Never Take A Dare Because Life's Too Short
Chapter 6: Never-Ending Deception
M/D DF103: To answer some questions, everyone will know who's still alive in the next few chapters, I think. I do not wish to share information publicly. But if you MUST know, there are other ways of finding me. And, this IS a Ryo/Rika romance fic, kinda.
DF103: … :monotone, staring blankly at the wall: Clay Aiken is HOT with 8 'T's…
M/D DF103: AHHH! NO:slaps her about a million times: Um, I don't own the characters of Digimon…so go read. :attempts to snap DF103 out of Clay craze:
"Henry never returned home?" Rika asked incredulously.
"I guess not. Maybe someone else would know. Here, call Ryo," Jeri suggested, passing the phone to Rika. "Since you guys are closer to each other and everything…" Jeri let out a soft giggle.
Rika seemingly gawked at Jeri for a few seconds. "Jeri, are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"I don't know. It depends on what you think I'm saying. All I am saying is that ever since the D-Reaper attack, you and Ryo have gotten…closer. That's all." Jeri raised her hands in defense. "Just telling you what I observe, Rika. Besides, I don't even want to talk to him after he threatened me like that."
"Whatever…" Rika dialed Ryo's phone number for the umpteenth time since last night. She allowed the phone to ring five times before she gave up and said, "You know, no one's picked up the phone since I tried to call Ryo last night."
"Ohhhh. So you wanted to talk to him," Jeri perked up.
Rika sighed. "That's not the point. Something is seriously off here."
Jeri cleared her throat and regained her seriousness. "Yeah, no kidding, especially Ryo. He's gone completely mad. As long as he's nowhere near me, I'll be fine, although it does make me feel a little uncomfortable, knowing that he's not home."
Absolute silence struck Rika's room. A shadow slowly crept toward Rika's paper screen, sliding door. The two girls turned around at the creak of a floorboard as the shadow remained in front of the door. Almost instantly, the door abruptly slid open, frightening the two teenagers.
"Breakfast is ready," Seiko announced into the room. A sigh of relief escaped both Rika and Jeri. "You two look startled. Is anything wrong?"
"Everything's fine, Ms. Hata," Jeri assured, smiling and prancing toward the dining room. Seiko chuckled and followed Rika to eat breakfast.
"Look who's here to join us for breakfast, Rika." Rumiko emerged from the kitchen into the dining room with Ryo closely behind her holding a handful of chopsticks. "He's such a gentleman helping me set the table and everything. He's the type of man you should marry." Rumiko winked. Ryo's crimson eyes glinted in the daylight.
Rika stopped dead in her tracks. "Mom!" Rika whined a mixed expression of embarrassment and fear fixed on her face. She clenched her teeth together with a sheepish smile and asked Jeri, "Are you going to be okay?"
Jeri, in response, whispered, "Just don't make me sit next to him."
Rika nodded. "Here, Ryo. I'll get those." Rika snatched the chopsticks out of Ryo's hands. "You can go ahead and sit down."
"Thanks, Rika. You are so kind." Ryo smiled sitting down on the floor. His attention shifted to the cautious Jeri, who sat quietly in front of him. "I'm really sorry about this morning if I scared you or anything. I just felt left out and anxious because I can't visit my friend when he gets hurt. No hard feelings, right?"
Jeri bit her lip and nodded slowly.
"Good. So, do you think you can take me to see Takato?" Ryo asked as he gladly took a bowl of rice from Seiko.
"Actually, no one is allowed to see Takato anymore, even Jeri," Rika replied, handing everyone an eating utensil. "It was because of what happened."
"Oh, too bad," Ryo unsympathetically replied while grabbing some eggs and putting them on top of his rice. "I had a nice clock to give to him, too."
Rika sat down next to Ryo as the rest of the group ate in silence, the chopsticks clattering against the rice bowls. He indistinctly scooted closer to Rika, as he stuffed his mouth. Stares directed toward Ryo seemed to burn right through him when Seiko asked, "Are those red contact lenses the latest style these days?"
"Um, no…?" Ryo replied, trying not to sputter out his food. "I just have them for the heck of it." Hearing this, Rika choked on a grain of rice. Ryo softly patted her on the back, until Rika stopped choking.
"Rika, you should pay attention when you're eating," Rumiko informed.
"Liar," Rika muttered under her breath referring to Ryo's comment as she cleared her throat.
"Rika!" Seiko loudly whispered in an admonitory tone. "Don't be so rude, dear. He's our guest." Rika turned away from Ryo while he chewed and stared blankly at his food.
Jeri frantically twisted her head left and right between Ryo and Rika. "Hey Ryo. Do you happen to know where Henry is? We tried calling his house this morning and it turned out that he was missing."
"No, can't say I have," Ryo calmly replied before suddenly, his head jerked back, dropping and spilling his bowl of rice. In an exhausted tone, Ryo murmured hesitantly, "Henry…is—" before he fell on his back out cold.
"What happened to Ryo?" Rumiko hyperventilated.
"Just get the phone, Rumiko." Seiko slid over to Ryo.
"Oh my gosh." Rika blinked incredulously as did the rest of the people in the room. Her eyes widened as she bent over Ryo and patted his cheeks. "Ryo? Wake up." His eyes immediately opened, forcing Rika to jump back in surprise.
Ryo shook his head, everything around him just a hazy blur. "Um, may I be excused?" he asked before he dashed out of the room, running into Rumiko who brought the phone, and staggering into the bathroom. He glared at himself in the mirror. "What do you think you're doing, boy? Are you trying to interfere with what I'm trying to do for you? You want her and I know this. Don't you want to be the only one to have her?" the sinister voice growled.
"I don't approve of the way you're approaching this. You're hurting her emotionally and now she's terrified of me." Ryo's eyes glowed from blue to red again.
"The funny thing about fear is, people are most vulnerable when they are afraid…"
While Ryo conversed with himself in the bathroom, the Nonaka residents received a phone call from Kazu. He sounded excited and breathless. Rika put him on speakerphone so she and Jeri could hear why Kazu was in such a rush to call.
"Hey, Shinjuku Hospital called me on behalf of Takato's parents, telling me that Takato was moved to the fourth floor. Takato's parents said we're allowed to go visit him!"
"I hope Ryo didn't hear that…" Jeri whispered, peering at the bathroom door.
"Hey, are you guys there? Whoa! Dude! Ryo is on TV! He's gone missing," Kazu exclaimed. "Whoever finds him gets this huge-ass reward. Maybe we should form a search party and split the reward. What do you say? Rika…? Jeri…?"
Moving away from the phone, Rika advanced toward the bathroom door down the hall. "Rika! Are you listening to me?" Kazu yelled out through the phone.
Jeri shushed him loudly as Rika tapped on the door. "Ryo? Are you okay?"
"What? Ryo is at your house? What luck? Share the wealth, Rika!" Kazu cheered through the phone in a singsong tone, before a thought struck him. "Dah! What's he doing at your house?" Kazu repulsed.
"Kazu, shut up!" Rika shouted. Rumiko and Seiko walked past her carrying a pile of dishes, staring at her in disappointment. "I mean, be quiet, Kazu."
With one swift movement, Rika opened the bathroom door, only to find the ventilation window, small enough for a person to fit through, left open. "He's gone… That idiot is gone!"
"No! My money," Kazu whined in defeat through the phone.
Jeri picked up the phone, automatically turning the speakerphone off and setting the phone back to default, and said, "Pipe down, Kazu."
"Don't forget to ask him about Henry, Jeri," Rika suggested as she continued staring at the open window in frustration, her hands at her hips. "Why was he in such a hurry?"
"Hey, have you seen Henry around?" Jeri asked casually. "NO, I DON'T! – Okay, has Kenta seen him around? – Hmm, okay. Bye." She placed the phone back on the charger. "No one has seen him…"
Rika sauntered out of the bathroom looking confused. "This isn't making sense at all."
Jeri looked into the foyer where Ryo's shoes carelessly lay. "He left his shoes here…" Jeri noted, giggling. "Something must've really struck him when he jerked his head back like he did. At least he's not all 'I'm going to get you…' today."
"I really want to know what's happening to him…" Rika muttered. "Ugh! That jerk!"
- - -
Faster than a hobbit's sprint, Ryo, carrying a small box, darted toward Shinjuku Hospital, hopping over several roofs to get there. Slowly, Ryo brought his deftly stunt to a close as he arrived a few meters away from his destination. The electronic doors greeted him as he entered. He strolled up to the front desk, placed his box on the counter, and asked the receptionist, "Where is Takato Mastuki's room?"
The quiet lady tapped on the keyboard and wrote down Takato's room number on a sticky note, giving it to Ryo. Then, she handed him a pen and pointed to a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard. Ryo glanced at it and viewed three columns, the first one labeled, 'Name', the second one labeled, 'Time', and the third one labeled, 'Room'. He stared at the lady. "Do I really have to sign in? Isn't it good enough to know that I'm a friend of his?"
The lady stood up, snatched the note from Ryo's hand, and prodded the clipboard. Ryo grumbled and brought the pen up to the paper. A pleasant thought struck his twisted mind, his sobered red eyes twinkling. He filled out every column and slammed the pen down. "There. Now may I go see Takato?"
Giving Ryo the paper, she sat back down and stared at her computer screen. "Jeez, not even a thank you or goodbye. Some receptionist." Ryo grabbed the box and walked away.
Feeling offended, the receptionist glanced at the clipboard and replied, "Thank you, Mr. Wong."
Ryo smirked and laughed. A shade of cerulean glimmered in Ryo's eyes. "Liar…" he whispered to himself. Stumbling from one side of the hall to the other, Ryo's eyes darkened again. "Shut up," he replied as he received stares from hospital workers and patients. "What are you looking at?"
Stepping into the empty elevator, Ryo pushed the button for the fourth floor. "Now, don't you say a thing, Ryo. I'll do all the talking," Envymon said, dancing in place as if he were Michael Jackson. "Man, I love this body." '4' blinked overhead as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Peering down at the paper in his hand and then at the windowless door, Ryo found Takato's room. He closed the door behind him and gazed deep into the room.
The lights slightly flickered where Takato, dressed in white, rested in bed. Takato was hooked up to an IV, small flexible pipes winding around everything from his body to the bed. He appeared to be sleeping. Ryo poked his forehead. "Hey, Takato."
Roused by Ryo, Takato half opened his eyes. "Oh, hey Ryo," he said dazedly.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I sort of slipped and you were the only thing I could grab onto," Ryo explained, staring at Takato's weakened form. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got my dose of painkillers so I'm not with it right now."
"Oh. Well, I brought you something," Ryo said hastily, handing Takato the box.
"Ryo. You didn't have to give me anything." Takato opened and revealed a Gabumon figure with a clock embedded in the middle of his belly. "Whoa," he chuckled.
"Push the button on his paw," Ryo suggested.
Takato did as told and pressed the button. Gabumon's mouth moved and said, "It is eleven forty-eight." Takato was amused as he chuckled again. Afterwards, Gabumon's mouth hung open. It only took another few seconds before heavy black smoke soon seeped out of the clock.
"Oops, seems to be defective," Ryo snickered to himself. "Come on. Let's get out of here." Ryo grabbed Takato's arm, before Takato snapped it away from him. "What!"
"I can't walk."
"I'll carry you then," Ryo replied. Makes this a lot easier, Envymon thought. Carrying Takato on his back, Ryo made his way through the smoke-filled room, by walking against the wall. As he did this, the IV monitor rolled along behind them. Takato coughed violently, causing Ryo to lose a little of his balance.
Ryo felt a latch and then a sheet of glass. He slid the window open as wide as he could as smoke rolled out. He simply dropped Takato out the window.
"What the hell!" Takato yelled out as he fell from the fourth floor window.
Ryo turned around, planning on leaving, before he was smacked in the face with the IV stand. The stand slammed into the window, too long to fly out with Takato. Rubbing his head, Ryo took a glimpse out the window and saw Takato hanging by the tubes, which brought nutrients into his body. Takato's body swung from side to side as the people on the streets pointed in horror; among those people stood the remaining tamers.
"Damn, the tubes were wrapped around his throat. Pity."
The people watched as the body was being pulled up to the window it came out of. The sinister voice from Ryo sounded again. "This body sucks when it comes to hauling things." He heaved Takato in through the window. Ryo's attention then turned to the ruckus outside in the hallway. Voices and footsteps approached. "Shit."
Outside the door, Kazu, Kenta, Rika, and Jeri, along with some hospital employees and security officials waited for the right moment to enter the room.
"Who's in there with Takato?" Kazu asked.
"The receptionist said the last person to sign in to visit this room was Henry," Kenta replied.
Jeri stood still, traumatized by the event she witnessed. Rika, on the other hand, stood impatiently, waiting to see if Takato was okay.
The officials finally broke through the door, where they found the IV unplugged with the tubes tangled everywhere and the bed empty. No one resided in the smoky room. Only the open window in front of them greeted them with open arms as the curtains swayed in the puff of air.
DF103: I've gone insane. 16 more days till school starts. Bleh, and I didn't finish any of my summer assignments. Oh…my sister and I are having this argument about whether this fic should be NC-17 or not (because I told her the ending). It won't have any sexually explicit stuff, but it does kind of get gross. I don't know. Well, if anyone has a problem with it, I'll water it down, so let me know if you don't want "icky" stuff. :laughs: Anyway, thanks for the reviews so far! I don't know if I'll be getting any more reviews from this point on, but eh. Ah! The laptop is burning my arms. Till next chapter…L8terZ
