Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika
…That's When You Realize the Value of That Friendship
Little Richard – Hey people of the fanfic world. DF103 is sleeping right now, hahah, and it's :looks at the clock: 12:30.
Melanie – Then shouldn't you be in bed, too?
Little Richard – No, it's 12:30 in the afternoon.
Melanie – Oh great. -.-;;
Little Richard – I'd wake her up, but her other friends, including her b/f is in there, too.
Melanie – What? Did she have a sleepover or something?
Little Richard – Yeah, that's why we're here, to introduce the next chapter.
Melanie – Oh yeah, hahahah, that's right. Well, according to DF103's notebook, she doesn't own digimon, but she owns us.
Little Richard – Now to Little Richard's Intentions for Ryo & Rika - That's When You Realize the Value of That Friendship…inspired by the song "Flying Without Wings"
Ryo walked along the streets, looking at the box that Henry gave him. His fingers traced the velvety blue surface thatturned darkerwhen rubbed one way. He clutched it and put it in his pocket, a smile playing upon his face.
'Henry, you are so full of surprises,' Ryo thought, as he went into the flower shop to get some flowers.
He came out with a small bouquet of red roses. He held onto it as he headed towards Rika's house.
Rika's fashion controversy with Jeri…
"Rika, you have to wear something nice," Jeri insisted, watching Rika come in and out of her room with different types of clothes on.
"Oh come on, Jeri," Rika said, wearing jeans and a shirt.
"Ryo will probably think that you don't care about him if you wear something like that," Jeri said.
"Your point?" Rika said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
"If you like him, you have to show that you somewhat care," Jeri said, turning to Richard, "See, he's dressed nicely, right?" Jeri said, as Rika looked at Richard's blue turtleneck and khaki jeans.
"I guess," Rika said, going back in her room to change again.
"Maybe you should try black pants," Jeri suggested, from the other side of the door.
"…and a pretty shirt," Richard added, smiling at Jeri.
"Yeah, yeah," Rika said, looking through her clothes to find what was suggested.
Rika rummaged through her clothes to look for what Jeri and Richard suggested.
"Aha," Rika said, holding up her shirt which was given to her a while back at a photo shoot, "I really hate this shirt."
Rika delved around some more to look for her black pants. She looked in every drawer and still couldn't find it.
"Maybe its in the closet," Rika said, walking over to the closet.
Sure enough, her pants were in there. She put her clothes on and went back out into the hallway to get Jeri and Richard's opinion.
"Aw," Jeri squealed, "you look beautiful."
"Yeah Rika, you look pretty," Richard said, smiling.
"Well, if you think it's okay, I guess it's okay," Rika said, walking into the bathroom and looking in the mirror.
"Rika, hurry up and get washed up. Ryo is gonna be here soon," Jeri said, "I'll find you a coat to match your white top and black pants."
"Okay," Rika said, as Jeri and Richard turned to walk into Rika's room, "and Jeri, thank you."
Jeri gave Rika a smile and said, "No problem, what are friends for."
Rika removed her clothes and stepped into the shower. Rika started to lather her hair with shampoo, as the hot water pelted against her body. While doing so, she thought about how everything turned out since coming back to West Shinjuku.
'Everyone still remembers me,' she thought, 'and they haven't changed much since high school.'
She started to wash her body, still thinking.
'And all this time before now, I thought everyone hated my guts,' Rika thought, a smile spreading across her face.
She rinsed her self and grabbed a towel. She dried herself up and changed.
"Jeri, what time is it?" Rika said, walking into her room, brushing her hair.
"7:15," Jeri said, holding up a coat, "here, you can wear this. They say its gonna be cold tonight, but then of course Ryo can keep you warm, too."
Rika shot a glare at Jeri.
"Sorry," Jeri said.
"Rika, I think you should keep your hair like that," Richard said, pointing to Rika's wet, untied hair.
"You know, he's got a point there. You do look nicer with your hair down," Jeri said.
"Okay, I'll leave it down," Rika said, putting the coat on, "So what you think?"
"You look great," Jeri said, "and make sure you wear a nice pair of shoes on, like clogs."
With Ryo…
Ryo walked up to the gate that enclosed Rika's traditional Japanese home. He walked through the gate and walked up to the door, clutching the bouquet of roses in his right hand. He stuck his other hand in his jacket pocket to see if the box was still present.
'Good, didn't drop it,' Ryo thought, knocking on the door.
Rika, Jeri, and Richard…
"Rika, he's here. Get the door," Jeri said, as Rika rushed over to the door.
Rika got to the door, only to see Richard already having a conversation with Ryo.
"Rika, Ryo's here," Richard informed, looking up at Rika.
"Wow, Rika, you look…'don't say beautiful, she'll get mad'…nice," Ryo said.
"Thanks," Rika said, slipping into her clogs.
"These are for you," Ryo said, handing her the bouquet of flowers.
"Uh…thanks," Rika said, hesitantly. It'd be a lie to say if she wasn't nervous, for this was the first time she been on a "date" with someone she really secretly admired.
Jeri came up to the them, as Richard ran to her.
"Now Ryo, you better bring her back here before midnight," Jeri joked, laughing at what she said. All of them laughed except Rika who only stood there with a weak smile.
"Oh, come on, Rika. We're both friends. Don't worry about it," Ryo assured, 'I sure hope I don't screw up the small bond that we have between us.'
"Go on, Rika, don't worry about Richard. I'll watch over him for you. Go and have some fun," Jeri said.
"Thanks again, Jeri," Rika said, walking out the door with Ryo.
"So, Rika, what do you wanna do after we have dinner?" Ryo asked, casually, to start a conversation.
"How about we just keep it simple and pretend that we're just hanging out like we used to do," Rika said.
Henry and Melanie…
"So you're trying to get them together?" Melanie asked, holding her warm cup of coffee.
"Mm-hmm," Henry said, setting his cup down, "and that's why I gave my friend, Ryo, the ring."
"Oh, it's all so clear to me now," Melanie said.
"I bet it is," Henry said.
"How do you know if they're right for each other? Or what if the plan backfires?" Melanie asked.
"It's already backfired once, and this is pretty much the backup plan," Henry said, "and I know the plan won't fail because the two of them have known each other for quite a while. My friends and I wouldn't force it upon them if we knew they didn't know each other well enough."
"You must be a very good friend to try and get your friends together to become a happy couple," Melanie said, with a smile.
"Let's hope they think the same way you do when they find out I set them up. If they found out, I was pondering on whether they would strangle me right there or torture me slowly," Henry said, laughing.
Just then, there was a loud pulsing sound coming from Henry.
"Sorry, that must be my cell," Henry said, searching for it.
At Rika's house…
"Come on, Henry, pick up," Jeri said, pacing around the floor, with the phone to her ear.
Richard sat on the floor, watching Jeri pace around floor.
At the coffee shop…
Henry finally found his cell phone, next to the napkin dispenser. He looked at it, to see who was calling.
"Hey Jeri," Henry said.
"It's about time you picked up the phone," Jeri said, impatiently.
"Sorry, I was looking for my cell," Henry said.
"Sure," Jeri said, doubtfully, "anyways, Rika and Ryo left already. What do we do now?"
"We wait," Henry said, looking at Melanie, "we really can't get them any closer than they are now. It's all up to the power of love."
"Henry...that really sounded corny," Jeri said, "but I guess you're right. What are you doing anyways?"
"I'm having a cup of coffee," Henry said, smiling at Melanie.
"Alone?" Jeri asked, slyly.
"No, with a friend," Henry said, smiling, then turned the phone off.
Back at the house…
"Henry…Henry!" Jeri yelled into the phone.
Jeri let out a small grunt, and put the phone back in it's place.
Now to Ryo and Rika…
"A table for two please," Ryo said, politely, to the host.
"Will that be for smoking or non-smoking," the host asked, grabbing a couple of menus.
"Non-smoking, please," Ryo answered.
The host scribbled something down and said, "Come with me please." The two of them followed the man to their table.
"May I start you off with something to drink?" the host asked, as Ryo and Rika took a seat.
"I'll have water," Rika said, looking through the menu.
"I'll have water, also," Ryo said.
"Okay, I'll get you your drinks and someone will be right with you in a few minutes to take your order," the host said, leaving the two of them.
"So Rika, when will you retrieve your things that are in America?" Ryo asked, flipping through the menu.
"I never really thought about that," Rika said, looking up from the menu, "maybe I should get them flown over here or something."
"Good thing I gave you a friendly reminder," Ryo said, smiling.
"Good evening, I am Masahiko, your waiter for toni…Rika? Ryo?" Masahiko asked.
"Hey, I didn't know you worked here," Ryo said, surprised.
"I do. Thanks to Jeri," Masahiko answered, "anyway, what will you be having tonite?"
"I'll have the sukiyaki steak, with a side order of fried rice and steamed vegetables," Ryo said, handing his menu to Masahiko.
"I'll have the same," Rika said, also handing him the menu.
"Okay, and would you like an appetizer for starters?" Masahiko asked, as he wrote the orders down.
"No thanks," Ryo said, "Rika, how about you?"
Rika shook her head.
"Okay, it'll be a few minutes for your meals to arrive," Masahiko said, leaving, and as the drinks came.
"This is gonna be some night, huh?" Ryo asked.
"Yeah," Rika said, giving a small smile.
Ryo and Rika spent the next few minutes chatting more than ever. They talked until the food came.
"Here's your dinner," Masahiko said, handing out the plates, "enjoy your meal and I'll be back in a few to give you your bill."
As Masahiko left, they began to eat in silence. They both gave each other glances every once in a while. Once they were finished, they looked at the bill, which was left for them, upside down on the table.
"I'll pay for this, Rika," Ryo said, taking out his wallet.
"No, it's okay. I'll pay for it," Rika said.
"Remember, I'm the one that wanted to apologize," Ryo said, smiling.
He placed the amount of money needed on the table plus extra for tip. As the two of them got up to leave, Masahiko waved to them and they waved back.
"You wanna go take a walk before I take you home?" Ryo asked.
"Sure, why not," Rika said.
"It's kinda chilly out here. Are you cold?" Ryo asked, politely.
"No, I'm fine, thank you, Akiyama," Rika said.
They made it to the park. They sat on a bench, near a dim light post, and observed the night sky, showing only a few glimmering stars.
"You know, I heard that for every star that you can see, there are about a billion more," Ryo said, looking up, and then to Rika.
"Oh really," Rika said, "and since when did you become an astronomer?"
"For quite a while," Ryo joked, smiling at Rika.
"Sure," Rika said, returning a smile.
Ryo and Rika's eyes met. Ryo gave a smile, as another smile crept upon Rika's face.
"You know, as long as I can remember, I don't remember anytime I've made you smile more than once in a day," Ryo said, still smiling.
"Why wouldn't I? I've known you forever" Rika said.
"That's true. We have known each other for a while, haven't we?" Ryo said, looking back up the stars.
"Yeah," Rika said, leaning back on the bench, resting her head on it.
'Would I ruin the moment if I did it now?' Ryo thought, glancing over towards Rika.
"Ryo?" Rika said, looking over at him.
"You called me by my first name," Ryo said, "anyway, what?"
"Remember, when I told you to forget everything that happened this morning," Rika said.
"Yeah," Ryo said.
"Did you forget it, because I didn't," Rika said, sitting back up and facing Ryo.
"Me either," Ryo said.
Rika slowly leaned in towards Ryo. Ryo also moved closer towards Rika. Timidly, Rika's lips met with Ryo's lips. With that small kiss, they pulled away, and looked at each other. That's when Ryo reached into his pocket.
As Ryo pulled out the small little box, Rika's eyes followed Ryo's hand. Bringing it into view, Ryo held the box in front of Rika. Rika stared at it, looking at it and Ryo. He opened the box and it revealed the diamond ring.
Rika looked at it awe, and looked back at Ryo. Ryo gave a weak, nervous smile.
"Rika, will you marry me?" Ryo asked.
Rika had her eyes locked on Ryo's. She shut her eyes, and held her head down.
"I'm sorry, Ryo," Rika whispered.
Little Richard – Why am I always here on a sad moment?
Melanie – I dunno, that's how DF103 wrote it.
DF103 - :yawn:
Melanie – It's about time you woke up. It's :looks at time: 1 in the afternoon. I think you should explain to your readers what this is all about.
DF103 – Not today…another day's good…yup… (-.-)…z…Z…z…Z…
Little Richard – You heard her. She'll explain next chapter. Till then, review please.
