Me: True, I've left Rika in a compromising situation, but she's tough! She'll pull through this without a scratch. I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Creed's song "Inside Us All." Ahh!
Takato: (grabs me by neck and slowly chokes) "She'll pull through this without a scratch?" SHE'S GOT 3 BROKEN RIBS, BRUISES AND BLOOD ALL OVER HER FACE! That's pulling through without a scratch?!
Me: Didn't know...you cared this...much about her...
Takato: You push the right buttons, or in your case, the wrong ones, you'll see how much I care
about Rika.
Digimon Tamers: Takato V.S. Takato
Chapter X-Inside Takato's Heart
"Be glad that you're the least person to worry about your partner. Because of that, you have more space for yourself in your life." -Rika Nonaka
"As a leader/Goggle boy, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Don't forget that Yamaki will always be involved in the Digimon appearance." -Takato Matsuki
"When it comes to Digimon problems, you're never alone. You can always have your father
and/or your youngest sister to help/support you." -Henry Wong
Don't you just hate it when a Tamer's life gets put on the line? That's how the cookie crumbles
in the Digital World! Once they found out that Ryo wasn't really a traitor, Takato's clone,
conveniently calling himself the Tamer of Darkness, ambushed Rika and gave her the thrashing
of her life! If Takato hadn't used his clone's knife like a key and opened the shield put up to
block the other Tamers, Rika would be in worse shape than she is right now! At least Takato's
clone is gone now...or is he?
Three days had passed-at least-since the death of Takato's clone, but Takato wasn't thrilled. Sure, he didn't have to worry about being attacked by someone who looked exactly like him, but his clone had left a very deep scar for the Tamers to recover from. Rika had been badly wounded by his clone before Takato had the guts to pierce through the shield with the knife-that Takato still had, surprisingly-and stab his clone-known as the Tamer of Darkness-right in the back! Now, Rika had lapsed into a coma, one that Renamon herself didn't see her coming out of anytime soon. Being in the Digital World had done some good for the Tamers and their Digimon. Wounds healed a lot quicker here than they would in the Real World. The blood that had been covering Rika's face when she'd passed out had been wiped off, revealing a peaceful look on her face. The bruises had begun to fade away on her cheeks, and according to Renamon, the ribs were already beginning to mend. Before long, Rika would be back on her feet-if she would ever come out of the coma!
"Why? Why were you attacked and not me? I'm the one who should be in a coma, not you!" Takato was berating himself for what had happened, and when he was like this, it occasionally took some coaxing to restore his self-confidence from Jeri, but that wouldn't work in this case.
"This is all my fault! If I hadn't blindly ran down here, you wouldn't be in the position you're in now."
"Maybe so, but then you wouldn't have had the courage to stab your clone in the back for hurting her in the first place."
By this time, Takato had finally gotten used to Renamon's sudden appearances, so he wasn't at all surprised by it; the only thing that visibly shocked him was that Renamon was starting a conversation with him!
"What-? What do you mean?"
"If you hadn't come down here, convinced that Ryo had betrayed us, Jeri and Leomon wouldn't have Biomerged like you and Henry have. Rika would be okay, but would you have blatantly stated that she was your girl and stabbed your clone?"
After mulling over Renamon's words of wisdom, Takato figured that she was right about that much, for the most part.
"Yeah, but it happened anyway, and-"
"Exactly. It happened for a reason, just like your clone spilling blood over your hands instead of data happened for a reason. You've got to figure this out, Takato-either on your own, or when a certain Tamer wakes up. Then, you can figure this out as you always have since this rescue mission started-together."
Just as Renamon disappeared, Takato started shaking, and he struggled to hide his tears. He'd shed too many tears on this one adventure alone to keep on crying!
"Yamaki hasn't even tried to contact us to see how we're doing!" After looking upward to where the sun was gone and night had fallen over the Digital World, Takato got up from his spot by Rika's side and started running.
"Is it really worth it? I can't stand seeing her in this much pain! I can't!"
When I'm all alone and no one else is there waiting by the phone to remind me I'm still here;
when shadows paint the scene, where spotlights used to fall, and I'm left wondering, "Is it really
worth it all?"
The other Tamers were busy rationing out food supplies once again, so they hadn't seen Takato's sudden disappearance.
"You think Rika's gonna pull through this in one piece? She might have a dislocated spleen, or a broken heart!" Kazu started laughing at his own joke, at least until he saw both Renamon and Guilmon glaring at him with looks that radiated attack mode.
"The next time you make a common joke about Rika like that, I'll show you what it feels like to have a 'dislocated spleen!'" Renamon cautioned.
"Be afraid, Kazu...be very afraid..." Guilmon added, his eyes dilated in the same manner they would be if an evil Digimon were near.
"Uh...I'm gonna sleep over here! Good night!" Kazu exclaimed.
As for Henry, he was eyeing Jeri with a pensive look in his own eyes. Terriermon, Susie, Calumon and Lopmon were a few meters away from him, the two of them sleeping as peacefully as possible. Calumon and Terriermon, however, were struggling to get free from Susie's iron-clad grip.
"What do I say to her? I've never cared for girls like this before! I thought for sure that I'd be able to figure it out, especially when Impmon was brutally hurt by Indramon and Rika showed some emotion about it, but I still don't understand girls any better than before."
"Out of the entire team, I would say that you and Takato have the most experience when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex." Henry turned around, expecting to see Renamon, but instead, he was looking up at Leomon!
"What do you mean? Takato's got the most experience out of all of us-he's still in a relationship with Rika, even after all they've been through!"
"True, but you comforted Jeri and looked out for her after the events leading up to my death. You tried to keep her safe amidst all that destruction, and even after I was revived, you were worried about her safety, even if you didn't outwardly show it at the time. That shows me that you deeply care for Jeri, and you respect her opinion as well."
Henry took this information and thought about it.
"Leomon might be right! Takato knows how to calm Rika down during the most tedious of situations, sometimes, and I'm always by Jeri's side, being a comforting hand in time of need, or a tissue for her tears. I can do this! If Takato can tell Rika his feelings, I can tell Jeri how I feel about her!"
Henry cleared his throat and made his way over to where Jeri was at.
"Um-Jeri? There's something I have to tell you."
Turning over to Henry, Jeri offered that sweet smile that had usually been reserved for Takato in moments like this. "Yes?"
"Uh..." Henry felt his cheeks grow hot, and he knew he was blushing. "Come on-snap out of it! You can take on Beelzemon, Pajiramon, and prevent a fight between two good friends within a garage complex, but you can't tell one girl how you feel about her? That's showing real courage."
"Jeri, what I'm trying to say is..."
At that instant, Renamon raced by, yelling out, "Something's wrong with Rika!"
Henry groaned as his shoulders slumped downward. "Not that, but...I'll tell you later!"
Rika was shivering, even with the two blankets Takato had covered her up with. From the look on her face, whatever she was dreaming about wasn't too pleasant.
"Whoa! What's wrong with her, and where'd Takato go?" Kazu asked.
"Maybe he had to go find some private time for himself." Kenta suggested.
"Please! He hasn't left this spot in three days-you think he's gonna try to do that now?" Kazu sputtered out.
"Can you two quit squabbling and help us out?" Renamon demanded as she and Guilmon placed their arms onto Rika's sides to keep her from thrashing toward the rocks. At that second, she snapped out of her dream and woke up.
"TAKATO!"
"Hey-she's awake! But where'd Takatomon go?" Guilmon asked calmly.
Confused, Rika looked around and realized that she was laying down. She also realized that Takato wasn't anywhere in the vicinity.
"Where's Takato?" Rika said. It wasn't a question, but more of a demand, that had come from Rika's mouth.
"He's not here. One would assume he's gone to relax, but he hasn't left your side in the past three days.
"Hey-check it out!" Kazu spoke up. Footprints in the ground, leading away from where they were at, and outward.
"He wouldn't!" Rika forced herself up, but Renamon held her back.
"Don't. You might get even more hurt if you went out to look for him instead of staying here."
"I don't care about that! I'm already feeling better on the inside-I can sense it. Takato's gone somewhere and I'm not gonna rest until I find him."
Rika jumped up, pulled her long brown coat out of her bag, put it on and raced off in Takato's
direction.
Chorus: There's a peace inside us all-let it be your friend
It will help you carry on-in the end
There's a peace inside us all...
Takato ran forward, convinced that fate had planned this-Rika, trapped in a coma, him, an unknown murderer. Tears streamed down his face as he came to a cliff, the same one his clone had thrown himself off of not too long ago!
"I can hear my heart beating like a jackhammer, but I must be going crazy, 'cause I can hear two heartbeats." Takato remembered what Guilmon had said to him when he'd had doubts about Guilmon Digivolving.
"Even though I'm bigger, I'm still me on the inside. And even though you get bigger, you're still you on the inside."
"Maybe Guilmon was right about that, but there's no way a part of him was inside Megidramon
at all! If I can't protect the ones I love from maniacs who are after me, what good am I?!" Takato
screamed his sadness out into the night as it started to rain on the unsuspecting Tamer.
Rika came to a halt when the rain started up. Takato's tracks were fading away! She had no other way to find out where he'd gone. She was about to give up when she heard a familiar wail of pain and agony.
"Takato! Hang on-I'm coming." Rika started forward, a piece of her heart convinced that she
had to save him from whatever calamity had befallen him.
Life can hold you down when you're not looking up
Can't you hear the sounds-hearts beating out loud?
Although the names change, inside we're all the same
Why can't we tear down the walls and show the scars we're covering?
Chorus: There's a peace inside us all-let it be your friend
It will help you carry on-in the end
There's a peace inside us all...
"Takato!" Sniffling, Takato wiped his tears onto his sleeves and turned around to look for the voice who'd called his name. He didn't have to look far, because Rika was running up to him, her pain evident by the look on her face.
"What are you doing out here? You could get really sick, and if you died of pneumonia, who would take the blame for it?"
"Guilmon?" Takato responded, partly amazed that Rika would risk her health to brave the storm to find him.
"No-I would! You're out here because of me, aren't you?"
There's a peace...oh, there's a peace inside us all
Let it be-oh, I said let it be, let it be your friend...
"Come on! Who knows what's happening while we're not there to keep an eye on those two?" Henry yelled frantically, pulling Jeri and Terriermon after him, the other Tamers attempting to keep up with him.
"You know, just 'cause Ryo had to go keep a lookout for Beelzemon doesn't mean we need another guardian angel to watch over us!" Kazu spat irritably.
Henry fixated a really angry glare on Kazu a second later. Kazu instantly stopped talking and continued running.
"On the other hand, jogging while being out in the rain is a good thing! It builds character, right Kenta?"
"Yeah-character. That's the last thing I wanted to build up while being out in the roaring rain."
Takato squirmed while struggling to come up with an appropriate answer. Being around Rika hadn't only caused him to develop a crush on her since becoming a Tamer, it had caused him to be extremely nervous when she was waiting for an answer to a question, and apparently, now was one of those times.
"I was worried about you. My clone beat you to a pulp-practically-and I couldn't do a thing about it. Sure, I broke in only by using that knife as a key on the shield, but could you really call that courageous? I may have stayed by your side for the past three days, but does that show sympathy for someone else? Not according to your world of 'I'm the greatest; all others are weak!'"
Rika remembered how she'd been to everyone before running into Takato and Henry-uncaring, unfeeling, cold to everyone around her. She'd refused to let anyone in until that time when Takato tried, time and time again, to pierce her protective shell and eventually, he had by doing the most drastic thing imaginable-by using his anger to create Megidramon!
"You're not weak, Gogglehead. Sure, you may have been a novice Tamer in the beginning, but you actually showed promise when Guilmon Digivolved to Growlmon. Then, when we first battled the Devas, you were the one willing to fight Mihiramon when the rest of us had basically given up. And even against Indramon, you were still willing to take him on! The one time you showed yourself as a true Tamer was against Beelzemon. After Megidramon was beaten, of course. You showed that emotions can be used to fuel the desire to fight, and that's a part of you. That's also what attracted me to you in the first place-that, and you singing while we were trapped inside a basement."
Takato felt like laughing, so he did-quietly, until Rika pulled him into a kiss that didn't end until
lightning crackled above their heads about 3-4 minutes later. During that time, Henry, Jeri, Kazu,
Kenta, Susie-who was still sleeping, yet safe inside Henry's protective arms-and the Digimon
had found them, a few miles away from the cliff.
Chorus: There's a peace inside us all-let it be your friend
It will help you carry on-in the end
There's a peace inside us all...
There's a peace inside us all...(There's a peace inside us all...inside us all...)
(Let it be...let it be... let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be your friend)
There's a peace inside us all...(final acoustics; song fades out)
"Way to go, Chumly!" Kazu had pulled out a camera from a bag and started snapping away from every conceivable angle he could.
"Uh-what are you doing, Kazu?" Kenta piped up, a worried look on his face.
"Doing the right thing-getting Takato into the winner's circle when we get back home-and us a free ride! Just think about it, Kenta-we know someone who's making out with the Digimon Queen. Do you know what that means for us when we get home?"
"Yeah-" Henry yanked the camera out of Kazu's hands and tossed it as far as he could over the cliff and into the waters below them. "-it means that both Takato and Rika would kill you if they ever found out what you tried to do, so keep it quiet!"
Kazu started laughing as hard as possible, despite the fact that the rain had finally stopped and only clouds were visible in the skies above them.
"Kazu-I really don't understand what's so funny. You just lost your camera down a exceedingly long cliff and at this moment, it's deep underwater." Guardromon advised.
"You don't get it, do you? That wasn't my camera-it was Kenta's!" Kazu started laughing even harder while Guardromon had to restrain Kenta from attacking him!
"Let me at him! He wasn't supposed to go through my stuff in the first place-my parents are gonna kill me, but not if I tell them I took care of it myself!"
While trying to ignore the little spat between Kazu and Kenta, Henry twiddled his fingers back and forth, wondering what he was going to say to Jeri.
"Would that work? Probably not, but if Takato can mend things with Rika, I've got at least a slim chance with Jeri! Here goes-be brave." Henry cleared his throat once again and turned toward Jeri.
"Um, Jeri? I know we were interrupted when the others found out that Takato had vanished on us again, but I just wanted to tell you that I, uh...I really think that I'm in love with-"
Giggling slightly, Jeri pulled Henry forward-being careful not to wake Susie up-and kissed Henry with as much passion as she could give. Behind them, Terriermon, Calumon, Leomon, Guilmon and Renamon observed the Tamers, whether they were close by, or far away from them.
"I still say they're trying to eat each other!" Calumon exclaimed, not expecting any response
from the others.
Beelzemon sighed to himself while waiting impatiently for the Tamer of Darkness to appear. Over three days had passed since the ambush had occurred, and no word had been given!
"Where could he be? He'd better not have tricked me, 'cause if he has, I'm gonna-"
"Gonna what? How can you hurt me, when I've transcended beyond the limits of the Digital World and the Real World? In this form, I can take over any host I want, and that's how I'll get revenge on the Tamers!"
The Mega Digimon was surprised, but tried not to show it that much after seeing the state of the Tamer of Darkness.
"Whoa. You look pretty good-for a dead kid! But how are you gonna pull it off?"
"It's all taken care of. The only thing we need to do is wait for the Tamers to return home, and that's when my Master Plan will be put into action!"
Unbeknownst to either Beelzemon or the Tamer of Darkness, Ryo and Cyberdramon had finally tracked down their secret hideout and were observing their every move.
"Should we attack now, while they don't suspect?" Cyberdramon hissed.
"No. If we tried to attack now, we'd be at a serious disadvantage. We've got to alert the other Tamers about this before they try to return home. I hope we can find them in time, Cyberdramon."
What happened to the Tamer of Darkness, anyway? I thought Takato creamed that clone of his! To see the transcendent form of Takato's clone, find out what happened on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!