Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

From the Heart

Chapter: 3/ To Find that Special Gift for a Special Someone: Part 2

"W-What are you doing out here?" Stammered Takato, rubbing the back of his head nervously while next to him Guilmon regarded the scene with quant curiosity.

"That's what I asked, Takato," replied Rika in a bemused tone, folding her arms beneath her breasts. Takato swallowed audibly. "Or have you been taken over by a Parrotmon now?"

I'm pretty sure if that were the case I'd be acting a lot more normal, thought Takato before realizing how odd that sounded. Is my thinking going in the right direction?

"Uh…" Takato's mind raced. Against all expectations this was how things turned out. Rika Nonaka, the girl who currently had his mind wrapped around her fingers (regardless of whether she knew it or not), was standing in front of him demanding a reason for his being in her neighborhood.

Well, not exactly 'demanding' you could say, but with Rika she won't let something like this go until she gets an answer…at least when I'm acting like this she won't. How am I going to get out of this one?

Disregarding the fact that he could have solved the situation relatively easily and in short order, Takato's frantic mind sought to buy itself time to collect its thoughts.

"No, no," Takato blurted out, smiling goofily. "Um…that was my question for you. What are you doing out here? It's kind of strange…uh…I think."

Rika tilted her head to one side, fixing her rather quirky friend with a confused look before closing her violet eyes and shaking her head.

"All right. Fine. If you don't want to say anything that's your business. It's pretty clear you've got one of your weird plans set in motion and now you're looking to cover it up."

Rika reopened her eyes and looked at Takato again, her expression impassive yet scrutinizing and, to Takato, as penetrating as a drill. Rika shifted her arms and Takato felt a bead of sweat make its way down his face. Guilmon, for his part, simply blinked his golden eyes and looked over at Takato.

"Takatomon? Rika's giving you that look that your mom sometimes makes when she knows you're not being honest with her."

Don't I know it Guilmon, Takato thought to himself. And I could really do without the commentary…

"Um…" Takato's resolve began to cave beneath the pressure of Rika's gaze. "…Actually…I'm out here because I needed to do some thinking…"

Rika's expression relaxed and she uncross her arms and put her hands in the pockets of the jean jacket that she was wearing.

"That wasn't too hard now was it?" Smirked Rika as she turned around. "I don't know why you always have to make a big secret out of everything. Someone's going to think that you're trying to hide something."

Takato gulped nervously.

"Ah…" Takato chuckled anxiously. "W-Why would I do that?"

"I don't know," replied Rika, eyeing him over her shoulder as she began to walk down the street. "I seem to remember a certain surprise birthday where you called me up on my cell phone and asked if I wanted to take you up on an offer to watch Cherry Blossoms that weren't even in bloom yet. You were acting a lot like you are now."

"Yeah." Takato continued to grin. "Surprise!"

Rika hmmphed.

"It would have been better if my mom didn't suddenly say 'oh that must be that Takato boy now…'" Rika paused and stopped in the street, glancing over her shoulder at Takato and Guilmon, who so far hadn't yet moved from their spot, with an annoyed expression on her face. "Are you just going to stand there all night or am I going to have to yell all the way from the shopping district for you guys to hear me?"

"Ah!" Exclaimed Takato as both he and Guilmon now ran forward to catch up to their friend. Once they had joined Rika the three friends, and an invisible Renamon watching from a safe distance, continued their trek together.

"So you were saying?" Asked Takato once they began walking at a leisurely pace.

Rika again hmmphed.

"Nothing. I was just saying that mom ruined your 'surprise' by cluing me in on the fact that she knew what was going on when you called. It seemed kind of suspicious."

"Well, she was rather ecstatic when Jeri nominated me for it," mentioned Takato in an offhand manner while Rika frowned.

"At least last time was different," she said. Completely missing the slightly sour tone in her voice Takato found himself laughing lightly.

"Yeah. No Parasimon or any…oh." Takato looked at his friend, a worried expression crossing his face and he immediately wished he could kick himself for acting so foolish.

Out of all the things that Rika wouldn't want to remember it'd be that. Shoot. We never really talked about what happened that day and Renamon never brought up any issues either so…

"Takato," sighed Rika in exasperation. "You need to stop worrying. I can practically hear your brain overworking itself. If you're not careful you'll set your head on fire."

"He almost did one time," commented Guilmon from his spot between the two Tamers, causing Rika to look at Takato in bewilderment.

"Do I even want to know what you were doing at the time?"

"It was a problem with the oven," Takato coughed. "It happened about a month ago…"

"It was when the bread kept coming out all crispy. Takato's family had to close down the bakery for a couple days until they had it fixed."

"I'm glad to see that you survived," grinned Rika, remembering seeing the bakery closed down for a couple days when she had been going through the shopping district. "Though if you let an oven defeat you in battle I'd be disappointed. 'Takato Matsuki,'" she now spoke in a dramatic fashion. "'Defeats Demon Lords, the D-Reaper, and an army of Parasimon; beaten by a malfunctioning piece of cooking equipment.'" Rika turned her violet gaze to the brown haired boy and gave him a baleful, yet playful glare. "I'm not about to get outdone by a piece of hardware." Removing one hand from her jacket's pocket Rika pulled her fingers into a fist and playfully tapped her knuckles against Takato's chin, causing a surge of blood to rush through the boy's face from the contact. "Not when you and I still have unfinished business to attend to."

"W-Wha-what does that mean?" Asked Takato, absolutely flummoxed now. He could already feel his brain cells starting to burn themselves out trying to solve the question on their own.

"Call it a dream, Takato," said Rika in a false, wistful fashion as she replaced her hand in her pocket once again. Takato blinked.

What is she trying to say? Was his thought, but what came out was something completely different and not at all intelligible.

"Huh?"

"I'll leave your brain to figure that one out on your own," smirked Rika. "Though I suggest you cool it off a bit before going any further. Anyway," Rika stopped at a crossroads, "this is where I'm heading off to. You guys going to head on home now?"

Takato hesitated. His mind was awhirl with a thousand different thoughts and emotions; so much so that he was having trouble telling right from left now, leading him to believe that even with Guilmon's nose to guide him he'd probably end up getting lost anyway. Shaking his head mentally to clear his thoughts Takato reminded himself of the reason why he was here.

I need to figure out what to get Rika for White Day, he thought to himself. What better way is there to find that out then to see what she likes best?

"Actually…if it's all right with you I'd like to…" Takato coughed as he felt himself suddenly growing nervous again. Why did this suddenly become so difficult? "…I'd like to hang out with you a little bit longer."

Takato's voice had rattled a little bit at that, coming out more like an awkward squawk than a simple request. Quietly Takato cursed puberty for the way it messed with people's voices as it caused them to grow.

And why is my heart beating so hard now? Takato thought as he listened to his pulse thrum at a rapid pace in his ears. I mean, I've always been a little nervous around Rika but this…

"Sure," replied Rika, her calm voice punctuating the cloud of agitation and nerves that had emerged in his mind like a spear of sunlight. Looking at the fiery haired girl Takato found his eyes drawn to the small smile that was curving on her lips. "Just don't drag your feet okay?"

"Sure!" Takato chirped and Guilmon suddenly threw his arms up into the air.

"Yay! Takato and Rika are going on a date!"

Silence filled the alley as Takato and Rika both stared at the crimson reptile, who continued to laugh and dance excitedly. He could feel the blood rushing to his face again, and though he wasn't looking at Rika he was willing to lay down odds that the same was happening to her.

And somewhere, off in the distance, Takato fancied that he could hear Renamon laughing.

"Guilmon…" began Rika in a slow, measured tone. Takato didn't dare look at her now, as he was sure that she was heavily embarrassed now. Hearing the other Tamer Guilmon stopped in his dancing and looked at Rika questioningly.

"Hah?"

"I'm starting to think that you have too much time on your hands."

Took the words right out of my mouth, Takato thought.


"Not one word, Gogglehead," said Rika sternly as they made their way down the streets, getting closer to their destination. They were now having to maneuver through the throng of people that surrounded them. Even with Guilmon at their side, digimon had become a familiar enough presence that people could now largely ignore them and go about their lives as usual. Well, as long as they weren't wrecking havoc while they were there.

"But I said I was sorry!" Exclaimed Guilmon mournfully in his partner's place. "Takato told me that when a boy and a girl go off and do something together it's called a date!"

Rika stopped to look at the boy, one eyebrow raised.

"Is that what you've been filling Dino-Boy's head with?" She asked.

"Well, he wanted to know after…um…a-anyway, so I told him that…"

"You're really not making a whole lot of sense Takato," frowned Rika before glancing over at Guilmon. "And for your information, with you here it kind of makes it so that it isn't a date!"

"But Renamon's here, so wouldn't that make this a double date?" Guilmon innocently rebutted, not understanding at all why it was Rika was getting all flustered. Out of the corner of his eye, Takato could have sworn that he saw Renamon phase out of view just enough to give Guilmon a bewildered look before disappearing once again.

Rika turned a baleful expression towards Takato and he threw his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Okay, that I had nothing to do with. That's Terriermon's fault!"

"Terriermon is really lucky that I changed my ways all those years ago," Rika growled, forcefully folding her arms beneath her breasts and turning around to hide her oncoming blush. "Him and his stupid comment about Guilmon and Renamon 'sitting-in-a-tree.' I should have had Renamon load that weenie little rabbit's data when I had the chance. It would have saved me some grief."

"Come on, Rika," said Takato. "You don't really mean that…"

Rika huffed angrily.

"No. But I'm starting to think about what flower I'm going to plant that represents him. Maybe something with thorns. Lots of them. Or maybe I should send him an orange Lily…"

Takato raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Her face relaxing a bit, but not yet losing its tense irritation over the dog-bunny of a digimon that delighted in making people's lives 'interesting' like an old Chinese curse, Rika turned to Takato.

"It's what I'm here for," she said. "You remember how you found out that I was planting a garden last summer, right?"

"Uh…yeah, though I still don't know the reason why."

In all fairness, it wasn't exactly something he expected from Rika either. In the two years that he had known her Rika had the tendency to disregard anything that was childish or feminine. More than once she had made quite clear that she disliked dresses. There had been various festivals and at least one New Year's celebration where she had made this plain, and to date out of each of these occasions Rika had only worn a kimono during New Years, if only because everyone else had done so (a tradition that had been maintained with the help of Kazu, Kenta, and Terriermon because, as they put it, it was the only time of year that they could catch Rika in something other than her normal attire). Because of this attitude Takato had grown accustomed to Rika not doing anything feminine and as a result it often came as a surprise to him when she did something that he didn't expect, such as planting a garden and dabbling in the arts of Ikebana, or flower arrangements.

It's not that I don't really expect her to do that kind of stuff, Takato amended. It's just that she does them so rarely that it's surprising when she does. In a way it kind of makes those moments special.

"It was just something that my grandma said to me once," said Rika as they resumed walking down the street. "I found her doing some flower arrangements and we got to talking about some of the meanings behind them. Do you know anything about Hanakotoba?"

"Uh…only a little," replied Takato, scratching the side of his face as he sought through his memory for the information. "Don't tell anyone this but my dad likes to brag about it. He says that it was how he won my mom, but every time he tried to tell the story mom hits him over the head with a towel…and at least once with a spatula. I stopped asking after that. Ah! Yeah, isn't it a kind of 'language with flowers?'"

"Wow," said Rika with a smile of respect on her face. "I'm impressed. Grandma says that kind of thing isn't that well known anymore by kids our age. Well, it is but usually only the western ideas about it are what's remembered."

"I don't think Dad knew it all that well either," nodded Takato. "Mom always went on about how he messed it up…whatever that means. Other than that I'm not really familiar with it. I only know what roses stand for…uh…I think."

"Nice confidence there," said Rika, smirking. "But don't worry too much about it. I'm only really starting to learn about it myself. I asked my mom to get me a computer so I could look this stuff up. It's been a big help." Rika grimaced. "Even though the technological side has been kind of a pain…"

"At least it sounds like it's challenging."

Even though he would miss it Rika gave Takato a half-visible, grateful smile.

"Yeah. It is." Turning her attention back to the street and scanning the shops for what she was looking for Rika continued. "And that's why I've stuck with it. It hasn't always been fun and games, but I needed something different. Believe it or not, even the card game gets to be boring after a while when all you do is the same thing over and over again…"

"You mean watching us lose to you over and over again," groaned Takato. "Well, except for Ryo…"

"He's only living on borrowed time. I'll get him eventually. At any rate, making a garden gives me plenty to think about. Plus I can get my hands dirty and my mom won't worry about how it makes me look. She's more understanding about my needs nowadays but she still worries about how I look in front of other people. I think she's just grateful I've compromised at least this far even though I still won't get in a dress."

"You wouldn't be the Rika we knew if you did that," smiled Takato. "And, believe it or not, I like you that way."

Rika's eyes widened slightly and a faint, rosy tinge touched her cheeks as she looked at him.

"Takato…"

Takato had about five seconds to realize what he had just said and he blushed furiously before looking away.

"Um…anyway! What kind of things do you think about when you're planting your garden?"

"A-A lot of things," Rika scowled as she stammered, though it went unheard by Takato who was busy dealing with his own embarrassment. Frowning Rika glared at him and continued in a lower voice. "Stupid Gogglehead."

"Huh?"

"I was just saying about how I've started working on making a garden that represents all of you and how I feel about you guys. I add flowers as I go depending on the day and what I remember. I don't want to leave anything out even if it's a bad thought. My grandmother told me once that even negative qualities can enhance a garden. I planted a Suisen, what they call in the west a Daffodil, for Henry yesterday. It means 'respect.'"

"And what you were talking about Terriermon earlier? A…ah… 'orange lilly' was it? What does that mean?"

"It has a couple," Rika grinned slyly. " 'Revenge' being one of them. I'm thinking about adding an Asagao 'Morning Glory' to compliment it. That one means 'willful promises.'"

"Sometimes Rika you scare me…"

"And now you know why I'm called the 'Digimon Queen.' Now…" Rika came to a halt in front of a small shop and stepped inside, the bell on its door ringing to announce their presence. "…Here we are."

Takato gazed around the shop. It had a small, cramped look to it due to the sheer number of plants that hung from the ceiling or lay below. He had been in flower shops before with his mother and at least on one occasion with Jeri and every time he visited one he was always amazed by the sheer scope of plants that they contained.

"Ah. Good evening Ms. Nonaka," greeted a woman at the cash register.

"Evening Mrs. Suzuki," replied Rika in a warm, cheerful manner. "Just thought that I'd stop by and see what's available."

"For your garden I take it?" The woman asked smiling, to which Rika nodded, somewhat embarrassed. Takato raised a mental eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the amount of familiarity the two had with each other. "Do you have anything specific in mind?"

"I've still got some thinking on the last two, but I thought that I'd make some additions while I was here. Oh, where are my manners?" Takato's eyes widened as Rika stepped to the side and indicated Takato and Guilmon. "These are some friends of mine, Takato and Guilmon."

"Hiii!" Exclaimed Guilmon happily as he waved at the woman with one of his hands.

"Ah…hi," greeted Takato as he gave Mrs. Suzuki a bow. The woman chuckled, taken in by their personalities and not in the least bit disturbed by Guilmon's appearance.

"My. So polite. Such a rarity these days…"

"Too polite sometimes," commented Rika. "And clumsy to boot. But they mean well."

Feeling confused Takato pointed at the two.

"You know each other?"

Rika nodded. "She's a friend of my grandma. She recommended her store for all of my gardening needs. She's been a big help with helping me choose what seeds to plant and teaching me about Hanakotoba." Rika gave the two a stern gaze. "You two behave yourselves. I'm going to look around for a bit."

"Uh…sure…"

"Okay," replied Guilmon before he stuck his nose in a nearby flower and inhaled. A second later a full blown sneeze echoed throughout the room and Rika poked her head past a pot to see what was going on.

"Sorry," apologized Takato while Guilmon busily wiped his nose. Shaking her head and making a slightly disgusted sound Rika disappeared back into the recesses of the shop. Humming quietly to himself Takato looked around the shop once more, once again amazed at the sheer amount of colors that nature put forth in the plants. Reds, blues, everything in between and outside of them as well. They were…

"Very pretty," breathed Guilmon.

"Thank you," said Mrs. Suzuki. "I'm always glad to see my store's contents are enjoyed."

"You're welcome." Guilmon hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Hey flower lady…?"

"Guilmon!" Scolded Takato. "That's Mrs. Suzuki!"

"Oh. Sorry." Guilmon made a close approximation of an apologetic bow, to which the flower shop woman raised an eyebrow at.

"No need to be so formal around here. If you have something you want to ask, just ask."

"Um…" Guilmon looked around him hesitantly. "What would you think would look good for a fox digimon named Renamon? She's Rika's partner."

Takato looked at Guilmon, quite surprised by the question. Out of all the things he had expected that certainly hadn't been it. Even with his comment earlier about Renamon's presence making this outing a 'double date' it hadn't crossed his mind that Guilmon would…

Hold on a second. How would this sort of thing work? Does Guilmon really know what he's talking about? I mean, sometimes he can be surprisingly smart about some things but other times he misses out on others. Or, as Rika would say it, 'naïve.'

"Ah yes," said Mrs. Suzuki. "I've met her before. Such a beautiful thing. Are you looking for anything in particular? Something to convey meaning or…?"

"If you have anything that means 'pretty' I'll take that." Guilmon's ears twitched as though he was remembering something and then his eyes became downcast. "Oh. Wait. I don't have any money."

Walking over to his friend Takato placed a hand on Guilmon's head and patted it reassuringly. "Don't worry buddy. I've got this."

"But Takato…you need to get something for Rika on White Day…"

"Well…" Takato frowned. "I know, but…"

"Don't worry," said Mrs. Suzuki as she got up from behind the counter and walked around, heading towards a corner of the store and bringing down and brought down a white colored rose that Takato recognized to be a 'Bara.' "This one is on the house."

"Really?!" Exclaimed Guilmon happily and he bowed so deeply that his nose hit the floor. "Thank you!"

Takato's mouth stood agape in astonishment.

"W-We really can't…"

Mrs. Suzuki waved Takato's concerns off.

"This is my store so I'll have the say on what's sold and what's given away. Now, what about you?" Mrs. Suzuki turned towards Takato. "Your friend says that you have something important that you need to get as well…"

"W-Well…" Takato stammered and blushed. Rubbing the back of his head he glanced over to where Rika had gone. Mrs. Suzuki saw this and nodded in understanding.

"Then again, it would be best for you to look into that when she's not around. It wouldn't be good for the surprise to be ruined before you're ready to present it, am I correct?"

Takato vigorously nodded his head, not trusting his words at the moment. More than you know, he thought. After a few more minutes Rika came back with a packet of seeds and placed them on the countertop. Taking a look at the flower that Guilmon held Rika raised an eyebrow.

"And that is…?"

"For Renamon!" Guilmon crowed happily, to which Rika gave the dinosaur a bizarre look that had surprise coupled with a smirk twitching at the corners of her lips. Takato had to wonder if she was fighting the urge to laugh. Even he had to admit that the thought of Renamon receiving flowers from Guilmon would be rather fun to watch, if only to see what the vulpine's reaction would be, unused as she was to receiving such gifts.

"Will that be all, dear?" Asked Mrs. Suzuki, interrupting the trio from their discussion.

"Hmmm? Oh, yeah!"

"Momoirobara?" Asked Mrs. Suzuki, and Takato looked at the packet to see a pink colored rose decorating it. "Would this be for…?"

"No!" Rika said a little too quickly. "At least…um…I'm not sure yet. It's just a thought."

Mrs. Suzuki smiled.

"A strong one since you're buying it. Now, let's see…"

As Mrs. Suzuki calculated the price of Rika's purchase Takato's mind laid back and set itself back to thinking what he was going to get Rika. The answer, he felt, lay very close to him now, but never before had it seemed so far away.

Nothing's ever easy is it? He asked himself as Rika finished paying Mrs. Suzuki.


A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Nolaquen265 who earlier this week had been a great help to me concerning a piece of original fiction that I've been working on. Nol' this one's for you. :P

Concerning some of the flowers that were chosen but didn't get a definition for what they mean in Hanakotoba, the ones that Guilmon got, 'Bara', from what I can tell means 'innocence, silence, and devotion,' the first and last I felt suiting Guilmon the best. The last, the one that Rika picked, Momoirobara, means trust, happiness, and confidence. Who it's for I'll leave for you to determine. 'Till next time.

-Crazyeight


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