Disclaimer: No, I do not own Digimon!

-DRUMROLLL- This is it! The last chapter. It's very strange to compare the first chapter to the last, because it was written in the duration of three years… but something I updated once a year (usually during the summer!) I don't know about other people, but I can catch the intervals between chapters that I didn't update for a long year. It's always amusing to see how much I have changed since then.

Thanks for your support!
Kimiko Heroux, Digifan23, AngelofLight95, Amulet Misty¸ BlindingDarkness1, TehWriter, anon, Schokopueppchen

CHAPTER TEN: And the winner is…?

I landed, landed hard on my back. I groaned, testing out my limbs to see if I could move them. Okay. It didn't seem like I'd injured anything. I gingerly sat up and opened my eyes.

All I could see was darkness.

Time passed by seemingly slowly. It was hard to tell, exactly, what time it was. It was too dark to see my watch. I just sat there, endlessly alone.

This is what I wanted and this is what I got, I thought bitterly.

Makino Ruki was stuck, trapped in a dark trench in the middle of nowhere. Waiting for the snakes to slither out and eat her brains.

I swung my backpack around so that it now sat in my lap. I searched around blindly for a bag of chips that I had packed. Upon finding it, I pulled it out and immediately began eating.

If I let my hunger go out the window, my insanity would follow soon after.

With the light of my cell phone, I had tried scaling back up the wall with no avail. And to my luck, my cell phone battery ran out shortly after. I'd been so concentrated on trying to climb up I forgot that I hadn't recharged it.

Would anyone find me here?

No. Probably not. That's why I needed to formulate a plan of my own to get out.

I finished off my chips and began searching around my backpack again. Clothes, some snacks, and money. Useless, useless, useless. Bah.

There had to be something I could do. There was no way I was trapped here. I would not die here. I refused to die here. Not when things were so messed up. Not when it was my duty to fix them again – and how I hated leaving unfinished business.

Or maybe…

Just maybe…

It wasn't my job to fix everything. I thought back to seeing Mika and Ryo in the sweets shop. Was I really needed anymore?

…

My stomach growled. I ignored it. I had already long finished my last bag of chips. I had no sense of time in this abyss. Had seconds gone by? Or minutes? Or days? Had anyone noticed I was missing by now?

Hunger tore at my chest. Never had I been so hungry. Never had I been so desperate for food, for warmth, for light. Never had I been so lonely before.

It was so easy to fall into despair when you were lost in the dark. No matter how strong someone is, darkness can catch anyone and take him or her prisoner. It's only a matter of time. Tick, tick, ticking away and taking people along with it.

Swallowing you whole and making you lose yourself.

After a while, hunger was another accepted part of the numbing pain. A constant sting at the pit of my stomach. But what else could I possibly do?

All I had was the darkness, and in the darkness I had to wait.

…

"Ruki?"

I blinked. I was clearly hallucinating, because that's what happens when you go crazy. You start wishing for things you couldn't have. You start hearing the things you want to hear.

But when, prey tell, would I ever want to hear that person's voice calling out for my name?

"Ruki? Are you there?"

I was convinced it wasn't an illusion.

"Here!" I called out. My voice sounded a bit gravelly from lack of use. I cleared my throat and tried again, louder, "Down here!" I swallowed down some spit, trying to regain my voice again. "I'm right here! Ryo! Ryo!"

And then, I saw it – a speck of light far at the end of the tunnel, far into the darkness.

"Ruki?"

The light flickered then shined into my face. I winced at the sight of it, not used to seeing light.

"Found you," he said in a relieved voice. "Come on, I'll help you out."

I got up to my feet, only to fall again. I groaned. Had I injured myself? I gingerly swiveled my left foot, and it seared out in pain. I cringed.

"I can't… I can't move," I called up to him. "My foot… I hurt it."

"Hang on. I'll be down there in a sec!"

I heard the sound of footsteps and the dirt shifting. Rocks rumbled down, bits and pieces hitting me on the head. Ryo was scaling down towards me. I could make out his figure with the light of his flashlight which he held in between his teeth.

"There," he said, landing swiftly beside me.

I looked up to him, then looked away again. I wasn't sure how to react to his presence anymore. Suddenly I couldn't remember how I used to act around him, how I used to be. I was feeling overly self-conscious in this small, cramp space. I could feel his body heat. He was so close, so unnaturally close, that it sent tingles up my spine.

He cursed under his breath, snapping me out of my reverie.

"What?" I asked.

"The rope I used to lower myself down just snapped."

"Meaning?"

"Now we're both stuck."

"You idiot!" I yelled, socking him on the shoulder. There was a pause as I took in what I just did. I clenched and unclenched my fist. Then suddenly Ryo burst out into laughter, for no apparent reason.

I looked at his amused face, bewildered for a second, before joining in laughing with him. This was what it was like before, I thought to myself as I finally recalled. I'm only ever this natural when it comes to him.

…

We sat side by side, trying to stay warm in the cold. Ryo told me he had gone out with somebody in search of me, so his partner should be coming around. Apparently, my mom had called him a bit after I left. When he heard that I hadn't arrived yet, he set off to find me.

He tracked down the busses and taxis I had taken to get here, following their path here to where I had fallen.

"This was just outside of the hole," he said, pulling out the print pictures we had taken at the school festival. Embarrassed, I looked away. I hadn't meant to bring those along with me… it just happened to be in my backpack when I departed. I guess I hadn't noticed that I dropped it.

"What were you doing here?" I asked. "It has something to do with your dad, right?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice slightly gruff. "I came to talk to him." He laughed humorlessly. "I told him to stay the hell away from our family and never to bother us again."

"Good job," I said, patting his hand.

"It was thanks to you," he said. "Because you forced me to."

"I-I didn't do anything," I said, turning away.

"You did a lot," he amended. "I really need you."

"Don't say that!" I barked.

"What? It's true. I need you."

"Those are words for your girlfriend," I spat.

"Girl…friend?"

"Oh, don't joke around. You and Mika. She told me she was going to ask you out."

"That she did, but…"

"Exactly! So stop fooling around."

"But," he interrupted me. "I'm engaged already to another woman so I declined her offer."

I froze, taking in this new information.

"Oh," was all I could say.

He laughed softly, then put a hand to my head. He ruffled my hair and pulled me closer to him. I gave out a small squeak of protest, but stopped when I felt him trembling beside me.

"Are…are you really afraid of the dark?" I asked, recalling the incident he locked himself in a cabinet that one detention day. He laughed it off in response. "Idiot," I repeated, leaning my head against his.

"Ruki?" he said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I love you. I mean it. I really do love you."

He let out a loud yawn. I paused for a moment in contemplation before letting out a long sigh.

"You know what?" I said. "I think I lo-"

"Hello?" someone called from above. "Anyone down there?"

I jumped up instantly, then felt my foot injury flare up, and fell to the ground again. "Yes!" I screamed in reply.

"We're coming down in just a second! You just wait there!"

"You hear that?" I asked Ryo.

"Yep, we're saved!"

…

We took the train back home. I felt disgusting, covered in dirt. Apparently we'd only been there for roughly two days, though it had felt like an eternity down there.

"Home, sweet, home," Ryo announced.

"Yippee," I said in a dry voice, though I was actually relieved we were finally back. Ryo opened the door, and I stepped in…

"SURPRISE!"

The lights flickered on, and streamers were popped. I blinked as I was ambushed by silly string.

"Wha…what the?"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUKI!"

I pulled off some streamers out of my face and took a good look around the room. There was a large banner in the living room with my name on it, a birthday cake right below it. Baffled¸ I shot a look at Ryo who gave an innocent face. So, he was in on this too, huh?

Ryo sauntered over the fridge where he pulled out a foil-wrapped package. He opened it to reveal a tray of cream puffs.

"You said you liked them, so I asked Mika to show me how to make them. That's why I was at the café the other day," he said.

I glanced around the room at the faces of my happy friends, all beaming at me. I stared blankly at them for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, I looked back at Ryo who was grinning at me like I was the most winning thing he'd ever seen.

"I…" I finally said. "I need to take a shower."

…

I toweled off quickly, trying to dry out my hair so I could return to the party. I always snorted at people on television who forgot about their birthdays. I now had full sympathy for them since I had forgotten about my own.

"Let me get that," Ryo said, slipping into my room. He had the hair dryer in one hand and cranked it on, letting the heat seep into my hair. I just sat and watched him work his fingers through my hair. It was an amusement to him to run his hands through the red locks.

We were quiet.

He finished up, putting the blow dryer down on my desk. I looked up at him through the reflection of my dresser mirror, and he looked back at me.

"You know. I think you had something to tell me when we were down in that trench."

"Really?" I asked, putting on an innocent air. "I don't recall."

"You want me to remind you?" He asked, smirking.

"I'm sure if I forgot it wasn't that important in the first place," I answered, shrugging it off as I got up to leave. He caught me by the arm, twisting me back to face him again.

For the record, I let him snake his arms around my waist and up against my back. I let him lean in close, invading my personal bubble. I let him press his lips to mine, and I let him kiss me for a spell or two.

The party went on outside, people yelling and screaming in excitement – but I was here, in this room, in his arms. I was unaware of the others running around, because that was another world in another time.

He pulled away, smiling lightly. I averted my eyes, trying to look nonchalant, trying not to bring attention to my flushed face.

He laughed. "Does this mean I win the bet?"

"Hmmm," I thought to myself. "I don't think so. As I recall, the deal was ten days."

"It is indeed the tenth day," he answered with a confused expression.

I shook my head. "Tenth day and a half," I corrected.

This time, he rolled his eyes at me. "That is such a cheap trick."

I scoffed. "Don't be such a sore loser."

Then he leaned in again, and I let him kiss me one more time.

Akiyama Ryo, I thought as I smiled against his lips. You lost the bet from the beginning, idiot - because I've always loved you all this time. Forever and more. Until death do us apart.

Yes, there we have it folks - the end, the conclusion, el fin de Ten Days! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I feel so accomplished that I am finally done with it.

I don't know if I have any more Ryuki or Digimon fics still in me, but I have plenty of other stories to check out on my profile -PLUG-

Thank you, again, for reading if you did! Bye!