Disclaimer: I own nothing but my idea.
"Welcome to your new home," Takato said, smiling at the expressions on his friends' faces. Looking over to the other side of his friends, he saw Ryo smiling also. Takato chuckled to himself. While the house wasn't a mansion, it was larger than what their friends had probably expected. In front of the group was a nice, just above mid-sized, two-story house. It was a soft, pale blue, which in the light looked almost gray. Around the house were a few fragrant fruit bushes and trees, and the lawn looked beautifully manicured.
Coming out of his shock, Henry said, "You guys built this house yourselves??"
"Not just us," Takato began, "part of the building was already here. I drew some designs for some major renovations and additions. Ryo was working with a good construction company then, and they came in and did most of the work for us at a fraction of regular cost. The problem was that I was the only one that knew how some things were supposed to go, so while I wanted to come with Ryo those times he visited some of you, I had to stay."
"Still, even if you didn't do most of the work, this is a very nice house," Jeri chimed in.
"Wait until you see the inside, you'll love it," Ryo chuckled. "Even though I may have helped provide the labor, Takato paid for most of the house expenses."
"How could you afford to pay for something like this Takato?" Rika asked, pulling off her shades.
"I can't tell you all my secrets Rika! I will say this; it didn't involve anything illegal." Takato smirked. "Besides, it's not like I paid for it all at one time. The main thing I had to pay for was the supplies. Ryo was already working with the construction company at the time, so they didn't change us much for the cost of labor."
"Fine, I'll get the whole story out of you later, Takato," Rika said, giving him a quick glare before turning to go to the back of the van. "Let's go inside so we can get a look at this great interior Ryo spoke of," Rika said this with a smile.
~*~
"Hey, Takato, why don't you show Rika to her room upstairs, while I'll show the rest of the gang their rooms downstairs?" Ryo said with a bit of a smile after entering the house. "After that we can meet back in the den and catch up on things."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Come on Rika," Takato agreed, as Rika and he split off from the group and ascended a set of stairs.
"Lead the way," Rika chimed from behind him on the steps.
"Come on, I'll show you your rooms," Ryo said to Henry and Jeri, before turning around and leading them the short distance to their rooms. Turning right at a small hall, Ryo stopped. There was a door on each side of the hall and another door at the very end of the hall. "Henry, your room is through the door on the right. Jeri, yours is through the one at the end of the hall, and mine is on the left. Go ahead and set your stuff down, and take a quick look around your rooms. Save the unpacking for later, we have some catching up to do."
"I'm all for the waiting to unpack," Henry groaned heading to his room door.
"I know what you mean," Jeri replied back with a giggle, as she and Ryo carried her stuff to her room. Entering, she found that the curtains were already open, letting the sunshine in. Setting her bags down, she took a quick look around before sitting down on her bed with a bounce. "This is nice," she said with a smile, "and comfortable too."
"Glad you like it," Ryo replied with a smile of his own, "but you can take a better look at your room later, let's see how Henry likes his."
"Ok," Jeri agreed, getting up slowly from the soft bed and following Ryo out.
Walking the short distance in the hall to Henry's room and entering, they found him already lying comfortably on his bed.
"Well, I guess that answers the question of how you like the room," Ryo laughed as Jeri slipped in from beside him.
"Oh yeah," Henry sighed contently.
"Sorry, to break up the wonderful bonding between you and the bed, but let's go to the den and wait on Takato and Rika," Ryo said with a smile. "Trust me the sofas in there are just as comfortable."
Sighing again, Henry climbed melodramatically out of the bed. "Alright, I just hope you're right about those sofas." Finally standing, the three made their way to the den.
~*~
Finally reaching the top of the steps, Takato continued forward to a door in front of him. "And here we are. Your room Rika," Takato said, opening the door with his free hand so that she could enter first.
Entering the room and dropping her luggage, she turned around and saw another door across from her, besides the stairs they had just come up. "Is that your room?" she inquired, pointing to the door she saw.
Setting her bags down, and looking to where her hand pointed, Takato answered with a bit of a grin, "Yeah, that's my room."
"Can I see it?" she asked.
"Why?" Takato asked, his grin turning into a smirk, as he already had an idea of why she wanted to see it.
"Maybe it'll give me some idea of what you've been up too the past few years," Rika relied with a smirk of her own, knowing that she was probably confirming Takato's thoughts.
"Sure," Takato replied with a laugh as he led her the short distance to his room. Opening the door, he let her enter first again.
Rika entered into his room and paused, taking a look around. The room held an appearance of controlled chaos. Drawings covered two of the walls. Neatly stacked papers and books lay everywhere except the bed and the area immediately around it. Sky blue paint added a calming and serene effect to the room. Coming out of her study of his room Rika said with a smile, "Nice room, I like the blue color."
"Thanks," Takato grinned back.
"It's good to see you haven't stopped drawing," she said taking a closer look at some of the drawings on the wall closest to her. "I may have never said it, but I always thought you were talented. I'll have to show you some of my drawings so we can compare while we're here."
Blushing slightly, Takato responded, "I'd like that, but I didn't know you drew."
"I've drawn for years," Rika began turning to face him, "I just never told anybody when I was younger. I thought it would destroy my reputation, but after our adventure I came to an important conclusion."
"What was that?" Takato queried.
"That a reputation means nothing if you aren't true to yourself. I learned that from you, and the rest of the gang, and also through our experiences in the Digital World. I also decided that the reputation I had, I didn't wholly want anymore. In fact the only part I wanted to keep was my unfavorable view of dresses." This last part Rika said with a grin, giving Takato a light punch in the shoulder. "I'll wear a dress if an occasion calls for one, but I just don't feel comfortable in one. I still laugh at the memory of how I used to react to the idea of wearing a dress."
Laughing Takato replied, "Well, you wouldn't be Rika without that part. Anyway, I think it's time we catch up with the others in the den. You can look around my room for clues later."
"I'll remember you said that," Rika smirked.
"You do that," Takato grinned before turning around and leading Rika down the steps towards the den.
