Author's Note: Time to pull away from the usual "This is my life" thing and make it more tamer-ized... something that the Digimon show might actually have.

So I released this chapter Christmas Day. It's a gift to the guy out there that spawned this entire story. Yeah so he showed up online on Christmas Eve after leaving me here alone since July, and expected us to be just as much 'in love' as we were before.
Sorry, but no, but here's a little story of memories for you to keep, Ryan. This is the closest you'll be able to get to me now. I didn't even receive a goodbye from you before you left, I found out one day that you left for Montana a WEEK before.
I'm glad I'm writing a story about last Christmas, it'll be able to get this off my heart and let me move on past you, because you don't deserve my lingering thoughts. You don't deserve me to remember you in that way. I've already given my heart 100% to another person, and he's going to keep it, understand that? I don't want to hear from you ever again, so just bug off.

*takes a deep breath amist all her "fans" giving her the "You go girl!" treatment*

Alright since this is a CHRISTMAS PRESENT, I might as well give some straight-out recognition to my fans, right?

((TerrierLee)): ^_^;; I appreciate you readin' my story! I enjoy getting reviews from you, considering they're always really sweet.

((Kaminarimon)): Thanks! I didn't aim originally for it to be "kawaii", but I guess all my stories worked out that way (wait a minute.. that means my LIFE is "kawaii".... *blink*)

((Stardust4)): Ack! Don't feel bad about your story! I've just been doing this since *looks at her first actual story* I was 9... and I'm 14 now. Everyone has talent, it just takes work in order to bring it out, that's all.

((Henrika)): *blinks* how come every time I come out with a new chapter you're like the first to review it? *laughs* ah what the heck, I appreciate someone who's that dedicated to reading my story! Thanks!!

((SnowTiger)): Don't worry, it'll work out in a few chapters then people will be no longer confused about this thing. And yeah, it's cool to have friends cheering you on, until you post a new story and the only people who review have 'teenager' in front of their names. Yeah that there gets annoying, but I'll put up with it.

((hannah-a.k.a.-cTK)): (ha I got the name right after all.. took me a minute) *laughs* I think that the Henry/Rika romance thing's already figured out, but yeah, that's gonna happen, but under interesting circumstances.

((Angelica210)): Well I'm glad I'm the cause of you taking to another show, and thanks for being so supportive!

((Josh)): I'm tempted not to talk to you, but I have to respond to *all* my fans. And no, I won't call you, but thanks for the review anyways.

((Snowmon831)): *laughs* I'm glad you like it! I read one of your stories on another site and found it quite interesting, I hope you plan on continuing that one... I've never looked into a Jeri/Ryo relationship before, but interestingly enough it could work out, huh?

((LittleTakato33)): *blinks* I'm the "goddess" of writing stories? Well I wouldn't quite go THAT far... and I am capable of writing something bad. Take my story "Sky of Dreams" for instance... I don't see that one going anywhere because people don't really like it. And.. um.. sorry but I'm kinda claimed at the moment ^_^;;

((Yavahna, Warrior Goddess)): Well don't worry about it at all, I plan on keeping the story Jenki, even if it APPEARS to be tilting towards Ryuki now and then. But don't worry, it's not. There's a reason I haven't thrown Ryo off a cliff yet.

((Takako)): I always look forward to reading your reviews of my story. You're always sweet and I can get an easy ego-boost from your reviews *laughs*.

((d)): ^_^;; I tried the divorce thing before, and it didn't work, could I possibily be trying it again, or did I learn my lesson? *laughs* sorry couldn't help it. Thanks for reading my story.

((littleweirdwriter)): Yeah usually romantic drama = soap opera type stuff, but not in my case. I don't usually throw that out unless I *REALLY* want to wreck their lives. Happy fun, right? Guess you'll just have to wait and see.

((Henrika)): Well you seem to have your own little stories up and ready for publishing *laughs*. Quite an active imagination there. And yes, the other tamers are in this story, in fact I'm slowly starting to insert them into chapters starting with this one (you'll see more Takato, Jeri, and Ryo in this chapter, actually).

=== The Teenager People ===
((Teenager Takato)): You forget they haven't quite grasped the concept of me being the "Queen of All That is Random" yet. *realises he's looking at her blankly and growls* .. okay... let's put this in simple language for goggle-head to understand. "They no get me "Queen of Random"."
*sees a few other teenager people starting to snicker*
Anyways, I'll stop tottaly humiliating you now, you're more than capable of doing that on your own... and thanks alot, now I'm tempted to do a MIB2 remake for Digimon. *pictures Henry and Ryo in those outfits and grins*

((Teenager Jeri)): You're getting to be almost as bad as that "LittleTakato33" dude that says I should marry him *blinks*. I'm not *that* good, and I don't know why the heck I got so many reviews... it's beyond me. And I'm counting on you teenager people to drag me past that 300-review mark... it'll probably be just you reading by the time I'm around that much.

((Teenager Henry [even though he hasn't reviewed since chapter 3.. he is my boyfriend])): Thanks for the praise, but you have to admit this isn't quite my best work ever.. I'm working more under pressure than the rest of my stories since I have a bigger audience now. Probably why I snap your head off more than usual... sorry about that.

((*still waiting for arch to get back and post the next chap of his fic so she can continue on with her life*))

Merry Christmas, 'yall. And a Happy New Year!
-----

Something is wrong with the sum of us
That I can't seem to erase
How can I be the only one
Without a smile on my face

Well now, you're laughing out loud
At just the thought of being alive
And I was wondering
Could I just be you tonight

You show your pain like it really hurts
And I can't even start to feel mine
Well, I'm standing in place
With my head first and I shake, I shake
I see your progress stretched out for miles and miles

You're laughing out loud
At just the thought of being alive, yeah
And I was wondering
Could I just be you tonight

This is the sound that I make
These are the words I chose
Somehow the right thing to say
Just won't come out
Just won't come out

And you're laughing out loud
At the thought of being alive
And I was wondering
Could I just be you tonight

And I was wondering
Could I just be you tonight

na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

And I was wondering
na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
And I was wondering
na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Yeah, and I was wondering
na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
I was wondering, yeah

----- Could I Be You - Matchbox Twenty -----


"But Rik--"
"No."
"But we only do this once every ye--"
"I don't care if you do it every day!"
A few people in the small Katou diner turned to look at Rika's loud shots at the two teenagers, sitting across from her in one of the booths with obviously forced sad eyes.
Henry and Jeri looked at each other in disgust, and back at Rika.
"But Rika, the Christmas dance is--"
"No!!" Rika cut Henry off once more, but this time with her hand also. A silence fell over the group at that motion, and the faint sound of Christmas music was almost heard through the sound of the other customers talking and the few employees clinking plates and glasses together in the rush to prepare food.
"B--" Rika's hand went up, but closer to Jeri's face this time, and Jeri leaned backwards, almost afraid she'd get hit.
Henry didn't seemed phased though, just continued on. "I want to go this year, but I need a date to even get in there in the first place, and I don't want to look like one of the gay kids at the school and show up with a 'friend'." Henry pointed out and he took a quick sip of his soda.
"Like Kenta and Kazu." Jeri also pointed out, letting a slight giggle escape her lips.
Henry laughed also, and nodded. "Exactly."
Both looked towards Rika, almost confused by her sudden silence, and both grinned.
She sat there with her arms laid across the table, and her forehead banging against them, waiting for it all to end, and already knowing Henry and Jeri had won, and that night she'd be showing up to a party at another school in a dress and makeup. The thought made her sick.
Henry slid across the table to be eye-level with her, and tilted his head to the side innocently.
"Please, Rika? For me?" he said in an even more innocent voice.
Rika peered over her arms at him, and met his crystal gray eyes. She groaned and sat up straight. "Fine." and she quickly extended her finger at him, putting it right into his face. "But only this once."
She smoothed back her hair, closing her eyes and making herself purposely look more important that the two she sat across from. "I can't be seen at this low-life dances all the time, it'll end up ruining my reputation."
"Right.." Henry grinned at Jeri, and Jeri just laughed.
Rika lowered her hands and opened her eyes. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing." Jeri put her hands up in a surrendering motion, but continued laughing.
One of the teenage boys that now worked at the diner walked up to the table, notepad in hand. He flipped over the top page of it and pulled the ink pen from behind his ear. "How can I help you all today?"
Jeri ignored the stares that she was receiving from Henry and Rika instead of being aimed at the actual boy, and looked right up a him. She spat out some random order and the boy jotted it down quickly, then looked at Rika. "And what can I get this beautiful young lady."
Rika shock wore off and became an angry look instead. "Say that again, goggle-head, and that'll be your face going into the oil over there." she motioned to the baskets of frenchfries another employee was dipping into the burning oil.
"Ooh... kay..." he looked back that way, and back at Rika nervously. "Sorry, Rika."
"Yeah yeah.." Rika snorted and sipped her drink again, causing Henry to laugh.
"We're fine, Takato, we have to leave anyway." Henry smiled warmly at the boy, and motioned for Jeri to scoot out of the booth so he could get out.
Rika grabbed her brown leather jacket from the seat and slid out, standing up she looked at Jeri. "You *are* planning on coming to this Christmas dance too, aren't you?"
Jeri slid back into her seat and shrugged. "I wasn't really planning on it."
An almost horrorfied look crossed Rika's face, and she started walking towards the diner's door, but pulled on Takato's sleeve, pulling him away from the table.
"H-hey!" he yelled as she dragged him just out of hearing range of the other two tamers. She pulled him close to her by the collar of his shirt and whispered in a sturn voice.
"She *is* coming to the dance."
Takato nodded quickly and Rika let him go.
"Henry." she stated abruptly, turned on her heels, and walked out of the diner, Henry fumbling to put his jacket on as he raced to catch up with her.

The cold winter day had caught Henry and Rika by surprise, and the sudden gusts of snow-filled wind didn't help anything either, especially having to walk back home after a day of walking the streets of Shinjuku, looking at the Christmas decorations. The wind now blew directly in their faces, and caused both to squint their eyes in order to see anything straight. Now and then Rika stopped for a breath of air, for while trying to keep her 'cool' composure, she insisted not to wear a scarf, so it was extremly hard for her to breathe. Henry tried to keep her moving however, knowing she'd probably freeze to death in the thin coat she wore. He didn't understand what had made him take his heavier coat even after the weatherman warned it would be warmer than usual that day, but he just had, and now he was half tempted to switch jackets with the girl. She had heeded the man's warning, but he had been completly wrong, as he had been for many days now. It was strange, as soon as the Wong family kicked Henry and Suzy out of the house, all this odd weather started up, especially when he was out with Rika somewhere.
That hit him as odd as well. He had taken Suzy to the park a day or two before, and the weather had been balmy, and you really didn't need a jacket at all, but whenever he was out somewhere with Rika, or both Rika and Suzy, the winter weather seemed to grow more and more furocious.
Henry grabbed Rika's arm again and started to unzip his jacket with the other hand. He pulled her closer to him, inside the jacket and rewrapped it around the two of them. Rika was now at least partially blocked from the whipping winter winds and the stinging snow.
"Returning the favor?" Rika asked with a little bit of a snap in her voice, referring to the day she had found him in the park.
Henry didn't respond, just drew her even closer to him with another cold gust of wind, and scanned the horizon for a moment. He didn't know where they were.
The blinding snow was coming down so hard now that he couldn't see anything, and it had covered the entire city in a thick white blanket, and it all looked the same to him now. Rika was barely able to see anything anyways from being pulled so close to Henry, but could immediately sense his body growing tense with worry.
She opened her mouth to say something to him, but a voice cut her off, and at first she swore it was Henry's, until it spoke again. A low voice, a seductive voice, whispering in her ear. She couldn't make out a word of what it was saying, but something in her mind clicked, and she gently pulled herself away from Henry, looking in the opposite direction. The voice seemed to be coming from that direction.
She didn't understand why her body wouldn't stop moving, even though she kept trying to make her feet stop or just turn around and go back to the warmth that Henry had offered her. Henry kept pace with her, yelling out confused statements to her as he finally realised she was absently walking in another direction, almost as if in a trance. But she wasn't in a trance, at least her mind wasn't.
The voice grew a bit louder, and Rika could finally make out what it was saying.
.... come closer, my love .... that's right .... I'm over here ....
.... come closer .... you're almost there .... I won't hurt you ....
She could faintly hear the sound of running water also, but the more her mind raced about that thought, the louder the voice got until it blotted out that sound entirely, and it was just a memory.
.... hurry now, come closer ....
"RIKA!"
Two arms wrapped around her body and pulled her violently backwards, and just like that the voice cut itself off, and the faint sound of running water was now the roar of water. Rika stood in Henry's arms, only a foot away from the edge of the river that ran through Shinjuku, and by the way she was facing, she figured she had been standing right on the edge of that river before Henry had grabbed her.
"What has gotten into you?!" Henry shrieked at her, turning her around quickly and almost glaring at her. "If you had gone one step further you would have killed yourself!!"
The look of confusion in Rika's eyes made Henry calm down and regroup his feelings. "I don't know." she said simply, her quiet voice almost completly silenced by the loud roar of the river that was now out of control from all the melting snow in the past few days.
Henry just looked at her for a moment then pulled her into his arms again. With one last gust, the wind died down into calm and the snow fell normally, almost as if it had admitted defeat to the boy.
Rika gladly welcomed the sudden warmth that surrounded her, but in the back of her mind something was troubling her. She had heard the voice before, but she couldn't place it anywhere.
"Don't do that to me again."
Henry's disturbed voice shook her out of her thoughts, and he drew her even closer against him, as if trying to protect her from whatever had caused her to almost throw herself into a raging river. "I thought I lost you."
Rika gave in to the temptation and wrapped her arms as best she could around Henry, which in turn pulled her further into the jacket and even more into the warmth her body needed.
"Promise me you'll never do that again."
Rika just shook at the thought of not being able to control her own actions like that, and it had almost cost her the ultimate price. Henry gently slipped his arms back and used his hand to lift her face up enough for her to meet his eyes. "Let's get you home."
Rika nodded, still shaking with the first real sense of complete fear she had since the Icedevimon incodent, and returned to Henry's side.
"I didn't mean for you to freeze either." he said, almost jokingly as he put one arm back around her and started back towards the sidewalk they had wandered away from with Rika's weird trance.
With the snow having cleared now, they could just barely tell where they were, but just enough to know they were going in the right direction after all.
They walked on, through the streets of Shinjuku, the few onlookers there were giving them jealous looks at how close they were in the winter evening.