Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Digimon.

The first thing that Ruki noticed upon waking was that there was a sea of reporters in her front yard. But, she noticed, no one was inside but her and her parents--and, she saw, Iida and Okanao. Changing into her school uniform in record time, she was just walking into the kitchen when Iida caught her arm. "No time for that," he said.

"I can't even have breakfast?" She asked in disbelief.

He pointed at the street, which was full of people.

Ruki sighed. "Okay."

"Here, Ruki, I made you a sandwich," Seiko said, and handed it to her.

Not very enthusiastic, Ruki took it, lifting it in a small salute. "Thanks, Grandma. Do we even know what happened?"

"No," Rumiko said. "Now go on, or you'll be late."

Ruki sighed. She'd really hoped that after the interview this would have at least slowed down. Surrounded by Iida and Okanao, she walked down to the car that was arranged for her. They were trying their best to look intimidating--something both of them did with ease, she had to notice. She did her part by not talking and distracting them, moving as quickly as possible. Only when they were in the car did she relax, trusting the dark windows to hide her as well as possible.

The police who had been called did their part to clear the streets well enough for Iida to drive through. Ruki buckled her seat belt before he hit the gas and sent her through the window. She knew Okanao would just have caught her again--he did yesterday, after all--but the whiplash wasn't exactly the best feeling.

"I didn't expect to see you two again," she said.

Iida was smiling. She had a feeling he really loved his job. "You didn't expect us to just leave you, did you? You're stuck with us until this mess is over."

"That reminds me! How's your wife, Okanao?" She asked. "I heard she went into labor yesterday. I definitely didn't expect to see you today."

He turned to look at her. He looked really...surprised, she thought, but she couldn't tell through the shades. A moment later, he turned back. "She's fine," he said, voice very quiet. Ruki's eyes widened. She didn't expect him to talk. Iida looked kind of surprised too, but he didn't let on.

"Yeah, she hates him now though," he laughed. "Nine fun-filled hours of labor before Okanao Kazuo--named after me, naturally--was brought into this world. And the boss--he said, 'Well, since your wife doesn't want you here, why don't you keep the lovely Miss Makino to school?' And me, I just had to go with, you know? We're going to bring her flowers today though, after we get you to school."

Ruki smiled. "Probably a good idea."

"Oh, I'm full of 'em," Iida was quick to assure her. "'Yuki here, though. Nuh-uh." He shook his head, to get the point across, and it was only Okanao's lightning fast save that kept him from crashing them into a truck. Iida glared at his friend before reclaiming the stearing wheel, but Okanao looked completely unaffected.

It was clear, Ruki thought, why they were partners. And wisely kept her mouth shut.

There had been reporters on the school grounds, she noticed, but the police were already clearing the premises. One of them stopped the car. Iida rolled down the window, and smiled charmingly at the officer. "Hey, beautiful."

The officer rolled her eyes, and though Ruki saw that she wanted to, she didn't send them on through just to get rid of them. "What are you doing here?"

"Business. We're here escorting the lovely Miss Makino Ruki to her fabulous school. Which is even more fabulous now that you are here."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then I'll let you get back to work." She turned on her heel to walk away, spine stiff. Iida didn't look like he was in such a hurry to drive off, until Okanao punched him in the shoulder, at which point Iida was obliged to drive away now or lose feeling in his arm.

The assistant principal was waiting for them at the front of the school, looking like he was about to explode. Ruki glared at him as he opened the door, knowing that he was just looking for an excuse to kick her out now. The actual principal loved the attention from the media, but the assistant...

So she bowed to him slightly, and turned into the school. Then passenger door opened and Okanao stepped out, catching the assistant principal before he turned to follow her. Ruki heard the beginnings of a conversation between those two--Okanao's voice low, and the assistant's loud--before she closed the door on the sound.

She took off her shoes and put them in the shoe locker, replacing them with the school shoes. The hall was suddenly very silent, as everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Ruki glanced up long enough to glare at them, and then stalked off to her class, ignoring the whispers that started the minute her back was turned.

It was just like any other day, she thought irritably. A dozen of the girls were gathered around one desk, whispering and giggling and fighting for a better look. Knowing it probably had something to do with Akiyama, she ignored them, and knew she was right when she heard them talking about 'that beautiful Akiyama Ryo.'

Ugh, she thought, waiting impatiently for the class to start.

Sasada Aki noticed Ruki walk in, and immediately claimed her seat beside her. "Ruki," she said cheerfully. "Did you see the newspaper? You made the front page!"

Yeah, Ruki thought. Me and the rest of the Tamers. That explains why they're going on about Akiyama.

Sasada set her paper down on her desk, and Ruki choked when she saw the paper. It was a picture from last night, she noticed. But it wasn't from the interview. It was a picture from when Ryo walked her home.

Looks like they just got a bigger story, she thought.

Note: forgot to write it the last chapter, but a "quickie" on the suffixes used. With Matsu-chan, it's said that the character is a man; the "-chan" suffix is generally used for small or cute children. This underlines his childish nature, and his relationship with Rumiko. With Ijichi-san, it's used to point out that it was someone she didn't know very well (and only knows by name and reputation), since it was his last name attached to the "-san" suffix. Ijichi won't lose this suffix until he is known better, and may or may not be known by his first name at this time. This isn't generally how the -san suffix is generally used, but it suits the purpose of this fanfic.

Bored yet? Yeah, loads of useless info.

karika88 -- Oh, 14 huh? Sorry, the site(s) I checked never really have a solid opinion on his age. I just thought that it was rare for America to ever agree on the ages of the Digimon characters. They're usually at least a year older (or younger, in Suzie's case).

AzNAnGeL07 -- Always happy to update until I run out of things to say. :)