Takato looked again at his watch, confirming – yet again – that, yes, it was four-thirty in the afternoon. He tapped the watch-face with his finger, checking that it was working correctly.
Strange…I could have sworn that Ruki was out at three-thirty…
The thought that perhaps Ruki might have ditched on the aforementioned meeting never occurred to Takato. 'She's held up' or 'My watch isn't working' or 'Some great big destruction-bent Digimon showed up' were much more likely possibilities in his mind. Ruki, do something so rude? Never! Sure, she might hurt him nearly to the point where he required medical assistance; she might insult his abilities at, well, everything; but not show up? Naaaaah.
He fished out his cellphone and dialed Ruki's number – it was on auto-dial, he called her so often – but all he got was a busy signal. He sighed and stuck his cell back in his pocket.
"You ready to order, sugah?"
Takato looked up at the tall, pretty brunette who had spoken to him. "One of your seafood specials, and an iced tea, please, Kuonji-san," he said politely. The twenty-three-year-old nodded and moved to get his order. Takato had wanted to wait for Ruki, but he was hungry now. Besides, he could always order another.
In a few seconds – Ucchan's was famous for, among other things, the speed of its service – a plate of okonomiyaki had landed in front of him. A tall glass of iced tea slid down the counter at dangerous speeds before screeching to a halt precisely beside his plate. Thin tendrils of friction-caused smoke drifted upwards from the bottom of the glass. Takato sweatdropped before preparing to tuck in.
He was about to chomp on a mouthful of succulent, shrimp-topped goodness when someone abruptly sat themselves on the bar-stool next to his.
"Hello, Taka-kuuuuun," purred a feminine voice. Takato, still holding a bite of okonomiyaki poised in his chopsticks, turned his head to meet a pair of huge brown eyes looking deeply into his. From a distance of maybe two centimeters. "Fancy meeting you…"
"Yaaagh!" Startled, Takato tumbled backwards, incidentally flinging his chopsticks up. Yana's eye twitched as, for the second time that day, food landed with a 'splat' on her carefully done hair.
A cone of trembling silence filled the space between them.
"Ooops. Oh, man, I'm really very sorry about that…" Takato stammered, leaping to his feet. He didn't know whether to try and get her some tissue or to bow profusely.
"Ha….ha….ha…." Yana laughed, although each 'ha' was unusually long and her voice trembled, as if she was trying to keep it under control. It was unusually shrill, too. "Never mind, Taka-kun, it was a mistake. Excuse me for a moment…" Takato blinked as Yana zipped away, leaving an afterimage of herself.
Within moments, as promised, she was back, her black hair once again immaculate. "Now, Taka-kun, once more, from the top." She coughed delicately, and then began to speak again. "Fancy meeting you here!" Yana said as she sat back down. Takato shifted uneasily; she was sitting close to him. A little too close. A little too let-me-have-some-space-you-whacko! close.
He inched away slowly, stopping only when he was nearly falling off the stool. And still she came nearer, until she was sitting more on his seat than on hers.
"Um…Yana-san…" How did one go about politely telling someone to back the hell off?
***
Takato was not happy. He'd had to sit here, listening to Yana rattle on and on and on about her, her suitors (for some reason she kept glancing weirdly at him when she did so) her, her friends, her, her highly placed, influential and famous family, and what Takato was beginning to understand was Yana's favorite subject: her. Further, since the girl insisted on taking up all the space, for the past half-hour he'd been stuck in the muscle-crampingly uncomfortable position of practically hanging off the edge of his seat.
Takato sighed and signaled the proprietor of Ucchan's to bring him another drink. The older girl gave a little smirk as she slid his glass down the bar, as if she found the entire situation hilariously familiar. Takato wondered briefly where that thought came from before sighing and downing his iced tea.
***
Yana was not happy. What was with this boy? She was pulling out all the stops – maneuvering herself close, so that he should have been blushing and stammering at her proximity; she'd talked about her numerous suitors, but he hadn't gotten that jealous glint in his eye; and he hadn't been impressed by her accomplishments, her extremely influential family or her social standing. What was wrong with him?!
If snagging him wouldn't have been wonderful to rub in Makino's face – and if the boy hadn't been gorgeous – Yana would have thrown her hands up in disgust and stalked out.
The television set above the bar suddenly began to show a short news segment regarding the latest acquisition of Bandai Corporation.
"…and we hope to use Shinohara Industries' technology to bring a whole new dimension to our Digimon card game…." An earnest Bandai spokesman was saying on the TV.
Yana could remember that time five years ago when Ruki had become famous for – pfft, yeah right – saving the world. What a load of tosh! She had simmered angrily for days while the school buzzed with Makino's new-found fame. How dare Makino, that nobody tomboy, upstage her?! It was just a publicity stunt by that stupid Banzai or whatever company. She had had to labor ceaselessly to ensure that the hubbub about Ruki and her idiotic card game died down, and she was restored to her position as unchallenged Queen.
As a result of that awful time when people were treating Makino like some sort of celebrity, Yana absolutely loathed Digimon and anything to do with it. She gave vent to her feelings by sneering at the television.
"Oh please!" she said, interrupting her monologue on herself to rant about Digimon. "As if that dumb card game deserves airtime? It's only for babies and people who are too brain-dead to have real lives."
Now why was Taka-kun gaping at her like that?
***
AN: I cannot believe that it's nearing the end of my summer and I've only written a few fics. This has been most unproductive. (sigh) I need to discipline myself to write more. Anyone have any hints on how to get momentum for writing?
In regards to the Yana-steals-Takato plot, I never intended Ruki to do the whole 'How could you, you cad?!' thing. It's funny if done well, but I don't think I can do it. Especially not in this fic. Maybe one day I'll take a crack at it, but not now. So, don't worry Archangemon, AnT.
I just wanted the chance to bash on Yana more. (grins) It's wonderful therapy. I think there'll be more in the next chappie. There's no one really bash-worthy (to me) in Digimon 03, so I had to make up my own. (smiles beatifically)
Short chapters again, but at least the next is in production, I swear. Being written in another window this very minute. (it seems my brother using the Net connection so I can't use up all my time surfing for fics is good for productivity) BTW, is it just me or did the supply of Digimon fics suddenly freeze? I swear that the same fic's been at the top of the ff.net page for the past three days.
I'll try to reply to reviewers but right now I can't access my reviews page, so I'll have to do it next chapter. On the plus-side I've finally broken the triple-digit reviews barrier! I've only ever been able to do that on my GW/Esca fic! Thank you! :D If I could draw worth a plug nickel I'd do celebratory fanart or something.
Soundtrack for this chapter
U-Turn by Usher
How You Remind Me by Nickelback
Cartoon Cartoon theme song (baby siblings + TV in room = unwilling listener)
Carmen Caprice (Acoustic) by the Planets
Submit Review Report Possible Abuse Add Story to Favorites Add Author to Favorites Add Author to Author Alert 1. Best Friends?2. This Kiss3. Worth A Thousand Words4. School Visit5. When Hell Freezes Over6. Earning Detention7. Awkward Encounters8. Going Bye Bye9. replies to reviewers10. Aftershock11. Meanwhile, Back At The Lair