A/N Hiya everyone! Time for me to start rambling again! Wow…this must be the first time I actually started a chapter right after I posted the last one. I hope you guys don't hate me totally because of what's gonna be in this chappie J.

Say Lavos…I was wondering…who exactly is Mille? Is it Millenniumon or what not from the game? If it is an evil Digimon, then please send me a good, detailed description of him/her. I am gonna run out of ideas for Devas soon and I might decide to use it.

Anyway…I'll answer reviews at the end so…lets get cookin! (Dammit I'm hungry! It's 2:23 and I haven't eaten anything yet!)

Chapter 7

Birthday Dilemma

The sun shone merrily through the windows of the Nonaka residence. It was a warm summers day and everything was very peaceful. It had been three days since Varunamon had appeared and attacked the Tamers and none of them had seen or spoken to Rika since. Even Rumiko and Seiko hadn't seen much of her. Everyday, she would get up earlier than they would and leave for the day, coming back late after dinner when they were already sleeping. Today was no different. It was four days till the weekend and Ryo was on his way to Rika's home. He knew she wouldn't be there. He had called ahead and Rumiko had said she didn't know where Rika was. She was starting to get worried about her strange behavior.

It didn't matter that Rika wasn't there though. In fact it was actually better. Ryo needed to speak to Rumiko and Seiko…not Rika. He steeped into the yard and walked along the short path to the front door. A cool breeze blew across the lush, green grass. Ryo sighed, reached up and knocked on the door. There was a moment's silence before the door slid open. Rumiko smiled at Ryo as she motioned for him to come in. He was taller than she was, as was Rika. They had grown so much… Still smiling lightly at the thought of how much her little baby had grown up, Rumiko sat down opposite Ryo in the living room.

"My mother's just making tea, would you like some?" She asked. Ryo smiled and shook his head.

"No thanks," he said politely. Rumiko liked this little trait Ryo had. Always polite, always respectful and she could tell that Rika meant a lot to him. It was obvious how much he cared about her.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Rumiko asked as Seiko sat down beside her, handing Rumiko a cup of tea as she did. Ryo took a breath and looked Rumiko dead in the eye.

"I wanted to ask…" he started. "Why Rika seems to hate her birthday so much." Rumiko and Seiko glanced at each other and then looked at Ryo.

"Why do you say that?" Rumiko asked.

"Well, when Jeri asked her about it a couple of days ago, she got really angry and said that she didn't have a birthday. She also forbid us to ask you when it is," Ryo explained. Rumiko sighed and put her teacup down on the table.

"It's…complicated," she said heavily.

"What do you mean?" Ryo asked. How complicated could birthdays possibly be? They only came once a year. 

"You see," Seiko said. "Nothing good has ever happened to Rika on her birthday. Every year, she has some sort of…bad experience and now she dreads it. She doesn't even let us buy her anything. Although we do every year, we just don't give it to her directly. Most of the time we hide her gifts in her room and she finds them when she cleans up."

"Bad experience?" Ignoring the dull 'adult urges' of making conversation that seemed to have taken their hold on both Seiko and Rumiko, Ryo pressed on to the point of his visit.

"Yes," Rumiko nodded. "It started when she turned six. My ex and I were still married then."

"What happened?" Ryo asked cautiously.  Rumiko sighed again and wrung her hands.

"Well, I had a big fight with my husband on the day of her sixth birthday. It was really bad. In fact…I think he might have hit me, but I can't really remember to well. Anyway, Rika was in the room when it happened and my husband tried to take her away with him. She ran away for the rest of the day after that. That was the very day my husband left." Rumiko stared down at the floor sadly. Taking the hint, Seiko carried on for her.

"The following year, Rika spent her birthday listening to Rumiko and that…that bastard, argue over their possessions. Her birthday was completely forgotten that year… Then on her eighth birthday, she was put on the stand in court. She was made to choose between her mother and father because the court couldn't decide who to grant custody to and they refused to have shared custody over her," Seiko said. Ryo listened quietly to them, feeling more and more sorry for Rika with every word. No wonder she had been so angry and resentful when she was younger. A child's birthday was supposed to be the best day of the year and every year, Rika's was ruined or forgotten. Rumiko looked up and continued.

"The year she turned nine was when the divorce was finalized and you can guess which day my husband chose to collect his things with his new girlfriend." A dark shadow clouded Rumiko's eyes as she spoke. "Every year after that, something bad would happen. I remember on her thirteenth, she was supposed to have lunch with her father. He left her waiting in the restaurant for three hours before she got up and left. He never even called to apologize or explain." Ryo sighed and looked out of the window. So that was why she hated her birthday so much…

"When is her next birthday?" He asked quietly.

"On the tenth," Seiko replied. The tenth!

"That's four days from now!" Ryo said incredulously. Rumiko nodded slowly.

Right then, Ryo thought. It's time Rika had a little fun on her birthday. Standing up, he thanked Seiko and Rumiko and walked to the door. They followed him over and Rumiko smiled at him as he turned at the door.

"You're going to do something for her, aren't you," she said. Ryo grinned and nodded.

"A word of advice…don't tell her about it until the last minute. That way, she won't be able to weasel her way out of it."               

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Thanks for coming, guys." Ryo looked over all the Tamers as they sat in the Matsuki Bakery. They were actually in the house on top of it. This was where Takato lived with his parents. He and Jeri were sitting on the top bunk of Takato's double bunk bed and Kazu and Kenta were on the lower one. Henry was sitting on the chair by the computer and Ryo was simply standing in front of the window.

"So why did you call us all here?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, what's up? You made it sound pretty urgent," Kazu added.

"Well," Ryo said. "I don't know if any of you knew this, but Rika's birthday is this Saturday." The Tamers all stared at him incredulously.

"How did you ever get her to tell you?" Jeri asked in surprise. Ryo smirked at them all.

"I didn't. I asked her mother and grandmother," he said.

"Are you insane?!" Kazu asked in horror. "If Rika finds out you asked them, you'll never have kids!" Ryo chuckled lightly at this.

"Don't worry, I don't think Rika is gonna do anything I'll regret," he laughed.

"He hopes is more like it," Kazu muttered to Kenta, who nodded in agreement.

"Why did you call us all here just to tell us when Rika's birthday is?" Henry asked. The Tamers all muttered their agreement. Ryo grinned at their curious faces.

"Because I thought that she could use some cheering up and maybe have some fun on her birthday for once," he explained. Jeri looked up at him questioningly.

"For once?" She asked. Ryo sighed and told them everything that Rumiko and Seiko had told him.

"Poor Rika," Jeri whispered afterwards.

"Yeah," Kazu added. "Dude, I would die if my parents forgot my birthday." The Tamers were all silent for a few seconds as they thought to themselves. Henry looked up at Ryo after a while and gave him a challenging look.

"So," he said. "What did you have in mind?" Ryo grinned, happy that he had gotten their co-operation so easily.

"Well, it can't be anything to involved. I don't think Rika would enjoy that. I was thinking something simple but still fun and that," he said, turning to Jeri, "is where you come in."

"Me?" She asked. Ryo nodded.

"I need you to help me think of something that we could do that Rika would enjoy. But we need to do it fast because we only have four days to organize it." Jeri looked at Ryo apprehensively, but one reassuring glance from Takato and she was all revved up to go.

"Right, Henry you'll be in charge of location. Once Jeri and I come up with an idea, I need you to find a place that you think Rika will like." Henry nodded, although he seemed a little confused. Finally, Ryo turned to the remaining people in the room. Takato, Kazu and Kenta.

"You three are responsible for the food and things like that…oh and don't go over-board you two," he said, grinning at Kazu and Kenta. "We're on a strict budget here."

*~*~*~*~*~*

And so it was done. For the next three days, the Tamers planned the event down to the last detail. Food, place, time…everything. They weren't inviting a lot of people. It would just be them. That way they could avoid any mishaps.

The only problem they had now was finding Rika and getting her where they wanted her. This, of course, would be no easy task. No one knew were she went and she had refused to tell Rumiko the night before when she had waited up for Rika to come home. She had just walked right past her, ignoring her totally. The Tamers sat at Guilmon's Hideout, thinking desperately of a plan to lure Rika to her own party.

"Why don't we just lasso her and drag her there?" Kazu said in frustration. "All this thinking is giving me a headache!" Ryo chuckled and shook his head. But Henry was staring at Kazu as if he thought he were a genius.

"That's it!" He said, smiling in satisfaction. The Tamers stared at him curiously.

"You want us to lasso her?" Takato asked, intrigued at the idea. Henry sighed and shook his head.

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous."

"Well, then what's your plan?" Ryo asked, sitting up slightly. Henry grinned and leaned forward.

 "I hope you guys are good actors…"

*~*~*~*~*~*

Rika sat staring out at the endless swirl of soft, white powder that covered the faint, pale blue of the sky. The clouds were floating lazily over her and as she watched them, she imagined them to be different things.

That one kinda looks like Calumon…she thought, looking up at a small, round cloud that had parts of it sticking out on either side in a sort of haphazard zigzag. She tuned her eyes to a bigger cloud.

And that one looks sorta like Ryo. The cloud directly above her had an almost round, shape for his face, and a spiky top that looked like it had exploded out of the original shape. This indicated his hair. Then there was one that looked like Renamon…one that looked almost like a dragon…one that looked like a cloud. Her eyes drifted idly shut as she started to nod off. It was mid-morning on the tenth. A Saturday… Her sixteenth birthday. Like always, she would be spending it alone. But before she could allow her self to drift off into the peaceful world of slumber, where she wouldn't have to face up to her conscience or her loneliness, a strong hand shook her awake. Opening her eyes, half expecting and half hoping that it would be Ryo, Rika found herself staring into the bright blue eyes of Renamon. She looked anxious…nervous even. Rika sat up and looked at her earnestly.

"What's wrong?" She said immediately. It was obvious by her expression alone that something was definitely out of place in the world.

"It's not good, Rika. Gallantmon and Megagargomon had a disagreement over you and now they're fighting." Rika's eyes widened.

"Where are they?" She asked. Renamon pointed out in the direction of the old abandoned train station. Rika looked over to it and sure enough, just as her eyes fell on the area, a huge explosion sent a tremor through the ground around her feet. She turned back to Renamon.

"Let's go," she said.

"We better Bio-merge. We won't be able to do anything like this." Rika nodded her agreement and within a matter of seconds, she and Renamon had become Sakuyamon and were flying towards the fight. As they neared the battle, Rika caught sight of Megagargomon's missiles narrowly missing Gallantmon. Putting on an extra burst of speed, she shot forward. Gallantmon was drawing electricity to the tip of his lance. Deciding on what to do, Rika threw herself in between him and Megagargomon.

"Stop it!" Rika shouted. "What the hell has gotten into you two!?" Gallantmon and Megagargomon stared at her silently. Rika looked between the two of them and suddenly felt very nervous and defenseless. They were being so quiet…so mysteriously eerie. But before she could back away, an arm closed around her, pinning her own arms to her side. She felt something sharp press to her back and she froze.

"J…Justimon," she almost whimpered.

Not you too…Justimon held Rika tightly. Holding the tip of his sword to her back. He made special care not to press it to hard against her skin so that he wouldn't hurt her, but put just enough pressure into it to make her think he was serious. Rika was arching her back away from the blade slightly. Ryo felt her body tense against his as her fear and misery became pure anger and hatred. The true sense of the betrayal had hit her. Gallantmon and Megagargomon advanced on them.

"I finally came up with an answer to your question about what we should do, Rika," Henry said maliciously. "You see, since it's you the Devas want, I figured that if we either killed you or handed you over to them, then they would stop attacking us. Pretty smart huh?" Rika grimaced as Ryo pressed the blade closer to her and Gallantmon brandished his lance at her cruelly. 

"We could kill you right here, Rika," Ryo hissed in her ear. "But the Sovereign will probably pay a high price for you alive, so why don't you be a good girl and de-digivolve, okay?" So this was how it was going to be now huh? Well they weren't going to get her without a fight…even if it meant fighting Ryo and all her friends. There was an awful, yet very familiar, stinging in her chest. She had felt it many time before, but then she had been able to control the tears it brought along. Today however, the stinging was much more powerful and it overwhelmed her. She had been betrayed, by the people she trusted the most and as she felt the cold steel of Justimon's blade against her back…the harsh cruel gazes of Gallantmon and Megagargomon, the tears that had been building up behind her barriers over the years, poured down her cheeks for the world to see. She tried desperately to hide them, to demolish the flow, but it was useless and she hated herself for showing her weakness to the people she had once deemed friends.

"Just do as they say Rika, we can't fight them all on our own," said Renamon's voice. It was killing her to see and feel the pain this was causing Rika and she knew it was the same for Ryo. Perhaps they had taken this a little too far. She felt Rika release her hold on their mega form and in a flash of light; all three Tamers were standing in the sun beside their partners. Rika dropped her gaze and looked away from Ryo and the others. Her shoulders drooped slightly and when Ryo grabbed them and led her out of the area, she made no protest. It was as if she had given up totally. Ryo felt an awful twinge of guilt rise in his chest. Rika really cherished the trust she had in the Tamers to always be her friends. And here they were, pretending to want her dead. He had a good mind to stop the joke right there and then and tell her the truth, but when he saw that they were nearing their destination, the thought was cast from his mind. She would forgive him and the others when she saw what they had done for her…hopefully. Rika looked up and stared at the building they were walking into. It was shaped like a huge dome, with massive letters printed across the front in varying shades of blue. She didn't have time to read what they said because Takato and Henry were now shoving her through the door to where the Deva they were selling her to would inevitably be waiting for them.

A hand suddenly covered her eyes, obscuring her view of the room they were in. They walked on for a few minutes, Rika allowing her self to be led to her doom. She had lost the will to fight them now… A cold shiver ran up her spine and at first she thought it was nerves or fear, but after a couple of seconds, she realized that the place they were in was actually cold…really cold. In fact it was freezing in here. She shivered again, but either no one noticed or they just didn't care. Ryo, who had been guiding her through the building, his hand still covering her eyes, suddenly stopped walking and Rika felt herself shiver again, this time with fear and not cold. There was a soft shuffling sound and then, without warning, Ryo lifted his hand away from Rika's eyes and there was a collected shout of "SURPRISE!!"

Rika stared in shocked confusion at the scene before her. She was standing in the outer ring of an ice rink and all the Tamers were there, some already skating on the ice and the rest sitting or standing around. Rika felt the heat rise in her face. They had tricked her and she had fallen for it.

"Happy Birthday, Wildcat," Ryo smiled. He watched Rika carefully as she stood stock still in front of him. She was shaking slightly.

"What's the matter? Are you cold?" He asked. But she wasn't.

"Who's idea was this?" She asked. Ryo grinned slightly.

"Mine. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Rika spun on her heel so fast, that before Ryo could tell what was happening, she had slapped him as hard as she could and was standing there, facing him with a furious glare. He staggered backwards and put his hand to his cheek.

"You stupid jerk!" She snapped and Ryo half expected her to turn and run out, but what she did only confused him even more than he already was. Instead of leaving, Rika flew towards him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. Ryo, finally realizing what was going on, smiled and tentatively hugged her back. His cheek was blood red and it was stinging painfully but he didn't care. Rika pulled back and looked up at him. She noticed the redness she had caused and blushed slightly.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Ryo chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. I guess I deserved it," he laughed. Rika smiled up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, you did."

Jeri walked over to them and smiled at Rika sweetly.

"Hi Rika! Happy Birthday!" She said happily.

"Thanks, Jeri." Ryo took something from Henry and turned back to Rika who was looking out over the ice rink. He smiled at her and gently slipped the jacket Rumiko had given them onto Rika's shoulders.

"We rented the place out for the day so we could have some fun," he explained. Rika turned to him and grinned.

"You did all this for me?" She asked, looking at the party area that was beside the ice. It was quaintly decorated, nothing special but still…it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her and Rika loved it.

"Your mom told me about what happened to you on all your other birthdays so we thought it would be nice if you had some fun for a change," Ryo said, handing her a pair of skates. She looked at him apprehensively.

"I…I don't know how to skate," she admitted to him softly. Ryo chuckled and led her over to a bench so that she could put on her skates.

"Don't worry about it, I'll teach you," he grinned. Rika slipped her arms into her jacket and put on the blue ice-skates Ryo had given her. He sat down next to her and pulled on his own pair of blue skates. Standing carefully, he helped Rika walk over to the ice and she stepped out onto it. It felt so strange…it was like she was gliding across a mirror. But within seconds of being there, she lost her footing, slipped and crashed backwards into Ryo. They both laughed and when the rest of the Tamers realized what had happened, they laughed to.

"Sorry," Rika chuckled as Ryo pulled her to her feet. He brushed the ice off of himself and grinned.

"Maybe you should take it slow for a while…just until you get the hang of it."

With a little guidance from Ryo, Rika soon found that ice-skating was very similar to roller-blading and within half an hour, she had gotten used to the feeling and was gliding elegantly across the ice. She watched as Jeri jumped into the air and although it wasn't very high it was still a good jump; she landed cleanly and didn't stumble at all. Deciding she would leave the jumps for later, until she was more used to skating, Rika tried a few tricks that she could do on her In-Line blades. Even though the texture of the hard rough gravel and tar she normally skated on was much different to that of this beautiful, shimmering mirror, it was much the same idea.

Soon enough, Rika was sliding backwards across the ice in a neat wave. Choosing to make a small spin so that she could turn around without stopping, Rika twisted one foot slightly to the side and allowed her movement to curve into a graceful arch, before coming out in a straight forward glide again. Without realizing it, Rika had turned right into Ryo, who caught her and smiled.

"Not bad," he grinned as he slipped his arms around her so that she wouldn't fall from the slight impact. They glided backwards for a while, until they slowed to a stop. Rika barely noticed the rest of the Tamers on the ice. Jeri was helping Takato learn to skate in a totally different universe. Kazu and Kenta had fallen on ice that was in a world gone from the one she was in with Ryo. It was like everything had disappeared. All she could see was the ice and his gloriously blue eyes. All she heard was the soft music somewhere far off in the distance…

"Hey," Ryo whispered, glancing around to make sure the other Tamers weren't listening. Rika looked up at him. She had cast her gaze down a few seconds before, when she had caught herself starting up at him.

"What?" She muttered, wanting desperately to get out of his arms and away from him, but at the same time, wanting to stand there forever. What was happening to her?

"Would you mind if I gave you your present a little later than everyone else?" He asked quietly. Rika looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"Sure. I'm actually surprised you got me anything at all. This party must have cost a fortune!" She said. Ryo grinned at her slyly and bent forward slightly, bringing his mouth to her ear. She shuddered slightly as his warm breath rippled across her cheeks when he spoke.

"Actually, to be totally honest, your mother gave us the money so we could rent this place. The rest we sort of just split out between us," he explained. Rika smiled and shook her head. Without noticing it they had started moving slowly to the music. Ryo was sliding leisurely backwards, his feet moving of their own accord and as he moved, he pulled Rika along with him. The only people who seemed to notice their little dance were sitting quietly on the benches on the outskirts of the rink.

Henry had been chatting to the girl beside him when she had pointed Rika and Ryo out to him. He turned his eyes from them and looked back at the girl. She had long blonde hair that was tied into two pigtails. Her eyes were a pale blue that seemed almost sad. She was not wearing the black dress she had had on the first time they had met, but she was still wearing black. She wore black jeans with a very dark grey shirt. On top of that she wore a black jacket with white lines along the hems and stitching. The white zip was undone and the jacket flapped casually open. She was generally pretty.

Her name was Alice McCoy.

It had been Henry's idea to invite her. She was a Tamer too, but her partner, Dobermon, had died when he had given the Tamers the power to Bio-merge in the real world. She had looked very lonely and sad so the Tamers had agreed that it would be nice to get to know her. She could relate to Jeri too, since her mother had also died when she was younger and she had also lost her digimon partner.

"Are they going out?" Alice asked curiously.

"Who? You mean Rika and Ryo?" He asked. Alice nodded and Henry couldn't help but chuckle.

"No, but they should be. If you ask me, it's only a matter of time before Ryo asks her and Rika will undoubtedly say yes if he does," he said, looking at the two of them as they slid gracefully past them.

"It's so obvious they like each other," Alice said thoughtfully. Henry shook his head and grinned.  

"Rika is way too stubborn and proud to admit it and Ryo is either to cautious to ask or just to blind to see that she likes him." Getting bored with the subject, Henry was about to strike up a new conversation when Kazu and Kenta crashed onto the floor. They had finally managed to get off the ice and were both panting heavily. Alice and Henry stayed silent for a few seconds before they burst out laughing. Getting hurriedly to their feet, Kazu and Kenta dusted themselves off and Kazu cleared his throat.

"Uh…shouldn't Rika open her presents?" He said quickly. Henry, still chuckling lightly, nodded his agreement. He stood up, walked over to the CD player and turned down the music. Then, putting his fingers to his mouth, he whistled sharply.

Rika and Ryo snapped out of their trance, looked over and immediately separated. Henry beckoned them towards him and, together with Jeri and Takato, they made their way to the small gate that led to the benches.

"It's time to open your gifts Rika," he said. Rika glanced at Alice and frowned in confusion. This was the girl that had helped them fight the D-Reaper. Smiling at her, Rika extended her hand to her.

"I'm Rika," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before, but I was kinda…"

"Busy," Alice finished for her. "I know, I saw." She chuckled at Rika who flushed bright red and looked away.

"C'mon Rika!" Jeri squealed excitedly. "I want you to open my gift first!" She grabbed Rika's arm and hauled her over to the table that held the various gifts the Tamers had brought for her.

Takato, Kazu and Kenta had each gotten her some new cards and Takato had thrown in a CD. When Kazu realized that the pack of Digimon cards he had given her held the one rare card he had wanted for ages, he almost gave himself a concussion. Jeri had also given her a CD but instead of cards, she had added bright pink lipstick, which Rika thanked her for but had no intention of ever wearing. Henry had given her a book that she had wanted for quite a while. It was entitled 'Northern Lights' and was the first book in a series of three. Of course she didn't expect anything from Alice. They hardly knew each other and weren't exactly friends, although Rika thought that they might be in the near future.

As Ryo had said, he didn't give her his gift in front of the others. Takato had jumped to the conclusion that Ryo had forgotten to get her one, so Ryo went with the story to prevent suspicion. Jeri, Alice and Henry, however, saw right through it, but deciding it was none of their business, they didn't say anything.

They spent most of the time on the ice and ate when they wanted to. It was over all a very casual thing but still a lot of fun.

Jeri spent the better part of two hours trying to teach Rika to jump and in the end, she could do it gracefully and easily. It had become as natural as leaping on foot. Her landings were smooth and she had even managed to combine one of them with a quick spin the second her feet touched the ice.

By the time the party was finally over, it was getting dark outside. The Tamers called quick goodbyes to each other as they left, walking in pairs for safety. Kazu and Kenta left first, followed by Henry and Alice.

Jeri waved cheerfully at Rika and Ryo as she turned to walk off with Takato.

"I'll see you tomorrow Rika!" She called. Rika waved back and then turned to Ryo. They waited a few seconds before Ryo smiled and stepped closer to her. He had slipped a flat, square box out of his backpack and was now fiddling with it idly as he waited for Rika to notice it. She did and she eyed it cautiously as he handed it to her.

It was wrapped in silvery-blue paper that shone softly in the fading sunlight. Rika glanced up at Ryo before carefully pulling off the wrapping. Ryo took it from her so that she could open the velvety box she now held in her hands. Her fingers closed around the latch and she flipped it open. Ryo had folded the paper now and put it in his bag with the rest of her gifts. He watched, with an apprehensive grin as Rika lifted the lid off the box with slightly trembling fingers.

All she could do was gasp because inside, nestled in soft silky material, was a beautiful, delicate gold chain. A small pendant was hanging from it in the shape of a fox head. It had two diamonds for eyes and underneath them, etched in silver, was thin zigzagging lines.

"Renamon," she whispered. Ryo reached out and flipped the Renamon pendant over. Rika smiled as she read the words written in soft white gold. They were in an elegant sort of cursive and they swirled across the gold in beautiful twirls, loops and curves.

Wildcat…the name he had given her from the day he had met her. Those letters ran across the pendant almost as if Ryo were saying them himself, with that irritating grin of his. The dot on the 'i' was made with another, smaller diamond. Underneath this were the letters R.A. His initials.

Rika looked up at him in stunned silence.

"Do…you like it?" He asked hesitantly.

"It's beautiful," Rika whispered fervently. She looked up at him doubtfully.

"Ryo, I can't…" He wouldn't let her finish.

"You can and you will," he said softly. "I'm not taking it back, Rika. I bought it for you and I want you to keep it." Rika smiled up at him happily.

"Thank you," she said. Ryo smiled at her and nodded. He reached down and carefully lifted the necklace out of its box. Then, reaching around her neck, Ryo gently fastened the clip. He stood back and looked down at her as the necklace hung delicately on her chest. Rika smiled self consciously as Ryo watched her.

"Come on," he said. "We should get going." Sighing softly, thoroughly relieved that she hadn't done anything stupid, Rika turned to walk with him.

They made their way down the street in silence, until they heard ringing sirens. Red and blue lights flashed on their faces as they stopped to see what was going on.

Up ahead of them, a police car had stopped on the side of the road and a huge crowd was forming around something. Rika and Ryo looked at each other and then hurried up to the circle of people.

"The ambulance is on its way," a policewoman was saying to her partner.

"What happened to her?" He asked.

"Another one of those Digimon things appeared and it attacked her. A young girl was trying to protect her, but the she left as soon as we got here." Rika shoved her way through the crowd catching glimpses of the other Tamers, all of which had stopped to look too. Finally, she broke free of the people and she had full view of the person lying on the ground in front of her. And as she stared down at them, she suddenly wished she had decided to ignore her inquisitive nature and walk right past, because there, lying totally still…was her grandmother.

Before she knew what she was doing, Rika had knelt down beside her grandmother, tears forming in her eyes. She held them back and took a deep breath. The policewoman was telling her to stand back, but Rika made no move to do so.

"Grandma," she whispered softly, she was leaning over her, her necklace dangling uselessly above her grandmother's head. Seiko opened her eyes slightly and looked up at Rika. She smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could utter a word, her eyes floated shut and her head fell back. Rika's breath caught in her chest. She felt winded and confused. Her eyes were burning and her chest was stinging painfully. Tears were flooding her eyes as she stared at her grandmother's form. She was…gone.

Rika felt a gentle hand reach out and touch her shoulder. Not even glancing back at the person, she jumped to her feet and hurled herself through the crowd, running as fast as she could, away from them and her grandmother.

Ryo watched her for a second and then, abandoning the rest of the Tamers who were all staring after her in shock and pity, he ran after her.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Rika ran blindly on, not knowing or caring where she was. She ran right into the park and kept going. On through the trees and bushes, past the fountain and the benches. Suddenly, her foot caught on a root or a stone, she wasn't sure what and she fell hard on the ground, her arms out in front of her. She drew them in towards her and hid her face in them. Hot tears were running down her cheeks now, wetting the dry earth under her. She could hear the soft splashing of the lake as the wind blew it around gently. Leaves were blowing about her, but she didn't care. She heard and saw only pain.

Ryo broke through the bushes he had seen Rika come through and then he saw her, lying face down on the hill beside the lake. He carefully approached her and as he came up beside her, he knelt down. He could see her back heaving from the effort to restrain her tears.

Carefully lowering his arms, he slipped them around her and pulled Rika up, out of the dirt and into his arms.

It was all she needed. Her tears broke free with renewed vigor and she sobbed into his chest. She was shivering and her tears were soaking the front of his shirt, but Ryo held her close to him and whispered softly to her. He didn't know what else to do, so he let her cry until her sobs were reduced to nothing more than shivers and the occasional sniff. She sat in his arms, her face buried into his chest. She felt tired and embarrassed that she had broken down so completely. Ryo had been stroking her back gently and she shut her eyes as he did.

"Are you okay now?" He asked softly. Rika nodded, but didn't move from his arms. They were a source of comfort that she didn't want to give up just yet.

Leaning into him more totally, Rika felt her pain turn to anger. A Digimon had done this. No, not just any Digimon. It had been another Deva.

The anger turned to guilt.

It was her fault. The Devas were attacking her family and friends to get to her.

The guilt became anger again. Her mind was now focused on only one thing…revenge. But then, her logical mind started overpowering that. That was exactly what they had wanted. In her blind anger, she would have let her guard down totally. No, she had to stay strong.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Rika looked up at Ryo. Her cheeks were tear streaked and she was slightly pale, but her expression was one of pure determination.

"I don't care what Renamon and Cyberdramon say," she said, as Ryo watched her. "I'm going to the Digital World."

*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N- No! Please don't kill me! I'm too young to die!!! *Ducks as angry crowd throw various weapons at her*

I know you're all gonna hate me for killing Rika's gran…but hey, it's my fic and at least now Rika is finally going to go to the Digital World. Or is she… To find out if Renamon lets Rika go, review as fast as you can and I'll write faster.

Anywho, time to acknowledge my *cough, cough* fans:

*Akino Matoumiken – Thank you. But what does 'hte' mean? Was it a typo for 'hate'?

*KristieXXNguyen- If you thought the previous chapter was sad then I hope you had tissues handy for this one! ;)

*Shadow Fox- Thanks! I will!

*Sam8- Thank you so much! That was really nice of you! You should read 'There for you' it's my favorite Ryuki fic! It's very good!

*Hellomimmy- Flatterer! Thank you!

*Lavos- Please explain to me what your connection with Ryo is! I'm dying with curiosity and I'm not a cat so it won't kill me…at least…I think I'm not a cat.

*DigiqueenTMIM- Hey, what does TMIM stand for?