Hello! I am very happy to see you again, and I apologize for the long time it took me to submit this second chapter. I hope that you will think that it was worth the wait. I would like to thank everybody who has reviewed: thank you very much, hexgurl001, JFMEC;C, anon, cindy, Rubberman2025 and 4815162342 execute, your kind comments have brightened my day!
I would like to dedicate this chapter to hexgurl001, who was the first one to review.
-Lusankya
Disclaimer: I still don't own Digimon. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it.
Mumbling under her breath, Rika was sitting at the kitchen table, attempting to do her math homework with little success.
"If f(x)2x²-4x+3, it means that…"
And the phone rang.
More than thankful for the distraction, Rika answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi Rika! It's Jeri. I hope I'm not bothering you?"
"No, not at all. In fact, I really happy to hear from you" said the redheaded Tamer, making herself more comfortable on her chair. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm good, I'm good. Listen, I really wanted to apologize, for the autumn's equinox. I forgot to tell you, and I saw you were disappointed last Sunday when you heard of our outing…"
Rika smiled at her friend's guilty tone. Jeri truly was a sweet girl.
"Don't make such a big deal out of it. It's okay! Besides, even if you had told me beforehand, you still would have gone to Kyoto, you know. So don't you feel guilty, okay?"
"But, Rika! It's not fair! Takato, Henry, Kazu, Kenta and I see each other every day at school, we have lunch together, we're in school clubs together… But you, you don't see that much of us. And I know that you don't feel as much as a part of the gang as you should because of that. And I have been a bad friend for not including you more and for letting you down on a holiday like that. And I am sorry. I promise I'll be a better friend from now on."
Rika felt her eyes stinging a little. She did not hear such heartfelt and touching words often. Rubbing her eyes, she let out a small chuckle.
"Jeri, you have nothing to be sorry for. You're a wonderful friend."
"But friends don't leave friends alone on holidays," argued Jeri.
Rika smiled.
"That's where you're wrong, Jeri. I won't actually be alone on autumn's equinox."
"Really?" said Jeri, surprise evident in her voice. "How come?"
Leaning back on her chair, Rika let out a small chuckle.
"That's the funny part. Last Sunday, while we were walking home, Akiyama asked me if I wanted to spend the day with him, and I said yes."
The line stayed silent.
Frowning at the lack of feedback from Jeri, Rika waited for some kind of answer that did not come. After a few seconds, Rika spoke again: "Uh, Jeri? Are you there? I just said that Akiyama and-"
'OH MY GOD! YOU AND RYO ARE GOING OUT ON A DATE?'
Startled by Jeri's sudden joyful shriek, Rika fell down her chair and dropped the phone. She quickly hurried back to it.
"No, no! You got it all wrong! It's not a date!"
"But-but-but, you two would make such a lovely couple!"
"NO, we would NOT."
"Of course you would. But since this is not a date, what is it?"
"Well, we haven't really decided yet. He's supposed to call me so we can touch up on the details of what we want to do and where we want to go. We haven't spoken to each other since the picnic two days ago. We briefly spoke of movies and arcade, though."
"Ah, so it's just a friendly get together between a boy and a girl who have no interest in each other."
Rika frowned. "Now you wipe off the smirk I know you have plastered on your face. I can hear it."
"Aw, come on Rika", said a giggling Jeri. "You can't possibly tell me that you don't think that Ryo is cute, can you?"
"Sure can!"
"Oh, so you think he is as ugly as a baboon's butt?"
"What? No!"
"So you do think he is cute."
"No! He's- he's… Akiyama is okay-looking. There."
Giggles were heard from the other side.
"Stop giggling!" shouted Rika.
"But, giggle you give me such good reasons to!" said Jeri.
"That's it; I'm hanging up on you."
"Don't be so mean; I know you don't mean that. But I have to go though; my step-mother wants me to come and help to prepare dinner."
"Okay then. I'll talk to you later."
"Yes, and I want to hear everything about your date with Ryo!"
"Jeri!"
"Bye bye!"
And so Rika found herself glaring at a silent phone. She shook her head. After all, there was no point in continuing an argument alone. Sighing, she replaced herself properly on her seat, intending to go back to her homework.
"So, if f(x)2x²-4x+3, it means that…"
And the phone rang again.
Wondering what the chances of getting two phone calls back to back were, Rika answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello Rika, it's Henry."
Rika smiled. It was always nice to talk to him.
"Hi. How are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks. Guess who I just spoke to on the phone? Ryo. And guess why? He was asking me for your phone number."
Well, most of the time if was nice to talk to him.
"And, well, he hanged up before I could ask him any details," continued Henry. "So I thought I'd call you to ask what ever happened between you two."
Rika narrowed her eyes.
"Nothing happened."
"So he hasn't called you yet?"
"No."
"And you have no idea why he wants to talk to you?"
"Well… Yeah, I probably do."
"And…?" The smirk was evident even through the phone.
Rika sighed. She knew she was probably going to be teased again.
"The thing is… Well, after the picnic last Sunday, while we were walking home, Akiyama asked me if I wanted to do something with him on autumn's equinox."
Henry started laughing.
"And you actually said yes? Why, hell must have frozen over! That's something I would never have thought I'd hear someday!"
"Argh, just let it die, would you? It's not like it's that big of a deal!"
Henry's laughter stopped, but amusement was still evident in his voice.
"So, what now? Are you two an item or something?"
"NO. Definitely not!"
"And you're sure that Ryo isn't planning on profiting of the situation to seduce you?"
Her eyes widened and she gaped for a few seconds while Henry laughed his head off.
"WHAT?"
"Because, I mean," added Henry through his laughter, "if Ryo wants to spend two days alone with you, then surely he must be planning something of the kind, you don't think so?"
"Henry, stop this right now-"
"I tell you, he's going to wait until he has you in a dark corner, and then he's going to make his move-"
"Goodbye, Henry." And Rika slammed the phone shut angrily.
She then proceeded to slam her forehead on the kitchen table next to the rested phone, her cheeks pink of anger and embarrassment.
"Why, why is everybody reacting this way?" she moaned. "I don't get it, it doesn't mean anything, so why is everybody making such a big deal out of it?"
She slowly raised her head away from the table. Looking at her still undone math homework, she sighed. She reached for her pencil….
…and the phone rang again.
The sight would have been quite comical if there would have been anybody looking, as Rika jumped three feet high, knocked her knee on the table, dropped her pencil and accidentally hit the phone while trying to grab it, causing it to fall off the table. Reaching out to grab it before its fall, Rika only managed to fall herself on the ground next to the phone.
Moaning in pain, Rika decided that it was definitely not her day.
She finally got her hands on the phone. Wincing, she sat down on the floor and answered the annoying ringing source of her misery.
"Hi, Rika speaking, what do you want?"
"Erm, hi Rika? It's Takato… Uh, is this a bad time or something? Because I can call back, you know, that is, if you want… I mean, I can also not call back…"
"It's alright", she said, rolling her eyes. "Just make it quick, I've got homework to do."
"Uh, okay, if you say so… It's just that, erm, about half an hour ago, Ryo called me to ask for your phone number, but I couldn't find it or remember it, so he said he'd call me back to give it to me once he'd get it."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Then how come you're on the line with me?"
"I was getting to it. After his call, I actually found your number and tried to call Ryo to tell him not to bother, but his line was always busy, so I called you so you could tell him instead? That is, if he still haven't called you?"
Rika sighed.
"Look, Takato, I'll pass the message to him, but wouldn't it have been much simpler to just wait for the call and tell him you don't need it anymore? Your actual strategy doesn't really reduce the amount of phoning…"
Silence at the other end of the line.
"Hehe, I guess you're right!" chuckled Takato, slightly embarrassed. "Well then, I'll just leave you be, I guess… Bye Rika."
"Yeah, yeah, goodbye…"
She had just hanged up when the phone rang, again.
Now, Rika wasn't feeling patient anymore.
"WHAT IS IT."
"Rika? Is there something wrong?"
Her eyes widened.
Oh no. She thought.
Oh no no no no no no…
It was her grandmother.
"I'm so sorry grandma" Rika said, her cheek flaming red. "I didn't mean to yell, it's just that I've just gotten all those annoying phone calls back to back…."
"Uh-huh…" answered Seiko, not sounding very convinced. "I am shopping for groceries, and I wanted to know if there was something in particular you wanted to eat tonight. I was thinking oden, but I wanted your opinion first."
"Erm, no, oden is fine with me…"
"Alright then, if you say so… Well then, I suppose I'll see you later. And Rika, take a deep breath to calm yourself before answering the phone next time, okay? Your mom would also tell you to smile as you answer, but I'll leave that to your judgment."
Her face flushed with embarrassment, Rika mumbled a weak "Yes grandma. Bye."
As she hanged up, she let out a tired sigh. These phone calls were draining her. And with all this, her math homework was nowhere near getting finished.
And yet the phone rang, again.
Rika jumped slightly when it did but quickly picked the phone up. As she was about to answer though, she remembered her grandmother's words. She took a deep breath, put on a fake smile, and answered in a forced cheerful tone.
"Hello! Makino residence, Rika speaking! May I help you?"
"Hehehe, is that really you, Rika? When did you turn into a phone operator?"
Yup, that was Ryo. Rika sighed.
"Hi Akiyama."
"What, no snappy answer? Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, I just… Ah, forget it. What do you want?"
"I was just calling about our little week-end together. That is, if you still want to?" anxiously answered Ryo.
"God only knows why, but yeah, I'm still okay with it. What do you have in mind?"
"Well, first of all, would you be willing to spend both days with me, or would you prefer just one day? Personally, I'd prefer both days, we could do even more stuff."
She furrowed her brow. "Isn't two whole days together a little excessive?"
"Not in my opinion. Time goes fast when you're in good company!" Ryo cheerfully said.
The redhead rolled her eyes. "Speak for yourself."
"Oh, but I was", he flirtingly said.
"Ryo…" she answered in a dangerous tone, red creeping slightly on her cheeks.
He merely chuckled. "So, what do you say? I really think we won't get bored with each other. Besides, if after one day you can't stand me anymore, you can always throw me out of your life."
Rika thought for a moment.
"Well… Alright then, let's go for two days. But I will not hesitate to use my power to banish you if you start getting on my nerves. You've been warned."
"Of course, your Highness", he said with a small laugh. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"So, what do we do during this enormous amount of time together?"
"Well, I was thinking, since we have two days together, and there are two of us, we could each plan a day on our own. This way, it keeps some surprises for the other!"
"That's not a bad idea" she slowly said, "but what if we plan the same thing, like going to see a movie?"
"Then we'll just have to use our imagination! If you'd like though, you can have the first day. I'll adapt in consequence the next day. I can be very imaginative."
"I'm not worried about your imagination. I have seen what it is capable of."
"Would you be referring to a certain event where-"
"Yes" Rika curtly answered.
"It seems like some things just cannot be forgotten. Anyway, what would you think of me arriving at your place around 11 on Saturday? We can grab a quick bite, and then begin our day of adventure!"
"Sounds like a plan. Anything else we need to talk about?"
"Aww, you don't want to talk to me anymore? I am pained, really. But to answer your question, no, I can't think of anything else that might need planning."
"Well then, I guess I'll see you Saturday."
"You bet! You know, I'm really happy that we'll get to spend some time together. Goodbye Rika!"
"Bye Akiyama." And she hanged up. For the first time in quite a while, the phone remained silent. Rika let out a sigh, relaxed in her chair and started massaging her temples.
"God, all these phone calls extenuated me", she grumbled. A fleeting smile grazed her lips. "Heh, worn out by phone calls. I'm getting frail." Getting up, Rika stretched and declared: "I, Rika Nonaka, Digimon Queen, hereby proclaim that I have deserved a long, relaxing warm bath." And with these words, all thoughts of Ryo and other Tamers left her mind, and she made her way towards the bathroom.
On the kitchen table, her math homework laid, forgotten. It would remain undone.
End of chapter 2