A/N: Thanks goes out to Ruki44 for taking the time to make me a new cover for this piece. Considering I started off with a question of where they got their profile image, this is well above and beyond the call of duty. Ruki44, I salute thee for your work ethic. :D

Also, thanks to the YouTuber, Gremlin Travels for your Exploring Shinjuku Central Park video. Definitely a big help. :)

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: 09/ Games of Blame

Kuzuhamon knelt on a tree branch, watching the scene with Rika and the Tamers unfold. None of the digimon there noticed her, which was good. She had concerns that either the Deva or the Hazard would detect her. The Hazard especially, as his sense of smell was quite well-developed for a Rookie and seemed on par with her own detection abilities.

"Interesting how Guilmon cowers behind his partner when the human gets mad at him," she heard Gaiomon chuckle within her mind. "Hardly the behavior one expects from the warrior who defeated the Chaos and so many of our Deva predecessors."

Kuzuhamon watched as the smaller girl began showing increased agitation toward the taller, fire-haired one. The redhead, who had just seconds ago displayed similar irate behavior, was now attempting a less aggressive approach to telling her side of the story. It didn't appear to be working.

"The Hazard was born from a human and lived in the human world. Perhaps he is more human than digimon. There are many things about humans that are strange," she replied. "Such as why they feel responsible for people they never knew."

"Might have known, dear Kuzuhamon." Gaiomon chuckled again. "Perhaps that is why you never evolved to Sakuyamon. You are lacking in that empathic element that humans are abundant with."

"I merely fail to see why it affects her so. She harbors no emotional connections or attachments with these other humans. Until she visited the other world, she didn't know she could have had them. And even then, knowing they were possible is not the same thing as actually having them."

Amusement trickled down to her from the link she shared with Gaiomon.

"You were a lone warrior for far too long, Kuzuhamon," he said.

"I fail to understand what you mean. You were a lone warrior when I first met you."

"Ah, but I wasn't always that way. Think on that. In the meantime, the Sovereign requires a report. Do you want me to send one, or…?"

"You may send it." Kuzuhamon watched as the smaller girl suddenly swayed on her feet and fell into the hands of the fire-haired human. "After I discern whether or not they mean to use the Sovereign's former servant to traverse other worlds – or if they are even capable of it – I shall present a more detailed analysis and make recommendations."

"Do you believe we will have to terminate the Deva?"

Kuzuhamon watched as the smaller girl broke away from the other humans, shouting at them to leave her alone. Tales of Megidramon came to mind and she envisioned the horrifying dragon roaring beneath the blood-colored sky of the Sovereign's domain.

The digital world almost ended that day, all because of a human who lost control of themselves.

Though she did not voice this, the sentiment filtered over to her partner, and she felt a shiver of excitement from him.

"Perhaps I shall die under his sword after all," he said before withdrawing his presence from her mind. Turning her attention away from him, she continued to watch the humans. The smaller girl was running now, leaving the rest confused. The Deva started after her, and as if that were a signal, the rest followed in short order. Rising to her feet, she prepared to follow them.

It was just then that a tiny, happy-sounding voice abruptly greeted her on a branch directly above her head.

"Hi! You look like you might be fun! Wanna play?"

Startled, Kuzuhamon whipped her gaze up and found a tiny, white-furred digimon with a wide head and large, green-colored eyes. She didn't need the presence of the Zero Unit on its forehead to recognize it. All servants of the Sovereign blessed by the Light in the War with the Chaos knew this being.

"Keeper of the Light," she breathed in awe. She abruptly dropped to one knee in adulation.

"Huh?" Calumon tilted his head to one side. "That's not my name. Oh! Are you playing a guessing game?"

"No games, Keeper of the Light," Kuzuhamon replied. "It is your title. A most worthy title for one who helped save the digital world."

"Oh." Calumon's eyes lit up suddenly. "Oh! That's the name that the big birdie called me when his monkey kidnapped me!" Feeling suddenly afraid, he shrank away. "You're not looking to kidnap me again, are you? I already shared the light with everyone in the digital world. I don't have any more left to give."

Lifting her head, Kuzuhamon looked upon the tiny digimon in confusion. "Kidnap you? I-I wouldn't do such a thing. You…" She cocked her head to one side. "…are not at all what I expected. Nevertheless, you do not need to fear me."

"That's good." Spreading his ears, Calumon floated on down to her. Instinctively, Kuzuhamon held out a gloved hand and he touched down upon her palm. His green-eyes stared at her for a moment.

"You're very pretty," he said finally. Kuzuhamon blinked beneath her fox-mask, taken aback by the unexpected compliment.

"Why, thank you," she replied, her cheeks growing just a tiny bit red. She fumbled for further words, not sure what else to say. Kindness ought to be repaid with kindness, but what could a servant such as her even say to someone as grand as the Keeper of the Light? What would be worthy of their stature?

Calumon, beaming happily, blinked his big green-eyes at her. Kuzuhamon's cheeks warmed a little more.

Cute, she found herself thinking. N-No. That is not dignified enough for one such as he. Kuzuhamon bit her lip and looked away in shame. Calumon looked at her curiously.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes. It's just… I am not worthy of being in your presence."

"Huh?" Calumon felt saddened at this. "Does that mean you don't want me around?"

"What?! No! I-I… I am not good enough to be near you!"

The tiny digimon scrunched his face up, trying to understand what she was saying.

"But why? I think you're nice so far. And you seem pretty good at hide and seek."

"I… What?"

"Guilmon hasn't noticed you since you showed up! You must be really good at hiding!" His eyes brightening again, he hopped off her palm and floated up to her face. "Hey! Maybe he'd like to play with you! Let's go ask!"

"Ask?!" Kuzuhamon felt utterly flustered by the Keeper. Hide and Seek? Playing games? He even saw her as being fit to be in his presence? What was going on here?

"Yeah! I bet Guilmon would love to have a new friend! Hey! Guilmon! I found – Oh! Where'd everyone go?"

Following Calumon's gaze, she found that, in her distraction, she lost track of the humans in their chase after the smaller girl. Kuzuhamon sighed mentally.

It seems that I cannot take the Keeper of the Light lightly, she thought.

Through the filter of her connection with Gaiomon, she swore she heard distant laughter.

###

Rika started after Suzie, but only after Takato, Kenta and their partners did. She consciously noted her hesitation; felt ashamed by it, but at the same time, acknowledged that dealing with Suzie wasn't really her place.

They know her better than I do, she thought. Racing alongside Takato, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His face was tight with tension and worry. Her expression softened a little, remembering Suzie's fit of rage.

That's because of me…

A muscle yanked at her side, causing her to draw in a sharp breath. Her pace began to flag and she fell behind. Taking notice, Takato ground to a halt.

"Rika! Are you okay?" He quickly looked over to Kenta. "Wait up!"

"I-I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Your friend…"

"Takato!" Kenta called over his shoulder. "I'll handle Suzie! Take her to see Alice!" Without even waiting to hear his friend's answer, Kenta darted off. Guilmon, caught between the two, looked back and forth uncertainly. Understanding what Kenta was driving at, Takato nodded to his partner.

"Guilmon! Go help Kenta with Suzie. He might need you to track her down for him."

"Okie-dokie!" Guilmon replied and then broke away. Rika looked at the boy in confusion.

"W-What…?" she began. "Why aren't you helping them chase after her?"

"I'm probably the last person she wants to talk to right now," Takato replied. "She kind of blames me for what happened to Henry and…" He trailed off. His eyes became distant and thoughtful for a moment before he resumed. "A-Anyway, we have a schedule to keep. Yamaki's just going to have to be okay with this."

Rika frowned. Takato and Kenta being forced to split up had been her fault. All because she couldn't keep up with them. "I need to get stronger so I don't drag you down," she said.

"Don't worry about it. These things take time."

"Yeah, but if not for me, you wouldn't be here. I hate that! You'd be after her and…" She glanced over at Takato, who was looking at her uncertainly. She sighed, realizing what she was doing.

"Sorry for the pity party. I'll knock it off."

"No, it's not that, it's…" He trailed off again. Rika felt a spark of irritation. She tried to squash it, but she found it sparking again in response.

"Then what is it? Because we're not getting anything done with me blaming myself for this."

"Okay, you've made your point," Takato replied, a little heat making itself known in his voice now. "We've got a mission to take care of. So, let's take care of it."

Rika felt her anger back off and she folded her arms together.

"Sorry."

"No. Don't apologize. Just…" Takato ran his hands through his hair and made a frustrated groan that Rika could sympathize with. "Look. Kenta's doing his part and so is Guilmon. Let's just do our part now, okay?"

Rika nodded. She still felt bad though for indulging her negative feelings, nor was she comfortable about simply leaving Suzie in favor of going to Hypnos.

"You said Suzie blames you for what happened to her brother," Rika began as they started off. "Why? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

She saw Takato's face twist in memory, and she regretted drudging up the old wound.

"We had to split up," he said, remembering Ryo urging him to continue on while they handled the monstrous Cable-Reaper behind them. Closing his eyes, he could still see the beast pulling itself from a vortex leading to the digital world. While the Mother-Reaper form that imprisoned Jeri had a vague-appearance of humanity about it, the Cable-Reaper had nothing about it even remotely related. A collection of cables and scythes with a gaping maw at the top of its form. Its hideous roar dug into them, and even now he felt his skin crawl in recollection. The entity was nothing more the intent to kill and destroy made flesh.

"So, what? She thinks because you split up that means your responsible?"

Takato frowned at Rika's tone and words, liking neither. "You don't know what she went through. She was seven and her brother died right in front of her. If it helps her feel better, I'll gladly take the blame. Besides." His eyes glanced away. "I am responsible. If I stayed, Henry might still be here."

Rika pressed her lips together, not sure if she liked hearing that.

Even so, I've got to remember that I wasn't there. He's right. I don't know. I can't act like I do just because Other-Me was able to keep all of them alive.

She opened her mouth to apologize again for her assumptions, but before she could do so, a voice hailed them from down the path.

"So, this is where you ran off to, Nonaka. Cute boy you've got there. I can see why you ditched our karaoke match."

Her eyes growing wide, Rika's attention snapped over to the pair of approaching girls wearing the same uniform as herself.

"Kayoko?!" she exclaimed in bewilderment. "Toshiko?! W-What are you doing here?!"

Smirking, the dark-haired girl sauntered up to the pair while Takato looked back and forth in growing confusion.

"Uh, are they friends of yours?" he asked. Rika groaned, unable to believe that this was happening.

"Of all the stupid…" Breaking away from Takato, she strode fiercely over to Kayoko, who was still smirking.

"Don't be mad at us for being a little concerned about you. Toshiko got it into her head that you were talking about one of the Tamers and… Hey!"

"What are you doing here?!" Rika hissed angrily, grabbing the other girl by the arm and dragging her off. "I told you I have to help him! I can't do that if I have to babysit the two of you!"

"A-Actually, you didn't tell us anything," Toshiko pointed out, hurrying after them. "And you've been worrying us lately."

"I'm fine!"

"Going off to see one of the Tamers and not telling us is you being fine?" Kayoko asked, breaking Rika's hold on her. "And what does he need your help for? Have you been holding out on us, Nonaka?"

Rika groaned again. This was happening much too fast for her liking. And they needed to get going!

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt," began Takato, approaching the trio, plainly hoping to intercede.

"Oh, by all means, Gogglehead," Kayoko grinned with a wink. "What do you need Nonaka for? And tell me before she throttles me, because I'm dying to know."

Rika's violet eyes swung over to Takato at that and she saw a shadow pass over his face. Kayoko must have seen it as well because she felt the air around her friend change very suddenly, becoming eerily still and cool. From experience, this meant Kayoko was paying attention to something she considered serious. Takato's eyes met Rika's and she saw understanding in them.

"I'll handle this," she said, adjusting her bag. Turning, she gave her two friends an apologetic look. "I didn't tell you what really happened because it was too weird."

At this, Toshiko perked up.

"You mean you weren't at Shin 5 East?"

"No, I was," Rika said, shaking her head. "I was just in another dimension's version of it."

Toshiko and Kayoko both tilted their heads as one, giving them an odd appearance that made Rika think of them as a single entity.

"Okay, back up," began Kayoko. "You want to run that by me again? You were in another dimension version of the city?"

Rika sighed and looked at Takato. "This might take a while. Can they at least walk with us?"

Takato pressed his lips together and in his eyes, she saw him weighing the risks. After a moment, he shrugged.

"Okay," he said. "They just can't follow us past the reception desk."

"Reception…? Hold on! Where are we going?"

"That is top secret," Rika replied. "As in, I actually can't talk about it because it involves the government." She looked over at Takato for confirmation and the boy nodded.

"You should probably keep this a secret too," Takato said to the two girls as he started down the path. "Come on. We've got to get going."

Rika fell into step behind him without question while Kayoko and Toshiko followed more hesitantly.

"So, another dimension, huh?" Kayoko asked. Rika nodded.

"Sorry for not telling you the truth before." She looked at her two friends uncertainly. Toshiko's expression was plainly troubled while Kayoko's was contemplative.

"Tell it this time then," Kayoko said. "And don't leave anything out."

"The full story this time," Toshiko agreed. There was something in her voice that left Rika unsettled, but she nodded.

"It started when I was heading out to meet you, Toshiko," she began. "I had just stepped out of the house and then there was a bright light. The next thing I knew, there were a bunch of people and digimon I didn't know in my yard. And there was another me there as well who did not like me being there…"

###

Guilmon tested the air with his nose before pointing to their right.

"This way," he said, trotting along the path. Behind him, Kenta followed, MarinAngemon floating by his side while Lopmon sat atop his head. After initially losing Suzie, he offered the digimon a ride. Lopmon reluctantly agreed, hating having to take a less active role in locating her partner. The fact remained though that her legs were quite small and they didn't want to chance being slowed down any more than they already were.

"What's the point of being so worried?" Kenta imagined Terriermon saying. "She has to go home sooner or later. We could wait for her there!"

"Terriermon…" he murmured under his breath, speaking for the Rookie's dead partner.

"What did you say?" Lopmon asked.

"I'm just talking to myself," Kenta said. "Boy, if Kazu were here, he'd probably say that's a bad sign."

Approaching a set of stairs, the group began to climb them, Guilmon's nose leading the way.

"She sure ran quite a way," Kenta noted, wiping an arm across his brow. The weather was quite warm today and their chase had earned him quite the sweat. "Never thought she'd go as far as Fujimidai Hill."

Reaching the top, they found Suzie inside a hexagonal-shaped, concrete building, sitting on one of the stone seats with her face lying on the table, buried within her arms. His head jerked as Lopmon jumped off.

"Suzie!" the Rookie exclaimed, running toward her. Her head lifting, revealing red, puffy eyes, the girl sniffed.

"L-Lopmon?" she began shakily. Coming abreast one of the five pillars holding the roof, Lopmon stood at attention.

"Are you all right?" Lopmon asked. Wiping an arm across her face, Suzie sniffed again.

"N-No," she replied. "I'm not okay." Scrunching her face up, she looked around. "Where's Takato? Is he off with that dumb girl?"

"I told him to take Rika down to Hypnos," Kenta answered, approaching. "I didn't think you'd want to see him right now."

Suzie looked like she was about to say something snide, and then stopped herself. Turning away, she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Smart," she said.

"Momentai, Suzie," Guilmon began, only for the girl to whirl around and give him a hard glare. His ears rising, Guilmon raised his claws in a placating gesture. Were it any other digimon, he would appear more threatening, but Suzie knew him and so this made her feel bad.

"I hate it when you say that word," she said. Guilmon's ears wilted.

"S-Sorry. I didn't know it made you upset."

"It's not like I told you to stop saying it," Suzie said. Drawing her legs up onto the seat, she hugged them to her chest.

"Do you want me to stop?" Guilmon asked.

Suzie was quiet for a moment before shaking her head.

"Maybe don't use it so much. It's like you'll wear it out."

Guilmon nodded. "Okay," he said.

MarineAngemon floated over to Suzie and blew a little heart at her. The bubble bumped against her face and popped.

"Pihpihpuh," the tiny-pink fairy said. Suzie frowned at him.

"Kenta? Translation?"

"He's saying that we're sorry we upset you."

"It's a lot more than that. Three words usually means whole paragraphs."

Kenta shrugged. "That's the summary. We're worried about you."

"Why? I'm always a jerk to you. Especially Takato." Her hands gripped tightly about her pantlegs. "You can't tell me he doesn't take it personally."

"I know he feels responsible for how you feel." He glanced over at Takato's partner. "Isn't that right, Guilmon?"

"Uh-huh," the dinosaur nodded in agreement. "He wishes he stayed with Henry and the others. He thinks that if he did, things might have been different."

"Like they would have been if that girl was a Tamer?" Suzie asked. Her frown deepened. "That can't be true. I mean, it's like something out of a science fiction story."

"I came out of a science fiction story," Lopmon reminded. Approaching her partner, she hopped up onto the table and sat down. "It could be that it's not as farfetched as it sounds. I know the Sovereigns were capable of crossing into other worlds."

"You did?" Suzie lifted an eyebrow in surprise at this. "W-Why didn't you say anything? You let me be a complete jerk to everyone and…"

"Ah," Kenta interrupted, "to be fair, what Rika said was pretty upsetting. It's kind of hard to talk about these things after hearing what she said. I mean, I heard it from Takato first, but hearing it from that girl in real life?" He adjusted his glasses. "I still get a feeling of unreality from that."

Suzie huffed and rested her chin on her knees.

"I don't know what manner of worlds the Sovereigns visited either," Lopmon added. "The Chaos – The D-Reaper – was said to have gone to another world after its first attack."

Suzie nodded, remembering what her father's friend, Shibumi, had said about the malevolent program's history. Gone to another world and slept there. Whatever world that was.

She looked at Kenta, Guilmon and MarineAngemon. The three of them were smiling warmly at her, trying to be a source of comfort. Feeling the beginnings of tears well up in her eyes, she looked away.

"I'm sorry," she said, pressing her face into her knees. "I know I shouldn't be acting like this, but sometimes I just can't help myself! Whenever I see you, it's like…like there's something rotten in me and I just get mad!"

Hopping off the table, Lopmon landed atop Suzie's head. Settling onto her stomach, she pressed her long ears against Suzie's cheeks, hugging her.

"Momentai," she said softly. Suzie choked.

"T-That's Te-Terriermon's w-wor…"

She didn't make it to the end. The tears burst free from her eyes and she shook, trying to keep her voice down as best she could. Coming up to her, Kenta and Guilmon placed their hands on her shoulders.

"We're here for you, Suzie," Kenta said.

"Even Takato," Guilmon added. "Trust me. He's already forgiven you."

"So why can't I forgive him?!" Suzie bellowed. "I know it's not his fault! So why do I hate him so much?!"

"Hate's a pretty strong word," Kenta said. "Do you really feel that way?"

Suzie hiccupped as she struggled for an answer.

"N-No," she said finally. "B-But I'm still mad at him. And I've got no reason for it."

Kenta patted her shoulder, not sure how to answer that. He mulled it over, but nothing really came to mind. There was just no easy answer he could think of; no quote he could dredge up from wiser people to put things into focus or take the sting out. He doubted Suzie would even care for them. She might find such quotes pretentious. Besides, there was really only one other person she would listen to and unfortunately, he was dead.

"What would Henry do?" he wondered aloud.

"Huh?" Lifting her head, Suzie blinked blearily.

"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking out loud. Sorry." He pulled his hand away. "Bad?"

Swallowing a hiccup, Suzie looked away, thinking it over.

"Henry would probably say something about looking at this mess through your eyes. Or maybe follow a problem to its source. Or go see Chou Sensei when he couldn't figure something out." She sniffed. "That might not be a bad idea, actually. Seeing Chou Sensei."

"Do you want to go see him now?" Kenta felt his spirits lift a little, glad to have had something of an impact for once that was to the positive. "I've been kind of thinking about seeing him too, actually."

Suzie shook her head. "No. We've got a job to do still. I've got to prove whether that dumb girl is telling the truth or a straight up liar-liar with pants on fire. I can't do that by moping and being a crybaby."

She looked at Guilmon. "Is she telling the truth?"

"I think so. When she made Takato upset last night, she hugged him and said she was sorry. She smelled sad when she talked about what she learned in that other world and how different it was because she was there fighting on our team. I think she feels like she's responsible for what happened to everyone."

"Well, she kind of is," Suzie sniffed.

"Suzie…" began Lopmon.

"Momentai," the girl huffed back. "I didn't really mean it. Not in a way like she's actually responsible, like she ditched us or something. Just that, if she's telling the truth, then, well…" She shrugged. "I'll try not to blame her for it. I don't blame the mailman for not being there. If she couldn't be there, then she couldn't be there."

Getting up from the seat, she placed her hands behind her back and stretched.

"We'd better get going. Who knows what kind of trouble that girl is giving Takato. If something happens to him because of her, then that's my fault and everyone can be mad at me for splitting up the party the way I did."

She looked at Guilmon just then incredulously.

"He let you leave him alone?"

"Ah…" began Guilmon, only for Kenta to intercede.

"Let's just go meet up with him," he said, taking out his cellphone. He typed out a quick message, letting Takato know he had found Suzie and that they were on their way. His phone quickly buzzed with Takato's reply, indicating that, at least, his cellphone was still active.

Could be in enemy hands though, he mused before pocketing his phone.

Apparently thinking the same thing, Suzie was already darting down the stairs, heading in the direction of Hypnos.

"She can sure run fast," Guilmon observed, hurrying after them. Adjusting his glasses, Kenta did likewise.

###

"You have weird luck, Nonaka."

Rika glanced at Kayoko.

"Sure seems to be a theme, lately," she replied.

"No, I mean it," Kayoko insisted. "You have weird luck. You accidently got abducted to another dimension and meet another version of yourself who doesn't want you around because she has daddy issues? That's some weird luck."

"No wonder you were thinking about what-ifs," Toshiko said softly. "So, what now?"

"Now I get looked at to make sure I'm telling the truth and to check if I picked up any digital world viruses along the way." Rika adjusted the strap on her bag. "After that, I guess we'll see."

Kayoko was gazing at Rika intensely now and tapping a finger against her cheek. Feeling like she was under a microscope, Rika's stomach squirmed a little.

"What? You're looking at me funny."

"I was just thinking… Is that what the other version of you looked like? The hair, I mean."

"So, what if it was?" Rika felt her stomach squirm again, sensing that Kayoko had caught on to her intentions.

"Just curious. It's a good look for a Tamer. It's not going to get in the way or anything either."

Toshiko's eyes perked up just as Rika began to scowl. Both girls confirmed her suspicions.

"Are you planning on becoming a Tamer too?!" Toshiko asked. Somehow, she managed to keep her voice down despite her shock. Rika looked over at Takato. His back was to them as he led them down the street. He had been quiet pretty much the entire time, leaving them to their conversation.

"Hold on, are you even sure this guy is the real deal? Where's his digimon?"

"Guilmon is helping find a friend of theirs," Rika answered. "I saw him before you two showed up. He's sweet."

"Hm. I bet…"

"But are you planning to become a Tamer?" Rika heard a tremor of fear in Toshiko's voice. It made her hesitate, but she nodded.

"He doesn't want me to, but after what I saw, I can't just ignore this. People died because I wasn't where I should have been."

"How do you know you should have been there," Kayoko asked while Toshiko's face went pale. Rika narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"I was there. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Not really. Lots of different universes and you only just barely scratched the surface. How do you know how many of them have you as part of their team."

"Look, all I know is that I was in one of them and it was a lot better for the Tamers than this one! I can't ignore that! More importantly, I won't! It's just three of them now. They need help."

If Kayoko was intimidated by Rika's growing ire, she didn't show it. She was focused now on Takato.

"Maybe they do, but are you sure you're the best one for it?"

Rika's eyes narrowed even further. She felt a dark suspicion growing in the back of her mind.

"What's that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. And something you might want to think about. Are you sure you're the best one to help them?"

I was the best one in the other world.

Rika bit back that response, if only because she couldn't deny what Kayoko was saying.

I'm her, but at the same time, I'm not her. I couldn't even keep up with them when they were running off to fight that Raremon.

"I'll figure it out," she said instead. "They need someone to watch their back. I don't want to let them down."

Kayoko hummed in thought before continuing.

"I get that you want to help them out. Help him out…"

"Kayoko…"

"Sorry. Sorry." Kayoko gave Rika an apologetic look. "I guess I've just been around our classmates too much. A lot of them fantasize about this sort of thing you know. Fixing things. Fixing people. Fixing boys. Fixing someone they love or care about. But reality is different from fantasy. I just want to make sure that you know why you're doing this. I mean really know why."

"I told you why."

"Yeah, but now you're dealing with him." She pointed a finger at Takato, who was busily typing something on his cellphone."And I heard the way you sounded when you called him gogglehead."

Rika felt a blush beginning to form on her cheeks. She remembered how obvious it was her other-self was in love with her Takato, and how because of that such thoughts intruded upon her whenever she thought of this world's version of the boy. They were mostly background, but they were there, and she did acknowledge them.

Seeing her blush, Kayoko nodded.

"Rika…" she began, and at once Rika went stiff at that. Kayoko rarely used her first name unless she was being serious. Looking more intently at her friend, she found she heard a tremor in her voice and a shadow of memory passed over her face. Kayoko hesitated, and then cleared her throat before continuing.

"Rika, I've gotten a pretty good look at that boy you keep eyeing. Whatever your reasons are, here's a bucket of cold water for you to consider. You might not be able to fix him. I used to have a cousin who had the same look he does in his eyes. He's not doing good. Whatever he was before, he's changed, and not for the better. He's staring down a long road and wondering when it's going to be his turn."

Rika was silent for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.

"I know. It's just… I saw that other version of him. And I see similarities between them. I know he's hurting. I guess part of me thinks he's holding out hope that things will get better. I don't think he's the sort who would kill himself. He feels too responsible for everything around him. He needs someone who can watch his back."

"And you think that someone is you."

"I was in the other world. I'm sure of it. You know how I am. She and I… I know we're different, but we're similar enough. We don't just let anyone in without good reason. And she's even worse than I am. I just need to catch up."

Kayoko watched Rika for a few seconds before sighing. Reaching up, she patted Rika's back companionably.

"All right, Gogglehead, she's all yours now," she said loudly, startling the boy. "Toshiko and I will leave you two lovebirds alone. Just make sure she's home before curfew."

"Kayoko, what are you…?!"

Rika was abruptly cut off as her friend gave her a light, companionable shove in Takato's direction.

"Let us know how things turn out," Kayoko said. Looping her arm around Toshiko's, she began to pull her in the opposite direction.

"T-Text me!" the bespectacled girl said nervously. "Kayoko, are you sure…?"

"Well, I'm pulling, aren't I? She's a big girl."

Rika adjusted her pack and then waved. Uncertainty hit her and not for the first time did she feel bad for excluding her friends from her life's biggest events.

I-I hope I didn't hurt them, she thought, biting her lower lip.

"You've got good friends," she heard Takato say. Turning, she found herself smiling.

"Yeah. I just…"

"Just what?"

Rika picked at the hem of her shirt before shaking her head.

"Nothing. How far away are we from Hypnos?"

"A few minutes actually. Kenta says he found Suzie. They'll meet us there."

Rika nodded. She felt now that she was on the verge of making a big move here. Perhaps the biggest one she had ever taken. More so than saving the little girl in that other world.

It's a commitment this time, she thought. There'll be no going back once I enter Hypnos.

Summoning her courage, Rika resumed their trek. A second later, Takato joined her.

11