Nobody Suspects The Butterfly
The day after the meeting Ryo and Rika got together at a park near his house for an impromptu picnic. Luckily for both of them Rika's grandmother had been home to put it together for them so they spent a good hour enjoying food that not only tasted good but was also probably good for them too; which was an added bonus. After enjoying their bento lunches they packed up what little food remained and stretched out on the soft wool blanket, side by side, to rest and watch the clouds lazily slide across the sky to form weird, occasionally identifiable, shapes. It was the sort of day for such things and much more enjoyable than remembering all the problems they'd have to deal with once they left and returned home to wait for some breakthrough. From Ice to the bad guys trying to take over the Digital World, their world was just full of problems at the moment. Thankfully Ice was mostly Henry, Suzi and Alice's problem, but that still left the bigger problem of the two for them to deal with. Thankfully they'd gotten to visit their digimon again now that the shields were up but the visits weren't long, especially since the Tamers were used to spending hours, even days over there to keep the peace and check out any problems in the area. The digimon, Cyberdramon particularly, were on edge too, especially since they weren't used to being enclosed in specified areas for so long. Digimon were generally migratory after all and didn't usually stay in one spot for long periods of time without at least going off to graze and forage. That and the fact that the present shield was only temporary meant there were a lot of digimon with itchy feet and on edge nerves to contend with. Never a good combination.
The fact that there was nothing the digimon or their Tamers could do made it that much worse. The Tamers were stuck on the sidelines for the moment, only the computer geniuses being of use as they struggled to create the perfect protective barrier. Since neither Rika nor Ryo were much more than competent in the area of electronics they were stuck playing the waiting game while their friends played with force fields and data coding. Not being able to help when it was needed was one of the worst situations Rika and Ryo had ever found themselves in and that was saying something. But if you had to be waiting and feeling sorry for yourself, it was nice to do it in a nice spot with someone in the same boat as you.
"So do you think there really are fairies and mystical creatures out there somewhere? Hiding from us?" Ryo asked as pillowed his head with his arms, content to stay that way forever if that was an option. It was a perfect spring day and he had his girl by his side, the two stretched out side by side after a perfect lunch. What more could a guy possibly want?
Mirroring his position Rika looked over with a curious raise of her eyebrow, wondering how they'd gone from silent contemplation of the weather to talking about little green men and unicorns. "Well that came out of nowhere. Why, think you saw a leprechaun among the clover, Akiyama?"
"I wish." Was his smart response, thinking of all the benefits there would be to having his own personal little green man and his pot of gold. "Last night Simon and Teddy were talking about the existence of fairies and Kei said he believed in them, if only so that he couldn't be proven wrong later if one did happen to show up."
"Ah. Yeah, that's pretty much his philosophy in life." Grinning Rika went back to looking up into the perfect blue sky, thinking absently that she'd wished she'd brought her sunglasses with her. "Kei tends to believe the worst in everyone. He says it's for our own benefit though, since we seem so much better when we prove not to be nearly as bad as he thought we could be."
Smirking Ryo wondered what Kei had thought of Jeri or Takato. Thinking the worst about them was like trying to convince yourself that Kazu really was intelligent and only misunderstood. In other words, impossible. "That reminds me, did you happen to notice what Kei was up to last night?"
"Yup, but I don't think Simon did which only amused him." Doing some smirking of her own Rika couldn't help but wonder when the young Irishman would clue in to just why Kei made him so damn uncomfortable. "I can only hope we're there when the light finally goes on. With a camera."
Understanding perfectly Ryo couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Simon, who had no idea the trouble he'd gotten himself into. Well, that's what he got for deciding to play hero and risking Rika's life, Ryo decided, trusting that Kei would go easier on the younger man. Or at least he hoped so, for Simon's sake. "Well if I miss it, you'll have to tell me all about it."
"Will do."
"Speaking of miss, I heard Tai, your dad and your step mom are leaving town as soon as the school year ends. Your mom mentioned it to me while I was waiting for you." Ryo knew that Rika had been making an effort to spend time with her half brother and that she'd grown pretty fond of the kid since he'd burst into her life. They'd only had a few months to get to know each other and Rika was just starting to be able to have civil conversations with her father. Talk about a bad time to leave. Ryo knew that Rika's dad had been talking about leaving earlier but had canceled those plans because of the trouble Rika and the rest of them were currently in. Rika had never said anything, but Ryo knew she'd been happy he'd decided to stick around longer.
"Yeah. Apparently Tai's mom's parents live pretty far away so they always go to visit for a few weeks at the beginning of summer to make up for the fact that they rarely come to visit during the school year. They live in a really rural area apparently. Tai said that t.v. reception stinks. And yeah, I'll miss him." He really was a cute little bugger, Rika thought, remembering how sad her brother had looked when he'd told her about the coming trip. She'd never pictured herself with a sibling, since her mother had always said that one of her was more than enough for any parent to deal with. Now she had a sibling and he was being taken away from her again. But it wouldn't be forever, and her father had promised to see to it that they came to visit her. Of course her father's promises tended to be about as worthless as counterfeit bills but Tai would keep in touch either way. Besides, if her father didn't follow through, she'd just sic Kei on him. Thank you, Triad connections.
"He's a good kid."
"Yeah, who knows where the hell he got it from."
Laughing Ryo shook his head. "I know. He's just like you, Rika."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is NOT!"
"IS-."
"Excuse me."
Cutting off their somewhat embarrassing and childish behavior Rika and Ryo sat up to see a boy of about five or six standing at the edge of their blanket, hopping from one foot to the other impatiently. Neither recognized the boy so they both jumped to the same conclusion, speaking in unison. "Are you lost?"
"I'm not lost! I'm not a baby!" Looking thoroughly insulted at the insinuation the little boy's lower lip stuck out in an absolutely adorable pout.
"Then what do you want?" Rika asked, wondering what on earth the kid could possibly want if it wasn't help finding whoever was supposed to be watching him. He was too young to be friends with any of her friends and he didn't resemble any of them either which ruled out a relation. Maybe he was just pretending he wasn't lost, silly male pride and all.
"I'm supposed ta deliver something to you." The boy informed them, pulling a regular sized white envelope out of the worn denim pocket on his overalls. It was somewhat bent and crumpled but it was clean, indicating it probably hadn't been in the kid's possession long. "The man said you'd pay me two hundred yen for it. You gotta give it to me first though, than I'll give you the letter."
God but it took him back, to his days when two hundred yen seemed like a large sum of money, Ryo thought in amusement as he reached into his pocket for his wallet, curious enough to pay the small sum. It was probably a scam after all.
Frowning Rika gave the boy a hard look, not liking the sound of this at all. "You shouldn't take things from strangers, you know. What if he'd been a bad person? Didn't your mother ever tell you how dangerous that is?"
"He gave me five hundred yen!" As far as the boy was concerned, that override anything his mother had ever told him about strangers. He was six years old after all, not a baby. "Besides, he just asked me to give you this stupid letter, lady. It's not like I went any where with him. He was dressed really fancy too, in a suit and everything. Thank you." The boy added, leaning forward to snatch the coins from Ryo's outstretched hand. Counting the money he slide the change into his side pocket than handed the letter over to Ryo, who seemed much nicer than the girl. "Here ya go."
Taking the letter Ryo took it out on the envelope and read it over quickly, a frown crossing his handsome face as finished, then handed it over to Rika without a word as he turned his attention to their delivery boy. "Is the man that gave you this letter still here in the park? Did you see which way he went? Was he alone?"
"He's gone now, he got into his car and left. The windows were tinted, so I don't know if he was with someone Why? Did he write you a mean letter?" The boy asked, looking wearily in Rika's direction.
Since she was cursing and swearing under her breath as she finished reading the letter he'd delivered, Ryo couldn't blame the kid for looking nervous. "Sorta. Could you tell me what he looked like? What sort of car he had?"
Giving Ryo a blank look it was obvious that the kid wasn't going to be of any help at all.
"Never mind." Reaching for his wallet Ryo pulled a couple bills out and handed them to the surprised boy. "Here, thanks for the delivery. If you see that man again, you stay away from him okay? He's a very bad person who hurts people, even kids. Do you understand?" When the kid quickly shook his head, fear in his brown eyes, Ryo reached out and patted the boy comfortingly on the head. "It's okay, he's gone remember? Just head on home and don't talk to any more strangers, even if they offer you money. Okay?"
"Okay." Backing away from them the kid took off running like the bats of hell were after him, likely straight home to hide under his bed or more likely, to get as far away from them as possible than spend all the money he'd made.
"Somehow I can't see that advice sticking in that little idiot's head." Rika pointed out dryly as she got to her feet, Ryo doing the same as they watched the kid leave. "Tomorrow he'll think this was all some great adventure and start bragging to all his friends about the bad guy and the idiot who gave him money for doing nothing but being another stupid idiot."
"He's alive and unhurt, that's all that matters." Used to being called an idiot by the love of his life Ryo took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, understanding that she was pissed off and needing to take it out on someone. "Now lets pack up what's left of our stuff, get it to the car and than head to Hypnos. It's our turn to play delivery boy and girl for Yamaki."
"Think he'll give us two hundred whole yen to do it?" Rika asked sarcastically.
"Well it never hurts to ask. Maybe I can claim my money back as business expenses. You think?"
"Wouldn't count on it."
"Didn't think so."
Heading straight to Hypnos the two were quickly brought straight to Yamaki who was surprised to see them, much less the note they carried with them. Reading the single sheet of paper twice he finally set it down and quizzed them thoroughly as to how they'd come by it and every little thing they remembered about their conversation with the boy. The news that a little boy had been involved pissed Yamaki off, almost as much as the fact that this unknown man had gotten close enough to have harmed Ryo or Rika if he'd been ordered to. Looks like he was going to have to take Kan up on his offer to have the Triad provide shadows for the Tamers, as added insurance against another attempt on any of them. The stakes just kept getting higher and higher, he thought darkly.
"So are you going to go to this meeting, Sir?" Ryo asked, not sure what he'd do in the older man's current position. The letter was a request for a meeting between the heads of Hypnos and the heads of the organization they were currently working hard to put away in jail. It sounded risky as hell and Ryo didn't want Yamaki or Henry's dad to be anywhere near these guys. They were old and computer nerds after all. They wouldn't stand a chance!
"I'll have to go to the board with this. This isn't something I can decide." Getting to his feet Yamaki gave them the once over, eyes narrowing slightly in a look of warning. "I suppose there's no point in asking either of you two to keep this to yourselves until the board makes a decision."
"Not really." Rika agreed with a faint smile that turned serious as she considered the decision before the board and her boss. "Why do you think they want to meet with you and the other head honchos? They have to know that there's no peaceful middle ground to be reached here. They can't be allowed into the Digital World and we sure as hell aren't going to let them back in as long as there's breath in any of our bodies. They've done so much research on us, they have to know that."
"Which is precisely why this puzzles me so much. They have to realize that we know how much they know about us and that we aren't about to compromise when it comes to the safety and well being of the Digital World and its inhabitants. So why ask for a pointless meeting that would only waste both our times? It would be logical to assume we'd opt not to attend for that reason but they invite us anyway, knowing the poor odds. If it's a trap than why not prove that they have something to bring to the table that would be worth us letting them have their way. You two weren't taken, which would have been the logical approach since you would have been good bargaining tools. It wouldn't be hard to have the letter delivered another way, even through the postal service. So why did they do it this way and why did they leave you two alone? Public place or not, people like them could have pulled off a snatch and grab easily enough, even in broad daylight. That wouldn't have worried them."
"Maybe they've grabbed someone else?"
Hearing the worry in Ryo's voice Yamaki shook his head, having already considered that possibility. "I doubt it. If they had they would have mentioned it in this letter as an incentive to get us to come. Also, you all have eyes watching you, even if they hadn't been able to prevent your capture, they still would have reported it by now."
"See, I told you someone was following us in that hideous yellow sedan." Rika muttered, crossing her arms in front of her as she tried to think like an evil organization. Tough, since she preferred to do her own dirty work rather than pay someone else to do it for her. Plus, she preferred to mess with heads rather than bodies. Psychological damage lasted so much longer than bruises.
"Who in their right mind tails someone in a bright yellow car that's blinding just to look at it?" Ryo demanded to know, hating the fact that he hadn't noticed the fact that they were being watched by someone. Thank God Rika had a thing about showing affection in public or he'd be in a lot of trouble right now.
"Exactly, you would never expect someone to tail you in something like that and therefore you'd just dismiss it as a coincidence. It's like Bart said in the Simpsons, 'Nobody ever suspects the butterfly.'" Rika shot back.
"Huh?"
"It's a North American cartoon series." Rika explained, since Yamaki looked pretty clueless. "Bart's a character that's always causing problems and getting into trouble for it. In one episode, he told his sister Lisa that he wanted to be reincarnated as a butterfly because no one would ever believe a butterfly could do terrible things."
"Ah." The things kids watched these days, Yamaki thought with a small sigh. Give him Astro boy any day.
