A/N: Extra-special thanks goes to Smartalec121 for their beta read of this chapter and their patience. Loving your work, dude. :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, nor do I own When the World's Not Ending, by Smartalec121 or any of their associated works.
Off the Beaten Path
Chapter: 06/ Rika's Quest
The girl, Rika, had been on and off his thoughts in the day since he saw her chucking rocks at Gaiomon. It was not exactly a normal sight for most humans, in his experience, and he couldn't help but admire her bravery. Worry accompanied the memory though, and with it came still more memories, this time of Jeri, held prisoner by the D-Reaper, using her grief from Leomon's death to fuel its own evolution in a bastardized version of the digimon/human partnership. Granted, he knew Rika wasn't a prisoner any longer and had been relieved to get the news. Certainly, last night had been the best bit of sleep he had in a long time because she turned up safe and sound. He even drew! But the fact that she had been kidnapped in the first place hung in the back of his mind, and now here she was in front of him, asking to become a Tamer and spouting a story about visiting another reality where she had been one.
Takato could only feel bewilderment by the alternate reality story – though as far as his imagination went, it was hardly the strangest idea he could envision – leaving him uncertain as to how to respond to it. Rika's request to become a Tamer on the other hand caught his attention and focused his thoughts.
For an instant, he was twelve again and in Chuo Park, watching his friends Kazu and Kenta play the digimon card game. Kenta expressed his desire to become a Tamer, immediately followed by Kazu, who began practicing a digi-modify pose to show how ready he was to be a Tamer.
Then Jeri arrived, one day fresh from Leomon's initial rejection, her expression determined and an impressively large deck of digimon cards in hand.
"I wanna learn how to play the card game, now who's gonna teach me how to use these?"
It was so easy to see Jeri in place of Rika right now. Jeri, whose partner, Leomon, had died because he hadn't been a good enough teacher. Who ultimately died herself because of him.
It all flashed through his mind so quickly, and just as quickly he was pushing the memories away without even realizing it. Next to Rika, Guilmon looked at him with growing concern.
"No," he said firmly with a shake of his head. "No, I won't."
Rika's expression took several interesting turns all at once. First, her violet eyes widened in startlement, an indication that she hadn't expected 'no' for an answer. Then a blaze of anger kindled within them, so bright and strong that Takato felt muscles in his legs twitch, wanting to take half a step back to avoid the fists he saw already forming in her hands. Then, much to his surprise, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and upon reopening them, the fire now burned low. It remained, but it had been banked.
"Right," she said quietly, more to herself than to him. "That was stupid of me."
"Huh?" Takato blinked, taken aback by her quick emotional shifts. Before he could pursue that line of thinking, Calumon's loud, sorrowful moan caught his attention. Turning, he saw the creampuff digimon lamenting over a fallen grocery bag and its spilled contents of Guilmon bread. Guilmon was sniffing them, looking equally forlorn at the loss of such delicious loafs.
"Ohhh… Poor bread. What happened?"
"Takato ran into my friend whose name I don't know and she dropped it!" Puffing up his cheeks, Calumon fixed Takato with a fearsome glare. "You need to watch more where you're going! That bread and my friend could have gotten hurt!"
"H-Hey!" Takato's eyes went wide in bewilderment as he held up his hands defensively. In spite of herself, Rika giggled.
"Calumon, I already told you that I'd buy you some fresh bread. You don't need to get all in his face about it. Besides, I walked right into him. If you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me."
Rika fixed Calumon with a stern look, but for a wonder the tiny digimon didn't back down.
"Calumon…" Guilmon began. Picking up a loaf, he blew on it and dusted it off with a claw. "Look. The bread's fine. It's still tasty."
"But Takato wasn't watching where he was going!"
Groaning, Takato palmed his face.
"I'm sorry, okay?" he said. "I'll do better from now on."
Calumon held Takato's gaze for a moment longer before his expression shifted back to a blazing smile.
"Okay! That sounded more like the Takato I know, so I'll accept your apology! And more bread!"
"I'll be getting the bread, like we promised," Rika stepped in. She glanced at Takato. "Your family runs a business, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
"Then I'll be buying." She gave another stern look to Calumon. "No freebies, Calumon. Besides, I should make it up to him for walking right in front of him without looking."
"Um…" Takato scratched the back of his head, his surprise and confusion growing. "Thanks?"
"Sorry about that," she said, giving him an apologetic smile. "Let's start over. You want to hear about what Kuzuhamon wanted from me, right?"
Oookay… What's going on here? Takato glanced over at Guilmon, who looked equally puzzled.
"Uh, sure," he said warily, adjusting his school bag. His earlier emotions had dissipated a little. Not completely, but enough for his mind to feel less clouded by the past. "But what was all that about earlier?"
"It's related." She gestured to the bakery. "Is there somewhere we can talk? Privately?"
Takato pressed his lips together, not in the least bit sure what to make of this girl. He had the distinct feeling he was being outflanked and he didn't like that. Yet, his concern over her recent kidnapping and how it related to what she said tugged at him. Now that he was getting over his initial shock and putting things together into something that could be called chronological order, he began to wonder about her words and the events surrounding them.
"You went to another reality," he began carefully. "One where you're a Tamer."
Rika cocked her head to one side and arched an eyebrow that looked a little annoyed, but curious where he was going with this.
"Yeah," she nodded. Takato mirrored her gesture.
"Just making sure I'm hearing things right," he replied. "And the Kuzuhamon kidnapped you to…ask about that?"
"There's a bit more to it than that." Rika shrugged. "But yeah. That just about sums it up."
"Okay." Takato frowned a little. Something about this still didn't sit right with him, but Guilmon didn't report anything out of the ordinary with her except for the fact that he smelled their scents with hers. 'Odd' smells, but still identifiably them even though they never actually met before.
That's a point in her favor. He ran through a list of possible locations for their discussion. The hideouts out of the question for sure.
He wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of having her in his home, but it was far better than access to the digital world. In either case, she didn't appear dangerous, and he doubted she would have tried to help him by attacking a Mega if she intended him or anyone else harm. In either case, he would have Guilmon with him. He would message Yamaki before they did anything else so that he wouldn't have to search very hard for them.
"Okay," he said hesitantly, starting toward the alleyway on the left of the bakery. From out of the corner of his eye, Rika appeared to relax a little. She still looked tense and nervous, but he supposed that was to be expected, all things considered.
As they crossed the street, Calumon flitted atop Guilmon's head.
"Hi!" the creampuff digimon chirped happily.
"Hi, back!" Guilmon replied with a happy smile. "It's been a long, long time since I last saw you. Smelled you plenty though. How have you been?"
"I went to a wedding!" Calumon laughed delightedly.
"Oh? That sounds like fun! Was there lots of cake?"
"There was, but I wasn't allowed anywhere near it. But Masahiko's new dad is very funny! He knows so many good jokes!" A dark cloud fell over Calumon's face and his ears shrank into his head. "Masahiko's not very happy about it though. I'm worried about him. He doesn't want his new dad. I wanted to see if Guilmon bread would make him feel better."
"Hmmm…" Guilmon wasn't sure what to say. He met Jeri's younger half-brother only once at her funeral, and so didn't know him very well. "Well, I guess it's not a bad idea. Sometimes I eat when I feel sad and miss Terriermon, Henry and the others."
"You don't sound like you're sure," Calumon observed.
"Ha? Oh." Guilmon tapped a claw on his chin. "Well, I guess I'm just not sure because it hasn't really worked for me and all it's done is make me gain weight. But Masahiko's younger so maybe it'll work? Takato's dad once told me teenagers are moodier because of their hormones. But I don't know if that has anything to do with it."
"Well, I've seen lots of teenagers, so maybe he's on to something. Say, what are hormones? Is it like that weird stuff girls put on their faces?"
Takato glanced worriedly at the two digimon, feeling bad for them and especially for Masahiko.
I can't believe that I haven't checked in with him to see how he was doing, he thought to himself as they neared the door. I miss Jeri so much, but he probably misses her even more. And his dad…
Takato clenched his eyes shut, remembering the man, and how he had thrown himself at one of the D-Reaper's agents, desperate to get his daughter back and furious over how it abused her. Remembering how the agent – a towering, pink, humanoid figure with a body covered with snapping mouths, all of them speaking in Jeri's voice – threw him high into the air whereupon he inevitably came crashing down, head first, onto the hard pavement below.
No! Takato began to shake, seeing the image of red and ruin where the man's head had been. Don't think about it! Don't!
"Takato?"
"Ah!" Takato jumped. Startled, he whirled about on Guilmon, to find the digimon staring at him with big eyes full of worry. "Guilmon?" He coughed. "Ah, what's up?"
"Um… You don't look so good," noted Rika with a concerned frown. Guilmon looked up at her in appreciation and approval.
"I-I'm fine," he croaked, and he glanced at Rika. Her expression was a little flat, but penetrating. He looked away uncomfortably, feeling like he was being analyzed. "I just g-get distracted sometimes. Back in elementary I used to get in trouble a lot for daydreaming."
Man, that sounded lame, even to me, he thought, digging in his uniform's pocket for his house key. He caught it, lost it, and then caught it again before fishing it out.
"M-Must be pretty weird, huh?" he continued awkwardly, trying to keep the thread of conversation going. His hand, he saw, still shook a little. Unbeknownst to him, so did Rika.
"Hm?" distracted a little by the tremor she saw.
"The digimon?" Takato offered. "I mean, most people are."
Rika gazed at him, leaving him with the feeling that she wasn't buying his story.
"Kind of a little," she said after a moment, her violet eyes still penetrating him. "At least for me. This must be normal for you though, huh?"
"You get used to it." Fitting the key into the lock, he turned it and pulled it open. "But we're the weirder ones to them though. Did you know digimon don't have parents? Weird, huh?"
"Yeah…" Uncertainly, Rika followed the boy inside and looked about her, getting the lay of the land she was entering. The home, such as it appeared, had a cramped feel to it, and she could feel the energetic bustle from the business section from just this hallway. But it had a bit of a cozy feel that kept things from being claustrophobic or overwhelming. Smells of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, and she felt her anxiety decrease just an inch more. Not much further than that however. She was still a stranger visiting a stranger's house after all.
She watched Takato. He seemed a bit better now that he was inside, but that shake she saw hung in her mind.
I've got my work cut out for me, she thought.
"I'm home!" Takato called, making his way down the hall and ducking through another door. Following him, Rika saw the woman from the register poke her head in.
His mother? she wondered.
"Oh, Takato! Guilmon! Welcome back!" Spotting Rika, she lifted an eyebrow. "And you brought someone."
"Pardon my intrusion," Rika said, bowing her head politely and giving the woman a small smile. "I'm Rika. I want to give my thanks for everything your son has done for the city."
From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow pass over Takato's face, but only for a second. Turning toward the woman, he gave an awkward laugh.
"Ah, she s-says she wants to talk to me about what happened. You remember what I said last night, right? About how she got kidnapped?"
"Oh, this is her?" The woman took a step closer to Rika and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about what happened. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Rika continued to give her best, polite smile.
"My son had been very happy to hear that you turned up safe." The woman cast a concerned look at the boy. "He worries a lot." She turned back toward Rika. "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Mie, his mother. Will you be staying long? We'll be closing down once the final rush is finished. If you'd like, you can join us for supper."
"It's all right," Rika replied, not in the least bit sure she was ready for that level of involvement with Takato's family. "I don't want my parents to worry. I just need to chat with Takato about what happened." Her expression became serious. "I think it might be important. Also, I'll be buying some of your Guilmon bread before I go. I promised Calumon."
"And I promise not to drop it again!" Calumon said, his ears popping open from his spot atop Guilmon's head. Takato's mother crossed her arms, looking a little uncertain.
"As much as it pains me to say it, don't make that into a habit, otherwise Calumon will drive you bankrupt. These digimon are bottomless."
"Ohhh…" Guilmon moaned, his ears drooping. "That's not true. I get full eventually."
Laughing, Takato patted his partner.
"It's okay, boy. You know she's not saying that to be mean."
"I'm only speaking the truth. After all, we've had to put you on a diet quite a few times these last few years Not to mention discourage our customers from feeding you. If you get too fat, you can't help Takato save pretty young girls like this one."
"Ah, geez. Mom, do you have to say it like that?"
Blushing, Rika looked at Takato from out of the corner of her eye. The boy was plainly embarrassed, a bit of a changeup from earlier. But the image of his shaking hand remained fixed in her mind.
Something happened back there. It happened right after Calumon and Guilmon were talking about this Masahiko and something to do with his mom remarrying. So, it's someone he knows.
She frowned slightly.
There's a lot that I don't know about him.
Mie looked back and forth between her son and Rika. Seeing the girl's slight frown and sensing she was intruding on them now, she gave a polite laugh.
"I can see that I'm getting in the way of you two, so I'd better get back out there before the customers get impatient. Go on, have your conversation." She paused before looking at Rika with a smirk. "Don't let his head get up in the clouds. Lord knows he needs enough help keeping his feet on the ground. And Takato. No funny business while you two are alone."
"Don't worry, Mom," Takato sighed. "Nothing weirds going to happen." His mother departing, he turned back toward Rika, his face burning red. "Moms, right?"
"You have no idea," Rika said without much amusement. She cleared her throat. "So, where do you want to do this?"
"My room is fine," he said, starting up the stairs leading up to the living section of the bakery. "There won't be much of a chance of us being interrupted." He froze, realizing how that must have sounded to Rika. "Uh, I mean, having our talk interrupted. I mean…"
"Chill, Gogglehead," Rika smirked, albeit blushing a little herself. "I know what you meant."
Takato opened his mouth to respond, only to hesitate. One hand drifted up to his forehead, which currently remained bereft of his goggles. "Gogglehead? That's a little… Wait! How did you even know about those?"
"I saw you wearing them right before you and Dinoboy became your fancy knight form. Your other version wore them too, but I'm guessing you wear them often enough that I could spot you with them on by chance over here, right?"
"Uh, right." Takato scratched the side of his head before resuming his trek up the stairs. "You know, it sounds really weird when you say you went to another dimension. I mean, not that I don't believe you, especially with all the weird things I've seen, I just…find it weird, I guess? If that makes sense?"
"I get the gist of it," Rika replied, following after him. "It was weird for me too. I'm already used to the idea of digimon visiting our world, but suddenly finding myself in what looks like my own yard but there's another version of me with all her friends there. People I didn't…" Rika caught herself at the last minute. "…I didn't know."
Her voice faded a little, wondering just how much she should divulge about the Other-World. Takato had refused to teach her to be a Tamer and reacted negatively to the notion.
He's probably thinking of the others. His friends who died. Her eyes softened and a part of her ached to reach out to him. She could only guess as to how losing so many of his friends made him feel. Just looking at him gave her a pretty good clue. He appeared to be sixteen, like her, but his eyes were older. Older and afraid of what the future would bring from the digital world.
If I tell him that they're all still alive in that Other-World because of one, stupid difference, he might flip. Even if he sees that it wasn't his fault, figuring out that there was nothing he could have done to save them might…might even break him.
Rika's breath caught in her throat as the enormity of Takato's situation shook her and her foot paused on the last step.
Am I making a mistake by being here? What happens if I accidently hurt him? I…
"Hey, are you all right?"
Snapping back to attention, Rika saw that she had frozen and he nearly left her behind. She wrestled in indecision for a moment, torn between the desire to leave for his sake and wanting to help lift his burdens. Her hesitant step forward was the hardest she could remember.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she said, her eyes on him, thinking of his friends and how they were alive in another world, all because of one difference. One person.
I can't run away from this. I can't!
"I guess it's just hitting me about how different Other-Me's life must have been," she said lamely, trying to brush off her momentary hesitation.
Takato gave her a curious look as they drew up to his door.
"Yeah, I guess that would be pretty weird," he said, sliding the door open and revealing his room. Entering, he flicked on the light.
"Make yourself at home," he said, dropping his schoolbag on the floor. From Guilmon's head, Calumon flew off, taking Takato's words to heart and rushing over to the boy's bunkbed. Rika followed his flight for a moment before casting her gaze about the room. It was a lot smaller than her room, and the windows didn't offer much of a view beyond the buildings next to them. But it was cozy enough with what looked like good wood. Rika took a second to take in the trappings of the boy's life. An old, dated television lay to her immediate left by the door and a desk sat on the far end of the room beneath a small window, covered with all kinds of odds and ends, at least in terms of paper. A quick glance revealed numerous drawings of varying quality, but good enough to show that Takato had talent for the craft. One of low quality caught her attention however. A crudely drawn and colored digimon that was most obviously Guilmon despite its rather faded look. It had a rubber band wrapped around it and a number of other papers. She didn't pry, but she made a mental note of the lack of a hazard sign on the Rookie's white chest – an unusual difference compared to the live-action version that protected her city.
Moving on from that, she spotted a box of digimon cards.
"You play the game?" she asked, remembering how she saw the Other-Takato use a card to digivolve Guilmon to his Champion form.
"Not much anymore," Takato replied. "I've kind of had my hands full. Did you?"
"Yep!" Rika nodded a bit more enthusiastically than she would have liked. "Even won a few tournaments back when I was a kid. Been a while though, but I think I can pick it back up."
A small smile touched Takato's lips and Rika couldn't help but mirror it. For half a second, she thought about mentioning that she was the Digimon Queen of legend, but decided against it. The title didn't really mean much when it came to being a Tamer.
"That's cool," Takato said. "Maybe sometime we could have a match?"
"I brought my deck, so I'm ready whenever you are," Rika replied with a smile, feeling rather excited at the prospect of dueling one of the Tamers. At least until she remembered the whole point of her being here. "Not that I was expecting anything like that. I had to talk to you about what happened, remember?"
"And you wanted to be a Tamer," Takato said, his eyes becoming distant again.
"You don't like that idea."
"No, not really," Takato admitted. "It's not like the game. This is dangerous and it's real! You could get hurt. Even killed!"
Seeing the intensity in his eyes, Rika nodded. "Other-Me said something like that too. Not exactly like that, but it was implied." Folding her arms together, she leaned back against Takato's desk. "It wasn't easy to hear either. I was there and so was-was she. The Other-Me." She cursed herself. It seemed like her tongue kept trying to betray her."She was a real brat about it, but she wasn't wrong."
She harumphed, not happy with the admission. At the same time, she couldn't' deny it. The reality was in the experience of her version of Takato after all. Being a Tamer was dangerous, and there was a very good chance she could end up dying.
"But when I was over there, I saved someone. A little girl that was in the path of a Raremon. If I wasn't there, she'd be dead. I guess I can't help but think about all the people Other-Me saved. And because I wasn't a Tamer like her…" She trailed off, afraid to go further and reveal what she knew. Deciding to hide her fear with anger towards herself, her eyes flashed up at Takato.
"Well? Do you get it now?"
Takato rubbed the back of his head. Even though he didn't want her to become a Tamer, he had no real argument against what she said to him.
"You know, she kind of sounds like you, Takato," Guilmon prompted, desiring to break the quiet that had fallen in the room. Takato gave his partner a slight, scolding frown for having his train of thought broken.
"Let's table that for now and come back to it later," he said, turning back to Rika. Her glower softened, indicating she was readily amenable to that compromise.
"Okay," she agreed. "Would you hear what I have to say about Kuzuhamon?"
"Please. Ah, would you like anything first? A snack? A drink?"
"I'm fine," Rika said. "I'd rather get down to business. Gaiomon and Kuzuhamon are working together. I don't really get it, but until they saw me, they were worried that you were the cause of their problems. Apparently, there's a bad version of you running around causing trouble. Gaiomon was testing you to see if you were their bad guy. You weren't, so maybe they'll leave you alone now. But then they spotted me when I ran in after you."
And saved you, she thought, but didn't say it out loud.
"So, what was it about you that got their attention?" Takato asked, taking a seat on the floor.
"The Suzie from the other place used a card that brought me over here. I guess it left a fingerprint or something. They asked me some questions. I told them I didn't think they had anything to worry about."
"Suzie's a Tamer over there too, huh?" Takato mused aloud. His mind was already working, as was Guilmon's.
"If she can do something like that with just a card, then maybe our Suzie can too?" Guilmon offered.
"Maybe." Takato ran a finger over his chin in thought. "But it's just data on cards." His eyes fell on his card box and he lowered his hand. "Or not. Digimon have always been more than just data. Maybe the cards are too?" He looked back at Rika. "What card did she use?"
"An Ophanimon card. It took them by surprise, so I don't think anyone knew she could do something like that before. Their Henry had to go down to Hypnos to…"
"Henry?"
Rika froze in horror. Crap.
Takato's eyes were focused on her with such intensity that Rika felt she were in the crosshairs of a gun. All at once, her earlier fears came to the fore and her arms tightened their grip about her waist. Yet, despite his gaze, she didn't sense danger. Shock and surprise and something else. Something she knew wouldn't let her wiggle out of answering truthfully.
"Their Henry," she nodded, "had to go down to their Hypnos to figure out how to send me home."
"He's alive?!" Takato was on his feet. His voice sounded desperate. Excited. The need to know was like a wave about to crash upon him; overwhelm him if she didn't answer.
No way out of this, she thought, her eyes softening. That's my fault too.
"I saw Henry there. And Terriermon."
Takato froze. In that instant, Rika wondered if she said the wrong thing. She held back on dropping that bombshell earlier for fear of making him freak out, but thinking about it, she wanted to say something that would make him more open to listening. He didn't take well to her wanting to be a Tamer because she pushed that without thinking first.
"J-Jeri? What about Jeri?"
Something about the way he said that didn't sit right with her. Like he was mixing the Jeri she met with the one he knew.
"I met alternate versions of them," she clarified, still wondering if she was making a mistake here. "Like in a manga? You know how they like to play around with the idea of parallel realities, alternate timelines, and stuff like that? Turns out it's all real."
The tension in the air rose and Rika found her heartbeat rising with it. A moment later however, Takato drew in a deep breath.
"Right," he said in a quiet voice. His eyes dropped. "How-How were they?"
Rika shrugged, trying to sound natural. "I think they were all right. Jeri helped me adjust. Kept me from freaking out. She was the first person to help me when I needed it."
A small smile touched her lips as she remembered the brown-haired girl's kindness. Sitting down next to her with a warm, welcoming smile.
"You're a little out of place here, aren't you? But don't worry, everything's gonna be okay."
Takato turned away from her. Even without seeing his face, she could feel the tension radiating off him like waves.
"Yeah. She-She always had a way of putting others first."
She heard his voice crack a little at that. Rika's smile vanished.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."
"No. It's…" Takato took a shuddering breath and wiped an arm over his face. "It's just hard thinking about her-about them-that's all."
"Was Terriermon okay?" Guilmon asked, his eyes shining and damp. "Was he still telling people to momentai?"
Rika lifted a confused eyebrow, having no idea what that word meant or why it was important. "I…don't think so?" she said, racking her brains for anything that she might have overheard. "I wasn't around him for very long, but I get the feeling he was a bit of a troublemaker. Other-Me seemed not to like him much and Henry… I'm not sure, but he looked like he had his hands full trying to keep him from making her angry."
Takato barked a harsh laugh, one that Guilmon mimicked a second later. "Yeah, that sounds like him. He was always making Henry mad about something."
A heavy silence fell over the room. Calumon, who had busied himself with burrowing in Takato's blankets, poked his head out, but didn't yet say a word. Shifting uneasily, Rika met Takato's shocked eyes.
"Sorry. I worried about telling you sooner. I didn't know how you might take it."
"I-I don't know what to say." Takato shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs that had suddenly been spun in his mind. There was so much going on inside of him that he wanted to sit down and pace at the same time. One thing clicked and he turned back toward her. "Are you saying…? Because you were a Tamer in that other world…?"
"Maybe." Rika drew back a little. She had clearly upset him now, as she feared would happen. "And maybe this was a bad idea after all. I'm sorry."
"N-No!" Takato shook his head fiercely. "Don't… Don't be! I-It's just a lot for me to take in. I…" He swayed on his feet, at a complete and utter loss for words and Rika saw that his eyes were becoming damp with growing tears. Her heart reaching out to him, Rika pushed away from his desk and hurried over to him. "I-I don't…" the boy continued to stammer, his eyes darting around, trying to look anywhere but at her as he struggled to get a hold of himself.
"Ah… Takato? Are you all right?" Guilmon asked, his voice starting to sound very alarmed.
"It just sounds so crazy," the boy said, pressing a hand against his scarred forehead. "Just like that! One person… O-One. Person. I couldn't…"
Rika laid a hand on his shoulder and his eyes snapped up to hers. He became suddenly still, save for the tremor running through him. From just touching him, she could feel his emotions becoming wilder, turning into a chaotic mess threatening to overwhelm him. And his eyes. They were the eyes of someone staring out over a vast abyss.
As if on cue, the tremors she felt in him began to escalate and tears began to brim at the corners of his eyes. His mouth worked, trying to speak, but nothing came out.
Swallowing, she did the first thing she could think of. Folding her arms around him, she drew him close to her into a powerful hug. He resisted at first. He was trembling violently now from all the pent-up emotions. She heard his breathing grow sharper and felt cold sweat break out on his skin.
"Not…Not true…" she heard him whisper. "It can't…" His hands rose to her shirt and gripped the fabric tightly. "It can't be!"
"I'm sorry." Feeling her heart in her throat, Rika closed her eyes and began to gently rock him against her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me."
Just like that, a dam broke within Takato and pressing his face against her shoulder, he gave a muffled, pained scream into it. She continued to hold him, running a hand through the mop of his hair, soothing him. His hands gripped harder at the back of her shirt and his arms began to squeeze her tightly, becoming painful. She grunted in discomfort, but said nothing. She simply continued to hold him to her, massaging his back and hair while he cried.
It's my fault, she thought with a wince, ignoring how her ribs groaned against the building pressure. My fault he's like this. Because I wasn't strong enough to be a Tamer at the start.
As if starting to realize what he was doing, she felt his muscles begin to recoil and he struggled to pull back. A second later, he broke free and whirled about. His shoulders heaved as he shook, fighting to reign his emotions back in.
"T-Takato?" Guilmon asked, his eyes looking scared. The boy took a shuddering breath and his arms dropped to his sides. Rika waited, running her fingers against one another in mute anxiety.
"It's not your fault," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Don't blame yourself. It's-It's not like you knew how things were going to turn out."
"Huh?" Rika asked, taken aback. Takato sniffed and wiped an arm over his face.
"We don't know why we're chosen," Takato continued, taking a shuddering breath. "Maybe you didn't want something like that bad enough. Maybe the digignomes didn't hear you. Either way, it's something that just happens. Jeri… She was like that too at first. It-It took her a while to become a Tamer."
He turned back toward Rika. His crimson irises were surrounded by red from his crying. He was pale and looked like an absolute wreck.
"Takato…" she said softly, approaching him again. Takato flinched back instinctively, but made himself stop. Shame washed over his face.
"Sorry," he said in a hushed whisper. Rika bit her lip, feeling awful for having dumped all this on him.
"I should go."
"No!" Takato blinked at how forcefully he had said that. Rubbing at his eyes, his shoulders shook again as another fit took him. "Sorry. I'm a Tamer. I shouldn't act like that. I'm-I'm a…Tamer. I'm-I'm…a…T-T-Tamer…"
His voice broke on Tamer. Again, Rika went over to him and this time Takato didn't resist her embrace.
"S-Sorry for the water w-works…"
"Don't worry about it," Rika said gently, running a soothing hand along the back of his head. "I can't imagine that this is easy for you to hear."
"No." Takato cleared his throat. "No, it's not."
Joining them, Guilmon laid a clawed hand on Takato's back.
"Momentai, Takatomon," he said, giving him a soft pat. "Momentai."
Rika's eyes met Guilmon's. His golden irises were bright and shining. She wasn't sure what that meant when it came to digimon, but she seemed to at least have his approval. Maybe his cooperation as well.
Takatomon? she thought distractedly. What's that all about?
She held Takato like that for a moment longer before finally breaking apart. Silence reigned in the room still longer and Rika waited for Takato to work through his feelings as best he could. When he was ready, he began asking questions, and she did her best to answer them. It took time and there was no particular order or rhythm. Only whatever came to mind until enough of a coherent narrative formed and then he started over to get the timeline right.
"So, what were things like in the other world?" he ended finally. His cards lay between them and he was in the process of assembling a deck. Not to use, but just to have something to focus on while she spoke. He had trouble looking at her and Rika couldn't blame him.
"I don't really know," Rika shrugged. "Some things were different. I don't know how much, but it looked like a lot of other things were otherwise the same. I wasn't there for very long so I couldn't do any real comparing. For all I know the other version of you might live somewhere else. I didn't even know where you two lived until I ran into Calumon."
At the sound of his name, Calumon divebombed the trio and crashed amidst Takato's cards. The boy jerked back.
"Heyyy… Calumon, don't do that!"
"You know," the creampuff digimon laughed, ignoring Takato, "if there's a whole other world with another me, does that mean that the universe would be twice as much fun if I visited?"
"It could be more than that," Guilmon said, counting his claws. "I've read some of Takato's manga. If I understand it, there'd be a lot of Calumon's. There'd be…" He paused, ears twitching. "…ah, well, way more Calumon than I have claws to count with."
"It'd be a lot, let's leave it at that." Rika found herself smiling at the digimons' antics. It was strangely endearing, not to mention cute.
"Hmmm…" Takato frowned at a card, turning things over in his mind. Rika said nothing further, more than content with letting the silence rule the room.
Guilmon however, wasn't.
"Ohhh… Ophanimon. Are you planning on making a visit?" he asked.
"I'm just wondering things. Especially if it's like Rika said about there being another me out there causing trouble." Takato set the Ophanimon card back down amidst the pile. "Suzie's already got one. She used it during our fight with Gaiomon. As far as I know, it didn't make anyone appear from another dimension."
"Maybe it's because she can only digivolve Lopmon to that mean and scary Cherubimon?" Guilmon offered. "I know I didn't feel very nice that time I became Megidramon and Ophanimon's supposed to be a really nice digimon."
"I guess…"
"Maybe we should ask Alice."
"No maybe about it," Takato said before perking up. A look of dismay crossed his features and then his shoulders sagged. "Awww nuts! I forgot to text Yamaki!" Takato sighed. Digging out his cellphone he began to hastily type out a message. After hitting the send button, he glanced out the window. Rika followed his gaze, seeing the darkening sky.
"It's getting late," she said, guessing his what he was thinking.
"I'm not trying to kick you out of here." Scratching the back of his head, Takato met her gaze. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I feel…kind of like I don't know how to feel about you right now."
"Don't worry about it. It's not like anything would have made what I said easier to hear."
"Maybe. Still. I'm sorry." Looking ashamed, he gave her an apologetic look. "About-About earlier. When you were…you know. I-I was hurting you."
"Don't, okay?" Rika held up a hand as she gave him a sympathetic look. "Look. It's been a rough afternoon for you. Heck, it's been a rough few years for you. After what I saw in that other place, I can guess how you must be feeling."
"How are you feeling?" Takato asked, his voice hesitant. Rika's eyes widened slightly in surprise before returning to normal.
"I don't want anyone else getting killed when I could be there. The next time, just like every other time, it'll be because of me. I'm not living with that."
Takato's stiff expression answered her unspoken question.
"I hoped you wouldn't be like that," she said, a touch of anger creeping into her voice.
"Sorry. It's just… I'm not a very good teacher. If I was, Jeri might still be here. Everything she went through might not have happened."
Rika wondered about that. She didn't know much of anything about either Jeri and what they dealt with. From the sounds and looks of things, she was a Tamer, and she had survived her experiences.
Did Other-Me teach her? Is that also why she's not dead over there?
"I'm a quick study. I know this isn't like the tournaments, but I'm good at picking things up. If – when – I get a digivice and a partner, you can either teach me, or I'll figure it out on my own." She met Takato's eyes levelly and did not flinch. "With or without your help. I'm not running away anymore."
Memory pricked Takato's mind, and he saw right away her standing in front of Gaiomon, choking on smoke and ready to throw a rock at the Mega. He remembered the way her eyes blazed in defiance of him, indifferent to the swords and fire around her.
"I p-promised I wouldn't run."
Takato hung his head and closed his eyes.
I-I can't go through this again! Leomon died. And Jeri…
His hands drew into tight fists and he began to tremble again. He saw Jeri's thin body in the coffin, her skin pale and drawn tight, her eyes closed and looking peaceful. Almost alive despite what reality said. She might as well be simply sleeping. It was too easy to see Rika in the same position.
She's going to do it anyway, he thought. Opening his eyes, he turned his gaze back up toward hers. He saw determination in them. Maybe a little fear as well, but determination dominated. Like it or not, she was going to do whatever it took to be a Tamer and protect people, even if it killed her.
"Let's say that I say yes," he began carefully. "You're okay with me teaching you? Even knowing I'm not that good at it?"
"Yes," Rika said without hesitation. The fire in her eyes were burning with unspoken hope. Her knuckles were white from how tightly she clenched her fists.
"Suzie and Kenta can help too, can't they?" Guilmon suggested. "They're strong."
"R-Right," Takato nodded, grateful that his partner mentioned them.
"So, what's wrong?"
"Everything."
"You're not going to help." Rika's expression became crestfallen.
"No, I didn't say that! I just…" His shoulders sagging, he buried his face in his hands. He felt some residual tremors from earlier make themselves known. "I just don't want to say yes even though I know I probably should."
Rika's eyes softened.
"I guess I can't blame you," she said, remembering how upset he had been talking about his failure to be a good teacher to Jeri. Her mind circled around the memory of the other version of the girl, getting a sense that for this Takato at least, she had been very important to him. "Well, it's not like I have a digivice right now anyway. I'd still like to be taught. I want to be ready as soon as possible."
Takato could only nod. He could see the logic in her reasoning, but they didn't even know if she could become a Tamer in the first place. Something had been missing years ago when all this started. Who was to say it would come around now?
"Can I think about it?"
"I… Sure."
Silence returned and they both let it be, even as night ate up the golden sky in its pursuit of the sun's fiery westward march.
Rika's buzzing phone broke that silence. Checking her phone, she sighed.
"Mom's wondering where I am. I'd better get going."
"I'll come with you!" Takato began, getting to his feet. Rika smiled, and for a moment she was tempted to say yes. It was a sweet offer.
She shook her head though.
"I'm a bit out of your way and I'd rather not have my parents asking questions about you if they see you." Getting up, Rika winced, feeling her knees pop. They had been sitting for quite a while.
"O-Oh! Why don't we just exchange numbers?" Takato took out his phone. "That way you can message me when you get home?" He rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I'd just feel better if I knew you got there safe."
Rika's smile grew a little and she opened up her phone's address book.
"Sure."
###
Takato and Guilmon saw her and Calumon off, the pair going off in their own, separate directions, each waving their goodbyes before disappearing into the crowd.
"She really wants to be a Tamer, huh?" Guilmon said once they lost sight of Rika. Takato nodded numbly.
"It feels like it's happening all over again," he said thickly. "But if I don't help her, it'll be as bad as murdering her." His lips twisted as a hot lump made itself known in his throat. "Feels like I'm doing that either way."
"But she wants to help, doesn't she?" Guilmon asked.
"So did Jeri. She wanted to help and look where that got her. And Kazu. Ryo. Henry. It's like everyone who helps us dies."
"Takato…"
The boy didn't respond. Instead, he turned and went back inside where he would continue to wrestle with his uncertainties for the rest of the night.
13
