All done now. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading this far.
Review if you'd like to know what happens afterwards!
-N
--
"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade,
but in the sunshine of life;
and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things,
the greater part of life is sunshine.
- Thomas Jefferson
--
Rika had wept for several minutes before she forced herself to do something more productive. She just wasn't sure what that was.
She'd just witnessed someone she cared about—for his compassion, warmth, and gentleness—murder almost two dozen people. Was it even Ryo? The way he was moving—no person could do that—move that quickly, that precisely. Each of his assaults were so fast, so precise, so calculated—he knew when and where each person was, and even what they were going to do next. It wasn't Ryo.
Before that day, she'd been ready to admit to herself that she loved him. Her. Rika Nonaka, the Digimon Queen with a heart of ice. Much of the 'old her' was still there, and she knew it, which meant that she also knew that it would take one hell of a person to make her feel that strong of an emotion. Only Ryo could have. Nobody else, not even her closest friends—
—oh God—
What would they think? Yamaki would have Ryo hunted and killed. Hell, he was probably in the process of sending orders out as she thought about it. He stood up and looked to Renamon.
"We've gotta move." Her partner nodded towards her, and the two took off to the Hypnos building.
It only took a few minutes to get back, which wasn't nearly enough time for her to think of a good plan. She'd have to play it by ear.
After asking Renamon to wait in the lobby, Rika headed straight for Yamaki's office. She had to find out what he knew.
"Rika, you're alright!" Yamaki seemed shocked.
"Yeah." She murmured.
"The men I sent to investigate—the monster killed them all."
He doesn't know.
"I know. I saw it happen."
Yamaki nodded grimly towards her.
"Did anyone else survive?" he asked.
"I don't know." She lied. "I ran away. I'm sorry, I—"
"It's okay. I'm just glad you're safe. And I'm glad you're here. I've got a solution. We've developed a chemical that will kill the monster."
Which one?
Rika didn't say anything for a moment, but let Yamaki continue. "Once Takato wakes up, we'll finally be able to put an end to all of this."
"How is he?" she asked, suddenly concerned.
"He's getting better, but he's still unconscious."
She had to see him. As little as she trusted him at the time, Takato was only person she could think of who would have an interest comparable to hers in saving Ryo over killing him. She knew she didn't have much time before word got back to Yamaki that it wasn't the monster that attacked. She wasn't sure what to do—if she stayed for him to wake up, it could be too late. But she left, she was alone. She couldn't leave him a note, or anything, because it would be simply too risky.
She went to go see him. When she got there, Jeri was there, of course. They nodded to each other as they entered.
"Nothing, yet?" Rika asked, knowing the answer.
"No, not yet." Was Jeri's response. Jeri didn't seem particularly worried—she was very faithful that he'd wake up.
"Well, when he wakes up," Rika said carefully, "Tell him that there's no hard feelings. He'll get what I mean."
Jeri nodded, and Rika was surprised when she didn't have any questions.
She heard you fight.
Rika remembered that Jeri was very close to them when Rika confronted Takato in the digital world. She probably didn't hear much, but she definitely heard something.
Doesn't really matter.
Rika supposed that it didn't. She turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Jeri asked, curiously.
"I'm going out for a bit." Rika said confidently, as she wasn't exactly lying. "I'll see you later."
With that, Rika left. She didn't have as many doubts about the validity of the last part as she probably should have. As dangerous as it'd be, she had no intention of dying.
--
"Why do you want it destroyed?"
"Well, not the world, per se, just those that inhabit it. They've evolved beyond our ability to control. You've seen it yourself. 'Digivolution', you call it? Their power grows exponentially. And it's nowhere near finished." Valn explained. "Our world is better off without them."
"And we're better off with the disgusting monsters you make?"
"I'm not sure your little girlfriend would approve of you calling her father a disgusting monster. Dr. Nonaka is simply a proud carrier of my chemical."
What?
Ryo didn't believe it at first, but then things started to make sense. The monster hadn't been chasing Ryo, it had been chasing Rika. Things just worked out in Valn's interests when Ryo was the one to get infected.
"Besides, creatures like Dr. Nonaka are much better than the ones that live in the digital world."
"I don't believe that."
"It doesn't matter what you believe. I know I'm right. A war against the digital world would give ours a cause to unite. It's our lives or theirs. And once they are eradicated from the digital world—by Dr. Nonaka and yourself, we humans can inhabit it. The way human bodies operate there—without hunger, exhaustion—as data—people can live there. Peacefully, and healthily."
Ryo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Valn just acknowledged the digital monsters as living, sentient beings, and he's still calling for their eradication.
Better world my ass.
"Fuck you." Was what Ryo hissed right before he felt what could only be his double kick him in the back of the head, knocking him to the hard floor.
--
Rika found the place where Ryo left easily enough. She'd made a stop by her home, though. She wanted to see her grandmother again—just in case. She wound up spending a great deal more time there than she wanted to. Her grandmother mentioned that she knows Rika was up to something, but that she trusted her judgment, and knew that she'd do what was right. She was there for several hours before she made her grandmother promise not to tell her mother anything, a promise that was accepted after Rika agreed to be very careful.
It was underneath the park, in the tunnels. Impmon used to hide out there, and Takato, Henry, and her had used the tunnels themselves to move around the city during the D-Reaper incident.
Renamon led her to a large steel door that Rika didn't recognize. She tried the handle, which was of course, locked. She looked to Renamon, who nodded, moved to the handle, and tore it off with a grunt.
"Thank you." She said to her partner.
Renamon nodded.
With that, Rika ordered her partner away. She could tell that Renamon was upset with the order, but also that Renamon would be unable to change Rika's mind. The last thing Rika told her was to hide from the others until Rika got back. Nobody could know about Ryo.
Rika inhaled deeply, and moved to open the door. It was hot in the tunnels, so she took off her dark green padded vest, and left it by the door. She wouldn't want it inside, anyways—it made lot of noise when she moved in it. She stood there, in a pair of dark blue jeans, some runners, and a black tanktop.
Here we go.
She half expected something to pop out at her when she pushed the door open.
Fortunately, nothing did. She headed down the hallway at a steady pace, careful to be alert of her surroundings. There was an electric door ahead that was opened. She moved past it quickly, careful that something would cause it to close.
The hallway she went down was long, winding, and slanted downwards. It took her several minutes before she left it, and came to an intersection of what she assumed was a maze of other hallways, far beneath the park's surface.
Rika suddenly regretted leaving her vest outside, as it was very poorly heated. She looked to the hallways that led left, right, and straight ahead. Each hallway looked identical, though the one straight ahead looked to be longer than the other two. Each had several doors on each side.
She decided to move straight ahead. She tried the first door on the left. It was locked. She tried the one across the hall. It, too, was locked. She couldn't see in many of them, as many of the windows were covered from the inside with what looked like taped-up paper, and the ones that she could see in didn't appear to have much of note.
Rika finally found a door on the right side that wasn't locked. She headed inside, and took a look around. There were filing cabinets and computers, so she headed to the desk in hopes of finding something useful.
What she found were two folders that had been taken out of the cabinet. One looked shabby, and had the label "Kannoa". The other looked new, and had the label "Akiyama, Ryo".
--
I have got to stop pissing this guy off.
Ryo had a headache. Again.
He woke up in the room that he had before. He ran his hand through his hair, but stopped when he hit the small sensitive lump that was forming.
Goddamnit.
Ryo forced himself to stand up, knowing that he had to find a way out, to stop Valn. He was busy thinking of how to do that when he heard someone in the hall. He eagerly ran to the window, and saw a brown-haired boy looking into the window of the doorway across the hall.
Takato?
"Takato!"
Ryo pounded on the window for a good ten seconds before Takato noticed him. He saw Takato's face light up when he saw him. Ryo too was happy, but was also worried for his friend's safety.
He saw Takato try the handle, then indicate that it wouldn't open.
"Takato you've gotta get help, get Yamaki, tell him that Valn's—"
Takato indicated that he couldn't hear him.
Obviously.
He then saw Takato hold up his hand, which Ryo recognized as an instruction to wait. He sighed as Takato left down the hallway.
What Ryo timed as ten minutes later, Takato's head popped back into the window, but this time, Valn was behind him, and with a gun to Takato. Valn ordered Ryo to stand back, which he had no choice but to agree to. Takato was thrown into the room by Valn. Both people were bleeding—Takato from the leg, and Valn from the neck.
Well, he sure did better than I did.
Before closing the door, Valn threw in a black, round object, with a digital timer on it. The timer was at 5 minutes, and counting down.
"What the hell is that?" Ryo demanded.
"It's going to release a gas when the timer runs out. And let me tell you, it won't be fun for you when it does. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some pets to check on." Valn tossed the knife inside before he closed the door and locked it. "You'll both want that."
Ryo looked to Takato, worried. Takato turned to his leg, before taking off his belt and wrapping it tightly around his leg before standing up.
"Bad day?" Ryo asked, casually.
"Little bit. You?"
"Not great." Ryo admitted before pointing to the bruises on his neck.
"What did that?" Takato asked.
"Uh, me." Ryo mumbled. "Valn made a double of me. Took it out of me, put it in the double. Then I went to swing at Valn and the other me freaked out and kicked the crap out of me. I really wouldn't recommend doing it." Ryo almost regretted telling Takato, as it must have sounded completely ludicrous to him. At least it would have if he'd been paying any amount of attention more than he was. He was busy trying to find a way out.
Takato stood up and tried the handle, which of course, did not open. Ryo noticed the familiar looking woman's vest that Takato was wearing.
"So what are you doing here?" Ryo asked suddenly. He'd been too happy to see a familiar face that he didn't stop to think that it didn't make sense.
Takato looked at the timer.
"Came to rescue you. Didn't turn out so great, I'm afraid."
"My hero," Ryo said sarcastically, though he realized he was actually happy from the gesture. "Any ideas?"
"Well, maybe we'll freeze to death before that thing goes off?" Takato said hopefully.
"At least your girly coat'll keep you warm." Ryo snickered to his friend..
"Huh?" Takato took off the vest and looked at the heart design on the back.
"Wow." Takato laughed. "That'll teach me to wear things I find in the tunnels.
Ryo joined in, realizing where he'd seen one before. "Yeah, Rika has one like it."
Takato suddenly stopped laughing. "Rika's upstairs." Takato said seriously.
Oh God.
"What?" Ryo asked, pained with worry.
"She must have come here looking for you. She doesn't know I'm here, though, I stayed hidden. I didn't want her to be, you know, waiting to be gassed."
"Appreciate it." Ryo said casually, looking at the clock. "3:20"
"Just our luck, huh?" Takato said, tossing the vest aside.
Ryo's eyes suddenly widened as he stared at the vest.
"Luck. Rika." Ryo whispered. His eyes lit up as he tore at the vest in search of the lockpicks that Rika had shown him weeks before in the coffee shop.
--
Rika read both reports over twice. She read many others, too. The Kannoa one described the monster that had been chasing the Tamers. A lot of it she didn't understand, but she saw pictures, sketches, and descriptions of it when she saw it on the streets, and when she saw it in the park—in both its forms. Apparently the monster was actually a person who was infected by a virus that mutated him.
The report on Ryo was much less complete. It described that Ryo had been infected by Kannoa. That was the only part she felt she needed to understand. The person behind it all was a man named Valn. She knew he was the person she'd have to find in order to save Ryo. She realized she'd spent two hours reading the reports, and that she had to keep moving.
When Rika went back into the hallway she noticed something out of the corner of her eye—a green glasses case. She picked it up curiously, and opened it. Inside was a needle, and a folded piece of paper that said "ANTIVIRUS" on it in block letters.
Trap, much?
On the back of the paper it was written that it would kill someone fully infected and mutated. The manner in which it was written seemed nowhere near as professional as the reports, and while she didn't exactly trust it, she decided to keep it with her. She headed down the hallway clenching the needle firmly but carefully.
She headed down a floor before she saw an open door. She peeked around the corner, and saw Ryo. Praying that he would recognize her, like he did on the street, she stopped hiding, and walked in the room, looking at him square in the eye.
"Ryo?"
Ryo—
—no—
—the monster in him turned to her and growled, before it sped at her.
She managed to cross her arms in front of her before he took her down. But that was all that happened. She panted as she looked to him, gasping on top of her. She pushed him off of her, and rolled onto his back.
It was then she noticed the needle sticking out from his neck.
Ryo didn't move, but continued to gasp, clearly in pain.
Oh no—
Rika kneeled next to him, and held him.
"Oh God Ryo I'm so sorry I didn't mean for this to happen I just wanted to—"
Rika sobbed as she spoke, knowing full well that even if Ryo could hear her, he sure as hell couldn't understand her.
A moment later, the panting stopped—
—and in that moment, she realized what had just happened.
—and Ryo's chest fell, but didn't rise again.
—and Rika was alone.
--
Ryo had managed to find the picks, and get through the lock with almost a minute and a half to spare. Takato had taken the grenade, however, and had run off in hopes of returning it to Valn. Ryo had taken off upstairs in hopes of finding Rika.
But Ryo stopped when he came to a room much like the one from which Valn operated Ryo's double. The camera showed the monster, advancing on Takato. Valn could be seen in a room annexing it, a room that was filling with gas. Valn was busying himself frantically on a computer.
Takato was highlighted on the screen. Ryo carefully touched Valn's face, and, as he'd hoped, Valn became highlighted instead of Takato, and Dr. Nonaka changed direction. Ryo saw Takato carefully pull away the chair he'd used to bar Valn in the room, and carefully run away.
When he saw that Takato was clear, he continued down the hallway, calling out for Rika.
He opened every room that he could, and finally found her, weeping, holding his double.
The double was dead.
She thinks—
"Rika." He said quietly.
She looked up at him, slowly, clearly trying to fight the hope. But when she saw it was him, she stood and threw her arms around him.
She cried as she spoke in his ear. "I thought I lost you."
"It's okay, I'm here now."
"But who's—" Rika began, turning back to the corpse.
"I'll explain later, but we've gotta get out of here. Takato's downstairs.
She wiped her eyes, sniffed, and nodded.
--
"Takato!" Rika called as Ryo and her finally caught up to him. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Valn's dead." Takato explained. "The monster turned on him."
Ryo suddenly felt himself go pale, but fortunately, neither Takato nor Rika noticed. The reunion was interrupted by the sound of an explosion in the distance.
"What was that?" Ryo asked.
Before Takato could answer, they walls around them shook again, as loud crashes were heard above and behind them.
"Looks like Valn didn't plan on making it through this himself." Takato murmured, looking around, as Ryo realized what exactly Valn was doing before he ordered Dr. Nonaka after him.
"Well then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Rika said over the noise.
Ryo nodded.
Best idea I've heard all day.
"I can't leave." Takato said firmly.
"What?" Rika asked frantically. "Takato, this place is falling apart!" She yelled at him, desperation clear in her tone. The complex again shook, forcing fresh sparks to fly from the computers as the lights overhead flickered.
"I know that, but I'm not leaving yet." Takato said quietly.
"You're fucking kidding me." Ryo said in pure disbelief.
Lie.
"But it's not done! Valn's virus is still existent. If it survives this, it'll infect, it'll spread, and it'll mutate. And this will start all over again. And I'm not asking you to do this. I want you and Ryo to get clear of the tunnels, get back to Hypnos."
What!
Ryo didn't say anything; the look he shot at Takato was enough of an argument.
"I know what I'm doing, Ryo. I'll meet you back at Hypnos. Hurry up, and be careful, okay? Trust me." Takato was a crappy liar. He knew Takato had something planned. He didn't want to trust him.
Ryo knew that he would, but he didn't want to.
The complex shook again, and however frantic the situation, none of the three had moved, until Takato repeated himself. "Go."
Rika had started crying by the time that Takato had asked her to trust him. Ryo saw Rika slowly backed up, still not taking her eyes off of Takato. As she turned, Ryo saw the tears she shed mix in with the dirt on her face.
Ryo hadn't moved, but instead stared at Takato, trying to sort out just what exactly he was up to. But there wasn't time.
"Go with Rika." Takato said calmly.
He knows what he's doing. He has to.
Ryo looked and saw that Rika had left the two, but not the room. She was waiting for him. Ryo turned back to Takato, and extended his arm, which Takato shook.
"Thank you" Ryo said quietly.
"No problem." Takato said with a little smile.
Ryo didn't get the chance to smile back, because the complex shook again, this time enough to throw them both off balance, and their handshake ended as they both stumbled away from each other. Takato planted his feet firmly on the ground, and looked up to Ryo.
"Now go!" Takato barked over the noise.
Ryo nodded reluctantly and then ran towards Rika. He helped her up, and with a few looks back, the two ran down the hall and around the corner.
He'll make it.
Ryo let Rika lead the way out, as he himself had no idea. They were nearly out to the tunnels when one of the electronic doors slammed shut in front of them, inches away from taking Rika's face with them.
Rika searched frantically for a way to open it, and Ryo pounded a fist against it in frustration.
To his surprise, it opened, with a female voice saying something that made Ryo realize why Takato had stayed behind.
"Manual override."
He stayed so that Ryo and Rika wouldn't have to. Ryo ran with Rika nearly instinctively, as the thought ran through his head over and over. Rika's tug at his arm forced him back to the issue at hand, which was survival. He had to make it out.
They ran through the tunnels at a speed that seemed even faster than before, the pain all over Ryo's body dulled by the adrenaline. They finally arrived at the ladder they'd always used. Ryo arrived at it first, but waited to help Rika up. She didn't need the help, of course, but he let her go first, his gaze switching repeatedly from her going up the ladder to back down the tunnel.
Come on, Takato.
When Rika was nearly up, Ryo himself began to climb, still looking down the tunnel. Rika was soon out, but Ryo stayed on the ladder as high as he could so that he could still see down the tunnel, staring—waiting for his friend to come. He was probably hanging there for thirty seconds before Rika's scream pulled him back to reality.
Ryo was barely up the ladder out of the tunnels when it gave out. He felt a warm, firm grip on his wrist pulling him up; at least Rika could keep her head in this kind of situation. They both fell to the ground as she pulled him up from the tunnels, struggling to catch their breath. They were there for only a second before Ryo felt tremors run through him—
—no, through the ground, and he realized the park was being destroyed. He instinctively wrapped one arm around Rika, and grabbed a nearby root with the other as the ground shook violently. He felt her bury her head into his shoulder and breathe heavily as she held onto him for dear life.
Ryo forced himself to look up when the tremors finally slowed down. The park was a mess. Many of the trees were knocked over, the ground was no longer flat, and Ryo realized that it was over.
We're okay. We made it.
Ryo looked at the girl in his arms, who still hadn't moved her face from his shoulder.
"It's okay. We're safe now."
--
Takato's funeral was huge. Ryo thought so, anyways. This was the first funeral he'd ever attended.. It was obvious just how many lives Takato had touched. His whole school was there, and most of Rika's school was, too. Ryo didn't even know so many people. He was sitting in the front-left corner. To his left was Rika, who was on the end. To his right was Henry, followed by Suzie, Kazu, Alice, and Kenta. Their parents were in the rows behind them, and in the rows behind them sat Mr. Yamaki and the Monster Makers. The only person absent from the funeral was Jeri.
Apparently, after Rika had left Hypnos in search of Ryo, there'd been an accident. There'd been a guy who blamed Yamaki for Valn's monster. He went after Yamaki through Takato, and Jeri'd shown up to the showdown just in time to get a bullet to the stomach. She was still unconscious.
It'd been a week since Rika and Ryo had escaped from the complex. Since then, the digimon had all disappeared. Kazu and Henry were the only ones who said they actually saw them at the time, which they report as being the same time. Which Ryo and Rika remember as being the same time that the complex exploded. Ryo knew that Valn had some control over the digital world. He guessed that when the complex was destroyed, so was whatever power source that kept them in this world.
Takato's parents were in one of the other front rows. They were a mess, obviously. Ryo'd seen a lot of them over the week; more than he had his friends. Particularly because of the favor they had asked of him: Ryo was to speak.
Ryo felt warm, slender fingers run their way though his. He squeezed her hand gently. He hadn't seen much of her that week. He didn't answer his phone at all; not that he was screening his calls, but he just didn't want to talk to anyone. The only time he went on the phone that week was to phone his dad and his stepmother to let them know what had happened. He was glad when they returned from their trip to attend the funeral.
The coffin that Ryo stared at was empty, of course. Takato's body, as well as the bodies of all the other people Valn killed had been incinerated in the explosions. It felt more wrong than Ryo already knew it was.
He almost didn't feel Henry's hand touch his shoulder.
"Are you ready?" Henry had asked.
Ryo nodded. He squeezed Rika's hand once more, smiled weakly at her, and headed to the front of the crowd that Ryo could barely conceive of.
The prayers had already been said, and the minister stood behind Ryo as he spoke. When writing it, Ryo tore himself apart trying to figure out exactly what to say, how to word it. Standing in front of the people, seeing the tears, the nods as he spoke, he realized that in a way, it barely mattered. Because they already understood. Ryo spoke for around ten minutes. He hadn't cried since his friend died, and in practicing his speech, made sure that he wouldn't. But he felt tears well up as he listened to what he said as he finished up.
"Takato Matsuda accomplished more in his time than most of us ever will in our whole lives. He was a hero. We've all learned something from Takato. Not just from what happened, but from him." Ryo looked to Rika, square in her eyes.
Rika Nonaka, the love of his life.
"His passion—his devotion to the people he loved, it's what I still can't get over. He's shown me that when you have people in your life that you love so much, you'll do anything to keep them there. He fought for the people he loves. He fought for us all."
He ran his hand along the lid of the empty coffin, and whispered a goodbye.
--
Rika looked everywhere for Ryo after the funeral. It was getting dark, and she finally found him at the coffee shop that he worked at. The coffee shopped she'd stopped by six times that evening in hopes of finding him.
Rika had taken Takato's death hard—they all had—but she knew Ryo was taking it as badly as Mr. and Mrs. Matsuda were. She'd spent most of the week staying at their house, as did Henry, Kazu, and Kenta. She'd phoned Ryo a number of times, but the phone was never answered. The only time she saw him was when he stopped by the Matsuda home when Takato's parents asked him to speak at the funeral. It was seeing Ryo take on the responsibility of that that Rika made the decision to be the one to tell Jeri when she woke up. The duty made her feel sick with worry, even just thinking about it.
Ryo was sitting on the couch there when she arrived, a glass of water in front of him. His backpack was on one of the loveseats, closed. She entered the small store, and sat down beside him. His hand moved to hers, which she accepted. It was a long while before either spoke.
"Rika?" he asked, finally.
"Yeah?"
"Why'd you come after me?"
She turned to him, but he didn't turn to her.
"Why wouldn't I have?" She asked back, not even having to think about it.
Rika began to get uncomfortable as the silences from Ryo grew longer. She almost wanted to smile at his naivety. For almost a year he'd flirted with her, and now that she found herself in love for the first time, with him, he couldn't communicate a single feeling. She frowned.
"Ryo, are you okay?"
He finally broke his gaze from the floor, and looked at her with his crystal blue eyes.
"Rika, there's something I—there's something I have to say to you." He stammered, awkwardly. "And I'm so sorry that it took me this long."
Rika smiled inwardly. She knew what was coming, but she still wanted to hear him say it.
He inhaled deeply, and exhaled sharply, evidently readying himself. Rika then decided to let him off the hook—decided to make things easier for him. She leaned in to kiss him, realizing she'd wanted to since they had the first time back in the digital world, in what seemed like an eternity ago.
But he pulled away. And what he said then tore through her.
"I can't. I'm sorry."
Rika actually felt her heart break. She'd taken one of her first romantic risks, and had been rejected. He didn't want her.
"…oh." Rika almost squeaked. It was her turn to be the one to avoid eye contact. She felt a tear fall down her left cheek when she blinked. She would have been glad Ryo was on her right side not to see it, if she wasn't so certain the same would happen there, too. "I thought you—I mean, um—" Rika stammered.
"I'm sorry." He repeated in a whisper.
Rika didn't say anything. She had been so convinced that Ryo was going to be her light at the end of the tunnel. That after everything that had happened, that after all they'd lost, that they'd be able to salvage some happiness from it.
"I just—I thought you liked me."
"It's not about that." Ryo explained.
"That's all it's about." Rika retorted.
"Rika, I—" he began, obviously struggling with his words. "What's happened…with Takato, to your f—it's all been my fault."
"Ryo it wasn't!" Rika said clearly, but still as a reflex.
"He died because of me." Ryo said declaratively.
"That wasn't what happened." She responded defensively.
"He died because of me!" Ryo was almost shouting now, and it made the tears fall down Rika's face all the quicker. She almost didn't notice through her clouded eyes, but Ryo was crying too.
Rika didn't know why she had thought that things would be good for her just because some bad things went away. She didn't even know why she had gotten her hopes up. The old her wouldn't have. The old her would have seen it coming. It was Takato who had played a large part in the creation of the new her, but he was gone now. Fitting that the good in her life go with him. However, she was the new her, and she had liked it before just then. And she still knew she had to try.
"Rika, I don't want to fail you. Like I did Takato." Ryo protested.
"Then don't." She said almost loudly. "What happened was tragic, I know, but don't let it take over your life."
"You're better off without me." Ryo said helplessly.
"I don't believe that. Not even for a minute." She was telling the truth.
"Rika, I can't protect you." Ryo said weakly. "I'm trying to do what's right."
Rika snapped.
"What's right? You're just—giving up." She yelled. "Right isn't giving up. Right is fighting."
"I'm not strong enough to fight for you." Ryo said quietly, turning away. But Rika wasn't done yet. She grabbed his arm, causing him to face her.
"I don't need you to fight for me. I just need you." She did. She'd known it since he was taken by Valn from the digital world. Ryo has it all backwards. She wasn't better off without him. He was the reason she'd made it this far. "We can fight together." She was almost pleading.
"No." he whispered.
Rika loosened her grip on his arm in defeat. Ryo turned and faced the window. He wiped his eyes with his hand, before putting it on the wall above his head, steadying himself. He didn't say anything.
She stood there for a moment, her mind catching up with her voice. Her hands were trembling. She stopped herself from sobbing, and looked at him once more, even if he wouldn't look at her.
"I love you." She said weakly.
It was when he didn't say anything that she was unable to stop herself from sobbing. She grabbed her coat and ran out the door. It was raining now—something that may have calmed her if it hadn't reminded her of the night that Ryo had taken her in from the rain at the very same building she just ran out of.
Renamon was nowhere to be found. Takato was dead. Jeri was in a hospital. And Ryo had abandoned her. She ran to the home of the only other human being she trusted.
Henry.
She ran down the street as fast as she could. The wind was at her back, so very little of the rain touched her face. She was crossing the last street before Henry's house when she realized that the sudden light in front of her wasn't lightning. She suddenly spun around to see a car staring her down.
She froze in terror, stiffening her body as she braced for the impact.
The impact didn't come, though, as the car near-miraculously swerved around her and kept going, after more than a few unkind things shouted by the driver.
She ran quickly but more carefully to the Wong residence. She'd stopped her crying by the time she got there. She knocked at the door loudly and repeatedly, until Janyu answered in a housecoat.
A sudden rush of guilt flooded through her as she realized it was past midnight on a Sunday.
"Rika? Is everything okay?" Mr. Wong asked, concerned.
"Is Henry home?" she asked.
Mr. Wong looked behind him to see Henry behind him, wearing red pajama pants and a white t-shirt. His hair was a little messier than usual.
Janyu turned away, presumably to his room.
"Rika, what's wrong?" the concern in his voice was easily recognized.
The presence of a friend was enough to make her cry again, for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
--
Rika woke up on one of the sofas in the Wongs' living room. Henry was sitting quietly at one of the others, reading. She'd told Henry everything. About how she felt about Ryo, about their fight, and about everything that happened before it. She still felt like crap in the morning, but she'd stopped crying, at least.
She was appreciative of how Mr. and Mrs. Wong respected her privacy. She knew they trusted Henry's capacity to handle something that warranted help so late at night. When she sat up, she talked with Henry, talking about less important things. Rika was glad of it, as it took her mind off of Ryo, off of Renamon, and off of Takato.
They talked for some time before Mrs. Wong entered the room, and handed an envelope to Henry before continuing to the kitchen to go through the other mail with Janyu.
"Who's it from?" Rika asked, curiously.
"No stamp." Henry shrugged as he opened it.
Rika saw that the letter was one sided, and one page. It was written on normal printer paper, and she could see from the back that it only had a few lines to it.
She also saw Henry's eyes widen a bit.
Rika got worried. "What's wrong?" she asked.
He handed her the letter.
"I'm leaving.
My plane takes off at 9:00 this morning. I just wanted to say goodbye.
Ryo Akiyama"
Rika looked to the clock. It was 10:34.
Henry grabbed the phone off the charger and called Kazu. He, too, had gotten the same letter, and had just gotten off the phone with Kenta, who had the same. So had Alice. And Mr. Yamaki, and Takato's parents. The only person who hadn't gotten one was Rika. Henry had her grandmother check twice.
Rika folded up the note the way it had come, and set it down on the coffee table.
"He really left." Henry said in disbelief, not noticing that Rika was already leaving.
Why on earth would he have stayed?
--
I hope that it wasn't too terrible. This probably could have done as two separate chapters, but it's too late now.
As long as there is interest, there will be a sequel, but I'm not going to make it part of this story, as there won't be so much of an "Action/Adventure" label on it.
If you liked this chapter at all, I recommend reading the last chapter of "Atlas", to which you can find the link in my profile.
The sequel will be set six months later, and will take place after my third story, "Flux".
Summary: Ryo comes back to find that a number of things have changed in his absence. Some of his friends are still upset with him for leaving. Rika has moved on with her life, and is less than willing to give Ryo another chance, but he is determined to win her back.
Over and out, pretty pretty please, review.
-N