That night, Ruki had trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned until she finally managed to enter the dream realm. However, that turned out to be her worst nightmare. Ruki stood in her lilac pyjamas in the middle of a mist covered field.
'Where am I? Is this a digi-field by any chance?' She looked around for her partner, but Renamon was nowhere to be seen. An unearthly chill ran down her spine. Whispers could be heard all around her.
"Who's there?" she called out. There was no answer. But the whispers soon turned into a cacophony of voices. The harsh voices were now chanting her name almost like a ritual - Ruki Makino, Ruki Makino, Ruki Makino. From the mist, shadows emerged one by one, surrounding her completely.
The violet eyed girl surveyed them warily. For a few moments there was nothing but silence and then a familiar voice spoke to her.
"It's been a while, Ruki."
If Ruki was shocked, she tried not to show it. "Icedevimon... What do you want?"
"Why else would I call you?"
"Don't tell me you still want me to be your tamer. Renamon is my partner and nothing will replace her!" she declared proudly.
The icy devil laughed. "I never expected you to say this. What happened to that ice queen attitude of yours?"
"I realized that my friends and bonds with Renamon are what make us stronger," replied Ruki.
" Ruki, Ruki, Ruki...Since when did you soften up? Has being around those other tamers and their puny digimon tainted you? You used to be much more ruthless."
"T-That was in the past. Anyway, I know where my true strength lies. I don't need another partner."
"The girl is rather stubborn," said a female voice. "Shall I teach her a thing or two?" The malice in her voice made Ruki take a step back. "Renamon..." she whispered.
"You're partner cannot save you," stated Icedevimon, coldly. "Ruki, there are much more powerful digimons, ones that surpass me or Renamon. You are a tamer with so much potential. I cannot fathom why you're limiting yourself."
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"You know very well what I mean. Ruki, we need a tamer like you to help us become stronger. You are the only one with that kind of power. Even Ryo Akiyama can't compare to you."
At the mention of the legendary tamer's name, Ruki fell silent. As far as she could remember there was barely a time she won against Ryo. No matter how many times she challenged him be it sports or the digimon card game, she was never able to defeat him and yet...
"Why? Why me?" she asked.
"That's obvious, Ruki. You have a strength that the other tamers lack, your ruthlessness." Ruki shuddered as she recalled the cold-hearted tamer she once was, before she bonded with Renamon. The mist shimmered in front of her. It slowly materialized into a little girl in a turquoise turtleneck T-shirt with a broken heart in the middle, jeans and red-white sneakers. Her hair was tied up in a spiky ponytail, her eyes were stony violet.
'I have to be the strongest,' started little Ruki. 'To do that I need to defeat stronger digimon and load their data.' Behind her, a screen flashed on, displaying the ruthless tamer and her partner's initial battles, ones where she didn't believe digimon to be like humans. Back then, the young girl only cared about one thing and that was to become the strongest tamer. After meeting Takato, Jian and their digimon, she was slowly able to understand the bond between humans and their digimon partners. As the screen continued to play horrible battles, Ruki began to tremble.
"I was wrong!" she yelled. "I was wrong and I've learnt that!"
'I must make Renamon digivolve into a more powerful digimon. I need to push her limits so she can evolve,' continued the dark girl before her.
"No, Renamon and I are partners. It's because we fight together that we are stronger." The screen behind the other Ruki continued to play back her heartless battles.
'Partners? What bullshit. Digimon are merely creatures born to fight, nothing more,' said her emotionless self.
"No, digimon have hearts, just like humans! They are our companions and bring so much warmth to our lives!" countered Ruki, recalling the wonderful times she had spent with Renamon. Her past self looked at her coldly.
'I didn't think I'd become soo weak that I'd give in to things like bonds and friendship. I truly am disappointed...to think that I have grown to become so....pathetic.'
Just then the screen switched to a card tournament. It was a very familiar battle. She was fighting against a boy whose face seemed to be a blur. He was good. Too good and she ended up losing against him. The girl on the screen quietly stood up and walked way when the MC declared the other boy as the winner.
'Why did I lose to that?' asked past Ruki. 'Was it because I was weak? No...That's not possible. I will have my revenge on him!'
"No, stop. I don't need revenge," pleaded the older girl.
'So weak...so weak... And it's all because of that boy...I will destroy him!' hissed her cold self before dissipating.
"I..." Unable to say anything more, Ruki remained silent.
"Ruki," Icedevimon rasped. "You must return to the ruthless tamer you once were. Only then will you truly be the strongest. "
"I won't! I have friends I believe in now! They are my strength!"
The cold blooded digimon clicked his tongue but decided to end the matter. "Think about what I said carefully, Ruki. There will certainly come a time when you will come to us. We look forward to the day you become our tamer. And the next time, another of us will come to see you."
"There will be no next time! And I'll never become your tamer! Renamon is my-" But she was cut off mid-way as a strong gust of wind ripped the mist apart. It carried with it several petals of cherry blossom. When she looked up, she saw Sakuyamon's silhouette. It seemed to be calling out to her. "Ruki...Ruki..."
"Ruki, wake up." Renamon's soft voice caused her to wake up with a start. She looked disoriented and tried to process everything that happened.
A/N: So that's Chapter 2. Do let me know what you think of it and what needs to be improved. As for the silhouettes Rika saw, take your guesses on who they might be :)