Author's Note: I don't own Digimon. Please read and review. Thank you so much! :D

Chapter 5: Flame Rekindled

A few days later, inside Henry's office, Henry was busy preparing a narrative report. Today, he was wearing a blue buttoned down shirt with long sleeves along with a pair of black slacks together with a pair of black shoes. Suddenly, he remembered that he was not yet eating.

What if I ask Rika to go out for lunch? Henry thought. Would she refuse me?

He decided to call the number that Takato gave him. It was Rika's number and he took it from Takato since the chestnut-haired young man had Rika's number due to her confirmation of her attendance for the reunion before. When he dialed the number, he waited until she answered. The phone had a click and was followed by a young woman's voice.

"Hello?" It was Rika's voice.

"Hey, Rika!" Henry greeted pleasantly.

And from the other line, Rika's face was tainted with shock. She was surprised since it was Henry who called her. Her heart had increased its beating since she already had the mindset of avoiding Henry so he would not know the truth.

"H-Hi, Henry…" Rika stammered. "Why'd you call?"

"I just want to ask invite you for lunch," Henry answered.

Rika looked at the clock in front of her. It was already 11:15 A.M.

"What time?" Rika asked. Oh I don't know about this one.

"Twelve noon?" Henry answered.

Rika finally agreed to Henry's invitation. "Okay. I'll see you. Where are we having lunch, anyway?"

"The Japanese Dish," Henry answered.

Rika's eyes went wide with what she heard. The Japanese Dish? He must be working nearby! What the heck?

"Oh… Okay. I'll be there," Rika answered, ending the call.

"Okay. I'll see you, Rika," Henry answered and hung up as well.

When she heard that he hung up, Rika had absolutely no idea on what she would do with her life. The more that she would be spending time with Henry, the more her heart would beat in an abnormal way once again.

Please… It's bad enough that my heart's still beating for him… Rika thought. And now, he's just a meter away from me.

Back at Henry's office, Henry let out a contented smile as he got his lady love to have lunch with him.

I'll do my best in my ability to get you back, Rika, Henry thought as he saw a picture of him and Rika during the reunion. It was Ryo who gave it to him.

When the clock struck twelve, Rika knew that she had to go down. With this, she stood up from her cubicle and took her phone and purse as well. She dusted her red buttoned down blouse and her black slacks. Mimi saw this and was surprised.

"Where ya goin, Riks?" Mimi asked Rika. "You look like as if you're gonna go on a date!"

"Uhm… I'm going to have lunch with a friend," Rika explained, trying to cover up the situation.

"Who's the friend? Junichi?" Mimi insisted.

Rika shook her head vigorously. "No. Anyway, I need to go. I'm already late!" she added.

"Take care!" Mimi bid her goodbye as the auburn-haired young woman walked away from her.

Rika eventually resumed to walking towards the elevators. When she stood at the hallway, she saw Naomi Kitara.

"Hello, Rika," Naomi greeted. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going out for lunch," Rika answered. "I'll be back at one."

"Alright," Naomi answered and walked away.

Fortunately, an elevator stopped in front of Rika so she easily got inside. The elevator made its way down and in a matter of seconds, Rika was already at the ground floor. She walked towards the main door and suddenly remembered that the restaurant that Henry mentioned was just a walking distance away from her office.

I think I'll have to start walking once again! Rika thought. I need to balance my healthy lifestyle because I'm only given a second chance at life.

The young woman started walking the busy street. Since she was used to walking, she easily got to the restaurant. And from afar, she saw a young man with blue hair seated near the window. Rika had no doubt that the young man was Henry even if he was seated facing the wall.

Wow. He's punctual! Rika thought as she continued walking towards the main door.

When she arrived inside the restaurant, she walked towards Henry who was busy with his phone. Just as she was about to call him, the blue-haired young man saw her and smiled at her.

"Hey, Rika!" Henry greeted. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

Rika snorted as she sat down in front of Henry. "Thank you. Anyway, why did you pick me of all people to have lunch with?" she responded casually.

"I really wanted to see you, you know?" Henry answered good-naturedly. "Anyway, I ordered already since I got in very much early and I asked for your favorite: Japanese yakitori with barbecue sauce."

Rika felt touched with Henry. She was surprised that he still knew her favorites.

"Aww. Thank you," Rika answered back with a timid smile. "That's so sweet of you."

"Only for you," Henry answered with a grin, moved forward and pinched Rika's cheek.

Rika felt for the cheek that Henry pinched. She knew that he was still affectionate like before.

He really makes an effort to see me, Rika thought. While I'm making the effort of avoiding him because I left him… Why does he affect me so much?

Henry sensed that Rika was spacing out. "Anyway, where's your building? I think it's just nearby mine."

Rika was ruined from her reverie because Henry said something.

"Oh… Where do I work?" Rika asked, reiterating what Henry said to her. "I work in Shinjuku Publishing… It's the foremost publisher of magazines and advertisements here. I forgot to tell you that when we met last Saturday. Anyway, what about you?"

Henry cleared his throat. "I work and own an engineering company. It's known as Shinjuku Industries Incorporated."

Rika let out an amused smile. "You? An engineer?" she asked. "Since when?"

"I took up computer engineering when I was in China," Henry answered casually. "Since I've been into computers when were still young. You know that, Rika."

Rika became proud of the thought. At one point, she had let Henry achieve his dream while she was gone. At least, he did not have to worry about her.

"That's nice," Rika answered simply.

"But even if I'm in China and got the highest award, I felt incomplete at that time," Henry answered wistfully. "Because… my girlfriend didn't tell me where she was or how was she. I missed her."

Henry's words struck Rika like a blade. It was her fault why Henry had been lonely for the past six years. She decided to spill the truth even if it could hurt a lot.

"I'm sorry for being absent in your life, Henry," Rika answered with a tinge of dejection. "But be glad that it happened because you got your dreams come true."

Henry was engulfed with sadness as he heard Rika's answer.

"How am I supposed to enjoy everything without you around? I felt so incomplete without you, Rika. If only you knew how much I missed you during those six years. It's already eating me alive, you know?" he asked.

Rika placed her hand on Henry's hand in order to clear everything. "Believe me, Henry. It's better that you had achieved your dreams while I was gone."

Henry began to grip Rika's hand affectionately as he tried his best to make Rika open up to him. "Please, Rika… Tell me what went wrong during our relationship… Tell me where I went wrong… and tell me why you have to go out of my life when I thought that everything's alright."

Rika suddenly sniffed. Henry had a point. But she did not have the courage to say the words for now.

"You wanted to know the truth?" Rika asked sullenly, gathering up her courage.

Henry nodded and looked at her intently. "I wanted to. I wanted to know the truth so I that I could not stop thinking where I've gone wrong."

Rika took a deep breath and spoke up. "Two weeks after our graduation, I found out that I had… leukemia."

Henry's face became shocked as he found out what caused Rika to disappear from his life. So there was nothing wrong with me? I can't believe it.

"Leukemia?" Henry repeated as he went to Rika's side in order to make sure that their conversation was confidential.

Rika nodded as Henry sat beside her. "Yes. It's leukemia. When they diagnosed it, it was already stage three."

Henry became pale as he held Rika's hand tightly. "If you were sick that time, why didn't you tell me? Had I known that you had a condition like that, I should've taken care of you and stayed with you. Why, Rika? Why do you have to keep it from me?"

Rika let out a sigh and looked down. However, she returned her gaze to Henry so she could express herself fully.

"I don't want to be a burden to you, Henry. I don't want you to sacrifice your dream just because of me," Rika explained wistfully as a tear fell from her face. "You have a bright future that awaited you at that time and I don't want to be a part of its destruction."

Henry sighed, realizing that his girlfriend had to break away from him just for his happiness. But he still was sullen because she chose to leave him hanging as well.

"But you made your disappearance from my life a burden to me. You had no idea that I always thought about you every day," Henry said in dejection. "I should've taken care of you if you told me that you were sick."

"I don't want you to be stuck because of me, Henry," Rika added as she explained the basis behind her disappearance. "At that time, my sickness was already incurable. No medicine couldn't fight it… so I died after a few days."

This made Henry ashen white. "You died?" he asked as he still held Rika's hands tightly to him.

Rika nodded. "I died but after a few hours, I got revived. To tell you the truth Henry, what happened actually was supernatural. I was walking at the purgatory when God told me that it wasn't my time yet. It was a miracle that saved me and brought me back, Henry."

Henry eventually removed his hand from Rika and caressed her face. He removed the tear that flowed through her cheek.

"I'm sorry if I kept a secret like that from you," Rika answered as Henry held her face lovingly. "I just don't want to see you becoming sad because of me. I want you to live the happy life. You were the perfect boyfriend, Henry, and I want your happiness to be with you always."

Henry eventually nodded and smiled as he was seeing Rika alive and in the flesh. "I forgive you, Rika. Even if they say that you're cold, I know that you're really warm-hearted. I will do my best to let your heart be as warm as it was. I will be the friend that you will always need."

Rika's eyes suddenly let out more tears as she realized that she was never alone. Henry was surprised as he thought that he made Rika cry.

"Rika," Henry started as he gave her a handkerchief. "I'm sorry if I made you cry."

Rika wiped her eyes and began to smile her genuine smile. "No. I'm not. I'm happy because you're still there for me. And thanks for forgiving me. You really understand me."

Fortunately, Rika's back was not facing the window so it was not obvious that the two were having the heaviest drama in the history.

"Of course, I do…" Henry assured with a smile. "And always will."

Eventually, Henry stood up and returned to his seat. Finally the tensions in the air were cleared. But as Henry took notice of the time, it was only 12:20 P.M. They were talking for about twenty minutes yet the orders had not yet arrived. Just as he could follow up, the waiter brought their food already. Henry was surprised what took the food so long.

"Sorry for the delay, Sir, but there was gas shortage and the management had to buy first," the waiter explained. "Enjoy your meal, Sir and Ma'am!"

Henry and Rika only laughed. Henry gave Rika her favorite dish while he got his yakiniku.

"Let's eat?" Henry asked as he took his utensils.

"Uh… Sure!" Rika answered and did the same as well.

As they were eating, Henry placed a portion of his meal on his spoon in order to feed her.

I missed doing this. But we're no longer together, Henry thought as he gathered the food in his spoon. And I still don't know why it happened. Maybe it would be best if we're just like this.

Just as she was going to eat, Rika saw that Henry was about to spoon feed her. The spoon was already nearest to her mouth.

"What's this?" Rika asked, wondering why Henry was in an attempt of feeding her.

"It's food! You don't want?" Henry answered jokingly. "Say AH!"

Rika again smiled at Henry sarcastically and opened her mouth wide to accommodate the food that was on the spoon and Henry fed her all of it. She had chewed her food in order for her to avoid indigestion.

"You too, Henry!" Rika answered as she ate all of what Henry gave her.

Rika then took food from her plate. She made it sure to get as many as she can and had some vegetables on the side. She placed it near Henry's mouth and smiled slyly. Because of that, Henry had nothing to do but to eat it and he did not accommodate them all because they were too many. But as he ate it, he only smiled at her and laughed.

"Thanks, Rika," Henry answered and wiped his mouth for some remnants.

The young woman only smiled at him and continued eating. Henry loved seeing her smile. For him, Rika's smile was the most wonderful thing in the world.

"So, how long have you been working there?" Henry inquired, trying to start another conversation. "I mean in your office."

Rika swallowed first her food before answering Henry's questions. She composed herself before saying something.

"Two years. I've been there since I graduated college," Rika explained. "It happened that my librarian was a friend of my current boss so she recommended me to her."

"That's good," Henry answered with a smile.

"What about you?" Rika asked, intrigued of Henry being a computer engineer. She first thought that Henry would pursue a degree in Computer Science.

"I've been with the engineers for two years. Takato, Ryo, Kazu and Kenta were all my co-workers," Henry explained.

"Ryo? Wasn't he older than us?" Rika asked, surprised at the fact.

"Yes, he is older than us," Henry answered. "He started in our office similar to us because he got laid off from his old job."

Rika laughed at the possibility of Ryo getting fired. "Ryo? Fired? I'm not surprised!" she added.

Henry only got amused with Rika's jokes. "At least the reason behind his firing was not about flirting with his female officemates!" he added.

"Hmm. Anyway, I have a question," Rika continued.

"What is it?" Henry asked, looking up.

"Did Takato gave my number to you?" Rika asked in order to make sure. She was puzzled with how Henry acquired her number as well.

Henry nodded. "When I always wondered on how I'd get in touch with you, Takato mentioned to me that you called him after you received the invite and he gave me your number. I hope you didn't mind."

Rika let out a timid smile. "No. It's okay. At least I'd get to call and text you from now on!" she remarked.

With this, the couple continued eating their lunch. When they finished, they laid the utensils to the side and drank water. Eventually, Henry requested for the bill so they could pay up.

"Next time, I'll be asking you on a date." Henry winked.

Rika raised an eyebrow and tried her best not to blush. "Since when do friends date, Henry?" she asked.

"From the day you were born," Henry replied and smiled.

"Very funny, Henry!" Rika snorted in which Henry only laughed at her once again.

The couple was waiting for the bill while being seated. Henry fidgeted for his phone and found messages from his father. He was not telling his family that he saw Rika once again because he was waiting for a perfect moment after what he learned from Rika and the story behind her sudden disappearance.

"Henry, how are you?"

Henry replied. "I'm fine, Dad. We just finished lunch."

Then Janyuu Wong sent back a text. "Okay. Take care of yourselves."

"Sir…" they heard a voice.

When they turned around, they saw the waitress with his bill. He paid the exact amount and the waitress left them.

"Let's go?" Henry urged Rika and stood up.

"Okay," Rika answered as she stood as well.

The two walked towards the main door of the restaurant. When they got out and began walking, Rika was unusually quiet. She had finally released all of her troubles already to her former boyfriend but she was not sure of what they really are now.

"Hey," Henry said as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?"

Rika nodded and sighed. "You do believe in what I told you, right?" she asked Henry seriously.

"Of course, I do believe in you," Henry answered seriously. "You're a weird case of miracle, you know?"

"Yeah. Sometimes, I don't even understand why I had to undergo a lot of shit when it would all be okay in the end," Rika answered as her steps became increased in span of seconds.

Henry placed his arm around Rika for comfort. "That's only a sign to test you. You're lucky that you passed the exam of life and death!"

Rika looked at Henry oddly because of the gesture and his remark. "Did that come from your sensei or you just read something?" she asked.

"Maybe both," Henry answered with a grin. "I always do my best to retain my sensei's teachings."

Eventually, the young couple continued walking towards their respective offices.

When Rika saw her building that afternoon, she gave the signal to Henry that she would be going already.

"I'm gonna go now. My stop is here already," Rika said timidly. "Thanks for the lunch, by the way."

"No problem," Henry answered with a smile. "Don't worry, Rika. You'll never be lonely and alone again. I'm always here for you."

Rika smiled and nodded. She decided to stick Henry's promises inside her head.

"Okay," Rika said as she turned to walk away with a feeling of satisfaction inside her head.

As he saw his precious young woman walking, Henry could not help but still admire her. Now that the mystery has been solved, he became even more determined to be with her and stay beside her. After what she had been through, she needed someone who would take care of her and cherish her.

Even if everything wouldn't be the same as before, Henry thought. I'd do my best to be with her and make her happy.

Then he slowly walked back to his office with a smile on his face.

At that moment, Rika was walking towards her office with a smile as well on her face. However, the smile did not last long as she saw the flirtatious supervisor once again.

"Hey, Rika!" Junichi started as he noticed her smiling form. "You look really good when you smile."

Fuck you, Rika thought. You're just telling that so I could go out with you when in fact that I can't date right now.

"Uh? Thank you?" Rika answered with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Realizing that the opportunity could be golden at some point, Junichi began to snicker at her.

"So does this mean we can go out on a date, huh?" Junichi asked facetiously.

"No!" Rika declared with wide eyes. "Date yourself if you want! I'm not interested!"

Meanwhile, Naomi was actually witnessing the scene going on in front of her. She knew that Rika had trouble buzzing Junichi off but the young woman never told her about it. It was Zoe who told her that Rika was fed up with Junichi's constant teasings.

"Junichi," Naomi called out sternly.

Rika looked up to see her boss who was already looking at Junichi sternly. She let out a victorious smile as she realized that her "stalker" could not stand up against her employer.

"What is it, Ma'am?" Junichi asked obediently.

"If you want to see your salary still shining high, you might as well stop fooling around with your co-workers," Naomi scolded Junichi.

The supervisor felt embarrassed and slowly walked away. Naomi approached Rika as soon as the man was out of sight already.

"I don't know how you did it but thanks," Rika said now knowing that she should appreciate her boss sometimes.

"No problem, Rika," Naomi replied and suddenly remembered something. "So, Rika, what do you think of my suggestion regarding what you wrote?"

Rika also remembered the plan that she wrote in her small notebook about her publishing her story that was ongoing.

"The idea seemed to be nice," Rika began. "But I'm not yet finished with it, Ma'am."

Naomi seemed to be pleased with the young woman's answer.

"That's nice! You won't have to worry about the publishing fee. Employees like you get free publishings. And that is the odd thing since employees never publish their own stories. You would be the first if you started your plan. And of course, it'll be an easy ticket to fame!"

Rika actually shunned fame because of her model mother. But this was different. Being famous just because she wrote a book.

"Fame?" Rika paused. "I don't know about it."

"Don't worry about it," Naomi assured. "I can assure you that nothing harm would come from you submitting your story to us."

I'm not even yet crafting the title, Rika thought as she realized that the story was only organized in the content. Anyway, what kind of harm would publishing come anyway?

Back at Henry's office, he walked towards his cubicle with a smile on his face. Fortunately, no one was in his office so it was free for him to become happy. When he sat down in his office, he immediately saw the calendar and the date today. It was May 7 already.

Rika's birthday is on May 9, Henry thought as he remembered his girlfriend's birthday which was due two days from now. What can I do to surprise her?

With this, he began thinking about his friends along with Rika's best friends Jeri and Alice so that they could help him in organizing. But first, he had to call Jeri or Alice. He first dialed Alice's number but it was only useless since she was not answering her phone. Then it led him to calling Jeri. When he heard a click, he knew that he was lucky.

"Hello?" the voice from the other line said.

"Hey, Jeri! It's me, Henry!" Henry spoke up.

"Oh! Hi, Henry! What's up?" Jeri responded.

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"It's Rika's birthday on Friday and I haven't got something to surprise her. What do you think about it?"

"Knowing Rika, she's a neutral regarding those things. There would be times she liked surprises, there would be times she hated them. But I think a party would be nice."

"Wow. I hope she'd like that."

"Gosh, Henry! That'll be romantic if you throw her a party on her birthday! Anyway, how's Rika and what made you become so sweet for her?"

"She's fine. I just really wanted to make her happy on her birthday and make it a memorable one now that Mrs. Nonaka and Grandma Seiko aren't here with her."

"You do have a point. I'll deal with Rika while I'll let Alice handle the food. She's busy somewhere else."

"So that's why I couldn't contact her. Anyway, thanks for volunteering, Jeri!"

"Anytime! As long as it's for Rika!"

"Bye!" Henry said as he bid the brunette goodbye.

Eventually, Henry placed the phone on his desk and saw the small picture on the frame. It was him and Rika wearing their semi-formal attires since it was their senior prom. To him, it was the fairy tale night of his life.

As they were dancing on the floor, Henry's hand was holding Rika's right hand and the other hand was on her waist. Each of them had their own sash attached to their outfits since the two of them won as the Prom King and Prom Queen respectively.

"Today's a special day," Henry said to his girlfriend with a smile on his face. He was already the Prom King but the best thing was he was with his love at this point.

"I know. It's my first time to get involved with these things," Rika answered, referring to the titles that had been bestowed on her and Henry.

"But Prom Queen or not, you're the most beautiful girl I ever saw," Henry said and smiled. "I love you, Rika."

Rika, finally overcome her awkwardness and smiled for her boyfriend. "I love you too, Henry."

Then reality struck him as he remembered that they danced again during the high school reunion.

"I wish you still have that spark, Rika," Henry said thoughtfully. "Because I still have mine."