DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

DIMENSIONS

BOOK SIX

Tricks

CHAPTER 31

The Trick to Okinawa

MONDAY, 23RD AUGUST 2010

Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture

15:02 JST

Water softly rushed up the beach, a pleasant and calm breeze gently wafting along the beach as the sun beamed down on it from above. Various shapes of footprints found themselves in the beach, over a dozen forms making them as they walked.

"This place is paradise," Mimi noted cheerfully, smiling at the bright sunlight and contemplating how relaxing the next week would be.

"Yeah," Chiyo noted, surprisingly speechless at the seemingly perfect sight. Only a few clouds dotted the sky, which was otherwise a huge blue expanse, and the only water that wasn't blue was turned a green-like colour by the many reefs below.

"TAKATO!" yelled a figure from further up the beach. Kai was grinning widely at the sight of his cousin and what had to be the most Digimon he'd ever seen. Short of when Mephistomon had gathered a large force to attack them, of course, but they were no match for Growlmon or Seasarmon.

Takato smiled in response as Kai ran towards them, Takato smiling at the sight, oddly reminding him of Guilmon. He came to a stop in front of him, grinning widely at the sheer size of the group.

"Hey Kai," Takato greeted, nodding to his cousin in greeting.

"Kai!" Calumon cheered, floating across onto the boy's head happily. Kai glanced up, smiling, before looking about at the group as his smile dropped into astonishment.

"How many people did you bring?!" Kai asked in amazement.

"This isn't everyone either," Takeru noted jokily. "My name's Takeru, this is Kari, Davis, Tai, Sora, Mimi, Mari, and the one with the crutches is Ryder," Takeru introduced, gesturing to the various members of the ground. "Oh, and this is Rika's sister, Kristy,"

"What?" Kai asked, cocking an eyebrow at Takeru.

"Don't ask," Rika answered for him.

"Yeah, and I think you know the rest," Takeru added.

"Well, it's great to meet you all," Kai greeted. "And bad luck mate, having crutches on holiday," he added, glancing to Ryder and nodding.

"Thanks for forgetting me moron," Chiyo cursed to Takeru, who gave an apologetic look as he realised his error. "I'm Chiyo, since no-one else was going to say it," she introduced.

"Hmm…" Kai pondered, looking her up and down with a smile and going to open his mouth.

"Don't even think about it, Kazu knows where that particular road leads," Chiyo threatened, gesturing to the brunette behind her who took on an irritated expression at the mention of that event.

Kai gulped. "Point taken," he noted, before glancing across to Rika with an amused smile as he noted her slight bump. "Well, Takato, I have to say, you've done some pretty weird things but this has to be the weirdest…"

"I'd suggest you don't finish that sentence," Rika warned, shooting a death glare at the laid-back teenager.

"God, everyone is so touchy today," Kai said, rolling his eyes but continuing to smile.

"Uh, Kai, you're going to want to stand back," Ryder warned all of a sudden, Kai giving him a bewildered look as the boy with crutches glanced up periodically. Kai's smile dropped, an eyebrow rising.

"What are you talking about? I mean, I know Rika's a bit violent at times, but…"

Kai didn't have time to finish that sentence, as another redhead crashed down on top of him, a nine-tailed fox landing majestically alongside.

"We have got to get that sorted out Rey!" Realmon said, turning to see her Tamer and the crumpled form of Kai below. Rey laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head, before hearing muffled groaning from below.

"Oh, sorry!" Rey quickly apologised, standing up and looking down at Kai, who stood up, brushing the sand off his shorts and legs with a grin still on his face.

"Yeah well, thanks for dropping in. Who are you?"

"Rey Matsuki, here to blow your mind," she greeted, a hand out to be shaken. Kai gave her a bewildered look, before glancing to Takato and Rika, who nodded to confirm his suspicions.

"Yeah, this is our time-travelling daughter," Takato explained. "Don't even try to think about it, I don't even understand it myself."

"There's a reason…" Chaos noted.

"Oh, hey Chaos, still a world-hating sadistic moron?" Kai greeted, grinning at his cousin who had taken on a different look.

"Hey Kai, still a laid-back goofball who really needs to stop surfing and do something else for a change?"

"I am never going to understand this group," Mari muttered in contemplation, Ryder nodding and grinning in agreement.

Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture

20:15 JST

The light evening night was punctuated by a gentle plucking of the Shanshin by the grandfather of the Okinawa family, Wataru Urazoe, providing a pleasant background to the various humans and Digital life forms scattered through the traditional Okinawan home. Warm lights illuminated the roof, casting light down below, on calm conversations, on plates carefully cast aside, on a variety of futons prepared for, or, in some cases, or brought with, those who had come to stay. This annual holiday served as the usually quiet home's peak period, and it was far more packed than any previous year. Some seemed relaxed, but others seemed to have a deep-seeded concern, although it was unrelated to, and perhaps, alleviated by, the pleasant surroundings of the home.

"I am not a dog!" Gatomon insisted, outraged at the concept as the music stopped.

"Grandpa, we go over this every year, they are Digimon, Digital Monsters from another world, not dogs," Kai asserted.

"But he is a dog," Wataru added, gesturing to Terriermon, who looked up, surprised by the reference.

"Hey, I'm not a dog either!" Terriermon argued. A gentle, warping sound came from behind him, DarkRenamon appearing to burst his bubble from where she now leaned against the wall.

"Yes you are," she noted. Terriermon turned, his angered expression dropping as he pouted.

"I'm a bunny too!" he moaned.

"A dog-bunny then," DarkRenamon added, smirking subtly.

"Yeah, I don't know what our creators were smoking either, but yeah!" Terriermon answered, grinning.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded.

"Momentai!" Terriermon laughed.

"Hold on, why doesn't that translate?" Mari pondered, listening to the conversation intently as she sat against the wall of the home.

"See, they are dogs, I told you that Kai," Wataru reiterated.

"But Grandpa, they are not dogs," Kai added again.

"It does not matter whether they are dogs or monsters, what matters is who they are," Wataru noted, displaying his wisdom.

"But…" Kai began, but he was interrupted by the music as Wataru continued to play the banjo-like instrument, oblivious to the irritation his suggestion was causing his guests.

Mari chuckled at the conflict between Kai and his grandfather, before turning her head to face Ryder, Rey sat next to him. Currently, Ryder was not paying any attention to the dog-versus-Digimon conflict raging in the group, instead looking intently at the time device, currently in his hands instead of on the redhead's wrist.

"I still don't get how I invented this. In school, I couldn't even solder wires without having them fall off five minutes later," Ryder noted.

"Well, it is broken, so it's not a complete stretch to think it could be you Ryder," Mari said mockingly, putting her input into the conversation with a smile.

"Thanks for that," Ryder noted, returning the smile, before looking down to the device again.

"It's still an impressive device though," Rey noted, peering over at it. "I still can't believe it works in the first place, to be perfectly honest."

"Um…how does it work?" Ryder asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. "I mean, the only feasible suggestions of time travel that would be even remotely possible in the next five hundred years, if at all, always seem to require huge machines that throw particles through space and whatnot."

"I don't really know," Rey answered uncomfortably. "It just does, okay?"

"Hmm…" Ryder pondered, turning the device over and looking at the initials RM printed on the back, his own RS initials rubbed out. A set of four screws were laid into the back, giving Ryder a curious thought. "What's inside it?" he asked, looking to Rey. "I created it, maybe I can fix it?" he added.

Rey hesitated, pondering how to reply. "It's better if you don't know," she answered, snatching the device back. "Sorry," she added.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ryder said dryly, turning to Mari and sighing. "Ah well, looks like that's just another mystery to add to the list,"

"Occam's razor Ryder," Mari noted, Ryder nodding in response.

"Wish there were a simple answer to start with," he sighed.

"You live with Gods in a faraway yet nearby world that used to be in a TV series, and you seemingly can't die. What part of that was Occam's Razor designed for?" Rey asked, cocking an eyebrow in bemusement.

"Ryder, why do you need a shave?" MiniDonmon asked, bewildered by what they were all talking about. "And who's Occam?"

"Never mind," Ryder answered, sighing.

"So, TK, ever surfed before?" Davis asked, grinning to his friend.

"No, first time," Takeru answered. "And I already said it's Takeru," he added.

"Oh, okay," Davis replied. "I'm looking forward to seeing you fall off," he answered.

"Davis, last time you went surfing, you got knocked off within ten seconds," Kari said, bursting Davis' bubble.

"Heh, ten seconds?!" Kai laughed, joining their conversation. "Heh, looks like you'll both need some tutelage, and I'll be happy to provide it," he added.

"Wow, won't that be fun Davis?" Kari mocked, smirking at her boyfriend, who laughed nervously.

"Uh, sure," Takeru and Davis said together.

"Sounds like fun," Takeru said sardonically.

"Yeah, it should be easy," Davis added, each looking at each other nervously. Kari chuckled. This was going to be fun.

TUESDAY, 24TH AUGUST 2010

Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture

11:29 JST

The morning break rushed up the beach with a scouring sound, gently moving only a slight amount of sand a short distance down the long, bright strand, going out as far as the eye could see. The sand was undisturbed, only small dents in it from the feet of chairs, from the feet of people, and, of course, the feet of Digimon, in a wide variety of shapes.

Well, the beach was almost undisturbed. Apart from that bit that was being dug up by hands (both human and robotic) and by bluish bubbles, it was completely undisturbed, nature taking its course.

"This is brilliant!" Kenta whispered to Kazu, grinning widely as they shovelled another load of sand across.

Kazu sniggered, as he put a finger to his mouth. "Shush, don't wake him," he warned, the pair smiling as the sand landed with a thump.

"He sleeps like the dead," Kenta noted.

"Heh, that was a good joke," Kazu replied, laughing.

"Huh…oh, right, yeah, I get it!" Kenta replied, smiling and laughing. "I mean…I got it all the time! I was just…"

"What on earth are you doing?" a voice asked, Kazu and Kenta looking up from where they were burying a sleeping Ryder, laying on the beach in his black swimming shorts and with his crutches left nearby, to see Tai, peering down at them curiously. Agumon stood alongside, mimicking his Tamer's bewildered stare.

"What does it look like?" Kazu answered, grinning. Kenta shared his grin,

"Tai, is that a good idea?" Agumon asked, looking up to Tai for guidance.

"Well, not really," Tai answered, not sure whether to join in or not. Maturity had brought with it a reluctance to engage in activities such as this, and so Tai was…"Meh, it looks like fun, let's get digging!" Tai decided, grinning.

"Yay!" Agumon cheered, pushing his claws into the ground as he began to shovel up a heap of sand onto the boy's form. Tai quickly got to his knees, grabbing a handful of sand and adding to the pile that now covered Ryder's torso.

"Hmm, I wonder where MiniDonmon has gotten to," Tai pondered, looking around in confusion before shrugging.

"Idiots," Chiyo cursed, turning her head to the side from where she lay on a towel, sunbathing in a purple bikini, on the sand nearby. DarkBiyomon lay alongside, although she doubted she would be able to get a tan like her Tamer would be able to.

"What are they up to then?" DarkBiyomon asked, sitting up and looking across at the group of pranksters. "Oh, I see," she noted.

"I mean, seriously? Burying someone in the sand? Idiots. How have these guys ever managed anything?" she muttered, before seeing Rey and Realmon join Kazu, Kenta and Tai, at first in conversation.

"Burying Ryder?" Realmon asked, bewildered by what was going on, and echoing her Tamer's bewilderment.

"Count us in," Rey added, grinning at the concept. "Now, let's see," she pondered, bending down as her hands glowed, a relatively large square of gold illuminated brighter than the rest. She lifted her hands as the others watched in amazement, before she moved it over Ryder's form. "And, release," she said, the sand dropping over him.

Kazu grinned and pumped a fit. "Now that is going to make things a lot easier!" he noted, Kenta nodding in agreement as MarineAngemon chirped likewise.

Chiyo groaned as she watched, rolling her eyes. "Oh god, what are they doing now? Ugh, I wish that Rey would stop flashing her powers at every opportunity, it's just stupid. Pah, why is she even here from the future? If she really cares about those people in the future, why isn't she there helping them fight? And how much help is she really going to be if she hasn't even remembered that the Second Demon attacked them?"

"What if you don't?" DarkBiyomon blurted, before immediately regretting it.

"What?" Chiyo asked, turning and sitting up, looking down to her partner with a part-irritated, part-bewildered expression.

"I meant..."

"I know what you meant DarkBiyomon," Chiyo asserted. "And I'm telling you that you're wrong. I am going to do what I have planned, I'm not going all happy and sappy and becoming all goodie two-shoes, got that?" she asked, glaring at her partner. "Geez, seriously, sometimes I wonder if you're really on my side at all."

"I'm sorry," DarkBiyomon apologised. "And I will stick by you in anything, you know that."

"So why do you seem to want me to change sides properly?"

"I…I just don't want you to be hurt Chiyo," DarkBiyomon mumbled nervously.

"DarkBiyomon, you have no idea how much this hurts," Chiyo replied, placing her hands on the sides of her head. "Every day without fail, I wake up and feel painful and miserable and depressed. This crushing, endless, monotonous pain on my head…and I just want to get rid of it. And I know that the only way I can do that is to kill them all, to kill all the Angels, even if it means that I have to become friends with them first, or so they think. But I can't let them live!" she insisted.

"I know," DarkBiyomon answered. "I just wish there was another way," she thought sadly.

"Thanks all the same, I guess," Chiyo added uncomfortably. "For looking out and caring for me, and all that stuff," she added, sighing as she looked back to the burying, which had now progressed to cover Ryder's legs, with an even higher mound covering his torso.

"If you hate them, why don't you join in?" DarkBiyomon asked curiously.

"Hmm…I have to agree with you there, that sounds like fun," Chiyo answered, before her face turned determined. "But this is not because I want to be friends with them, okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, okay," DarkBiyomon answered, as Chiyo stood up, heading in their direction.

A wide-eyed Kazu began to have a nosebleed at the sight of Chiyo in her purple bikini, before an angered Chiyo kicked him in the nose and gave him an actual nosebleed, before turning to face the others. Kazu fell on his side behind her, gripping his nose in pain.

"Oh god it hurts!" he moaned.

"Right, let's hurry up and finish this, so we can bury him next," Chiyo ordered, gesturing to the nose-holding brunette behind. A smirk came to her face, as Kenta looked on nervously.

"I don't know which is worse, her or Rika," he thought.

Speaking of Rika, Kenta had little to be worried about. Although, given the opportunity, she would've still jumped at the chance to bury Kazu; she right now would've had none of the enthusiastic determined passion and hatred that normally empowered such a move. Right now, she was to be found lying on a towel, eyes closed despite the sunglasses still being on, whilst she wore a seemingly permanent frown on her face. Her hand rested on the slight bump on her belly, her mind following the now well-beaten tracks over the subject. Takato sat nearby, and Renamon watched Guilmon digging a hole for a reason that god-only-knew. Then again, given that collectively, the two humans and two Digimon there made up God, and not even they knew why Guilmon was digging, it seemed that not even that figure of speech was correct in this instance.

"Yay, I found the fish I buried!" Guilmon cheered, Rika, Takato and Renamon physically wrenching at the sight of the year old rotting-fish. Rika gagged especially badly.

"Guilmon, get that the hell away from me, you're making me sick and I sure as hell don't want to be sick again today!" she shrieked, sitting up, lifting her sunglasses and holding her nose.

"Oh, sorry," Guilmon giggled, apologising before dropping the fish back in the hole, shovelling sand on top. "See you next year," he said to it, even Renamon eyeing him strangely as he did so.

"O…kay, moving swiftly on," Takato said, breaking the bewildered silence that had descended. "Do you want to go surfing later or something?" he asked.

"You can go if you want," Rika answered unenthusiastically.

"I know, but what about you?"

"I don't care."

"But I want you to…"

"I don't care!" Rika yelled, lifting her hands and sending a flurry of sand in Takato's direction with a blue blast of wind. He quickly covered his eyes, coughing from the swarm before Rika looked even sadder.

"Ugh," Takato groaned.

"What the hell was that for?!" Chaos yelled.

"Sorry," Rika mumbled. "Just go…go and have fun, I know you want to and I know I'm just boring you," she added.

"But Rika…" Takato began.

"I just want to be alone, okay?" Rika answered. "I'm having one of those days. I'll join you guys later, okay?" she said, frowning as she looked at him. Takato sighed.

"Okay, if you insist," he reluctantly said, standing up with a frown, before moving in for a kiss. "Love you," he noted, pausing before beginning to walk away. "Come on Guilmon, we'll have to dig up all the other stuff you buried and check that it isn't going to poison the beach or something," he noted, without the humour that would normally go behind a joke like that.

"Okay Takato," Guilmon agreed, leaving his mostly-refilled hole and following his Tamer away. Renamon eyed the pair with concern, before eyeing her Tamer with even more concern, a deep frown displayed on her face, and for once being obvious to all observers.

"Oh Rika," she sadly sighed.

"Right, now, once you've swum out close to a decent wave, you climb on the board," Kai began, demonstrating with his white surfboard before looking to the other two as a wave gently lapped under his board. He didn't even need to grip onto it for balance as his board sunk below again, having mastered the element of keeping perfectly balanced even in lieu of a wave propelling him along. "Now you try," he instructed.

"Well, okay," Takeru answered, pushing himself up and nervously kneeling on the pale blue board. Hearing a splash, he turned aside to see Davis crashing off his white board into the water below. A slim smile came to Takeru's face, although it rivalled neither the big grin that Kai had at the sight nor the embarrassed grin which Davis had once he resurfaced.

"Sorry, just a bit rusty," Davis lied, scratching the back of his head. "From now on, I'll wear my goggles," he added, pulling Tai's old goggles down over his eyes before giving climbing onto the board another go.

"Why didn't you do that to start with?" DemiVeemon asked, sitting on the front of the board and watching his Tamer's antics.

"Forgetfulness," Davis answered with a grin. "Now, let's go ride some waves!" he cheered. Takeru moved into a standing position, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds like more fun, even if we will probably fall off endlessly," he agreed.

Kai chuckled. "You sure? cos it gets pretty rough out there!"

"Yeah, we've both faced a lot worse than…waah!" Takeru wailed, suddenly losing his balance and falling into the water, his board tipping over as he did so.

"Haha!" Davis chuckled, pointing and laughing, before that gesture tipped his own board over, throwing both himself and DemiVeemon into the water.

"You okay Takeru?" Patamon asked, Takeru spitting out water as he surfaced.

"Yeah, salt water tastes bad though," he answered.

"Davis!" DemiVeemon yelled at his Tamer.

"Heh, sorry about that," Davis replied, chuckling nervously.

"God, those guys are completely useless," Suzie noted.

"Yeah, thick-headed too," Mimi added.

"Yeah, I mean, who are they trying to impress?" Mari asked, looking to the pair of them rhetorically. Both shied away from the question, as Mari gave them a bewildered look. "O…kay, have I just said something I shouldn't have?" she pondered, glancing about to see Kari and the other girls lying on towels alongside them, watching the others systematically making fools of themselves. She had pondered freeing Ryder from his sandy tomb, but then again, he had been a pain when she was packing, so she supposed it served as a sort of comeuppance. MiniDonmon sat on her head, watching the scene curiously.

"Part of me wants to free him. The other part wants to see how long it is until he wakes up," the bat-dragon muttered.

"Same," Mari echoed.

"Davis is off the board again," Kari reported.

"And there goes Takeru!" Jeri added.

"Ryder's neck is submerged," Sora added, laughing at events.

"Stupid boys," Kristy noted, chuckling at the others. "Huh, that's a thought," she pondered, a bewildered look on her face as she glanced around. "Where's Rika and Takato? And Henry?" she thought.

"Okay, three, two, one and…" "TERRIER TORNADO!" Terriermon yelled, suddenly surprising the girls as he swept up a huge vortex of sand, whipping all over them. He wore a wide grin on his face as the sand settled, covering the girls from head to toe in some cases and sticking especially to where sun cream had been applied, and would probably prove hellish to get off. And this, of course, Terriermon knew, beyond the fact it would be seriously annoying to start with. This was why Henry should never let him out of his sight.

"TERRIERMON!" Suzie yelled at her brother's partner, pointing a finger in anger at the dog-bunny, who laughed so much he fell over backwards onto the sand, before sitting up for the punch line.

"Sand enough for ya?" he asked.

"That does not even make sense," Lopmon noted.

"Well then cover your eyes, cos it's time for round t…" Terriermon began, suddenly being snatched out of thin air by a large black paw. The girls breathed a sigh of relief, Mari nodding and smiling to the owner of the paw.

"He has to be the most annoying Digimon ever," Mimi noted, sighing as she brushed some sand off her arms, the grating feel against her skin being very irritating.

"I don't know which is worse, him or Gomamon," Sora pondered as she did similarly, before sweatdrops appeared on the oldest pair of girls' faces as they contemplated the same situation with a Marching Fishes attack. Yeah, both would probably be equally bad.

"Don't even make me imagine it," Palmon groaned, echoing that sentiment.

"What's happened?" Takato pondered with a frown, drudging through the sand. The bright light beaming down on him and the beach was completely antagonistic to his internal feelings, and Guilmon's ears drooped forlornly as he sadly watched his Tamer.

"Takato, are you okay?" he asked, his Tamer swiping a bit of sand out of his hair before looking down to his saurian of a partner.

"Hmm…I don't know Guilmon," he answered with a frown, looking back to where they were headed again, back in the direction of the beach.

"What's wrong with Rika?" Guilmon asked, deciding to press on the point in a different manner.

"I really don't know Guilmon. I thought it was just her usual mood swings at first, but this one…it's just different, and I really don't know why she's acting this way," he said, sighing as he glanced around the beach, the site of many a happy day. Those past few years of the Tamers visiting the paradise: of surfing; of splashing each other in the sea (which Harmony and Chaos had a habit of being a bit too competitive in); of burying a sleeping Guilmon; of laughter. Those days had always been fun, particularly as Rika and Takato's relationship developed and they began to enjoy the romantic side of the holiday more (although the girl of the two wouldn't admit to it), albeit the childish games never truly going away.

But, all of a sudden, they seemed over, right as they gained more friends on their holiday to laugh at, play with and bury. Takato had pondered many times what their lives would be like if Rika had never got pregnant, if they still had that childish innocence. And yet, oddly, it felt like a catalyst. A catalyst to develop their relationship, a catalyst to grow up. But was it too fast?

Was that what was bothering Rika? The fact she was pregnant, at the age of sixteen? A few weeks back, Takato would've thought that was the case, but he knew that wasn't the case. She had gotten past the age problem, knowing that events had happened and that they were inevitably going to happen anyway, courtesy of Rey. And she'd put past the fact she would have to care for a child too, her ever-growing bond with her newfound younger sister (despite the sibling rivalry that remained as always) demonstrating so. Rika's growing maternal instincts were shining through to some extent in that respect, even if she still had a short temper in dealing with Kristy's nuances.

So what was it then? Was it he, himself, that was the problem? "But why?" Takato wondered. "What on earth have I done? I've tried to help her out, to be there for her, to encourage her to join in and all that…have I made another mistake or something?" he puzzled, sighing in irritation. "I think I should go back," Takato pondered out loud.

"Huh?" Guilmon wondered. "But didn't Rika just tell you to go have fun?" he asked innocently.

"I know Guilmon, but she's just…worrying me, that's all," Takato answered. "I don't know what's bugging her, but I do want to help her get past it, whatever it is," he added.

"Takato, she said she wants to be alone, and I really don't think you're going to help things. Plus, I really can't stand any more of this touchy feely crap, which you'll shovel on by the bucket load if we go back again," Chaos added, Takato sighing as he came to a stop.

"I suppose so," he mumbled, Guilmon coming to a stop alongside him as Takato stared blankly at the sand below. His eyes tinted red, focusing on an object below, as Chaos reached down to pick up a solitary pebble.

"Hello old friend," he mumbled, looking at the object in his hand curiously, but with a frown, as a designer would look over his finished project with pride yet tinged with sadness that it probably isn't quite as good as someone else's.

"Takato?" asked a voice, Chaos looking up to see Henry. He quickly dropped the pebble, an embarrassed grin coming to his face.

"Um, hey Henry," he greeted with a fake smile.

"Oh, hey Chaos," Henry greeted, a frown on his face.

"Hey Henry," Takato greeted dourly, a deep frown replacing Chaos' grin.

"Takato, are you okay?" Henry asked. "You don't sound too good," he added. He'd headed away from the group to check up on two of his closest friends who seemed to have separated themselves from the rest. Perhaps it had been a mistake as it left Terriermon up to his own devices, but he knew that this was more important. Still, it would be worth keeping his trip short: Terriermon would eventually see the opportunity he now had.

"I'm fine," Takato said, frowning as he walked past Henry.

"You don't sound it," Henry added, Takato pausing and turning his head back. He sighed deeply, frowning even deeper.

"I don't want to talk about it right now, okay?" he said, unusual behaviour for a boy who would usually let out all feelings with ease. Henry frowned, looking at his old friend with concern. Something big was definitely bothering the boy if he didn't even want to talk about it with him.

"Okay," Henry answered reluctantly, as Takato turned and continued to trudge towards the beach.

Henry frowned, crossing his arms as he looked out to sea, the glistening, calm oceans clearly having no connection to whatever was troubling Takato. And Henry already knew what the problem was anyway, it was obvious that the only thing that could trouble Takato this deeply had to be his relationship with Rika, and given the change in their relationship lately with a child on the way, Henry didn't doubt that was the root of the problem.

"At least, I think it is at least. It isn't like Takato to be this closed about things unless he's really unsure about them, so…I really need to talk to him, I hate seeing my friends depressed like this." The look on Rika's face as she headed away from the group, with Takato in tow, had been bad enough, but it seemed there was something beneath it all. He pondered going to see Rika himself, but he greatly doubted he would be able to get any more out of her than Takato had, and he knew that the only being she would even remotely consider talking to about this was Renamon. Or possibly Harmony, although Rika wouldn't really have a choice in that case.

The air rippled, a black blur landing on the sand to his side with a cream object in its hand, as he casually turned to face it. "I think this is yours," DarkRenamon noted, holding out the cream and green dog-bunny, gripped by the ear in her paw.

"Thanks," Henry said with a frown, taking his partner's ear as Terriermon hardly struggled.

"Please take better care of your belongings in future," DarkRenamon noted playfully, glancing to the bunny with a sly grin, before vanishing into nothing.

"That was fun!" Terriermon cheered afterwards.

"I bet it was," Henry said, a subtle grin on his face.

"What are you implying?"

"You know what I'm implying Terriermon," Henry answered, before sighing, a frown coming to his face as he decided to ask the inevitable question. "So, what did you do this time?"

Terriermon gave the look that a small child wears when he had to admit to a prank he really enjoyed doing. "Terrier Tornado'd the girls," he said.

"Terriermon!" Henry complained.

Terriermon grinned widely.

14:05 JST

Brown pupils blinked open in the mushy darkness, only a few specks of light on the face preventing it from becoming completely black. A look of panic crossed the face, as in pain he struggled to move his feet, before realising that he'd have to resort to another option or risk worsening his condition. Pressing his arms upwards, he pushed the bulk up as it bulged, slowly moving aside before he pressed his head up into it.

The sun burst into his vision as he spat out sand everywhere, closing his eyes to clear the grains dotting them, and shaking his head to get rid of that sand.

"What the hell?!" he asked, finally speaking before he opened his eyes to see Mari sitting there in a deep blue bikini on the now empty beach, looking down at him with her soft brown irises.

"Personally, I'm surprised you didn't wake up," she noted, a slim smile of amusement on her face.

"What, did you bury me?!" he asked, a look of shock still on his face.

Mari shook her head, a smile coming to her face. "No, but Kazu, Kenta, Tai, Rey, and, most surprisingly of all, Chiyo, did," she noted, glancing over the rather large pile of sand they had assembled over him. "I'm actually rather impressed," she noted.

"Oh, thanks, so you didn't consider freeing me?" Ryder said in irritation.

"No, partly because I didn't want to spoil their fun, partly because you looked so peaceful sleeping, and partly because I wanted to get my own back after you didn't even attempt to help yesterday," she answered. "I poked you some air-holes though," she added.

"Ugh, being buried alive is not something I ever wanted to experience," Ryder said, pushing himself up and out of the sand, sitting on the sand and looking at where it had stuck to his swimming shorts, skin and hair, beginning to brush it off. A disturbing thought came to him. "Mari, can you promise me that if I can actually die and come back to life again, you make sure they don't bury me in the interval?" he asked.

"Sure," she answered, her smile not echoing the dark situation he described. He glanced around at the beach, a look of bewilderment coming to his face as he saw no-one, and only a few towels and disturbed sand scattered about to suggest they had ever been there.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Lunch," Mari answered, gesturing to his D-Vice, which he glanced to for the time.

"Holy crap, how long was I asleep?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"About three hours," Mari answered, before reaching for his crutches. "Now hurry up, I'm hungry and I stayed behind because I knew that otherwise you wouldn't be able to get up," she added, smiling as she handed the implements to him.

"Gee, thanks," he answered, Mari outstretching a hand to assist him. "Waited, but didn't consider freeing me," he noted sardonically, taking the hand and pushing himself to his feet with her and his crutches' aid. She put an arm round his shoulders afterwards, grinning widely.

"I'll help you get your own back later," she whispered in his ear playfully.

"Okay, now that makes things a lot better," he answered, with a grin, his eyes eager at the prospect. "Any ideas?" he asked, looking to her curiously.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," she answered.

It was going to be a fun week after all.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A nice, cheerful chapter there with some darker undertones. This chapter was rather fun to write thanks to its liberal sprinkling of humour, so I hope to have this be a bit of relief from the far darker edge the series has taken on. Then again, Rika and Takato's situation should still provide that emotional depth, so blah blah blah blah no one actually reads this.

Until next time…