Hey all readers! I decided to put up the fourth chapter early since not much are reading and I don't want to loose my already gathered readers…I'm getting more reviews in my Lee/Alice fic than this…Hehehehehehe…Uhmmm…yeah. I dunno what else to say here…

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Period. If only I did…*drifts off to another dimension* Hey a person can dream can't they?!

What are Friends for? : Chapter four: A Friend is needed by All

Ruki lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep, staring at the ceiling. The day's events repeated in her mind like a tidal wave. The pain…the horror…the sorrow…Once again she felt a loss…a loss of another great person in her life. This was the third time she felt it. Once when she was very young…Dad…Another just a few months ago…Renamon…and now…She dared not think about it. Unconsciously, tears started streaming down her cheeks. These tears made it even harder to sleep. She only managed by burrowing her head under her pillow and sobbing. The day after tomorrow was the burial. Tomorrow Ryo and his dad would come visit and offer their sympathy. Seiko was in the room. She was laid in her coffin. Her face, filled with love and concern, played over and over in Ruki's mind, piercing her heart with that all-too familiar sense of loss.

"Ruki I have to tell you something…Daddy has to go. Be good okay?" A tall man in a dark suit stroked her hair with his hand. He was carrying two suitcases, one was on the floor the other clutched in his hand.

"But daddy, where are you going?" The little girl stared up at her father with an innocent face.

"Somewhere…" The father carried his daughter and embraced her. She wrapped her little arms around her daddy's neck and cried a bit. Only a bit. Not too much, not too little. Soon she felt herself be placed on the couch and felt her father's kiss on her cheek and heard his soft 'goodbye' and 'I love you'. Next moment she heard his footsteps moving farther into the distance. Then the door banged shut. The door soon opened and out came a fox-like Digimon. Renamon. The girl was older now.

"Renamon!"

"Ruki…goodbye…we will meet again someday…"

"But when? When Renamon? When is 'again'?" Tears poured down the girl's cheeks as her friend slowly drifted away from her and away from her world. She cried. Tears poured down her face and dropped to the ground. The grass became wound and her tears became blood. She was in her mother's arms, crying. She looked behind her and saw the latest event of her life, her beloved grandma laid on the floor, blood around her.

"Grandma…I'm sorry I'm late. Please…don't leave me…"

"Ruki dear…granddaughter…let me tell you something. Life on earth is limited, but life in eternity is eternal. There are only two places to go, only two choices…heaven, or hell…"

"Grandma…I'm sure you'll go to Heaven!"

"Ruki, you must be 100% pure and good to go to Heaven. Even if your 99.9% good, you may still not enter Heaven." Ruki was filled with doubt and fear. Butterflies suddenly played tag in her stomach.

"But…grandma, how do you go to Heaven?"

"You must believe, Ruki, believe…" Seiko started choking.

"GRANDMA!"

"MOTHER!"

"Daughter, granddaughter…My time has come…I love you both very much…"

"Grandma…I love you too…I always have"

"You must believe, Ruki, believe…" Seiko started choking. Then she died. The image of her grandmother lying in her coffin struck her. The image began swirling around and everything went blank. 'Death…Loss…Pain…Sadness…That's what you feel…Death…Loss…Pain…Sadness…Death…

Something was talking to her. The chill of death crept up her body.

The cock crowed. Makino Ruki sat bolt upright in her futon, tears stinging her eyes. She had awoken from her dream. Her dream…It was real. No, it wasn't a dream. It was simply a summary of her life. Yes, that was it. Then she remembered. Today was the funeral. She took a quick shower. When she came out with her towel around her, her mother came in bringing an ankle-long simple black dress with elbow-length sleeves. She had pain in her eyes as she handed it over to Ruki and told her to leave her hair down.

"Your grandmother always wanted to see you wear this…I'm also going to wear…black…"

She walked out the room to change. Ruki stared at the dress. It was simple. No laces, no pink, no frills. Just plain. Her grandmother knew her. 'If grandma wants me to wear this, then I will. It's for her.' She changed into it. She made her way into the kitchen afterwards and quietly ate her breakfast. Her grandma was still in the room. After breakfast she went to her grandma's coffin. 'Grandma.' She touched the glassy surface, right above Seiko's face. White flowers crowned the coffin as tears slowly made their way down her eyes and dropping onto the surface. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking around, she saw Ryo. He had been early.

"Ruki…"

She dared not stare into his eyes. Ruki looked down and squeezed her eyes shut; causing the tears that had been welling up to fall. Ryo led her to the nearest chair and let her sit down. He put his arm around her and tried to comfort her. Secretly, Ruki enjoyed his company and his comforting move. Outwardly, she didn't do anything. Her mother came in, wearing black. Rumiko approached the coffin and cried. This pierced something in Ruki's heart and without warning she cried on Ryo's shoulder. He was the closest one around. What else could she do?

Soon the others arrived along with some monks. They chanted some prayers over Seiko and did some monk stuff. Ruki remained with Ryo the whole praying time since Rumiko told her not to go near the monks. Another reason for her staying with Ryo was that he had felt the pain and he had been there during the two incidents. He knew. He understood. Soon Juri approached her and sat next to her.

"Ruki…I'm sorry. I know how It feels to loose someone important…I wanted to tell you that…your strong, Ruki, unlike me. I know that you can handle these things and can recover more easily than I can. I know it hurts…but…don't let depression overcome you or you will be isolated from everything you love and everyone who cares…even the ones who want to help. Ruki…Be strong." Then she left.

Ryo whispered in her ear.

"Juri's right. Ruki, I believe in you. Don't let anything get in your way. I'm telling you this beforehand before it gets worse. I know it may not be the right time but…when I tell you it might be too late. Be brave, Ruki, I know you can do it…"  This touched something in her heart. Juri's comment also did. This made her realize the care her friends had given her.

Afterwards the monks carried the coffin outside and carried it towards the burial spot. Ruki and her mom were after them and followed by the others. Ryo quickened his pace a bit so he was walking alongside Ruki at her left. She and Rumiko were wearing dark sunglasses so they wouldn't be seen crying. Not that they wanted to hide their love for Seiko but because they felt uncomfortable being seen crying, especially since they were not at home. Jenrya, too, followed Ryo and walked with Ruki at her right. Juri and the others followed behind them.

The procession seemed to last for eternity. Every second seemed to last for an hour. All too soon they reached the burial spot. The monks took the coffin out and placed it on a table they had brought. They opened it so mother and daughter could see their beloved grandmother / mother's body for the last time for the rest of their lives here on earth. Rumiko's upper body collapsed on top of the glass surface, her head in her arms and bewailed the loss of Seiko. Ruki suddenly fell to her knees, her head bowed down. Her sunglasses fell and revealed her crying eyes. Tears were furiously coming now, one by one dropping to her legs. Juri kneeled beside her, placed her hand on her shoulder and beckoned her to stand up. She couldn't. No wait, she wouldn't.

At last she stood up and took a last look at her grandmother, who was certain never to be seen again. She watched, along with everyone else, as her grandmother was being lowered, slowly, slowly, ever so slowly like time was wanting them to suffer more, into the ground where she would lie in peace…forever.

After the funeral the latter made their way back to Rumiko's house for dinner (The procession had taken a long time). Rumiko and Ruki stayed at the back and took longing glances back at the cemetery. All were walking at a slow pace under the burning sun, experiencing extreme heat, especially since they were all wearing black.

They reached the house a long time later and everyone settled down as Rumiko prepared dinner. The adults seated themselves at one side of the room and gave their condolences to Rumiko before she went into the kitchen. The tamers were on the other side of the room. Juri had instructed them not to ask too much questions to Ruki because se knew how Ruki felt. Ruki didn't want to be bothered. She wanted to be left alone. Only Ryo disobeyed her and went outside near the lake where Ruki was sitting forlornly.

'She looks beautiful in that dress, especially with her hair down. But she's so depressed…I've never seen her like this.'

He sat down next to her and also stared at the lake. The scent of Sakura flowers made the atmosphere even more depressing. Ruki looked away from him, afraid to let her guard down. They sat in silence, quietly mourning Seiko. At last Ryo broke the silence.

"Ruki…are you thirsty? The walk was…kinda long…"

Ruki face Ryo. "No it wasn't! It was for grandma and all the sweat I perspired were all for her! It's all for her…" Her voice trailed off as tears began to attack. She turned her head. Ryo felt horrible. He made the situation even worse.

"Ruki, listen, I'm really, really sorry. It's just that it's hard to see you like this. You're my friend, Ruki, and friends look out for each other, whatever the problem is. It makes me worried to know how you feel right now. I have experienced something similar to this and it was really hard to overcome. If it wasn't for Cyberdramon I wouldn't be like this. I would be like the possessed Juri, but worse. Ruki please, don't let depression reign over you…"

"Ryo you don't understand," Ruki turned her head to face him once more. Her voice was creaky with pain. "I've felt this loss twice in the past. Its hard to experience it again. And with every experience I lose someone close to me…Now all I have left is my mom…"

"You still have me and the others. No matter what we won't leave you alone, Ruki. That's what friends do. They care." With this he enclosed his arms around her and brought her into an embrace. She cried on his chest and let all her tears out. His sentence was echoing in her mind. 'That's what friends do.' She recalled all the good time they had. The first time she met Takato and Henry, when she helped Juri play the TCG, when she, Kazu and Kenta got lost and found Ryo, when she finally biomerged into Sakuyamon…then the sad times struck. She recalled Leomon slowly becoming data, her passion for fighting in the past, how mean she had been to them all, the Digimon disappearing. This hurt her. She broke away from Ryo's arms and stared at the lake.

"Ryo…I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"For everything…Tell the others I'm sorry too…"

"Ruki lets go inside. They're all waiting for us."

They both stood up and went inside. They made their way into the dining room and saw everyone already seated, a scrumptious lay in front of them. Ruki sat across her mom and between Jenrya and Takato. The three had spent countless adventures together. She quietly served herself some fried rice and mantou or steamed bread. She also poured herself a cup of water and silently began eating her dinner. There was more food, of course, but her stomach didn't feel like eating.

"Ruki why don't you try the tempura? They're great!" Takato was pointing at the plate of tempura right in front of him.

"No thanks…"

"How about the ohitashi greens? They taste awesome!" Jenrya was really trying to cheer her up a bit. Ohitashi greens weren't really a favorite of the tamers. She just shook her head.

"Hey Ruki, do you want your sashimi?" Kazu was shouting since he was too far from Ruki. Ruki again shook her head. Everyone stared as Kazu ran over, stuck Ruki's sashimi in his mouth and rushed back to his seat.

"YUMMY!" Kazu also grabbed the last piece of mantou.

"HEY! I wanted that!" Kenta angrily told Kazu.

"First come first serve! Finders keepers losers weepers! Hehehe." Soon the pair were fighting over every dingle scrap of food left, making the atmosphere more cheerful. Too bad dinner had to end so fast. The lonely atmosphere shortly returned to them. One by one, they left, each saying their condolences once more to the Makinos. Ryo was the last to leave.

"Ruki, remember what we told you okay?" Then he, too left. I will not say about what happened to Ruki that night because it was too horrible to imagine. She couldn't fall asleep and her nearness to the floor quite frightened her. Memories were repeatedly flowing back to her, memories that she had long forgotten, and they were making her situation worse.

        ~Meanwhile at Ryo's house~

Ryo couldn't forget ho Ruki felt. When he had his arms around her, he could feel her pain. They were too unbearable. He couldn't forget the look on her face as she collapsed on her knees awhile ago. He couldn't forget how little she ate and how sad she looked. He couldn't forget what she said. No, they were to hard. He logged on to chat and met everyone there. They made a plan, a plan they thought and hoped would cheer Ruki up.

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Well that's it. I'll type the chat on the next chapter because my fingers hurt and besides, it's almost Digimon Tamers! Last episode is tomorrow, April 21. I'm taping it!J Read and Review please! I really want more reviews to encourage me on the next chapters. Not much people are reviewing anymore! L. Oh well…

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