Digimon Tamers: Rika's AU

Chapter 25: A Haunting Plan

It was the final day of school before they broke up for Christmas, it was the 23rd actually so tomorrow was Christmas eve. During first break, we find Takato running around the hallway in a panic. He heard from the students that Rika was in a huge fight with Jessica. As Takato ran around a corner, he found Rika and Jessica fighting in the hallway with a crowd of children watching. Takato had to break up the fight before Principle Yamaki found out about this.

"S-Stop fighting! If Principle Yamaki sees this, you'll get into trouble!"

The girls weren't listening to Takato, just then he began to watch their fight; he somehow found two girls fighting on the ground, rolling and kicking and even biting and scratching to be a little… mesmerising. Soon he just snapped out of it in time and got an idea, he quickly points to one of the three different hallways that split off from this hallway.

"LOOK PRINCIPLE YAMAKI! RUN!"

All the children bought Takato's bluff as they quickly ran into multiple directions, including Jessica; Rika got up looking really mad as she tried to chase after Jessica; but then Takato quickly grabs Rika's arms. "Lemme at her! She's so dead!"

"Just forget it Rika! Don't make Yamaki mad on the last day of school!"

"Screw that! Killing Jessica will be worth it! Now let me go!"

"Calm down!"

Just then, Takato heard footsteps over Rika's enraged struggling, he couldn't take any chances. Suddenly Takato quickly let go of Rika's arms as he quickly grabs Rika's waist surprising her; in a split second, Takato picked up Rika and swung her over his right shoulder and ran off in the opposite direction with her looking like Takato was kidnapping Rika. "W-WHAT THE HELL!? PUT ME DOWN!"

Who entered the hallway was actually Kazu and Kenta, not Yamaki like Takato thought. "Oh man, I thought there was a chick fight going on." Said Kazu looking upset.

"Must've ended." Said Kenta. Both walked away feeling disappointed

Later, outside the school on the grassy hills; Rika who had finally calmed down was eating the rest of her sandwich; she looks to her left and notices Takato who was also finishing his sandwich. As Takato turns his head to look at Rika, showing the bright red hand shaped mark across his right cheek she had left on him for kidnapping her.

"… Now… have you learned to never grab a girl like that again?"

Takato flinched slightly. "Yes Rika… sorry Rika… but I had to get you outta that mess otherwise you would've gotten into serious trouble with Yamaki."

"I know…" Rika did feel somewhat bad for hitting him, seeing as how he was only trying to help her, but she wasn't ready to admit it.

"Well on the bright side… I managed to calm you down by letting you slap me… but…" Takato rubbed his cheek slightly. "Ow… man… when Kazu said a girl's slap is more painful than anything, he wasn't kidding."

"Well…" Rika sighed "Sorry I hit you too hard."

"It's ok… I panicked anyway."

Rika soon stood up and was about to walk to class until she noticed something, over the fence and quite far away, was a tall black and brown crooked house surrounded by a dead forest. A spooky looking house that's been there long before Rika was born. She remembered the times many kids would attempt to enter that house for the night but end up running out screaming about ten or twenty minutes after entering; she also remembers the times she would boast on how it never scared her, and then she would lie about entering that house at all whenever someone dared her to enter it, she then notices Takato standing up looking at that house.

"Man, that place is spooky. Me, Kazu and Kenta ran out of that place screaming."

Rika turns to Takato. "Oh please… it's not that scary… I've been in there and nothing happened." Rika was lying through her teeth, but she knew Takato was gullible. Suddenly a binary of light appeared and there was Thomas.

"Oh hey Thomas, how's the exploding chemicals experiment going?"

"It's… a blast…" Thomas then turns his attention to Rika. "Anyway, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming to my farm for a minute, I think I may have discovered something interesting about your father Jiro."

"S-Seriously?"

"Yep, so if you don't mind…"

"Uh… sure why not?" She turns to Takato. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Sure, take your time anyway, its gym that's next." Just then, Thomas and Rika disappeared in a binary of light and appeared at Thomas's farm.

In the lab, Thomas had a syringe filled with a small sample of Rika's blood he got an injection from earlier, he then takes it to a computer and scanned it. Thomas then turns to Rika revealing a huge bright red fist mark across his right cheek where Rika punched him for sneaking the injection in, and on the desk next to the computer was a few of his teeth.

"So… what's this interesting thing you were on about?" asked Rika casually, ignoring the pain she inflicted on him.

Thomas places the syringe into a machine and the machine began to scan it. "According to some resources around Hypnos… apparently your father was a Data Streamer as well."

"S-Seriously? My dad could manipulate data like you can?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how it works."

Rika looked confused, then she glared at him annoyingly. "Fine, I give up. What exactly is a Data Streamer?"

Thomas let out a smirk. "A Data Streamer is a human with data particles in their body, they can either become one through either inheritance or by living in the Digital World for more than twenty years, letting their cells slowly become digitized… we call ourselves Data Streamers because of our ability to stream data through our bodies giving us unique abilities or heightened physical and mental capabilities."

"So like in your case, healing or altering codes right?"

"It's specifically called Recoding. Every Data Streamer has a unique ability, no two can have the same power unless they are related. So I called you over to see if you inherited your father's power. It'll take a minute or two to figure out the results."

Then there was silence, Rika couldn't believe this, her father was the same type of human Thomas is, those capable of manipulating data, and Rika remembers well on what Thomas did during the great Skullmon war, healed himself from a fatal stab wound and even healed Viximon. Though it was just healing, he also made his high-powered shotgun have infinite ammo and was capable of splitting it into two smaller shotguns, she felt a little excited actually having some kind of super power. But as Thomas said, she won't have healing or code alteration.

A small 'ding' sound came from the machine and out appeared a holographic screen over the machine, Thomas began to read what the screen said. "Hmmm… interesting… very interesting."

"Um… what's up?"

Thomas then turns to Rika with a slightly surprised look. "Apparently your father actually had two abilities."

"T-Two? … What are they?"

"I'm not sure what the first one is, it's too sophisticated to decipher, but the second one is telepathy."

"Telepathy?"

"The ability to read minds… as it turns out, whilst you have inherited some of you father's data blood, it's too weak to actually allow you to manipulate data like standard Data Streamers. But you've inherited your father's telepathy powers with what little data blood you have."

"So I can read other people's thoughts?"

"Yep… though you haven't properly unlocked that ability yet, I believe you'll need a kind of spark to set off your powers."

"What kind of spark?"

"Beats me… its different for each person who inherits Data Streamer powers… but that's something you're going to need to figure out for yourself. In any case I've finished your little examination so you can get back to school. Oh by the way, keep the results a little secret between us. If anyone finds out you actually can read minds, who knows what will happen."

Back in school, we find Takato outside the basketball court due to a scrapped knee and black eye; not long later Rika and Thomas appeared in a binary of light, Rika immediately noticed Takato's injuries already, feeling slightly surprised. "What happened to you?"

"Small fight with another student…one sided unfortunately… so what happened back at the lab?"

"Nothing much, not worth mentioning actually."

"If you say so…" Takato turns to Thomas. "Hey Thomas, I know you don't live here, but do you know anything about that haunted house outside the school?"

"Well now that you mentioned it, I have been given some interesting information about it from Hypnos and other Tamers. I've been meaning to check what's in there that's been scaring them off."

"Nothing." Said Rika crossing her arms. "I've been in there and nothing happened at all, nor is there anything there."

"Liar." Said Thomas with a smirk.

Rika just remembered something that surprised her, Hypnos has every piece of information about each and every Tamer, including the fact that Rika had never went into the haunted house, and Thomas was a member of Hypnos and thus, he knew Rika had never entered that house. Rika looks at Takato who was also surprised; Takato knew what Thomas was implying.

Takato looked over to the now nervous Rika. "So… you never actually entered that house?"

Rika looks at Takato nervous, then she glares at Thomas preparing to give him pain, but Thomas somehow predicted this as he stepped back slightly. "No point in lying Rika, it'll just affect you in the long run." Said Thomas. "Besides if it makes you feel any better, I never went in that house either. So if you like, we can enter that house together."

"No!"

Rika looks at Takato with a normal expression on his face, but she could somehow tell he was upset about her lying about entering the haunted house, especially since her lie about entering it and not being scared was what got her reputation of being the toughest girl in school, other than beating everyone up.

For some strange reason, she could actually tell what Takato's emotions were like even when they were neutral; she began to think if this was as far as her telepathic powers go as mentioned by Thomas earlier. Either way she felt a little guilty for lying to Takato, especially since Takato's not very good at keeping secrets, so this could spread and wreck Rika's reputation, so, she knew exactly what to do as she just sighs and crosses her arms.

"Look you two, if it'll make you feel any better… I'll go into that haunted house… only if you two promise to keep my first lie a secret… and make it so that I'm going into that stupid house the SECOND time."

Takato nodded. "Ok."

"Sure… but you gotta have someone to come with you to PROVE you entered that house." Said Thomas.

"Fine! And it might as well be you since your entering that house too." Said Rika.

"Agreed."

Takato felt a little left out. "But… what about me?"

"You chickened out last time, so me and Thomas might as well go since it'll be our first time in."

"You can come along too, but only if you're not too scared." Said Thomas sounding almost taunting.

"I won't be!"

Rika could already detect Takato was nervous, she knew Takato wasn't going to come with them. Little did she know though, was that the arrogant girl Jessica was listening to their conversation behind a wall, she soon chuckles and walks off.

Rika looks back slightly hearing this chuckle, but she just looked back to Takato and Thomas shrugging her shoulders thinking it was nothing.

The end for now

Yeah I know that was kinda short, but the next chapter is gonna be HUGE! I promise that since there's going to be a scene much bigger than the Skullmon war in chapter 25.