Chapter 4

Sex and Death

We had more free time after the wedding because Henry and his sister had returned from China and could share the duty of watching over Tokyo. The number of big hostile digimon coming through did seem to be less than usual and we found ourselves often helping out with more mundane disasters. Maybe it was out of boredom or maybe it was because we were starting to take the title "Protectors" (that the media had hung on us) more seriously than we realized. I, for one, wasn't bored in the least.

I didn't advertise my new relationship with Rika but our close friends found out soon enough and most of the digimon in Japan seemed to know within days but it was still a secret as far as most everybody else was concerned. It seemed fairly easy to keep it that way. Rika hardly went out in public unless she was merged with Renamon and the times we were seen together we were usually sparring. The subtle signs of affection between two Mega-level digimon that some perceptive people noticed were viewed as charming, for the most part.

I didn't really move in to Rika's apartment. After all, I didn't own anything that needed moving. I just started to spend most of my free time there even when Rika and I weren't-- enjoying each other. She gave me voice control of her apartment's AI and that was pretty much that.

Most of my job as Sovereign, as I saw it, was to make sure digimon and humans got along together. Aside from neutralizing destructive Wild Ones, that meant keeping an eye on public opinion concerning digimon and nudging it in the right direction. In Japan and many other countries, that was easy. Others-- not so much. There were whole regions of the globe that were actively hostile toward digital life forms. China was one of the fence-sitters. Most of her urban areas were cautiously pro-digimon but outside of the cities we ranked somewhere between cockroaches and demons. The digimon tour that Henry had put together had been an immense help. Once people got a close-up look at Terriermon and Lopmon they had a hard time holding on to their prejudices. Needless to say, neither one digivolved while on tour. It was a good first step.

It was my self-imposed duty that caused the only serious friction between Rika and I. I had plenty of spies out in the world, of course, but the major news agencies were much better at keeping me informed of the general trend of people's opinion and the perception of specific incidents. The up-shot of that was that I felt the need to watch at least a couple of hours of newsfeeds a day.

Rika loathed the news. Even the most levelheaded and calm newsorgs were contemptible in her eyes. She would get up and leave the room if I turned one of the screens to a news feed and then give me hell about it later. I tried explaining my reasons to her exactly once. That did not go well.

Afterwards I always went to another room or picked a time when Rika was out with Renamon to do my "trouble scans" and I always kept an eye on Rika's aura for signs of irritation. It mostly worked out okay.

I don't know why Rika had such a hate-on for the media. Renamon and she were almost always treated with great respect. I was the digimon who people loved to hate. Just because I was the only known unpartnered Mega and had a bit of a sense of humor, some tight-assed, prissy types decided to portray me as a possible "threat" to humanity. Aside from a few pranks that didn't exactly work out as I'd planned, (I always fixed things up afterward!) there was no real reason for any such ridiculous accusations.

Oh, there were some sleazy tabloids that made all sorts of nasty insinuations without any evidence whatsoever but they always did that sort of thing to every celebrity so nobody that mattered really paid them any attention-- except for laughs.

"You guys have got to see this!" I called to Rika and Renamon one afternoon as I flipped through various bottom-feeding news streams. The story was so ludicrous that I was positive Rika would be amused. They walked into the room and glanced over at the wall that was displaying the headline: IS YEII COYOMON CORRUPTING TOKYO'S GUARDIAN GODDESS? Below the text was a picture (obviously photoshopped) of Sakuyamon and I in front of a low-class nightclub. They had put a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels in my hand, the morons. If they knew anything at all about me, they ought to have known that I despise bourbon. All they had to do was look at my Wikipedia page.

I thought it was hilarious but it really seemed to piss Rika off.

"Those bastards!" she fumed. "Those filthy bastards!"

"Hey, lover! Nobody takes this crap seriously," I said, gesturing at the screen.

Rika wouldn't be calmed and she stomped off to the bedroom. Moments later came the thumping noises of her kicking the furniture around. I got angry then-- on her behalf.

Renamon cast me a worried glance as I stood up but I headed for the balcony windows, not the bedroom. I sent out a silent call and moments later a digignome flitted down from the sky. I gave it instructions and it glided away.

Renamon gave me a "what's up?" look but I just smiled secretively and shook my head. She sighed and went to comfort Rika. A few minutes later they both came out of the bedroom.

"What are you up to, flea-bag?" Rika asked me.

I pointed a finger at myself and opened my eyes wide in my most innocent "who, me?" expression.

Rika hovered between irritation and concern. "No, really, Coyomon. I don't want you to do anything stupid."

I chuckled. "In that case, you'd better tie me up and lock me in a closet!" But I could see that Rika wasn't in the mood for joking so I gave up. "Okay, I just started a little attitude adjustment program, that's all. The newsorg that posted that story is going to have its offices filled with jellyfish-- and a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels is going to show up on the chief editor's desk. I'm sure they'll get the message."

Rika stared at me. "Really?"

"Yup," I said. "If you're still angry I can arrange to have them be poisonous jellyfish."

I thought she'd laugh but she actually got a bit teary-eyed. "That's so sweet of you!"

Strangely enough there were no more malicious articles about us for a while.

-o--()--o-

A few nights later I came home from patrolling to find my girls settled in for a quiet evening. Renamon was folded into a lotus position facing a wall that was slowly crossfading from one colorful mandala to another and Rika was also sitting cross-legged but on one of the couches, clicking through a book. She glanced up and smiled a welcome to me. Renamon didn't move or open her eyes.

I had just had a knock-down, drag-out fight with a really nasty Golemon and was still filled with excited energy. I'd strictly limited myself to my Rookie abilities and walloped the Wheat Checks out of him anyway. As far as I was concerned there was only one thing in the world more fun than fighting and I was determined to make it a perfect evening. I leaned over Rika's shoulder and nibbled gently at her earlobe. "Hey Rika-chan-- you want to go make some fireworks?"

I know what you're thinking but for me that is subtle seduction. Rika looked back over her shoulder at me and pursed her lips in thought for a second. Then she tossed her book aside and flipped herself over the back of the couch and into my arms.

She flicked the end of my nose with a finger and said, "You're on, fuzzy-pants!"

Renamon still didn't stir as I carried Rika off but the thin, subtle glow of her aura shifted its hue slightly toward that of amusement.

The bedroom door slid shut behind us and I tossed Rika onto the bed and shucked off my vest. She rose into a kneeling position and peeled off her T-shirt. She did it very slowly because she knew I loved watching her. I joined her on the bed, remembering to shorten and blunt my claws and soften my palms before I ran my hands over the sweet swell of her breasts. She pressed herself into my caress and lifted her mouth to mine.

As I lifted her up and peeled her jeans off of her, I noticed an uncertain flicker in her aura. It wasn't any reservation about what we were about to do. Her bioenergy made it clear that she was in a state of eager anticipation. Still--

I laid her down and stretched myself on top of her, lightly tracing her collarbone with the tip of my tongue. When my muzzle neared her shoulder I lifted my mouth to her ear and whispered, "What is it, lover?"

She knew better than to try to hide her thoughts from me. Not that I could read minds or anything like that. No, she just knew how insatiably curious I was and that I would pester the crap out of her until she told me.

"I've been thinking," she began.

I pushed myself up onto my elbows and looked her in the eyes. "Yes?"

"Well-- I was wondering if you enjoyed making love as much as I do."

That shocked me. "Holy Tesla! Does it ever seem like I don't enjoy it?"

"Well, no but it does seem like you do most of the-- um-- work." She colored with a bit of embarrassment but continued on. "It's not like I have a lot of experience but it seems to me that guys-- uh-- human guys are all about getting off and you-- well-- don't."

I'd thought that her little debate with Kayamon had been forgotten but it seemed as if she had been turning it over in the back of her mind ever since.

"Giving you pleasure is one of my greatest joys in life. And as far as physical sensation goes, I get a lot of feedback from your digital net, so when you feel good, I feel good. So don't worry about me." Then a thought struck me. As strange as the idea might be to a complete egotist like myself, maybe this wasn't all about me.

"Do you miss it? Making love in the human way, I mean."

"Oh, no!" Rika rushed to assure me, "God, no! I've never-- I mean, the feel of your energy flowing into me is astounding and your tongue is-- is--" she faltered to a stop, her blush deepening and her aura fluttering.

"Rika," I said to her in a low, serious voice, "this form isn't my real body. It's just a disguise and it only looks the way it does because it's familiar-- easy to move into and out of. If you want, I can--" And I shifted. I'd always made a point of keeping track of her likes and dislikes and I knew the current crush she had on a certain action film star. In seconds I was wearing his body.

"Holy shit!" Rika gasped and, bizarrely, grabbed up the blanket to cover herself.

"It's still just me!" I reassured her.

"Could you change back, please?"

I was confused. I had no idea she would react that way. I immediately returned to my Coyomon form and Rika relaxed a little. "Um-- sorry--" I said, "but I thought maybe you would like something more-- familiar?"

Rika dropped the blanket and began to laugh. "Oh, god! Coyomon, you never cease to amaze me! Familiar? I've lived with digimon since I was twelve and I've spent damn near half my adult life as a digimon! What could be more familiar to me than your fuzzy face?"

I wasn't going to let her dodge the subject that easily. I rolled back on top of her. "You know what I mean. Wouldn't you like to make love like this-- with me inside of you and my mouth on yours?" I made my actions fit my words and pressed my lips against hers while changing again-- just slightly.

Rika moaned and bit down on my lip. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. The surge of bioenergy in her body and the sparkle that rippled through her digital net told me all I needed to know.

She twisted her hands into the fur of my haunches and pulled me upward.

-o--(2)--o-

Renamon was still sitting serenely in her lotus position when I emerged from the bedroom several hours later. She opened one eye and tilted her head questioningly.

"Holy frikkin' Tesla, Renachan," I mumbled to her quietly, "There is something you and I have got to try!"

It had been the perfect evening and from the way my beautiful vixen looked at me then, it only promised to get better. But fate had other ideas.

The wall nearest me beeped softly and displayed two words: DIGIMON NEWS. I knew it wasn't any an ordinary incident or gossip because after the nightclub story I'd instructed the apartment AI never to alert me to news flashes unless they were of critical importance.

"Shit!" I cursed, "This had better be really damned urgent!" Stupid me. I should have wished that the AI was malfunctioning or that the flash had been mislabeled or something. But I knew within seconds that we had a real emergency on our hands because more areas of the screen lit up with incoming call requests from Henry, Takato, and three government offices.

Dread washed over me like ice water and I traded one "oh shit" glance with Renamon before I expanded the news flash to reveal one of my most feared nightmares:

DIGIMON TAMER ON RAMPAGE! THOUSANDS FEARED DEAD

So much for the perfect evening.