DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).
CHAPTER 15
Her Reaction
REAL WORLD
Nonaka Residence
09:01 JST
4th July 2010
Dreams. Everyone has them, some more frequently than others. These people are typically referred to as Dreamers, and tend to have an overactive imagination to boot, leading to daydreams as they are known.
Takato Matsuki is a dreamer. He's had a wide variety of dreams, both vividly real ones (including one in particular that actually was real) and completely abstract ones, normally featuring gears and his partner, a large red dinosaur-like Digital Monster, in a strange world.
His daydreams have both saved lives and made them worse, his overactive imagination rarely being corrected by his logic, and normally needing a certain redhead to knock some sense into him, although thankfully not literally (in all but a few cases).
However, at this particular moment, Takato was sleeping, and dreaming about something that is not particularly significant (although for the terminally curious it was about Rika beating Terriermon to death with frying pans, which isn't an unknown dream amongst his particular group of Tamers and Digimon). The more interesting factor was the other human, this one female, in the room, staring down at him already fully dressed with arms crossed.
The particular problem she was pondering at the moment? Was it her current situation of being with-child? Was it the fact that they would have to find and meet Rey at some point, who they had uncovered to be their daughter from the future? Was it how she would tell her parents about hers and Takato's news?
The answer, in fact, is none of the above. Rika was pondering the best way of waking Takato up.
Some things never change.
"Get up or I'll be sick on you…" she whispered in his ear teasingly, unfortunately bringing back the sore taste into her mouth from her nausea and subsequent vomiting earlier that morning, waking up before everyone else in order to keep her secret safe. Takato's eyes shot open, and Rika smiled teasingly, as he panicked in alarm before breathing a sigh of relief.
"Phew, I thought you were being serious…"
"Of course I wasn't being serious you idiot, for god's sake get some sense!" Rika bellowed, Takato paralysed in surprise. Rika suddenly felt eerily self-conscious of what she'd said. "Sorry…" she replied, Takato sighing.
"Your mood swings are going to take some getting used to…" he noted, climbing out of his futon, his day-clothes now heavily creased from wearing them all night. His goggles, now off-centred, were quickly corrected as he felt the strap on the back of his neck.
"At least it makes things interesting…" she noted, smiling teasingly.
"Wouldn't put it that way…"
Rika smiled, pulling him into an embrace. "I'm really glad you're helping me through this…" she said emotionally. Sure, it could've been part of the mood swings, but Takato knew that that was beside the point now.
"No problem…" Takato replied, as he felt her grip him tight. He raised an eyebrow in bewilderment, hoping for something to break up the awkward moment of an over-emotional swing without having to resort in him starting an argument, which could only bring dire results.
A cell phone rung on the table nearby, and Rika frowned, releasing Takato from her grip, as he breathed a quiet sigh of relief from now being able to breathe again and walking over to it, picking it up and putting it to her ear as he watched curiously. "Rika Nonaka speaking…" she said, looking to meet Takato's eyes as she listened to the voice on the other end. She smiled, recognising the voice. "Hello Dr Imai…"
Takato nodded in realisation as to who it was, recalling their talk during the night and the mention of the particular doctor during it. He smiled at how their talk the previous night had been, it'd given them a real chance to speak to each other without risking others overhearing, albeit the subject was still surprising to the Gogglehead.
"Yeah, I told Takato…" Rika said, answering the doctor.
Takato cocked an eyebrow, before it became clearer to him what the doctor was asking her. He hoped that this particular doctor wouldn't judge him too harshly; he knew that he'd face a lot of flak in the future from others.
"Oh, okay, sure, what time?"
There was a short pause, before Rika nodded.
"Well, we're going to see a friend first, but maybe about eleven o'clock?"
Rika smiled, and nodded, listening to the voice on the other end, and copying the motions of just about everyone who answered in the affirmative to a phone conversation, forgetting that the other person can't hear their nod.
"Okay, thanks…" she finished, pressed the hang-up button on the phone as she dropped it back on the table, looking to Takato and pausing, thinking about the conversation she had just had.
"So…" Takato began when the gap after speaking was getting too large and uncomfortable.
"We're going to see Dr Imai at eleven after seeing Rey…" she explained.
"We?" Takato asked confused. Rika stepped forward and squeezed his hand, smiling to him as she put her other hand on his shoulder.
"Look, I know you're probably still recovering from the shock of all this, but…I really need you there…"
Takato nodded, still unnerved by everything that he'd learnt and talked about in the past twelve hours. "Okay…" he said nervously, not really sure what to expect when he saw her obstetrician. Would she look down on him? He still couldn't imagine how his parents would react to the news. His mother would probably faint, or get really angry, and his father would probably simply be surprised.
She smiled, oddly feeling amused by his nervousness as she pulled him into a deep kiss. She kept her right arm on his shoulder blade to reassure him as she noticed his nervous expression.
"You still here?" asked a groggy voice, as Takato did an about-face to see Kristy standing at the door.
"Kristy!" Rika complained, her sister's bluntness becoming an annoyance of hers lately.
"Yeah, but we're going out soon…" Takato said, walking over to Kristy and smiling.
That smile. That irritating, insane, 'everything'll be alright goofy smile' that Rika had fallen in love with. She smiled herself; he seemed to somehow always make everything alright. Maybe it was why she needed him with her today? But at the same time, Dr Imai was hardly a worrying prospect for her, she had been nothing but supportive the previous day. She expected that having Takato there would help her. She hoped so anyway. He'd probably be more nervous than anything.
"Good…" Kristy answered. "Where to? Can I come?" she asked cheerfully as ever. "Please…"
"Um…" Takato began, fishing for an explanation and glancing back to the girl behind him, who took the metaphorical baton and ran with it.
"No, we're going to see Mari and Ryder to talk about the legal and moral issues surrounding what Ryder did, you'd find it boring…" Rika stated matter-of-factly, hoping that it had worked.
"Can Guilmon come to play tag?" her sister asked.
Guilmon looked to his Tamer, who glanced to Renamon and then back to Kristy. "Um…"
Rika looked to the boy, trying to consider their way out of this. Guilmon didn't look particularly interested in playing again, and seemed more curious as to what was going on with his Tamer (reminding her that Takato needed to tell his partner yet). But how could they get out of this one?
"I don't feel like playing today, maybe another time?" Guilmon asked, smiling and somehow putting a non-negative face on things, surprising the others by how he managed to stand up for himself against playing tag every single day (and sometimes multiple times a day). It was fun, but not that fun, particularly since as his Tamer matured and he became closer to Renamon at the same time, so too had he matured.
'Like Tamer like Digimon…' Rika thought, comparing the dino's ability to cheer people up with his Tamer's identical ability, one that he had become renowned for.
"Okay…" Kristy replied, cheerfully. Kudamon looked up at his Tamer as he stepped into the room, glancing around.
"Good morning…" he greeted the variety of life-forms inside, be they Digital, human or incarnate. Then again, none of them were truly human, at least not 100 percent anyhow.
Rika nodded in response, before heading over to her phone again, lifting it in front of her and turning to Kristy. "Kristy, I've got to make a phone call, so can you leave us now…"
"Why?" Kristy asked. "Who are you calling?" she asked.
Takato bent down, smiling as always as Rika groaned in frustration. "I think what Rika means is that she'd rather not have people listening in on her calls, okay? She even gets annoyed when I do it…" he reassured.
"Uh-huh…" Kristy answered.
"Everyone has their secrets…" Rika said to her sister, who nodded, recalling the previous day's events, and forcing her to take them into account.
"Okay then…" Kristy replied, leaving the room and closing the door as Takato and Rika breathed a sigh of relief. Rika drew a crumpled piece of paper from her jeans, and began to dial the number, saving it into the phone's memory beforehand, in order to save time.
"Let's see if this works…" Rika noted, as Takato nodded, moving closer to her and the phone, although he still couldn't hear the other end beyond a faint noise.
Rika paused, waiting on the dial tone for someone to pick up. She pondered whether this would pull Rey out of the timestream, or if she was already in their time. The phone picked up quicker than she expected, supporting the later idea.
"Um…hello?" the voice asked, nervously, knowing already who it would be calling her.
"Rey, it's Rika…"Rika replied, her voice taking on a slight edge of tease as she glanced to Takato, gesturing to dumb that down slightly.
"Oh…hey Rika…" Rey replied. Did she already know about this? She seemed unconfident already, not her usual self. Maybe she had been told the particular date, maybe it was just a hunch, it could've been anything really. Rika decided to find out where they would be able to meet her.
"Listen, where are you?" Rika asked.
"Erm…at Ryder's and Mari's place, why? You interrupted breakfast…"
That reminded Rika that she still had yet to eat that particular meal, but her concentration was far too much onto her present task. It also reminded her that Takato's parents would be expecting him home at some point after his fainting. How they were going to explain that was going to be a toughie. Then again, the 'Rika accidentally hit him too hard' excuse could hurt, were it not for his lack of physical bruises. She chuckled, that could easily be arranged. "We need to talk…" Rika uttered, the words clearly worrying the girl on the other end as she gulped, as well as bringing flashbacks of the previous evening to Takato.
"Um…okay…when and where?"
"There, at about ten, okay?"
"Um…sure…"
"Brilliant…" Rika replied, smiling for some reason at her form of teasing.
"Bye…"
"Bye…"
Rika put the phone down, and turned to Takato, smiling somewhat proudly, if not slightly peeved simultaneously.
"She's got your nervousness…" she noted.
Stevens and Flynn Residence
10:02 JST
The lift bonged as the doors slid open, revealing Takato, Rika and their partners who exited quickly, and turned down the hallway. "So…how are we going to talk to her? I mean, we did find out her secret." Takato asked.
"I have no idea…not sure how I'd react if I were her…I think we'll just play it by ear, okay hun?"
"Yeah…it must be really strange, meeting your parents before you were born…"
Rika nodded, considering the thoughts that Takato had no doubt been pondering for a short while beforehand. She didn't have the luxury of time however, as they reached the door with the '29' on it. Rika glanced to Takato, before pressing the doorbell. There was a short pause, before Mari opened it, smiling.
"Morning…" she said, her cheerfulness tinged with worry. Was it for Ryder?
"Morning…" Rika and Takato replied. Mari glanced down unconsciously over Rika, she didn't look pregnant, but no doubt she would soon. She pondered how to introduce them knowing into the conversation, before turning, guiding the two incarnates (although she herself equally qualified as an incarnate) over to the pair of facing sofas, Rey sitting on one and Ryder on the other, gazing off into space slightly, before being brought back to earth when Mari sat next to him, leaving Rika to sit next to Rey and Takato next to her. Rey and Rejimon, the later sitting on the seat back, glanced to their front and right nervously; this was going to be difficult. Mari noticed the pause, and, lacking at the moment Ryder's normal habit of taking a greeting into a conversation, took the reins herself.
"So, what brings you here?" she asked, smiling cheerfully.
Rika glanced to Mari when she spoke. "We came to talk to Rey…" she said, looking to the redhead next to her.
"What about?" Ryder asked, as Rey didn't respond.
"She knows…" Rika said. Takato was concerned at how teasingly Rika was approaching Rey, but wasn't exactly sure how to communicate it.
Rey then surprised everyone by standing up, almost sorrowful, and walking to the window, looking out on the city as the rest paused in whatever they planned to continue the conversation with. Rey's red hair was lit up by the daytime sun.
"Look…I've wanted to tell you so many times you wouldn't believe it…and then…then I realised that I couldn't…I just couldn't…in all likelihood, I'd cease to exist, and that is not what I have planned…" she noted, not turning. "I ended up leaving far too many clues though, I had to reinforce the flow of destiny with my own energy, even if my partner and I were to biomerge, I wouldn't have been much help…" Rey continued, turning to face them. "But looks like some people figured it out…" she noted, looking to Mari. Takato and Rika glanced across, eyebrows raised and eyes widened as the facts dawned on them.
"You knew?" Takato asked in surprise, as Mari paled back slightly.
"Yeah…I figured it out yesterday…Ryder and I…" she answered, turning to the boy next to her who'd been silent up until now. MiniDonmon glanced down from the spot on his head, curious as to the boy's reaction.
"We didn't tell you because…well…you weren't here, Rey only confirmed our suspicions after you left yesterday…"
Rika looked back to Rey. "So it's not private anymore, is it? The fact I'm pregnant is just something to be played around with, regardless of my feelings or anything?"
Rey frowned, her eyes sad. "I couldn't tell anyone because I knew that I'd end up causing myself to cease to exist, and I ended up telling them because they questioned me on it and I had no idea of what else to say…"
"Do what Takato does; blubber on until you find some odd idea…" Rika replied, pointing to the boy next to her. Rey smiled weakly, Rika did have a point about Takato, who proceeded to look back to the pair nervously.
"You have a point there…"
"So…you're really our daughter?" Takato asked. Rey nodded, looking away from his gaze nervously.
"Yeah…the Tenth Angel of Destiny is a direct descendant of Chaos and Harmony…a new Angel, but nonetheless still an Angel…" Rey answered.
"That explains the DNA…" Ryder noted, re-entering the conversation and moving all eyes to himself. "Mine is one strand, the 1st Angel strand, from each, but Rey's was five from each, like in normal DNA…half from the mother, half from the father, and one gene dominates to create the child's features…" he clarified.
"But, what difference does five ADNA from each make?" Takato asked. "I mean, do you have powers or something?"
"Well, besides the affect I can have on the flow of destiny, there are a few other things…" she answered, walking over to the window and turning round to face them again, pausing.
"Like?" Takato asked, left unsure by her pause interrupting her explanation. Rey smiled, as a pair of wings flew from her back, surprising Takato, Rika, Chaos, Harmony, Ryder, in fact, just about everyone in the room short of Rejimon, who still found her Tamer's abilities intriguing despite having seen them many times.
Takato looked over the wings. They were odd; they were like his and Rika's, but different. They were a combination of their own; along the top half of the wings ran blue colouring and the bottom half red. And these were exactly the same colours as their own wings, not some off-colour tint at all.
"I haven't really had a chance to see even Rika and Takato's wings really…" Mari noted. "But, they're incredible…they're like…I really don't know…an Angel…literally in your case…"
"This confirms what I once said; a child of Chaos and Harmony would have all the advantages of each and none of the disadvantages…" Ryder noted.
Rey nodded, before frowning. "Unfortunately, everything has a flaw…mine is that, unlike my mother and father, who have the fact they are Gods to power them mostly, I use my own energy in using my powers, so it's been a strain on me having to maintain the destiny alteration for so long…"
"So this destiny alteration, did it make me oblivious to the truth?" Ryder asked.
"Well, it made everyone but you oblivious at least…"
"Huh?"
"Ryder, this may be very confusing and hard to take in, but you don't have a Destiny…"
"What?" Ryder asked, the others similarly surprised and confused.
"I can feel, like you can feel time, the flow of destiny, and since you're not from this universe, you're like an unmoveable rock in it. It can't move you, only you can move you…you're a fixed point in time and space, you're a fact…I mean, since I'm out of my time, I'm freer in terms of will that everyone but you, but I'm still affected by it…"
"So basically, everything that happens to him, and all of us, is under his own control?" Mari asked. Rey nodded, and Ryder nodded in response to that.
"Makes sense…" he muttered, Mari glancing to him curiously. Why wasn't he more surprised by this? Rika and Takato certainly were.
Rey frowned. Ryder's secret would change their viewpoint on their lives forever if it were to be uncovered, so she knew she couldn't mention why.
"But…what can you do with that?" Takato asked. "Aren't you affected by the future at all?"
"I'm affected…definitely…some things must be happening to a plan though, otherwise what explains Rey? Rey knows me in the future, so there must be a course I can follow to get there. And then, there's the fact that I wasn't forced by some 'simplest way' effects to kill Taiki, I did it of my own accord…and…I'm really regretting it…"
"But…if you didn't, he'd have killed more…" Takato reassured. "You did what you had to do…"
"I know but…I could've done something else…I'm sure of it…maybe…I just don't know…" he answered, frowning sadly.
The beeping of D-Vices interrupted their thoughts and conversation, as DarkRenamon materialised near Mari.
"We have trouble…" she commented. Mari nodded, as her and Ryder both stood up, MiniDonmon jumping on his head. Ryder turned to Rika, Takato and Rey, an element of nervousness in his eyes about the upcoming battle in respect to it being his first since he killed Taiki. The fact that armed police officers hadn't turned up at his door yet was something that he took as a good sign, although he also knew that he'd have plenty of interviews with the police to deal with. "Are you coming?" he asked.
Takato looked to Rika, and Rey did likewise. Then again, Rey hadn't actually fought in any of their battles so far, the identity of the upper levels of her partner remaining somewhat a mystery, so they didn't expect her to fight anyway. But Takato and Rika could help out; they were probably the group's strongest weapon in Mari's eyes. Ryder, of course, knew that they definitely were, but nonetheless it'd probably just be a routine bioemergence.
"I think…we need to talk…" Rika answered quietly.
Ryder nodded, before Mari began to fumble about in her bag, throwing a set of keys onto the table. "Lock up when you leave…" she noted, realising that they could be out for an indeterminate period of time. Takato nodded.
"Okay, we will…"
"Ready Ryder?" MiniDonmon asked cheerfully, before frowning at the glumness of the brunette's reply.
"As ever…" the boy replied, as they exited the apartment quickly, Rika, Rey and Takato uncomfortably noting their new situation of being alone, and having to continue their conversation somehow with their daughter/parents.
'What am I meant to say now?' Rika thought.
'Okay, uncomfortable silence, think of something sensible to say…scratch that, just say anything…' Takato thought.
'Um…am I meant to continue speaking or something?' Rey thought.
Rika swallowed the lump in her throat, beginning the conversation again. "So…you said that I was a good mother…really?" she asked, more than a hint of her unsure feelings in her voice.
Rey nodded, noting Rika's disbelief about it. "Yeah, you really are…"
"I've never thought of myself as that kind of person…" Rika noted.
"What about with Kristy?" Takato asked, recalling that particular morning, and several other occasions when Rika had particularly cared for her sister. "You seem to care for her…"
"I suppose…that's more of a big sister thing….she still drives me nuts though…" Rika answered, smiling at the last part.
"Rika, you drive me nuts in my time…" Rey noted, smiling. "That's what families are all about…"
"What am I like in the future then?" Rika asked curiously.
"Well, up until 'The War', you were confident…" she began.
"As always…" Takato added.
"…and occasionally let it get to your head in battle…"
"As always…" Takato added again.
"But you're also caring, although you don't like to show it to others…"
"As…"
"If you say that again Takato, I will personally make sure you can't say it ever again afterwards…" Rika threatened jokily. "And I don't think Rey wants time to be altered that much!"
"Um…ok…" Takato answered, paling back slightly.
"Good…" Rika agreed, Rey smiling at the relationship between the two in relation to her mother's mood swings. "So, what is this whole 'War' thing?" Rika asked, returning to the conversation.
"I really can't be specific…"
Rika sighed. "Fine…" she said sharply, crossing her arms in frustration as she leaned back on the sofa.
"So what do I do in the future, I mean, what was I doing as a job when you started time-travelling?" Takato asked curiously, leaning forward and looking to his daughter.
Rey frowned, sighing as she fell back onto the sofa back and closed her eyes, swallowing a lump in her throat before she began. "Mom, Dad, I haven't seen either of you in my time in a year…when I first saw you two about two years ago in your time…that was the first time I'd seen you in a whole year…"
"What? What the hell happened?" Rika asked, the couple shocked by the revelation. What could possibly have made them leave their child for an entire year, particularly during a war? What was this 'War' anyway?
Rey sighed sadly. "Another thing I can't tell…but…maybe it's why I ended up becoming so emotionally attached and making mistakes…I just wanted to continue things where I left off I guess…" she answered, gazing down at the table in front of her. "The last year has been hell for me; I've been shot at, fainted, betrayed, I even ended up nearly captured several times, I'm public enemy number one!"
"Huh? Why?" Takato asked, horrified by the concept.
"Let's just say that our new 'Lord and Master' has some personal gripes with me…"
"Who is this Lord and Master? What the hell does he think he is?" Rika asked. "Why haven't we dealt with him?"
"There's a reason…" Rey answered. "But I just can't tell you it, at least not until I've fixed the paradox and prevented a particular event happening…"
"So then, time will change and none of what happens in your time will happen?" Takato asked.
"That's the aim, but I still have to pull it off in practice…" Rey answered, frowning. "And I really don't know how I'm going to manage it…"
Rika put her arm around the girl, surprising her while comforting her simultaneously. "Don't worry, we'll help…you're not alone Rey…"
Rey smiled, slightly reassured by Rika's help, but her happiness was weighed by an unfortunate knowledge that they simply couldn't help. Not with this situation.
"So…what does this make us?" Takato asked, confused by the current state of affairs. "I mean, no one is going to believe, outside of our group, that you're our daughter…and…well, what do we do?"
"Well, the name is easy enough; I'm simply from a different family of 'Matsuki's' to your 'Matsuki's'. And I guess that I'm just another Tamer to everyone else really, probably a bit suspect but…well, I check Digital Watch occasionally and they are still stumped as to who I am. Hell, they don't even know my name…"
Takato nodded, as Rika continued with a more personal question. "So…how are we meant to…you know…" she began, before deciding to pause and start again with what she was saying. "I mean, how are we meant to address you, and what kind of relationship would it be?"
"However you want Rika, whether you want to treat me as a daughter, relative or simply a friend…" Rey replied. "After the way I lied to you for so long, you can treat me how you want…" she added, frowning.
Rika noticed her daughter's sadness, and pulled her closer. "Daughter…" she noted.
Rey smiled slightly; glad to know that she'd have someone to care for her, as far as possible at least. "I…I'll still come and go, I don't want to age too much, but I'll try and be there for anything big, like birthdays, important events, and of course, battles." Rika chuckled at the last bit, knowing that that sort of feature in their lives wouldn't be easily silenced. "I love you two though, you cared, or rather will care, for me for my entire life…and I'm really grateful…"
Takato and Rika smiled, nodding. "No problem…" they both answered, still daunted by the prospect of caring for a child at their age. Putting it out of their heads for the time being, they returned to the conversation.
"Something still bugs me…" Takato began, pondering the thought which had plagued him for a while. "There's no problem at the moment since you're still technically in Rika's womb, but…what happens when you're born? Won't it cause confusion? And what happens if you two touch each other?"
"It creates a paradox, I know, so I've got to be very careful about that. The confusion we'll just have to put up with I think…" Rey replied, sighing.
"Listen, Rey, you're welcome to stay at my house anytime you want…I hope that no-one will suspect anything, but I can't promise you that…" Rika said, Rey looking into her eyes thankfully.
"Thanks…that's a lot better than sleeping anywhere I can find when I get tired out from time travelling…"
"No problem…" Rika answered. "The Gogglehead here would help, but I also know that he's only got one bed, and no spare rooms, so you're outta luck there…"
Takato smiled. "Sorry 'bout that…"
"Don't worry…" Rey reassured. Takato nodded, glancing at his D-Vice for the current time, before standing up, a thought occurring to him. "Hey, Rey, you don't have some kind of voice in your head, do you?" he asked.
"Nah…oh, that reminds me, by the way, hi Chaos, hi Harmony, you must be kicking yourselves now!" she teased.
"Not even close…"
"God I hate these incarnations…"
Takato smiled at his alter-ego's annoyance, before looking to Rika. "We probably want to leave about now to see the obstea…obster…ob…um, little help here?"
"Obstetrician…" Rika corrected. "And yeah, we do…" she added, standing up.
"Um…can I come?" Rey asked. "I know that it'll be strange and all, and I probably won't be allowed in, but I'm still curious…not many people get to find out about themselves before they were born…"
Rika smiled, noticing her nervousness which was oddly just like Takato's. However, would it be that easy for her to come? Her name was Rey Matsuki after all; the doctor would surely be suspicious? She also doubted that she wanted her daughter to hear the more delicate details of her relationship with Takato, which would no doubt be mentioned by the doctor. Takato looked up to her curiously, waiting for her answer.
Rika frowned, looking down at the girl who was eager to come. It would be unfair to say no, but at the same time she didn't want her in the room when she was talking to the doctor. "Listen, you can come, but you have to stay outside…"
"Fine…" Rey replied, standing up as Rejimon leapt onto her shoulder again, gripping onto her hair as she began to slip. "Ow, Rejimon, please be more careful!" she complained.
"Sorry…" the red blob replied timidly, as Rey stood up, them all walking away from the sofas and heading for the door, Takato taking the keys in the process.
Renamon focused her eyes on the red blob, trying to figure out who on earth she was, Guilmon doing similarly. Rika glanced at her D-Vice, but found no data. She cocked an eyebrow, whilst Takato asked the question.
"So who is Rejimon?" Takato asked. "What's her normal level?" he added, as he locked the door to the apartment after they'd all passed through it.
"Realmon, a rookie vaccine type…" she answered. "But, at the moment it's just easier for her to be like this, more portable…" she added, as Takato finished with the door and they began to walk down the corridor.
"But why baby level, why not in-training?" Rika asked.
"Not sure really, maybe she just likes it…" Rey replied, looking to her shoulder.
"You speak like she isn't around, why exactly?" Renamon asked, appearing.
Rey smiled. "Sorry, never really mentioned it, I'm kinda telepathic…I speak far more with her than it seems, it's easier for the pair of us…we've got a very deep bond…"
Renamon nodded, understanding. "Impressive, how long have you known each other?" she asked, as Takato pressed the button for the lift.
"Sixteen years…the day I was born was the day I met her…then again, I wasn't exactly aware of who she was back then…and I don't remember it either…" Rey answered, eyes glossed over in reminiscence of the events of her entire life. "I've seen her every day of my life; I just couldn't bear things without her…"
"I know what you mean…" Takato answered. "But that's a lot longer than I've known Guilmon; you must pretty much know everything about each other…"
The lift arrived, and they stepped forwards into it, turning as Takato pressed the button for the floor.
Rejimon nodded, looking to her Tamer. "Yeah…" she replied, her voice timid and quiet as ever. 'I think so at least…' she mentally added, as the doors slid closed.
REAL WORLD
Shinjuku General Hospital
10:58 JST
Rey glanced around the waiting room of the hospital, seeing patients suffering from a range of ailments. The room was glum, and the mood depressive, the drinks machine buzzing away. Rey frowned; it was still ironic that this place was better than medical care back in her time, even with Joe as the head medical expert for the Angels and Tamers.
She pondered how the conversation within the room between the doctor and her parents was going to go. They currently awaited being called forth for the doctor, who she had been informed would be free at eleven. She would naturally end up sitting outside, and she simply hoped she wouldn't die of boredom in the interim. She wished she'd had the chance to get Ryder to fit Tetris to her D-Vice, and she also wished that her time device was accurate enough to skip the duration of the appointment.
"Rika Nonaka…" the nurse called, as Rika nodded, standing up with Takato following. Takato was, typically for when he had to go into a public building like this without causing panic, sans-Guilmon, and Renamon was presumably…somewhere.
"Have fun…" Takato said sarcastically to the redhead who he had recently learnt was his daughter. She nodded, smiling and talking sarcastically in response.
"Oh yeah, I'll have tons of fun…"
Rey only received a smile from the other redhead, as she took Takato's hand, rather tightly as well, and led him down the hallway. Rey sighed, looking to her partner.
"So what can we do to pass the time?" she asked.
"I spy?"
"No…"
"Mornington Crescent?"
Rey chuckled at the name of the game that Ryder had once taught her to play back in her time. It was an odd one, two or more people would name random subway stations, usually ones in London, the city that Ryder lived near for the first sixteen years of his life, and there were strange arbitrary rules that became more and more deceptively cunning as they played. But, nonetheless, Rey didn't particularly feel like it.
"Sorry, don't feel like it…maybe we could just talk?"
"Fine…um…lovely weather we're having?"
Rey rolled her eyes at her partner. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"Yeah…"
"Good…"
11:02 JST
Dr Imai smiled as she saw her latest patient enter her practice, followed by someone who she had a pretty clear idea of the identity of. "Please, come in, take a seat…" she greeted, Rika nodding far more confidently than the brunette with her. "You must be Takato?" she asked.
The boy nodded, clearly unsure about how he was meant to act in this situation. "Yeah…"
"Don't worry; I'm not going to judge you or anything…"
"Okay…" Takato answered. Dr Imai frowned as she sat on her own chair, he didn't seem particularly talkative. Then again, by the sounds of it, he was still dealing with the situation at hand, so she didn't expect him to be.
"Right, so just to be clear on this Rika, who exactly have you told?" Dr Imai asked, turning her attention to the redhead.
"Takato, my Digimon partner Renamon, his Digimon partner Guilmon, and three of our close friends and their partners…one of them came with us today…" she explained. "Other than that, no-one…"
Dr Imai nodded. "Do you currently have a plan for how to tell others, in particular your parents?"
Rika shook her head. "No, I only told Takato yesterday evening, and he fainted in response…we did have a long and nice talk about it when he woke up in the middle of the night…"
"I see…how do you each expect your parents to react?"
"Well…I'm not that sure really…my mother had me when she was young herself, so she may or may not understand…as for my Grandma, she should be understanding about it…I hope…"
"Okay, and what about your father?"
Rika frowned, causing the doctor to see she'd moved on to a conscientious issue. "He left when she was a child…" Takato explained, the doctor nodding in response.
"I see…and what of your parents?"
"Well…my mum will either get really angry or faint and then get really angry…I hope she doesn't get angry, but that's not exactly unlikely…my dad, well, I'm not sure how he'll react, he'll probably be concerned…but…I just don't know…"
"I see…" the doctor replied.
"We also have to tell our friends, and that will hopefully not be too painful…" Takato added, frowning at the concept.
"I see…" the doctor replied. "I think it's probably worth me explaining how this will all work…"
"Yes please…" Rika replied.
"Starting at the seventh week, if I am correct as to the correct time in weeks, you will visit me once a month until the twenty-eighth week, after which it'll increase to two-weekly and then weekly for the last two to four weeks. The first ultrasound would be on the seventh week."
Rika nodded, taking in the information, as Takato tried to do the same, with a limited degree of success, the complicated timescales confusing him somewhat.
"How do you wish me to contact you?" the doctor asked.
"Can you continue to ring me on my cell, it's more private than my landline…also, if anyone else but Takato picks up, find some way out of it, okay?"
"I will…" the doctor replied, smiling at the concept and nodding, as she looked back to the still-nervous Takato. "You can relax Takato, don't worry…" she said, not doing anything to ease his nerves.
"Fine…" he replied.
The doctor frowned, before looking to the pair of them. "If you don't mind, I would like you to explain your current situation in more detail so I can get to grips with it…"
Rika glanced to Takato who nodded, before herself nodding. "Okay…it all started three years ago…that's when we first met, as Tamers, back then we were annoyed by each other at times, friendly at others…"
"Yeah, and then, once we beat the D-Reaper…the large red blob thing, we lost our partners, so we were sad…" Takato continued.
"Then, Takato here finds the portal back to the Digital World, and we go, finding our partners…after I had a fall out with my mother beforehand…"
Takato nodded. "Yeah, I tried to help, but she could be very closed with her emotions…she ended up falling out with one particular person in our group, and storming away…I followed after her, and comforted her, and then it all started…"
"Once we returned to the real world, we started our relationship, in secret of course, since some people in our group of Tamers would be amused by it and annoy us if they knew…
"Yeah, but after several adventures of various sorts, they found out nonetheless…"
"And so we've had a stable relationship for three years and several months…a few months ago, though, I felt some strange new feelings towards Takato, and when we were in New York about five weeks ago, I acted on them…I mean, I asked Takato first, and he agreed, albeit asking me several times whether I was sure…"
Dr Imai smiled; it seemed to fit the personality of the boy from what she had seen perfectly. "Yeah…and then I suppose we ended up here…" Takato finished.
"I see…" the doctor answered. "It is a relief to know that she has someone with her through the process, and I'd like you to know Takato that, while I am first and foremost Rika's obstetrician, I am available to talk if you need to about anything related to this, and you shouldn't feel embarrassed or nervous about it…"
Takato nodded. "Whether that'll make a difference to if he does is another question…" Rika joked, Takato nodding and smiling.
"So, anything else you wish to talk about?" the doctor asked.
"Is there anything I need to be careful with in the beginning of my pregnancy?" Rika asked.
"Well, avoid too much physical stress, although at this early point it is not as important to do so as later…try to eat well, avoid alcohol, and just muster up the courage to tell people…"
"I'm here to help…" Takato said to the redhead confidently, attracting her attention as he took her hand in his. "We can do this Rika…I know it's going to be extremely hard, probably harder than any battle we've ever fought, but we can do it…"
"Thanks…" Rika said. Takato pulled Rika into a kiss, Rika glancing across to the Doctor and pulling away. "Takato, what did I say about being over-sappy in public?"
"Never do it?" Takato asked. Rika nodded, smiling. The pair laughed, and Dr Imai smiled; they seemed to have an interesting relationship, but nonetheless a very deep one.
"So, I'll see the pair of you in two weeks…" Dr Imai said, standing up and the pair of them following as she showed them to the door.
"Yeah…" Rika answered, as she opened it to meet the face of a bored Rey, hands in pockets. Takato and her cocked eyebrows, before Rey explained in no uncertain terms.
"I was bored…"
"Is this your friend?" Dr Imai asked, bewildered by how the person had just been standing outside like that.
"Yeah, this is Rey…" Rika explained.
Rey nodded. "Greetings…sorry about that, I got bored so I decided to walk up here and figure out which room it was, I didn't hear anything so no need to worry about that either…"
"I see…are you a fellow Tamer?" Dr Imai asked.
"Yeah…this is Rejimon…timid so don't expect any answers…" Rey explained, gesturing to the blob with white ears on her shoulder.
"Aw, he's…she's…it's?"
"She…"
"She's so cute…" Dr Imai noted, Rika rolling her eyes at the word which had annoyed her a lot in the past.
"Really? I just think she's cool…" Rey replied. "She kicks ass in her rookie form, not to mention champion and ultimate…"
Takato sweatdropped. This was an odd conversation, between their obstetrician and the baby she would provide prenatal care for, but as a teenager. "Anyway, I hope you can help these two with telling others…"
"Well, I will if they need it…"
"Good to hear…" the doctor answered. "So, I'll see you in…"
A stretcher raced past bustled about by plenty of medical personnel, interrupting the doctor. One of the interns paused, attracting the doctor's attention. "Dr Imai, this patient requires urgent medical attention…"
"Right…" Dr Imai answered, quickly pursuing. Rey, Rika and Takato stared down the corridor as the stretcher moved away, before a black blur came into her vision.
"DarkRenamon?" Takato asked, recognising the shape. She was injured, and looked worn out.
"Follow…quickly…" she said.
Rika glanced to Takato, before running forward, Rey in quick pursuit. They ended up following DarkRenamon who was following the stretcher, all the way into the emergency ward, where the stretcher was taken into a room, Takato, Rika and Rey peering through the window. Their attention, as the doctors hurried around, the door swinging often enough for them to catch parts of dialogue, was drawn to a familiar girl with red-brown hair, green jacket, black t-shirt and blue jeans, all looking worse for wear as a red bat-like Digimon sat on her head, looking over sadly at the person on the stretcher.
"Sixteen year old male…"
"Major injuries in the left side…"
"Serious bleeding…"
"Heart rate unstable…1000 volts…" Dr Imai ordered.
One of the Doctors raised a pair of defibrillator paddles, and put them down, a jolt of electricity running through the boy on the stretcher as their view cleared. On the stretcher, the boy lay, his side bleeding seriously and with major injuries. CPR began on him, as it dawned on the observers who he was.
"Ryder?" Rey panicked.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Just when you thought the epilogue was all about Rika, Takato and the baby, I throw a curve-ball. Please review.
As for the update schedule, expect me to go back and forth between Deviations and Dimensions based on what I feel up to writing at the time, both are different. Dimensions is far deeper at present with all of its back-story, but Deviations tends to have longer chapters and require watching of the episodes that takes a lot of time.
Next time…
What happened to Ryder? Will he survive? Will Rika and Takato manage to tell anyone else?
Find out in 'His Words', Chapter Sixteen of Dimensions Book Five: Demons.
