Graffiti and Scandals

"Aah-OW!" Henry winced, feeling sorry for his poor friend Takato. Takato then walked out of the chiropractor's office, still rubbing his back but was now in an upright position.

"Feeling better?" Henry asked. Takato merely nodded. "Good. I think it's time you got home. Your mom must be worried sick about you."

"Don't your parents worry about you?" Takato asked.

Henry shook his head. "No, I-" he began

"He moved out of that looser apartment the first chance he got." Terriermon, on his Tamer's shoulder, commented. Henry, purely out of habit, reprimanded the digital rabbit. Takato just chuckled at the sight of the two.

A thought hit him and he thought out loud. "Wait, if Henry lives in another apartment, then I won't be able to ask Janyu about Henry's girlfriend." Henry and Terriermon heard this, but only the Digimon chose to comment on this.

"So that was the reason why you moved out: You didn't want your parents to see you dating some Gothic wannabe," Terriermon commented. Henry just glared at his shoulder and shook it, dislodging Terriermon. Fortunately, his ears are more than just second hands: they also are a gliding mechanism, making him land safely on the ground.

Gothic wannabe? I wonder if he means that girl who helped us out in the D-Reaper incident. Why can't I remember her name? Takato thought. "Are you talking about anyone in particular, Terriermon?" He asked. The bunny Digimon just shook his head. Takato looked back at Henry and was surprised by the expression on his face. Terriermon's comment probably hit closer to home than he thought it would. Deciding that his friend had embarrassed himself enough for the day, he said, "Come on, let's get you home."

"We're here," Henry said, pulling up to the sidewalk outside of Takato's house. Takato and Guilmon quickly got out, wanting nothing more than to sleep in.

He was a little surprised to see Terriermon and Henry getting out of the car as well, so he asked him "Why are you coming in? Thanks for the ride, but I don't need to be escorted to my room."

Henry smiled at this and responded, "I have to talk to your parents. It's better if I explain the holes in their walls. That and your back won't need more work on it," he added, smiling. Takato grinned at this.

Unfortunately, Takato would need some minor popping of his back, because the moment he got into the bakery, his mother got him in a strong bear hug. When Mai let go of (or rather, was pried from) her son, she began to give her son a good scolding, but luckily he was saved from any further embarrassment by a cell phone ringing a ringtone he wasn't familiar with. Curious, he followed the sound of the ringing to find Rika's cell phone.

"Aw nuts!" Takato commented, holding Rika's ringing phone. He saw an unfamiliar name on it, Michael, and an American number. Deciding against his better judgment to answer it, he heard an unfamiliar voice. It was very unfamiliar for him. (A/N: Sorry, just had to do that)

"Hello? Rika? Are you there?"

"Uh, hi, this is… uh, Rika's cell phone. Uh… Takato speaking. May I ask who's calling?"

"Not until you answer why you have Rika's phone."

Takato blushed at the memory. "Uhhh… Rika played back a message in my face that I left that was embarrassing, and she left her phone at my house."

Pause. "You told her your intimate feelings to her." Do you have some sort of death wish?

"Yup, and how he loved her and that he wanted to marry her and have as many kids as possible with her…" said Terriermon, who had jumped on Takato's shoulder to add his input.

"Terriermon!" Henry and Takato shouted. "I'm going to rip you in two for that, you little…" Takato didn't finish, but dropped the phone with the intent to choke Terriermon.

Terriermon, however, was dislodged when Takato turned instantaneously to get him, which saved him from getting whacked. When Takato dived at the little guy, he just jumped out of the way and ran behind Henry's leg. Takato was about to abandon all caution and go after Terriermon, but was stopped by his friend, who said (after grabbing his shoulders) "That's enough Takato. Stop it!"

Takato, when he realized what he almost did, was very apologetic and it was seen in his eyes. Henry merely said, "Don't worry about it. It isn't the first time that his mouth got the better of him, and it won't be the last."

"Why did Takato want to hurt Terriermon?" Guilmon asked, confused.

"Because he embarrassed Takato in front of a stranger." Henry said, letting go of Takato.

"But there's no stranger here," Guilmon stated.

Terriermon was more then a little nervous about how Takato reacted to his comment. "The stranger is on the phone. Speaking of which," he added as cheekily as possible. "how is he going to say his feelings to Rika when her boyfriend has her phone." That got a reprimand from both Tamers as Takato picked up the phone and continued to talk into it.

"Sorry about that. One of my… friends is a bit too much of a joker."

"And his nickname is 'Terriermon'? Does he have a friend whose name is Willis?" the stranger asked.

"Uh. What message would you like delivered to Rika?" Takato asked, avoiding the question.

"This is Michael McLaud. Tell Rika that I and my sister will be coming over for a visit, and to pick us up from the airport tomorrow at 2:00 PM."

"Uh, OK. I'll tell Rika," he ended the call, then added under his breath "and everyone else"

"Who was that?" asked Henry, still holding Terriermon.

Takato just shrugged and said, "Someone named Michael McLaud. He said that he was going to be at the airport at 2:00 tomorrow."

Everyone went silent in the back room.

Looking at the phone, Takato said, "I guess I better give this to Rika."

Henry sighed. "I better go with you. I don't know how she will react having a personal phone call answered."

Knock knock. "Rika? Are you in there?" Takato asked after knocking on her door. Getting no answer, he decided to enter the room, drop the phone off, and run like nothin' else.

But when he opened the door, he thought that Heck must've frozen over. For leaning against the wall was Rika. Rika's shoulders were going up and down. Rika's eyes were wet. Her cheeks had tears running down them. She was hugging herself. She was gasping every now and then. She was crying. Not a little sniffle, but full-blown crying. The only person who might have seen her cry like this would be Renamon and maybe Mrs. Seiko.

Takato put the phone on an end table that was near Rika's "sleeping bag" and he walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. Instantly her arms were around his shoulders, with her crying in his chest. To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. He was in shock. He didn't know what to do! Should I dare to kiss her? Should I just hug her? Should I even pat her on the head? Choosing the second option, he hugged her and discovered that she was talking into his shirt. He tried to hear the words she was saying, but she couldn't make them out, so he just tried to console her. "Don't worry; everything is going to be fine. We're all here for you: Me, Henry, Jeri, even Kenta, Kazu, and Ryo." He could feel her shaking in laughter. "We all care for you and won't let anything happen to you. You know that, don't you?" he asked softly.

She just nodded and said softly "Thank you." She then grabbed his shoulder in a vice-like grip and said a bit harder "If you tell anyone about this, you can bet that the short life you have won't be enjoyable."

"Henry." He turned to see Renamon with disturbed look on her face.

"Renamon? Are you Okay?" he asked, a little surprised that Renamon had come to him. When she didn't answer, he simply asked, "What's wrong?"

"I am failing in my duties to my Tamer." Henry looked at her, surprised. "I attacked my Tamer, then was unable to protect her." She closed her eyes, not really wanting Henry to see her pain.

Henry butted in. "Just because you reacted from a bad nightmare and was overpowered by a 'sister,'" Renamon opened her eyes and glared at him when he said that, but he didn't pay attention to it. "…doesn't mean that you have become inept at protecting your Tamer. And don't forget, Rika is a woman now, not the girl you met eight or nine years ago. She can take care of herself." He smirked. "Most of the time."

"But what if I'm gone and no one is around to help her?" Renamon half-joked.

"Momentai! We'll be around to beat up any jerk that tries to hit on her." Henry nodded and smirked a little at that comment.

"Speaking of being 'hit on,' why are you trying to get Takato and Rika together?" Renamon asked, curious.

"It just reminds him of his secretive relationship with his girlfriend." Terriermon quipped, not really knowing if it was the truth or not.

"Terriermon!" Henry growled.

"What?"

"Do… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that." he said, looking apologetically at Terriermon.

"Momentai!"

"Is that all he says?" Everyone turned to look at the newcomer, Takato minus Rika's phone.

Responding to Takato's joking tone, Terriermon said, "Hey, just because I am famous for a phrase doesn't mean that it's all I say!"

Takato just smiled and said "Right." He turned to Henry "I think it's time for me to be getting home. I, uh, didn't exactly tell my parents that I was leaving."

Henry just shook his head in amusement. "Takato, it's about time that your parents stopped worrying about you. Come on, you're old enough to take care of yourself."

Takato just looked at him as if to say you don't know the half of it. "Come on, boy," he said to Guilmon.

Guilmon got up from his sitting position and said "Okay. Bye Renamon," he added, waving at the digital fox.

Renamon merely smiled when the four left. Looking over her shoulder, she could see Rika stepping out of the shadows. "Feeling better?"

"Yes. Thanks Renamon, for understanding." she said in a soft tone.

Renamon merely nodded.

"Can't sleep?"

"I've been sleeping the equivalent of eighteen hours a day since I got here. Of course I can't sleep right now!" Rika said, moving into the couch that is in front of the TV. She turned it on.

"This is Channel 9 Breaking News." This got Rika's divided attention. Probably some stupid teenage prank. "We are at Guilmon's Hideout at the West Shinjuku Park." This got less of her attention divided. "As you can see, some vandal has written 'I love Gogglehead, signed Rika.'" The camera zoomed in on an all-too-familiar structure that indeed had "I ♡ Gogglehead -Rika" spray-painted in pink on one of the walls. The TV now had her undivided attention. It also took all her willpower to not throw the remote through the T.V.

"I'm going to kill Kazu!" she shouted to the T.V. "I don't love that stupid Gogglehead! He's just a friend! A very close friend. Almost too close…" she trailed off. Renamon just looked at her, not believing her strange reaction. That she would say something on the lines of ending Kazu's life wasn't surprising, however saying Takato was a very close friend was surprising.

"It is still unknown who wrote the message, but some think it's a friend of Rika's. Rika Nonaka…" Rika turned off the T.V., not in the mood to hear her own life story.

"Rika?" She looked over to her partner when she heard a hint of humor in her voice. "Are you feeling… well?"

"I'm fine, Renamon." She said emphatically.

"Then why are your cheeks red?" There was more humor in that tone, and Rika didn't like it.

"Have you ever heard of a blush before?" She asked dangerously sarcastic. She hadn't even noticed that she was blushing, thinking about that stupid Gogglehead. And what I'm going to do to his friends.

"And you seem to be acting strangely." Renamon finished her comment.

Rika just glared at her partner. "Are you implying I have a crush on that poor, stupid excuse of a Gogglehead?"

"All I am saying is that you are acting stranger than usual. Is it possible that you have feelings towards Takato?"

Rika just closed her eyes, not really answering the question and not in the mood to answer it either.

"Has the last squadron been transferred?"

"Yes, Master, it has."

"Begin releasing the remaining clones."

"It shall be done."

Rika's eyes snapped open. "Renamon. Did you hear that?" she asked, turning to face her friend.

"What? Your heart going pitter-patter?" Renamon joked.

Rika's blush deepened. "No! I meant the voices from our dreams."

Renamon instantly forgot about baiting her Tamer, despite the intense redness of her cheeks. She turned serious. "No. What did they say?"

"Just that the last platoon has been transferred and that more clones are going to be unleashed." she said nonchalantly, then added seriously "I think we need to be on our toes." Renamon merely nodded.