One Girl Revolution
By Fantasya
Summary: Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.
Chapter Eight: Underestimate and Swim
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Rika was ready to rock. It took her five minutes to decide what one wore on a daring rescue – which consisted entirely of what she wore yesterday and what she'd been planning on wearing today anyway – and another five minutes to decide on a plan of action. A minute was wasted persuading Ryo to hand over his keys, when he really should have forked them over in half that time – Rika was afraid that she was losing her touch – and three minutes replaced the ten minute drive. She spent her spare minute at the back entrance of the Matsuda bakery mentally preparing herself.
:03
Okay, Rika, you can do this.
:02
You've done worse.
:01
Hell, you've caused worse.
:00
Okay, minute taken.
She raised a firm hand and quickly knocked on the door. There was a loud clang clash BAM, followed by a string of profanities, another crash, and then Mrs. Matsuda pulled the door open.
"Yes?" She asked, surprisingly calm. The older woman looked exactly the same as Rika remembered her. There were a few more grays here and there, but flour was apparently an excellent alternative to plastic surgery.
"I'm not sure if you remember me, Mrs. Matsuda, but I'm Rika Nonaka." Rika started in a tiny, sincere voice. "Can I please see Takato? Tell him it's urgent."
Mrs. Matsuda blinked slowly, before she nodded. "Okay, just hold on a second here, Rika dear."
She disappeared through the kitchen and Rika faintly heard her call up the stairs to Takato's room, then silence. Mrs. Matsuda called again as Rika pulled out her cell phone and quickly sent a text message to Jeri. After she was sure the message had gotten through (come down through window when you hear him leave. Ryo's car is around corner), she waited a few more minutes for Takato to come down.
Still nothing.
She heard Ms. Matsuda call again.
Her cell phone beeped (don let him no i was here).
Rika sighed. Today just keeps getting better and better, Rika thought, glad that sarcasm was noticeable even in thought form.
Then she took a deep breath.
"TAKATO MATSUDA YOU GOOGLE-BRAINED IDIOT! Get your hand out of your boxers and get down here!"
Rika heard the satisfactory thunk of someone falling out of bed, onto cold, unforgiving hardwood, and, even though she hadn't needed to do this in years, knew he would be down in five seconds.
But it really had been a while and she was wrong.
He was there in three.
"Mornin' Gogglebrain." He must not have been expecting this sort of greeting, judging from the way his jaw dropped and the fear she carefully ingrained into his very being shifted into annoyance.
"What do you want Rika?" Said the voice of a man who needed another week of sleep.
She cocked one eyebrow, unfazed. "Well, someone's bright and shining this morning."
"Yes, the sun is shining and the air is clean and why are you dragging me out of bed at too early AM?"
"It's a beautiful day," Rika started with a sweet smile, "and you're young and you should be enjoying it – carpe diem and all that, right? – and Jeri's back at my place bawling her eyes out and – "
At the sound of Jeri's name, his face went beet red and when the rest of the sentence settled in, it lost all color. "Wait – Jeri's what?"
"Yup." Rika sighed, making a show of running her hands through her hair and leaning against the doorframe. "So I get home last night and Jeri's on my porch wanting to cheer me up. We get a little slumber party going – toenail painting and hugging and gossip, the whole nine yards – and we get up this morning and everything is cool, yeah?"
"Uh, yeah…?"
"Then, middle of breakfast she gets a call. And she hasn't stop crying since."
She was glad Takato didn't know – glad that he didn't recognize the slack in her speech patterns that always appeared when she told a lie she didn't want to tell.
"So…let me get this straight…Jeri stayed over your house last night?"
"Uh, yeah. And she was cool then. Now, she's trying to flood my living room."
"All night? Are you sure?"
"God, Takato, there wasn't a naked pillow fight, okay?" Rika wanted to bite a hole through her freaking tongue. He already looked like someone ran down his puppy just as he exited PetCo with Fido's birthday present. "Can we focus on the drowning Jeri?"
Now he looked like she just put the car in reverse and was about to do it again.
"Um, yeah, sorry Rika, but I don't know anything." He mumbled, his head somewhat down. Oh, crap, he isn't gonna cry, is he?
"I figured – I just – Takato?" Rika sighed again and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "I don't do crying girls, okay? I don't do crying – I barely do girls, okay? I just figured that the two of you are, like, BFF and you could come over and do the crying girl thing for me."
Oh, crap, he is gonna cry! ABORT! MISSION ABORT!
"Listen, Rika," he started so slowly Rika literally heard how hard he fought to control his tone, "I've got stuff to do today around…around. I'll talk to you later."
"Uh, Takato?" She couldn't upturn the Morton when he already looked like she was nailing Fido's carcass to his door. "Are you okay?" You wouldn't want to mention the unresolved sexual tensions you thought you'd resolved last night with the love of your life and are now being made to believe that it was all a figment of your imagination, would you?
"Yeah." Right. "You should go."
"Takato." She caught his arm before he turned tail and ran up to his Fortress of Solitude. He stopped, but he didn't look at her. "Call Henry."
"What for?" He snapped and the tone was so unlike Takato that Rika almost flinched.
"Because something's wrong and you aren't going to tell me what it is." She didn't want to sound like a bossy sister, but it was this or beat him 'round the head with her messenger bag – which weighed a freaking ton – until he admitted that he wanted last night to have happened. Both trademark moves of a bossy sister. "Call Henry."
"Listen, Rika," He said fiercely as he turned back to her. "Could you just drop this?"
"Drop what?" Anger, Rika could deal with. She could respond well to anger. If responding to anger with anger/sarcasm counted as "well", anyway. "I don't even know what's got your Hanes in a twist in the first place. Is it the fact that you're standing here in your underwear at "too early in the morning"? Which, in case you're interested, is actually almost noon. Have you developed a recent fear of telephones so now you can't call Henry? What?"
"Last night was the best night of my life and now you're telling me that it never even happened!" He yelled – yelled – as if he were physically unable to hold it in any longer. "And I'm sorry – so damn sorry – that I can't really deal with Jeri's problem or even really bring myself to care that she has one. I just – I can't – I – "
Rika tried to school her face into a look of surprise and confusion, which the surprise wasn't all that hard since Takato never yelled. She'd been in enough pissing matches with all of the Tamers to know what made them tick. Takato was one of those that backed down.
And the swearing thing? News to her.
"What are you talking about, Takato?"
He looked like he might respond.
"What happened last night?"
But whatever fight had been in him left just as quickly as it came. His shoulders sagged and he looked at her through tired eyes.
"I don't know – I just – I can't…" He scrubbed a hand over his face and breathed deeply. "Please, just go, Rika."
As much as she needled him, she couldn't stand to see him standing there…looking like she'd just ripped out his heart and forced him to eat it.
Rika knew she was screwed when she had to resist the urge to hug him.
She wanted to tell him that Jeri was scared and hiding out in the back of Ryo's car. She wanted to tell him that Jeri loved him just as much as he did her and that they could have many more nights like last night if they both just realized what everyone else had known for years.
She'd probably throw the word "dumbass" around quite a bit, too.
"Call Henry." Rika said instead. "Tell him everything. He's your best friend."
He smiled grimly. "And you're his."
"Well, I'm definitely in the top two."
"So," Takato continued, "he'll turn around and just repeat everything I said to you."
Rika shrugged innocently. "Well, in his defense, there will probably be torture involved."
The quirk of his lips, faint as it was, showed more Takato than she had witnessed all morning.
"I don't know, Rika, I mean, his people invented water torture…you can't beat that."
"Yeah, half his people. I wanna see him in a corset and four inch heels sixteen hours days, nights, and weekends."
She didn't think Takato actually ever saw her as the kick ass government agent on the American action-dramedy-thing Invincible, but the imagery alone made him wince.
The vest was bad enough. Corsets and heels need not apply.
"Of course, minus the Porsche wreckage and the ridiculous amount of money I had stuffed down my throat, I think the Americans really did come out ahead on that one."
Takato must have been startled enough by her brisk change in subject, because he actually laughed. Or, it might have been a laugh it hadn't sounded so much like a sob.
"So, you gonna call or shall I?"
Takato reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, "eh…?"
"That sound like a "both of us" if I ever heard one." Rika nodded to herself, already fishing out her cell phone. She glanced quickly at the screen but there was no all clear message from Jeri. "I'll give you a few minutes head start and if when I call Henry, he doesn't tell me exactly what I want to hear, which is that he is on his way, I'm doubling back with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and the Ya Ya Sisterhood, got me?"
If possible, Takato looked even more frightened with the threat of the Sisterhood than he had of a cross-dressing Henry.
"Yes, ma'am." And then he hugged her.
No, seriously.
Takato Matsuda. In his underwear. Hugging her of his own freewill. Hugging her like he wanted to hug her.
Rika glared when he pulled away.
He winced.
"Chocolate chip or cookie dough?"
"Eh…cookie dough?"
"Wonderful! Me and the Sisterhood will be back at seven."
Takato's eyes widened. "Wait, I'm calling!" He scrambled away from the door and retrieved the cordless.
This was a Takato Rika could deal with even if it was probably fake. As long as he wasn't angry or brooding, Rika could handle the familiar, somewhat fearful version. She would pretend that she didn't know that he was probably dying inside as long as he would play as well.
He dialed frantically even as Rika continued to talk.
"Oh, no, I don't think so. You do not go around hugging people, mister, and think you can just get away with it – "
"Henry? Henry!"
" – there will be popcorn and nail-painting and I swear to God I'm pulling out the Ouiji board!"
"Henry, get over here as soon as possible. Rika's lost her mind!"
"If the spirit realm can't tell me what the hell is in the water around here, somebody better get to talking."
" – yes, Henry, a freaking slumber party – "
"I wasn't going to stay the night but if that's what it takes, sleep over it is!"
"No – Rika – wait. Henry's on his way."
"The more the merrier. Tell him to bring one of Susie's feather boas and a hairbrush."
Takato's face went blank. "Do I even want to ask?"
"Spice Girls karaoke." She holds both hands up to emphasize her point.
He shuddered. "Please, please, tell me that was a joke."
"And tissues. Lots and lots of tissues."
The abrupt change of atmosphere would have startled a normal person, but this was Takato for Pete's sake. He would bounce back from anything. But there was something sad at the corner of his eyes and Rika knew he was getting tired of the charade. So, as he hung up with Henry – giving him a whispered no, I don't think you can flee the country instead of a farewell – Rika was glad that her phone beeped signaling that she had received a text message (where r u im in the car) and needed to make her exit.
"Well, I guess I should be hitting the ol' dusty trail." Rika said, though neither of them made to move. "And you – you should probably go put some clothes on."
As if just now noticing his nakedness, Takato froze. "Err…yeah. That might be best."
"Scooby Doo's looking a little cold." Rika cocked her head to the side as Takato's skin heated in a blush. "Or warm depending on how you look at it."
The blush deepened and Takato slammed his eyes closed, probably trying to will himself invisible as he'd done so many times in the past.
"You really do blush all over."
"Take her shopping." He blurted out, most likely it was more of an attempt to change the subject than anything else, but once it was said he couldn't take it back. And with those three words, came the previous night…and this morning.
Rika craned her head to look at him. "Huh?" She asked, temporarily forgetting about the fact that Takato looked like a lobster.
"Jeri." He shrugged nonchalantly, but Rika could see that it was a conscious gesture. "Shopping therapy. It always makes her feel…better."
Rika wanted to swear. All of her work of trying to annoy him out of his funk was wasted with an absent phrase. She really needed to have a talk with that girl.
He shrugged again, more pained than the first time. "I don't know what's up with her. But…shopping might help."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."
Shopping. She could shop. Rika had never really disliked shopping unless she was forced to go with her mother. And she hadn't brought anything with her on her trip anyway except the clothes on her back – okay, the outfit yesterday and the super cool sleuthing outfit she now wore – so that was probably a good idea. Besides, seeing Takato fall apart and pick himself back up and fall apart again was a bit disconcerting, so Rika could use the therapy.
"Now go be a good boy and put your pants back on." She called over her shoulder as she made her way down the sidewalk.
"Rika?"
Only a few steps away from the bakery, Rika turned to face him.
"Thanks." She wasn't sure if he could read her expression or not, but he quickly added, "Once upon a time you would have just kicked my ass."
Rika shrugged. "I've found that there are subtler forms of intimidation."
He hid a smile when he ducked his head, and Rika couldn't help but feel like she'd won the battle. "Yeah, well, anyway…thanks."
It's another silence and Rika can't just walk away. So she did the next best thing.
Turning on her heel, she punched a fist to the sky and called to the afternoon air, "Ya-Ya!" before walking away.
Takato's exaggerated groan punctuated her battle cry, followed by the soft click of the bakery door.
She didn't talk to Jeri after she climbed into the small vehicle. Rika didn't respond to Jeri's panicked where were you what happened is everything okay? and she certainly didn't say anything to her well, two can play this game followed shortly by okay, only one can, you win what happened?
Rika pulled over a few blocks from the bakery and turned on the hazard lights.
"He yelled at me." She said after a length, not taking her eyes off the unmoving road before her. She gripped the leather of the steering wheel a little tighter, even if the car was no longer in motion. "I told him that you stayed the night at my house and that someone called this morning and that you were crying…and he yelled at me."
Jeri's silence told Rika enough. Takato really wasn't a yeller.
"It took a little but I got him to smile. That's something, isn't it?"
Jeri still didn't respond.
"But for a second there, Jer…he scared me, y'know? Like, really." Rika continued to stare out the window. "Not, like, I was afraid of him, but more…for him, y'know? I think he knew, too, otherwise he might not have smiled.
"People aren't supposed to look like the world is crashing down around them and they couldn't give a damn that their very life was hanging in the balance, Jer, not over a one night stand – not over something that shouldn't have happened."
"I don't – I just – I don't know what to do." Jeri admitted and Rika couldn't help but feel like she was talking to a very small child.
"Well, you better figure it out because your heart isn't the only one on the line here."
"It's so hard." She wasn't looking over, but Rika knew that Jeri was in tears.
"Then make it simple. Do you want him?"
"I don't want to ruin our friendship."
"Well, it is ruined Jeri. You can pretend that last night didn't happen but there's this huge rift between you guys and you'll never be able to get back to each other."
Jeri's silent for a moment. "This isn't all about me, is it?"
"Of course it's about you." But Rika didn't look at her and they both know she's lying. "Is he worth it?"
"Maybe…I don't know." Jeri repeated, "I don't know what to do."
"Well, it looks to me like Takato's already made his decision." Rika sighed and quickly patted herself down. A cigarette and a light were what she needed right now. "You can either keep standing on the shore and wonder what the water feels like, or you can grab his hand and jump on in." Finally, finally, in one of the inner pockets, she finds a crumpled pack and Finn's half-empty bic. She cracked the window and lit up. "Either way, it's unfair to get away dry after you've pushed him in."
"I'm not getting away dry!" Jeri almost yelled, then almost pouted.
"And that's why we call it an analogy because TMI is not cool." Rika replied casually. "If you're not sure, tell Takato you're not sure. Not I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about who are you?"
"I just – I just need time to think." Jeri sighed and curled into herself the best she could in the seat. "Is that too much to ask?"
Rika echoed her sigh as she started up the car. "Well, you better not keep him waiting for too long. You never know who else want to "swim"."
They drove a few more blocks in silence, each lost in their own thought.
"Who was he?"
"Who was who?" Rika wasn't playing dumb. Really.
"Whoever it was. This mystery guy – or girl since I'm open-minded – that you don't want me to think about." Glancing over, Rika could see the ghost of Jeri's Mona Lisa smile stretched across her window. "I'm not exactly working with my A-game but I'm good enough to notice when there's a little bit of experience laced through your words."
Juggling her cigarette and cell phone, Rika sent out a sweeping text message to the three girls she'd need right now. "It was here – in Japan – and was just after a concert."
Jeri nodded, sensing that she wasn't going to get a name. "Do we know him?"
"Yeah." Rika answered quickly, before she shook her head. "No, actually. I guess we really don't."
"What happened?"
"Nothing so huge as getting busy on the Cloak of Friendship…but afterwards, I kinda blew him off."
"Because you were scared?" Jeri guessed.
"Because it meant nothing to me." Rika corrected as she flipped on a blinker and carefully maneuvered onto the highway. "Because it meant everything to me."
Jeri sighed. "You're going to have to stop with the double answers." Jeri said as she frowned. "I don't get it."
"It didn't mean a thing…until it was too late." Rika shrugged as she carefully dumped her excess ashes into an old burger wrapper stuffed into the cup holder. "A friend of mine gave me some pretty good advice – something about jumping into water, I don't remember it word for word – and to this day…I kinda wonder what would have happened if I'd listened."
"What happened?"
"She told me that I broke his heart - my friend." Rika clarified at Jeri's look. "She told me that he wouldn't be able to get over me and I didn't believe her. I still don't. We haven't spoken in a while but he seems fine to me."
"You've seen him?"
"Yeah. He looks okay. But even now…I kinda wonder. What would've happened, y'know?" Rika shrugged for what felt like the millionth time in about five minutes. "Maybe it's just human to wonder what's down the other road."
It was obvious that the topic was dropped, even though Jeri's curious look hadn't disappeared. But with the conversation dropped, she noticed for the first time that they were headed in no direction that led to either her own or the Nonaka residence.
"Where are we going?" Jeri asked, pressing her face to the glass. She chuckled nervously. "I don't recall too many highways between the bakery and my house."
"No, we're not going to your house."
"Taking the scenic route to yours?" Jeri guessed hopefully.
Rika shook her head. "Nope."
At Jeri's increasingly panicked look, Rika quickly added with a smirk, "I figured we could use a little shoe therapy."
Instantly, Jeri's face broke into a huge grin.
"Oh great! I have to call Susie and Alice and – "
"Already taken care of." Rika glanced thoughtfully at the digital clock built into the cars dashboard. "I figure that when you send out a Shoe Therapy 911 page…they'll meet us at the mall in…fifteen minutes?"
Jeri squealed again and laughed out loud.
"More like five."
She reached over, flipped on the radio, and instantly the car was filled with some uppity pop song Rika wanted to murder. But it was better than the crushing silence that would have followed. She laughed at Jeri as she sang along – terribly off-key – even as her mind drifted far, far away.
Rika lied. A lot. To Takato – oh, poor Takato – and just now to Jeri.
A year ago, she'd had an incredibly similar conversation, which was true. Only back then, it'd been over something that didn't have to be more than it had seemed.
"You can't just watch the happy couples swimming about. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to jump."
"Finn, what are you talking about? I don't want to jump into anything. I've got a tour and a – "
"You've got a ficus and a pocket rocket." Finn set the ancient issue of Newsweek aside, braced her hands on the sides of the couch, and pushed herself to her feet. "And who better to swim with than Apollo himself?"
"Finn, Apollo was a sun god." Rika corrected as she breezed around the room, picking up the post-show litter the band constantly seemed to leave behind. "He rode a chariot through the sky with the freaking sun attached to it. I doubt he swam often."
"Apollo? Fine, you can say Neptune or Triton or Captain Jack Sparrow for all I care, okay? Point is: if you're going to swim, it might as well be with someone worth it. And has abs you could bounce just about anything off of."
Looking up at her friend as she gathered up the last of their bags, Rika blew her bangs out of her face. "1.) I'm not swimming and 2.) Have I told you how much I don't appreciate this conversation right now?"
"I jumped in, Rika. I saw how happy the other couples were and I jumped. And I was happy. I had to climb out because Johnny and me waded into the deep end without waiting forty-five minutes after we ate…but it was worth it. Every second."
Rika patted Finn's swollen stomach somewhat condescendingly. "You won't be saying that in two weeks."
"You can't just watch the happy couples swimming about."
"Did I tell you thank you?" Rika didn't risk a hug. Finn might tip over and crush her. It'd already almost happened once before. "For helping mom…with the arrange-" her tongue tripped over the word. It was too soon, "arrangements?"
Finn nodded, fighting hormonal tears. "Yeah."
"And for helping with the concert last night?"
"Yeah but you didn't have to. I did it for Mama Seiko."
"Did I tell you that I'm gonna miss you?"
"No. You did tell me that you missed me, though."
Rika nodded. "I did."
"Of course you did." Finn waved off the sentiment as she hefted up one of the smaller bags and the two walked – or in Finn's case, waddled – out of the small dressing room. "That drummer you hired, Kayla, was seriously wigged in the head."
"You and me…" Rika trailed off, unsure of how to broach this subject, wondering if the compliment would be well received, "we rocked out there, y'know?"
"Yeah." Finn answered, though there was a sad quality to her voice and even though a question hadn't been asked, Rika had her answer. "I know."
Rika felt a little sad as well. As they continued to walk down the narrow hallway in silence, she couldn't help but marvel at how screwed up their relationship was. A year ago, Finn would have hopped on the plane with her and they'd be on their way to perform in some far away state. Now, Finn wasn't even going to ride with her to the airport.
Casting one last glance down towards the room from whence they came, she couldn't help but marvel at how screwed up that relationship was as well. And then she consoled herself with the thought: He isn't gonna be too bummed to see me go. He doesn't care either.
And even as she thought, she couldn't help but recall Finn's words.
"Sooner or later, you're gonna have to jump."
And, at the time, after that night, she couldn't think of a better person to fall with.
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Author's Note: CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!! I was working on a homework project (like a month ago) and was skimming though my music library…and I came across One Girl Revolution by Superchick. And I said to myself, "Hmm…why does that song remind me of someth—HOLY CRAP!!!" So…yeah, long story short, sorry for the freakishly long break. School just let out and I will have time to write more this next week…until I start work again…and tutoring…and website renovations…CRAP!!!
The next time I don't update for a month, someone feel free to e-mail me and verbally kick my ass into gear! I've got that little kid syndrome where I'm going "I should really work on the next chapter…ooh! A cloud!", so a little reminder would be appreciated.
Ah well, if someone does manage to stumble upon this, don't forget to review!
