Chapter 7
"This is all wrong," Tai argued. "You have the wrong people." He stood at the door to the jail cell, gripping the metal pole until his knuckles turned white.
A Deputymon sat at his desk with his feet up and arms behind his head. He watched the three with great interest.
Agumon slouched against the wall beside Rika. The dinosaur sent her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure Matt will have us out of here in no time."
Rika rested with her knees to her chest. One arm wrapped around her legs, the other holding her bleeding shoulder. Rika had known the trip to the Western Village was going to be a trap. She had felt it in her gut, especially with how eager Sora and her friends had been to get her there. She refused to acknowledge Tai or his partner and continued to stare at the dirt flooring to the jail cell.
"This is a misunderstanding," Agumon said, trying his best to cheer up Rika.
"It has to be. Why would Ryo want Rika arrested?" Tai wondered. He called once more to the Deputymon to let the three go before giving in and joining Rika and his partner. "This must look incredibly bad, huh?"
Rika shrugged. Tai sighed. "We will get out of here, Rika." He pulled Rika's hand from her shoulder and assessed the wound. Without another word, he retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed the wound gently. "You've been pretty beat up."
"I've been through worse." Rika avoided his eyes.
"I doubt that's true."
"I'll go through worse once the Emperor catches me."
Tai frowned. "We won't let the Emperor take you." Rika snorted. Tai dropped the handkerchief in her lap and left out a long, exasperated sigh. "Why won't you trust us?"
Rika took the bloodied handkerchief and balled it into her fist, ringing the warm blood into her hand. She watched as it dripped to the dirt floor. Drip after drip. She felt Tai and Agumon's patient eyes watching her, waiting for an answer.
After a few moments, she sucked in the lump in her throat and answered the boy and his partner. "I won't trust you new Tamers because you have done nothing but lead me into trap after trap since my return to the Digital World."
"That's not tr-" Agumon began to argue. Tai held up a hand to interrupt him.
Rika continued, ignoring Agumon. She spoke quickly and franticly, almost as if the words were bile and she needed to let them spew. "When we arrived, Sora shows up out of nowhere, leads us to a village where some dumb red Digimon knew me but I didn't know him. He kicked us off his land and the Emperor shows up. He tells me that I'm wanted, and we have no idea why.
"We get ambushed time after time and then attacked by Takato's stupid dinosaur only to find out that the stupid dino was brainwashed to attack me. Then we continuously become ambushed by Stingmon and the Emperor and I continuously get the crap kicked out of me all the while dealing with Henry's dickishness and Sora's recent bitchiness. And the worst part of all, I knew coming to this dumb Village was going to be a trap. I knew it. I called it. Oh, and we still have no freaking idea why Shinjuku has sinkholes!"
Tai sat silent, absorbing Rika's words. He couldn't fathom how Rika could even remotely suggest his friends were to blame for anything other than trying to protect her. With his mouth agape, he continued to sit there and nod his head trying to make sense of it all.
Agumon was the first to speak. His voice sullied with hurt. "If we weren't trying to protect you then why wouldn't Sora have just given you to the Emperor the first day you came to my world?"
Rika choked on a laugh. "I don't know? You kept saying we just had to come to this stupid village and that Ryo wouldn't like it if I got hurt. I guess your stupid friends wanted me for Ryo or something."
"It's not like that!" Tai found his voice and felt furious with the accusations. "We wanted to bring to you the Western Village because it's where Ryo asked us to meet up with him."
"Yeah? Meet up with him so I can get thrown into the slammer? Do you get brownie points with the Emperor for tricking me?"
Tai stood; his hands balled into fists. Rika stood with him, their noses practically touching. "You are unbelievable. Why would I get myself locked in here too then?"
"Call your boss and ask him?"
Tai felt rage overwhelm him. He had never been tasked with dealing with such a difficult person before. To him, she should be grateful that there were people trying to help her. Rika obviously didn't see it that way and it infuriated him. His fisted hand shook, and he raised it threateningly toward Rika, ready to continue the argument.
Fear promptly flashed through her eyes. She flinched and stepped backwards, her back slamming against the concrete wall that housed them in. The moment of panic that crossed her face showed Tai just how vulnerable and frightened Rika actually was. He sighed, dropping his fists to his side.
Rika's violet eyes were glossy. It was a defenseless side of Rika that Tai hadn't ever seen before. Her words registered in his mind and he sighed. "I'm sorry. I can understand how this all may seem like everyone is against you. I can promise you that we really are here to protect you from the Emperor."
Rika didn't budge. Her back stayed pinned to the wall, her eyes locked onto Tai's, almost in expectance of Tai lashing out. Agumon stepped between the two and looked up at the redhead. "Tai is telling the truth. We are here because Ryo asked us to protect you."
Embarrassed by his actions, Tai stuffed his hands into his pants' pockets. He gave Rika an apologetic look. "We are just as confused about the Emperor as you are. Please, stop making us your enemy too."
The redhead nodded and said nothing. She slumped back down to the floor. Agumon patted her head. "We will protect you."
"Just trust us," Tai practically pleaded.
"How very touching," the thick Texan accent Deputymon said. The Digimon wiped away an invisible tear. "Unfortunately, I'll be letting you out."
Tai was at the door before Rika could even stand. "Finally realized your mistake?"
The Deputymon grunted. He opened the door and stepped aside. "Digimon King's request."
The three made their way out of the sheriff's station, after being met with many apologies from Starmon, and onto the busy streets of the Western Village. Village, in Rika's opinion, was an inappropriate name from the metropolis that the area was.
The street was filled with American-style wild west housing, shops, and saloons. Hundreds of Digimon filled the streets going every which way. Some in a hurry and some sightseeing or window shopping.
Tai led Rika and Agumon down the busy street and past a shop selling digi-core, whatever that is, Rika thought. Another shop sold very human-looking clothing. The smell of freshly baked pastries wafted into Rika's nose causing her stomach to rumble.
They pushed past a group of Digimon, of which Rika had recognized them from her cards. A Veemon, Gomamon, Palmon, Armadillomon, and a Hawkmon. All five glanced her way and quickly began discussing something incoherent.
Agumon noticed Rika's fretted expression. "Ignore them. Besides, Western Village is a safe zone."
Rika nodded and continued behind Tai. She looked back to the five, but they had vanished.
Tai, Agumon, and Rika stopped at the steps of a boarded up, rotten floorboard saloon called The Data Field. Tai turned to face Rika. "This is where we are going to stay for a couple of days."
"Sure."
They headed inside. The exterior of The Data Field did not match the interior of the place. The saloon was decorated to look like any typical bar in the real world.
A Rockmon stood guard at the door, acting as a bouncer to the saloon. Two pool tables, both being used by several Gazimon, lined the wall to the left of the entrance.
Straight ahead was a counter nearly the length of the bar with about a dozen different draft spouts with a Digitamamon and a LadyDevimon bartending. Two Goblimon sat at the counter, sipping away on their frothy beer.
Tai and Agumon made their way to the right where a bunch of tables and booths occupied the remainder of the saloon. Takato, Jeri, and Guilmon occupied a booth. Several seats away, Sora and Henry shared their own with Piyomon and Terriermon. Kazu, Kenta, Matt, and Gabumon were nowhere to be found.
Tai indicated to the booth behind Takato's and the three sat down. "Where's Matt?" Tai asked Takato.
Takato shrugged. "Left with Kazu and Kenta."
"Most likely to meet with Ryo," Agumon suggested.
"I thought Ryo was meeting us here," Rika stated.
Tai frowned. "He is, but I'm assuming he was delayed."
Rika groaned internally. Of course he was.
"Why were you thrown in Digi jail?" Jeri asked Rika.
Rika rose a brow, "wanna guess?" Jeri's face went pink with embarrassment. She had already known the answer. Rika sighed. "Ryo let us out. A misunderstanding apparently."
"How come they allowed you guys into the village?" Tai asked.
"We pretended that we didn't know Rika," he answered.
Rika rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."
"He's kidding," Jeri grinned. "Matt called Ryo who straightened up this mess. He asked Matt to go meet him somewhere."
Rika felt a sense of relief knowing that Ryo would be joining them soon. She glanced over to Sora and Henry, whose foreheads were nearly touching while in a discussion. A knot twisted in her gut. She quickly looked away.
LadyDevimon approached the table. She placed a hand on her hip and wore a scorn look on her face. "Tai, you know she isn't welcome here, don't you?"
Tai rolled his eyes. He was tired of hearing it. "Dee, she has been pardoned by the King."
The LadyDevimon named Dee sneered at that. "A human will never rule the Digital World. None of us have pardoned her."
"She hasn't done anything wrong," Agumon groaned.
Dee shot him a look. "You know that isn't what the rumours are saying."
"They're just rumours," Tai said. He brushed his hair back in annoyance. "Bring us some drinks, please."
She was ready to retort but thought better of it. She turned and stalked away to her bar.
Tai looked to Rika, "sorry."
"Now what rumour is circulating?" Rika asked.
Tai and Agumon exchanged looks. Tai leaned in close to Rika, careful to not be overheard. "That you're married to the Emperor."
Rika grumbled. She slunk into her seat and crossed her arms. "I'm sick of all this Emperor drama."
"So are we," Takato admitted. Rika shot him a look. "Sorry, but we are. This has been ongoing since we came to the Digital World."
"I can't help it!" Rika growled.
Henry and Sora joined in. Henry said, "yeah, you can. You know who he is, Rika. The sooner you fucking tell us, the sooner we can figure out what the hell is going on in Japan!"
"I'll tell you what she knows," Dee said. She had returned with drinks for everyone, except for Rika. She smirked at Rika's annoyed look. "She's married to the guy and she's the reason my husband was enslaved and then murdered."
"Dee." Tai warned.
Dee glared at Rika, ignoring Tai's authoritative tone. "I don't want this disgusting human in my bar."
Rika squeezed her way past Tai out of the booth. Dee took Rika by the shoulder and swung her around to face her. Rika's height barely made it past Dee's chest, making her look rather small compared to the LadyDevimon. "Fine. I'll go to my room."
Dee bent over so their noses were touching. "The room is above my bar. Like I said, you are not welcome here."
"Dee. She is my guest." Tai warned. "And she has been pardoned by the Digimon King. I suggest you allow her to stay before we need to involve him."
The LadyDevimon's eyes blazed with annoyance by the threat. "This is my bar. Either she leaves or you all do."
Rika grabbed her backpack. "I'll gladly leave this dive of a bar." She swept past the LadyDevimon and made her way to the door.
The Rockmon bouncer outstretched his arm, blocking Rika from exiting the saloon. The Digimon looked down at her in pity.
Rika attempted to go around. Rockmon stopped her. "I'm trying to leave the bar, man."
Rockmon leaned down to her eye level. "There are Digimon out there wanting to harm you." The Rockmon looked at Dee, who simply shrugged a 'not-my-problem' and moved back to her bar. He scowled.
"Thank you for your concern, big guy, but they'll protect me." Rika thumbed Agumon, Guilmon, and Terriermon. All of whom had not gotten out of their seats.
Takato darted his eyes to the humans and back onto Rika. "Sorry, but we are all exhausted. It would be nice to stay in a bed tonight."
A knot tied in Rika's gut. "You are all staying despite me being kicked out?"
"I doubt anywhere would allow you to stay," Henry said. "You're hated everywhere Rika."
She glanced to all the Tamers. They all refused to look her way. The knot tightened. "Tai?"
"Agumon and I will protect you." He stood to leave, catching the attention of the LadyDevimon.
Dee shouted across the Saloon to Tai, "you leave then the whole group of you leave."
Tai cursed under his breath.
Henry shrugged. "If we try somewhere else, we will just end up with the same problem. I vote we all stay. Rika can sleep in the streets."
"What about the Digimon outside that want to hurt me?" Rika pleaded.
"Henry's right," Sora said. "Besides, it's a safe place. We aren't allowed to fight in the Western Village."
Rika looked incredulous. "Tai? You kept saying that Ryo doesn't want me hurt."
Tai shook his head, unsure of what decision to make. He ran a hand through his hair. After a moment of deliberation, he plastered an apologetic look on his face and said, "I'm sorry, but they do have a point. We would just be arguing at every place we go to. This Village is a safe place. No Digimon would be allowed to harm you here."
The knot in Rika's stomach twisted to the point where she felt nauseous. "Fine." Rockmon continued to block her path, unsure if he should let her go out alone or not. "I'll surivive, big guy. Besides, I apparently deserve whatever happens anyway."
The Rockmon once again glanced to Dee with an imploring look in his eye. Dee ignored him. He slouched in defeat and withdrew his hand, letting her pass.
"No Digimon is going to harm you, Rika." Tai assured her.
"Fuck all of you." She left the Saloon.
While in the saloon, the day had turned to night and the air was chilly.
Rika slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed in no specific direction in the Village.
The atmosphere during the evening was far different than the day. There were far fewer Digimon walking around the Village. Heavy music and chatter filled the air from nearby restaurants and other saloons. Most of the shops were closed for the day.
The redhead kept her eyes peeled for any potential threats, however, after an excruciating long time of aimlessly walking, no Digimon had stood out to her as one. She had wondered if the Rockmon had been forewarning her of a threat outside at that given moment or just as a precautionary measure for if she were to be on her own. Regardless, she didn't feel unsafe at all.
Rika found herself standing at the bridge they had crossed when they arrived at the Western Village. The chilly air was calm and quiet on the outskirts of town. She glanced around, looking for a comfortable place to sleep for the night, and spotted a cave just below the bridge.
Making her way down on slippery rocks to the cave, she stumbled on a rock, slicing her hand open. She cursed under her breath but managed to finally plant both feet on the ground. The water from the small river splashed aggressively against her feet, soaking them within moments.
Upon entering the cavern, Rika was surprised to see that it was much larger than she had expected. Light was emitting from down the cavern. Curiosity took hold and she blindly made her way through it.
Her cut hand was held against her stomach and the other on the cool wall to guide her through the dark place. As the space between her and the light closed in, voices echoed down the cave.
Rika immediately halted to listen.
It was definitely a human's voice. Female. Rika couldn't make out what she was saying so she inched closer, careful not to alert the other human.
"I don't understand why we have to hide down here." The female's voice whined.
Another voice sounded annoyed, almost as if she had listened to the same complaint on repeat. "It's for tonight. Ryo will be here tomorrow."
Rika's heart flipped. Blood rushed to her cheeks. Ryo? So, Tai's group was telling the truth…
The girl groaned. "He could have put us in a hotel or something."
"It's for one night, Mimi." A male's voice replied calmly.
"What if there are bugs down here?" Mimi asked.
A sigh from the male. "There are no bugs in the Digital World, Mimi."
"There could be."
"There aren't," the other female said.
A different male voice joked, "there might be!"
Mimi screeched.
"Gomamon!" The male's voice was exasperated.
Rika made her way closer to get a look at the other humans but stopped once more when she heard her name.
Gomamon said, "Palmon and I saw Rika today."
Palmon hummed. "She looked beat up."
Rika rolled her eyes.
"She must be terrified." Rika barely caught Mimi's whisper. "I don't understand why we can't just take her back to the Real World."
"Ryo won't let us take her back," Gomamon said. "Joe asked."
"I don't get why not." Mimi said.
Joe sounded disgusted. "Because it's apparently safer here than in Shinjuku. The Emperor is causing the sinkholes by building his stupid empire here."
"Ryo said that the Emperor has awakened the D-Reaper that was lying dormant under Shinjuku." Gomamon explained.
I was right about the D-Reaper, Rika thought.
Mimi scoffed. "We all know that Gomamon. I still think that the Real World is safer. The Emperor will keep hunting her here."
"Unfortunately, it would be much worse there. At least here, we can protect her." Palmon assured Mimi. "Ryo said the Emperor purposely awakened the D-Reaper because of Rika."
Rika's heart raced. She was almost certain they could hear it beating against her chest.
Gomamon chuckled. "She really pissed that guy off, eh Joe?" Joe grunted in response, apparently not finding that funny at all.
"I guess." Mimi said, defeated. Rika wanted to thank her for caring. "Why do we have to hide though? Like why she can't know we are watching out for her from the shadows."
Gomamon answered. "He's turning people against her. Look at Sora."
Sora? How would they know?
"And their other friend, Henry." Joe said. "Izzy is working on a way to reverse the virus."
Virus? What the hell is Ken up to? And why didn't Tai tell her that he knew they were infected? Rika grit her teeth. She hated herself for hating them when it wasn't their fault to begin with. Could it be the same virus Guilmon was infected with?
She rested against the wall thinking over the entirety of her trip to the Digital World. Henry was infected immediately after being at Elecmon's place. Was Elecmon somehow involved? But why only Henry? And Sora changed right after she was captured by the Emperor.
Another voice echoed down the cave. It was Tai's coming from a radio. "Joe? Mimi?"
"We're here," Joe replied.
"Rika wasn't allowed to stay at the saloon." Tai said.
"Figures," Mimi mumbled.
Tai sounded annoyed. "Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and Veemon were supposed to be watching her."
"They weren't?" Joe asked. To the group he said, "man, just when we got a break…"
"No. They were at Sandstorm Saloon for a drink. I guess they assumed Rika would be alright with Agumon and I." Tai admitted. "Rika wasn't welcome there. I couldn't leave without Dee kicking the rest of the group out."
Gomamon huffed. "I'll give Dee a talkin' to."
Rika grinned.
"Can you go look for her?" Tai asked.
Joe answered, "she will be fine, though. Western Village is safe."
"I'm not worried about anyone harming her. I'm worried about her harming herself."
The group shuffled uncomfortably.
"What do you mean?" Joe asked.
There was a slight pause before Tai replied. His voice faltered a bit. He sounded sick. "Rika's mom called Takato to check in. She's worried about her. Apparently, the morning of the day she came back to the Digital World, she had attended her grandmother's funeral."
Author's note: The next chapter is going to be dark. I promise you that it'll explain why Rika is hated and what the Emperor's involvement is. And yes, look forward to Ryo finally showing up! Please read & review. Thanks!