, Renamon. I promised Takato that I would head over there today," Rika answered.

"Yes, but you don't have to keep up the smile. Not that it's a bad smile, but you do have a reputation to keep." Renamon paused for a second. "Did you even ask your grandmother if you could go with her?"

"Yes, Renamon, I did."

"Rika, are you ready to go?" Seiko called.

"Yes, Grandma, I am!" Rika called back. "I told you, Renamon."

"I suppose that since Takato will be at the bakery, you want me to check on Guilmon?" Renamon asked.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. I want Takato to trust me as much as possible. For some strange reason, I feel like I could trust him. Does that make sense?"

"What normally makes sense for other people, Rika, doesn't make sense for you." With that, Renamon left to check up on Guilmon.

'I know when I've been insulted, Renamon, but I don't care,' Rika thought.


Takato was helping to get the bakery ready to open. He didn't let Rika and Renamon know that he had already called Henry to see if he and Terriermon could watch over Guilmon while he was working. Henry agreed, knowing that Takato was going to be busy, while Terriermon was excited to simply get out of the apartment and away from Suzie for a day. Takato had just finished the last of the initial bread and, when it had cooled off, put it on the shelf.

Takato saw Seiko and Rika and noted the fact that they were early today. He went outside to greet them. "Hey, Miss Seiko. Hi, Rika," he said.

"Hey, Takato. What's up?" Rika asked.

"Oh not much. You actually came here just in time. We just got finished stocking the shelves."

"Well I must say, these look pretty good, Takato," Seiko said.

"Heh thanks. Care to come in?"

"Certainly." Rika had never been to the bakery before, so the minute she stepped in she could immediately smell the freshly-made bread. She then decided to ask Takato's parents a question.

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Matsuki, do you think it's alright if I helped Takato here? I'm sure you guys can use an extra hand," she asked.

"Well, Rika, that's actually up to your grandmother," Takehiro answered. Rika looked at her grandmother for an answer.

"It's not like I need any help today and your mother is out of town still, so why not? You and Takato seem to have gotten pretty close already," said Seiko. Rika didn't show it, but this excited her.

"Okay, Rika, when you're working in a bakery, it's standard procedure to wear an apron and either a chef's hat or hairnet," Mie said, coming out of the back with said items, "your pick."

Rika thought for a minute. "I'll pick the hat." She put the hat on and, with a little help from Takato, got it just right. Once Seiko paid for the bread and said goodbye to Rika and Takato, she saw that they were the only ones in the kitchen, so she turned her attention to the young baker-in-training. "So, how do I look?" she asked.

"You look great, Rika," he said, but got a blush on his face, feeling like he embarrassed himself. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yep, you did," she said with her own blush. The two then shared a laugh.


Renamon got to the park where Takato kept Guilmon hidden, only to find the gate open. "That's weird." She then saw Henry and Terriermon hanging out with Guilmon and eating food.

Guilmon smelled Renamon nearby. "Hi, Renamon. It's a nice morning, isn't it?"

"It's lovely, Guilmon. Who're these two?"

"These are mine and Takato's best friends Henry and Terriermon," Guilmon said while pointing at both of them.

"So you're the 'Ice Queen's' partner. I've got to be honest, I've never expected you or her to socialize with Takato and Guilmon," Henry said.

"Why do you insist that Rika's heart is that cold? She's been thinking about Takato Matsuki for a while now. She even fell asleep smiling and she had me check up on Guilmon here," Renamon said. "If anything, Rika is anything but an 'Ice Queen'."

Henry still wasn't convinced, given that he has a strong mistrust for Rika. This was her Digimon partner who looked like she could easily win at a game of Poker. "You know, I wish these D-Powers had a digital lie detector in them," Henry said.

"And I wish we Digimon had the ability to detect lies, human," Renamon said in retort.

"Where is your Tamer at, Renamon?" Terriermon asked.

"If you must know, Terriermon, Rika is helping Takato at the Matsuki Bakery."

"Now why would Rika want to help Takato at the bakery? Is she trying to use him?"

"No, human, she's not. It's as I've told you, she's been thinking about him ever since we met him and Guilmon." Guilmon had his face full of bread. "That's real cute, Guilmon. Rika trusts Takato to help her any way he can. She wants to earn his trust by helping him as well."

"What do you mean by 'help her', Renamon?" Henry asked.

"Takato had already begun to break her icy shell even before they met."

"Well I've news for you: two punks at our school pester and bully Takato to the point where he only trusts me, Terriermon, Guilmon, and a girl named Jeri Katou. Their names are Kazu Shioda and Kenta Kitagawa. So technically, it will be tough to earn Takato's trust."

"I see…" Renamon said after a pause.


Takato was teaching Rika how to make bread, from the kneading to the actual baking part. While they were waiting for the bread to finish, they decided to play the card game. Rika, of course, won every time, even though Takato did come up with some good combos like he does against Henry. Rika had to admire his skill. "I know I beat you all the time, but you're actually pretty good. I take it you've been practicing?" Rika asked.

"Well every day after school, I play with my buddy Henry. He usually wins, but I've had a few under my belt," Takato answered. The timer went off. "Oh, that's the bread." The kids cleared the table and took the bread out of the oven. They set it on the table to cool off. "That one's going to look great on the shelf."

"Oh yeah. Now about this 'Henry' person, is he a Tamer as well?"

"Yeah he is, but I haven't seen him and his Digimon partner in action. His partner's name is Terriermon, and he's a rookie level like Guilmon and Renamon."

"Then unless Terriermon can Digivolve, we better not waste our time battling him."

"Hey c'mon, Rika, Henry's my best friend. I absolutely hate when people talk trash about my friends," Takato said with a stern look on his face. This scared Rika. She looked at her hand and saw that she had some flour on it.

"Takato, do you trust me?" asked Rika. The question took Takato by surprise.

"Well I did up until you dissed my friend. To be honest, Rika, I don't know if I should trust you or not."

"Oh, don't be like that," she said, caressing his face. "I'm really sorry, Takato." Rika blushed at what she was about to do. She kissed him on the cheek and stayed there, causing Takato to have a wild blush himself.

They heard a shriek, causing Rika to jump away from Takato. They looked at the kitchen door and saw Jeri with tears in her eyes. Takato didn't know, but Jeri felt the same way about him that he did her. This was why she invited him to the skating rink this weekend and not Kazu and Kenta. Takato tried to talk to her, but Jeri ran off. "Oh man."

"I take it you really liked that girl?" Rika asked. Takato nodded, making Rika regret her timing. "I'm sorry again, Takato." Rika didn't know, but Takato also had flour on his hands as well. He also knew about the handprint Rika left on him. Takato did know now that both Jeri and Rika had a crush on him. He also knew that if they get in a feud, it would result in a headache for him. He decided to be extra careful with the both of them. Rika gave Takato a hug to comfort him. "I…had no idea that you two were going out. I guess I better leave," she said.

"No, Rika. I want you to stay," Takato said sadly. Rika changed her mind, figuring that he could use the company. "That was Jeri Katou. I've had this crush on her for a long time now." Once Rika heard that, her expression grew even more downcast. "Hey, don't feel bad, Rika. It's not your fault."

"Takato, she's got a crush on you too. I essentially ruined one of your friendships by kissing you on the cheek. I don't want to ruin another one." Takato knew this was his chance to get payback at Rika for the floury handprint on his face. He didn't know what it was besides the thought of payback, but he also wanted to kiss Rika. He decided to take that chance.

Rika felt his hand caress her face and also the flour. She knew about the payback plan, but decided to let him have it. Takato's original target was Rika's cheek, but Rika turned her head slightly and he wound up kissing her lips. Takato knew what he had hit and pulled away. "S-Sorry about that, Rika. I-I didn't mean to…" Takato began before he was interrupted.

"N-No, Takato, it was my fault. I'm the one who turned into it." They both looked at each other with a heavy blush on both of their faces before laughing. The reason was that it was the first kiss for both of them.

"You know, I'm going to have to talk to Jeri about what happened the next time I see her, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I also hope that this is the start of something more."

"Same here."


Nighttime rolled around and Takato and Rika said goodbye to each other after Takato dropped Rika off at her house. They kissed each other again and Takato went back home. Renamon arrived at the house soon after. "So, how was your day at the bakery?" she asked her Tamer. She saw the love-struck smile Rika had on her face.

"Renamon, it was wonderful. He taught me how to make bread, we played a few rounds in the Digimon Card Game, and we even kissed," Rika said in a happy tone.

"Well you might not be happy to hear this, but Takato asked his friend Henry to watch after Guilmon while he was busy. Henry is…"

"'a Tamer', I know, Renamon. Takato told me about Henry and his partner Terriermon."

"Terriermon happens to be a little smart-ass. Also, Henry revealed something to me about Takato's trust issues." That caught Rika's attention. "I want a confirmation on this. He told me that the only ones that Takato trusts are him, Guilmon, Terriermon, and a girl named Jeri Katou. This is due to being bullied by two boys named Kazu Shioda and Kenta Kitagawa. If you plan to get anywhere else with Takato besides a kiss, then you must tread carefully."

"The thing is, I accidentally made Jeri cry by kissing Takato on the cheek. I also told Takato that taking on Henry and Terriermon would be a waste of time unless Terriermon had a Champion State. For a while, I thought I ruined my chances with him after that."

"Don't worry, Rika. I'm sure he still cares about you. I suggest you go to bed. I'm sure you're tired after today's events."

"Goodnight, Renamon."

CHAPTER 4 END


Okay, so I started the Rukato thing earlier than I expected, but that was Chapter 4. Now we know that both Rika and Jeri have a thing for Takato, but Rika nabbed him first. Poor Jeri.

Just so I'm clear, I'm a Rukato fan, not Jerato. I'm just including her for the sake of the storyline.

Also, Alice McCoy will be in the story in the future, Naito Writer, so don't worry about a thing.