After Thoughts

"Excuse me, pardon me." Ryo pushed his way through the crowd of spectators, making an admirable effort not to knock anyone over or step on any toes. Everything with Cyberdramon seemed fine. Although Calumon was oddly still asleep. Wasn't he supposed to have more energy than… well… a doormat? Honestly though, thoughts of Calumon were taking a distant backseat to everything else that was going on.

The child slowed his pace. He should have been looking for his partner in the tournament and getting a hold of his deck, but he needed to get his thoughts in order.

Starting from when he woke up, no even before that. The day he returned was the same day he left, just several hours later. So how much time actually passed in the Digital Field. Ryo remember distinctly the nights in that war zone… The cold air, the rough ground, And Seiko. They would huddle close together to keep warm at first, later Ryo would become uncomfortable at the awkwardness of the situation and move to the other side of the alley during the night. She was there in the morning too. Making sure he got up early and prodding him to come help her acquire more rations.

Unfortunately he was the only one aware of the time that passed in there. Cyberdramon was out cold after that fight with… that dragon. Calumon had yet to wake out and the girl and black… Could she have caused this? Ryo sighed. That couldn't be possible. Even if by some miracle she had such power she was completely unconscious as well.

Maybe it was… Nah, I would've noticed if he had returned… Or Cyberdramon would've.

Next there was Rika being nice to him, even offering him a place to stay if he needed it. That was definitely suspicious, but he could spend days trying to analyze that one and still never come up with anything. Plus, why look a gift horse in the mouth?

Finally there was the trip at the hospital. The deck he didn't receive, the torn card, the phrase above the elevator, And Takato… The card could've just been a coincidence, and the threat in the elevator, maybe his imagination was playing a trick on him. He wasn't really paying attention anyway. But that deck, it felt so real, he remembered it so well the thickness, the weight of it in his pocket. It was nostalgic, partly because it had so many similar cards that Ryo had…

The legendary Tamer paused for a second, going through all the cards he remembered seeing.

Wait a minute… That WAS my deck! Argh, this doesn't make any sense.

Ryo clenched his fist, not even realizing the tension inside him was building. He lost his deck, didn't he? If he still had it on him than why did it disappear? Was he not only seeing things but feeling them as well. And the Takato upstairs, his disappearance, his slightly off behavior, like a cheap copy. Whether it was a hallucination or something else, one fact seemed to be clear. Whoever was with him and the little goth girl, it wasn't Takato.

I need a vacation… darnnit! I am way to young to be saying that.

Ryo glanced up. His thoughts were in order, but he still didn't know what to make of them. Maybe he'd ask Henry about it later. He still needed to warn them about the possible new dangers of the Digital Field anyway.

The Tamer began to start on his way again, suddenly becoming aware that some people, mostly kids his own age were staring at him and a few were pointing. Looks like his reputation preceded him.

"Guess who!"

"Huh?" Ryo blinked as his vision suddenly became cut off. Someone was covering his eyes from behind, and it wasn't very hard to figure out who, given the childish giggle that immediately followed.

"Hey Jeri. A word of advice, if you want to play that game you might want to at least take the sock puppet off your hand."

"Awww, your no fun."

Ryo chuckled as his vision was restored. Jeri's good mood was infectious. "Glad to see I'm not the only one who's late."

"Ha, don't lump us in with the likes of the goof troop." Another girl said, standing right next to Jeri. She was dressed nicely in a navy blue skirt and pink sweater, with pigtails and a somewhat stuck up pose. "We got here half an hour ago, but Jeri wanted to find you and thank you for saving Calumon. He's important, right?"

"We heard you were a mess this morning…" Jeri said, a hint of worry bleeding into her voice. "…Er! But, you seem alright now."

Ryo smiled confidently as he folded his arms. "It was nothing. I faced that kind of stuff all the time when I was in the Digital World."

Even though Ryo said that, honestly it was very rare things got that bad. Off the top of his head he could only think of one creature that had put him through anywhere near that kind of trouble.

"And Ayeka! Good to see you. Ummm… Goof troop?"

Jeri let out a childish giggle to herself. "That's what she calls Kazu, Takato, and Kenta… Although I still think one of those should be left out."

The pigtailed girl grinned. "Sorry, even if he's saved the city a couple times, he still acts like a goof. I have a hard time picturing him doing half the stuff you say he did."

Ryo nodded, having a pretty good idea who they were talk about. "Speaking of which… Have either of you seen Takato. I still need to get my deck from him."

The girls traded glances for a moment before they both began giggling. "Last I saw him he was talking about a craving for something called… Guilmon bread?"

Jeri giggled at her friends confusion.

"Got it, food court. I… still don't know where that is. Either of you ladies care to escort me?"

"Sure, I'd be glad too." Jeri lunged forward and clamped onto Ryo's arm as she began maneuvering him through the waves of people in a rush as Ayaka followed close behind. And no wonder, it was almost time for the match up to begin.

Inside the building only seemed to get bigger. Although thankfully the crowd was dispersing. Through the doorways that led to the main area where the battles would be taking place, Ryo could see a bunch of tables being set up and more than a few fellow card players practicing with each other. There was even a bunch of TVs set up above the main podium. It had been a while since Ryo had been to one of the places, and the feeling of nostalgia was… refreshing.

"Hey guys!"

Ryo glanced behind him catching a glimpse of Kenta as the child weaved between members of the crowd toward his friend. "Hey, Kenta. What's got you all worked up?"

"You'll never believe it. I ran into a guy here whose partner cancelled on him. Now WE'RE going to be partners."

Before Ryo could respond, another voice rang out. "Dude you just invited yourself to get violently worked by yours truly."

"Kazu…" Ryo chuckled at his fanboy's confidence as the teen terror stepped out from behind Kenta. "Glad to see you two are doing well."

"Ditto." Kazu stated frankly.

"You, really looked bad there for a while." Kenta added.

Ryo shook his head. "Just a few superficial cuts and bruises, I'm fine really."

"Still…" Kazu shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "It was weird seeing you like that, you know."

"Tell you what." Ryo started. "Next time, you guys can come with me."

"R-Really, you mean it?!" Kenta half asked, half shouted.

"Of course."

"Dude, that'll be sweet." Turning on a dime and raising his hand the Visor boy exchanged high-fives with his best friend.

"I hope you don't mind boys, but we're looking for Takato." Ayaka grumbled. Just watching Kazu was making her tired.

"Yeah yeah. I think I saw him on the other end of arena grabbing some grub. Probably going to take it outside given how much they were getting."

Ryo nodded as Kazu took the lead in escorting everyone around the arena, eventually stopping by the back door which opened up into a small field. Henry and Rika were engaged in a Digimon battle. A few feet away, there was Takato laying flat on the grass with a forlorn expression on his face while a large girl Ryo had never seen before dressed in oddly familiar school uniform prodded the child gently. You could tell he just lost to Rika a few second earlier.

"Who's she?"

Kazu just shrugged. "Beats me, came with Rika I think. Dude she's huge."

"Kazu!" Ayaka jammed her elbow into the boys ribs hard enough to make him keel over. "It's rude to comment on a girl's size."

"…Ergh, the pain."

"Serves you right."

Meanwhile Jeri had gone over and joined the uniformed girl and joined her in poking Takato. Oddly enough though her touch seemed to lift his spirits while the large girl sulked at observing the boy's reaction.

Now that's interesting… Takato has a new fan?

"Hey Ryo! Glad to see you made it in time. How did that errand turn out."

A few glances were cast in the direction of the legendary tamer, including one from Rika, although Ryo pretended not to notice. "It turned out to be nothing…"

Which begs the question, was someone really trying to send me a message or what?!

"Are you ready to go?" Takato asked.

Ryo nodded as Takato pulled a spare deck from his back pocket.

"Our opponents should be up by now." Henry stated. "The matches begin in fifteen minutes. We should probably wrap this up."

"You asked for it." Rika replied, cracking a grin. The match was over in the following few seconds.

"…Where did that come from?"

"You didn't think I'd show you my trump cards, did you? That's just scratching the surface of what I have in store for you."

"No…" Henry admitted, gathering his things and picking himself up off the grass. "That's why I kept my trump cards a secret too. Thanks Rika, it's good to know you have those cards."

"Eh?" The red-haired did a double take as Henry headed inside. "Wait, you tricked me?"

"Of course not." The blue haired tamer replied innocently. "We really do have to get going, I just…"

"Took advantage?" Ryo offered.

"Not quite how I would to put it, but yes."

"Hmph, not bad brainiac. I hope you use some of those smarts in the tournament. You might be my only real competition."

Ryo smiled, ignoring the offhanded shot as he went to help Takato and introduce himself to the new girl, apparently named Beatrice. It was a little odd to meet her, she wasn't really what you'd expect from a friend of Rika's, but then again Rika's other friends included a gogglehead, a passive martial artist, and a lethal fox.

I can only imagine the stories she has of Rika. I'll have to ask later.

Inside things were once again becoming overcrowded. With the teams in place and the matches about to begin everyone was trying to get where they needed to be. Takato, Ryo, Henry, and Kazu were facing new faces. Rika and Jeri on the other hand…

"Hey, we're facing Kenta." Jeri giggled. "Good luck."

Kenta was not so optimistic. He cast one glance at Rika and sweatdropped. "I'm doomed."

The redhead arched a brow. "I didn't even know you were in the Tournament. Sorry four eyes, but you're going down. You and… Idolo?"

"Dude that's such a weird name."

The angel tamer gave his friend a shot in the arm, of which Kazu pretended it didn't hurt at all. "Hey, he's a really nice guy. He even gave me some of his super rare cards."

"They won't save you." Rika grinned playfully. "Alright boys, try not to get knocked out in the first round."

"U-umm." Beat began turning red as soon as she started speaking. "T-takato. I made a little extra lunch, i-if you want, we can split it w-we can…"

"Hmm? Sounds good." The boy replied happily.

"R-Really?" Beat asked, her voice barely containing her excitement. Off the side side Kazu and Kenta were chuckling like idiots and exchange nudges. Finer ears would've also heard the chant 'Takato's got a girlfriend' coming from their lips.

Did… Takato just got a date? Ryo thought to himself. Heh, I guess he's finally growing up. Will wonders never cease.

"Yeah. Guilmon eats like a bottomless pit so I'm sure he'd love it."

"Oh…. Right. Guilmon Er, well I'll be routing for you." Beat finished off quickly with a bow a bow and rushed off before the boy could even muster a response.

"Ummm… Gee thanks." The Tamer grinned goofily in response as she sped away.

Then again… once a gogglehead, always a gogglehead.

"Takato, after the tournament. Permit me to explain a few thing to you about girls." Kazu smirked as he began down the hallway.

"That would imply you know something about them." Ayaka sniped. Henry couldn't help but smile at Rika's reaction. She seemed almost hurt by that. Not by the comment mind you, more the fact someone else said it before her.

"Did I… do something wrong?"

"No!" "Yes!" Kazu Kenta, Jeri and Ayaka all said at the same time. Two seconds later the four were arguing between amongst themselves with Kazu and Ayaka were get ready to floor one another. Seeking a more definitive answer, he turned to the only remaining girl in the group.

"Why are you looking at me?" Rika asked with a tone of annoyance and an expression to match.

"Eh? Well ummm… I was just thinking… that ummm…" The gogglehead rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Right… Rika probably wasn't the best person to ask. "Nevermind."

"Hmph… You're clueless Gogglehead." Rika increased her pace and broke away from the rest of the group. Behind him the mop-haired boy could hear Kazu and Kenta chuckling again.

"Great, now why's she mad at me."

"Forget about it dude. It's Rika, she's always mad at someone or something. It's like she has a daily quota or something."

Henry and Ryo wisely chose to stay out of that conversation. Henry because he wasn't sure anything he could say would help, and Ryo because he was more occupied with familiarizing himself with the new cards Takato had given him. A deck centered around Veemon, obviously a product of the boy's fandom of the second season. Ryo grinned inwardly at the irony.

"Partners again huh?"

No sooner had Ryo completed that thought did the group reach the main room. A loud cheer went up as dozens of people recognized the face of the infamous Legendary Tamer who responded in a casual wave. A few more were whistling at Rika, she promptly ignored most of them, but couldn't help but smile when she saw he mother and grandma in the first row.

"Wow… look at all the people." Jeri was in awe of the size of the crowd.

The brown haired girl suddenly felt really silly with the sock puppet still sheltering her hand and pulled it off. Glancing over to her side she was relieved to see she wasn't the only one feeling out of place. Takato looked so stiff that he might break the second he tried to bend a limb.

On her other side Henry was flushed as well, although that might have more to do with the fact that Kazu was hollering like a mad man, basking in the glory of the attention that was obviously meant for Ryo.

As the children set themselves up the matches finally began. Not surprisingly most the Tamers used cards based around their real world partners except for Takato and Ryo. The former decided on using Agumon, partner to his hero, and the bases for Guilmon, while the latter used a borrowed deck based around Veemon. Again, Ryo felt a twinge of irony.

About halfway through the match a very audible groan sounded throughout the area. Something irked the audience and the Gogglehead eagerly glanced around to see what it was. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Rika, Jeri, Kenta, and a stranger being escorted out of the main room.

"They're finished already? Wow."

Ryo smirked. "Those two are really amazing, huh?"

"You said it."

Slowly more and more people exited as the matches ended. Finally Takato and Ryo finished. Henry and Kazu was still doing battle with another pair. It was easy to tell who had the upper hand with the Visor boy already doing his pre-victory dance. It would be over in another minute. Discreet was never a big part of Kazu's vocabulary.

Now that the first round was done to clear out all the riff-raff, the next matches would take place in succession, which meant Takato and Ryo probably had some time before they were needed again. This of course begged the question, should they go can comfort Kenta and get to know his partner perhaps, or congratulate Jeri and Rika on their speedy victory. The two traded glances, almost reading each others minds.

"Jeri and Rika it is."

Now when Takato got back outside, he was expecting a lot of high energy. Smiles, laughing, you know, stuff you usually do when you thump an opponent. Rika at least had made it very clear in the past she liked to win, and who doesn't. This made the scene in front of him rather confusing. Jeri was slumped against the side of the building with Rika resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Ooookay I know they had to thump Kenta to win…" Takato started, turning his gaze to Ryo momentarily. "But I don't think they should be that upset set over it. I mean, Kenta gets whipped all the time. You should see what Kazu does to him sometimes."

While Ryo tried to think of something to say, his fellow Tamer stepped forward almost as though he was being drawn. The Legendary Tamer hung back, although he couldn't pinpoint why. Something about the situation maybe, it was making him feel out of place, like he didn't quite belong. Once glance in Rika's eyes and he figured he had a pretty good idea of what happened, although how that was even possible was beyond him.

"Gogglehead! Good you're here."

Takato raised an eyebrow. It was odd for Rika to accept the boy's presence without some kind of playful remark, and stranger still, did she really just sound… relieved at his arrival?

"Hey Takato." Jeri said, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "Did you win?"

"Huh? Well, yeah. Thanks to Ryo."

"That's good... Maybe next time… you should be Rika's partner."

You could almost hear the light go on in Takato's head as he moved his gaze over to Rika.

"Hang on, you lost?"

Jeri flinched. "…"

"Smooth goggles. She's got this crazy idea that we lost because of her even though I keep telling her it's not her fault."

"What happened?" Takato asked still trying to get his head around the fact… Rika lost?! To someone other than Ryo. That's virtually unheard of.

"Kenta's new friend pulled out a card I'd never seen before, it's about as simple as that."

Well, that explains why Kenta's not here. I bet he's afraid Rika will lose it on him if she catches him.

Takato bent over, still unsure of what to say that Rika already hadn't. Fortunately someone else, who loves to talk even if it's unwanted showed up, and no, it was not Terriermon.

"Kazu and Henry, in the house, kicking butt and taking names."

The door to the stadium flew open as Kazu rushed outside followed by Henry who was traveling at a much more normal pace.

"Hey chumly! Looks like you passed too. And ladies, you guy-er, gals were done in like five seconds. Way to show'em how it done."

Takato spun around and began flailing his arms trying to signal Kazu to stop talking or at least break his train of thought. The machine man Tamer didn't pick up on the intent.

"I mean, I've seen battles end quick before but to be done that quick must've been a total execution. I guess having your family in the audience must've been a sweet incentive. Hey Takato why are you waving your arms like that?"

The gogglehead sighed haplessly and smacked himself in the forehead "Kazu…"

"What?"

"Actually, Rika and Jeri lost." Ryo explained, hoping Kazu would clue in and drop the subject.

Unfortunately, Kazu picked today to be particularly inept.

"Eh? No way, they were facing Kenta. I could beat him if I was blind, deaf, bound and gagged, and hanging upside down."

"Eee" Immediately the gogglehead turned to Jeri, just barely noticing Rika brushing past him. It looked like she was on a death march aimed straight at the Visor child. "Ahh, really, Rika he didn't mean it. I mean, everybody get lucky once in a while.

"Somehow, Takato, I don't think you meant to phrase it like that." Henry murmured quietly.

Rika paused, glancing back at Takato. "I'm really not good with this stuff so… I think I'll leave Jeri to you. I'll be going for a walk."

"Uhh Rika…" Acting on impulse, the mop haired boy took a few steps as if to follow her, before he remembered he still hadn't dealt with the other half of the problem. "Jeri…"

Takato glanced at Henry with a somewhat pleading expression. The half Chinese Tamer understood loud and clear and went to follow Rika. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her, actually in his own mind he felt perhaps she would be better off working this out for herself. Then again, it couldn't hurt to check.

"Man, guess I got off lucky, huh?"

Henry did a double take before he realized he was being followed. "Kazu? You realize I'm going to see Rika right? Are you sure following me is a good idea."

"Dude, we're partners for about another few hours. I'll be right behind you." The boy replied, inching back a little just for good measure.

"Riiiiiight." Henry rolled his eyes trying to keep himself from smiling. "Still you might want to keep it down a little when I see her."

"Done and done." The child replied as the boys resumed walking. "…Hey Henry."

Henry glanced back. "…?"

"Hey, do you think Rika's mad. I mean, I know she's a little frustrated but she kept it together pretty well when she was with Jeri."

Henry nodded. "Jeri was likely the reason she 'kept it together'. If Rika lost her temper, it would negate everything she said about it being alright and Jeri would feel even worse. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Rika is actually really angry."

Kazu nodded, silently impressed by that insight. "Okay… but then why's miss Katou taking it so hard. She not exactly a Digimon fanatic and she's always been such a good sport when I whoop her in track practice."

"Oh that. Jeri's holding herself responsible so she blames herself for embarrassing Rika in front of so many people, including Rika's mother, and in the first tournament they've ever seen they're daughter play in, no less."

"Dude! Rika's family is here?! How comes no one tells me these things?"

Henry sighed. "I did, when we were practicing today. You were shouting something about how you were the greatest card player in the word."

Kazu sweatdropped. "I think I've done that about five times today…. Which one… was…"

"Forget it."

Henry rounded one of the corners of the building, almost losing Rika behind the one immediately after. He had slowed his pace down so that he wouldn't catch up with her, at least not yet, he was still trying to think of something to say. His thoughts drifted about for a moment, then finally settled on something else, something that oddly had nothing to do with Rika.

"Hey Kazu?"

"What's up?"

"Has your family every come to a tournament?"

Kazu almost burst out laughing. "Man the closest my parents ever get involved with that stuff is when my dad tried to use all my modify cards as kindling on our camping trip…"

"Oh…"

"…Or when my mom mistook Guardromon as a washing machine, don't ask."

Henry sweatdropped, "I wasn't going to… Does it ever bother you?"

Kazu shrugged. "Huh? I dunno. Never really thought about it. I can't really picture my parents taking an active interest in anything I do."

"They don't approve?" Henry ventured.

"Ha, just the opposite. They think being a Tamer is the greatest thing I've ever done. It's just…" Kazu paused, not sure of how to say right. "My family isn't Takato's, or yours."

"…Or mine." Came another voice making Kazu and Henry nearly jump out of their skin. Apparently Rika had hidden behind the next corner and waited for the boys to catch up. At the moment she didn't seem to angry about being followed, heck she wasn't even looking at them. She was calmly leaning against the wall on her back, eyes to the sky in a blissful sort of way.

"Rika… We were… just talking about you."

The vulpine Tamer shifted her gaze slightly. "I heard. Why are you guys following me?"

"Were we? I didn't even notice." Henry responded quickly, averting Rika's stare. "We we're just… ummm." The blue haired Tamer nudged Kazu, pompting him for help.

"Oh… uh, just… looking for Kenta. To uhhh… congratulate him on his victory?" Kazu finished uncertainly.

Nice Kazu… real nice.

Rika frowned she could almost feel her patients snap as she pushed off the wall and face her friends in a full on glare. Wasn't it bad enough they felt they had to babysit her like some spoilt brat? Apparently not, since they felt they need to lie about it as well.

"The Gogglehead sent you after me, didn't he? What's wrong? Is he too busy looking after Jeri to stalk me himself?" The girl cried out angrily. She knew it sounded bad, but she couldn't seem to help herself. Most of her willpower was being used to not pound Kazu into the ground.

Kazu folded his arms behind his head trying to act calm. In actuality beads of sweat were beginning to form just above his brow. "Misplaced aggression much? You almost sound jealous."

Rika's glare was suddenly offset by a slight pinkish hue flooding into her face. "That's it!" Rika took a quick step toward Kazu who hid behind Henry in turn.

Once more Henry took over talking since he seemed to be so much better at it than his temporary partner. "Well… yeah. Sorry Rika, I think he just wanted us to make sure you're okay."

"Hmph. Apparently he doesn't have much faith in me if he thinks a little thing like this will get me down."

"Well, to be fair to chumly, it was the first round. And that's kind of unheard of for you."

Kazu…

Henry sighed inwardly. He wasn't making things any better and Mr. thick-as-bricks was downright making them worse. "Sorry we bothered you Rika. We'll catch you later."

Henry gave a small wave and began backwards around the stadium while Rika mentally kicked herself for treating him like a common annoyance when he was just trying to be nice. She probably would have let out one of those long forlorn sighs if Kazu wasn't still standing next to her. Actually, he hadn't even bothered to move except for some fidgeting in his pockets… Why wasn't he moving. Hadn't he yapped enough for one day?

"Can I help you with something?" Rika growled. Unlike with Henry, she had no problem displaying her mood to the visor boy.

"Yeah." Kazu responded, seemingly oblivious to the tone. Finally he managed to pull out a small book with the Digimon logo on it. A card index? "I was hoping you could show me which card that kid used to beat the tar out of you?"

"How badly do you want to get hurt today."

"Awww c'mon. If it worked on you then it'll probably work on us too right. I was hoping I could get a heads up."

The red-head rolled her eyes. As annoying as Kazu was he did happen to have a point. And while the girl may not have wanted to be outdone by Kazu, she could still root for her other friends. "Alright dingus, gimme that booklet. And make sure you pass this on to Takato too when he gets a moment."

Kazu obliged and passed it over, along with a pen so Rika could circle the card name and number. But after a few minutes of nothing happening he decided to take a seat.

"Ahhh, I don't mean to be rude but is this gonna take long. I gotta go find check to see if we're up first in the second round."

"If you are, Henry will find you so don't worry." The girl grunted. "…I… Can't seem to find it…"

"What, the card?"

"What else would I be looking for?"

This time it was Kazu's turn to roll his eyes. "Well maybe the card is magical like the blue card and just randomly appears."

A low growl. "Listen dorkus. I called the judge over to check and see if the card was real. It was in his index, between these two effect cards." Rika flipped the book around to show him where. "Maybe your book is just out of date."

"Not possible girly…"

Did he just call me-

"I got that book yesterday. Use up me whole allowance… and some of Kenta's but don't tell him that. Err anyway, I got it specifically so that this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Any card that exists is in there. Maybe you're just missing it."

Kazu glanced up at Rika as she scanned the pages again, this time going through the whole thing. Finally she tossed it back at him and rested her hands on her hips.

"Well sorry to tell you this but then that card doesn't exist… Your little booklet isn't accurate."

Kazu grunted. Normally he didn't have a problem with being wrong. Heck he was so good at it he practically made it an art form, but he was positive he was right this time. "I told you it is. It even has that new limited edition HiAndromon card that came out last week it's the newest one you can get and the exact same one the judges are using…" Kazu and Rika exchanged glances. "…It's… really not in there is it… What's going on here?"

"…" Only a select few ever got to see Rika looking like anything else than stellar, and now at long last, Hirokazu Shiota had been added to that list. "I don't know, but I think we should check it out."

"Right, I'll get Takato." Kazu turned to run only to get yanked back by the shirt collar. "Huh? Hey! What gives?"

"Takato is probably still with Jeri and you're not going to ruin their little moment. We can handle this by ourselves."

Kazu blinked, unsure he had heard Rika correctly. "We… as in you and me?"

"Who else is around?" The girl responded becoming increasing impatient.

"Err well it's just. I'm usually the last person you want to do anything with… This going to be so cool!"

Rika slapped her forehead. Oh good lord what have I done? I hope the gogglehead appreciates this.

"Look. Me and Renamon can handle this by ourselves, the only reason I'm inviting you is in case I need a diversion."

"Say no more, I'm your man."

Again, Rika sighed. "Not even in your dreams."

A/N: Alright the tournament was suppose to be all in one chapter but as you can see things arn't working out that way so i can't say too much without givin everything away. Ummm, ya, Rika and kazu, never would have thought, would ya? I hope it was too ooc, that would Jeri being depressed bit I'm really unsure about. Take care all.