Could You Read My Mind?

Author's Note: Latest update ever? It probably seemed like it...Sorry, but I couldn't get any work in mainly because of my Drama teacher demanding 5-pg journals every other week. And because I'm a fool I decided to write him a new story every time. :sigh: Ah well, onto this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of the below mentioned characters. All I can legally claim is this plot and story.

Digifreak103, Yes, overlapping POVs to understand what the various characters were thinking at the same time. I warned about that... :) Your comment makes me feel bad though...You tell me that it's good that I'm updating often and what happens? I go ahead and have wait two months to update. -.- I just feel like hiding in a hole now...

KawaiinessPnay, Bad ending sentence? -.- I seem to be getting those comments a lot lately (actually I've only gotten it twice but...). Well, you can't say that I didn't try... As to the subbed version of the movie: http : people . morrisville . edu / (insert tilde. disregard brackets) lisi80 / LegacyMain . htm . I think that the link would work better if you removed the spaces. .-.;;

Amethyst Blizzard, As this story has no draft, I don't have a definite amount of chapters and like I said in the first chapter, there will be four consistent POVs: Ryo, Takato, Rika, and Jeri. Occasionally, there will be a few "guest stars" here and there but that's about it.

Ao-Senshi, However chapters will come out later than usual. ..;; And that is a terrible consequence all by itself.

Forlorn Melody, Well I must have action in here somewhere. I mean, what is a story without action?

Guess :P, I hate you... You weren't supposed to figure it out! After all, my computer certainly didn't let me do it that way. Anyways, you shouldn't be talking squeaky viola. Good luck on Tuesday!

Chapter 5: Complications

"We have all heard about the event that occurred in Ichigaya, Shinjuku. After the attempted Digital invasion, what does the Digimon King have to say about this? How do you feel?"

I groaned in sheer annoyance and pushed away the microphones that pressed against my face, doing my best to shrink away from the crowd. "No comment. When will you people learn to stop?"

The door on the driver's side of the car swung open unexpectedly, knocking away the foolish cameraman that blocked its swing. A bearded man emerged from the doorway, his black eyes piercing through the ones that dared met his angry gaze. He slammed the car door with such force that I winced slightly, thinking that it would fall off its hinges; on the other hand, the sound attracted all other eyes and I quickly took this opportunity to take shelter in the house, bolting the door behind me. I sighed loudly and retreated upstairs to my room, trying to forget the continuous noise outside.

It was really annoying how reporters believed that they were some kind of God, going around collecting information they shouldn't even know about. Usually I would luxuriate in the attention I received but tonight was just different. I thought always reporters were supposed to be excellent writers but I don't see how that can be true when they can't even interpret the simplest human emotions.

The balcony glass had a slightly translucent quality to it, so I reluctantly slid open the door to my balcony and leaned over the edge to observe the scene. I staggered backwards with a hand to my eyes when a wave of light hit me. Cameras, really. Whoever thought them a good idea is a total fool. Tentatively, I lifted my hand and waited for the spots to stop appearing in my vision. I arched my neck back to stare up at the eternal dark blanket covering Fukuoka, Kyushu, strongly contrasting with the light. I figured that it was a nice pose, especially with the reporters copied me.

Quickly my neck snapped back in place and I easily found my father on the porch as he tried to push his way through the door. He must have sensed my curious eyes because he narrowed his own up at me, prompting me to run a hand through my spiked hair although my nervous chuckle was left unheard through the noise. I ran back downstairs and unchained the door quickly. As soon as the click was audible, a heavy object collided with me, pinning me to the floor and evaporating all my breath. When I heard the unmistakable sound of cameras going off, my throat executed a loud groan while my mouth performed an impressive swear. Why am I the one plagued by these germs? I'm really going to start getting sick of them one day. Luckily, reprieve from both physical torture and privacy invasion was granted as the weight lifted itself away.

"Get out!" my Dad roared, throwing a punch at the nearest reporter before slamming the door shut. His shoulders were raising and falling to match his deep breathing as he turned to face me. "Tell me, why you went to the Digital Zone again—and stayed for over three months." His tone was calm, but the flames in his eyes betrayed him. I sighed to myself. The one thing I had been hoping today was that my father would not find out about my arrival in the Real World; the reporters obviously had other plans for the man appeared at the Makino residence only a few hours after I'd talked to Ruki.

I shrugged, playing an act of indifference. "The D-Reaper caused a lot of damage in the Digital Zone so it's only common sense that I help out in any way I can."

"You shouldn't have stayed there for three months without informing me!"

My features curved into a frown and I narrowed my eyes at the parental figure. "Dad, I told that I was leaving but you were too engrossed in your job to care about your own son."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement and he let out a curt laugh. "You knew that I was involved in a very important assignment; it could've affected the future of the company. And I do care about you Ryo, and that is why I need you to stop running off like that. Do you know that when you left, I spend days worrying about you? I was almost kicked off of the assignment because of that distraction!" My father sighed in exasperation and removed his jacket, letting it hang in the closet before making his way into the living room. As his only child, I knew that he had more to say so I silently followed.

Compared to other living rooms, this one was fairly large and old; the new coat of white paint couldn't conceal the marks made by its previous residents. To my right was a window that occupied nearly half of the east wall; a curtain, to dim the flashes of light, currently covered said object. I averted my eyes and, noting that my father had made it to the other side of the room, pressed my shoulder against the entrance; I liked to keep my distance when dealing with this particular person. It wasn't anything personal but I hardly spent any time with him and so I felt slightly uncomfortable in his presence.

The man practically threw himself onto the couch; his eyebrows were knitted in pure annoyance yet his expression had softened from the first time we had this talk. "This is just like when you disappeared with that creature of yours—"

"Cyberdramon," I automatically corrected. It's been more than a year since my partner was exposed to the Real World and my father still couldn't respect him!

This was confirmed with a wave of his hand; he wasn't used to people interrupting him. "And you spent almost a year in the Digital Zone! Do you know how worried I was then? Your previous trips there had lasted only a couple of days—a week at most—and suddenly they've been extended to a year?"

"If Cyberdramon had stayed here any longer, he would have become the next natural disaster!" I countered, rising in volume. "I doubt that Kyushu—much less Fukuoka—would still be here. In the Digital Zone he could be free to do whatever he wished, but I had to be with him." His eyes probed mine and I shifted my gaze slightly; it was as if he knew I was hiding something from him.

My father closed his eyes tightly to control his surfacing anger—and that was obvious by how contorted his face looked and how many times his left eye twitched. Finally his body stopped shaking with suppressed rage and his head shook slowly. "You don't get it, do you Ryo? I don't want to lose you. You're my only son and if I don't keep an eye on you, you're going to disappear, just like your mother."

A raised eyebrow accompanied my surprised look. So this was what he was getting at; he was just being over-protective of me, especially since I was the only family member he had left and he was still blaming himself over Mom's passing. "Dad, although I understand your concern, I'll have you know that I won't die so stop worrying about it. I'm fifteen years old and I think that's old enough to look after myself." I tried to smile reassuringly at him and was slightly amused when the smile came naturally. "Look, you've grown a couple of grey hairs. Sad for someone in their 30's." I laughed and exited the room with my Dad's appalled face in my mind.

I climbed the stairs slowly, my happy appearance disappearing just as slowly. Dad and I have always been on the wrong foot but I never would have guessed that it was because Mom passed away. Dad was clever; under a very demanding job, he lost himself in his work and continuously spent huge amounts of time away from home. The absence of a parental figure resulted, I guess, in the beginning my somewhat independent nature—an important factor in my escape from the restraints of the Real World. I sighed as my foot eased onto the top of the staircase, catching a glimpse of myself in the large mirror that hung in front.

I practically had nothing in common, appearance-wise and personality-wise, with my father. My hand brushed casually through the soft strands of brown hair, noting that this had been inherited from my mother. My mother also once held my blue eyes with a gentle sparkle, and her smile was so reassuring that it could turn even the worst problems into little annoyances. I shot a glance downstairs and frowned slightly, wondering how the tense, suspicious man was related to the friendly and laid-back adolescent. My hand reached out to the mirror, examining its flawless surface. I closed my eyes and imagined that the inanimate decoration was my mother's touch. I knew that it was probably a lame thing to do but I hadn't even thought about her for so long; I owed her at least this.

"Mom, if you can hear this know that I've changed since you last laid eyes upon me," I paused, chuckling at my choice of vocabulary. "I never knew that one little year could create such an impact on our lives. I really regret having brought you and Dad to this dimension; you would still be alive if not for my childish decisions. Why didn't you stop me?" I asked my reflection, sighing when there was no response. My final words were nothing more than a whisper as I turned away from the mirror; even though I was only talking to myself, I couldn't let the mirror reflect my tears. "I miss you, Mom."

I quickly entered my room, not wanting Dad to see me in this state after my bold proclamation. I had said that I was old enough to take care of myself, didn't need him to worry and already I was forgetting about that? The light turned on with a dull click and I laid on the soft bed, blinking away the tears. I realized that the tears had streamed down and raised my hand to brush them off; it was probably the initial thought of my mother but as I did, I thought back to Ruki and our short conversation.

It was strange to admit, but I really did like the eleven-year-old. Ruki was different from other girls; she didn't grovel at my feet or shower me with the praise that I so truly deserved. One might misinterpret that sentence as: "I like her because she plays hard to get", but it wasn't like that at all. A conversation between us couldn't last without one insult and I loved every moment of it. People might think me crazy but I craved to be treated like a regular person again, to be myself without having to worry about keeping up an appearance. Sure I loved the attention, but there were times when a guy had to loosen up, have fun. Had my good intentions destroyed our weak friendship?

I touched my cheek, remembering how fiercely the punch had been delivered and my initial reaction. Although she'd made many threats to hit me before, I never backed down so what was it that made me hesitate this time? How had I concluded that my actions were related to what was upsetting her? What the heck was upsetting her anyways? Why did I not just smile back and shrug the punch off like it was nothing? More importantly, why were these questions so hard to answer?

I sighed in annoyance and used both index fingers to rub at my temples. "Answers will reveal themselves in time," I told myself, closing my eyes, "even whatever Ruki's problem is."

A light tapping alerted me and throwing a glance to my side, I saw a towering figure, silhouetted by both the street lamps outside and the light in my room. Keeping a some-what imposing stance, he spread out two pairs of blood-red wings, scarred from various battles in the Digital Zone. The steel poking out from his elbows gleamed in the light as he smiled a toothy grin, his carnivorous teeth protruding from various spots. "Ryo."

I smiled back at him and lifted myself off the bed, sliding open the glass door effortlessly. "Remember the rule," I reminded him with a laugh. Cyberdramon grunted in nonchalance and in an instant, a purple dinosaur replaced him. I still thought Monodramon actually seemed more reptilian, mainly because of the fin-like attachments at his elbows. The Child grinned at me again, forgetting all about the Millenniumon that resided in him, and tackled me to the ground in an attempt to hug me.

"C'mon Monodramon, get up. You know, one day all the bones in my body are going to break under your weight," I joked with a grunt.

He merely laughed and made a face. "I'm not that heavy," he said but he mercifully stood anyways to find a spot on the comfortable-looking mattress. The Child's drill-like claws pawed at the sheets as he tried to pull himself up, failing thrice before he laid sprawled out on the bed.

I picked myself up and laid down on the bed beside my digital partner. "What took you so long? You could've been here long before we came, what was the hold up?"

Monodramon yawned loudly as he curled himself into a ball for warmth. "I sensed some Digimon along the way so I stayed to check out what it was. I didn't find anything, though," he pouted in a mumble.

"Well if the Digimon's hiding, it must be scared of this world," I reasoned, sliding my hands under my head to act as a pillow. "We'll go back to West Shinjuku tomorrow to see what we can do. 'Til then, let's get some shuteye."

---------------

"I'm home."

"Where have you been? Your father and I were worried sick! You shouldn't have come home this late without informing us beforehand!"

"Sorry Mom. I told you I was going to be over at Ruki's house today. I guess I just stayed longer than I thought I would. I'm very sorry. It won't happen again."

"I should hope not." Mom sighed. "This can promote bad study habits and failing grades. I want you to grow up to be a very, very successful young man and successful young men are never late."

I shouldn't have been but I was embarrassed at disappointing her. I had proven myself over and over again during the past year and now she was treating me like I was still the old Takato. "Sorry Mom."

Guilmon walked into the bakery, oblivious to the fact that he'd just scared off a customer, and immediately walked over to the counter, looking at my Dad. "Takato's Dad, is Guilmon's Guilmon bread finished now?" his distinguished child's voice inquired.

"Dad's almost done with it," I answered for him. "C'mon, we don't want to bother Dad and prolong the wait, now do we?"

Guilmon's amphibian-like ears lay flat in disappointment as he slouched over and dragged himself over to me. "No Guilmon bread yet? But I waited a long time, Takato!" He swiped a paw at the wall, leaving deep claw marks to show his impatience.

"Guilmon!" I cried, panicked eyes darting from him to my parents. "Let's go. Dad's going to be done faster once we leave."

His large dinosaur feet slapped against the floor several times in an awkward dance. "Takato!" I drew in a sharp breath and fell backward in an attempt to avoid his flailing tail, throwing my arms up to protect my face. Unexpectedly, my hands wrapped around the smooth red covering of the appendage and I quickly pulled myself back up, casting his tail aside and wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug. The Child's thrashing immediately stopped as he struggled against my hold, calling out my name repeatedly. I glanced back and seeing all eyes on us, chuckled nervously and focused all my strength into pushing Guilmon up the stairs.

"Takato..."

"Guilmon! Don't be so impatient!" I sighed and entered my room, turning on the light with a flick of my wrist. When would Guilmon learn that things did not turn out the way you wanted them to? When would he learn to not just look at the surface of things? When would he learn to look deeper, to understand the reasoning? Sure, he had grown a lot from that simple-minded Child, but there were some things that would never change... I withdrew my D-Arc from my pocket and crossed over to the paper-covered desk, placing the former card reader carefully onto its smooth wooden surface. A grim smile pulled at my lips. Katou-san needs to look beyond the surface as well.

Although I always treated her above everyone else, I truthfully thought Katou-san only a friend. I never knew that the constant nagging at the back of my head was announcing my emotions for her, and I could have went on not knowing if it wasn't for today when she accused me of liking Ruki. My hands grasped the iron fence of the upper bunk bed and I pulled myself up, lying so that I could count the cracks in the ceiling. "How could she think that I like Ruki?" I wondered out loud. "I mean, all I did was save her from falling off the train, it wouldn't mean anything right? Then why...why would Katou-san think that way?"

Guilmon tilted his head up at me, hunger forgotten. "What did Juri think, Takato? Why did she run away today?"

I sighed, pulling my trademark goggles away from my naturally messy hair. I've always seen the goggles as a symbol of leadership—Taichi and Daisuke had worn them in Digimon™—and back then my naïveté made me believe that I'd actually earned the right to take their place. But had I? I was nothing but a lost little boy, playing in a game where the rules of life existed. It wasn't until the incident with the D-Reaper that another boy emerged, a boy who was determined to defend the world, determined to save Katou-san; he was the boy destined to lead the Tamers.

I held them above my head, staring at a blue reflection of myself. What'd happened to that boy? Was he also destined to disappear forever, condemning me, the boy who couldn't even sort out his own emotions, to this world? "I don't know boy. I guess that I just got her upset." Was she jealous that I'd saved Ruki's life? Did she really believe that I had different intentions? I groaned inwardly. Katou-san was forcing me to either give up my friendship with Ruki, or the one with her.

"Then make her happy again," Guilmon suggested, laying his ears flat to enforce his next statement, "I like Juri when she's smiling. The last time she was sad, the D-Reaper replaced her."

I suddenly felt a pain in my chest, welling up from the bottom of my heart. Make her happy? How was I supposed to do that when both of us had suffered the causalities? She accused me of liking Ruki... I thought we were supposed to trust each other, be friends. "I don't think I'm the one to do that Guilmon. It's really complicated." So complicated that even I don't understand it.

Guilmon merely shrugged and curled into a ball, trying to gather as much warmth as he possibly could. The Child just didn't want to be bothered by such complicated things; he wanted, instead, to dream of a world where his cries for food would be answered. "Okie dokie."

I chuckled and threw my goggles around one of the bedposts, watching them spin until their momentum wore off, eventually coming to a stop. I didn't want to think about these things either. I knew answers came with time and experience and at the moment I possessed neither there was no reason for me to chase the answers so soon. I closed my eyes, wanting a break from the excitement of the day, to dream of a future yet to come. The phone's shrill ring echoed through the house and I was immediately up, knowing—just knowing—that the call was for me.

"Takato, telephone!"

Author's Note: There were two perspectives in this simply because the chapter would be too short if each stood on its own.

I've decided to stop working on this story until this site answers my request for an International TV Shows category. It's really annoying because I've been working on an Angels of Mission fic for a while and want to know if my efforts have been wasted, if their answer is negative. Damn it, the worst part is that they've been updating this site but have yet to answer the request I filed one month ago! Ugh...Answer me already!

:cough: Uh...ignore that rant. I will be working on this story, just not as much due to the above-mentioned, exams, and of course the Drama journals. However, reviews might encourage me to work faster. :)