Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Digimon.

In case you were wondering, Lee (Henry/Jenrya/Jianliang) is his last name, and my putting it before his first name--in this case, Jianliang--is just the Japanese way of family name before first name. And yeah, they're all at their original Japanese ages--10 years for most of them, 7 (I think) for Suzie (don't like her other names), and 14 for Ryo. (The twins are about 3)

Yes, I'm going to continue listing Ruki as Ruki, not Rika. I actually read chapter one and saw how many typos there were in there (not just misspellings), and I know I listed Ruki as Rika, but it was an accident.

The greatest invention on the world, at least after the Digimon card game, was the invention of the headset. It allowed Ruki, who felt so confined in this house--in this world, really--a freedom to escape. It let her go to a world where the constantly ringing phones wouldn't distract her from rebuilding her deck.

The Digimon Card Tournament was only a few months away, and she wanted to be ready.

The door opened, making Ruki jump. She looked up quickly to see Seiko standing in the doorway. "Ruki?"

"Yes, Grandma?"

Seiko came into the room. "Your friend Lee Jianliang is on the phone." She held out the phone.

"Okay." Ruki turned the music off and took the phone. "Hey Lee."

"Ruki," Lee sounded happy to hear from her. Or as happy as he usually did. Ruki smiled anyways. It was always good to hear from him. Lee an Juri were the only ones who called, and they didn't call often. Takato typically kept losing her number. "It's been a while since I heard from you, so I had to call."

"You're the one who never answers your phone," Ruki reminded him. Usually she didn't call people. But Juri and Lee were the exceptions. She didn't have many friends, after all.

Lee sounded like he was smiling. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"What do you want?" She wasn't even paying attention to her deck anymore. She'd forgot what she was going for with them. Impatient, she tossed her cards into the jar with the rest of them. She'd put it together later.

"Do you want to get together? I was talking to Takato yesterday, and we were thinking about having a Tamers meeting."

"You're crazy! Can you imagine how much of the media will be there?" It would be swimming with them, she was sure of it. And how would they get away after that?

"We're thinking that if we give them the interview they were after, they'll back off and leave us alone."

"Don't be stupid." She hung up. Honestly, sometimes Lee could make the stupidest things sound logical. But Ruki knew the media better than he did--things didn't work that way. They never did. They wouldn't lose interest until something bigger came along. And that probably wouldn't be for another month or two. She turned back to her headphones and cards, but the music didn't hold her interest long. The phone was ringing--it was Lee. She ignored it.

A card hadn't found its way back into the jar. Curious, she flipped it over to see what it was.

Renamon.

The reaction was immediate. First, her eyes filled with tears, but then anger took over, and Ruki tossed the card back into the jar. She couldn't think about this.

Eventually, the phone stopped ringing. Ruki climbed out of bed, leaving it there. She couldn't stand her room anymore. Seiko was in the kitchen, just where she'd though she'd be, standing over the stove.

"Smells good," Ruki said.

Seiko smiled from where she was cooking dinner. "What did your friend want?"

"He's just being stupid." Ruki shrugged.

Seiko said nothing, simply watched her and waited for her to elaborate.

"He said that they want to do an interview." It was so stupid, she still couldn't believe it.

Seiko frowned thoughtfully. "It might work," she said.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Are you going to do it?" Seiko asked curiously.

"No!" Ruki said, then paused. "Well, maybe."

Her grandmother put the lid on dinner, reduced the heat. "It'll be done soon," she said. "In any case, your mother will be home tomorrow."

Oh yeah. "Did she say if she got the job?"

"No," catching her granddaughter's worried look, Seiko smiled. "We will find out soon enough. Don't worry."

"Yeah." Her Mom had been finding it harder to get a job lately. She was a model after all--and they had a limited lifespan. It was rare to find a thirty-year-old one, and Rumiko was twenty-eight now--almost twenty-nine. But she was still beautiful, Ruki reminded herself. She'd get this job.

"Grandma?"

Seiko looked up. "Yes, Ruki?"

"Do you think we should do the interview? Do you really think it will help?"

"There is a chance," Seiko nodded.

"Yeah." Ruki grabbed the phone and went back into her room, dialing as she went.

Typically, it wasn't Lee who answered, but his sister. "Hi!"

"Hey," Ruki smiled. "Is your brother there?"

Note: Still no real "Ryuki" yet. But it'll happen soon. In fact, I'm planning on it in the next chapter. (And still plotting the entire story--on chapter 6 already and still no slowing down)

AzNAnGeL07 -- I'll try not to let you down, and keep this story as interesting as possible. I hope you'll enjoy it.

karika88 -- Since I definitely don't like reading fanfiction when the pairing doesn't happen until like chapter 9, I won't torture you by following in Those Evil Peoples' footsteps. However, since the fanfic is more plot-driven (yes, plot! that evil word!), it may be chapter 9 before they become "official." But I promise to throw in as many Ryuki scenes as possible.