Gardens of Babylon

by Daneel Rush

And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even if he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

6. Chapter Minus Two, Valentine's Special

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. The very idea is ridiculous. Don't bother me with legal stuff.

---

GARDENS OF BABYLON

Chapter Minus 02

Valentine Chapter – The Boy's Cosmos, For That Girl

---

It was not very often that Akiyama Ryo visited his fellow Tamers. His father expected him to devote himself full-time to his studies, now that the threat of Digimon was done and over with.

Ryo had a few things to say about that, but he decided it was wiser to keep them to himself.

Unfortunately, without wild Digimon Realizing in the world of humans, the Legendary Tamer's partner was not in the best of moods.

Ever since the defeat of D-Reaper, Ryo had found himself unable to reach the Digital World.

After Yamaki, Ryo was the most surprised to find out Takato pulled it off. He was ecstatic to have his partner back, of course, but it did not make the situation any simpler for him. Hopefully any of the Tamers would be willing to offer Cyberdramon at least a short spar. It would not be close to sating the Digimon's thirst for strife, but he could not ask for much.

He had contacted Ruki's cell phone—something the girl did not find pleasing in the slightest—to confirm they would be in the usual park that Saturday morning. If anybody could give his partner a satisfying battle, it was Ruki and her partner.

Cyberdramon landed at the base of stairs leading to Guilmon's former base, the usual meeting spot for the Tamers. Of course, the sudden arrival of the large and imposing Digimon drew more than a few gasps from the people in the vicinity, mostly young children and exercising adults.

Thanking the dragon after his feet touched solid ground, Ryo made his way upstairs.

He was greeted by a most striking of sentences.

"Wha-wha-wha…why-why should I give you Valentine's chocolate, stupid Gogglehead!"

With feet wide apart, hands on her hips and blood tingeing her cheeks, thirteen-years-old Makino Ruki bombarded a certain young boy with a most scathing glare. This boy was placidly seated on the top of the stairs, his back resting against the block of concrete which once housed his Digimon partner. The boy, while apparently unaffected by the glare, seemed to be a little embarrassed himself.

"I-I didn't say you had to…" the boy, Matsuda Takato, stammered quietly. "I just…I kinda thought…I mean, we're friends, so…" Finally, he shook his head like a wet dog as his mind surrendered. "You know what, forget it; I didn't say anything—"

"Ah, no, no, no, no, no, Gogglehead!" the girl, tall for her age, chided mercilessly. "I can't just push it out of my mind, now that you've said something like that!"

Her upper body leaned forward, bending around her waist so as to draw her face closer to the seated boy. The sudden proximity obviously increased Takato's discomfort, but his attempt to inch away was brought to a halt by Ruki's deepening frown of annoyance.

"Just what were you trying to say, Goggle-idiot? Hmm?"

"Uhh…really, Ruki, it was nothing; just me being a silly Gogglehead—"

"Oh, I'm quite aware of that," the girl interrupted, right before stomping the concrete the concrete between Takato's knees with her right foot.

"Hiiii!" Takato shrieked, as a terrifying chill navigated through his nether regions.

"Don't change the topic, Gogglehead," Ruki demanded in a low, threatening tone. "Now, spit it out."

"Ah…ah…uhh…"

Takato's pupils danced around as his mind struggled to break through the red haze conjured by his girl friend's imposing presence, to find salvation in the rather strained smile of the so-called Legendary Tamer.

"Ah, Ryo-san's here! Hey! Ryo-san!" Takato called out, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

The older boy chuckled in response.

"You two are having a blast together as usual, huh?"

"Ah, ahahaha…" Takato chuckled uncomfortably.

"Exactly," Ruki pointed out, straightening her body to properly face the newcomer. "So don't butt in, Akiyama."

"Hello to you too, Ruki. How're things going for ya?"

"You…you really don't know shame, do you…?" the girl's voice barely came out from between gritted teeth.

"Aren't those words better aimed at Takato here?"

"Huh?"

The smiling Tamer looked down at one befuddled, younger boy.

"Like, what's the deal with all that stuff Terriermon writes about you?"

Takato groaned.

"Please don't mind the baseless drivel of that crazy rabbit, Ryo-san," Takato pitifully requested.

"Maa, maa, think of the bright side, Gogglehead."

"Goggle—" Ruki interrupted herself to solely glare at the impudent older Tamer.

"It's not like Terriermon has begun writing about, let's say, your amazing sexual prowess."

Takato moaned as he buried his face in his hands. Ryo could not stop himself from laughing. Ruki simply groaned in exasperation.

"You're calling up a storm in a glass of water, stupid virgin Gogglehead."

Takato moaned louder.

"Waah…" Ryo winced. "You're harsh, Ruki."

"It's 'Makino' for you, Akiyama. And why are you here, anyway?"

---

The threesome was eventually joined in by Jenrya, Hirokazu and Kenta (and their partners), and the latter two were engaged in a Digimon card battle while the more experienced Tamers discussed Ryo's current dilemma.

"Hmm…I guess Rapidmon could help with some of that stress…" Jenrya pondered.

"Speak for yourself! Why should I risk personal harm just to make ol'battlemonger there happy?"

"Terriermon…Cyberdramon's one of our friends as well."

"Friends don't beat other friends for stress relief!"

"Well, I don't know about that…" Ryo quickly seized the chance. "I mean, look at Ruki and Takato."

"It's 'Makino', you shameless jerk," Ruki insisted.

"Naah, Jen and I have come to the conclusion that their relationship does not obey the parameters of what we call 'friendship'. It's more of a 'Master and Pet' thing if you ask me."

"Terriermon!" a suddenly-very-uncomfortable Jenrya called out. It was probably the unholy aura somewhere to his left. "And don't add me in there like I'm your accomplice!"

"But, we're partners! You know, forever and ever, in poverty and wealth, in sickness and health, until death do us part!"

"That's the Catholic marriage, Terriermon…" a grinning Ryo commented.

"Bah, whatever. So, where was I? Ah, right, 'Master and Pet'." The green and white Digimon nodded. "It's like that, but I have to admit sometimes it's really hard to tell who is—BUH!"

"You're talking too much, rabbit," Ruki growled as she crushed Terriermon's head with her amazing iron claw technique. Pulled off his usual spot on top of his Tamer's head, the little Digimon could only flail his limbs helplessly in the air.

"Please don't kill my partner, Ruki-san," Jenrya half-heartedly requested.

"You should thank your Tamer," the girl instructed to the captured Digimon. "Unlike you, I actually find him bearable."

Jenrya afforded a tiny smile. He knew a compliment when he heard it.

"Um, guys…what about Cyberdramon…huh?"

Ryo found his partner, which led to a curious sight. The large dragon Digimon, obviously uninterested in the Tamers' drabble, had taken his distance from the group, and that somehow led to a "conversation" with the other person who had pulled himself away from the discussion.

"Like I said, Cyberdramon," Takato spoke, all the while leaning on a tree and offering a nervous smile to Ryo's partner. "Even if I wanted to fight you—which I don't—, we can't just start wrecking the place; I mean, we don't need to give people reasons to hate you guys."

The Cyborg Digimon just grunted in frustration.

"Yeah, I guess it was easier for you back in the Digital World." Takato scratched his right cheek. "Sorry about that."

Cyberdramon followed with another raspy grunt.

"Cyberdramon!" Ryo walked over to the two, scolding his partner not unlike a mother dealing with a small child. "You can't challenge Takato; don't be ridiculous!"

"Yeah, really," Takato agreed while holding back his amusement. "What are you thinking?"

The dragon looked down at the boy and Takato somehow know that, behind that metal face mask, he was being glared at most heinously. Apparently Ryo's partner was not one for humor.

"Seriously," Ruki joined the new discussion, placing Terriermon back on his Tamer's head and allowing him to gasp for breath. "Gogglehead? He'd probably just trip on air and fall on your claws on his own, and that's just a sad way to die."

Takato nodded in eager agreement.

"Yup. Silly, puny Gogglehead, trips on his own shadow; that's me. You don't want to fight silly little me, Cyberdramon."

The former Tamer saw long clawed hands being clenched and relaxed, and he pondered whether the taunting had gone a little too far. Terriermon, having caught the new flow of the conversation, was already snickering, if only very quietly.

"Ah, don't be like that…" Takato spoke in a friendly tone, clumsily patting the Digimon's thick right arm. "I got you to open up to me back in the Digital World, so let's stay friends, okay?"

"Wha…?"

Takato and the Digimon never talked of their experiences together in the Digital World, thus whatever small thing they revealed easily drew the other Tamers' curiosity.

When Cyberdramon lifted his right arm, Ryo's first reaction was to reach for his D-Arc, suddenly fearing his partner would do the unthinkable. What really happened, however, was even more surreal.

Cyberdramon let his large hand fall on Takato's head…and then ruffled his hair enthusiastically.

"Gah—Cyber—my hair! My neck! You're hurting my neck! Too strong!"

"Whoa, Kenta, check that out!"

Hirokazu and Kenta had put their game on hold to witness the admittedly very odd scene. Terriermon's quiet snickering had grown into full blown laughter, and even Renamon had phased into sight, seated on a nearby tree branch, to look down at the unusual sight of the boy and the Cyborg Digimon.

"Not…this time…I guess."

"Holy crap, he talks!" Terriermon gasped. "That's, like, a Takato Fact on its own!"

While the other Tamers were left in the dark, Takato managed to figure out what the Perfect Digimon meant.

"Aah," he accepted, offering the belligerent Digimon a smirk to state he got it. Cyberdramon returned it with a nod.

Takato understood he would eventually have to help Ryo's partner sate his thirst for battle…again.

Not that he really minded; fighting Cyberdramon that one time was actually pretty cool…even if he got his ass thoroughly kicked.

"So, guys, have you come to a decision?" Takato finally inquired, drawing the discussion to a more proper course.

"Well…" Jenrya began, making a strange expression, half-frown, half-grimace. "We know we can't just stage a fight for Cyberdramon right away, like you just said."

"Yeah, I guess as much," Ryo admitted, before offering a smile to the goggle-wearing boy. "So, Takato, got any ideas?"

"Of all people, you ask goggle-brain…" the only girl in group muttered, ignoring Hirokazu's triumphant shout somewhere behind her. It appeared the game had been decided.

Takato made an unusual, pained expression.

"Ah, no…well…" He was seemingly looking for the appropriate words. "You guys are the Tamers, so you guys call the shots." He shrugged and smiled, even if it did not fully reach his eyes. "I'm just here because Ruki dragged me out of be—ow, ow, OW!"

Terriermon and Ryo snickered at the girl pulling Takato off the tree he had been leaning on by his abnormally stretched right ear.

"Don't talk like I'm dragging you against your will, Takato!"

"Ow! Ow! Just! Just like this! You pulled me out of bed just like this!" Takato continued, making a weird one-footed dance in the direction he was being pulled to.

"Your mother was pleased to know you would be waking up earlier than noon on a Saturday," Ruki commented.

"Well of course Mom would be happy…" Takato mumbled very quietly, hoping against all hope he would not be heard. "'Never thought you'd be pulled out of bed by a pretty girl, Takato.' 'You should listen to Ruki-san more often, Takato.'"

"…said something, Gogglehead?"

"Not in the slightest," Takato muttered bitterly. Ignorant women; they could not understand the true worth of his long hours of sleep.

"Good boy," Ruki responded, perfectly looking the role of a professional animal trainer. She then paused, as a different thought struck her mind. "And what was that 'you're the Tamers now' bullshit that just came out of your stupid Gogglehead mouth?"

"You know, you use that stupid nickname too ofte—"

"Answer."

The sudden, flash-freezing chill in Ruki's tone made Jenrya take an unconscious step back. Hirokazu and Kenta 'meeped' a distance away.

Ryo? The guy can take far worse.

"…well, it's true, isn't it?" Takato replied, surprisingly calm for the one who had taken Ruki's verbal attack at point-blank. "I don't have Guilmon anymore, so there's no point in me joining in the discussion, if it has to do with Digimon…"

The words struck a heavy chord in the Tamers present. It was something they (unconsciously?) avoided, as far early as Juri's loss of Leomon; a topic they kept mostly to their individual minds.

Just what did Juri and Takato feel, not being "part of the team" anymore?

"Takato…" Jenrya uttered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

Fortunately, one Makino Ruki was far more skilled at handling Matsuda Takato.

"OW!" Takato complained the moment knuckles feel hard on the crown of his head. "Now I'm pretty sure I did nothing to deserve that!"

"Of course you did," the girl countered. "Of all the stupid, goggle-headed things you could have said…"

Surprising the other guys present, the tall girl wrapped an arm around Takato's back; planting her left hand on Takato's left shoulder before pulling him closer to her. Instead of leaving the hand there, however, she clenched it to rain raps on Takato's head.

"Ow! Hey! Ruki-ow! What-the-ow! Hey!"

"Alright, Gogglehead, thinking game," she began, absolutely oblivious to the complaints of the boy she called her best friend (only privately, though). "If you still had that bread-eating machine you called partner…"

"Guilmon did more than that…" Takato whined pathetically.

"…how would you, oh greatest of Tamers, deal with Cyberdramon's little issue?"

"I…"

His eyes sought his other friends, those of similar gender, wordlessly wishing for release from the mildly painful grip Ruki had on him. Instead, he found friendly, expectant smiles. They wanted him to answer.

He knew he should have felt happy, and even a little embarrassed, at their eagerness, their friendliness and the value they put in his opinions, his thoughts, and even his very presence, despite no longer being a Tamer. Heck, to see such an attitude from Ruki of all people made his chest all warm and fluffy and nice.

Yes, happy and embarrassed would have been the 'Takato' thing to do.

As it was, he was only developing a mild headache. Maybe there was something in the rhythm Ruki was keeping. Happy and embarrassed would have to wait until next time.

Seriously, sometimes, Lucemon's absolute domination over his pieces seemed such a nice and convenient thing to have…

…thinking about it, Lucemon had been incommunicado for some time, hasn't he?

Takato mentally shrugged. He might as well enjoy the temporary peace before the nightmare he knew was sure to come.

"Well…I'm sure you already know this, but you can always ask Yamaki if he can arrange a place for Cyberdramon to unwind…like, dunno, the open ocean, or high in the sky."

"Um," Jenrya agreed with a nod. "I know we have to talk this with Yamaki, but fighting in the open sea sounds like a decent idea."

"Great," Ruki declared with an impatient tone. "Good luck with that. Later…"

The boys made odd faces at the sight of the girl walking down the stairs.

"You not coming with us, Makino?" Hirokazu asked before any of the others.

The girl shot the visor-wearing lad a tired glare after stopping and turning her body halfway around.

"It's not like you need the whole team for this; I already did enough by getting you all together, and to be honest, I don't want to spend my Saturday surrounded by low-quality testosterone."

Ryo and Jenrya winced at the…complexity of the girl's latest insult.

"Ugh…I didn't really get that, but I feel insulted nonetheless…" Hirokazu muttered.

"Have fun, guys; I guess I'll be seeing you around or whatever. Ta-ta~"

Ruki's voice showed her boredom and tiredness at the excessive male company. She made an unenthusiastic wave of her right hand to dismiss herself and resumed her walk down the stairs…and then she stopped about three seconds later.

"Huh?" Ryo uttered, wondering what bothered the fiery girl now.

After releasing a deep sigh, Ruki quickly retraced her steps back up the stairs, her violet eyes glowing with exasperation, and approached Takato, who was still standing close to Ryo and Cyberdramon.

"Huh? Ruki? What is it—wah! Ow! Oi! Ruki!"

"Do I have to command you to come with me like a house pet, Gogglehead!" the girl irately inquired as she once again pulled her best friend by his right ear, to the silent amazement of their audience of Tamers and Digimon.

"Wah—hey! I can walk on my own!"

"Then why the hell did I have to make back up the stairs, huh!"

"How was I supposed to know you wanted me to go with you!"

The snarl he got in response told him he had just given a terrible answer. It also helped that her pull on his ears became noticeably stronger.

"Ow! OW! Ruki! Didn't—didn't you say you didn't want to be surrounded by testosterone?"

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Don't be silly, Gogglehead; you have no testosterone."

The Tamers upstairs (sans Hirokazu) winced at the skilled jab at the former Tamers' masculinity.

"HEY!" Takato complained most loudly. "That actually hurt! Ow! Ruki, seriously, you're ripping it off!"

Somebody at the upper end of the stairs made a loud whipping sound.

"I'll get you for that later, Terriermon!" Surprisingly enough, it was Takato who said that.

"How did you even know it was me!" the small Digimon shouted back in outrage.

"Mystical Gogglehead Powers!" Takato managed to respond before his and Ruki's figures left the others' visual field.

Ryo's eyes remained stuck in the general direction the two had left for a few more seconds, before turning to Jenrya.

"…are they always like that?"

"Well…" the younger boy looked rather embarrassed by the topic. "…if you ask me, last year they were not this…hmm…"

"Close?" the oldest and most experienced of the Tamers offered. Jenrya hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

"…yeah, let's go with that."

"I definitely don't mind!" a suddenly happy Hirokazu commented. "Takato keeps that wildcat distracted, which means we don't have to deal with her. It's win-win for everyone…except, well, Takato." The boy's mood dropped for an instant, and then quickly went back to giddy. "But that's okay; you know he's a sucker for helping others and stuff."

Ryo and Kenta looked at each other, digesting Hirokazu's words…and then sighed.

Way to ignore the context.

"Huh? Wha?" Hirokazu uttered, having heard the other two's reactions. "What's the deal with those faces? What did I say?"

"Nothing," the other two Tamers said in unison, declaring the end of this conversation.

"I wonder what Katou-san thinks of this," Jenrya admitted quietly, and only his partner heard it.

"Moumantai, Jen! Didn't Takato say Juri rejected him?" the odd rabbit-dog hybrid patted his Tamer's right shoulder with one of his long ears and looked in the direction the pair had departed to. "If those two actually get together, well, isn't that great? I mean, Takato is happy and provides a great service to mankind, I would never run out of material to tease them with, and we might even get to see dere-dere Ruki! Like Kazu said, it's win-win for everyone!"

"Your logic is a little warped, Terriermon…" the boy concluded, having decided it was really none of his business.

---

Renamon was a quiet Digimon. That's why she preferred to remain out of phase with the world, following her Tamers faithfully and invisibly; a non-existence that would not disturb Makino Ruki's ordinary life, or the lives of those around her.

Even that Saturday, she had done nothing but follow her Tamer the whole day, not making herself visible unless Ruki requested it…or Takato. In fact, it was the boy who almost always insisted in making Renamon join in the conversation, even if most of the time she could hardly follow the exchanges between the two humans.

It was not boring, following Ruki around the whole day. Renamon, while a mon of few words, had a very active mind, and she reveled in unraveling the mysteries of human nature, human thought, human personality and human interactions.

To Renamon, humans were very strange creatures, always placing their emotions on the forefront, and driving their lives by the consequences of those emotions clashing with another person's. Yet, at the same time, humans had the strange ability to turn those same emotions into power. It was completely different from the natural, animal survival instinct, which drives beasts to fight with ferocity when totally cornered.

It was not a capacity unique to humans—Renamon had noticed long ago that focusing on her wish to protect Ruki and stay by her side fueled the power of her fists and filled her with vitality she didn't know she had—but she believed Digimon needed the help of humans to find and understand this ability.

Renamon had also discovered long ago that individual humans could be extremely different in aspects beyond their appearance. Each and every single human was indeed a unique being, and Ruki was a particularly "unique" human, and not just by virtue of her being a Tamer.

The fox Digimon thought she already had a very good grasp of Makino Ruki. However, there was a side of her Renamon was still in the process of discovering, studying and understanding: Makino Ruki, as she interacts with others. For example, while Ruki was closer to the Tamers than, let's say, to the manager of the arcade center she frequented, the way she treated both Tamers and game center manager was pretty much the same, save for the obvious fact that Ruki actually spoke more to the Tamers.

Renamon knew that humans adjusted their attitude, personality and behavior to specific social situations. The Katou Juri that hung out with the Tamers was different from the Katou Juri that hung out with her school friends Itou Ayaka and Nakajima Miki, for example, and those two Juris were different from the Katou Juri that interacted with her family.

Makino Ruki was a lot simpler with her "social masks": she was distant and respectful to unknown people and distant acquaintances, like, for example, the man in charge of the parlor that sold her favorite vanilla ice cream; and she acted distant and disrespectful to her closer acquaintances, the Digimon Tamers. There was also, of course, the Makino Ruki that interacted with her family—no longer distant, but still hesitant to lean closer; no longer disrespectful, but not wishing to appear weak, mellow and submissive.

And there was the Makino Ruki that interacted with Matsuda Takato: she was rude, demeaning, insulting, blunt, sometimes inexplicably aggressive and almost sadistic in her attitude towards the boy, but her shine in her eyes and her small, imperturbable smile portrayed something Renamon could not properly place a word on.

The fox Digimon found it intriguing and fascinating. Thus, she enjoyed following the two.

Eventually, the day came to an end, and the two friends departed to their respective homes. At first glance, it had seemed like the usual weekend day, just like the many others they had spend together in the past six or so months. However, there had been a strange, lingering tension in the air: Takato would not look at Ruki fully in the eyes, and the girl's smile would not look fully sincere, not even when she actually wanted to smile.

It had all started with that comment Takato made by Guilmon's former home.

'Valentine', she believed he had said. Another thing Renamon would have to ask Hata-san about, she decided.

---

Ruki would not admit she was bothered by Takato's words.

In their years of acquaintanceship, as Takato had grown acquainted to the girl's speech and behavioral patterns, Ruki had to grow accustomed to Takato, as Hirokazu and Kenta so eloquently put it, "growing some balls". This involved both developing a resistance to Ruki's derisive words, and the ability to actually snark back at her. Even the Legendary Tamer himself, Akiyama Ryo, had admitted to the other Tamers—not in Ruki's presence, of course—that Takato had surpassed him, if only in "Ruki Management Skills".

"Maa, well," he had said. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Takato had learned not to be affected by every single scathing sentence coming out of his best friend's mouth. Also, he had grown able to say things he would have never been able to say to Ruki's face at the age of 11.

"Ne, Ruki, would you give me Valentine's chocolate?"

That was most definitely one of those things.

Ruki would not admit she was bothered by Takato's words.

Not that she needed to, as it was pretty obvious; this her family could attest to, as they wordlessly watched the growing girl early the next morning. It was Sunday.

"Who the hell does he think he is? He's just a Gogglehead, that's what he is; a stupid, pretentious, empty-brained Gogglehead who doesn't think before spouting out moronic things like…like…"

The girl's cheeks acquired a mild pink hue.

"Wuh-why would I have to give him chocolate? I'm not giving anyone chocolate, much less the stupid Gogglehead. Seriously, how insolent can he get?"

Makino Rumiko and Hata Seiko quietly watched the third member of their family monologue endlessly as she sat on the dining table and rested her head on her right hand, seemingly uncaring of her audience.

"She's…been like that since last night, hasn't she?" Ruki's grandmother wondered from the kitchen, where she was making the last touches on that morning's breakfast.

"Yes," Renamon answered, emerging from nowhere to stand behind Rumiko, the other woman seating by the dining table.

"…and it's not like he has reason to complain; I mean, I gave him a present on his birthday, didn't I? And on Christmas as well," Ruki paused, before adding a stubborn tone to her voice. "We-Well…it was a week late, I know, but he didn't seem to mind."

The young teen nodded to herself, satisfied with that statement. This allowed her to return her attention to deriding Takato's words from the day before.

"Hmph! Stupid, greedy Gogglehead."

"Is she even aware she's speaking out loud?" Rumiko pondered.

"I…think not," Renamon admitted. "Should I inform her—?"

"No," both mother and grandmother spoke at the exact same time.

Let the mature women have their fun.

"And, and, it's not like even deserves it, really. I mean, it's not like…I…I…aaah, it would make him fat! He'd become Balloon Gogglehead! And, and, everybody pampers him because he brought our partners and crap; someone has to put him in his place from time to time, you know? To make sure it doesn't get to his scatterbrained, Goggle-wearing head."

"She's really going out of her way to justify not giving him chocolate, isn't she…?" Rumiko commented.

"She got that obstinacy from our side of the family," a grinning Seiko commented as she carried plates and bowls to the table.

"Yes, but…you can't help but feel sorry for Takato-kun."

"I'm fairly sure Takato-kun is not expecting chocolate; he knows our Ruki better than that. He just wanted to rile her up a little…"

"…well, we are best friends and all, but…I mean, if I give Goggles obligation chocolate then the other losers will want some as well, and there is no way in hell I'm giving chocolates to the other two stooges."

"…and I would say he succeeded beyond his expectations."

"Bu-but, if Katou gives them chocolate and I don't…that…would look kinda bad, hmm? Hmm…but, then again, ju-just because he's not a Tamer anymore do-doesn't justify getting out of shape, really!"

Ruki clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Tch, mou...stupid Gogglehead."

---

Like that, February 14th arrived.

"You're up early today," Hata Seiko pondered at the sight of her daughter gobbling her breakfast in a rather embarrassing manner.

"Um," Rumiko admitted between mouthfuls. "Gotta hurry. Special plans."

"Hmm…" the older woman sipped at her vegetable soup far more sedately. "Do these plans have anything to do with the many phone calls you've exchanged with Matsuda Takato-kun in the past few days?"

"Ah…ahaha…" the blonde chuckled uneasily before flattening her stare. "You need more hobbies, Mother."

"It's your fault for being too loud when you talk on the phone. Ruki would have noticed as well if she actually paid attention."

"No way!" Rumiko whined. "If Ruki found out it would be such a bummer…"

"I think you're the one who needs a hobby," Seiko argued. "Seriously, to play along with Takato-kun…"

"It's all business, Mother," Ruki's mother declared before slamming her empty rice bowl on the dining table. She was done with breakfast.

"The stupid grin on your face does not really help your case, dear daughter."

"Ahaha…"

---

"Here! For you, Takato-kun."

"Hoe?"

Takato looked up his desk to almost crash with a red box with an ornate white ribbon. Following the hand holding the box, the boy's eyes quickly fell on a pair of bronze twintails. Adorable, flimsy twintails, swaying in the mild breeze leaking into the classroom from the open windows…ah, of course, there was a girl attached to those awesome twintails.

Twintails.

"Twinta—uh, I mean, Ayaka-san?"

"Umu," the girl uttered with a nod. "For you," she then repeated, once more drawing his attention to the box.

Takato blinked.

"Could it be…chocolate?"

The boy's classmate giggled and rolled her eyes.

"What else could it be, silly? Come on, you can't be that slow." She then pushed the red box onto Takato's hands. "Saa, take it; this is kinda embarrassing…"

"Ah, ah, sure!" Takato finally blurted out, hurriedly jumping to his feet, only for his left knee to bump on the underside of his desk.

"Gah! Ow, ow, ow…!"

Ayaka guffawed at the boy's seemingly incurable clumsiness. The loud impact sound drew the mostly full classroom's attention to Takato's desk, not to be disappointed by yet another of the boy's habitual moments.

"Seriously, Takato-kun, you need to—whaa!"

Unfortunately, that morning's ordeal was not over. The moment he tried to place his left foot on the floor, the hurting leg gave in, causing Takato to lose his balance and reach for the closest object.

Of course, it happened to be Ayaka.

The class, led by Hirokazu and Kenta, winced as one when both youngsters crashed on the floor with a loud clatter of metal—Takato's desk and chair, pushed away by their combined weights.

"Iyah…ow…you okay, Aya—ah!"

The girl had actually softened Takato's fall, his face coming to rest on the girl's stomach. Looking up, Takato quickly caught sight of a red box spinning high over the two, its contents fortunately held within by the white ribbon.

"Ow, ow, ow…Takato-kun, really…" Ayaka muttered in a tone that portrayed her pain…just before gasping at the sight of Takato's face rushing towards hers!

"Whoah!" the former Tamer exclaimed as he desperately reached for the box before it crashed on the floor, gasping exultant upon a last second success. "Alright! I saved the box, Ayaka…san…"

And that was when he noticed the twintailed girl's face, mere millimeters underneath his own.

"Ah…aaah…" The brown-haired boy quickly assumed his well-known nervous expression. "Ahahaha…umm…sorry?"

The windows vibrated when Ayaka shrieked in embarrassment, a second before unleashing rightful feminine vengeance upon the careless boy.

"Serves you right, you, you…shameless…Gogglehead!"

Gogglehead? Takato could not help but think while prone on the classroom floor.

"Hmph!"

Takato could only hear the girl's steps as she stomped away, his eyes only able to stare at the ceiling, unwilling as he was to stand up just yet. His ears still worked fine—even if his head was still spinning a little bit—, so he could catch his friends' and classmates' conversation.

"Aaaah!" He recognized that voice as Ayaka's best friend, Miki, a petite girl with neat black hair about as short as his. "Ayaka, no fair! We agreed we would him the chocolates together!"

"Be grateful, then!" the other girl howled in response. "At least you didn't end up caught in his reckless, perverted claws!"

"Oi, oi…" Takato muttered to himself. "That's kinda unfair…" He decided to get up before Ayaka accused him of trying to peek under girl's skirts or something.

"Mmm, mou! Whatever!" Miki declared before prancing over to Takato, who had just managed to shift to a sitting position on her floor. "Takato-kun, here."

She offered a hand to help him stand back up, while the other carried a dark brown box with a red ribbon.

"Ah, thank you, Miki-san," Takato said with a grateful smile the girl quickly returned, and then reached for her stretched hand…

"Aaah!"

The hand which let go of him just a second later, sending him backwards until the back of his head struck the side of his desk.

"Gah! Oww…"

"Ayaka!" Miki cried murder, stomping the floor for good measure. "Your box is bigger than mine! That's so not fair!"

"Oh, come on!" the other girl retorted from the opposite side of the classroom.

Takato felt a little piece of his soul crack when Miki rudely threw her Valentine's gift on his lap before stomping over to the obviously far more important task of arguing with her best friend. Now that he really expected any affectionate feelings to come with the chocolates, but still…

"Oi, oi, how come Takato gets chocolate from you two?"

Since when do you even care about Valentine's Day, Hirokazu…? Takato wondered.

"Ah, well…" Miki's anger quickly diffused into mild embarrassment. "I mean, he went on his own to that Digital World and brought your friends back, didn't he?" she explained. "We thought it was kinda cool; I mean, before the whole Digimon thing, nobody would have expected that guy to do those kinds of cool things!"

Keep twisting that dagger in my chest, would ya…?

"We?" Ayaka interrupted. "More like you did and then pushed me into doing this."

"Muu…" Miki pouted. "It's kinda embarrassing to give chocolates alone…"

"Maa, who cares about that!" Hirokazu erupted.

"But, that's what you asked…" Kenta muttered a step behind his best friend.

"We're Digimon Tamers, which automatically makes us awesome!"

"Not at all," Ayaka's turn to mutter.

"There's no way you don't have chocolate for us!"

Miki sighed and reached for her schoolbag. "Yeah, yeah, I have giri for you two idiots as well…"

Hirokazu grinned triumphantly.

"Alright! Did you hear that, Kenta? Our first Valentine's chocola—SO TINY!"

"Take it or scram!" Miki shrieked back.

Takato chuckled at their antics when a figure approached him from his right.

"Are you alright, Takato-kun? Your head…"

Katou Juri descended upon the hapless Takato; truly an angel of mercy, healing his wounded soul.

The former Tamer returned Juri's look of consternation with a gentle smile to assure her of his good health.

"Don't mind, don't mind," he spoke in English for whatever reason. "Good morning, Katou-san."

Convinced that the nasty-looking hit did not inflict significant harm, Juri showered Takato with her sweetest smile, the one that for years had rendered Takato a blushing, stammering wreck.

"Um! Good morning, Takato-kun!"

Of course, it was just as effective this time. Even if his feelings dwindled and changed, the power of that smile was unstoppable.

Fortunately for him, it did not last long. Unfortunately, it was only replaced by the cutest little pout.

"Mou, Takato-kun, really…won't you call me by my name? Juri-chan?"

"Ju-Ju-Ju…chan!" Takato squeaked in a disturbingly high-pitched voice, close to the one he used as the Mysterious Child Idol, Matsushita Suzuka.

Juri giggled, further sinking Takato within his personal pit of embarrassment.

"Not 'Jujuju-chan', silly! Juuuuu-ri-chan! Can't you say it for me, Takato-kun?"

"Ah…aah…uh…" Takato's strained grin looked rather creepy, lop-sided as it was. Even after the Tamer experience and the Lucemon experience, he was not really good at handling Katou Juri.

She was too bright for him. Too bright!

"Buuh," Juri complained, puckering her lips out in the most adorable manner and making Takato blush even redder. His pupils only drifted away from those thin lips when they noticed a red similar to his own coloring the girl's cheeks as well.

"Then, maybe, if I give a special present to Takato-kun…" the girl shyly offered, reaching for her bag.

"Katou-san, you don't mean…?" Takato began, not really able to hide the excitement inflaming his chest.

It was one thing to receive chocolate from a classmate impressed by his past deeds. To receive chocolates from his cherished Katou-san would make for a truly wonderful day!

"Juuuuuuuri-chwaaaaaaaaan!"

Anyone who looked closely enough would have noticed both Takato and Juri twitching at that.

Hirokazu, dragging Kenta with him, had pounced on the two former Tamers like a hungry hyena.

"Juri-chan, good morning!"

"Ah…good morning," Kenta added a lot more sedately.

Juri, who happens not to be an idiot, could easily read Hirokazu's true feelings.

"Yes, Hirokazu-kun, I made chocolates for you. For Kenta-kun as well."

"Alright! Real chocolate!"

"Oi!" Miki exclaimed in the distance, and soon dragged Ayaka as well to get a closer look.

It did not take long for Juri to present the Tamers, former and current, with their Valentine's gifts.

"Ah, umm…" Juri began, looking very bashful. "It's my first time doing this, so…I, I'm sorry if they didn't turn out that well…bu-but, they're all the same, really!"

"Takato's is bigger," Hirokazu quickly countered in a deadpan tone.

"And it's the only one that's heart-shaped," Miki added in the same tone.

"And she sprinkled perfume on the box," Ayaka finished.

"The-They're all the same!" Juri repeated in a squeak, not very convincingly.

---

Makino Ruki had a problem.

She was also extremely pissed off.

But, above everything else, she had a problem.

She had left her home with a victorious smirk on her face. It was February the 14th, and she had not bought or, gods forbid, made chocolate. Not for Takato, nor for anybody else.

She had won.

She would revel on the boy's disappointment as his baseless hopes came crashing down, and she would feed on his tears.

Yes, Makino Ruki was a very pleased girl when she left her home.

Her smirk lasted all the way to her all-girls' school, the one she would belong to for five more weeks before moving on to Middle School. It lasted as long as the shoe lockers just past the main entrance, right until she opened the small cubicle with her name on it.

The source of Makino Ruki's current problem rested on her desk, the target of the girl's most terrifying glare, as if hoping that staring at it hard enough could make it disappear. Unfortunately, the ways of the universe were not nearly as merciful and, in fact, the hated object of Makino Ruki's glare was only attracting more and more attention from her usually distant classmates.

The heart-shaped box of chocolates bigger than her head was not really the problem—well, not much of it. So she got chocolate on Valentine's Day; she could live with that, weird as it was…save for the fact that it had become the topic of discussion amongst her classmates and pretty much everyone who had witnessed the moment she found it in her shoe locker.

The real problem came from the note attached to the box.

"This will appear very sudden, but I have admired you for the longest time. I truly hope my feelings reach you, sweet as they are, just like these homemade chocolates.

With love,

Your Secret Admirer (and hopefully more~)"

Ruki glared at the heart mark at the very end, hoping it would somehow catch flame.

A secret admirer.

The girl was very aware, extremely aware, in fact, that she attended an all-girls school.

"Um, Makino-san…" a girl with braided black hair and glasses approached Ruki from behind, one hand pressing a stack of papers against her pubescent body while the other reached for the redhead's right shoulder.

Jerking in frightened surprise, Ruki quickly turned around and rudely pushed the hand away from her.

"I-I don't swing that way, damn it!"

"Uh?" the other girl, definitely far more nervous and frightened than Ruki, took a step back at the sight of the Tamer's almost feral expression. "No, uh…I'm…sensei…asked me to hand these in…"

A trembling hand extended a sheet of paper to Ruki, who grimaced and blushed as she realized just what she had done.

"Ugh…my, my bad, class rep," she gruffly replied, grabbing the document rudely in an attempt to save face and preserve her tough girl image.

The whispers and giggles all around her told her it was not really working.

Alright, that's it. Whoever's behind this must die.

Our Makino Ruki is that kind of selfish heroine.

---

Lunch time was almost over. The Tamers and former Tamers, joined by Juri's girlfriends, were almost done with their meals, except for Matsuda Takato, who was pretty much finished, and thus decided to try having dessert that day.

"Ah!" the short-haired girl, Miki, exclaimed as she noticed what rested on Takato's hand. "That is…"

She did not get a chance to say more before Takato put the small, cubic-shaped chocolate piece in his mouth.

"Hmm…so this is Miki-san's flavor, hmm?" He smiled in delight, much to the girl's embarrassment.

"Do-Don't say it in such a shameless way, you ero-Takato!"

That was when the distinguishable sound of Juri's ringtone filled the classroom, drawing all eyes to the quiet girl, who made an apologetic look before reaching for the mobile device.

"Eh? Ruki…?" she uttered after glancing at the caller ID screen, and Takato perked up, doing his very best not to grin like a loon. Juri moved the phone closer to her right ear. "Um, hello…?"

The others watched in silence. Juri blinked two times, then her eyes widened a bit, and finally she put the mobile phone down, looking at it confusedly before extending it to Takato.

"Ruki wants to talk with you, Takato-kun."

"Really," the boy replied, ignoring the sudden looks of interest from Ayaka and Miki, who were always eager for potential gossip. "Sorry for the trouble," he said as he reached for Juri's phone.

"Ah, no, it's okay…" Juri responded, sounding a bit forlorn for some reason. Takato did not pay attention to it, however, drawing the device to his right ear.

"Ruki?"

"GOGGLEHEAD!"

Takato's ears rang, and the others were actually pushed away from Takato by the intensity of the girl's yell. The boy winced and shook his head before moving the phone close again.

"Uhh…hello to you too…I think."

"This is your doing, isn't it! You shameless, insolent Gogglehead! I swear, I'll hunt you down after school and shove those goggles up your—"

"Ruki, what in all gods' names are you talking about?" Takato interrupted, doing his best to keep a calm demeanor in his mirth. He loved drawing out Ruki's reactions almost as much as she loved messing with him.

"The chocolates! In my foot locker! I know they're your doing! I know it!"

Takato faked his surprise.

"Someone gave you chocolates, Ruki!"

Hirokazu's chopsticks slipped off his fingers. Juri gasped, and her two friends began to giggle like…well, teenage girls.

"Waah, Ruki, I'm so happy for you!" Takato continued. "I knew one day somebody would see your charm—"

"Shu-Shut up, Gogglehead! Don't pretend you know nothing!"

"Wa-Wait, Ruki, are you saying you think I was the one who gave you those chocolates?"

"Only you would be so shameless!"

"Ruki, please," Takato tried to sound exasperated. "I don't think I would be even allowed in that school of yours. I'm a boy, you know? I don't think they're very welcome over there."

"Uh-ugh…"

"Besides, it's Valentine's Day. Girls are supposed to be chocolate to boys today, not the other way around." He paused. "Ah, but I guess things are different in all-girls' schools, huh. Waah…the 21st century is really amazing…"

"Stop talking like an old man! Guuuh!" Takato could see the girl pulling her hairs on her school desk. "If you didn't do it, then…Akiyama? Nah, no way, not his style…aaah!"

"Ruki…" Takato began, ignoring the quiet snickers around him. "Maybe you just have to accept the fact that there's a lovely girl out there who has seen your many good points and now wants to get closer to you—"

He blinked, looking down at the phone screen before offering it to its owner.

"She hung up."

And the audience roared in laughter.

"Oh, damn! That's…Makino…! That's rich!" Hirokazu gasped out between laughs, accompanied by Kenta, Ayaka and Miki.

"Takato-kun, just what…?" Juri asked as she put the phone back in her schoolbag.

"Someone dropped chocolates in Ruki's foot locker and she thinks it's a prank," the boy concisely explained. "Seriously, I feel sorry for whoever did it; her feelings didn't reach Ruki in the slightest."

"You mean, you didn't…?"

Takato chuckled and shook his head.

"I did not place those chocolates in Ruki's foot locker."

---

Nothing of the afternoon lectures made it to Ruki's brain.

To make things worse, her nightmare continued after the last bell rang.

"Wha…wha…"

Around her, she could hear the rumor mill turning again, but she paid it little heed.

There was only her, and the lovely pink envelope waiting for her in her shoe locker.

With the eyes of a hungry predator, she looked around her, as if expecting the culprit to return to the crime scene. Her wicked eyes made many girls flinch, but just as much were plainly amused by the sight of the Ice Queen, Makino Ruki, so bothered by something like a love letter.

"Guuuh…!" the rapidly blushing girl uttered miserably. She wanted to run, away from this damnable place. They were all making fun of her!

She hurriedly changed to her outdoor shoes, grabbed the envelope and departed from the school. She did not run; of course not—her pride would not allow her to do so. Instead, she walked with her head held high and her eyes facing only forward, unhampered by the whispering and rumor-mongering around her.

"Ruki," the familiar and somewhat relieving voice of her Digimon partner spoke from behind. "Are you unwell?"

"Oh, 'unwell' doesn't begin to describe it."

But, there was no escape from the nightmare.

"I'm home…guh," Ruki spoke as she stepped into her house's dining room, only to catch sight of an unusual explosion of green and red in the room where the color of wood was predominant.

"Isn't it lovely?" Hata Seiko commented, acknowledging her granddaughter's presence by bringing the flower arrangement on the dining table to her attention. It was a beautiful, expressive thing, obviously made by a professional by elegantly placing three dozen red roses together.

"It…is very beautiful, Seiko-san," Renamon agreed, and Ruki glared at her like she had just been betrayed by her partner. "Did you buy this today?"

"Wha?" the woman was surprised for a moment, before laughing merrily. "Oh, no, no, Renamon. This is not the kind of thing a person buys for herself."

"I…do not think I understand," the Digimon admitted, stepping closer to the table to examine the flower arrangement. It smelled good as well.

"It's a gift, from someone to Ruki."

"Urk."

Renamon's attention fell on the card lodged in between the red flowers. Taking it in her right paw, the fox Digimon only needed three seconds to read it.

"Give me that."

Renamon did as told by her Tamer, handing over the small pink card for Ruki to read.

"See you tomorrow, my dear and precious Ruki.

Love,

Your Secret Admirer."

…I want to die.

The girl's lower lip trembled, and she hoped against all hope the other two did not pay much attention to her flushed face.

"You don't see this kind of romance nowadays," Seiko idly commented, before walking over to the kitchen. "Tea's ready, if you're interested. Renamon?"

"…I'd appreciate it, yes."

"In a minute…"

Ruki's only response was a wordless grunt before hurrying to the solitude and relative comfort of her bedroom. She still had the second, unopened, note she found in her shoe locker.

"I know it's not proper of me to do things this way, and I apologize for the trouble I may have caused you."

"Like that will save you when I get my hands on you."

"Thus, if it is acceptable, I would hope to meet you tomorrow, face to face, so that I can express my feelings the right way.

Love,

Your Secret Admirer."

The girl paced around her bedroom for quite some time before dinner, looking not unlike a caged lioness.

She had a secret admirer, someone who apparently had…those…feelings…for her. Someone willing to send her gifts and chocolate on Valentine's Day, regardless of their recipient being a girl…in fact, it was highly likely her secret admirer was a girl as well. It was not just the fact that the person had dropped the chocolates and notes in her shoe locker, or the choice of pink envelopes and paper; the calligraphy, the formality and the wording were also quite feminine.

"Ugh…" This was one of many meaningless noises coming out of Ruki's bedroom that afternoon.

When she returned to the dining room, that evening's meal was already served. Renamon calmly sat by one side of the table, sipping green tea placidly, while Ruki's grandmother sat on the chair across, distracting herself with a magazine.

"So…" Seiko began the moment Ruki stepped in. She was not even trying to hide her amusement. "…what is this about you getting chocolate?"

It was a testament to her willpower that the girl only allowed her right eyebrow to twitch before turning to her Digimon partner. Renamon glanced at the redhead out of the corner of her right eye before placing her cup of tea away from her muzzle.

"…I take it I should not have shared that, Ruki?"

Twitch.

"…no. No, you should have not."

Ruki decided to fill the rice bowls before sitting down herself.

"Well…" Seiko continued. "I honestly don't know what to say…"

"Would it be too much asking if you say nothing at all…?" Ruki suggested almost pitifully.

"…on one side, I'm happy there's someone out there to whom you are clearly precious and important…" Seiko said, utterly ignoring her granddaughter's plea. "But, on the other side…I'm not sure if I want my granddaughter straying into that path…"

Ruki actually whimpered at that. Like a kicked puppy.

"I wonder what Takato-kun would think of this."

And just like that, Ruki remembered just who she was.

"Wha-wha-what does the Gogglehead have to do with anything! Huh!" she angrily retorted.

"I'm just saying…" Seiko muttered, quite acquainted as she was with Ruki's explosive personality.

"And if you really need to know, he sounded very happy about it," the girl continued in a stubborn tone and took a seat next to Renamon. "Mom?"

"It seems she will leave straight to some party after leaving the studio," Seiko explained. "It seems the Special Christmas issue of Monthly Fashion was a really big hit."

"Really…!" Ruki's breath got stuck in her throat when she remembered the center piece of that special issue.

The birth of an idol.

"Ugh…"

As if responding to Ruki's groan, Seiko put the magazine on the empty space on the table where Rumiko's meal would have normally stood, allowing the girl Tamer to see the cover…

There was an unusual and very unsettling "crack" sound in her mind.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Seiko was startled by the unexpected cry. It was fortunate she had not reached for the food yet.

"Ruki?"

"Aaaaaaaaah!" the girl repeated, pointing at the magazine cover with a trembling finger. It was to be expected, considering the figure posing there; hands on her (?) knees as she leaned forward to smile sweetly to the camera.

"Suzuka-chan Returns! With the February Collection!"

"Oh…yes," Seiko commented, having noticed what claimed her granddaughter's attention so overtly. "Lovely girl. She's posing alone this time, though."

"Ugh…uhh…"

"Rumiko calls her 'the future of fashion modeling'."

"He shouldn't even be the present!"

Ruki wondered if her grandmother was just pretending not to know who Matsushita Suzuka truly was. She guessed her mother must have told her Suzuka is in fact…

"I don't think I would be even allowed in that school of yours. I'm a boy, you know? I don't think they're very welcome over there."

"Ah…tha…tha…that, that bastard!"

She did not even waste time wondering whether Takato would actually go as far as to cross-dress to make it to her school, find her shoe locker and drop the chocolates there. It left the open question of the second letter—Takato must have been in his school at the time—but she paid little heed to that.

She would not bother pondering any other hypothesis: in her mind, it was already clear as water that Takato was the culprit.

Seiko thought of correcting Ruki's rude language, but quickly decided otherwise. Instead, she turned her attention to her meal, quietly smiling as she wondered how this would change those two shameless pranksters' plans.

---

At the end of Takato's school day, Hirokazu offered him the usual invitation to play card games; sweetened by the chance to eat their Valentine's chocolate at the same time.

Takato suspected the tall boy just wanted to get his hands on some of the chocolates he had received from Juri.

"Ah, sorry, sorry…" Takato rejected the invitation with a nervous tone. "I…kind of have a date in a while…"

"EEEEEEEEH!"

The reaction to that was a lot…louder than he expected. Probably because it came from more than one person.

Juri's backpack slid off her hands and fell on the floor with a clatter of notebooks and other utensils.

In an instant, Miki was well within Takato's comfort zone.

"Eeeeh! Seriously! Who is it! Who is it! Is it the Makino girl! It's her, isn't it!"

Takato grimaced. "After that phone call, you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming to get me closer to her." He paused. "And we're not like that."

"Hmm…" the short-haired girl's toothy grin showed she was not the slightest bit convinced. Still, she turned her mischief to her best friend.

"Too bad for you, Ayaka,"

The twin-tailed girl stiffened as blood eagerly rushed to her cheeks.

"Wha-wha-what about me! I'm not…I've never…stop messing around!"

It was not much of a surprise for Takato to find himself followed as he exited the classroom and made his way to the school gate. Some distance behind him, Miki still teased Ayaka while Ayaka reminded her friend just who came up with the idea of giving Takato chocolates in the first place. Further behind, Hirokazu grumbled about 'losing their buddy to some chick', while Kenta chuckled quietly. And way in the back, Katou Juri followed the group, her head lost in unknown thoughts that made her face show pained expressions.

Of course, Takato did not see any of that. He still had time, but it was safer to hurry: his "date" for that day would not forgive lateness.

What he did not expect, though, was the person waiting for him by the gates. As expected, her presence summoned the attention of everybody nearby, children and adults alike. Upon sighting him, she raised a hand in salutation and offered him a smile worth capturing with a camera.

"Yo!"

The former Tamer blinked in honest surprise.

"Rumiko-san."

Katou Juri's belongings clattered on the floor one more time.

Miki exploded.

"A stunning, mature lady! You-You shameless flirt! Ero-master!"

Takato gaped at the shameless girl.

"Wa-wait a second! It's not like I have that kind of relationship with Rumiko-san!"

The aforementioned Rumiko-san was holding back her giggles.

"You just said you were leaving for a date!" Miki insisted, and Rumiko raised an eyebrow at that.

Takato scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, that was just to save appearances…"

"What a shameless person," Miki deadpanned.

---

In the end, the others left Takato alone with the beautiful woman, but the looks on their faces made clear that he had not heard the last they had to say about this. His closeness to Ruki was already a surprising development; adding her mother to the equation only fed the rumor mill.

"Sorry for causing you trouble, Takato-kun."

"Ah, they're always like that," Takato dismissed the woman's words. "Kazu still doesn't forgive me for becoming 'real friends' with Ruki, Kenta doesn't really care, and the others…well, they're girls."

"Girls, hmm…?" The smiling blonde looked down at the boy calmly walking by her side. She guessed Takato was still in that oblivious stage. It was endearing, in a way. She did not date as many boys before Ruki's father as her daughter might think, but they were all older than her.

Her daughter's relationship with this boy, odd and quirky as it was, made for a refreshing change.

"Um, Rumiko-san, if I may ask…you are…rather well dressed today."

"Ah, yes," the woman's smile became all the more radiant. Takato found it impressive. "The Christmas issue was incredibly popular, as you already know, so we're having a little get-together to celebrate."

Popular indeed. Takato still had a large pile of fanmail he had not replied to yet.

"Everyone was disappointed to hear Suzuka-chan would not make it, but, let's be honest: she would be a lone girl in a party for adults where everyone will get drunk."

Takato chuckled. "And it only adds to her mystery."

"That too," the woman agreed, joining in the chuckling. "I'm sure the February issue will be a hit as well."

"None of my business," Takato replied while shrugging. "I'm done with fashion modeling."

"Oh, that's what you said on December, Takato-kun," the blonde spoke merrily, as if she were already making plans for the next photo session.

"Well this time I mean it."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say~"

Takato's glare actually looked more like a pout. In the end he decided to shift the topic.

"So, how did things turn out?"

Rumiko smirked and offered her open right hand. In response, Takato returned the smirk and high-fived.

"Flawlessly," the woman replied. "I had no problems dropping the chocolates and the second letter without any student noticing." She chuckled. "Ruki must be pulling her hairs off…even if she figures it out somehow."

"Bah, she has plenty of hair."

Rumiko laughed. "I know I should not approve of this, but I keep telling myself Ruki needs these kinds of things in her life."

"I know," Takato agreed. "That's why I do it."

"I thought you did it for our twisted amusement, Takato-kun."

"Nah, that's just an added bonus. I always put Ruki's needs first and foremost."

The woman shook her head at the boy's mock seriousness.

"Really, what did my daughter do to deserve a friend like you?"

"I know!" Takato insisted, and the odd couple burst into laughter.

They eventually made it to the entrance of a certain shopping mall and their steps came to a halt.

"Well, I guess I leave you here," Rumiko said. "Going home now?"

"Ah, no…" Takato responded, scratching the back of his head. "I…kinda have to meet somebody…"

"Oh~" the woman uttered with a musical tone. "So you do have a date, you little Casanova."

"It's nothing like that," Takato retorted, placing a lot of emphasis in the negation.

"Most definitely not!" Rumiko chided with a playful voice. "I won't have you breaking my daughter's heart!"

"Ugh…" Takato face-palmed before muttering. "You could at least try to be subtle…"

"So!" The perky (in more than one way) woman continued. "Tomorrow's plan is still…"

"Of course," Takato ascertained with a firm nod. He smiled. "I'll be counting on you tomorrow as well, Rumiko-san."

"Don't worry!" Rumiko patted her chest in a rather masculine gesture. "This woman will fulfill her part of the deal."

Takato's smile widened. "Good. Then, I'll see you tomorrow, first thing in the morning…?"

"Um!" the blonde agreed before taking a few steps back. "Bye-bye, Takato-kun!"

"Have a pleasant evening, Rumiko-san," Takato responded with a curt bow. "See you tomorrow!"

"Love you lots~" the effusive lady added, blowing the boy a kiss for good measure.

Takato blushed, but his embarrassment did not stop him from chuckling at the woman's bright attitude.

"Yes, yes, thank you very much."

Rumiko finally turned her back to Takato, and the boy shook his head in amusement as he watched her depart.

It was weird to admit it, but a part of him was curious of how he would have reacted to a Makino Rumiko closer to his age.

Then again, thinking about it, they would have probably never bonded in any way if that were the case.

---

Casinos were not a place Matsuda Takato would think of visiting. Of course, as a minor, he was not even allowed in such establishments.

It made sense, then, that his presence drew the attention of pretty much every single one of the few people within at that time. Casinos thrived at nighttime, which was still several hours away. After presenting the man at the entrance with the card he had received from the maid, Mariya-san, Takato was guided to the deepest recesses of the establishment. Being a child, he could not help eat the place with his eyes, reveling in this unusual experience. He probably would not visit places like this one, not even as an adult.

Inside the VIP room, a very special person awaited.

"Oniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-sa-ma!"

Impatient as she was, the girl tackled Takato the moment he made act of presence, much to his tall escort's amusement. Aware that Takato was not alone, the girl shot a swift and sharp glare at the well-dressed man, who curtly bowed and left the two children alone.

"Ugh…" Takato groaned, even if his head was accustomed to far worse punishment. "Takako…"

"Onii-sama…" the girl's repetition came out in a far softer tone, and the dazed expression on her suddenly flushing face triggered alarms in Takato's head!

"Mmm…"

At least it was easy for Takato to turn his head to the side, allowing the girl's lips to fall on his cheek. Unfortunately, a minor disruption such as her original target being diverted would not stop the girl's passion.

Takato's body shuddered when his cheek was assaulted by sensations he never wished for, and his ears caught a trail of licking, sucking and slurping sounds.

"Mmm…hnng~onii-samaaa~"

"Stop making out with my cheek! And get off me; I don't trust the cleanliness of this floor!"

"…don't wanna," the stubborn girl muttered before nuzzling the nape of Takato's neck, purring in delight.

Takato groaned and raised his upper body to a sitting position on the floor, shifting Takako's body so that she ended up seated on his lap. Noticing this interesting development, the girl immediately latched her legs around her brother's waist, capturing him in a most suggestive vice grip.

Takato's raised eyebrow was returned by a mischievous grin.

"You're mine now, o~nii~sa~ma~"

Takato exhaled loudly out of his nose.

"I've been yours since the day we met, Takako. I'm your onii-sama, and you're my imouto. That's how it goes."

"Oh, onii-sama…"

Resting her hands on his chest, Takako leaned closer, allowing her breath to tickle Takato's lips. It smelled like cherries, he noticed.

"But, we could be so much more…"

Takato made a strained face when the girl's right hand reached for his left cheek, stroking it most tenderly.

"Why won't you let me show you ecstasy, onii-sama…?"

The same hand slid past his neck, down his chest and his left side, reaching his waist just over his thigh and towards his—

"Alright, we're going up!"

"Iyan!" Takako squeaked cutely when Takato hurriedly jumped to his feet, carrying her along with him. She giggled in delight, however, when she felt Takato's hands reaching for her bum to properly hold her.

"Ahaha!" the girl laughed merrily while Takato grunted and struggled to reach the impressively large sofa that covered almost two adjacent walls of the VIP room. The girl was tiny and not heavy in the slightest, but he was short and slim as well; it was not easy.

"It feels like our wedding night, onii-sama!"

"Don't use weird analogies—wah, wah, whoa!"

They made it to the couch, yes: with Takato sprawled over its surface and Takako on top of him once more, her long, dark brown hair becoming a curtain to cover their faces from the rest of the world.

"So, you like having me on top, onii-sama?"

"Eh…ehehe…" Takato's strained smiled returned with a vengeance, revealing the extent of his discomfort. Regardless, he remained a loving brother; maybe too loving.

"I'll admit you're really, really soft and really, really warm…"

Takako bit her lips as she was rocked by pleasant shudders.

"Oh, onii-sama…"

Damn she was horny.

"…but could you please get off me? Like, really? Pretty please?"

A minute or so later, Takato was finally seated on the sofa, looking around at the considerable expanse of the VIP room. The ever-clingy little sister was latched to his left side, uncaring of the world around her, her eyes devoted only to his face.

Takato knew his sister was not a very social person. Raised and educated at home, she saw little reason to leave the safety and luxury of her residence and see the world outside. That did not completely explain the strange arrangements she had made for this Valentine's "date".

"So, why a casino?"

"Father owns this place," Takako lamely replied.

"…I thought his business was IT."

The girl giggled. "Mama liked to gamble."

"…oh."

As usual, the topic of Kuroyama Suzuka weighted heavily in his mind.

"Father says it was her only fault, but he still keeps this place, so I guess he didn't really mind that much. I just wanted to spend some quality time alone with onii-sama, so I thought this would be a nice place."

"Well, it is…comfy, yes…" Takato admitted, still awed by the luxury which surrounded him. "That's a huge TV."

Indeed, there was an 80-inch TV set just across the room, its corresponding remote control, a monstrosity almost as large as his forearm, resting on the low table in between the TV and the couch.

"Ooh!" Takako exclaimed excitedly, reaching for the remote. "Maybe they have porn!"

"Aaaand we're not watching TV," Takato declared as he quickly seized the device from the pouting girl's little hands and put it aside. "So, do you have any plans for today, or we're just gonna sit here for a couple of hours?"

Takato glanced at the very conspicuous ladies' bag on the far end of the couch.

"Oh, well, onii-sama…" Takako began, her voice taking an unmistakably sultry undertone. "A man, and a woman, alone in a room like this…"

Takato easily ignored the finger idly tracing lines up and down his left arm.

"It does give me some…ideas."

"What's in that bag?" he asked, sounding completely innocent.

It was only a month and a half since they first met, but Takato already has a good grasp on how to deal with this girl.

If the boy's dismissal of her advances bothered Takako, she did not show it in the slightest. Takato only received smiles as the girl leaned over and past him to reach for the bag, and he had to push himself back to make sure her right hand fell on the fabric between his legs instead of his crotch.

"Of course, it's Valentine's, so Takako has chocolates for her precious onii-sama."

Regardless of everything, Takato could not deny feeling happy after hearing that. He did not hesitate to voice those feelings, either.

"That's…great, really," he said, smiling tenderly at his sister, who responded with an almost-carbon-copy smile of her own. "Onii-sama is very happy."

Takako clutched the bag close to her tiny body, her expression becoming wistful.

"To be honest, onii-sama…"

The way she looked up at him, with her big, watery amber eyes, was absolutely adorable.

Takato knew this loveliness would not last much longer.

"…I want to be your chocolate."

And there it was.

"I want to melt on your tongue, and become liquid sweetness in your mouth."

As the boy's cheeks gained a deep shade of red, he wondered just how she could spout such words with a straight face.

The girl leaned closer to him, one of her hands resting on his left thigh, and Takato unconsciously moved backwards.

"I want you to savor me," she continued. "To taste me; to relish me; to enjoy me and devour me whole…oh, onii-sama, how many times have I bared these feelings of mine before you?"

At least once every single time they met.

"Ta-Takako…" the boy whispered in a pained tone, his hands weakly pushing the girl away by her shoulders.

Were she any other girl in the world, Takato would have been both embarrassed and flattered by the depth of her desire. Unfortunately, this particular girl was not only his twin sister; she was also the vessel of Lilithmon. For the nth time, Takato wondered what kind of sister he would have had without the Avatar of Lust in the equation.

"Takako…" the boy repeated. Ruki was the only girl whose closeness did not make him nervous; his own sister was no exception. However, he could at least muster the courage to give her a proper response, like he had done so many times before already. "I…you know I can't…"

The girl sighed, her face taking a pitiful countenance that struck Takato like a vice grip on his heart.

"…I know," she admitted. "…but I am patient."

This was also the usual answer to his rejection.

"I won't give up until I show you Heaven, onii-sama."

He had to give her credit for her unfaltering confidence.

Just like that, then, the heavy and tense atmosphere in the room was dispelled; Takako's smile no longer carrying the intensity of her passion and lust. It was simply the delightful, sincere and slightly mischievous smile of an over-affectionate little sister.

"I first thought of making them myself, but…that…" the girl actually looked embarrassed, turning aside and avoiding Takato's pupils. "…didn't…work out so well…"

The embarrassment was dispelled awfully quickly, and the girl was once again a bursting mass of joy.

"So I found the most appropriate chocolates to show my feelings! Here!"

Takato took the chocolate box with a careful, evaluating glance. The box, at least, looked normal. Then again, he did not really know what to expect.

Then, he opened the box.

And he quickly closed it again, unaware that, in the space of a second, he had gotten awfully close to hyperventilating.

No way…no, no, there's no way I could have seen….that.

Takato opened the box a second time…and whimpered, very quietly.

It took a lot of willpower not to just run away screaming. As it was, his face had become a shining red beacon. It could have been used to guide ships to shore in the midst of a storm at night.

"Takako…" His voice came out a dry wheeze.

"I want you to eat me, but that wouldn't do, so I went with the next best thing!" the smiling girl explained.

"Uh…uhh…"

It was really, really hard not to run away screaming, really.

Things got even tougher when Takato's eyes fell on his sister's hopeful expression.

Oh gods, she wants me to try them.

Really, really hard not to run away. Or, if that was not possible, curl up in a corner and cry.

But he was Matsuda Takato. Not just that: he was Onii-sama.

This was, after all, the duty of a loving big brother.

A trembling hand reached for one of the chocolate portions, each about as long as his pinky finger. An excited Takako leaned even closer, as if she wanted her brain to capture every single moment of this memorable event.

Don't think of the shape, don't think of the shape, don't think of the shape…!

In a burst of sheer guts and a cocktail of endorphins, Takato shoved the disturbingly detailed chocolate reconstruction of the human female's external genitalia in his mouth.

It tasted astoundingly good.

"I had them modeled after mine!" Takako eagerly declared.

The boy's brain shut down.

"Waah! Onii-sama! Onii-sama, don't die! Don't die and leave me a virgin!"

The unconscious body, sprawled on the couch, still managed to shudder somehow.

---

Still feeling a little lightheaded, Takato allowed himself to rest his head on his sister's eager lap.

"Here, aaan~"

"Aaan…umph." His mouth received one of the vagina-chocolates; his face was a mask of absolute emptiness, showing no expression whatsoever.

He was already broken, so it did not matter anymore. It was yet another crack in his psyche courtesy of Lucemon's wicked game.

But, damn, they tasted good.

"I'm happy you like them," Takako said sweetly, and Takato's lips contorted in a rather disturbing smile.

"Heh…heheh…ugh."

"Heheh…" Takako giggled as she leaned her head down, closer to Takato's face. "Onii-sama…"

For a moment there, the former Tamer feared she would aim for a kiss once more. Instead, she simply rested her forehead on his, giggling for whatever reason.

"Onii-sama," she repeated, a single finger tracing sliding down his right cheek towards his jaw. "I could stay like this forever."

"…that cannot be good for your back."

The girl giggled yet again.

"I'll look forward to White Day, onii-sama."

The boy, mentally battered as he was, still found it within himself to grant the girl a smile.

"Sure thing. Let's have fun together in a month. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

"A love hotel," Takako unhesitatingly replied, and Takato's expression flattened once more.

"…okay, I asked for that one."

Takako then mercilessly struck him with a trick question.

"So, onii-sama, how many presents did you get today?"

"Ah, well…" Takato, bless his soul, stepped into the lion's den carelessly. "From Katou-san and her best friends. That makes three."

"Hmm…that kinda gives me mixed feelings…"

"Ah, don't be silly, it's just giri…" Takato replied, cautiously ignoring Juri's elaborate present. "None can compare with my cute little sister."

Takako kissed her brother's nose, sending disturbingly pleasant shudders down his spine.

"You know it's comments like those that make me want to gobble you up even more, don't you?"

"Ah…ahaha…" Takato's laughter, like his smile, was very strained.

The girl raised her head once more, no longer covering the entirety of Takato's visual field. Her left hand still tenderly stroked his face, but Takato paid no heed to that.

"By the way," the boy began. "I really owe you for those letters, Takako; they were great."

Ruki knew both Takato's and Rumiko's handwriting, thus Takato was forced to request the aid of his little sister to make the short messages Rumiko dropped in her daughter's shoe locker.

"You're welcome, I guess," the girl replied, and it was obvious her good mood had dampened for some reason. "So I take it your prank was a success, onii-sama?"

"Ah well, I'm not really done with Ruki just yet…" Takato said, chuckling at the prospect of the next day's entertainment. "Then again, it will probably end with Ruki kicking my ass, but I can live with that."

"So, Makino didn't give you anything today?"

Takato had to chuckle at that.

"Please, there's no way Ruki would do something like that."

"Really, onii-sama; I'm sure that behind that tough attitude of hers lies a maiden's heart."

"A maiden's…" Takato repeated softly, as if bothered by the strange flavor of that word.

"She probably likes cute things…like, kittens, and pink stuff."

"Nah, I really doubt that."

"And she probably has a diary!" Takako's rant continued unimpeded. "I can already see it: 'July xx. Sunny. Dear diary, today, my hand brushed against my beloved Takato-kun's! Kyaa! Te-he-he!', it says…"

Alarms blared in Takato's head when his sister's face began to contort into a disturbing mask of rage.

"…tha…that bitch!" she suddenly roared, glaring down at Takato's stunned face with deranged fury. "She touched your hand! I'll fucking KILL HER!"

"Don't get lost in your creepy delusions!"

---

The next day, February 15, began with a heavy wariness for Makino Ruki.

Her secret admirer was bound to appear at some point. If it was the real deal, and somebody out there actually…liked her…in that way, she would have to respectfully reject his…or her feelings.

If it was a joke, not even maggots would want anything with the bastard when she was done with him…or her. Makino Ruki has always believed in gender equality.

If it was Takato…

…the truth was: she had not slept much last night. Fortunately, that meant she had plenty of time to think up creative and non-lethal punishment methods. The sadist in her, whom she still did not acknowledge, was already squealing in eagerness.

She could have hoped the rumor was done and over with after twenty-four hours, but she was not Takato, and she was strongly anchored to reality. Making a face to whomever dared look in her general direction was easy—she had done it for years—but this time it did not deter the relentless hunger of teenage girls for gossip. She was no longer the mighty, untouchable dragon; she had become a caged tiger, hissing at the annoying tourists watching her prowl in her cage and taking pictures.

It was infuriating.

Maybe it was for this reason that she did not notice the gradual increase in the classroom's overall sound volume until it was too late.

"Oi, that…that looks like…"

"Isn't that…?"

"Where have I seen her before…?"

The ruffle of magazine pages being turned.

"It is! It has to be her!"

"No way! Seriously!"

"But, why is she…?"

"RUKI-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Makino Ruki's face fell on her desk. Hard.

I knew it. I fucking knew it.

She slammed her right hand on the desk, using it as a support to lift up her body to a standing position. Her seat being the last one in the row closest to the window, it was easy for her to catch a glimpse of the scene outside.

Blind and deaf to the many pairs of eyes on "her", there she was. She wore a curious, long-sleeved white dress with ornate black embroidery around the neck and huge black ribbons attached to the line of buttons traveling down its length. It was admittedly adorable.

The Mysterious Child Idol, Matsushita Suzuka.

"Ah!" the fake girl exclaimed excitedly the moment her eyes caught Ruki's face beyond a window three levels above ground. "Ruki-chaaaaaan! Hellooooooooo~! Did you get my chocolate!"

"Urg…" Stupid shameless Gogglehead!

With the identity of the sender revealed, the rumor mill began to turn very, very fast.

"Eh? Matsushita Suzuka!"

"The model! Seriously!"

"You saw the Christmas collection too? It was amazing!"

"She's so cute!"

"Chocolate! To Makino!"

"Well, she works with Makino's mother, after all…"

"So they're friends…?"

"Makino's friends with Matsushita Suzuka! How is that fair!"

"Could it be…those two…?"

"No way! You mean they're like that!"

"We-Well…Makino's always been kinda…you know…"

"Bu-but, I mean…girl on girl…?"

"That…That's kinda…"

"Oh, maybe that's why she's so cold and distant: to hold her raging lust for other girls back—"

Crack.

It was the sound of Ruki's desk cracking by the sheer force of her fingers pressing down on it.

Yes, they did not really bother keeping their voices low.

Must…not…kill…Gogglehead!

"Ruuuuuuu-kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I came to play~!"

Crack.

The sound of something cracking in Makino Ruki's brain.

She did not forget to grab her school bag before dashing her way downstairs. Girls giggled and squealed on her way, but Ruki ignored them. Right now there was only her, Takato, and the unfathomable amounts of pain she intended to inflict on him.

She made it to the front entrance of the main school building. After thinking for a second, she allowed herself to stop and change her shoes. A little pause would only allow her boiling rage to simmer some more, no problem.

She could see him from there. He had not moved from that spot near the outside gate, and he was…signing autographs?

He was surrounded by girls from ages nine to thirteen, and he had a smile for each and every single one of them. She had to give it to him: he was hiding his nervousness around so many girls very well, but Makino Ruki knew better—the moment he was surrounded by those girls, Matsushita Suzuka disappeared to be replaced by Matsuda Takato wearing a dress.

Of course, she could just stay there and watch his façade collapse like a house of cards. However, that would not be nearly as interesting as it sounded and, thinking about it, the revelation of Matsushita Suzuka being a boy would probably hurt her mother's career as well.

So, she decided to the save the idiot this time. She was still kicking his ass, though.

He was struggling to prevent the swarm of girls from pulling at his clothes too much when Ruki stepped out. Just like that, his nervousness was apparently dispelled and the idiot she called best friend once again became Matsushita Suzuka.

For an idiot who couldn't lie his way out of a shoebox, he was a pretty damn good actor, she had to give him that. Then again, he just had to dress up and act cute.

"Ruki-chan!"

The clump of girls stepped aside, allowing Suzuka to step forward and approach the taller girl, who was cracking her knuckles and greeting the young idol with a disturbing smirk.

"Ruki-chan, you really—"

TWACK!

The audience gasped. How dared she, that brute Makino!

"OW! Ruki-chan…" Suzuka moaned in an utterly adorable manner, rubbing her sore head.

"Who the hell's 'Ruki-chan'!" the strong-willed girl retorted as she grabbed Suzuka by the neck of her elaborate dress.

"What the hell are you thinking, Gogglehead!" she hissed, quietly enough for only the two to hear. Her voice then exploded once more. "Coming all the way here like this, just what the hell—!"

A massive, glass-shaking squeal filled the entire school grounds when Suzuka grabbed Ruki's shoulders and gently placed her lips on the redhead's left cheek.

"It's late, but…happy Valentine's, Ruki-chan," Suzuka spoke tenderly, wearing her best idol smile.

For a while, the two stood in silence, ignoring the chorus of girlish cries and squeals and the clicking sounds of mobile phone cameras. Ruki's body had gone deathly stiff, the resources usually spent on motor capabilities diverged towards processing the current situation. Unable to reach a conclusion that made sense, Ruki's brain went with the standard response and opened the floodgates for copious amounts of blood to color her cheeks red.

Of course, that was not just a kiss for the sake of kissing. Paralyzing Ruki was precisely what the Mysterious Child Idol intended.

"And off we go!" she exclaimed happily, reaching for Ruki's left hand and pulling her out of the school grounds, something the girl Tamer would have never allowed were she in full control of her actions.

Of course, plenty of mobile phones captured the surreal scene of the two girlfriends "eloping" away from the prison called school.

There was a black sedan waiting for the two just outside the school gates; the kind of car more often seen on American streets rather than Japanese. Suzuka opened the back door and pushed Ruki inside, and the other girl, still a little out of it, allowed herself to be pushed. Before stepping in herself, the young model turned to the audience on the other side of the school gates made a curtsy.

"It was a pleasure to meet you all! Have a nice day, and please take a look at the latest 'Monthly Fashion' issue! Later!"

Seconds later, the black car had already taken to the streets, driving away from the school.

"That," the driver, one Makino Rumiko, spoke. "…was amazing. Where were you when I was 13, Takato-kun?"

"I did not exist yet, Rumiko-san, but thank you for the compliment. Besides, I thought Rumiko-san favored older men…?"

"Ouch," the blonde said, but her smile did not wane in the slightest. "I asked for that one."

Her mother's voice dragged Ruki out of the Twilight Zone she had fallen into.

"You."

"Hi Ruki," Rumiko greeted her daughter, looking at her reflection on the rear-view mirror. "You're skipping school today~"

"What kind of mother are you…?" the redhead muttered darkly.

"Now, now, Ruki," Takato spoke, discarding the feminine voice of Matsushita Suzuka to instead use his own. "You should be glad your mother's so…umm…unconventional."

"You wouldn't be here if I weren't, young girl," a mirthful Rumiko added.

"See?" Takato continued. "Now, I suggest you just relax, and accept what happened as one of those things you'll look back on in a few years and laugh…"

Ruki's attention had turned to Takato during his little speech, and the disturbing blaze in her pupils made the cross-dressing former Tamer sweat heavily.

He sighed in resignation.

"…alright. If that's what you want," he said as he shrugged dejectedly. "Given that we're amongst friends here, I guess you can hit me n—OW! Ruki—ack! Wai-OW! That hurt—OW!"

Rumiko winced at the violence being unleashed on the back seat, deciding to instead keep her eyes on the front and smile.

"Make sure not to leave any blood stains on the velour, Takato-kun~"

"Yes, Rumiko-sa—OW! Ruki! No-wah-the wig, the wig—ack! Watch the dress!"

---

"Gogglehead."

Suzuka walked placidly to Ruki's left, ignoring the girl's voice and the stares she attracted, most likely due to her company and her rather elaborate dress.

"Gogglehead."

Rumiko had dropped them near the famous Hachikou Statue in Shibuya, and the two friends walked aimlessly through the crowded streets of the ward.

Ruki was grateful she was at least allowed to change to something than her school uniform. She was not spending the whole day wearing a skirt. Then again…

"You even brought me a change of clothes," Ruki flatly stated, worriedly examining the contents of the bag she had just received from Takato. They were, thankfully, her usual clothes; including her trademark heart-mark t-shirt.

"Um!" Suzuka nodded happily. "I picked Ruki-tan's underwear myse—gebogh!"

"DIE, ERO-GOGGLEHEAD!"

Of course, it was a joke; the clothes were picked by her mother—and there was no underwear included. Still, the perverted little bastard deserved that.

But, still, Ruki was a little bothered by her best friend's calmness. He was dressed like a girl, for the gods' sake!

Thinking about it, however, the long dress made sure his body's most revealing features remained concealed, and, as long as the wig remained fixed on its place, he would probably be able to hide his identity without problems.

But, she couldn't help but wonder…

"Gogglehead," she called for the third time, and for the third time she was ignored.

Ruki was getting twitchy, but she figured out what the problem was.

"…Suzuka."

"Yes?" The not-a-girl immediately responded, addressing Ruki with a radiant smile that made the taller girl cringe.

"I…I was wondering…" Ruki began, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Just what was she thinking! "Umm…"

"Yes?" Suzuka repeated, now considerably curious.

"Well…under that dress…" the very embarrassed, very flushed Makino Ruki looked away and spoke very quietly. "…are you wearing girls'…umm…?"

It was a shame that, in her own embarrassment, Ruki did not get to see it. Very, very swiftly, Suzuka's smile changed into a wide-eyed, gaping mouth expression. Suzuka ceased to be, paving her way to a very surprised, very embarrassed Takato. It lasted for about the space between two blinks, and then Suzuka's charming smile returned, even if it was now adorned with a healthy blush. That was what Ruki got to see, once she decided to finally face her friend once more.

"Iyaaan~" Suzuka squealed, covering her reddened cheeks with her hands. "Ruki-chan, you ecchi—OW!"

"Stop that! It's creepy!"

To be out-girlied by her male best friend was disturbing, in several ways.

---

This "date" of the two girls (?) was not much different from her usual dealings with Takato; only the scenery was different…more crowded, for starters.

Except for the karaoke; that was new.

She had never gone karaoke with Takato…or anybody else, for that matter. Considering the time, being the middle of a work day, it was easy for the two to find a place, getting nothing but odd stares from the receptionist.

Why did Makino Ruki allow herself to be dragged into a karaoke booth? Because it would be quiet.

She most definitely did not intend to sing.

Definitely.

…really!

---

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

"Awesome! That was awesome, Ruki-chan!"

"…how…the hell did this happen?" She paused. "Shut up, Gogglehead."

"Eh? Don't be silly, Ruki-chan, Takato-kun's not here~"

"Ugh…"

---

On the other side, it was surprising to learn that Takato can sing. He was not good, but he was not really bad, either. A solid 65, according to the karaoke machine.

---

"So, you gonna try a singing career now, 'Suzuka-chan'?"

"Oh, don't be silly, Ruki-chan," the fashion idol chided. "I have no time for something like that."

"Time…"

Ruki would have expected 'lack of talent' to be the excuse.

"But I would have expected you to choke on air at the mere idea of singing, Gogglehead."

"Ah…yeah…I guess if it's just you and me, it's not that bad…"

---

She did not blush when she heard that.

After karaoke, lunch followed. Takato—well, 'Suzuka'—said she could afford to take Ruki 'somewhere nice', but like hell she was going to let herself be invited to a fancy meal by the stupid cross-dressing Gogglehead, so fast food it was.

---

"You're eating too slowly, Goggles."

"Do you have any idea how much this dress costs, Ruki?"

"…oh gods, Takato, what has my mother done to you?"

---

And, after that, the odd couple fulfilled a silly little dream they shared.

---

"Alright, here it is," a smiling waiter announced, the tray in his hands attracting plenty of stares. "Our biggest bowl, 'Vanillapocalypse'!"

"Ooooh…" the two youngsters murmured reverently.

"Two…liters…of ice cream…" Suzuka whispered, enraptured by the mountain of white before her eyes.

"…this…cannot be healthy," Ruki offered her opinion.

"What was that, Ruki-chan?" Suzuka called her friend with a teasing smirk. "Chickening out?"

"Who the hell do you think I am, Gogglehead?" Ruki taunted back while stretching her arms and moving her neck to make the bones crack. "If you don't man up you won't get to eat anything."

"If you eat so much you'll get fat and ugly~OW…"

Ruki pulled the kicking leg back.

"Do-Don't worry…" the groaning cross-dresser uttered softly. "Chubby and all, I'll still take you—OW…"

"Shu-Shut up and eat, idiot!"

---

After that, they slowly walked around Shibuya 109 to let their overstuffed stomachs settle down a little.

---

"Hey, Ruki…"

"What."

"…when do you plan to change that t-shirt?"

Indeed, it was the same shirt she had worn all these years, given by her mother. With the growth spurt triggered by puberty, it had become a tank top.

"I mean, it's getting kinda scandalous…"

"Shut up, Gogglehead," the slightly embarrassed girl spat out. "I-I know, really. Mom also said it, it's just…"

Takato nodded. He understood. It was, in a way, a symbol of Ruki's reconciliation with her family, and the bonds she had forged thanks to her experiences as a Tamer.

"I…I'll stop wearing it…one day."

Takato shrugged.

"Oh, but don't get me wrong; it still looks great on you."

"Sh-Sh-Shu—quiet, Gogglehead!" the girl promptly spat back, nervously covering her exposed midriff; the object of Takato's teasing attention.

---

Of course, Ruki dealt about as much as she took.

---

"So, Gogglehead, I assume you're not wearing this disguise of yours again, are you?"

"Of course not," Takato stubbornly declared. "Matsushita Suzuka dies today."

"Gods, I hope so. I know everybody thinks I should make more girl friends, but I'm pretty sure this is not how it's supposed to go…"

"Ruki!"

"Well, I see you awfully comfortable in that dress!"

"Ah, well…" a grinning Takato looked down at the frilly white dress. "…this kind of loose dress is breezy, and it feels kinda nice, oh! And the ribbons, they're pretty cute—eh, I mean—!"

"You make me sick, Gogglehead."

"I-I'm not like that!"

"Good thing you don't have a partner anymore; I can't imagine what you would become as an Ultimate now."

"Buh…guh…"

"I guess it would be…what's the English word, Duchessmon?"

"Hau."

---

Eventually they made it back to the familiar grounds of West Shinjuku.

"School's over around this time," Ruki commented.

"Aah," Takato uttered before grimacing. "Damn it, these heels are killing me."

Ruki's head turned very slowly to stare at her best friend, eyebrow raised and lips curved slightly upwards.

"…shut up, Ruki."

"Make me."

The girl was handling her phone as they walked, surfing the Internet at the same time their feet guided them through the ever busy streets of their home metropolis.

"Huh, here's the new one," she said, showing Takato the latest update of Terriermon's blog.

"Takato lost his partner because if they went all out their combined awesomeness would destroy both worlds."

"Huh. That's kinda nice of him, bringing up Guilmon like that," Takato flatly commented. "Except for the world-destroying part; just what kind of monster is he turning me into?"

"Dunno, the kind that creates demonic dragons of apocalypse when he gets angry?"

"…I thought we had gotten over that," the boy muttered bitterly, and Ruki reacted with a chuckle.

"Oh, don't be like that," she said warmly, wrapping her right arm around the shorter boy and pulling him closer before using the same arm to ruffle his fake hair.

"Ah, watch the wig!"

"You know we've gotten over that little incident, stupid Takato," the girl declared. "That just won't stop me from using it to bother you."

Takato's glare came out really weak. The cross-dressing did not help any.

"Hey, if you can dress as a girl, I can bring up your dark past."

The boy in the guise of a lady grinned. "Nobody's stopping you from cross-dressi—GACK!"

Ruki wore a smile as she choked the life out of her best friend.

"I must ask you to perish that thought, 'Suzuka-chan'."

"Got it. Ugh."

That was when Ruki's phone rang. Obviously, she glanced at the caller ID.

"Huh. Lee." After pressing a particular button, she answered. "What is it?"

"That's awfully rude, Ruki…" Takato muttered to himself while Ruki described their current location to Jenrya.

When the girl grinned malevolently, Takato felt an unpleasant shudder traveling down his spine. It multiplied in strength when her right arm latched itself to Takato's.

"Oh, so you will find me in a few minutes~" she announced in a sickly sweet tone that did not fit her in the slightest, but it fulfilled its purpose of scaring Takato shitless. "Sure, I'll just wait for you guys here~"

While Ruki finished her conversation, Takato panicked. It was one thing to walk around as Suzuka in the midst of a random crowd, but, to show himself before his friends, the people who knew him closely? He was not sure he could fool them! Sure, he fooled Ruki, but she had been looking at static pictures. Was his fake voice convincing enough? Suzuka's mannerisms, did they look natural and feminine?

No way! There was no way he could pull this off!

"Ruki!" he called out just as she pressed the "hang up" button. "Let me go! I have to leave and change back!"

"No way~" the girl "happily" rebuked. "It's punishment time~"

"Wha—Ruki!"

She intended to let them see him! Oh gods, if Katou-san saw through his disguise, he would die of embarrassment! And Terriermon would harass him about it until the end of time!

"Don't you get it, Takato-kun?" the girl with the disturbing smile began, using an unusual honorific. "You're just a toy for my entertainment."

Her manic smile showed just how much she was enjoying this.

"A little toy for me to prod until you break. Like vanilla ice cream: something to savor slowly and thoroughly before gulping the empty cone down. A little morsel I can enjoy before the boring main course that is adulthood."

Still smiling like the cat cornering a pitiful mouse, Ruki used her free hand to repeatedly poke Suzuka-chan's flat chest, as if to emphasize every word.

"Your worth is measured by how long you manage to amuse me, Gogglehead."

Takato's expression became flat.

"You know, were you any other person in this world, I'd punch your face right now, I swear."

"Really."

Takato groaned. "I don't have time for this. Rumiko-saaaaaaaaan!"

And, all of a sudden, defying all common sense and most certainly a few traffic laws, the same black sedan from that morning stopped by the sidewalk next to the two youngsters. The polarized window opened, revealing a blonde's smiling face.

"Takato-kun."

Ruki gaped at her mother, not even noticing Takato slipping out of her grasp and rushing inside the car.

"Have you been stalking us all this time?"

"Of course not~" the ever-joyful young mother replied. "I've been hanging out with Rena here!"

Pulled by Rumiko's hand, Renamon's face made itself visible. She was obviously using the passenger's seat.

"Ruki," she greeted.

"Uhh…"

"Hate to end the family meeting, but we gotta move, move, MOVE!" Takato demanded, and Rumiko giggled.

"Hai, hai! See you at home, dear!"

Ruki watched the black car depart with a flat stare.

"…what the hell just happened?"

---

It turned out that the worried Katou Juri was dragging around the others to visit Takato, who apparently skipped class under the excuse of illness (Rumiko played the part of Takato's mother on the phone). Of course, Takato skipped school without his parents' permission, thus such an encounter would have been disastrous for the boy.

Ruki ended up saving him again, after all. Just why did she do such things for the stupid Gogglehead, anyway?

After briefly hanging out with the Tamers (and former Tamer Juri), she found herself walking up the stairs leading to the late Guilmon's former hangout.

He was there, back in his school uniform. They never agreed to meet again, but her feet took her there nonetheless.

How curious.

She sat down next to her best friend and together they watched the swaying dance of the greenery around them. The evening breeze, cool and haunting, made her shudder a little and unconsciously inch closer to the silent boy.

"…ne, Takato."

"Hmm?"

"Why did you do that?"

Takato's eyes did not move, nor did his expression change.

"It was a prank, Ruki."

"No, I mean the date afterwards. You didn't really have to go through with it—"

"Of course I had to; it's called being thorough," Takato smugly said.

"You know what I mean, Gogglehead! I don't…we aren't…"

Ruki stopped that sentence; she really did not want to go there. It made her see things about herself she really did not want to deal with.

"I know, I know. Don't get weird ideas, really," Takato quickly dismissed the girl's dire thoughts. "It's just like the karaoke: I did it because I could, and I can do it because it's you. Do you think I'd ever pull this kind of prank on, let's say, Katou-san?"

No, Ruki had to admit she could not see Takato doing that.

"And even if I wanted to prank…umm, Kazu, I would definitely not make this amount of effort. It's just not worth it, really."

"You know, the effort you put into annoying me should go to your studies, you goggle-brained little jerk."

"Heh, yeah, I guess…but I guess I enjoy riling you up as much as you enjoy prodding me."

"It's the honey that sweetens my days, Gogglehead."

"Gee, thanks," Takato deadpanned, and the two friends laughed together.

They remained in silence for a while longer, until the darkness made it difficult to see things around them. The time allowed Ruki to think about many things, but mostly about herself, and Matsuda Takato.

A stupid boy, capable of tripping on his own shadow.

A silly boy, thrillingly amusing to tease.

An unhinged boy, willing to cross-dress only to knock her off her groove.

It was strange to see, how she had changed him as much or even more than he had changed her. But, it was not real change.

She was more open around others, but she still kept a distance.

He was sharper and more daring, but he still was a klutz.

Makino Ruki was only truly open when the boy stood next to her.

Matsuda Takato was only truly sharp and daring when for the sake of the girl.

"I did it because I could, and I could do it because it's you."

It was not really change; it was a shedding of layers, a discarding of masks. The liberation of aspects of their selves they did not dare show to others.

Their own little world, in which they were alone together.

In solitude, where they were the least alone.

And Makino Ruki did not want to know what that implied. In fact, she was a little scared.

Her eyes subtly sought his profile. Did he think about this as well? What did this…this friendship, mean to him? He had other friends, and he was a nice guy, so it would not be hard for him to make even more friends in the future.

To Makino Ruki, her bond with Takato almost felt like a lifeline.

Why was it so hard for her to make friends—outside of the Tamers, that is—?

Heck, did she even want more friends in the first place? Were "friends" really that necessary?

She watched Takato's distant expression; his eyes lost somewhere far away and his mind wandering through paths she could not follow him into.

And Makino Ruki realized that, while she did not know about "friends", this "bond" she had with Matsuda Takato was important to her. Vital. Precious.

Necessary.

Her pupils widened in a sudden, terrifying realization.

Was it…? Did she…? Could it be…that?

…no.

It was not that. At least, not yet.

But, frightening as it was to admit it, it could become that.

But, that was scary.

This…"bond" they had…this "friendship"; she did not want to change it. She was afraid of changing it. It was too pure, too perfect as it already was.

If it works, why breaking it?

A mental nod settled her swirling thoughts. After all, it was still too early for that; she was not her mother.

However, there was last thing…one last thing she needed to hear to calm down her troubled heart.

"…Takato…"

"Hmm?" he acknowledged her call, not bothering to look at her. She had used his name, and thus this was important.

"We…we're gonna be friends…always, right? You…will not leave…ne?"

It was an unusual concession; an acknowledgement of her weakness. Yet another sign of the unique nature of their "bond". She would never expose her heart like this before anybody else outside of her family and her Digimon partner.

But she needed this.

His answer.

And she prayed for an answer that would soothe her lonely, desperate heart. The statement that "he would always be there", unlike that person.

Takato gave her that answer. Never looking at her. Never showing any emotion.

"…for as long as I'm alive, Ruki."

And, in her heart of hearts, she knew he really meant it.

The warmth that inflamed her chest was as wonderful as it was frightening.

---

February 16. Morning.

Matsuda Takato stepped into his classroom to find his friends huddled together around Miki's seat. They were apparently looking at a newspaper he vaguely recognized.

"What's up, guys? Didn't know you read yellow press—ah."

"Japan's Youngest Celebrity Couple?"

It appeared that one of the girls in the vicinity of the scene sold the picture of Suzuka-chan kissing Ruki's cheek.

"Huh," he muttered absently.

Hirokazu turned to face him.

"Did you know about this, dude?"

Takato presented his most innocent expression and shrugged.

"I know Suzuka-chan; cute girl. Likes Guilmon Bread. I didn't know they were that close, though."

"…she's cute alright," Miki admitted.

"Way too cute if you ask me," Ayaka added, bringing a smile to Takato's face.

"Ruki and…another girl...a cute girl…" Juri whispered in a strange, heated tone.

Doki-doki, waku-waku.

And then, suddenly, the classroom's windows shuddered, as a shrill, blood-chilling scream echoed across Tokyo. They were pretty far from the origin, and thus only experienced the afterechoes.

Takato still thought it sounded kinda like "Curse you, Gogglehead."

It was with a smile that he claimed his usual seat at the far end of the classroom.

"Best. Valentine's. Ever."

He was already looking forward to White Day, after all.

---

Valentine's Day Chapter END