Chapter 9: Sun, surf, swimsuits, and stalkers!
Amber: Hi. It's Amber. *Henry carefully approaches Amber.*
Henry: Hey, um...I think they already know that. *Henry winces and ducks just in time to dodge Amber's flying fist*
Amber: Yeah, moro- oh. Hi Henry. I thought you were Kazu. Anyway, I bet you're wondering about the title of the chapter. I am not going to tell you. *Amber suddenly remembers something. *Whispers* Hey Henry. Did you replace Rika's swimsuit?
Henry: Shhh. Yeah. I got it.
Amber: Excellent! This is gonna be great! Well anyway, I haven't much to say right now, except the disclaimer-*Henry turns and tries to sneak away, and Amber reaches behind her and grabs him*- and I have to mention bad bad Digifreak103 for making the mean joke about Henry. *Turns and hugs Henry* He ISN'T gay! *Henry squirms and Amber lets him go* Hey stop that!
Henry: Sorry, I just don't like to be hugged. I guess I have to do the disclaimer. *Amber glares at him* I mean, that is, what a privilege! Okay, here we go *tries to act all cheery*
Disclaimer: Amber doesn't own me, to some contrary beliefs, nor does she own any characters in Digimon.
Amber: Cut, cut! That was too legal. Here. *Amber hands him a squirrel suit* Here, do it in this.
Henry: *Puts on the squirrel suit and mutters* Here goes. Amber bought the special surprise we put in Rika's tote bag, she stole my heart, and a lot of other things *Amber glares at him* just joking. No, really. But it would take a lot of money to buy Digimon. But, on the other hand, she could always steal that, too.
Amber: And.CUT! That was great, Henry! Genuine enthusiasm!
Henry: I still don't see why I needed the squirrel suit.
Amber: Oh that. Well, I liked it.
Henry: Really? *Henry gets what Amber means and blushes* Oh.I see..
Amber: Yeah, we have things to do too, you know. Let them read already.
Henry: Okay..well.here.
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Chapter 8: Sun, surf, swimsuits, and stalkers!
HONK! HONK! The horns of Rika's and Ryo's ship blew as they both pulled in to the harbor on an isolated island. They would have it mostly to themselves, because about the only things on the island were a Motel, a general store, a rent-a-car place (except for the fact that the roads are so small you can hardly fit one car on them, so mostly motorcycles), and a surf shop. 'This probably isn't the first idea of luxury,' Rika thought, 'but hey, some people like their privacy.including me.'
The ship bellowed another 'toot' and pulled into the port. They hauled their luggage to the mini-car, and it drove away to the motel without them in it- because the car was too small to fit that much stuff- and it was to be unloaded in the motel room. Rika decided she didn't want to drive, she didn't particularly like it, and so Kouji would drive. He said he had experience riding motorcycles. They went to the rent-a-car place and got a motorcycle for the three days they would be here.
Rika didn't surf, though, but Kouji did, on the other hand, he had his own board, so they didn't plan to hit the surf shop. The place was not all too technologically advanced. There wasn't even a swimwear shop. One thing she could say to the island's defense was the air. It was not at all polluted. It was hotter than it was in Japan, but the air was crisp and clean, and smelled of sea salt.
Rika sat on the back of the motorcycle, holding on to Kouji tightly. She wasn't at all surprised; Kouji seemed like the type that rode motorcycles all the time.
The clean air she had noticed earlier was now all around her, awakening her with fresh oxygen she had never really experienced before. She felt alive. "Hey, Kouji," she shouted, "can we go swimming? I feel a little warm."
"I know what you mean. This place is a little humid to me too." He pulled off at the side of the shore, as there was shore practically everywhere. Every once in a while, there would be something like a rest stop with a place to change.
Rika and Kouji got off the motorcycle and went into the separate rooms. Rika unloaded the swim bag she carried on her shoulder, took out the sunglasses, sunscreen, and- uh-oh.
"OH MY GOD!" Rika screamed. This was her worst nightmare! Suddenly, the beeper in her bag began to beep.
Hey. It was a message from Amber. Did you find my surprise? Rika was turning red, and it wasn't sunburn.
Yes. That was you?
Oh, yeah. It was a little 'Unexpected Surprise.'
Well, surprise, surprise. It's like finding dog poop on your front porch and your neighbor says 'Surprise, surprise! I thought I'd replace your newspaper with dog poo. I just assumed you'd appreciate it. Big favor, huh?'
I take it you don't appreciate it, then.
Hmmm...let's see.
Well, you have no choice. We took your 1-piece out.
So I'm stuck wearing a bikini. (A/n: yep, that's right, a bikini!)
We thought it might arouse more jealousy.
Okay, so who did this now?
Besides me?
Yeah.
Henry.
Okay, making note.
Have fun in your new swimsuit! ^_^
o_o;;
She shut the beeper off and threw it in the bag. She finished changing (like Amber said, what choice was there?) and came out to find Kouji already changed. He was clearly very impressed. His eyes went wide as he looked her up and down. "WOW!" Kouji said, obviously with more surprise than he had intended.
"Don't get any ideas," she said, "I was set up." Kouji shrugged, still amazed, and they ran off to the beach. Kouji was very excited about using his board, because under normal circumstances he didn't get to. While he was distracted, Rika got bored. She wandered off towards the cluster of tropical trees and shrubs. She swore she saw something moving. To add to it, she was curious about not seeing Ryo and Nabiki. It was a long time that had gone by that she had been blessed not to see them, but some things are just designed to make you worry the longer you go without seeing them, no matter how bad it is to see them in the first place.
She slinked over to the 'forest' and took a look around. Hmph! Nothing. She risked a peek inside. That was weird. But she just wouldn't let her suspicion go overlooked. She began searching, when she heard a rustling. She heard something that sounded a lot like Kouji when he took off his bandanna to adjust it. "Hello?" Rika was almost whispering. She hadn't noticed that it was natural for her to try and keep a quiet place that way.
The person in the bushes gave up on silent stalking, and decided to step out of the bushes. It was, to Rika's surprise, a girl.
It was your typical 'Biker Chick,' or at least the stereotype of one. She had long, curly blonde hair, flowing down from a red bandanna. She rudely chomped a piece of gum, and every few seconds, a huge purple bubble emerged from her scarlet lips. This girl was clearly American. Her outfit was pretty revealing (who was she calling revealing). It consisted of a red halter top (super short), fringed blue jean short cutoffs (boy was that a mouthful), and some (oddly enough) black combat boots.
She cocked her head to the side and gave Rika a head-to-toe inspection, contempt gleaming in her eyes. Funny thing was, it seemed to suit her. She spoke up in what was clearly a southern accent (go figure!) that was exaggerated and ridiculous. "So, I he-uh you the gal that's bin seein' mah may-un."
"Arrgh. What is it with the girls thinking they own every guy I like?" Rika muttered.
"Mah name's Jesse, and way-ell, maybe yew's too ugly to get yerself yer own gah."
"Hey-" Rika began to respond, but cut herself short. She didn't care if someone thought she was ugly! She steeled herself. If this one wasn't gonna give up without a fight, so be it. Like she always said, 'A fight's a fight!' She did see the superiority flicker in her enemy's eyes for a moment, thrown off by Rika's sudden unwillingness to care.
She hadn't realized it, but they began to circle each other, like two lions about to have a face-off. She saw Jesse fire up for another round of insults. She once again braced herself.
"Hmmm.funny, ah don't see you ay-as much competition. Maybe 'cuz ah don't go up against many tom-boys." Rika didn't mind that comment. Jesse saw this, but it was too late for her.
"Hey, I got an idea, why don't you stop the little southern charade, sweetie? Or is it like your face, hideous and indestructible? Or wait, I could just rip that annoying face off right now." Jesse blew a bubble, and let out an exaggerated gasp. Her shields went down, and for a moment, she thought she was going to see the waterworks. But that didn't mean she had won.
She had the feeling the standoff was far from over. For now the girl had backed off. The end of round one. Rika had won the battle, but not the war. She added, as if by afterthought, "By the way, my names Rika. Don't forget it."
When she got back, Kouji was still riding waves. He wiped out a lot. She laughed and Kouji yelled back, "Hey! It's not funny! I don't get a lot of practice!" It sounded ridiculously defensive, so Rika usually laughed some more. Finally, Kouji got tired of drinking sea water and came back to shore.
He said, "I noticed you were gone. You went into the trees. I thought you were going to swim." Rika almost got embarrassed. She had completely underestimated Kouji. He never let his guard down, and he seemed ever aware of what's going on him. So she decided to joke.
"Ahhhh, I see Kouji sees and knows all," she said, "maybe that hair of yours is hiding your third eye!"
"Don't play cute with me. I know you did it for a reason."
"Well, what is there to do in the ocean but surf? I don't know how to surf."
"You could collect shells."
"Yes, but you're not in the ocean. What difference is there to being in the trees except for the shade?" Kouji would've been amazed, but for the fact that he realized this all along. He had met someone who could talk rings around him when it comes to explaining things. He gave up. It obviously wasn't important. But just then, Rika started to speak.
"Look, Kouji, I thought I saw something moving-"
"It's alright. You can do whatever you want." Rika went off the defensive.
"What? Did you miss me in my bikini?" Sometimes she was amazed at what she sacrificed to lighten up a situation.
The temperature was much better that night, and perfect for Rika because it was dark, too. They walked along the beach together, discussing how Rika got there in the first place.
"Yeah," Rika was saying, "my friends did this. It was all over a guy." She hesitated. "A guy I like." She stopped, and looked at her feet, digging up a little sand. "His name is Ryo."
Just then she heard something, and saw a shape skulk through the darkness. It headed toward the patch of trees, and it didn't look like a girl. She had an indisputable suspicion of who it was. "Did you see that? I don't know if I'm paranoid or what, but I sense that people have been following me around. That might have been Ryo."
"How'd he get here?" Kouji asked.
"I don't know much about that. All I know is that he was on a twin cruise. He was on the ship you were watching take off. And I think he saw us kissing."
"There is another girl I like, too. Her name is-" Kouji stopped himself. He thought that since he kissed Rika, he ought not to tell her he had another girl on his mind. "Well, her name is Zoe, but I don't have a chance with her. I've given up."
"So, I'm basically your second choice." She didn't sound exactly fuming; this was like a way out for her, because she was certain she didn't feel as strongly about him as he did about her. She did it just to mess with his mind. She wanted him to make an excuse to bail, so she could go after the shadow. She could only think to herself about how the curiosity killed the cat. Boy, would she be right about that later.
"Um.no, I mean yes-I didn't know you, but-um...I have to go back to the motel. I wanna get up early and surf. Bye!" and Kouji ran off into the darkness. She heard a rumble of an engine, and she was home free. The ocean reached out and splashed her feet with cooling water. She felt like she was ready to take on the shadows.
She walked over to the trees, and she knew whoever was there was expecting her. She knew who it was now if there was ever a doubt in her mind. Whoever this was knew her all too well. "Ryo, she whispered, follow me," and added, as if in afterthought, "as if you weren't already."
She went down to an abandoned campfire, and, took a twig and brushed off the sand. She too some logs and a matchbook that was lying around. She lay down the logs on top of the ones already there, and struck a match and placed it carefully. The brush in the firewood caught quickly, and with a little blowing, it was well on it's way to becoming a bright fire.
She sat down by the water. The water splashed her feet some more. She knew Ryo hadn't known where she went, he had to find his way out of the trees in her direction, which he wasn't sure of in the first place. He would figure it out when he saw the fire.
The fire was glowing when he figured out where she was. He sat down on a seat made out of a split log. She got up and sat down, looking at him. He owed her an explanation, as if she didn't know why he had been following her in the first place. He poked at the fire to avoid her gaze. "I got away from Nabiki. She follows me everywhere. I wanted to talk to you. Who's the guy?" He looked up at her with the eyes of a puppy that had just been kicked. 'Good,' she thought. 'He must be coming out of it. It's working.'
"His name is Kouji. The girls set me up with him." Just then, the beeper beeped.
What are you doing? We haven't heard from you in a while.
Don't bother me! I'm alone with Ryo!
Oooooo...
Who is this, by the way?
Jeri.
I figured.
Kiss him!
Shutting off beeper...
She shut off the beeper, and looked back to Ryo.
"Oh." Ryo appeared to be considering how to react. He probably didn't know how he should. "Well.does he like you?" Rika wasn't sure if she should say that he liked her more than the plan really allowed, but she knew she probably shouldn't mention the plan at all, so she just said "Yeah. He likes me." No use. Ryo knew what she was thinking.
"But do you like him as much?" Rika thought of something quick.
"I don't know, I can't read people's minds." Ryo stopped trying to find that out. He knew it wouldn't do any good to try.
"Well.um, I saw you two kissing on the ship." She didn't know whether or not to pretend she liked it.
"So? Didn't you two kiss? Besides, you had no right to spy on me. I saw you with those binoculars on the ship. Nabiki clearly wasn't happy to see you watching. How DARE you!" And with that, she got up and stormed off.
"Rika, no, I didn't mean-" But it was no use. Rika was gone. She walked up the shore and into the patch of trees, taking the shortcut. Suddenly, a large brown object went hurtling toward her. It was dark outside, and she had just enough time to register it was a coconut. THUNK! It collided with her head with a dull thump. She went down.
"Well, whaddaya know," Jesse said, walking up to her fallen enemy. "There's sumthin' in there, after all."
~*Meanwhile, with Kouji*~
"Uggghh." Kouji said, just waking up from his drug. He found himself gagged and bound inside of what appeared to be a cave. He writhed across the floor until he was at the edge only to see a colossal dropoff, with several platforms along the way, at the bottom, the angry sea crashed like thunder.
He rolled over and looked up. Only a little way up, there was ground. 'So that's how I got here,' he thought, and tried to remember what happened to get him here. 'Hmmmm..'
~*Kouji's flashback! WE WELCOME YOU!*~
Kouji was in his hotel room. He was wondering when Rika would come back. It was late. Maybe Rika wouldn't come back. That would save him some explaining, but that was probably too much to ask. "Hmmm," he said to himself, and rolled over onto his back.
There was a knock on his door, and he came and unbolted it.
"Room service" The girl on the other side of the door said with a southern belle accent.
"Oh, come on in," he said, and let the room service girl push her cart loaded with the stuff he ordered into the room. There was a burger, some fries, a bottle of catsup, and a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade with strawberry in it.
He was parched, so he had a sip of the lemonade. The girl's polite smile turned to a cocky, satisfied smile. She got into his lap, and started kissing him all over his face.
"That's it, mah dahlin'," she said. "Drink it down."
~*Back with Kouji*~
"Oh, I musta passed out," he said, and touched his face. Sure enough, his fingers were covered with lipstick. 'I wonder where Rika is now,' he thought, and wondered if the girl who kidnapped him was the girl in the trees Rika had talked about.
~*Back with Rika*~
"Jeez," she said, "where am I?" Rika rubbed a sore spot on her head, and opened up her eyes to a horrifying scene. Her view was up against a tree, lifted three feet in the air. It was just across the stomach, though, so she could move her hands. A note was slipped between her stomach and the rope. It read, 'Let's see how you'll get away from this one without your precious Kouji.' It was signed 'Jesse and Nabiki.'
She heard a soft chitter. She looked into the shrubs, and a squirrel ran out of one of them.
"Here, squirrelly, squirrelly," Rika called out, wondering why there was a squirrel in the Bahamas in the first place. "Come here and chew the rope." The squirrel chattered inquisitively. It rushed up to Rika, and looked at her curiously.
"Chit chit." Rika rolled her eyes and pretended to hold something behind her back.
"Here squirrelly, I got something for ya." It crawled around the tree, and peered into her hands, cupped around air. It lifted one and saw that it was empty. It decided to clamp down hard on her hand.
"Oww!!!!!" Rika cried, and examined her hand. "Dumb old rabies infested rodent!!!!!" She bellowed as the squirrel ran away. "Thing was smarter than I thought," she grumbled. "Now what am I gonna do???"
"Rika!" A voice shouted as they pushed through the bushes. "Rika, I'm so glad I found you!" Ryo emerged.
"What are you doing here?" She called to him. "How did you know I was here?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Did you have anything to do with this?"
"Nope, I was as clueless as you were until a couple minutes ago. I found out about you and I know where Kouji was taken."
"Kouji was taken? I thought he was just gone.."
"He was drugged and taken to a remote location. On the high end of the island, in a cave on a cliff. The only way to get there is to climb down a rope. Come on," he rushed to her and began cutting the ropes with his pocket knife. "We have to get going before its too late. Jesse's is heading there now."
He cut her ropes fully and lifted her slowly down. "And this makes how many times I've saved your life?" He said with a mischievous grin on his face.
She leaned close and kissed him softly. On the lips. He fell unconscious. "Oh, god," she said. "Now how am I gonna get to Kouji?"
~*Ryo's POV! WE WELCOME YOU!*~
"Oww.hey!" Ryo shouted as cold water was thrown over him. When he wiped his face, he saw Rika's lavender eyes staring meaningfully into his.
"Are you okay?" Rika asked, smiling and slightly giggling. 'Wow,' Ryo thought, 'she's so pretty when she smiles.'
"Yeah," he said, and rubbed his head (I rhyme! ^_^). "I think I hit my head."
"Do you know what happened?" Rika asked. Ryo thought for a minute, then remembered.
"Um.yeah.didn't you kiss me?" Rika didn't answer, she only smiled and nodded and giggled. 'This is so unlike her.' Ryo thought. 'This must be a dream.'
Rika backed away as Ryo scrambled to his feet. He felt light and floaty. But he still remembered where Kouji was. He led the way to his bike (that was all he could ride when he was sneaking away) and Rika sat in back of him. He pedaled like the wind, and he arrived at the cliff, where a rope was already tied to a clamp attached to the ground.
"She's been here." Ryo said sharply, and came out of his dreamy state. He turned to her. "You afraid of heights? " He asked urgently.
"No." Rika replied, but she kind of was. She had to abandon her fear to save Kouji. He was kind to her and showed her a good time. She owed him. She grabbed the rope and climbed down. There were small footholds to put her feet in while climbing. She jumped to the edge of the cliff and let go of the rope. She moved aside to make room for Ryo.
"Ahh.so this is the evil headquarters. Kinda unremarkable, isn't it?"
"Way-el, if it isn't the damsel in distray-as her-say-elf comin' to rescue her may-an," Jesse said as she looked up from her hostage. "And ah suppose wonder-boy here saved yew. Wait 'till Nabiki finds out."
"Enough small-talk," she said. "Let's get down to business. You have something I want. Gimme. Or over the cliff you go."
"Is thay-at a threat?" She asked. "I don't fahnd it thay-at convincing. Maybe you should back it up."
"Okay." And Rika threw a punch at her. She stood up and blocked. She punched back, and Rika ducked. Ryo and Kouji were backed up into a corner, knowing not to get in the way of a catfight.
"This is good. Now all it needs is popcorn." Ryo whispered. Kouji nodded in agreement, because he couldn't speak on account of his bandanna being stuffed in his mouth.
They threw punches and exchanged kicks, and this went on for a quite a long time. Finally, Jesse had Rika at the edge. She was leaning in on her, about to finish her off.
".ay-und if yew thank yew cay-un chay-ellenge me and get away with it, you've got anuthah thang comin', missy."
"Oh my god!" Rika shrieked. "Is that a broken nail?"
"Oh no!" screeched Jesse, and took her hands off Rika's shoulders. Then Rika sped around Jesse, so she was nearest the cliff.
"Oh really? Looks like I've already gotten away with it." And with that, Rika shoved Jesse over the cliff. "Preps." Rika said, dusting her hands off. "You know one , you know 'em all." She helped untie Kouji, and faced Ryo.
"Ryo?" she said.
"What?" Ryo replied, turning from the raging sea to look at her.
"Thanks."
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Amber: Aww how cute! ^_^ I kinda put Rika ooc for a minute there, but at least Rika can claim that Ryo was still partially unconscious if he ever tried to say anything. Okay, this is an important announcement!!!! Whoever gives the 50th review to this story, gets a special prize!!! We're not quite sure what...but it's gonna be good!!! ^_^ I'm out!
Amber: Hi. It's Amber. *Henry carefully approaches Amber.*
Henry: Hey, um...I think they already know that. *Henry winces and ducks just in time to dodge Amber's flying fist*
Amber: Yeah, moro- oh. Hi Henry. I thought you were Kazu. Anyway, I bet you're wondering about the title of the chapter. I am not going to tell you. *Amber suddenly remembers something. *Whispers* Hey Henry. Did you replace Rika's swimsuit?
Henry: Shhh. Yeah. I got it.
Amber: Excellent! This is gonna be great! Well anyway, I haven't much to say right now, except the disclaimer-*Henry turns and tries to sneak away, and Amber reaches behind her and grabs him*- and I have to mention bad bad Digifreak103 for making the mean joke about Henry. *Turns and hugs Henry* He ISN'T gay! *Henry squirms and Amber lets him go* Hey stop that!
Henry: Sorry, I just don't like to be hugged. I guess I have to do the disclaimer. *Amber glares at him* I mean, that is, what a privilege! Okay, here we go *tries to act all cheery*
Disclaimer: Amber doesn't own me, to some contrary beliefs, nor does she own any characters in Digimon.
Amber: Cut, cut! That was too legal. Here. *Amber hands him a squirrel suit* Here, do it in this.
Henry: *Puts on the squirrel suit and mutters* Here goes. Amber bought the special surprise we put in Rika's tote bag, she stole my heart, and a lot of other things *Amber glares at him* just joking. No, really. But it would take a lot of money to buy Digimon. But, on the other hand, she could always steal that, too.
Amber: And.CUT! That was great, Henry! Genuine enthusiasm!
Henry: I still don't see why I needed the squirrel suit.
Amber: Oh that. Well, I liked it.
Henry: Really? *Henry gets what Amber means and blushes* Oh.I see..
Amber: Yeah, we have things to do too, you know. Let them read already.
Henry: Okay..well.here.
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Chapter 8: Sun, surf, swimsuits, and stalkers!
HONK! HONK! The horns of Rika's and Ryo's ship blew as they both pulled in to the harbor on an isolated island. They would have it mostly to themselves, because about the only things on the island were a Motel, a general store, a rent-a-car place (except for the fact that the roads are so small you can hardly fit one car on them, so mostly motorcycles), and a surf shop. 'This probably isn't the first idea of luxury,' Rika thought, 'but hey, some people like their privacy.including me.'
The ship bellowed another 'toot' and pulled into the port. They hauled their luggage to the mini-car, and it drove away to the motel without them in it- because the car was too small to fit that much stuff- and it was to be unloaded in the motel room. Rika decided she didn't want to drive, she didn't particularly like it, and so Kouji would drive. He said he had experience riding motorcycles. They went to the rent-a-car place and got a motorcycle for the three days they would be here.
Rika didn't surf, though, but Kouji did, on the other hand, he had his own board, so they didn't plan to hit the surf shop. The place was not all too technologically advanced. There wasn't even a swimwear shop. One thing she could say to the island's defense was the air. It was not at all polluted. It was hotter than it was in Japan, but the air was crisp and clean, and smelled of sea salt.
Rika sat on the back of the motorcycle, holding on to Kouji tightly. She wasn't at all surprised; Kouji seemed like the type that rode motorcycles all the time.
The clean air she had noticed earlier was now all around her, awakening her with fresh oxygen she had never really experienced before. She felt alive. "Hey, Kouji," she shouted, "can we go swimming? I feel a little warm."
"I know what you mean. This place is a little humid to me too." He pulled off at the side of the shore, as there was shore practically everywhere. Every once in a while, there would be something like a rest stop with a place to change.
Rika and Kouji got off the motorcycle and went into the separate rooms. Rika unloaded the swim bag she carried on her shoulder, took out the sunglasses, sunscreen, and- uh-oh.
"OH MY GOD!" Rika screamed. This was her worst nightmare! Suddenly, the beeper in her bag began to beep.
Hey. It was a message from Amber. Did you find my surprise? Rika was turning red, and it wasn't sunburn.
Yes. That was you?
Oh, yeah. It was a little 'Unexpected Surprise.'
Well, surprise, surprise. It's like finding dog poop on your front porch and your neighbor says 'Surprise, surprise! I thought I'd replace your newspaper with dog poo. I just assumed you'd appreciate it. Big favor, huh?'
I take it you don't appreciate it, then.
Hmmm...let's see.
Well, you have no choice. We took your 1-piece out.
So I'm stuck wearing a bikini. (A/n: yep, that's right, a bikini!)
We thought it might arouse more jealousy.
Okay, so who did this now?
Besides me?
Yeah.
Henry.
Okay, making note.
Have fun in your new swimsuit! ^_^
o_o;;
She shut the beeper off and threw it in the bag. She finished changing (like Amber said, what choice was there?) and came out to find Kouji already changed. He was clearly very impressed. His eyes went wide as he looked her up and down. "WOW!" Kouji said, obviously with more surprise than he had intended.
"Don't get any ideas," she said, "I was set up." Kouji shrugged, still amazed, and they ran off to the beach. Kouji was very excited about using his board, because under normal circumstances he didn't get to. While he was distracted, Rika got bored. She wandered off towards the cluster of tropical trees and shrubs. She swore she saw something moving. To add to it, she was curious about not seeing Ryo and Nabiki. It was a long time that had gone by that she had been blessed not to see them, but some things are just designed to make you worry the longer you go without seeing them, no matter how bad it is to see them in the first place.
She slinked over to the 'forest' and took a look around. Hmph! Nothing. She risked a peek inside. That was weird. But she just wouldn't let her suspicion go overlooked. She began searching, when she heard a rustling. She heard something that sounded a lot like Kouji when he took off his bandanna to adjust it. "Hello?" Rika was almost whispering. She hadn't noticed that it was natural for her to try and keep a quiet place that way.
The person in the bushes gave up on silent stalking, and decided to step out of the bushes. It was, to Rika's surprise, a girl.
It was your typical 'Biker Chick,' or at least the stereotype of one. She had long, curly blonde hair, flowing down from a red bandanna. She rudely chomped a piece of gum, and every few seconds, a huge purple bubble emerged from her scarlet lips. This girl was clearly American. Her outfit was pretty revealing (who was she calling revealing). It consisted of a red halter top (super short), fringed blue jean short cutoffs (boy was that a mouthful), and some (oddly enough) black combat boots.
She cocked her head to the side and gave Rika a head-to-toe inspection, contempt gleaming in her eyes. Funny thing was, it seemed to suit her. She spoke up in what was clearly a southern accent (go figure!) that was exaggerated and ridiculous. "So, I he-uh you the gal that's bin seein' mah may-un."
"Arrgh. What is it with the girls thinking they own every guy I like?" Rika muttered.
"Mah name's Jesse, and way-ell, maybe yew's too ugly to get yerself yer own gah."
"Hey-" Rika began to respond, but cut herself short. She didn't care if someone thought she was ugly! She steeled herself. If this one wasn't gonna give up without a fight, so be it. Like she always said, 'A fight's a fight!' She did see the superiority flicker in her enemy's eyes for a moment, thrown off by Rika's sudden unwillingness to care.
She hadn't realized it, but they began to circle each other, like two lions about to have a face-off. She saw Jesse fire up for another round of insults. She once again braced herself.
"Hmmm.funny, ah don't see you ay-as much competition. Maybe 'cuz ah don't go up against many tom-boys." Rika didn't mind that comment. Jesse saw this, but it was too late for her.
"Hey, I got an idea, why don't you stop the little southern charade, sweetie? Or is it like your face, hideous and indestructible? Or wait, I could just rip that annoying face off right now." Jesse blew a bubble, and let out an exaggerated gasp. Her shields went down, and for a moment, she thought she was going to see the waterworks. But that didn't mean she had won.
She had the feeling the standoff was far from over. For now the girl had backed off. The end of round one. Rika had won the battle, but not the war. She added, as if by afterthought, "By the way, my names Rika. Don't forget it."
When she got back, Kouji was still riding waves. He wiped out a lot. She laughed and Kouji yelled back, "Hey! It's not funny! I don't get a lot of practice!" It sounded ridiculously defensive, so Rika usually laughed some more. Finally, Kouji got tired of drinking sea water and came back to shore.
He said, "I noticed you were gone. You went into the trees. I thought you were going to swim." Rika almost got embarrassed. She had completely underestimated Kouji. He never let his guard down, and he seemed ever aware of what's going on him. So she decided to joke.
"Ahhhh, I see Kouji sees and knows all," she said, "maybe that hair of yours is hiding your third eye!"
"Don't play cute with me. I know you did it for a reason."
"Well, what is there to do in the ocean but surf? I don't know how to surf."
"You could collect shells."
"Yes, but you're not in the ocean. What difference is there to being in the trees except for the shade?" Kouji would've been amazed, but for the fact that he realized this all along. He had met someone who could talk rings around him when it comes to explaining things. He gave up. It obviously wasn't important. But just then, Rika started to speak.
"Look, Kouji, I thought I saw something moving-"
"It's alright. You can do whatever you want." Rika went off the defensive.
"What? Did you miss me in my bikini?" Sometimes she was amazed at what she sacrificed to lighten up a situation.
The temperature was much better that night, and perfect for Rika because it was dark, too. They walked along the beach together, discussing how Rika got there in the first place.
"Yeah," Rika was saying, "my friends did this. It was all over a guy." She hesitated. "A guy I like." She stopped, and looked at her feet, digging up a little sand. "His name is Ryo."
Just then she heard something, and saw a shape skulk through the darkness. It headed toward the patch of trees, and it didn't look like a girl. She had an indisputable suspicion of who it was. "Did you see that? I don't know if I'm paranoid or what, but I sense that people have been following me around. That might have been Ryo."
"How'd he get here?" Kouji asked.
"I don't know much about that. All I know is that he was on a twin cruise. He was on the ship you were watching take off. And I think he saw us kissing."
"There is another girl I like, too. Her name is-" Kouji stopped himself. He thought that since he kissed Rika, he ought not to tell her he had another girl on his mind. "Well, her name is Zoe, but I don't have a chance with her. I've given up."
"So, I'm basically your second choice." She didn't sound exactly fuming; this was like a way out for her, because she was certain she didn't feel as strongly about him as he did about her. She did it just to mess with his mind. She wanted him to make an excuse to bail, so she could go after the shadow. She could only think to herself about how the curiosity killed the cat. Boy, would she be right about that later.
"Um.no, I mean yes-I didn't know you, but-um...I have to go back to the motel. I wanna get up early and surf. Bye!" and Kouji ran off into the darkness. She heard a rumble of an engine, and she was home free. The ocean reached out and splashed her feet with cooling water. She felt like she was ready to take on the shadows.
She walked over to the trees, and she knew whoever was there was expecting her. She knew who it was now if there was ever a doubt in her mind. Whoever this was knew her all too well. "Ryo, she whispered, follow me," and added, as if in afterthought, "as if you weren't already."
She went down to an abandoned campfire, and, took a twig and brushed off the sand. She too some logs and a matchbook that was lying around. She lay down the logs on top of the ones already there, and struck a match and placed it carefully. The brush in the firewood caught quickly, and with a little blowing, it was well on it's way to becoming a bright fire.
She sat down by the water. The water splashed her feet some more. She knew Ryo hadn't known where she went, he had to find his way out of the trees in her direction, which he wasn't sure of in the first place. He would figure it out when he saw the fire.
The fire was glowing when he figured out where she was. He sat down on a seat made out of a split log. She got up and sat down, looking at him. He owed her an explanation, as if she didn't know why he had been following her in the first place. He poked at the fire to avoid her gaze. "I got away from Nabiki. She follows me everywhere. I wanted to talk to you. Who's the guy?" He looked up at her with the eyes of a puppy that had just been kicked. 'Good,' she thought. 'He must be coming out of it. It's working.'
"His name is Kouji. The girls set me up with him." Just then, the beeper beeped.
What are you doing? We haven't heard from you in a while.
Don't bother me! I'm alone with Ryo!
Oooooo...
Who is this, by the way?
Jeri.
I figured.
Kiss him!
Shutting off beeper...
She shut off the beeper, and looked back to Ryo.
"Oh." Ryo appeared to be considering how to react. He probably didn't know how he should. "Well.does he like you?" Rika wasn't sure if she should say that he liked her more than the plan really allowed, but she knew she probably shouldn't mention the plan at all, so she just said "Yeah. He likes me." No use. Ryo knew what she was thinking.
"But do you like him as much?" Rika thought of something quick.
"I don't know, I can't read people's minds." Ryo stopped trying to find that out. He knew it wouldn't do any good to try.
"Well.um, I saw you two kissing on the ship." She didn't know whether or not to pretend she liked it.
"So? Didn't you two kiss? Besides, you had no right to spy on me. I saw you with those binoculars on the ship. Nabiki clearly wasn't happy to see you watching. How DARE you!" And with that, she got up and stormed off.
"Rika, no, I didn't mean-" But it was no use. Rika was gone. She walked up the shore and into the patch of trees, taking the shortcut. Suddenly, a large brown object went hurtling toward her. It was dark outside, and she had just enough time to register it was a coconut. THUNK! It collided with her head with a dull thump. She went down.
"Well, whaddaya know," Jesse said, walking up to her fallen enemy. "There's sumthin' in there, after all."
~*Meanwhile, with Kouji*~
"Uggghh." Kouji said, just waking up from his drug. He found himself gagged and bound inside of what appeared to be a cave. He writhed across the floor until he was at the edge only to see a colossal dropoff, with several platforms along the way, at the bottom, the angry sea crashed like thunder.
He rolled over and looked up. Only a little way up, there was ground. 'So that's how I got here,' he thought, and tried to remember what happened to get him here. 'Hmmmm..'
~*Kouji's flashback! WE WELCOME YOU!*~
Kouji was in his hotel room. He was wondering when Rika would come back. It was late. Maybe Rika wouldn't come back. That would save him some explaining, but that was probably too much to ask. "Hmmm," he said to himself, and rolled over onto his back.
There was a knock on his door, and he came and unbolted it.
"Room service" The girl on the other side of the door said with a southern belle accent.
"Oh, come on in," he said, and let the room service girl push her cart loaded with the stuff he ordered into the room. There was a burger, some fries, a bottle of catsup, and a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade with strawberry in it.
He was parched, so he had a sip of the lemonade. The girl's polite smile turned to a cocky, satisfied smile. She got into his lap, and started kissing him all over his face.
"That's it, mah dahlin'," she said. "Drink it down."
~*Back with Kouji*~
"Oh, I musta passed out," he said, and touched his face. Sure enough, his fingers were covered with lipstick. 'I wonder where Rika is now,' he thought, and wondered if the girl who kidnapped him was the girl in the trees Rika had talked about.
~*Back with Rika*~
"Jeez," she said, "where am I?" Rika rubbed a sore spot on her head, and opened up her eyes to a horrifying scene. Her view was up against a tree, lifted three feet in the air. It was just across the stomach, though, so she could move her hands. A note was slipped between her stomach and the rope. It read, 'Let's see how you'll get away from this one without your precious Kouji.' It was signed 'Jesse and Nabiki.'
She heard a soft chitter. She looked into the shrubs, and a squirrel ran out of one of them.
"Here, squirrelly, squirrelly," Rika called out, wondering why there was a squirrel in the Bahamas in the first place. "Come here and chew the rope." The squirrel chattered inquisitively. It rushed up to Rika, and looked at her curiously.
"Chit chit." Rika rolled her eyes and pretended to hold something behind her back.
"Here squirrelly, I got something for ya." It crawled around the tree, and peered into her hands, cupped around air. It lifted one and saw that it was empty. It decided to clamp down hard on her hand.
"Oww!!!!!" Rika cried, and examined her hand. "Dumb old rabies infested rodent!!!!!" She bellowed as the squirrel ran away. "Thing was smarter than I thought," she grumbled. "Now what am I gonna do???"
"Rika!" A voice shouted as they pushed through the bushes. "Rika, I'm so glad I found you!" Ryo emerged.
"What are you doing here?" She called to him. "How did you know I was here?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Did you have anything to do with this?"
"Nope, I was as clueless as you were until a couple minutes ago. I found out about you and I know where Kouji was taken."
"Kouji was taken? I thought he was just gone.."
"He was drugged and taken to a remote location. On the high end of the island, in a cave on a cliff. The only way to get there is to climb down a rope. Come on," he rushed to her and began cutting the ropes with his pocket knife. "We have to get going before its too late. Jesse's is heading there now."
He cut her ropes fully and lifted her slowly down. "And this makes how many times I've saved your life?" He said with a mischievous grin on his face.
She leaned close and kissed him softly. On the lips. He fell unconscious. "Oh, god," she said. "Now how am I gonna get to Kouji?"
~*Ryo's POV! WE WELCOME YOU!*~
"Oww.hey!" Ryo shouted as cold water was thrown over him. When he wiped his face, he saw Rika's lavender eyes staring meaningfully into his.
"Are you okay?" Rika asked, smiling and slightly giggling. 'Wow,' Ryo thought, 'she's so pretty when she smiles.'
"Yeah," he said, and rubbed his head (I rhyme! ^_^). "I think I hit my head."
"Do you know what happened?" Rika asked. Ryo thought for a minute, then remembered.
"Um.yeah.didn't you kiss me?" Rika didn't answer, she only smiled and nodded and giggled. 'This is so unlike her.' Ryo thought. 'This must be a dream.'
Rika backed away as Ryo scrambled to his feet. He felt light and floaty. But he still remembered where Kouji was. He led the way to his bike (that was all he could ride when he was sneaking away) and Rika sat in back of him. He pedaled like the wind, and he arrived at the cliff, where a rope was already tied to a clamp attached to the ground.
"She's been here." Ryo said sharply, and came out of his dreamy state. He turned to her. "You afraid of heights? " He asked urgently.
"No." Rika replied, but she kind of was. She had to abandon her fear to save Kouji. He was kind to her and showed her a good time. She owed him. She grabbed the rope and climbed down. There were small footholds to put her feet in while climbing. She jumped to the edge of the cliff and let go of the rope. She moved aside to make room for Ryo.
"Ahh.so this is the evil headquarters. Kinda unremarkable, isn't it?"
"Way-el, if it isn't the damsel in distray-as her-say-elf comin' to rescue her may-an," Jesse said as she looked up from her hostage. "And ah suppose wonder-boy here saved yew. Wait 'till Nabiki finds out."
"Enough small-talk," she said. "Let's get down to business. You have something I want. Gimme. Or over the cliff you go."
"Is thay-at a threat?" She asked. "I don't fahnd it thay-at convincing. Maybe you should back it up."
"Okay." And Rika threw a punch at her. She stood up and blocked. She punched back, and Rika ducked. Ryo and Kouji were backed up into a corner, knowing not to get in the way of a catfight.
"This is good. Now all it needs is popcorn." Ryo whispered. Kouji nodded in agreement, because he couldn't speak on account of his bandanna being stuffed in his mouth.
They threw punches and exchanged kicks, and this went on for a quite a long time. Finally, Jesse had Rika at the edge. She was leaning in on her, about to finish her off.
".ay-und if yew thank yew cay-un chay-ellenge me and get away with it, you've got anuthah thang comin', missy."
"Oh my god!" Rika shrieked. "Is that a broken nail?"
"Oh no!" screeched Jesse, and took her hands off Rika's shoulders. Then Rika sped around Jesse, so she was nearest the cliff.
"Oh really? Looks like I've already gotten away with it." And with that, Rika shoved Jesse over the cliff. "Preps." Rika said, dusting her hands off. "You know one , you know 'em all." She helped untie Kouji, and faced Ryo.
"Ryo?" she said.
"What?" Ryo replied, turning from the raging sea to look at her.
"Thanks."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amber: Aww how cute! ^_^ I kinda put Rika ooc for a minute there, but at least Rika can claim that Ryo was still partially unconscious if he ever tried to say anything. Okay, this is an important announcement!!!! Whoever gives the 50th review to this story, gets a special prize!!! We're not quite sure what...but it's gonna be good!!! ^_^ I'm out!