Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. Please support the official release.
Imperfect Reflections
Despite the regularity of how often the Tamers dealt with random bio-emergences, Takato tried to take every encounter as seriously as he did during his early days of dealing with them. After all, each one was either a Digimon who was simply lost and wanted to return home or one that was capable of and dead-set on causing damage. Unfortunately, they were currently dealing with the latter scenario.
Worse still, the Raremon that had appeared had chose a residential area as its exit point, and a moderate number of civilians had gotten caught in its digital field. On their own, Raremon probably wasn't much of a threat, but Guilmon and Renamon having to be conscious of everyone else around them added an extra layer of challenge to this battle. They were currently on the back-foot, trying to both dodge and redirect the sludge monster's attacks.
"There's your opening, get 'em!" Rika yelled just as Renamon dodged one of Raremon's strikes. She spun around, landing a kick to the wild Digimon's eye that left them stunned.
Takato chanced a glance at Rika. Given the day she had been having, taking her out was a bit of a gamble, as he wasn't sure if she was too distracted to concentrate on the fight or if the fight was just the distraction she needed. So far, she seemed to be at the top of her game.
"This is your last chance to surrender," Renamon offered as her opponent stilled recoiled from her last strike.
Only snarling in response, Raremon lashed out, faster than any of them thought they could. Renamon took the hit, being sent flying through a nearby fence. Guilmon charged forward in response, only for Raremon swing their free appendage down and pin Guilmon to the ground.
Takato quickly pulled out his modify cards for one that might help, but was momentarily distracted by screaming coming from the opposite side of Raremon from him. A young girl had been separated from her mother in all the chaos, and she was attracting Raremon's attention.
Raremon reeled back, letting out a glob of toxic liquid from its mouth and in the little girl's direction. She likely would have been have been consumed by the attack if someone else had not stepped in and pulled the girl out of the splash zone.
Takato had to double-take, to confirm that Rika was still standing by his side. When he saw that she was there with a shocked look on her face, he looked back to find that it had been none other than Rika's own alternate universe doppelganger that had come to the little girl's rescue. When and why she had followed them was anyone's guess, but her timing had been spot-on.
Deciding that it was time to put a stop this fight, Takato finally chose a modify card. Swiping it through his DigiVice, Guilmon began to glow in response, growing and changing shape until Growlmon took his place.
With increased size and strength, Growlmon easily shoved Raremon off of him. Glaring down at the wild Digimon, Growlmon opened his mouth as fire began to build up at the back of his throat.
"PYRO BLASTER!"
The flames rained downward, incinerating Raremon within seconds. Not long after that, the digital field collapsed around them.
With the dust settling, Takato made his way over to the other Rika, who was in the middle of being thanked by the little girl she saved and said girl's mother. Waiting a moment so she could take in their gratitude, he let them step away before approaching himself.
"That was a close one," Takato said lightly.
Rika's double smiled modestly. "Tell you the truth, I was kinda terrified once my brain caught up with the rest of my body." She looked past him, watching Growlmon as he de-digivolved. "Thanks, by the way."
"No problem," Guilmon replied with a smile.
"He wouldn't have needed to save you if you stayed out of trouble in the first place," Rika said as she joined them, somehow seeming more tense now that the fighting was over.
Her double frowned. "I was just trying to help."
Rika crossed her arms. "Well, you could have helped by not being a burden on the rest of us."
Her double's frustration seemed to soften, her eyes sinking to the concrete under their feet. She had been taking Rika's comments up to this point, and even returning a few of them in kind, but this one seemed like it actually hurt her. Takato turned back and forth between the pair of them, looking for some sign that Rika was picking up on this.
"Fine, I'll let the little girl die next time." The other Rika turned on her heel and walked in the general direction of the Nonaka residence.
"Rika, she did save that girl's life," Takato pointed out once they were alone.
"Renamon could've done that," Rika countered, though she wouldn't look at him as she spoke.
"No, I couldn't have," Renamon said as she approached them. "I was incapacitated by that last attack."
Rika shook her head. "Still, she could have died too. What was she thinking?"
Renamon paused, then shrugged. "I think you're in the best position to tell us that."
Rika looked off in the direction her doppelganger had left in. Though her expression stayed mostly blank, Takato could tell she had a lot on her mind. Knowing her, she was wrestling with a decision she was about to make.
"When you told me to suit up, I thought you wanted me to put on a lab coat or something like that."
Through the observation window looking into the Tamers' training facility, or "Danger Room" as Takato liked to refer to it, Jeri watched Rapidmon's shoulders sink in disappointment. Henry had reservations about using using this card on his partner, so he had taken the precaution of having Terriermon digivolve to his Ultimate form. Still, no one really seemed any more at ease, and rightly so given how many variables were still unknown.
"Stand by..." Henry instructed from his spot next to Rapidmon. Calmly and deliberately, he swiped the notorious Ophanimon card through his DigiVice.
Rapidmon's right forearm began to glow, changing shape into a gauntlet holding a golden javelin. Briefly examining it, Rapidmon gave a sideways glance, only for Henry to motion to room around them.
The Danger Room was currently configured into an arboreal setting, with a forest several times larger than the room's actual dimensions should have been able to allow. Jeri wasn't knowledgeable in the science behind it, other than that by studying digital fields and other similar phenomenon, Hypnos had been able to distort the space within this arena and create what they called a digital zone, essentially a tiny Digital World. The application of this technology wasn't entirely clear either, though Jeri assumed it wouldn't be limited to a gym for the Tamers' personal use.
"Hi-ya!" Rapidmon called out as he flew forward, jabbing and swiping at the trees around him. An impressive display of precision, yes, but nothing resembling the display of energy Lopmon had put out when Suzie had used the card.
"Okay, come back up," Alice said into the intercom. As Henry and Rapidmon moved to exit the room, she refocused on her computer monitor, almost glaring at it.
"Something wrong?" Jeri asked as she circled around to get a view of the screen.
"No strange readings..." Alice didn't look up as she spoke, eyes locked on a graph that Jeri decided not to even try to comprehend. "Not even a trace of the distortions we've seen before."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Technically, no. Here, take a look." Alice through of an overhead map that looked vaguely familiar to Jeri. "This is Rika's house, right where her double slipped through. Not a trace of any kind of interdimensional breach, almost as though the tear opened and then immediately healed itself."
"So what makes this breach different from the others?" Jeri questioned. Again, she wasn't up to date on the science, but she had seen the damage done by these tears firsthand. This whole incident seemed clean by comparison.
Alice frowned. "I don't know, and I hate not knowing."
"I'm just saying..." Terriermon's voice stalled any further conversation as he and Henry entered the room. "I think I'd look good in one."
"Oh, I have no doubt that you believe that," Henry replied dryly before looking to Alice. "So nothing?"
She shook her head. "No, and my bet is that it'll stay that way until we get Suzie to replicate what she did exactly."
"Right then..." Henry sighed and looked over his shoulder at the door behind him. "I'll go get her."
He motioned for Terriermon to hop off his shoulder before turning around. He walked deliberately but slowly, clearly trying to mask his hesitancy. His last conversation with his sister hadn't gone well, but Henry wasn't the kind of person who would let that interfere with what they had to do. Still, he looked like he needed help, and as soon as he stepped out into the hallway, Jeri followed.
"Hey, Henry," Jeri called after him, causing him to pause and wait for her to catch up. "Do you want me to talk to her?"
Henry hesitated, briefly looking away from her. "I didn't want to ask."
Jeri tilted her head and tried to smile. "That didn't sound like an answer."
Henry crossed his arms and looked away again. "Well, she might actually listen to you, and it would give me a little extra time to figure out what to say to her."
"Okay, sounds like a plan!" Jeri gave a quick thumbs up and moved to walk past him.
"Jeri, wait," Henry said suddenly, causing her to pause and turn back around. "You know none of this is actually your fault, right?"
"No, it just feels like it is," Jeri replied nervously. This wasn't a line of conversation she wanted to pursue at the moment, especially with a friend who was observant enough to get wise as to what she was hiding. Even her brief reply had been more than she wanted to say.
"I know all of us look to you to be one of the adults in the room, maybe a little too often..." Henry spoke softly, clearly making it a point to choose his words carefully. "...but that doesn't mean you can't let yourself off the hook once in a while."
"I'll remember that if you will." Jeri waved as she turned around and continued across the hall.
Jeri wasn't ready to talk about her recent breakdown, as she really hadn't had enough time to make sense of it herself. She needed time, and while she knew that her friends would support her, she also didn't want them treating her like she was made of glass. Her spot on the team was tentative as it was, and if she wasn't allowed to be present to support her friends, then she didn't know what her purpose was.
She shook the thoughts from her head upon entering the Tamers' common area and spotting Suzie and Lopmon sitting in the corner, the former organizing her modify cards on a small end table. Jeri took a deep breath, reminding herself she had a job to do.
"Hey," Jeri said softly as she approached. "They're ready for you in there."
Suzie didn't look up from her cards. "As long as I don't screw things up again."
"You didn't screw anything up." Jeri sat down on the couch next to her. She had figured this conversation was going to be a bit more complicated than simply bringing the younger Tamer into the next room.
Suzie snorted. "No, Henry and Rika both agree that I did, and you're the first person to disagree with them."
Jeri only hesitated for half a second, knowing she had to approach things honestly as well as being supportive. She wasn't going to argue that Suzie had done nothing wrong, as she had been present for both incidents that afternoon. While dealing with the bio-emergence that led to Rika and Suzie butting heads, the pair had been out of sync, tripping over each other and almost seemed liked they were competing with one another rather than working together against the wild Digimon. Their eventual win had been more a result of force of will than skill and teamwork, and that animosity had carried them all the way back to Rika's house. In other words, nothing that could be placed solely on Suzie's shoulders.
"I like to think there's a difference between screwing up and making a mistake," Jeri summarized.
"The mistake was Rika and me getting called to the same bio-emergence," Suzie countered, eyes bouncing between the cards in front of her.
Jeri nodded. "Because the two of you don't work well together, I know."
"It's not fair." Suzie finally turned to face Jeri, quiet frustration clearly bubbling below the surface. "I've seen her make plenty of stupid decisions without thinking and somehow it's only wrong when I do it."
"That might be part of the issue." Jeri could only guess at what had actually been going through Rika's mind earlier, though she liked to think she had gotten good at guessing. "Your brother, Takato, and Rika rely on one another to cover each other's weaknesses. Rika, subconsciously or not, expects you to fight like Henry."
"It's not like I don't plan things out!" Suzie jerked a finger towards the end table. "You know how much thought I've put into picking my modify cards? But in a fight, a Tamer has to trust their instincts!" Suzie paused briefly, seeming to calm down. "At least that's what Ryo used to say."
"Is this about Ryo?" Jeri asked without thinking. The question had bothered her before, and this felt like the best setting to get an answer. "Is that why you've been so set on competing with Rika today?"
"Maybe..." Suzie eyes suddenly went wide and her face turned red. "N-Not in the way you're thinking! I'm not Ai, okay? I know that he didn't- that he couldn't... I'm not like Ai!"
"Then what's the reason?" Jeri tried and failed to not smile as she spoke.
Suzie looked away and started fidgeting with her hands. "I learned how to be a Tamer from Ryo, and he was better than Rika. If I'm not better than her, does that mean I've let him down?"
"No," Jeri stated instantly, not needing to reflect on it in the slightest. "Though I think we're inching closer to what the real issue is."
"And what's that?" Suzie looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Rika might expect you to be like Henry, but you expect yourself to be like Ryo," Jeri explained as she stood up. "I say stop trying to emulate other people and just be you."
Suzie tilted her head. "And then... what? I'll just stop making mistakes?"
"Let's settle for just not making that mistake." Jeri winked at the younger Tamer. "Trust me, if you point out someone who doesn't make mistakes, I'll point out someone who's faking their way through life."
"What were we talking about again?"
"Mistakes, made by you and Rika and other people, and how we're going to set them right!" Jeri took a single step backwards, towards the exit. "Come on!"
Suzie sighed, though seemed to be smiling underneath it all. She patted Lopmon on the back before the pair of them stood up and followed Jeri's lead.
By her own request, Rika's returning from dealing with wild Digimon was not treated as any kind of special affair. She was sure some people would argue that she was taking these fights to lightly, but it helped her maintain a sense of normalcy by treating the ordeal like returning home from school at the end of the day. On this day in particular, that trend was not broken.
Still, Rika could sense a slight air of tension around her as she stepped through the front door. Despite not wanting to do so, she made it point to track down the source of this tension, eventually arriving at her bedroom door.
There, Rika's doppelganger sat with her back leaned up against the outside of the door, lost in thought and staring into space. Rika stared for a moment herself, not quite sure how start this conversation given how their previous ones had gone. Eventually, she opted for whatever popped into her head first.
"Your dress is ruined," Rika pointed out, her double finally realizing she was standing there.
"I guess," she replied apathetically, barely glancing at her clothing which had been ripped and stained due her proximity to Raremon's acidic attack.
"What are you doing?" Rika asked as she sat on the ground as well, though made a point to keep about a meter between them.
Her double shrugged. "My thoughts were that I'd go to my room, but then I realized at the last second that this isn't my room, but then realized I didn't have anywhere else to go, so here I am."
Everything around them seemed to go completely silent around them, leaving Rika to shift uncomfortably in her spot on the floor. Part of her even seemed to forget what they were meant to talk about, leading Rika to actually look in the opposite direction, hoping the answer would just come to her.
"Mom and Dad aren't happy."
Rika turned back instantly at the sound of her double's words, finding her looking downward, almost like she were speaking to the floor. Again, Rika didn't feel like she had an appropriate reply.
"They've never said it, and they try their best to pretend, but I can tell," her double continued, little to no emotion in her voice. "They stuck it out for my sake and they're miserable because of it."
"That's not on you," Rika replied. It sounded like something Takato might say, and for what it was worth, she felt like she meant what she said.
"Feels like it is." Her double clenched her fists around the hem of her dress. "Like I'm so fragile that I would break if anyone made a decision for themselves for once."
"Is that why you threw yourself into that fight back there?" Rika questioned, still feeling like she was missing some context for their current conversation. "To prove them wrong?"
Her double finally looked at her and shook her head. "No, because I knew they were all right."
Rika raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"When the D-Reaper came, the Tamers from my world stopped it," her double explained, somberness leaking into her voice. "They saved Shinjuku and the whole planet."
"What's that got to do with you?"
"Absolutely nothing, and therein lies the problem." Rika's doppelganger hesitated, but seemed to force herself to stay focused. "Some of the Tamers didn't make it out of that battle. I didn't think much of it at the time. They were just some names from a tragedy that I assumed had nothing to do with me."
Rika felt her chest go cold, part of her brain trying to force the rest of her to figure out how that battle had gone without her presence. To guess which of her friends had died. Rika pushed those thoughts away, deciding that she didn't want the answers to those questions.
"Guess you're putting the pieces together," her double continued as she looked her over, obviously reading her expressions. "It was a shock for me too, arriving here and realizing people were dead because I was too weak to be a Tamer."
"If you were really that weak, you wouldn't have even tried to save that little girl," Rika countered, partially because she meant it, but also because she wanted to steer her own mind from the dark place it was going to.
"Don't patronize me," her double snapped as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm not." Rika summoned up all her willpower to not do the same. "Look, becoming a Tamer was down to a lot of factors, some of which we still don't understand."
Rika intentionally paused, to try and track where her doppelganger was mentally at this point in the conversation. She had looked away, though whatever annoyance that had caused her previous outburst was gone and had made way for guilt to return to her face.
"The main thing was choice," Rika continued, deciding it was all or nothing by this point. "I chose to be a Tamer. You wanna stop feeling weak? Well, stop acting like you are and get out of your own way."
Her double turned back around with wide eyes. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Fine, I'll play along..." she muttered before shaking her head and refocusing. "You've been nothing but angry and insecure since I got here. Maybe instead of getting jealous of me because your friends like me better-"
"Care to rephrase that?"
"-stop acting so closed off and defensive around the people who care about you. The fact that they've lasted this long with your attitude means they want to be close to you. Give them a chance or they're gonna move on."
Rika remained still and silent at first, a bit awestruck if she had to admit it. For one thing, she hadn't been expecting their discussion to me turned in her direction. Second were the words themselves. While she hadn't been told anything she didn't try to tell herself on a regular basis, the words hit different when being said out loud and to her face.
"You know, I punched my last doppelganger in the face."
"Yeah?" her double replied, playful grin one her face. "Try that here and I'll punch you right back."
"Yeah, that tracks..." Rika said under her breath as she leaned her head back against the wall behind her.
The silence around them resumed, though the tension holding the house seemed to disappear. Rika tried not to dwell too much on it, chalking it up to taking the first steps towards making peace with herself.
The sun had barely started to set by the time Henry's group returned to the Nonaka residence. None of the specifics of what they had uncovered were explained, other than that it would be best to send the other Rika home from here, so that she could return to the spot she had been taken from. Naturally, there were still some questions, but there didn't seem to be a lack of confidence on anyone's part.
"So it's as simple as that?" Takato asked, knowing from past experiences that interdimensional integrity was more fragile than one would think.
"Not exactly," Henry answered, focus split between Takato and his sister, who sat a little ways away from them with her partner and Jeri. "A lot of our tests were inconclusive. We know it works, but we're not clear on the how and why."
Terriermon groaned. "I don't suppose we could just call it magic and wash our hands of it?"
Henry shook his head. "I won't feel comfortable leaving it alone until we have at least a working theory."
Knowing he didn't have much to contribute on that front, Takato gave his friend a nod and the pair of them separated. While Henry moved to go talk to Suzie, Takato walked over to the two Rika's in the middle of the yard.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked once he got close enough.
"Just wrapping up our goodbyes," Rika replied, glancing at her double, who finished scratching Guilmon behind the ear before turning to give Renamon a gentle handshake.
Takato took a step forward. "Well, in that case, take care of-"
His farewell was cut short by the other Rika stepping forward herself, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
"You too, Gogglehead."
Takato sputtered, feeling his face heat up. Put on the spot, he lightly patted her on the back with his right hand.
"Don't push your luck," Rika growled from behind him. Takato didn't feel confident guessing which of them she was talking to.
"Remember what I said," Rika's double said as she finally released him, crossing her arms and looking at her namesake with a playful smile.
"Same to you," Rika responded nervously, not a trace venom or animosity in her voice.
Feeling things were as resolved as they were going to be, Takato gave one last wave as he led Rika and their partners away, leaving Rika's doppelganger to wait for her portal home.
Getting closer to their friends, they found Henry looking over a laptop screen, Suzie's DigiVice connected to it via a wire. Henry paused for a moment, looking away and picking up a trading card sitting next to the DigiVice.
"Are you done yet?" Suzie asked, less impatiently and more nervously.
Henry didn't look up from the card. "Just making sure I didn't miss anything."
"Is that the only reason?"
"Yeah..." Henry paused, finally unplugging the DigiVice and handing it and the card to Suzie. "I trust you."
Suzie hesitated, briefly looking up at her brother like she had something else to say. She ended up staying quiet, turning around and leading Lopmon to the middle of the yard.
"Try not to mess this up," Rika said calmly as Suzie passed them.
"Just stay out of my way," Suzie replied nonchalantly, not even bothering to turn around.
"You two getting along?" Jeri chimed in, a subtle grin on her face saying that she understood way more about that brief interaction than Takato did.
"Maybe..." Rika hesitated, then sat herself right next to Jeri. "Sorry about snapping at you earlier."
"You don't have to be sorry about that." Jeri spoke calmly and her tone was confident, but her previous grin seemed to disappear entirely. "We both were a little out of sorts earlier."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, we're good."
While the way Jeri was speaking and acting wasn't necessarily out of character for how she normally carried herself, Takato still felt like something was missing. He stopped himself from pointing it out, however, partially because he didn't know exactly what he would be pointing out, but also because of a flash of light in the corner of his eye catching his attention.
Said light faded, revealing Antylamon standing in the middle of the yard. Without wasting a second, Suzie swiped a modify card through he DigiVice, causing her partner to radiate a white light.
"My question is how are we gonna know she's being sent back to the right reality?" Terriermon piped up, which was a valid question to his credit.
Either completely ignoring Terriermon's concerns or perhaps as a direct response to them, Antylamon knelt down, gently touching Rika's doppelganger with the tip of her finger. The girl started to glow as well, and though she seemed nervous at first, she relaxed herself just as she started fading from view.
"It is done," Antylamon concluded, looking towards the group and giving a single nod.
Henry looked over the Tamers' common area one more time, making sure nothing was out of place. Mostly satisfied with the state of the room, he closed the door behind him and started making his way across the hall.
"Doesn't Yamaki have people to clean this place up for us?" Terriermon complained from his perch on Henry's shoulder.
"I just wanted to make sure for myself," Henry replied as they arrived at the Danger Room's observation room. "Everyone's juggling a lot right now and there's a chance stuff could fall between the cracks."
Pushing the door open and peering inside, Henry's once over of the room froze when his eyes passed over the control console. There, sitting exactly where they had previously left her, Alice stared intently at the main monitor.
"So you're telling me you had no ulterior motives for coming back here, right?" Terriermon asked, arcing an eyebrow grinning like he had other comments to make.
Not really interested in hearing any of those comments, Henry committed to entering the room. Crossing the room to the main console, he was about halfway there when the sound of his footsteps caused Alice to look over her shoulder.
"Hey," Henry said with a quick wave. "Whatcha got there?"
"Just the data from earlier." Alice turned forward again once Henry arrived at her side. "Something's not sitting right with me."
Henry nodded, relating to the feeling all too well. "Have any other tears opened?"
"None, but that's not what's bothering me."
"The original opening, huh?" Henry leaned forward, rereading the same graphs and charts for what felt like the hundredth. Like earlier, he wasn't seeing much in the way of patterns and correlations.
"We still have no idea what caused it." Alice leaned back in her chair, dropping her elbow onto the armrest and resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "It definitely wasn't the card that did it, or at least not on its own."
"Maybe Lop has some leftover Deva powers that we never knew about," Terriermon suggested, the tone of his voice mostly serious.
Henry gave the idea some serious consideration, admitting to himself that it could have been a possibility. They knew for a fact that the Sovereigns possessed the ability to travel between realities, and it wasn't impossible that Zhuqiaomon shared this power with his servants. The sticking point was that the Devas had bio-emerged the same as every other wild Digimon, which begged the question as to why none of them had made use of it.
Alice suddenly leaned forward again, shifting around the windows on the monitor and opening a couple new ones. "What do you guys know about Lopmon's evolutionary line?"
"Not much..." Henry paused to consider. "As far as I know, Suzie has always had her bypass the Champion level whenever she digivolves, so we're only really familiar with the two forms."
An image of Lopmon appeared on screen, from what Henry recognized as Hypnos' Digimon database, an amalgamation of data collected by the Tamers and then supplemented by meta data from the trading card game. Alice clicked a couple more times, bringing up a new image of an angelic and bestial looking Digimon. According to the database, it was one of Lopmon's potential Mega forms.
"Cherubimon..." Terriermon read off the screen.
Henry read over information provided by database, only being vaguely familiar with Cherubimon. Henry's eyes locked on one line in particular, which labeled it as a Celestial Digimon, the same label Lopmon had used to previously describe Ophanimon.
"Mind you, evidence is circumstantial," Alice said after the silence had persisted for a few seconds. "Still..."
"You think it's a latent ability," Henry concluded, still unable to look away from the screen.
Alice shrugged. "Could be the Ophanimon card provided the missing pieces of code needed to drudge the power up."
Terriermon sighed. "Suzie and Lop are gonna flip when they hear this..."
Henry was almost certain his partner was correct. He wouldn't keep this information from sister, but he couldn't make up his mind if this was a potential asset or a new problem to deal with. Knowing their luck, however, the one certainty was that they would find out in due time.
Rika took a couple extra seconds to stand outside the Matsuki bakery, staring inside and gathering her nerves. She had a few things she needed to say once she stepped inside, and the last things she wanted to do was forget any of it or miscommunicate her point. Luckily, the day was basically over and the bakery was mostly empty, so there wasn't much to worry about as far as distractions went.
Deciding she was about as ready as she would ever be, Rika took the first step forward and moved through the front door. Again, there wasn't much in the way of foot traffic once inside, with the first person she encountered being Takato's mother, who turned at the sound of her approaching.
"Oh, hey, Rika," Mie Matsuki said softly as she continued taking down the bakery's front display. "You looking for Takato?"
Rika nodded and made it a point to try and speak politely. "Yeah, if he's not too busy."
Mie rolled her eyes and gestured behind the counter. "He's catching up on some chores he ducked out on earlier. He should be just about finished."
Stuck on what the appropriate response was, Rika simply nodded again and moved in the suggested direction. Sure enough, she found Takato right behind said counter, cleaning out one of the shelves. His back was to her, and since he didn't even pause from his current chore, it was likely he was completely unaware of her presence.
"You missed a spot," Rika said, telling herself she had done so against her better judgment.
Takato yelped and jerked upwards, bumping his head into the shelf above him. Rika had considered waiting for him to finish, but knew he would have been startled anyway when he turned around and found she had snuck up on him. She felt bad for a second, but knew this would have more or less been the outcome one way or another.
"You hurt yourself?" Rika asked once he turned to face her.
"Just my pride. Also, my head." Takato finished massaging the spot that had hit the shelf and gave her his undivided attention, curiosity all over his face. "Is everything alright?"
Rika had to pause, to keep herself from deflecting the question. "I thought we should clear the air."
"About what?" Takato asked with a raised eyebrow.
Rika took a deep breath. "I wasn't fair to you, or anyone for that matter, during all that crap earlier."
"It was a weird situation." Takato put on a reassuring smile. "Definitely shocked the heck out of me when I walked through the front door."
"Yeah, but you handled it better than I did." Rika crossed her arms, glancing away from him for a split second.
Takato shrugged. "That's debatable."
"No, it's the truth." Rika uncrossed her arms and leaned forward, her hands gripping the counter between them. "And you were right. I can tell you anything. I just..." She paused briefly, the words coming to her one at a time. "...was too stuck being me about the whole thing."
Takato leaned forward as well, his smile becoming a more neutral expression. "I can listen right now if stuff is still bothering you."
"I was upset." Rika paused again, still fighting against her instincts to walk away rather than open up. "I mean, obviously, but I was worried that you guys liked the other me better. That you would choose her over me if you had to, and the worst part is that I couldn't even blame you."
The bakery around them seemed to go silent, and Rika looked down at the counter between them. She was torn, on the one hand knowing Takato and her friends and how ridiculous she sounded, but on the other having to admit to herself that this was how she felt. She wondered if she would have been better off just keeping quiet.
"I know, it's really dumb," Rika concluded, feeling as though she had said enough and it was time to let the conversation be.
"Yeah, kinda."
"Excuse me?" Rika's eyes going wide and darting upwards.
"W-What I meant was that the other you was nice and all, but she wasn't you." Takato smiled back at her nervously, like he had surprised himself just as much as he had her. "It just felt like she was missing something, and I'd always choose to be..." He hesitated, then seemed to find his confidence. "...with you over any version of her any day."
Rika managed to smile and roll her eyes at the same time. "I guess you are kinda dense like that."
Takato scratched the back of his head. "That's not debatable."
Suddenly feeling a lot better, Rika was about say her goodbyes and walk away, but stopped herself at the last second. For the life in her, she could not definitively say what her reservations were when it came to her relationship with this boy.
At first glance, it was possible it was all down to superficial reasons. After all, going to an all-girls school meant Rika was in proximity to all kinds of gossip and chatter that grated on her. There were days she was convinced that all her classmates talked about were boys, and wanting and having a boyfriend of her own would have made Rika no different from the lot of them. Thinking on it, however, this felt all the more like a weak excuse.
Rika wondered if the real culprit was the one romantic relationship she had firsthand knowledge of to use as a comparison, that being her parents. A shrink might try to convince her that she was afraid that any relationship she entered was doomed to end the same way, that any partner she took might abandon her much in the same way her father did.
Of course, this line of thought almost made her angry at herself. The fact was that she knew Takato, and even if this particular kind of relationship wasn't for them, he was physically incapable of walking away from the people he cared about. This all amounted to the divide between them being down to flawed reasoning and Rika's own cold feet, both of which she was tired of fighting against.
Oh, get over it.
Rather than turning to leave like she intended, Rika took a step forward, reaching a hand to Takato's cheek to pull his face face forward, and pressing her lips against his.
This was also possibly the most awkward moment of Rika's life, and not only because of the counter between them. It took a moment for Takato to actually start kissing her back, and even then it was clumsy and unpracticed on both ends. Still, there was a warmth and comfort that came with the moment as well, and neither of them bothered to stop until they were reminded that they didn't have the bakery all to themselves.
"Not in front of the bread, Takato."
Rika and Takato both jerked backwards, finding Mie watching them with a deadpan expression on her face. Takato just stood there twitching and sputtering, and with the heat she was feeling, Rika didn't want to guess how red her face was.
"Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow then!" Rika said way louder than was necessary as she beelined for the exit.
"Sounds good..." Takato replied weakly from behind her.
Part of her said she was running away from her fears, but Rika felt confident in choosing to ignore that voice. After all, being more open about how she felt was a new commitment on her part, and she felt like she was already off to a strong start.