Promise to Repeat, "I Love You"

Chapter 8: Truth or Dare

DF103: I can see it coming. The few readers this fic has will start attacking me, and I'll be crying out for mercy. I'm really sorry, guys, and Scanerryo. I won't make any excuses. School and college prep would probably sum it up. IACDTT will make a release sometime between this update and next update, so if you read that, stay tuned. I don't own digimon, neither does Scanerryo. Don't forget that he is a co-writer for this fic also.
RECAP: "So, if I weren't there, and some other random person was, would you have taken them instead?" Kari asked, hoping for a yes.

He shook his head. "No, I don't trust anyone except you, Rika, and TK."

"Oh." She walked inside. "What did you want to talk about?"

He roughly kissed her.


A muffled, "Oh," escaped Kari's mouth, before the two of them landed on the couch. Ryo ran his hand up her side. Her hands ran through Ryo's brown hair and the slowly met behind Ryo's neck; he broke the kiss. "Bed?" he asked her, his mind racing. Kari catching a few breaths just nodded as Ryo had already lifted her up and walked the two over to the closest bed.

A soft laugh escaped Kari's throat, slowly caressing Ryo's chest. He kissed her neck. Kari slowly slid her hands up Ryo's shirt.

- - -

On the way out of school, TK saw Rika heading out the school gates. "Hey, have you seen Kari?" he yelled out.

Rika turned around with a thoughtful expression. "I was just about to ask you the same thing about Ryo."

He shrugged. "You and Ryo… You guys sleeping together now?"

"Hah, we just moved my bed in there just so he could feel better about me being safe."

"Sure... Nice excuse."

Rika glared. "Maybe Kari and Ryo went home already."

They both headed toward the apartment. TK raised his arms. "Now why would they do that?"

"Just a guess. Where else would they be, hot-shot?"

"Detention?"

"For what. Smiling to all the girls and distracting them during class? Sounds like something Ryo would get in trouble for."

"I heard he made that Beth-girl cry..." he graced his bag over his shoulder. "Did you know that all the girls are talking about how hot his scar is?"

"Making a girl cry? That's a new one. Hmm, and I wonder how many people heard him bragging about that scar of his..."

TK shook his head. "He is surprisingly embarrassed about it."

Rika didn't comment. She badly wanted to know where Ryo was.

"Well, let's head home and if they are not there, we shall go shopping for food."

"You're obsessed with those groceries..." Rika noted, with a sideward glance.

"Do you want to eat from Jack's Take-Out for the rest of your life?"

"Well, no..." Rika replied.

TK smiled with satisfaction. "Good." He whistled as if he expected something.

"And I suppose you want me to go with you," Rika replied.

"We will all go… like a family." He laughed.

"Oh yay… Family..." Rika remarked, snidely.

- - -

Ryo was lying beside Kari. "Oh… god…" he breathed heavily, looking over at Kari. "You okay?"

Kari rolled over wrapping her arms around him. "Mm-hmm..."

"Have you and T.K. done anything like that yet?" He smirked.

Kari softly giggled. "No."

He laughed, "Oh…" He kissed her forehead.

"Thanks Ryo," Kari said, ruffling his hair.

"For?" He asked her.

"For...giving me something TK had yet to give me."

"Something… Great?" He asked kissing her neck. Kari laughed again, before she abruptly sat up. He looked at her, "What?"

"Didn't you hear that? Outside?"

He shrugged looking at her. Stepping off the bed and pulling his boxers and pants on, he asked, "Where?"

"Shh..." Kari held her hand up and listened again. "Someone's coming to the door..."

"Well, get up and get dressed." Ryo slid his shirt on and ran to the table outside the room.

Kari did as told, getting out and trying to somewhat tidy up the bed.

Ryo turned on the T.V. and looked in the fridge. "Only… old… Take out…"

T.K. opened the door. "Hey!"

"Come on. We're going food shopping." Rika barged in after TK.

Kari stepped out of her room. "It's about time. We only have left-overs. Seriously, what would our parents think if we weren't eating right?"

T.K. laughed throwing his bag down. "Where did you two disappear to?"

"We came home, of course." Kari smiled.

T.K. laughed hugging Kari, "Of course, but why?"

"I couldn't sleep well, so I came home and slept. Who knows what Ryo did." She laughed.

"And what is this about making that Beth chick cry? I must say that's pretty impressive." Rika laughed landing herself on the couch.

Ryo blushed. "She…was upset because I'm with you now."

Rika just raised a brow and shook her head. "Let's just go get some REAL food."

- - -

Ryo dropped the bags on the counter. "Why… do we need so much?"

"Ask the pig over here..." Rika replied looking at TK, who just carried a single bag. Ryo laughed.

"Well… They're supplies…" TK threw his bag in the fridge as it was the only thing that needed to stay cool and fresh: the frozen dinners and the ice cream "How about we play a game truth and dare?"

Rika's attention darted towards Ryo's direction to see if he had recalled one of his horrible nightmares. Instead, Ryo seemed happy.

"Yeah, that'd be fun!" Kari jumped up for joy.

Ryo laughed. "Okay."

The four all grouped into the dining area and sat around the table. TK sat next to Rika, who sat in front of Ryo, who sat next to Kari. They all stared intently at each other, as if having a staring contest to see who would go first. No one spoke a word, not even a breath was heard. The room was in a completely serious quietness.

T.K. laughed. "I'll start, Rika Truth or dare?"

"Who said I was playing?" Rika retorted, remembering that fateful day she had dared Ryo to go into that old house. Ryo looked at her mouthing a simple, 'just please.' She sighed. Not only Ryo but everyone had those 'Please-come-play-with-us-because-the-game-just-wouldn't-be-the-same-without-you' faces on. "Dare..."

T.K smirked, "I dare you… to eat the noodles."

"You have got to be kidding me," Rika yelled out, feeling as though she caught the stupid disease from him.

T.K. laughed. "Or yeah… that's your only choice."

"Just...eating...those...left-overs?" Rika asked, her eyes dull from feeling the intense stupidity aura around TK. "That's it?"

"Yeah… everything else is kind of perverted."

"Whatever..." Rika got up and grabbed the left-over Chinese food, staring at it as she forked a discolored piece of chicken. After the first taste and hating it, Rika stuffed the rest in her mouth and gulped it down. "There. Happy?"

Ryo's eyes were open in shock. "Uh… never kissing you again."

Rika smirked. "I pick Ryo... Truth or dare."

"Truth… remember what happened last time I picked dare."

Rika just shut her eyes. "Don't remind me." She turned to the window and thought about what to ask. "Is it true..." she started, beginning to pace around the room. "Is it true that you actually dumped that Beth girl that one night for me?"

"I did… I did," he admitted proudly. He stood up. "Kari… Truth or dare."

"Um, dare."

"Run around the block… naked!"

T.K. protested, "Hey, hey, hey."

Rika fell over laughing, hysterically.

"Ryo..." Kari softly whined, blushing.

"He made my girl eat moldy chicken; I make his girl sell her goodies like she did when she was a girl scout."

Rika slapped Ryo's back. "Give the girl a break. It's not like I'm dying right now."

Kari just sat there.

"Sorry… Uhm…" Settling from his laugh, he got up and ran back with some kind of concoction, "I found it in the fridge labeled 'Mom's Smoothie.'"

Kari looked at it. It was an odd green color and it bubbled...or maybe something was living in it. "You want me to drink that?" Kari raised a brow, twirling the bottle, noticing how sluggishly it stirred within.

He laughed. "You did bring it from home…" he noted.

Remembering when her mom first made it, Kari's stomach growled with disapproval. "Fine..." She slowly twisted the cap; with just one turn, the smell of garlic and oranges permeated the room. Secretly writing her death wish mentally, Kari swallowed it, gulping it down as fast as she could. She slammed the bottle down and fell back into the chair.

"How did it taste?" Rika asked, almost surprised that she did it.

"Deeeeelicious." Kari faked a smile. TK weakly smiled before shooting a piercing glare at Ryo.

Ryo laughed, looking at Kari for the next dare.

"TK...truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Strip to music."

T.K. stared at her, blushing. "You haven't even seen me naked!"

"That's why strip."

"Until the day Ryo sees you naked, Rika isn't seeing my naked."

"Hey Ryo, you were spared TK's little show." Rika nudged.

"I've seen Kari naked" He said without thinking.

"You what..." Rika gawked.

"Oh…" Ryo coughed and blushed. "I walked in on her having a shower."

Kari's cheeks were already cherry-colored. "You did?" she asked, playing along.

"Yeah… I'm sorry… I closed the door as soon as I realized." Thank god she's going along with this… Ryo thought, rubbing the back of his head in fabricated embarrassment.

"Womanizing pervert..." Rika uttered.

He looked at her. "It was nothing like that…"

"I'm suuuure. You should apologize to TK."

TK, who was in a state of shock, stood up from his chair and stared at Ryo with furrowed brows, waiting for an apology to trickle out of Ryo's mouth. He shook his head, and reluctantly pulled his shirt off and stripped down to his boxers. "Happy, you jackass?"

Rika just turned away. "It's done now put something on."

Kari just nodded, afraid that the secret would be revealed.

T.K. looked at Ryo, "Truth or dare."

Ryo glared back, not wanting to think about what would happen to him if he had said 'dare.' "Truth."

"How many girls have you been with…"

"What!"

"How many girls have you had sex with?" TK asked again, in an as a matter-of-fact manner.

"Well, now that's an interesting personal question." Rika turned to Ryo. Rika, herself was curious, but at the same time, she refrained herself from prying the answer out of him.

Kari froze in place. Calm down, Kari. Calm down...

"I don't have to answer that."

"Yes you do. You're playing."

"He shouldn't have to answer the question if he doesn't want to, TK!" Kari blurted out.

"Three… I have had sex with three different people, TK." He got up and walked off into his room.

"Now look what you did..." Kari said, turning back.

"I'll go talk to him." Rika got up and knocked on the door. "Ryo, it's me..."

Ryo just sighed, looking at the barrier that separated him and Rika. "Come in." The door swung open to reveal the poker-faced Rika.

Shutting the door behind her, she sat on her bed. "It's just a game. You know you didn't have to answer that."

"I did… and you already think so little of me…"

"Do you always have to assume what others think of you? " She shook her head. "Gosh, Ryo."

"What did you say after I told you guys about the shower incident?"

"So? I only said you were womanizing because you always have girls swooning over you. I know you can't help it."

He looked at her. "I do not…"

"Yeah, you do..."

"Name four."

A grand pause silenced the room as Rika thought the question through. "...Well... Okay, fine." Rika got up. "So I called you that without thinking. You happy? Go ahead and continue assuming how I feel about you. I'm going to go..." Rika said, walking out Ryo's room and into her room to get her jacket.

Ryo just laid there staring at the ceiling.

- - -

TK looked at Kari. "Whatever…" They had been arguing over Ryo's true intentions. TK somehow lost respect for him after hearing that Ryo had walked in on his girlfriend in the shower. Kari just looked down at her hands in her lap.

"I'm going to be wandering around outside. Be back in a few," Rika called out before walking out the front door.

Kari sighed. "I'm sorry, TK," she said walking into her room.

TK, frustrated, stood up, grabbed his jacket and left also, not necessarily to follow Rika, but to clear his own mind of the recent epiphanies he'd experienced. He sat outside the stoop and watched the people go by. His mind slowly played out thoughts of Kari, the person he was also currently disappointed in. TK was especially disappointed in how this trip moved the two's relationship even farther apart than before. I stood up again and ventured around the block. Where did Kari and I go wrong? Where did I go wrong?

- - -

Around the corner, Rika walked by the dark, empty Blockbusters, which was forced to closed because of the incident. She suddenly remembered the embrace Ryo had locked her in that night, so warm and so caring. A feeling of safety had overcome her that night, and even though she didn't want Ryo obligate himself to protect her, she was glad he was there to support her.

And then, her mind reverted back to a few minutes ago. Such low self-esteem…or maybe just self-conceited. He acted as if he were a bipolar paranoiac and it pissed Rika off. Rika punched the nearest pole. What an asshole.

- - -

Ryo migrated into Kari's bedroom. "Why… are those two so moody?"

"You're pretty moody yourself."

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment." He moved his body next to Kari's.

"I never really got to really ask. What do you like about her?"

"About who?" Ryo asked, absent-mindedly. For the moment, he had completely forgotten about Rika, the one he lives to protect. Oh, Rika.

"Rika..."

"She's… just herself, you know. Not some fake person…" He kissed her neck. "What do you like about TK?"

"As much as I said about him before, he's genuine. He can be really sweet when he's in the mood. When we first went out, he was always so honest... And sometimes I wonder, what happened to that TK..."

Ryo laughed. "Truth or dare?"

A confused look spread across her face. "Dare? Why are we doing this now?"

"I dare you to tell me who the better kisser is, me or TK." He kissed her then broke it.

Kari looked down. "...TK."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." Kari nodded, slowly.

Ryo lay down beside her, just staring at the ceiling. "Maybe we should stop doing this."

"Maybe you're right. We are both in a relationship of our own, after all."

"Yeah…" He nodded. "Okay, so no more guilt acts. Kari, we are through!"

Kari chuckled. "Yes. Yes, we are no more."

"No more." One last nod made the statement final. The two's fling was over with.

"So, are you going to go after her now?"

"You think I should?"

"She didn't seem mad. You guys should spend more time together anyway." Kari smiled.

With that, Ryo smiled back. "Then I shall run after my queen." He ran out of the house, passing TK at the door, and found Rika walking toward the apartment. He waved her over and held her. "I'm so sorry."

The auburn-haired girl pulled away from him and smirked. "You came a couple of minutes later than I thought."

He grin crept upon his face. "That's not funny."

"And it's about time you lightened up, too. Gosh, it's like a personality switch between us."

He shook his head. "I've had a lot on my mind and being disfigured doesn't help."

"Disfigured?" She raised a brow.

He touched the scar across his right eye.

"I almost forgot that was there. That's not disfigurement, you dumbass." Rika laughed to herself. "I did tell you to put something on it, if you're so worried about it now."

He laughed. "It wouldn't have gone away anyway."

"The next time I see that guy, he's going to get it." Rika clenched her fist.

"Yeah, next time."

- - -

Sometime, deep in the night, a masked man put a plain brown envelope on Rika's bed and vanished. Rika woke up that morning, getting out of bed to use the bathroom, when that brown envelope fell off her bed. She turned back and looked at it. "Ryo," she whispered. "He was here…" She picked up the envelope and looked for any writing.

Ryo groaned and rolled over to look at her. "Who was here?"

Holding the envelope up, she said, "He was here and left another package."

Ryo looked at the envelope from the comfort of his pillow, though his thoughts were not as comforting. Could it be more pictures to taunt us with each of our family members? Did he do anything to them? Will they be as disfigured as…me? He was lost in his thoughts.

When Rika opened the brown envelope it revealed pictures of both Ryo and Kari naked, engaging in their sinful acts.


DF103: Alright. You all can yell at me. It took me a long time to get this out, longer than expected. Don't hesitate to PM me or email me with a nice reminder to update, cuz I do have these chapters; I just need to edit and revise them. I know a few of you have been IMing me and PMing me about this fic, and I finally got it out after months. Sorry again. Next update will be out in a couple of weeks. Till then, L8terZ.