DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

Chapter Seventeen: Tear the World Down

Sunday 24th October - 1:32pm

Dewsbury District Hospital

As soon as Miranda had parked outside the hospital, Rika flung open the car door and leapt out. She set off at a run for the ward where her mother and grandmother were staying, ignoring the occasional angry shout from a member of staff to slow down. As she rounded a corner and dodged around a poorly-placed table, the girl caught sight of her mother stood by a coffee machine, her left arm in a sling.

"Mum!" the redhead shouted and ran towards the woman, initiating one of the infamous Nonaka Death-Hugs for the first time in years.

"Rika," Rumiko whispered soothingly, returning the hug one-armed.

"What happened? Miranda said the hospital wouldn't tell her anything!"

"We were on our way to Leeds when another car crashed into the side of us. It looks like the brakes failed when they were driving down a hill."

"Where's grandma? Is she okay?" Rika asked as her mother led her towards a private room just off of the main ward.

"She was…she was hurt quite a lot worse than I was," the woman said hesitantly, stopping before she opened the room's door. "She's still unconscious but the doctors say she should be waking up tomorrow or the day after."

"Is she gonna be…?"

"The doctors think she'll be okay, but…" Rumiko sniffled and blinked away a tear. "There's a chance…a very, very small chance…that she might not make it."

"I…can I see her?" the girl asked hesitantly as she let the information sink in.

The blonde-haired model nodded and opened the door slowly, revealing a small, well-lit room dominated by two large hospital beds. One of the beds was empty, while the other was occupied by Seiko, who was dressed in a pale blue hospital gown. The woman's left leg was in a plaster cast and her face was covered with an oxygen mask. The bulk of a thick layer of bandages could clearly be seen wrapped around her chest underneath the gown.

"Grandma…" Rika sighed and rushed to the woman's side, carefully taking hold of her left hand as a lone tear managed to escape and roll down her cheek. A wave of reassuring, soothing thoughts washed over the Tamer as Renamon made use of their telepathic connection.

Rumiko said nothing, merely putting a reassuring arm around her daughter and trying to hold back her own tears without much success. The pair stood there for several minutes before a gentle knock at the door woke them from their reverie.

"Come in," Rumiko called softly and was surprised to see Miranda walk in and close the door quietly behind her.

"Sorry I took so long. Hard to keep up with Rika in these shoes…" the short Irishwoman joked with a small, sad smile and looked at Seiko. "Is she…?"

"They think she'll be okay. There's only a small chance of…" Rumiko replied, trailing off with a shudder. "Thank you so much for bringing Rika here at such short notice. I know you were meant to be packing today…"

"Oh, don't worry about it!" the brunette replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "What about you, Rumiko? Are you alright?"

"Cuts and bruises mostly. I did manage to dislocate my shoulder though," she sighed and rolled her eyes, indicating the sling supporting her left arm. "Of course, the doctors are overreacting. They say they want to keep me in overnight for observation."

"Well, the doctors do know best. That's why they have all those fancy medical degrees!" Miranda said in a stern, maternal voice. "I can't have you running around and doing yourself an injury so soon after an accident, can I?"

"Even if I did stay, there's still the issue of who would look after Rika."

"Oh, I can do that!" the housekeeper replied with another wave of her hand. "I do have two kids of my own, remember?"

"I couldn't let you do that!" Rumiko protested. "You'd have to cancel your holiday to Spain - you've been looking forward to it for months."

"Pah! I can reschedule, the family won't mind. Besides, do you have any other ideas?"

"Actually…" Rika mumbled softly and looked up from her grandmother's unconscious form. "…I might have one."

Matsuki Family Bakery - 1:48pm

"Takato, can you get that?" a woman's voice shouted over the incessant ringing of the bakery telephone.

"Okay, mum!" Takato shouted in reply as he paused his Xbox game and quickly ran downstairs to answer the phone. "Matsuki Family Bakery, how can I help you?"

["Gogglehead?"] a familiar voice erupted from the speaker and the boy frowned in concern as he recognized the speaker.

"Rika, hey. How are your mum and grandma?"

["My mum's okay, she dislocated her shoulder but that's about it. My grandma…she's still unconscious. The doctors think she's gonna be fine, but they don't…know for sure…"]

"I…damn…" Takato whispered, not sure how to reply. "Look, if you need anything…"

["That's kinda why I called,"] the girl replied, pausing for a second before she continued in an uncomfortable tone. ["The doctors want to keep my mum in overnight to keep an eye on her, and I've got…nowhere to go."]

"I can ask my parents if you can stay here if you want," the boy offered. "They shouldn't mind since it's kind of an emergency."

["I…thanks Goggles."]

"Don't go anywhere, I'll be back in a minute," he said and quickly ran downstairs to the bakery kitchen. After quickly explaining the situation to his mother (and using his best 'puppy-dog' eyes) he managed to force an agreement out of the woman and ran back upstairs to give his friend the good news. "My mum says it's okay. Do you need picking up from the hospital, or…?"

["I think I can get a lift back to my place. I'll pick up some stuff and meet you there at about four?"]

"Yeah, that's fine. See you at four, I guess."

["Thanks again Gogglehead. I owe you one."]

"Hey, don't make me make another 'What are Friends For?' speech!" Takato joked, drawing a tiny chuckle from the redhead.

["Not that again…crap, gotta go. Getting a dirty look from a nurse for using my phone."]

"See ya."

Dewsbury District Hospital - 1:52pm

Rika breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up the phone and turned to her mother. "They said yes."

"Good," Rumiko replied with a small smile. "I still think this is unnecessary…"

"Rumiko Nonaka, don't make me chain you to that bed," Miranda warned with a glare. "Doctors and old Irish mothers know best!"

"Yes, ma'am…" the blonde-haired woman sighed and rolled her eyes. Glancing at her daughter, she noticed that she had reverted to her worried, introverted stare at her grandmother's injured form. Seeing an opportunity to distract the girl (as well as get in some gentle teasing), the woman turned to her with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Hmmm…'Gogglehead'…what an odd name for a child."

"Gogglehead is just his nickname," Rika replied and rolled her eyes. "His real name is Takato Matsuki."

"Oh, of course - I remember him! He stood up for you in that fight. His parents own the bakery, yes?" Rumiko asked, continuing when her daughter nodded warily. "So, does everyone call him 'Gogglehead' or is it just you?"

"Just…me…" the redhead replied through clenched teeth, knowing exactly where her mother was going.

"Oh, so it's a little pet name you have for him! How cute…"

"It's not a pet name," the girl growled.

"Of course not dear," the woman replied with an even smile. "He seemed like a nice boy when I met him - quite good-looking too. And he can cook…"

"Mum…" Rika warned her mother, turning to glare at her as she spoke. As the girl turned her head, Rumiko noticed something that immediately replenished her dwindling stock of verbal ammunition.

"Rika…what's that on your neck?"

The redhead frowned and turned to look in the small mirror on her grandmother's bedside table. There was a large, rash-like red mark on her neck where the KoDokugumon had bitten her.

"Oh, I um…got bitten by an insect," she replied, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Really?" her mother asked innocently and took a sip of her coffee. "For a second there, I could have sworn it was a lovebite…"

"MUM!"

The trio spent the next hour talking about whatever came to mind - the accident, work, school, Rika's 'unique' taste in music, Seiko's famous super-sushi and (of course) the weather were the main topics discussed. Rumiko told them that the driver of the other car - a woman called Jane Robinson in her late twenties - had been badly injured in the crash and was in a critical condition in the room just across the hall. Eventually, Miranda and Rika were forced to leave so that the woman could pack for her holiday and the girl could pack for her brief stay at the Matsuki Bakery. As they left Rumiko with the still-unconscious Seiko, Rika glanced through the open door of the room opposite her mother and grandmother's, seeing a brown-haired woman swathed in bandages and connected to a series of monitors and machines. At Jane's side were an older, grey-haired nurse and a girl of about seven with long, reddish-brown hair. The little girl turned, sensing Rika's eyes upon her, and stared sadly at the Tamer with tear-filled eyes. The older girl blinked away a tear as she looked at the stranger's face and saw that she was obviously Jane's daughter. A frown of confusion passed across the younger girl's face as she stared into Rika's eyes, a frown which the Tamer quickly matched as she met the girl's gaze and stared into a pair of violet eyes identical to her own.

Rika arrived at the Matsuki Bakery not long after 4pm and was immediately subjected to a barrage of questions from Mei Matsuki. As the questions started to move away from the topic of her mother and grandmother's health and towards the nature of her 'relationship' with Takato, the boy's father quickly came to the girl's rescue (but not before a quick wink and a thumbs-up to his son). Takato, of course, apologized repeatedly for his parents' behaviour as the Tamers made their way up to his bedroom and Rika began unpacking her backpack. Along with all the basics needed for her overnight stay, she had also brought her Digimon cards and a few Xbox games with her at Takato's suggestion as a way to keep her mind off of things. Aside from a wonderful meal prepared by Takehiro and a quick walk to visit Calumon and Guilmon, their evening was mostly occupied by Rika annihilating the boy in both the card game and the 'Versus' mode of every video game they played. Eventually, both of them tired of the repetitive results and opted for some high-difficulty co-operative missions on a host of different games. The high levels of concentration required for the games meant that the redhead's mind was far too busy to be thinking about anything other than how not to get smashed to a pulp in the next boss fight. Unfortunately, she was jolted back to reality at around 10:30pm by Mei, who decided that it was finally time for the two children to get some sleep.

Matsuki Family Bakery - 10:34pm

Rika glanced quickly at the bathroom mirror as she pulled on her lilac pyjamas and tugged the sleeves down to cover her scarred wrists. With a defeated sigh, the girl reached up and quickly pulled out her hairband, letting her hair fall down and frame her pale face. She gathered her discarded clothes up in her arms and unlocked the bathroom door, making her way to Takato's bedroom and knocking gently.

"Goggles, can I come in?" she called.

"Yeah, sure," he replied as Rika twisted the doorknob and shouldered the door open.

Takato was laid on his bed reading a '.Hack' manga and wearing a pair of dark blue pyjamas. As his fellow Tamer entered the room, he looked up with a grin.

"Wow, I was beginning to wonder if you ever let your hair down!" he joked and went back to his manga. "How come you never let it down at school or anything?"

"I hate having my hair down," the redhead growled in reply. "I only let it down to sleep 'cause it gets tied up in a giant knot if I don't."

"You don't like it? I think it looks nice…" the boy said, then winced and chuckled darkly. "Wow, good thing my mum didn't hear that - she's paranoid enough as it is."

"Hmmm…" Rika mumbled as she carefully retrieved what looked like a stuffed Viximon doll from her backpack.

"Hey, I wondered where Renamon was! What's she been doing in there all this time?"

"That's…not Renamon…" she replied and shuffled her feet in embarrassment.

"Oh…" Takato said as realisation dawned on him. "Um…you're not embarrassed about that are you?"

"What do you think?" the girl sighed as she flopped onto the mattress laid at the side of the boy's bed.

"I think I've got just as much reason to be embarrassed as you," he chuckled and reached under his bed, retrieving a ragged old teddy bear.

"Whoa…that thing's gotta be as old as you!" Rika smirked as she settled in under her borrowed covers.

"Older, actually…my grandma had it made for me when my mum got pregnant," the boy laughed, breaking off with a wince as a depressed look formed on his friend's face. Oh, great going moron! You just reminded her about her grandma! "Look, Rika…if you need to talk or anything…"

"Thanks Goggles," she replied sadly and rolled over, hugging the Viximon doll to her chest.

"No problem…wait, now I'm curious - where is Renamon?" Takato asked after a few seconds, hoping to take the girl's mind off things.

Rika closed her eyes for a second before answering with a small chuckle. "She decided to sleep at Gaomon's Grove so she wouldn't have to put up with Calumon all night. Unfortunately, the little cream puff found her and decided to drag Dino Boy along and turn it into a sleepover."

"Oh, great…" the boy groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told him to stay in his den…"

"To be fair, Calumon can be pretty convincing. Sometimes I think he's not as dumb as he seems."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure Guilmon just didn't listen to me as usual," he replied and rolled his eyes. "So…what's the story behind the Viximon doll? I mean, if it's not too personal…"

"It's okay," the redhead replied with a shrug. "It was a 'thank you' present from Jeri. I saved her and Leomon from a swarm of FlyBeemon."

"Wait, we're meant to get each other presents when we save each other's lives?"

"No, or we'd both be bankrupt right now from buying each other stuff. Jeri's the only one who ever did it - she's just a little weird that way. And she only did it the one time anyway."

"Oh, okay," Takato chuckled and yawned. "Man, I'm exhausted…at least we don't have school for a week. G'night, Rika."

"Goodnight, Gogglehead."

"Renamon…I'm scared."

"Rika…"

"If grandma…if she doesn't…I don't know what I'll do."

"Seiko is a very strong woman and from what I can tell, the doctors in England are of excellent quality. She will survive - I am sure of it."

"But what if she doesn't? Before you came along, she was always there for me when there was nobody else. If she…dies…then you'll be the only one who…"

"Your grandmother is not going to die, Rika. I can sense it. She is strong - much stronger than you realize. And you are wrong - even if she does not make it, your friends and your mother will all be there for you as well as myself. You are not alone."

Monday 25th October - 12:30pm

Dewsbury District Hospital

She's gonna be fine…she's gonna be fine…she's gonna be fine… Rika repeated to herself mentally, a constant stream of soothing thoughts from Renamon complimenting the chant as she walked along the corridor towards her grandmother's hospital room accompanied by Takato and Takehiro Matsuki. Takehiro had offered to drive Rumiko home from the hospital and Takato had come along in case Rika needed any emotional support. Both mental voices halted abruptly, however, as the girl caught sight of her mother stood crying outside the room Seiko had been moved to.

"M-mum?" Rika stammered, her heart seizing up with fear as she walked slowly towards the crying woman. "Is…is grandma…?"

"I'm fine, dear," a voice croaked from inside the room and the redhead turned to see her grandmother sat up in bed wearing a pained smile.

"Grandma!" she shouted with an ecstatic smile and ran towards the woman, embracing her in a careful hug. "Are you okay? When did you wake up?"

"A few hours ago," Seiko replied, hugging her granddaughter back as best she could. "The doctors say I'm going to make a full recovery. Don't look so surprised, dear - it'll take more than that to finish me off!"

"I know, it's just…when I saw mum outside crying, I…"

"Crying?" the brunette asked with a frown. "Rumiko, what's the matter?"

The blonde-haired woman stepped hesitantly into the room, wiping away her tears with the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry…I wanted to tell you before Rika got here, but…" she trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing, Takato and Takehiro appearing at the door as she began to speak again. "Jane Robinson - the driver of the other car - just died."

A stunned silence descended on the room as everyone tried to absorb the information.

"Are you…are you sure?" Seiko asked eventually, eliciting a nod from her daughter.

"Yes. I went back to the ward we were staying on to pick up my jacket and when I arrived…they had just given up trying to resuscitate her."

Silence descended again as Seiko began crying quietly and pulled Rumiko and Rika into a group hug. After several minutes, the blonde-haired woman finally seemed to notice the presence of the two Matsukis.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, drying her eyes and standing up straight. "Thank you again for offering us a ride home. You probably need to get back to the bakery…"

"No, it's alright," the elder Matsuki replied with a gentle shake of his head. "Take as long as you need - my wife and Rinchei will be fine for the afternoon."

Rumiko nodded and the quintet quickly engaged in idle conversation, discussing every topic under the sun. After about an hour, there was a gentle knock at the door and a young, dark-haired doctor stepped into the room carrying a blue folder stuffed with papers.

"I'm sorry to interrupt - Ms Nonaka, could I speak to you outside?" he asked, looking at Rumiko with a sad expression. "This shouldn't take long."

"Of course," the woman replied, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. "So, what is this about?"

"As you may have heard, Miss Robinson died earlier today."

"Yes, I…I heard about that," Rumiko replied, blinking away a tear. "She…she had a daughter, didn't she? What's going to happen to her?"

"That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about," the doctor answered, prompting a confused frown to appear on the blonde-haired woman's face. "The girl is in state-organized care at the moment. According to our records, she has no living relatives on her mother's side and her father left before she was born."

"The poor thing…have you managed to track down her father?"

"Not yet, but you might be able to help with that. This might just be an odd coincidence of name, but have you ever seen this man?" the doctor asked and pulled a photo out of his folder.

Rumiko stared at the photograph in open-mouthed shock. The man was in his early twenties, pale-skinned with short, red hair and piercing violet eyes. It looked like the picture had been taken at a pub or bar somewhere, as he was surrounded by people drinking. There was a woman hanging off of his arm that Rumiko vaguely recognized as a much younger version of the late Jane Robinson. Her fears were confirmed as she read the name handwritten on the back of the photo.

"Are you sure this man is her father?"

"Yes, we are. This photograph was taken back in 2002, so he may have changed since th-"

"I know him," the woman interrupted and slumped onto a chair next to the door to her mother's room. "I wish I didn't, but…I know him."

Nonaka Residence - 4:20pm

Rika frowned in concern as her mother slumped onto the living room sofa with a sigh. Ever since she had spoken to that doctor, she had been quiet and withdrawn, barely even acknowledging events around her. This was completely unlike her normal, overly-talkative self, so the girl was understandably worried. The woman had then spent over two hours after they had arrived home making hushed telephone calls locked in her room, using her mobile instead of the landline so that Rika couldn't listen in. After a few minutes of silence, the redhead finally worked up the courage to confront the woman.

"Mum…what's going on?" she asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean dear?" Rumiko replied absent-mindedly and gently bit her top lip, not meeting her daughter's gaze.

"I'm twelve, not stupid," Rika snorted. "You've been acting weird ever since that doctor talked to you. Plus, you have a tell when you're lying about something. So, what did he tell you?"

"Rika…you may want to sit down for this," the woman sighed, motioning to the spare seat next to her on the sofa.

"Mum, what's going on?" the girl asked as she sat down, genuine worry working its way into her heart. "Are you sick? Is grandma sick?"

"No, it's nothing like that. We're both fine," she replied. "I only found this out today, but…you have a sister."