Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon
The Dreamer
Chapter: 3
Renamon phased in and out of view as she followed her partner through the paths of the park, hopping from tree branch to tree branch until they began to enter the area of the city. Leaping up to the nearest rooftop Renamon paused a moment to watch Rika begin to lose herself in the crowd of people as she made her way home to meet her mother, a small smile on her face as she slowed to a walk, but still keeping a rapid movement to her pace. Renamon smiled as well as her gaze followed the red haired girl through the crowd. For the past few days, ever since the day where she and the rest of the Tamers that she occasionally referred to as the goof troupe had hung out together during the Hanami celebration, she had been… different. Renamon, to borrow a human saying, couldn't quite put her finger on it but Rika had been… lighter she guessed she could say. Happier. Not that she hadn't been before, especially after she had fully accepted Renamon as her friend as well as her partner back when their partnership had begun, but lately there had been a warm glow in her eyes and an increased willingness to lower her standards and let herself go, acting a little more childishly then normal, and as a result creating a strange amalgamation of the Rika that she knew and a Rika that befitted a much younger child. The change was subtle, barely noticeable from anyone else's perspective except in certain cases such as when last week she and the other Tamers had involved themselves in a game of Frisbee…
That had been where it all began actually. The Hanami celebration from last week, or Cherry Blossom Watching as it is more commonly known. She hadn't been too thrilled to begin with, and with good reason. Jeri asking her to hang out with her and Takato, which had apparently been a cover for Jeri's nervousness around the boy was certainly not the highlight of her day as it made her feel like she was a third wheel and a babysitter as well. Hooking up with Henry and his family provided a good way to escape those feelings and not feel as though she were intruding on anything, but a little teasing from Jeri had brought some memories to the surface, memories from when Takato had asked the fiery Tamer to go Cherry Blossom Watching with him on the day of her birthday, shortly before the whole Parasimon fiasco. All of this was a month in the past, but being reminded of it, by an unknowing Jeri no less, was a little disconcerting for Rika, who normally didn't care about such things. Throughout the course of the day Rika had had bouts with her emotions, wondering as to why she had been upset by the situation and what it was that she felt for the goggle-wearing boy that was her friend, while paradoxically avoiding the question outright, fearing that resolving the issue might harm what her two friends, Jeri and Takato had together. In the end, all those emotions served as fuel that allowed her to blow off some steam during the last Frisbee game of the day between the Tamers, and she had thrown herself into it with an abandon that was quite unlike her, no longer caring in the least about her worries or her feelings and all of her inhibitions were let go, where they blew away in Shinjuku's breeze.
Afterwards things had settled down and more or less returned to normal, just as they were before that day of Hanami. Things had been altered yes, but not overly so. Friendships had remained as they were prior to that day, but there were some differences, and Rika's change in attitude was one of them. Her present, brighter attitude was more than enough, for the moment anyway, to overshadow everything else that had occurred on that day.
Renamon's eyes narrowed as she remembered some of the things that had gone on that day, some things that Rika had not been made aware of. While she didn't think it was anything serious, the realm of emotions, she had found out ever since meeting up with Rika, was chaotic enough to blow things out of proportion. Renamon's conversation with Jeri at Guilmon's hut for example…
Renamon pushed those thoughts out of the way, determined to not think about them for the time being. True, Jeri had some questions, just questions that needed to be asked and deserved answers to, and even Renamon had approached Takato about them… but should they have been asked? Especially since they had no answer that the goggle-wearing Tamer could easily supply since he knew so little about the subject himself?
Not for the first time, Renamon's thoughts went back to the memory of her asking Takato about his dream. She had told him that at some point they should discuss the subject, as it was one of the few mysteries from their adventures that hadn't been explained with any detail, or even a clue as to why or how it happened. But was it really worth it? When Jeri had heard about it from her eavesdropping on Rika and Renamon's conversation it had shaken her, and had left her with many doubts in regards to her relationship with Takato. As Renamon recalled from her own discussion with the puppet-loving girl, the word destiny had figured quite big in her doubts. No doubt there were others to go along with it but that one on its own was enough to sow the seeds within her mind and heart, and that troubled the vulpine digimon.
With a flick of her tail, Renamon phased out of view as she continued to follow her Tamer while in her heart the hope that things would work out burned brightly. Perhaps a visit to Jeri's home at some point was called for to see what she still thought of the matter…
Rika made her way down the streets of Shinjuku, a small smile on her face as she cast her mind on the winds of thought and let them take her where they will. She thought about her mother and her return home from a trip overseas dealing with the latest fashion designs. She had wanted to take Rika along with her, and the feeling was mutual on her part as well (though she still maintained a high distaste for the world of fashion and all of its glamour), but Rika's schedule with school combined with her own duties as a Tamer did not really allow for much in the way of such extended mother/daughter bonding. They had grown closer since the events of the D-Reaper's invasion of the real world, and tried to at least do something together as a family once a week. Rika had come to enjoy those moments with her mother as they allowed them to learn some things about each other that they hadn't been able to prior to her digimon adventure. Her mother had come a long way from the woman who had refused to accept the fact that Rika was her own person with her own tastes, and had even surprised her daughter on a few occasions, revealing an inner strength, fortitude, and talents that the red haired Tamer hadn't thought her capable of, or even suspected existed. A pleasant surprise to be sure, and one that she appreciated as it allowed her to grow closer to her family, just as she had grown closer to Renamon and afterwards Takato, Henry, Jeri… heck, even Kazu, Kenta, and Ryo, even if the first two annoyed her to the extreme, but they were her friends nonetheless.
Friends.
The word made Rika's smile grow wider as she thought about the group of Tamers that she had grown to call friends during the past year that she had known them. Funny as she thought about it once again, as she had done multiple times in the past. They were certainly an odd bunch that was for sure. Here and there, there were a couple who almost passed for what qualified as normal among them, but for the most part they were a rarity. Or perhaps she had judged them too hard on first meeting them, but it's not like her remarks to their character weren't well earned, especially the one who was their unofficial leader…
Rika's eyes became more thoughtful as she thought about the Tamer that she had called Gogglehead on their first meeting, and her smile transformed into what passed for a mischievous grin. She had to admit, he had surprised her today with his victory. Not that she believed that there was much to it that was special, after all, sooner or later anyone got lucky (just like a certain Legendary Tamer did she maintained though there was no denying his skill when it came to the Digimon Card game) and Takato, against all odds and in spite of being distracted (more so than usual anyway) had walked away with victory. And oddly… she didn't mind all that much. Sure, she had wanted a rematch, but it didn't feel the same way that it did when Ryo had beaten her shortly before his jaunt into the digital world. With Ryo she had started out being angry with the Legendary Tamer for the way he had beaten her, the way he acted and, in her eyes, had flaunted his skills, laughing and joking his way through their match with such ease that she hadn't believed that he actually took her seriously. Of course, that was all part of his strategy. His act had thrown her off, irritated her to the utmost with his teasing. Afterwards she had seen him as a challenge to surmount, something to aspire for and she trained herself vigorously for their next encounter, only to be disappointed the next year when he hadn't shown up the next year.
She had long since gotten over that disappointment of course. She understood that being trapped in the digital world had a way of getting in the way of things, even if she hadn't been as understanding as she should have been upon their second meeting. All the anger that she had felt then towards the Legendary Tamer had long since become a friendly sort of rivalry, and she still saw him as a challenge that needed to be overcome, and she respected him though she was loathe to admit it. With Takato though…
Rika's eyes flashed in amusement as she remembered the look on his face when they had both realized what had happened and she felt her grin grow as a feeling of mild surge of excitement race through her body at the thought of Takato getting flushed and worried that she was going to pound him into the ground for winning for once against the famed Digimon Queen, or better yet, have Renamon do it for her. That look of a cornered animal brought back memories from last week when he had walked in on her singing in the middle of the park. He had thought that she was going to beat him up then… well, he hadn't said it but she knew that he was thinking it. When it came to maintaining a poker face, Takato failed rather miserably, even when he made an effort to hide something you knew it in the way he talked, walked, and smiled, every motion and word jerking with the kind of nervousness that screamed 'I know a secret'. It wasn't that he couldn't keep a secret, as he could when the situation warranted, but when the situation didn't and someone, such as herself, put pressure on him…
Rika had to wonder just how it was that he had kept Guilmon a secret from his parents for as long as he did.
Stupid Gogglehead, thought Rika as amusement danced in her eyes, the thought almost as traditional as the use of goggles in the digimon TV show. She hadn't thought much about the kid before, and had looked down on him at the beginning of their relationship, but like herself that had changed as time progressed. She certainly thought of him more fondly than she ever cared to admit in the past that was for sure, especially after last week…
Rika's eyes softened as she remembered that moment in the park when they had taken a break on a bench in the same place that he had caught her singing in the day before. She had sung for him then as well, when he had asked, a rather surprising thing to do she had felt, and she knew that Takato was just as surprised as she had been, and even afraid of how she would respond to such a request, which was one reason why she had sung her song for him to begin with, if only to show him that she valued his friendship. And then, when they had looked into each other's eyes…
She wasn't blind to the subtle changes and alterations that had gone on in between the two of them that had had them progress from being mortal enemies, to acquaintances, and finally to friends. It was hard not to notice since they were about as opposite as anyone could get. A goofy kid who had as hard a time keeping his balance and not tripping over his own shadow as he did keeping secrets and a girl who carried herself with a cool air of professionalism that was as natural as breathing, who was good at what she did and knew it too. Grouchy on occasion, sometimes cynical in contrast to Takato's almost constant smiles and child like mentality, and she was sometimes frustrated by it just as she could be amused by it at the same time. Opposites and yet they were friends, friends in both her mind and thoughts.
And yet, after last week she had found her thoughts drifting to him more and more. Not enough to be really noticeable, but they were there. Little things really, such as how easily he got flustered, and the way he looked when he got embarrassed or worried, no matter how small the problem was or what it was. It did annoy her sometimes but that was just how he was just like she couldn't help how she was. She imagined that he had his fair share of grievances with her too, though she doubted that he'd ever admit them to her face, just like she didn't directly ask herself why her thoughts were drifting to him more than they used to. She didn't want to entertain the possibility that she was developing a crush on the Gogglehead, but the memory from last week when she had walked him home and sung her song for him kept coming to mind often enough to make her wonder about it, but every time it did she would disregard it, thinking it to be nothing more than a trip down memory lane. And then, with that said the memory of her sitting with the boy would return, one arm wrapped around his shoulder as they both looked into the other's eyes, the last few words of her song tapering off in the fading light of the sunset, and a warm sensation similar to what she had experienced then would return, and as a smile crept across her face, she would wonder.
As the red headed girl made her way down the winding streets that led to her home, intent on meeting up with her mother and spending some time with her before the day was out and life demanded that they part ways again for a short while, the memory of that day in the park hung there, an unspoken presence in the girl's mind.
And, almost unknowingly, she smiled at it.
A/N: Eh. Not too much going on at this point, just trying to find a plot right now and get a hold on some of the character's thought processes as I progress through the fic, so I'd say that this was probably more filler than anything else. Takato's will certainly be something of a challenge, one that I'm looking forward to working with but at the present I have only a few scenes planned with little connection to each other, though they should prove to have their own measure of amusement and development, though there is one scene around the end that I'm thinking on, but have to think carefully about how to approach it. Until then I'll see where this goes for now. 'Till next time then. Later.
-Crazyeight
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