Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Digimon. But Iida Kazuo and Okanao Tadiyuki are mine. Not that you'd want them, of course.

Ruki didn't start to relax until they got to the park. Lee's father, Jiang-yu, had arranged for a ride for her. It was surprising for Ruki that she wasn't put off by the fact that the driver and his companion worked for Hypnos. It was actually kind of soothing. But when you felt lost, you always welcomed the familiar.

"Do you know who's all coming?" She asked the driver, Iida. He was by far the more vocal of the two, though was by no means a motormouth. He was a pretty average-looking guy, with dark brown hair and a moderate tan. His friend Okanao looked a lot more intimidating, six feet tall and at least three feet wide. Okanao hadn't said anything since she'd seen him, so she guessed he was there for protection. They were both in suits and shades. Which meant, Ruki thought, that they were here for business.

Iida looked up at the rear-view mirror, flashed her a quick smile. It was a very reassuring smile; he probably thought that she was just a scared kid. Just the thought made her grimace.

"Sure do," Iida said in a voice that Ruki was sure was almost sing-song. "Pretty much everybody's there. Matsudo Takato, Lee Jianliang, Shiota Hirokazu, Kitagawa Kenta, and," he added, just when Ruki was about to breathe a sigh of relief, "Akiyama Ryo."

"Juri's not there?" Ruki asked, trying to ignore the name. She'd known that Ryo was going to be there--but she'd hoped that he wasn't. The least she could do was ignore him. They'd be too busy answering questions for him to annoy her. And after that, she'd go home. That easy.

"As far as the media knows, she had nothing to do with Digimon other than the D-Reaper."

"Good."

The car slowed, rolling to a stop. Ruki looked out the window. They were at Shinjuku Central Park, the South entrance. The place was so crowded. There seemed to be a hundred reporters and cameramen, and five times that many civilians. She flinched. She should have thought that they were going to take pictures. If her Mom saw her, she was going to be so mad--after all, Ruki was wearing jeans, her typical t-shirt, and her red shoes. Her hair was even in it's typical ponytail. And, sin of all sins, Ruki wasn't wearing makeup.

A mistake, Ruki thought, glancing at the mirror. As much as she hated makeup, she was really looking pale right now.

"Good luck, kid," Iida told her. Ruki smiled at him weakly, but then the door was yanked open.

"Hello, Wildcat." Akiyama Ryo.

Immediately brought back to life, Ruki glared at him. "Go away, Akiyama."

He ignored the command, like he usually did. But his smile slipped a bit when he saw her face. "You okay, Rika? You're looking a bit pale."

"I'm fine." She shoved him away so she could get out of the car. She stalked away, her hands clenched into fists.

"Testy," she heard Ryo say vaguely. But he regained her attention quickly when he said, "Don't worry guys, I'll take her in. Good luck finding a parking place."

She turned immediately when she heard him walking toward her. "I don't need you to take me anywhere, Akiyama. I can get there just fine without you."

Looking completely unconcerned, his hands in his pockets, Ryo gave her his trademark 'I'm so perfect, you can't possibly not like me and want me around' smile. "Ever heard the term 'strength in numbers', Wildcat? There are four-hundred and twenty-nine people out there in that crowd. Do you really want to go in alone?"

Ruki glared at him. "Yes."

Ryo continued to grin at her, saying nothing.

Eventually, Ruki looked away. "I'm not going to though, am I?"

"Nope! Come on, Pumpkin; don't want to lose our seats!"

Note: Okay, I had actually intended to make this chapter longer, and include the interview. And I didn't exactly intend to put it up today, hours after posting the last one. But you know what they say. The next chapter may or may not include the interview, I have yet to decide, and it may or may not include another Ryuki scene (which will be a lot cuter than this one, promise!). The next Ryuki scene might get pushed back to Chapter 4 if I do the Interview for Chapter 3. We'll see.

And yes, I take wicked advantage of the italics button. It is my friend.