Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon
A Realm of Fear
Chapter: 01
A Digimon Tamers story by: Crazyeight
The fall air in Shinjuku had a crisp chill to it that was staved off only by the light of the sun. This created a unique blend of warmth and cold that left Takato feeling quite comfortable and energetic. Seated on the concrete steps that led to his old, childhood hideout, he played around on his digital tablet, listening to the sounds of sniffing and crunching leaves as, off to the side, a crimson-scaled dinosaur with a white belly broken only by a black hazard sign on its chest, investigated its surroundings, nose snuffling and testing for scents of all kinds, but most especially, Takato knew, that of squirrels. Breaking away from the tablet screen, he watched the dragon – a digital life form known as a digimon – smiling softly.
"Find anything good yet, boy?"
"All kinds of things," the dinosaur beamed, raising an acorn between his claws. "But I still haven't found that box of bread I buried three years ago."
"That breads as good as fossilized by now, Guilmon," piped in a voice belonging to a long-eared, rabbit-like digimon with cream-colored fur and a solitary horn on its forehead. "Either that or it's already gone on a trip through Impmon's digestive tract."
"So, you're saying I should either go to a museum to find it or check Impmon's plumbing?" Guilmon asked with a laugh. The rabbit digimon cocked his head to one side, his round, black eyes taking on an uncertain look.
"You know, I'm not so sure I like this whole thing where Guilmon is the one making jokes. Especially ones that actually land for a change."
"Our little boy's growing up, Terriermon," nodded a dark-haired boy leaning on the hideout's iron gate, reading an email on the screen of his phone. "Guess it had to happen sooner or later."
"I guess so… It's kinda creepy though. Should I start expecting Calumon to be wearing a mohawk next and wearing a leather jacket? Shaking down kids for their lunch money?"
"I'm pretty sure that's a mon that's never going to change," laughed Takato, getting to his feet. "Anyway, I'm all set, Henry. You want to have a look?"
"Sure," the half-Chinese boy nodded, closing up his phone and pocketing it. Taking the tablet, he quickly scanned over its contents, not saying a word yet. Takato drummed his fingers against the sides of his pants, a sliver of tension making its way through him as he watched Henry's reaction closely.
So far nothing yet, he thought. If it's bad, he would have said something by now, so that's good…right?
He clung hard to such hopes. If he could at least show that he was improving…
Finally, Henry handed the tablet back to him, an apologetic look on his face. Takato felt his hopes dash almost immediately.
"Still no good, huh?"
"Sorry, Takato," Henry shrugged. "I mean, you've improved, but you're trying to do too much at once. Some of the things you're doing are a little too advanced for you."
"I was just trying to follow all the advice you gave me," Takato sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his hair. "You walked me through the steps, what am I doing wrong?"
"How about you try learning to walk before you run, okay?" Henry said, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. "You've only started doing this a couple weeks ago. Start back with the basics and work on that until you've mastered them. The way you're going right now, I don't think you'll get very far."
"I guess you're right," Takato sighed, glancing at the mess of numbers on his tablet – a little piece of programming he had been trying to make of late. "Man, I really thought I was starting to get this stuff."
"You would if you could just be patient," Henry smiled. "You know, I've never asked why you want to learn to be a programmer. It kind of seems to have come out of the blue with you, and it's a little 'last minute,' all things considered."
Takato swallowed, but before he could answer, a voice hailed them from down the steps.
"Hey! Are you two on a date or something?"
Turning, the group found a familiar, redhaired girl in a dark leather jacket climbing the concrete stairs, violet eyes flashing mischievously in the autumn sun. Fluffing out his ears, Terriermon planted his tiny paws on his hips and giggled.
"Of course not, Rika! Henry's married to his computer!" Terriermon turned towards the others, giving Takato a foreboding look. "Seriously. That keyboard of his has seen things."
"How about we not talk about that?" Henry blushed while leaning down and giving his partner a tap on the head with his knuckles.
"Momentai, Henry. I was just letting Rika know she doesn't have to worry about you as her competition."
"Competition for what now?" Rika asked, climbing the last step and looking down at the digital troublemaker quizzically.
"Not what," Terriermon giggled. "More like who."
"You're lucky that I'm not in the mood to send you into orbit, rabbitmon," Rika grunted in annoyance, causing Terriermon to sit up straight.
"Whoa, hold on! First Guilmon makes jokes that land, and now you don't want to hurt me? What kind of alien invasion is going on here?"
"The kind that seems to be about messing with your mind. I…" Rika paused, glancing at Takato, who was presently staring at her, his eyes in a trance. A pinkish shade touched her cheeks and she unconsciously closed her leather jacket tighter about herself. "What's up? Do I have peanut butter on my nose or something?"
"H-Hah?" Takato blinked, shaken out of whatever it was that had captured his attention so completely. Where Rika's blush had been pink, a bright red rose up in his face and he hastily looked away. "N-No. I was just…" He paused, looking back at her. Rika fixed him with a hard stare, clearly indicating that he was to tell her what was going on or else face the consequences. "Um… Your hair. You've changed it."
Now it was Henry's turn to blink as he looked and saw what it was that had captivated Takato. The change was subtle though not discreet, knowing Rika as they did. A slight brushing of her bangs to one side. Not precisely what one would call unique, but when it came to the self-proclaimed Digimon Queen, it was an unusual style and not at all in keeping with how she normally tended to portray herself.
"Oh, yeah," Rika brushed at her bangs, doing her best to appear nonchalant about the observation. "I wanted to try something different today. So what? It's no big deal."
"I bet Takato thinks you look pretty though," Terriermon smirked, leaning forward and balancing himself on his front paws. The pink shade on Rika's cheeks darkened ever so slightly, yet she turned toward Takato with a flat stare, as if waiting for the boy to either confirm or deny the accusation. He squirmed under her scrutiny, but he didn't retreat from it. Instead, he threw on a cheesy, embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of his head as he felt the heat of his flushed face poking holes through his skin.
"It…It really does look good on you," he admitted nervously. A small smile melted Rika's face, forcing her to lose her flat, rigid stare. Her blush grew, but the pair held each other's eyes through it. Slowly, her jacket drew back and the girl's posture relaxed a little.
"Thanks, Takato," she said softly, to which Terriermon looked up at Henry, still balancing on his front paws.
"Told you it was more like who."
"I never doubted your ability to cause trouble for a second," Henry said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible while once again checking his email.
"Hey! Momentai! If I really wanted to cause trouble, I'd have said that Rika asking about whether the two of you dating was really just her wondering which of you was the top and which was the…"
"How about we stop that train of thought right there before it digivolves me into something that will hurt you, rabbitmon," Rika interrupted as she made her way over to Takato and sat down next to him.
"That's fine," Terriermon giggled. "I'll just hop onto a new train later when you're not paying attention."
"Great," Rika grumbled, folding her arms together and hunching forward. "So what are you two doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Terriermon asked, a knowing tone to his voice as he did a little cartwheel.
"Um… We're here because Jeri said she had something she wanted to talk to us about," said Takato before Terriermon's words could set off another round between him and Rika. "Did she call you too?"
"Mn," Rika nodded. "Refused to say what she wanted to talk to me about unless it was face to face."
"Same here," Henry said with a slight frown, glancing up briefly from his phone. "It was really weird. Like she was planning some big surprise."
"Ugh." Rika rolled her eyes. "Whose birthday is it this time?"
"No one's," Terriermon giggled, planting his long, appendage-like ear on the ground and using it to push himself up. "I'm sure she just wanted to make sure she could pry Henry away from his computer." He angled himself on his ear so that he was facing the half-Chinese boy. "Seriously Henry. Your seat is so conformed to your butt now, you've left a permanent imprint."
"Terriermon…"
"What? Admit it, Henry! Even I hardly ever see you away from that thing and you're my Tamer! It's like you only get away from it to take a leak or teach Takato how to be more like you, and that's kinda depressing!"
"Hey!" Takato protested, and Rika looked at the boy curiously.
"You're trying to be more like Henry?"
"He said he wanted to learn how to do programming," Henry shrugged.
"Why?" Rika lifted an eyebrow. "This isn't some harebrained scheme to get popular with the girls at your school or something, is it?"
"Oh please," Terriermon laughed. "Why would he do that when he's already got you?"
Takato suddenly found himself choking on air while Rika's eyes grew wide with shock, bright red blooming across both their features.
"I strike when your guard is down," Terriermon giggled, pointing an ear at the pair, a note of pride in his voice. "Like the shadows!"
"Henry?" Rika began, her voice thick with unspoken threats of violence. "Do you have any objections to me putting your partner in a body cast?"
"No," Henry replied, not looking up from his cellphone. "I'm sure the world will thank you for your service."
"Wha…?! Henry! Sheesh! It really is an alien invasion, isn't it? I've been abandoned by my own Tamer!"
"How about we not do anything drastic, okay?" Takato interjected as he placed himself between his two friends while behind Rika, Guilmon's head rose up, curious as to what all the commotion was and if he needed to be concerned.
"Yeah, please," Terriermon continued, grateful for Takato's intervention. "Besides, why are you so upset all of a sudden. It's not like Takatomon's going to cheat on you or anything. He's been available for as long as you have."
"You really should have gotten off at your last stop," Rika growled, attempting to brush Takato aside, only for the teen to stubbornly root himself in place. Turning her sharp glare at the boy, her violet-colored eyes narrowed to a dangerous edge. "Takato. Move. That bunnies got a date with the moon."
"Somehow I don't think that'd do anything," Takato laughed. "I'm pretty sure he's just about the only thing that could talk in space and still be heard."
"Yeah," Terriermon exclaimed before pausing. "Wait, what?"
"Please tell me that's not what insulted you," Henry sighed.
"No." Terriermon tapped his chin as though in thought. "I actually think that makes me cooler."
"I'm more than willing to put it to the test," Rika snapped, attempting to push past Takato again. "Takato, will you stop blocking me already? Why are you even bothering to protect him?"
"Because violence won't solve anything here?" Takato offered tentatively.
"Only because we've never actually tried," Rika countered. Takato's mind was racing furiously. He had never really been that good at countering the girl's arguments, especially whenever she was pressuring him with her eyes. There was just something about her and the way she looked at him – whether she was angry or otherwise – that caused his brain and mouth to short circuit and turn into a floundering mess. Still, he had one thing that he could count on to act when his brain and mouth couldn't and rarely let him down. His gut instincts. So it was that when Rika again tried to push past him, he moved and wrapped her up in a hug before he could even think about what he was doing.
Silence followed for one, long, tense minute as Rika stood there, trapped in his arms, body rigid and skin burning with warmth as strands of hair on the back of her neck and ponytail tickled Takato's face. His eyes were wide now, practically bulging in their sockets as the enormity of what he was doing came crashing down on him. While he and Rika hugged on occasion, he had never actually attempted to restrain her physically before. Yet here he was, doing exactly that, and swiftly realizing that he didn't dare let her go for once he did…she would kill him.
"Takato?" she began, her voice soft, but tense. Takato had half a second in which he noticed that her scent smelled like cherry blossoms after a storm and that her heartbeat was banging awfully fast all of a sudden. "What are you doing?"
"Um… Something really dumb," he admitted, a blush rising on his features. "Something I didn't think through."
"So I gathered," he felt Rika nod against him. "Now why aren't you letting me go?"
"I think we all know how that's going to work out if he does," Terriermon said. In his mind's eye, Takato imagined Terriermon drawing one of his limb-like ears across his throat.
Yep. I'm dead. I'm so dead now…
Over by Guilmon, he saw a golden-furred, fox like creature – Rika's partner, Renamon – suddenly phase into view next to the dinosaur, arms folded across her chest. She didn't say a word, yet looked quite amused by the sight that she was seeing.
Takato found it rather disquieting that by appearing where she did, she wanted him to see that she was amused by the whole ordeal.
"Let me go, Gogglehead," Rika said, this time no longer asking and reverting to her old childhood nickname for him – the one she used when she wanted to make sure she had his attention. Sensing the threat in her voice, Takato found himself inadvertently tightening his hold about her. He felt the heat emanating from her suddenly double in intensity.
"I'm seeing it, but I don't believe it…" Terriermon whispered, seemingly in awe. "It really did have to do with who."
"I'm serious, Gogglehead," Rika reiterated, her voice taking on an edge now, her breathing coming faster. Distantly, he felt her heart begin to pick up its pace. "Let. Go."
"Will you promise to not hurt Terriermon?" he asked. There was a slight pause in which the only sound that he heard was that of the wind and her breathing. Then came a moment where she grew tense all at once as she took a deep breath…and then came a nervous laugh.
"Not worried about yourself?" Takato stiffened as he felt her arms now rise up at his waist, hands slipping into his open coat. "Because I'm thinking you should be."
Oh no… he thought in growing horror at the sudden mischievous sound to her voice. The tense anger was gone. The nervousness was gone, and both were replaced by something else. Something that saw an opportunity present itself and fully intended to take it.
"W-Well, I kind of hoped we'd start with Terriermon and work our way down to me, but I think that's out the window now."
Oh please, oh please, don't let it be what I think it's going to be…
Rika's hands came to rest on just under his ribs, and he felt his body attempt to crawl away from her touch. Her fingers drew up like claws, pressing hard, causing his sides to jump slightly. For an instant, Takato had a mental image of a mouse caught in the claws and fangs of a big cat and was only waiting for the end to come.
"Hmmm… I'm thinking you're right about that…" she hummed playfully before a loud cough broke across their 'moment.' Turning in confusion, they saw newcomers, three humans and two more digimon of whom the latter involved a bright pink, tiny, fairy-like creature with a red heart emblazoned on its chest, while the other was a massive bucket of rust-colored android with a thick, heavy body.
"Hey, ah…" began the taller of the humans, a boy with a long, lean face, spiky hair and a wolfish grin. "If you two need to be alone or something, we'd be more than happy to oblige."
"Ugh." And just like that, Rika broke free from Takato and pushed him away. As the brown-haired boy stumbled back a step, realizing she could have escaped at any time she wanted, Rika folded her arms together and studiously ignored him in spite of her beat-red face. "Great timing. What are you doing here, Kazu?"
"I invited him," beamed a brunette girl with amber eyes as she stepped forward. "Just like I did with everyone here."
"Terrific. What are we doing, a reunion tour?" Rika asked, annoyed.
"If you want," the girl giggled, hopping up the final step to join her and giving her a sly, knowing look that Rika promptly ignored. "We could try that at some point."
"We're not going to visit the creepy tunnels are we, Jeri?" Guilmon asked, approaching her with his big, gold-colored eyes with wide worry. Takato smiled sympathetically at him, knowing that the digimon had something of a bad history with the cities flood tunnels, having been first pulled there by a random event from the digital world that birthed him. Still smiling herself at the crimson dinosaur, Jeri reached out and patted him on the head.
"Not if you don't want to, silly," she giggled before turning towards the others. "But speaking of creepy, since you're all here…"
"Huh?" Kazu piped up, looking about. "But what about Ryo?"
"He lives in Fukuoka still, numbskull," Rika growled. "He didn't magically move up here in the last ten seconds. Besides, do you really think Mr. Perfect is going to book a flight that far away just because Jeri called him up?"
"It hasn't stopped him before." Kazu folded his arms behind his head. "And what about Impmon? Or Calumon? Don't tell me he got kidnapped again."
"Why don't we just let Jeri tell us what she called us together for?" Henry said, closing up his phone and pocketing it.
"Sounds like someone is in a rush to get back to work."
"Kazu…" began the other boy next to him, a bespectacled, dark-haired youth named Kenta.
"What? I'm just saying what we're all thinking."
"More like what you're thinking," Rika sniped.
"Guys, guys!" Takato burst in loudly, a false smile painted on his face to hide his growing frustration with how little was being accomplished here. "Come on. Just let Jeri talk. She wouldn't have called us out here if it wasn't important, so let's just…listen."
"Ahhh… You're no fun anymore," Kazu grumbled, but acceded to his friend's request. All eyes turned toward Jeri, who was still smiling, and did so with a wistful look to her eyes, as though the distraction had been something of a welcome one.
"Ah… Jeri?" Takato prompted, puzzled by her silence.
"Hm? Oh!" Jeri jumped lightly, one hand wrapping itself around the other anxiously and rubbing at her wrist. "Right. Anyway, I was thinking about how Halloween was coming up and I wanted to see if everyone would like to get together for it. We hardly ever see each other for fun anymore and I thought it'd be nice to break away from everything and hang out like we used to. Plus, since we'd be on the streets, you could still patrol like usual, so…"
She trailed off as the others looked at one another questioningly. After a moment, Kazu considered his massive, robotic digimon partner thoughtfully.
"Now that you mention it, I've been kind of thinking of a costume for Guardromon where he was dressed as a flower pot…"
The rust-colored robot turned toward his Tamer with a look of concern in his eyes.
"Kazu, I don't think my circuits will mesh well with soil."
"Don't worry about it," the boy grinned, clapping his partner on his metal hide. "No dirt involved. We just need to make you look like a potted plant. Not the real thing."
"Well, that's a relief."
"Can we bring other people?" Kenta asked nervously, adjusting his glasses. Kazu snickered.
"You mean your girlfriend you keep telling me about?"
"Hey! She's real! Come on, Kazu! Don't make fun of me!"
"Of course, you can bring her," Jeri beamed. "I'd love to meet her. From everything you've told me about her, she sounds like a nice person."
"She is," Kenta nodded with a trembling smile of relief. "She's been wanting to meet you guys too, but with the way our schedules have been lately, it's been kind of hard."
The mood sobered at that, a quiet acknowledgement of the changes their lives had gone through these last three years passing between them.
"Well," Kazu grinned, breaking that silence with sudden energy. "Guess we'd better get started! Halloween's only a few days away and a costume like Guardromon's going to take a bit of work. Hey, Chumley!" He turned toward Takato. "Want to lend me a hand with your art skills?"
"Uh… Sorry," Takato replied with a touch of regret, scratching at his cheek. "I've got some things to fix first."
Kazu frowned at that before shrugging.
"Whatever. Don't be a stranger though if you find some time. Like Jeri said, it's been a while. What are you going as, Guilmon?"
"Hm?" Guilmon blinked and looked down at himself. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe I'll go as a cinnamon version of myself? Oh! Or maybe chocolate!"
"Careful," Terriermon giggled. "You get too into it, you might try to crawl into the oven and bake yourself."
"Ohhh…" Guilmon tapped a claw on his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder what that would be like. I bet I'd smell tasty."
"You're crazier than your Guilmon Bread, Chumley. All right. Smell you guys later! Let's go, Guardromon. We've got to get started on your costume!"
"Right behind you!"
As the pair clanked loudly down the stairs, Takato looked over at Jeri. "You know, maybe we should also try making this a costume contest for the digimon. I mean, since Kazu's getting into it and everything…"
"Please," Rika snorted. "We already know who would take first prize at that. Renamon?"
The vulpine digimon approached and a shimmer passed along her form. Her tail shrank into her back and her body shifted, taking on a human shape. Within seconds, the transformation finished, leaving her with red hair done up in a ponytail, a dark leather jacket surrounding a turquoise blue cotton sweater with a white heart on the chest and jeans. Except for the blue eyes, she would have passed as Rika's identical twin sister.
"How do I look?" she asked Takato with amusement. Blushing, the boy laughed.
"I think we have a winner."
"You're only saying that because she looks like Rika," Terriermon grumbled. "Just you wait! I'll beat you yet! It takes more than the ability to change your appearance to win a Halloween contest!"
"My, my," Renamon said, shifting her appearance back to her normal self. "It seems the gauntlet has been thrown. Rika?"
The fire-haired girl looked at her partner in bafflement. "You're really taking his challenge seriously? What kind of costume do you think that they'll even fit him in?"
"I'll have you know that I have lots of costumes to choose from," Terriermon huffed, crossing his tiny arms together.
"Except they're all Princess Pretty Pants outfits from when Suzie used to dress you up," Henry pointed out. Terriermon twitched at that.
"Henryyy… I thought you had my side here!"
"Perhaps we should make this fairer for you," Renamon continued, a small, barely perceptible smirk on her muzzle. "I'll forgo my transformation ability and Henry…" Lifting a claw, she pointed at the half-Chinese Tamer, causing his eyes to snap towards her in surprise. "…will help you find or make a costume more to your liking."
"Hold on, what…?" Henry began, only for Terriermon to lift his ears up in appreciation.
"Ohhh… I see what you mean," he giggled. "Thanks, Renamon! I take back everything I said about how you not having a sense of humor."
"Hang on," Henry interjected, a note of frustration entering his voice. "I've got a lot of work to do still…"
"Then I suppose you should work quickly," Renamon replied, folding her arms together, her posture and tone indicating a clear end to the conversation with all the subtlety of a door being shut. Henry sighed, rubbing the back of his head in exasperation. Smiling, Terriermon hopped onto his shoulder and clung tight to the teen's head with his ears.
"Momentai! All we need to do is make a side trip to a costume store on the way home! Well, sure by side trip I mean Akihabara, but still."
"Terriermon…" Henry sighed as he started to turn away, heading off, already so lost in his thoughts that he missed Guilmon waving goodbye to him.
"Aw nuts," Guilmon's ears wilted at the lack of acknowledgement and the dinosaur plopped his rear down on the dirt ground beside Jeri. "He's busy even when he's not working. Takato… I don't know if I like the idea of you becoming as busy as Henry. What if I never see you again?"
"Don't worry, boy," Takato smiled reassuringly – or at least he hoped he appeared to reassuring – patting his partner on the head. "We'll still hang out. I promise."
"That's one thing you're good at," Rika said. "What do you want to be a programmer for anyway? I didn't hear about any of this until today. Doesn't seem like you."
"Oh… Just…stuff," Takato replied evasively, scratching at his cheek while Rika looked unsatisfied with his answer. "I've just been wondering about things like the future and figured I'd give it a shot, you know? I mean, it's starting to come up on us."
"It is getting pretty hard," Kenta added with a nod, his expression taking on a more thoughtful appearance before sighing. Forcing a smile on his face in an effort to clear the air, he turned toward Takato. "Hey, are you bringing anyone?"
"Me?" Takato's eyes flickered over at Rika before barking a sudden laugh, a tough of red once more blooming across his cheeks. "N-No. I mean, I haven't asked anyone… I mean…why would… Ow!"
Takato's stammering was abruptly cut off as Rika's hand snaked out and gave his cheek a hard pinch.
"Takato couldn't ask a girl out if his life depended on him," she said, her face hard and devoid of emotion as she retracted her hand.
"Then it's a good thing he has you here, huh?" Jeri giggled, earning her a sharp look from the taller, violet-eyed girl. Not that it did her any good. Jeri was, without a doubt, the one person in the group aside from Renamon that Rika couldn't intimidate no matter what she did.
"Please," Rika grunted, turning away to hide her reappearing blush and folding her arms together. "I'm not somebody's charity case. Gogglehead's going to have to suck it up and actually talk to girls for a change if he wants to have a relationship with one."
Takato winced mentally at that, feeling the sharp sting of her words.
"Can't argue with you there," he said, unconsciously adjusting his grip on his tablet. "Anyway, I've…ah…got to get going. I've got some things to take care of and…stuff. So, I'll see you guys on Halloween. Come on, Guilmon."
"See you guys on Halloween," Jeri called, waving at the pair. They waved back as they hurried down the steps before promptly tripping over each other on the last step, tumbling down to the dirt path and landing in a squawking heap. Jeri looked over at Rika, who was doing her best to not appear the least bit worried about their companions.
"Pih?" MarineAngemon asked, looking over at Kenta with concern. The boy laughed.
"They're probably okay, but I guess we should probably check and make sure, huh?"
As the pair trailed after their two friends, Jeri turned toward Rika, who now leaned against the iron bars of their hideout, jacket closed tightly about her, eyes glaring at the brush off to the side.
"I know that look," she began. "I hate it when you do that."
"Rika…"
The fire-haired girl pushed away from the bars with an annoyed grunt.
"I've got to get going too. Catch you later."
"H-Hey! Wait! Why don't I come with you?" Jeri asked, hurrying after her. Moving quickly, she looped an arm around Rika's elbow and pulled her close. "It's been a while. Don't you want to catch up?"
"Jeri…"
"And we don't get to talk that much anymore."
"Yeah… Here's the thing." Trying to be as gentle as possible, Rika disentangled herself from her friend. "I know what you really want to talk about, and I…don't, so how about we table that conversation for 'never,' okay?" She gave her friend an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'm just not in the mood now."
Jeri became crestfallen at that, but she nodded, accepting her friend's decision. "Okay," she said. "But… You know…"
"Yeah. I know." Rika attempted to repress the pained expression on her face as she marched down the steps, her eyes falling on Takato. "If I ever want to talk, you're there."
Her sneakered feet reached the last stair, her eyes not leaving Takato once as he dusted himself off with an amiable laugh. She stood there for a moment, hands buried in her jacket's pockets, eyebrows knotted in war with herself. She glanced away, briefly, her mouth twisting up into something that looked like loathing before her eyes returned toward her friend.
"Hey, Takato?" she spoke up, causing the boy in question to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh… Yeah?"
Rika held his crimson-eyed gaze for half a moment before scowling down at the ground. She struggled visibly, chewing on her lower lip before finally shaking her head.
"Forget it. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Ahhh… Okay? Hey, are you okay?"
"Peachy, Gogglehead," she said as she departed, a finality to her tone that suggested she was done socializing. All three remaining humans plus the two respective digimon watched her go, Renamon trailing closely behind, leaping from tree to tree.
"Puhpihpihpuh?" MarineAngemon asked Kenta, who shook his head, looking somewhat confused.
"No, she didn't seem sick. Why do you ask?"
MarineAngemon returned to Rika's retreating back. "Pihpuh," he replied sagely.
10