Author's Note: Here you guys go, the tenth chapter! Sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long. ;D I'll explain at the end.
Disclaimer: All songs and characters named are not my creation.
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Chapter 10: Try Honesty
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The Tamers relished their victory with a new reputation. Henry's father was thrilled that his son would be competing in a Battle of the Bands contest. Rika and her mom found more things to talk about, as Rika's mother was also in a band herself back in college; an all-girl disco group called The Fox Queens. Takato's parents were absolutely shocked by Takato's natural talent, and so they discussed whether they should buy a drum kit for Takato to use at home. Those conversations were always held in private, lest Takato should get excited for nothing, but Takato overheard a few words between them.
At school the Tamers were always approached by other students who asked to join the band, or when their next gig would be. Ryo found girls approaching him with their cellphone numbers. And the girls found themselves approached by Kazu and Kenta, who had to ask for theirs. Jeri however, never liked popularity, so she stuck close to Takato to avoid any of the boys asking about her involvement with the band.
Days passed, and the Tamers got a text message from Matt, which read: "Hey kids! I'm sorry to interrupt your vacation, but the news about the next round of Blitz is out. Meet the Lair in an hour..."
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The message almost ran by Rika's mind, until seconds later she realised it was from Matt, and re-read it. She closed her eyes for a moment. Rika was at home sitting by the garden. Today was the day that her grandmother Seiko would be taken to the elderly home.
Rika's mother and two men from the elderly facility were persuading Seiko to sit in a wheelchair the two men brought. "Hey mom!" Rumiko said. "Let's go out for a stroll today. Maybe we'll hit a few stores for some clothes on the way."
"Oh, that would be fun!" Seiko replied, in a regal motherly tone. She then got up from her chair, and approached Rumiko.
"Would you like to use a wheelchair for today?" Rumiko asked.
"Yes please. I've been feeling kind of tired lately." Seiko responded. The reason why was because Seiko had trouble eating due to her Alzheimers, so she ate fairly small meals. And so Seiko sat in the wheelchair and buckled herself in. The two men from the elderly home then adjusted the foot rests for Seiko.
"Who are these gentlemen?" Seiko asked.
"These are some friends." Rumiko replied. "They'll be walking with us as well. I'm giving them fashion advice on how to dress for formal occasions."
The men looked like they were in their late forties, and wore casual everyday clothing to hide the fact they worked for the elderly home. Seiko and the two men exchanged greetings, and the four of them were off. Rika caught one of the men from the elderly home as he left.
"Will she be okay?" Rika asked.
"She will be fine." The man replied, "I've escorted hundreds of seniors to the elderly home, some by force. But your grandmother... she's the most graceful person I've met. She'll be great there. There will be plenty of activities for her to do and people to interact with. Plus, there will be a doctors and nurses there for her medical needs."
Rika nodded sadly. If she weren't so busy with school and BandBlitz, Seiko might have been able to stay at home. But Rumiko decided that it would be best for Seiko to go now, since Rika would finish high school and go off to college in a few years.
"How come you're not coming with us?" the man asked.
"I can't. It's... hard." Rika hesitated. She didn't have the courage to say farewell to her grandmother, especially when Seiko didn't recognize her anymore. And deep down, Rika hated herself for being so weak.
"It's alright." The man assured. "I understand. Don't put yourself down. It's pretty shocking for everyone at first. Take as much time as you need."
Rika nodded, and the man nodded politely before leaving to catch up with Rumiko, Seiko and his colleague.
Rika then texted her mother, telling her about the situation with BandBlitz, and that she would be downtown for today.
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Rika was on the train heading to the Lair. In her head, she kept thinking about her grandmother. "Should have I went with mom to see Grandma off to the elderly home?" Rika asked herself.Matt would surely understand if she told him. And if Rika asked, Matt would have been nice enough to fake an excuse for her absence. After all, she couldn't let the other Tamers pity her. She always was the strong one. In the end, Rika was filled with more regret, which she tried to drown with her music player: Try Honesty by Billy Talent.
When she hit the station, she walked the rest of the way to the Lair.
That was when she noticed people running towards an intersection. "Come on, we'll miss it!" One girl cried to her friends behind her.
Rika decided to follow them out of curiosity. They stopped at a major intersection, where a band was playing. Their stage covered the entire intersection, with additional lights and curtains. The lead singer was a tall, built man in his early twenties with long hair. There was also the drummer and a guitarist the same age. Then there was the lead guitarist, who was in fact a female that was Rika's age. She had blond hair tied into pigtails, and she wore a black dress with black leather boots that gave a goth-effect. Rika recognized her from somewhere.
"I don't owe you anything! I don't owe you anything!" the lead singer kept singing repeatedly. The band was playing the song I'll Stick Around by the Foo Fighters. The crowd of about five hundred was jumping up and down to the music.
Then Rika remembered the meeting at the Lair. She was late, so she started running to the studio.
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When Rika entered, everyone else was there, minus Mimi and Palmon who were at their clothing shop.
"Hey guys." Rika said. Some of this morning's weakness gave way, yet it was subtle enough that no one noticed or commented.
"Hey Rika!" Jeri replied, gesturing Rika to sit beside her.
"I'm sure you saw the band playing out there." Matt greeted.
"Yeah, who are they?" Rika asked, taking her seat.
"They're the Samurai War Machines." Matt answered. "They've been playing at BandBlitz for a couple of years now. Every BandBlitz fan knows them."
"Did you see the girl there? Dobermon's partner?" Takato asked. And that was when it struck Rika; the girl who played lead guitar was the former Tamer of Dobermon.
"You mean Alice?" Matt asked.
"Yes, her." Henry replied. "We met her after her Digimon came into the real world to sacrifice himself and give us the power to fight the D-Reaper."
"Who would have known BandBlitz is filled with Digimon Tamers?" Matt replied, chuckling at the irony. "Alice, is the lead guitarist of the Samurai War Machines. She's actually a wicked guitar player, better than most guys I've seen."
"Will we be meeting them in the next round?" Kazu asked.
"Nope, the next round we'll be seeing another band." Matt answered.
He then got up from his seat, to take the stage as usual. This time, he took out a folder from the behind the drum kit.
"The next round we'll meet these guys. A punk rock band of three people called The Disorderlies."
And Matt then put the folder on the coffee table to reveal a flyer of the band, from one of their tours around the city.
"What will happen is that both us and The Disorderlies will play at venues simultaneously for an hour. Whichever band that gathers the most visitors for that period will get to move on to the next round. Pretty simple."
The Tamers looked at the photos in the folder. Then Jeri asked, "What's this photo?" The picture showed the inside of a small cafe.
"That's where we'll be playing." Matt said. "It's downtown somewhere."
"It's awfully small." Kazu replied.
"I know." Matt replied, scratching his chin in contemplation.
"I'm guessing this is where the other band is playing." Kenta asked, holding up a picture of another cafe of similar size.
"Yes, they'll be playing there." Matt answered.
"Where is it?" Henry asked.
"Across the street from us." Matt said.
The Tamers were silenced in shock.
"That's where the real battle begins." Matt said. "But there's something here that's even more important." Matt took the photo of the cafe where they would be playing.
"The place is panelled with wood, so the sound will bounce off quite nicely. However, the place is small." Matt noted.
"So we can't play too loudly." Henry tried to follow, "Otherwise we'll be too noisy."
"Yes Henry, we'll have to approach this situation more... quietly." Matt explained.
Takato let out a small groan. He would miss being able to smash the drum kit.
"Couldn't we just change venues?" Rika asked curiously.
Matt explained, "We can, but this venue's one of the few that will loan theirs for BandBlitz, and..." Matt held a dramatic pause.
"The cafe has offered to give us the revenue we bring into the cafe, which we can add to our budget." Matt explained.
He continued, "All the other venues are small. The point of this round is to exercise adaptability. Not all crowds will be hype crowds, therefore a good band is never stubborn with their style."
The band nodded in understanding.
Matt concluded, "Which brings me to the end of this meeting. But first I need to have a chat with Rika privately." And he gestured Rika to the far corner of the studio.
Matt explained, "Hey Rika, so this round will need something extra from you. You're going to have to pick the song."
"But... why me? You know me. I don't know any quiet songs." Rika said.
"An acoustic set is an opportunity to be very down-to-earth... very real... very honest. Only you can find a song that expresses who you really are." Matt said.
"I'll try." Rika replied, weakly.
"Are you alright?" Matt asked. "You seem a little different."
"I'll be alright." Rika said, and she smiled assuringly.
Then Matt and Rika went to the rest of the Tamers who were all putting on their coats, ready to go out. If Seiko were okay, Rika would've asked her for help to pick a song. And so she decided to visit her grandmother at the elderly home that afternoon for some inspiration.
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To Be Continued...
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Author's Note: So that's the end! I thought Alice would make an interesting addition to the story line as a competing character. As well, her look pretty much fits the rocker scene don't you think?
As for the brief hiatus, although I only got two reviews over the two weeks when I was away, I'm not unhappy (though thank you Dragonfly996 and Ultima73!). I really just needed the break to finish some other things, and to decide where this story was heading. After all, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, right? Anyways, as usual, leave a review if you feel like it. Band names and song suggestions are always welcome... and questions! If you guys have any questions for me, or about the story line, please raise them up! I don't mind doing a brief Q/A section at the end of a chapter. Anyways, I'll be back in a week or less!