DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).
And so on with the first of the chapters that will effectively be an epilogue to the story.
CHAPTER 14
His Reaction
REAL WORLD
Nonaka Residence
02:03 JST
4th July 2010
A pair of hazel eyes opened in the darkness of the room, lit only by the half moon hanging in the black sky, the orange tinge of light pollution contributing to a small extent.
The eyes blinked, and glanced around, trying to ascertain where he was in the dark. The first obvious thing was that he wasn't in his room.
The shining of the light through the translucent door told him where he was, and he sat up, rubbing his head in confusion. He felt a mattress below him, and looked around to note that it was a wooden floor that the futon, which he had now identified the bed as, was placed on. He was still in Rika's house for some reason.
'Was I…dreaming?' he thought, glancing around. A red dinosaur slept oddly soundly nearby, lying on the floor, and a yellow Kitsune stood leaning against the wall, sleeping calmly, albeit standing up.
Gentle breaths came from Takato's side, and he looked to see Rika sleeping in another futon, presumably added to the room in the mean time since he lost consciousness.
'Okay, now I'm confused. Chaos, are you going to fill me in here?'
'I know as little as you do…well, at least on this matter, I'm far smarter than you in…'
'I get the idea…'
'Okay. So did we faint or what?'
'I think so…' Takato replied, before the reason finally reached his tiredness-weakened mind, and his eyes widened. 'Rika…she told me she was pregnant…did that really happen?'
'Oh, I remember now…yeah, it did…Christ, you really screwed up big time there…oh great, and I have to deal with the consequences now…'
'Huh? I thought it was me that was in control…'
'Yeah, but I have to listen to all your nervous explanations and nonsense, it frankly bores me silly…funny at first, not funny the four-millionth time…'
Takato had begun to ignore the voice in his head, and began to think about what had happened. 'I think this is Rika's normal bed…did she move me?'
'Yeah, if you recall, we fainted over there…' Chaos told him. Takato nodded, glancing to near the door. He noticed his sleeve, and the watch glinting in the darkness, the numbers displayed on its screen.
'It's 2am in the morning, I must have been out for a fair few hours…my parents are probably having a fit…'
'Nah, I'm sure they hate you, they prefer it when you're not around…'
'You know, you really can be a pain…'
'I know, and the best thing is, you're stuck with me, whether you like it or not. Unfortunately, it's also the worst thing, I'm stuck with you, whether I like it or not…'
Takato sighed, before turning to stare at Rika, sleeping quietly with her hair down in the futon nearby.
'Oh great, now you're going to make some kind of sappy comment like "She's so beautiful when she sleeps"…WHY DO I HAVE TO BE STUCK WITH YOU?!'
"Stop shouting…" Takato replied, holding his ears in pain, before he realised that he had spoken out loud. He quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late, as Rika began to stir.
'Great going bozo…'
'She's going to kill me, she's going to kill me, she's going to kill me, she's going to…'
Rika yawned, opening her violet eyes and glancing into his hazel ones. "Oh…you're awake…" she noted, tinges of disappointment in her voice at him waking in the middle of the night.
"Um…yeah…" he replied, unsure about what he should be doing or saying.
Rika smiled weakly, looking to him. "I'm guessing you want to talk…"
"Well, it can wait until the morning…" Takato replied, pleading in his voice somewhat.
Rika sat up, Takato noticing she was only wearing a bra and panties, and blushing somewhat. Rika chuckled at the sight, messing around with Takato's mind was always an amusing thing to do, even with them being a couple.
"We'll talk now…it's more private anyway, everyone's asleep, and I really don't feel up to telling my parents yet…" she told him.
Takato nodded unsurely, the situation was so surreal he no longer had any idea what he was doing.
"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner…" Rika apologised, turning to him and attempting a smile.
Takato smiled and nodded. "I understand, I don't think I could have come to terms with something like this so fast…"
Rika nodded. "I'm sure that you haven't even come to terms with it yourself yet…"
"I haven't even begun to think about it…"
"Can you try not to freak out or anything?"
"I can't promise you anything…"
Rika chuckled, despite everything that'd happened, Takato was still Takato, incredibly brave at times but the rest of the time being cowardly. Rika herself seemed to be a catalyst for prompting his spells of courage, particularly when it came to the pair of them protecting each other, a fact which reminded her of the earlier events that day.
"What made me realise that I should tell you was when you protected me earlier…I realised that you'd do anything for me…I mean, up until our talk in the park, I didn't want to fight, but you come along and I race straight into battle by your side without really thinking…" Rika said to him. Their voices stayed hushed to avoid waking others, and Takato noted the fact that Renamon had opened one of her eyes once to see what was going on, before closing it once she had seen the commotion in the room.
"I just thought you were being emotional over something far less major than this…was that why Renamon was comforting you?"
"Yeah…I told her first because I needed support and I wasn't sure enough of myself to tell you…"
"So…did you find out at the Doctor's this morning?"
"Yeah…turns out that that is the reason why Rey told us that advice a few weeks ago…"
Takato nodded, and his eyes began to widen, before narrowing again, as Rika smiled.
"Contemplating?" she asked.
"Yeah, I started thinking about it…I'm going to be a father…"
Rika chuckled. "You've done the easy part; I have to give birth…" she joked.
"This is all so…"
"Unexpected?"
"Yeah…"
"I know what you mean…" Rika replied. "I guess I wasn't really thinking straight a few weeks ago…sorry…"
"Huh? But it was both of our faults, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, but it was my idea…"
Takato put his arm round Rika, smiling to her. "No, it was both of our faults Rika…" he told her. Rika frowned, pulling him close.
"I love you…" Rika whispered to him.
"I love you too…" Takato replied. "We'll get through this…I'm by your side…sure, I'm petrified right now, but…we can help each other…we will help each other…because we're going to have a kid…"
"Takato, is this all right? We're sixteen…how are we going to tell our parents? Not to mention how people are going to see us from now on…"
Takato frowned. "I don't know how they'll react…but…they are our friends, aren't they? They'll understand, won't they?"
"This is a bit more than making a mistake in battle, or taking a battle all on your own. We're talking about a kid, another person…a new life…"
"Yeah…this is going to make our lives complicated…"
"I'm sorry…"
"It really isn't your fault alone…"
"I know…but…here's how I'll make it up to you, I'll stop saying it's my fault, and you can choose the name…" she told him, smiling.
"Hmm…I'm not that good with names…" he replied.
"What about Guilmon? Where did that idea come from?"
"That was just a random name that appeared in my head…"
"I bet that Chaos had a part to play in that, if he and Renamon have existed before…"
"Yeah…"
"Okay, so, you give me a series of names, and I'll tell you if they're okay or not…"
"I guess we have to choose both a girls and a boy's name?" Takato asked.
"Either that, or pick a name that works for both genders equally…" Rika replied, now slightly irritated at the questions about such a simple subject.
"Okay then…" Takato began, before beginning to think. "Izumi?" he suggested.
"No, he or she will grow up to be a geek…" Rika replied bluntly. "Look at Izzy…"
"Okay then…um…Sakuya?"
"That'll confuse people when compared to Sakuyamon…plus, if it's a boy, it sounds a bit like a girl's name…"
"Hey, my great grandfather was called Sakuya…or was it my grandmother?" Takato replied. "I see your point…"
Rika chuckled at Takato's confusion. "Continue with the names then…"
"Okay…um…Rey?"
Rika looked at Takato, about to veto the name, but then her eyes widened, and his did so to match.
"Where the hell did that come from?" Rika asked.
"No…way…" Takato exclaimed.
"It's impossible…"
"Isn't it?"
"She just can't be our daughter…that's stupid…it's insane…it's…true, isn't it?"
"She does have red hair…and my colour eyes…"
"Yeah but…this explains why she kept it a secret…"
"She told you that you could never conceive who she was on the day we did it…did she mean two things?"
"But, isn't it a paradox? Ryder said that when Kudamon came into contact with Sleipmon, it made a big burst of energy…what'll happen if both Reys make contact with each other?" Rika asked.
"Not only that…we're like Gods…what kind of powers does Rey have?"
"She could be really powerful and just keeping it hidden…"
Takato and Rika stared at the floor for a short while, contemplating that Rey was their daughter, as the evidence added up.
"Earlier on…" Rika began, deciding to explain her talk with Rey. "Rey appeared when I was really sad…and…I asked her if I'm a good mother in the future…she said I was the best in the world…I didn't think she would know for sure, since she'd just be observing our kid but…the way she said it…it was really sincere, and honest and emotional…like…I don't know…"
"Did she say anything else?"
"Yeah, but…the most important thing I guess is that she kissed me…"
"What?" Takato asked, now thrown for a loop by this, right when he thought he was getting a hold on things.
"Yeah, at the time I thought she was crazy, or that our future was similarly crazy but…she said it was a force of habit…a daughter kissing her mother…"
"Is that what you confronted her about earlier?"
"Yeah…I'm glad she didn't answer, that would've been surprising…and it'd have made everyone know…I don't know how I could've faced that…"
Takato noticed Rika's distress, and gripped her hand in his to reassure her. "I don't think she would've said it anyway…"
"Yeah, I know but…if it had got out…I really don't know…what I would've done…I'm going to have to tell them all anyway but…"
"No…we're going to have to tell them…Rika, one of the reasons we're together is because we help each other, I can comfort you and you, well you scare the crap out of anyone who comes to pick a fight with us…" he joked. Rika smiled, turning to him.
"Thanks…" she said, pulling him into a kiss. "Do you think we made a mistake?"
"No…" Takato replied quickly, leaving him to back it up as well after a short silence. "Look at Rey, she's got the combination of your strength and confidence and my kindness…although you can be kind…"
"Not as kind as you Takato, you'd try to be kind to someone who'd broken your wrist…"
"Knowing that in all likelihood, that person would be you, yeah, I would…"
Rika chuckled, before placing her hand on her belly. "It's a really weird thought knowing that there's a child inside me…"
"What's it feel like?"
"Odd…woozy a bit, at the moment it doesn't really show, it's going to be odd when it does…"
"Yeah…we're the first parents ever to know our kid before they're even born, grown up to boot…" Takato commented, Rika nodding and smiling in response before a thought occurred to her.
"Look Takato…I'm going to have a load of mood swings, more than usual, and I'll probably range from being really angry and nuts to being really kind and irritating, but, anything I say under that kind of state, take with a pinch of salt, okay?"
"Yeah, okay…"
"Good, because I really don't want us to have a bunch of arguments…even if I am the one starting them…"
"Okay…" Takato replied, nodding. "What are we going to say to Rey when we see her?" he asked.
"Just a sec…" Rika replied, before climbing out of her futon and standing up. Takato watched her walk over to her jeans strewn over a chair, blushing as she turned around, something that Rika noticed.
"Takato, get a grip, we had sex, like I really mind if you blush when you see me in my underwear…" she told him, in a slightly exasperated tone of voice.
"Sorry…" he replied.
"You apologise far too much…" she told him, sitting back down on the extra futon she had had to lay out for herself after placing Takato on hers. "Anyway…" She held out a piece of paper, or rather two pieces, one more business-card like, and one looking like a scrap piece of paper. "This is Doctor Imai's number that she gave me to call, but more importantly, I have Rey's cellphone number…" she said to him, handing him the later.
"Wow, long number…" he said, examining the paper.
Rika nodded. "She said that wherever she is, ring this number and, if she's travelling in time, she'll be pulled out of the timestream in our time to answer the call."
"So…are you going to call it now?"
"We'll wait until the morning. She has some questions to answer though…"
"She must've known that this was when we found out…if I were her, I'd have run for the hills to avoid the complications…"
"Yeah, good that you fainted or you'd have probably done that after I told you…"
Takato chuckled, before they simply stared into each others eyes, before pulling each other into a kiss. Renamon opened an eye to watch all twenty seconds of it, before they stopped, and she smiled. Everything had worked out reasonably well between them after all; the complication now was dealing with others, and that wouldn't be easy in the slightest.
Rika settled back down inside her futon, Takato doing likewise with his. "Good night…" he said, eyes closing.
"Just don't wake me up again, or I'll be sick over you…" she replied, not opening her eyes in doing so.
"Yikes…okay then…" Takato answered, as the pair settled down to sleep.
Stevens and Flynn Residence
05:36 JST
Rey groaned as she opened her eyes to the encroaching sunlight through the window, the sunrise beginning to light the sofa she lay on. She only really had one shot at getting to any particular time, and so she decided to just wait it out this time around. She hadn't had a proper night's sleep in a while, an unintended consequence of time travelling. Rejimon continued to sleep silently on the armrest near her, the gentle breaths reaching her ears. Rey looked up to her partner, frowning. In all of this, she stayed silent, a stark contrast to her higher forms, which were far more talkative. Rey noted the fact that, regardless of the personality they had at their 'natural' level, Digimon seemed to be made more baby-like as they progressed towards that particular level. Rejimon and her would share occasional verbal chats, anything else done via telepathy, but they held a deep bond as a result of their history running back through the whole of both of their lives, albeit the Digimon maturing far faster than her.
Rey thought back to the reason she had decided to stay. Rika and Takato would want answers, and Rey was torn on it. On one hand, they would be so questioning, despite some answers being beyond what she could give, but at the same time, Rey really wanted to finally be open with them. All thanks to their future 'Lord and Master', she hadn't seen them in so long that it pained her not to be able to treat them as parents. But, she knew that she couldn't treat them as parents like she had done before, it took sixteen years of love and care to get to that level. What she wanted in reality was just to have someone there for her, having missed it in so long. Mari had acted like a mother for her ever since they had been reunited whilst storming Kazuya's central laboratory (at the time at least), and Rey couldn't help herself continuing this over into the past, a mistake she knew she would have to deal with before it became a problem. Kissing Rika was also another problem that, even once the pair knew the truth, would still inevitably cause tension between them.
Rey knew her mother, and so she knew that she'd end up with another more major problem because of her actions. Rika would rarely open up to people, it surprising Rey enough that she did the previous day (although mood swings could go a way to explaining it), and their kiss would lead to Rika facing her oddly for a while yet. A careful attempt at trying to establish the foundations for some form of integration into this world had been demolished by her actions, and she mentally kicked herself for it. Takato on the other hand, was more of an issue. Takato would always try to be kind to everyone, she had noticed that when observing her father, but at the same time he kept his true feelings hidden. Not to mention Chaos and Harmony, who probably now hated each other more than ever, her being the result of the pair of them, in a situation where they, unlike in their normal incarnations as far as she could tell, had little to no control. She smiled slightly, recalling the fact that she had both of their powers, and had used them several times in the past, despite their limitations. She had their powers, but unlike them, they were inherited and not direct, and therefore relied on her own energy, tiring her out in the process, their main downside.
Rey glanced to the time on her D-Vice, 05:45. Time had become somewhat negligible to her in her travels, she could see fourteen sunsets in a row, and only one sunrise to match. She knew that, if he were here, he'd probably tell her that she should go back to sleep again (and to appreciate the peace compared to the future they lived in). Either that or he'd be complaining about Dorumon sleeping on him.
She put it out of her mind for now, he was in the future and she had to deal with today's events, before the bigger problem in the future became too late to prevent right now. It would still be a few years yet before she could do anything, and she had to ask herself why she didn't just jump straight there, but at the same time her curiosity was plagued by the past. Her absence for the intermediate years between then and when the event happened would also make it more difficult to prevent. She wasn't even sure what she planned to do in the first place, she couldn't exactly tell those involved in case she failed to prevent the event. She also doubted that she personally would be able to change anything, even with her extended free will, and that left it down to Ryder to do so, a hurdle she would leap across when she came to it. She only hoped she didn't fall over the hurdle in the process.
She sat up, turning round and glancing at the television to her side. She contemplated turning it on and hearing about the aftermath of the previous day's attacks, but at the same time she knew that it'd wake her partner, and inevitably Mari and Ryder sleeping in their rooms through the doors behind her, provided that they weren't soundproof enough to block it.
She walked over to the window, and looked out on a day that to her felt long dead and gone. To explore the past was amazing to her, and she had several times contemplated going further back in time, although at the same time she knew that there were great risks involved if she were to create a paradox. The future had also yearned to her, but it was far too foggy to be able to even begin to set coordinates. The chances of her being arrested by the empire of their 'Lord and Master', provided it was still extant, which she knew it would be, was also far too great to attempt such a move. And there was also the risk of being stuck in the future with no way home, a concept she couldn't bare to consider, particularly in 'his' world, the world of their 'Lord and Master' where she would be executed personally by him, probably with a large destructive battle before so.
She noted the irony that for her, weeks and months would pass while time travelling, but she would return to a time only a few hours after she left, knowing a lot more about the past than she did before clearly. It would be an interesting series of conversations when she was finally reunited with her parents from that time, after a painful year.
Rey settled back onto the sofa, lying along it to rest at least, if she couldn't sleep. It was going to be a long day, and she couldn't time travel to save herself from it.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Not much to say really, so please review.
Next time…
What will happen when parents meet child?
Find out in 'Her Reaction', Chapter Fifteen of Dimensions Book Five: Demons.
