Chapter 3

It was almost too strange and impossible to believe that Ryo was one of her kind. He must have been the one who saved her from the shadow years and years ago, and the one who assisted her in capturing the head of the shadow soldiers.

Despite that, Rika stared at the angelic figure.

His blue eyes glistened, his brown hair rustled in the night wind, as did the feathers on his snow-white wings. He wielded a sword that looked as if the blade was on fire. A ruby-red gem was embedded in it and it twinkled like the stars above.

Ryo turned sharply to look at Rika. He nodded towards her in a polite manner and it total respect.

Rika blinked; she was surprised that he would treat her in any way of respect and proper manner. She looked at the shadow, which was diving towards them.

Rika panicked, she hasn't practiced flying yet. What if her wings aren't strong enough? Before the shadow reached her, Ryo swooped down and grabbed Rika out of the way. They were hovering in mid-air, but Ryo's wings, as strong as they are, could not support two people for too long. Rika saw that, she bit her lips.

"Ryo," she called up to the boy. "Set me down. I want to try to fly once again."

Ryo looked down, and nodded. He set her onto the ground. Rika gripped her hands into a fist. Slowly, she stretched her wings out and started to flap it. A fair gust of wind started to gather around Rika. Rika slowly took a step back, but she was afraid, afraid that she would fall and die once again. She could still feel the pain and sting of her last death.

The Shadow, seeing that Rika was about to regain flight, decided it didn't want her to fly. It would give her a big advantage. So the shadow pounced towards Rika.

"RIKA! Behind you!" Ryo called out, and was about to swoop in to lift her out of the way. But a blade of black ki blew him back and he struck a wall.

Rika, seeing that the shadow had knocked Ryo away, Rika was on her own for a while. Frowning and gathering all the scraps of confidence, Rika pushed off of the ground and her wings stretched out. It gave a graceful push and Rika was in the air. She hovered, receiving the sensation of flight back in her veins. She smiled, but it faded as she saw Ryo slowly trying to get up. She soared over to where he was and helped him up.

"You got flight back?" Ryo said as he brushed dirt, dust, and powdered concrete off of him.

Rika nodded, they both flew upwards.

"Here, you might need this as well." Ryo said as he raised his arm. A wave of light gold dust blew and gathered in his hand. Out of nowhere, a bold of lightning shone in the sky, alone without the thunder. The bright light was blinding compared to the dark night sky. Electricity from the lightning shot down towards Ryo's group of dust. Another lightning flashed, and a sword formed in his hand. It was light and it had an indescribable color. It was bright, like the flash of white lightning. It was also silver, like the sheet of moonlight that shone across parts of the dark alley. It was gold, like the soft rays of sunlight that brightened the Earth. Embedded in it was a drop of jewel that was a bluish silvery light gold.

To Rika's surprise, Ryo levitated the sword towards Rika. Without realizing it, Rika reached out and gripped its handle, the weight of the sword weighed upon her arm. The sword felt right in her hands.

Rika closed her eyes, and another small piece of the puzzle of her past life was put it. She had a sword that she battled with. The gap in her life was slowly being filled to its maximum.

Temporarily, she forgot about the shadow, until it decided to attack again. This time, however, she was ready. Rika gripped the sword, which jumped with freshly charged electricity. The energy did not hurt her hand, but it did sting just a bit. A pleasant sting of power, it was, not something that would become hurtful.

Flying up towards the shadow, Rika swung her sword through the air. A bright bluish light of ki flew out and trapped the shadow within its light. The light slowly disintegrated the ball of darkness into nothingness.

Smiling with pride, Rika touched down onto the ground. Since she had not done this in a long time, a single kill made her very proud. But centuries ago, if she made a kill like that, she would have laughed at the stupidity of the weak shadow and the feeble attack she used on it. Things were different, and it is going to take a lot getting used to.

Ryo closed his eyes and smiled as well. The great slayer of the past made her first kill in centuries. Even if it was simple, it was a bravo for her. They were both too caught up in their own business to realize that bits of the shadow still remained.

They twitched, and inched towards Henry and Alice. The only thing that slowed them was the moonlight that was shining brightly overhead. They hid in the shadows Henry and Alice created. And once Ryo frees them from their trap, they would take over. Then, the great slayer and her friend will pay for what they did…

- - -

It was late morning, and the gang gathered at Shinjuku Park's little 'cave' where they used to meet as young kids. The sky was getting noticeably darker, yet the sun seems to be brighter. It was an unusual day – that was certain.

"There is nothing wrong with you two…" Rika reassured Henry and Alice, who felt as if they lost 30 minutes in their life. They were too smart for their own good. Rika knew they did lose 30 minutes, but other than that, she was pretty sure nothing was wrong. Last night, after the accident, Ryo had freed the two from the time barrier.

"How can I be fine, when I have a sudden urge to rip the sun from the sky?" Alice demanded. She and Henry hid in the darkest shadows of the cave where the gang was fooling around in.

"Sunstroke?" Takato suggested.

"…Great explanation Takato, sunstroke…" Henry said sarcastically as he shook his head. His eyes and complexion darkened by the second. "Even the shadow slayers are smarter than that…"

"Henry, what did you just say?" Rika frowned as she thought she heard the words 'shadow slayers'. Henry was not one of those people who believed in some cartoon or T.V. Show. So the only way that he would believe is if he saw them with his own eyes. Ryo's barrier must have worked, because they did feel as if they lost 30 minutes in their life. Then why did they suddenly mention 'shadow slayers'?

"Nothing of your concern…" Alice snapped, sticking up for Henry. Rika's frown deepened. She had a hypothesis of what happened, but she wasn't sure if it was true. However, the more she thought of it, the more it made sense. She stood up from her spot and brushed dirt off of her pants.

"I am going to see if…er…my mom has my…form for the…er… team." She lied, and rushed off. Her senses twitched and like radar, it told Rika that Ryo was in the library. Sighing, Rika bolted down the street that led towards the library.

"What team?" Kazu asked after he watched Rika disappear down the street. Kenta shrugged.

- - -

Something wasn't right. Ryo sensed Rika coming up to the front door in a hurry, and her mind was clouded with worry and suspicion. She reached the library door, and swung it open.

"Ryo…" she hissed as quietly as she could.

"What now? I am busy!"

"I have something important you might want to take a look at…!" She said as she took a hold of the boy's ear and tugged – hard.

"OW, OW, OW, OW, OW Ok, I'll come…" Ryo grumbled as he gathered his books and followed Rika out of the library.

"Remember yesterday night?" Rika said.

"How could I forget? I don't have that bad of a memory…" Ryo joked, but stopped when he saw the expression on Rika's face. His tone of voice got more sophisticated noticeably. "Ok, what happened?"

"It's Henry and Alice…" Rika sighed.

"Oh yeah, they might feel like they lost around…30 minutes of their time." Ryo shrugged.

"I know that, I got most of my memory back, you know…" Rika snapped. "It's the fact that they are starting to despise me, the sun and any source of light. Then, when Takato made a stupid comment, they said: Even the shadow slayers are smarter than that…I think that is more than enough proof that they are connected with the shadows in some sort."

"Not connected with the shadows…" Ryo frowned. "Do you think…they saw…?"

"You did put a time barrier around them, did you not? The time barrier should put them into unconsciousness for as long as you wish. Therefore, They should not be able to hear, see or feel anything." Rika said hurriedly, digging up all the information she had of them from the past. "I think…the shadow I killed…was not killed completely…"

"No…if that happened…then…" Ryo frowned. "Rika, you might need to be very careful when you spend time with your friends now. Henry and Alice's shadow may split and slip into other bodies. Right now, perhaps all your friends have been affected.

"No…Takato, Kazu and Kenta are still stupid. Jeri is still giggly. Only Henry and Alice had something wrong with them." She said firmly.

"Never judge them by how they act – it might be a lie. Do you want me to do an energy scan?" Ryo asked. "It's a breeze for me."

Rika glared at the older boy. "Thank you for reminding me how weak I have become because I have not used my powers for so long."

"You're welcome…" Ryo gave her his trademark grin. "More important matters…we need to 'disinfect' your friends."

"How are we going to get the stuff for that?" Rika sighed.

"Oh, don't worry milady." Ryo bowed playfully. "I've got it at my place."

"Seriously…" Rika looked at him with disbelief. "You're parents…don't they mind?"

"They…they are scientists and archeologists…" Ryo smirked. "They find ancient stuff quite interesting…or at least my mom does. You know how much power moms have."

Rika nodded. "Alright…Hey, I have an idea…" Rika smiled. "Why don't you come hang out with us on Monday, so you can see the seriousness of the condition. Plus, scans are more detailed when in a close distance. Also, you are supposed to assist me in getting my powers back, are you not?"

Ryo shrugged. "If you really want me to that bad…" He joked.

Rika glared ice-coated daggers. "Oh, once I restore my powers, I will get my revenge…"

"Sure you will…" Ryo nodded mockingly.

"Oh yeah, I need to borrow some spells to hide my wings…we can't have shadows spotting me easily all the time." Rika said as they walked down the street to Ryo's house to set up for the cleansing ritual for Henry and Alice, and possible others.

"What happened to revenge?"

"Revenge is still on…"

"But now, we go set up on cleansing ritual?"

"Hmm…yeah."

- - -

I looked at the blue-eyed boy. He seems to be distracted.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The Shadows…it's approaching at a fast speed." He frowned.

I closed my eyes – I already knew that. I forgot that he could also sense the movement of the Shadows. He was a strong slayer, but I did not know anything about him at all.

"What is…your name?" I asked the blue-eyed boy. "You do have a name, right?"

"Akiyama." He replied. "Ryo Akiyama."

I nodded, and tried to carve the name permanently into my head. I expected him to ask for my name. It didn't come.

"Aren't you going to ask for mine?" I asked him with suspicion.

He turned to look at me. "I don't need to." He looked away again. "I already know."

I was puzzled – how did he know?

He seemed to have read my mind. "Your aura, it is unusual, passed down by your family. You have the royal blood of the Nonaka family, and you are the last descendant so far." Ryo smiled. "Rika."

I was surprised how someone I never knew knows who I am. I never realized how being in the Nonaka family affected me. Perhaps that is why so many shadows are after my powers. What I didn't get was I am weak. Why would they want the powers of someone so weak?

- - -

Rika's eyes slowly opened. She turned to see she woke up ahead of time – again. She shut her eyes and tried to sleep again, but the drift of slumber would not come. Sighing, Rika climbed out of bed. Like every morning, she stepped into the washroom and came out after 20 minutes. She pulled out random clean garments and slipped them on. She looked back at her wings, it was surprisingly easy to get used to them. Perhaps it is because she has had them for so long in the past, and her memories are slowly coming back.

Rika tied up her semi-wet hair and stepped out into the living room. Surprisingly, Rumiko was already there and sipping coffee.

"Good morning honey." The older woman smiled warmly.

Rika smiled slightly back. "Morning mom." She got some pop tarts out of the fridge and started to 'cook' them. "Is grandma awake?"

"No…if she was, she'd be watching us like a hawk about what we eat…" Rumiko sighed and thought of her mother.

"Tell me about it…" Rika mumbled and stuffed the warm pop tart into her mouth. She took a bite and started to walk into the hallway leading to outside. "I'm going to go to school early." She called and slipped on her shoes. She grabbed her bag and slid open the door.

"Ok, bye hun, have a good day." Rumiko called back.

Rika slipped outside and closed the door behind her. She smiled at the crisp chirp of birds nearby. She checked her watch – she had plenty of time to slowly go to school.

Inside, Rika was slightly worried about Henry and Alice. The shadow inside them might have split and started to control their family as well. But in order to maintain strong control over the victim, the more shadow put into the victim, the stronger the control. Would the shadows risk the weak control to get more people in their 'army'?

Who knows how those shadows think…

In 15 minutes, Rika reached her school. She had moved out of her private school so that she could be with her friends a few years back. Being in a public school does have its pros and cons. One thing, Rika didn't have to wear a uniform everyday, only on special occasions.

Folding back her wings into its invisibility spell, Rika entered the school grounds. She walked into the school building and climbed the stairs to her classroom. She entered, and there were already a few people in it. Takato, Kazu and Kenta were dueling Digimon cards. Ryo was near the 3, shuffling his cards and sorting them out. Jeri was watering the plants, and a few others were just sitting around and talking. Rika dropped her bag on her chair, put her Digimon deck into her cardholder in her belt and approached her friends.

"Yo." She said as she sat down in a free spot to watch Takato and Kenta duel. "Who's winning?"

"Me, as usual." Kenta said smugly as he flipped a card.

"OH NO! Not THAT one AGAIN!" Takato groaned. Rika studied the playing field, and Takato's cards in his hands.

"Can I help?" Rika asked Kenta and Takato. Not waiting for an answer, she took a card out of Takato's hand and placed it on top of wargrowlmon. "Power and speed boost, which should take care of that ultimate over there." Rika said. She looked at Takato's face down cards and smiled evilly. She flipped one. "Boosts all fire element Digimon by 400 for every card it destroyed – I need that card, I'll duel you for it later, Takato – place on Wargrowlmon. As strong as your MarineAngelmon is, Kenta, Wargrowlmon is now stronger. I take it that you can finish it from here, right Takato? Or are you stupider than I thought." Rika smirked.

"She did it again…" Kenta said as a waterfall fell from his eyes. "She destroyed the plot I worked so hard on to complete! NOOOOO!!! How does she do it so easily? It should have worked perfectly!" Kenta literally went crazy.

Rika watched, amused. "I hope you realized, Kenta…" She waved her hands in front of his eyes to get his attention. Once she got it, she started to count the reasons off her finger. "Lets see…first, I am not stupid. Second, I have been playing this way longer. Third, I am smarter than YOU. Fourth, I am the Digimon Queen. It is hard to get anywhere close to beating me in my game."

Ryo, who was watching nearby, laughed. "So, you're not bad at Digimon card games…care to duel me?"

Rika smirked. "First, I need to relieve Takato of his…ah…power boost card." She gave Takato a menacing glance.

Takato whimpered. He took the card out of his deck with a shaky hand and handed it over without any resistant. He thought of the last defeat he had from Rika, it was painful, embarrassing and it was horrible, plain and simple.

Putting on her innocent look, Rika turned to Takato. "You don't want it? Alright, if you want me to have it so much, you should have said so." She took the card out of the goggle-head's hand. "Undamaged…good…" She slipped the card into her back pocked in her deck holder that held her new cards she won.

"Now…who wants to feel the wrath of the Digimon Queen?" Rika asked.

"Well," Jeri said suddenly, pointing to the clock, "School will start in 5."

"Ah, well, too bad. I was just about to accept Ryo's offer to duel me." Rika shrugged and walked over to her desk. Ryo followed, for his desk was close to hers. The first bell rang a while later.

The class settled and sat up, waiting for the teacher to enter, as usual.

The door slid open.

Miss Kamiya scanned the class for a stray, no one stood out. She smiled, quite evilly as a matter of fact. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning Miss Kamiya." The class chorused. The teacher closed her eyes and smiled her devilish smile.

"I hope you have your stories done by today. I forgot to mention, it was for marks."

Part of the class groaned. Rika shrugged and pulled out hers. She had managed to do this after school on Friday.

2 students jumped up to collect them as the teacher pointed to them. The students carefully put them into a neat pile and gave them to the teacher, who nodded at them. "Thank you." She said, without any meaning. She scanned the class again, like a hawk. "I will be marking these. Turn to page 20 and use the self-evaluation chart to estimate what you got. Then, go ahead and do question number 1-106 on pages 168 and 169 in your language notebooks." She picked up a piece of chalk and started to write on the board what she just said. Rika sighed quietly and pulled out her books, a pencil and an eraser. She did not successfully pull out her eraser, for she had probably misplaced it. She turned to Alice to borrow hers, but Alice was not there. She sneaked a peak at Henry's desk; he was not there either. Sighing, she tapped Ryo

"You know they aren't there?" Rika whispered.

"Yeah." Ryo whispered back.

"Can I borrow a pencil?" She whispered loudly, so that the teacher was not suspicious.

"Sure." Ryo did the same as he passed a pencil back.

"Thanks."

A while later, when class was nearly over, the teacher stood up. Her eyes were sparking and a smile sat on her lips. That was rare.

"Class, I want to read a story written by one of you. I will not tell you who it is, but it is amazing and that person is a talented writer." Miss Kamiya said proudly. "This is a story about the sensation of flight. It will be posted outside on the bulletin board. I have hidden the name with a piece of paper, and please do not wreak the wonderful piece of art." She sneaked a peak at Ryo, who suddenly found that the ceiling was very interesting. (A/N: -.-;) She sighed happily. "Class is dismissed, early."

The class cheered silently, and gathered up their stuff. Rika rushed outside to the bulletin board. Ryo followed.

"You wrote about flying?" Rika whispered to him with disbelief. "Seriously, out of ALL the things in the world, you had to write about something you do everyday. Don't you have an imagination about others stuff?"

"Well, flying is an imaginary thing…" Ryo said loudly, glaring at the people walking by who was staring.

"Says the guy who flies every night…" Rika muttered.

"More important things…" Ryo frowned. "How are we supposed to stun the two trouble makers, when they are not at school?"

Rika shook her head. "They'll come. It will be a perfect opportunity to destroy us. Why would they want to pass that?

"Unless they know what we plan to do…" Ryo shrugged. Rika's imagination went to horrible places she did not want to think about.

"Lets hope not…" She said as they walked towards their next class.

- - -

Thanks to all who reviewed for the previous chapter:

Kari-123: Well, I updated. I tried to add a BIT more of a description. But you know, its always more comfortable when you can think of an image in your head that you think might be how the Shadow looks like. People's imagination works differently, and that's what makes fan fiction interesting. Thanks for the compliment.

Luzr-Gurl13: This chapter might not be what you call 'great', but I am planning some action in the next chapter. Thank you for saying that this story is 'perfect'. I'm glad you like it so far, and I'm glad you think that Rika is not OOC. Arigatou.

Alexian-goddess: Yes, this is a Ryo Rika fic, however, there will be a few chapters before the actual teaspoons of romance comes. Thank you for saying that this story is amazing, I'm flattered.

Dragons star: No, you aren't being rude. It's always good to have a few suggestions and constructive criticism. Wow, I used big words!! XD (jkn…) Anyways…I usually reread my chapters after a few weeks or so. I apologize for chapter two. I guess there was something wrong with my saving on the comp, or my fingers were not reacting. Gomen nasai. I am going to say no to a Beta reader for now, until I get the hang of my own writing. I want to try to fix my mistakes myself…but once I change my mind, I'll email you. Though, thanks a lot for your compliments.

- - -

Ryuki: Well…that was a chapter…it sucks, but it was a chapter. You guys are being way too nice to me. Well, I hope I get slightly better in the next chapter and not make too much grammar mistakes. If my description of the Digimon Card game is wrong, I apologize. I have never played it in my life, but I sort of know how to play it. SORT OF. So, that's that. Ja.