The sun had slowly begun to descend into the horizon as the tamers made their way towards the boating area. Henry and Rika had been the last ones to surface. They looked quite pleased with their findings and were chatting animatedly about the starfish, butterfish, corals and many other things that they observed. Ryo had disappeared in the meanwhile causing the others to worry. The tanned boy however, merely strolled down the beach to cool his head. He kicked a can as hard as he could and sent it flying towards a couple nearby. They received quite a shock and quickly moved away upon seeing the ferocious look on his face. It was like he'd become an uncontrollable Cyberdramon. The boy himself was shocked by his actions but couldn't do anything about it. The very image of Henry and Rika hugging each other played and replayed again and again like a broken record, in his head.
'No, I can't be like this...' he thought to himself. 'If she's chosen him then there's nothing much I can do.'
Taking a few deep breaths, he headed back to the others. Minami ran towards him as soon as she spotted his figure.
"Ryo!" she cried. "Are you ok? Did something happen while scuba diving?"
"I'm ok," he said, donning on his best smile. "Just thought I'd go for a stroll that's all."
"Man, you had us worried there. You didn't come back for a whole 30 minutes!" exclaimed Takato.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. Henry, Rika and Kai had caught up to them. Though they weren't holding hands anymore, Ryo's eyes made him see Henry and Rika seem like they were.
"Now that we're all here, shall we head to the Sunset area?" asked Kai. They all agreed. Rika sensed something off with Ryo. She wasn't sure why but he seemed low and was trying to keep a straight face. She hoped she was over thinking seeing as he was chatting away happily with Minami and Kai. But the needling feeling didn't leave her.
They soon reached the Sunset area. It was just like Minami had described. Palm trees and few other trees surrounded the little lake. It was just about wide for a round of boating. Ahead of them, the orange sun illuminated the waters painting it in its colour. A few wooden boats were parked on their side of the bank. They could see a few people on some rowing across the lake. Most of them were couples.
As they inspected the boats, they realized that it was just enough for two people. "We'll have to pair up...again," said Takato.
"Shall we draw lots to see who goes with whom?" suggested Minami.
"No, I think we need a guy each to go with you girls. So, one pair will be with just two guys," said Henry.
"Are you trying to say that we can't row by ourselves Wong?" questioned Rika, a flash of anger in her eyes.
"No, I didn't mean it that way. I just...want to make sure you girls are safe, that's all," he said.
"Well, count me out," said Takato. "I'm too exhausted to do any rowing."
"Guess that makes 5 of us," said Kai.
"Nah, I don't feel up to it either," said Henry. "Besides, I want to fill up my data book with the neat things we found today."
"So, I that just leaves the 4 of us," said Kai.
"I'll go with Minami," said Ryo, much to everyone's surprise. Minami turned red and looked away shyly. Rika was shocked as she had expected him to tease her. This was definitely not like him...unless he liked Minami. She felt something tug at her insides. Kai was certainly not pleased.
"Hold on, man!" he said. "I'll go with Minami."
"It's fine, I'll go with her. In fact I'd really like to go with her," argued Ryo. In his head he assumed Rika to be with Henry and didn't want to ruin their relationship. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he was around her so he decided to be with the other girl, even if he wasn't to be as happy in her company. Kai and Ryo argued back and forth with Minami trying to stop Kai. At last, Henry broke up the fight by asking the two to draw lots - two strips of paper with each girls name. Once they drew it, Kai smiled in joy while Ryo looked uncomfortable.
Kai took Minami towards one of the boats. The young girl glanced back at Ryo once, before running after Kai. Upon seeing the disturbed look on Ryo's face, Rika looked a little annoyed.
"Hey...This isn't like you, Ryo," she said rather angrily. "If...If you really don't want to go boat riding with me than I'll go by myself."
"No! That's not it!" cried Ryo. He sighed when he saw anger flashed her face.
"Then what is?" she asked, flaring up.
"Nothing," sighed Ryo. "Let's go." He held out his hand and she took it. When they came towards the boat, Ryo got on first and held out his hand to help her.
"I can get on by myself thank you very much!" growled Rika, slapping his hand away. She got on behind him and sat down.
"I'll handle the rowing," said Ryo.
"Do what you want," answered Rika. She didn't know why but she felt very angry at him.
So, Ryo began rowing the boat slowly and gently through the calm waters. He was very happy to be with her, alone...like this. Yet, he couldn't shake the bitterness at the thought of Takato on her lap or Henry holding her so close. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, so he chose to stare at the orange water. Rika had similar feelings. She assumed that Ryo had fallen for Minami and had actually wanted to be with the other girl than her. This made her upset, though she wasn't sure why. She looked to her right to see the sunset. It was beautiful and it reminded of the days she had spent with her father. Yes, those were the good times.
Before she knew it, memories flooded into her head along with a waves of nostalgia and she began to sing ever so sweetly, ever so softly -
"Zutto zutto issho ni iru to ano yuuhi ni yakusoku shita kara
Ima sugu aitai sono kimochi wo onegai tsutaete ne...'
Ryo's face snapped up as he turned to face the beautiful girl. He had no idea that Rika could sing, especially not this mesmerisingly.
"Hitoribotchi no kokoro ni totsuzen tobikonde kita"
Rika had a peaceful yet painful smile on he face as she gazed at the sunset, words flowing from her mouth.
Sukoshi itakatta toko yasashiku tsutsunde kureta
Konna ni hotto suru koto wa hajimete dakara
Sono nukumori wo sotto poketto ni tsume konde aruite ikitai..."
Ryo gazed at her figure, the glowing sunset highlighting her features. She looked so beautiful with the straw hat, the halter top and shorts. It made him realize just how much she'd grown and her fire like hair flowed past her shoulders till her hips. He hadn't even realized she had let her hair down after the scuba diving. He couldn't bring himself to tear away from her even though he knew quite well she would beat him up for it. Something about her sad violet eyes drew him in.
"Zutto zutto issho ni iru to ano yuuhi ni yakusoku shita kara
Sabishii toki mo hirogaru orenji wo nagamete
Kitto kitto daijoubu da yo ano yuuhi ga sasayaite kureru
Ima sugu aitai sono kimochi wo onegai tsutaete ne"
Rika paused realizing that she'd been singing. She hoped she hadn't done that aloud but the stunned expression on Ryo's face made her turn red.
"W-What are you looking at?" she asked embarrassed.
"Beautiful..." murmured Ryo. "You... have a melodious voice."
"Th-Thanks, I guess," answered Rika, blushing. "Um..."
"Err..." The two found themselves at loss for words. It was Ryo who soon regained his composure. "So, uh, how come you never showed us your talent for singing?"
"Like hell I do," asked Rika. "Besides, it's not something I want others to know." Then she brought forth a dangerous look in her eyes. "Swear you won't tell a soul!"
Ryo was taken aback but then burst out laughing. "Stop laughing, Akiyama!" cried Rika.
"S-Sorry," he said. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that the famous Digimon Queen is also a singer."
Rika glowered at him. Of all the times to let her guard down.
"So, " he continued. "Mind telling me why you sounded so sorrowful when you were singing?"
The young girl was startled by him sudden question. "T-That's...I..." She sighed. "Promise to keep this to yourself?"
"Yes," promised Ryo, immediately.
"When I was young, my father often took me to parks to play. We would play and play until the sunset. He would push me on the swings and that's when I would sometimes sing this song. He always loved it when I sang... But then one day, he upped and left...And that was that. I never saw him again..." finished Rika. She caught Ryo's eyes. They had a softer look in them.
"I-I'm sorry..." he apologized.
"It's fine," she replied. "Just don't tell anyone, not even Henry." At the sound of his name, a dark look passed by Ryo's face.
"Why don't you want to tell him? Isn't he your boyfriend?" asked Ryo, without thinking.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Rika bewildered.
Before he could stop himself, Ryo blurted out what he has seen while scuba diving. When he was done, Rika burst out laughing, causing Ryo to feel hurt.
"I can't believe you thought that!" she said. "You see a large fish suddenly crept upon us and gave me a fright. That's how I ended up clinging onto Henry. He was patting me to tell calm me down, that's all."
Ryo felt like an idiot. "Ah, I see. That's it was.. Hahaha" He could barely laugh at his own foolishness. To think he'd been brooding over nothing. Rika smiled when she saw the light back in his eyes. She liked him most when he was happy and cheerful even though his refreshing smile was overbearing at times.
"So, will you finish the song?" he asked, making her turn the shade of a tomato.
"Like hell I will!" she retorted.
"Oh, well. It was worth a shot," said Ryo, continuing to row. Rika glared at him for a few second before simmering down. "The sunset really is breathtaking from here, huh?" she said, gazing at the ball of orange.
"Yeah, you're right," said Ryo, gazing at it as well.
"Anata ga ichiban suki na saikou no egao de
Mukaerareru you ni watashi mo mainichi ganbatte ikitai..."
Ryo had one thought running in his head as he took in both her song and glowing figure. 'In my eyes Rika, you're more breathtaking than anything else right now.'
"Zutto zutto issho ni iru to ano yuuhi ni yakusoku shita kara
Kujikesou demo kirei na orenji wo dakishime
Kitto kitto daijoubu da yo ano yuuhi ga oshiete kureta no
Shinjite ireba sono kimochi wa kanarazu todoku tte
Zutto zutto issho ni iru to ano yuuhi ni yakusoku shita kara
Tooku ni itemo onaji orenji wo kanjite
Kitto kitto daijoubu da yo ano yuuji wa tsunagatteru kara
Mou nakanai yo futari no ai kokoro wo terashiteru
Futari no ai kokoro wo terashiteru..."
A/N: Disclaimer - I do not own any of the Digimon Characters nor the song in this fanfiction.
Hope you all liked it. I had this image of Rika and Ryo in mind for quite sometime so I decided to have this moment here.
Read & Review!
