People Change
-2005-
Takato was laying in bed, looking up at his ceiling as he yawned. He was wearing his school uniform. It was his first year at Shinjuku High School, where he would be spending the next three years of his life stuck in what he considered hell.
"I'd almost rather fight the D-Reaper again.." He mused aloud to himself. He had just finished his first week, and he was reflecting and venting his frustrations.
"But Takato, the D-Reaper was super dangerous." The childish voice of his dinosaur companion spoke from under his lofted bed.
Takato rolled his eyes at the lack of understanding his companion had. "I didn't mean it literally, boy." He said, hopping off the bed and landing on his feet, turning to his partner. He sighed and sat down beside Guilmon who curled beside him. Takato began absentmindedly scratching Guilmon on the head. The digimon leaned into it and made some small vocalization of pleasure. Takato sighed. "I sometimes wish I could just be a digimon Tamer forever."
"Why can't you be?" Guilmon asked.
Takato sighed. "I mean.. I probably always will be." He laughed. "I just wish I could make it my job."
"But it is your job."
Takato kept scratching the dinosaur, looking at him. "Yes boy, it is my job. But when I'm an adult it won't exactly pay the bills.."
"Like your mom and dad do with the Bakery?" Guilmon asked.
"Pretty much." Takato said, letting out yet another sigh. "Man, if I could just be a digimon Tamer as my job forever.." He chuckled. "I could relax more. No more dumb homework.. I could spend all day with you.. And plenty more time with Rika." He said.
"You like Rika a lot, don't you Takato?" Guilmon asked.
Takato chuckled. 'Yeah boy.. I really do." He said with a small smile. "School sucks, I can't even see her during the day most days because we go to different schools." He said, looking down with a dejected look. "I haven't seen her in a week, I miss her."
Guilmon could sense his partner's negative feelings, so he simply nuzzled against Takato's face affectionately. "I'm sure she misses you too, Takato."
Takato's phone buzzed suddenly, he flipped it open and saw a text which said. "Stop whining and look out your window, Gogglehead." His eyes widened as he immediately looked up, finding Rika standing on his balcony. His eyes lit up as he ran over and slid the window open.
Rika stepped in. "Hey Goggles, miss me?" She asked.
Takato rolled his eyes. "You already know the answer." He said.
She smiled. "I know." She sat in his desk chain, spinning around. "It's just fun listening to you be corny." She gave a small grin as she teased him.
Takato rolled his eyes. "Glad you think my feelings are corny." He said, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes with a sigh. He heard Rika get up, and opened his eyes.
She walked over and hugged him. "Stop being such a baby.. I missed you too, Gogglehead."
Takato's entire body tensed a bit as she hugged him. "I.." He slowly hugged her back awkwardly, holding her against him. As far as Takato understood, this wasn't something she normally liked. The two held hands around their friends. They'd sit together, and occasionally she'd put her arm around him, or let him put his arm around her. But overall, PDA was not a big thing for them. She had said so herself, she didn't much like PDA and being all mushy around other people.
She pulled away and looked at Takato. "You ok?"
"Yeah sorry I just.. Was not expecting a hug.." Takato chuckled a bit. "You're not big on the physical stuff."
Rika rolled her eyes. "Ugh you're such a Gogglehead!" She punched his arm. "I swear, do you still think I'm the same girl I was when I was ten?" She asked.
"Ow! What? No!" Takato said, nursing his freshly smacked appendage.
"Then why do you act like I'm gonna bite you if you initiate physical contact?"
"I.." Takato thought for a second. "You just never seem to like it.." He mumbled quietly. "You told me you aren't big on PDA-"
Rika sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, thinking. "Takato.. What does the 'P' in PDA stand for?" She asked flatly.
"... Public..?" He was almost asking with the way he said it, very apprehensive as to not piss her off.
"Good, so your head isn't empty." She spoke with a slightly condescending tone "Look around."
"Huh?" He said, scanning the room. "What am I looking for?"
"Are we in public?" Rika asked, feeling annoyed that she basically had to beat him over the head with the point.
And finally the point seemed to seep in. His eyes lit up in realization. "Ohhh.. Oh.." He looked at Rika's annoyed face. "Oh." He sighed. "Sorry, I'm an idiot."
"Tell me something I don't know." Rika laughed, punching his shoulder in the same spot. "Now can we get out of here, I don't wanna be stuck in your room all day." She smiled at him.
Takato laughed. "Sure.. But you might wanna sneak back out.. Our parents uh.. Still don't know." He said awkwardly.
Rika nodded. "Yeah. Not a bad idea. See you in a few, Goggles." She said, walking onto his balcony and climbing over the side.
Takato sighed in relief and put his shoes on. "Bye Guilmon. We'll play later." He scratched the dino's head affectionately. The dino hummed affectionately in response as Takato got up and headed for the bedroom door. "Hey Mom, Dad! I'm heading to the park with a friend! See you later!" He yelled to his family as he descended the stairs.
"What friend is this?" His mom asked.
"Oh, uh.. Rika." Takato said.
"Really?" His father stepped in on the conversation.
"Yeah." Takato said. "There a problem?"
"No son. I just expected that if you were gonna spend some one on one time with anyone, it'd be Jeri." His father chuckled.
Takato laughed awkwardly. He knew what his parents expected. Truthfully the jokes about him and Jeri didn't embarrass him anymore, but he kept up the act around his parents so they didn't get suspicious. "H-Hey! You know Jeri and I aren't like that!"
"Whatever you say kiddo." His mom said. "But you should hurry, that girl isn't gonna wait forever for you." She said, turning back to go to the kitchen.
Takato sighed. "I.. I know." He turned and walked out the door, finding Rika waiting across the street. "Hey."
Rika looked at him. "You're such a slowpoke. C'mon, let's go." The two started walking. Ever since the dress up 'date' when they were thirteen the two had gone on other dates. Some more traditional like going to eat somewhere, but most were more tailored to their interests. They went to a local tournament at one point where Rika completely dominated it, including beating Takato in the finals. She wouldn't admit it, but he had put up a good fight.
Takato walked beside Rika, his hand absentmindedly slipped into her's as they walked. Walking together, the duo searched for anything to catch their interest on the way to the park. Takato suddenly just decided to throw a dart at the wall. "Wanna go get some food?" He asked.
Rika shrugged. "I could eat, cafeteria food is garbage so I don't eat at school."
Takato laughed. "Tell me about it. I live with bread all day and let me tell you whatever they serve at my school is NOT bread." He mused.
Rika chuckled a bit at his antics. "There's a sushi place nearby. Let's go there." She said. Takato nodded and followed along. They stopped at a small hole-in-the-wall place where they could eat a good amount for a cheap price.
As they sat across from each other after they finished eating, Takato took out a small sketchpad.
"What's that for?"
"Oh nothing. Just practicing." He said, taking out a pencil.
"Practicing what?" She asked. "You hoping to draw Guilmon a new buddy?" She asked with a smirk.
He rolled his eyes. "No. I've been getting into art recently. More so than before. I'm working on my line work right now."
She nodded. "Y'know some girls would be insulted by their boyfriends sketching in the middle of their date."
"I know. That's why I'm sketching you." Takato said, bringing the pencil tip to his pad.
Her face turned red immediately. "What!?" She exclaimed, looking at him incredulously.
He looked up at her face. "Yeah. I started the sketch today instead of paying attention in Geometry class." He said. "Figured if I have you here as a reference. Now's as good a time as any to finish."
"Why are you sketching me?" Rika asked.
"Well I started out with male body types because I have pictures of myself to use. Then I moved on to doing Henry and Kazu.. Then I asked Jeri to borrow some of her 'fashion magazines' to get a better idea of larger male body types."
Rika felt like she was being bombarded with so much information she really should have gotten sooner. "Wait so.. Henry and Kazu?"
"Yeah, wanna see them?" He flipped through the sketches, showing her the one of Kazu. He was squatting down and looking forward, a hand on his visor. The one of Henry was just him standing with his arms crossed. Takato flipped to another page with Henry leaning against a wall, Terriermon sat on his head.
Then he flipped the page again and there was a large, muscular man standing there shirtless. Rika's eyes widened and her face turned slightly red. "The heck is that!?" She said, letting her embarrassment quickly subside as she came up with a way to tease Takato. "Is there something you aren't telling me, Gogglehead?" She smirked.
Takato raised an eyebrow. "What? No! I told you I got those references from Jeri's stuff."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Rika asked.
"Ok so remember how she reacted when she first met Leomon? All smitten and obsessed?"
"Yes.."
"Let's just say there was more to it than her wanting a digimon partner." He said bluntly.
"Oh…" Rika mulled over the info for a second. "Oh.." The realization finally set it.
"Yeah aside from the lion head, pretty much her ideal guy." Takato laughed.
"How did you even figure that out?" Rika asked.
"I walked her home a few months ago and she asked me about you and whatnot. We had a chat and then eventually when we got back I hung out in her room for a while." Takato explained.
"In another girl's room alone?" Rika said. "Goggles you must want to die." She said with a chuckle.
"It's not like that. I'm beyond over Jeri and you know that." He gestured with his hands as he spoke. "Anyways yeah no she went to open her desk drawer and it was stuck. Pulled a little too hard, boom, the whole thing fell out. Found her 'fashion magazines' in the mess on the floor."
"Yikes. Poor girl." Rika said.
"Her misfortune was to my benefit, I told her I'd keep it under wraps, and in exchange she let me borrow a few for body type references."
"So how does this all lead to you sketching me?" Rika asked.
Takato flipped back to her half finished sketch. "Well I've gotta learn to draw girls at some point and you're the only girl I stare at enough to do from memory."
"Ignoring the fact that you stare at me, weirdo-" Rika spoke with a chuckle. "-why not just get some reference material like you did from Jeri? Kazu probably has plenty of 'fashion magazines' of his own."
"His 'fashion magazines' are way too hardcore for what I wanna draw." Takato said flatly. "Plus you know my mom, if she found porn in my room I think she'd probably kill me right there."
Rika laughed. "I guess so."
"Plus you go into my drawers all the time. If you found that without context I think you'd kill me."
"I would not! I'm not the same hothead I was when I was ten, Gogglehead!"
"Would you believe my story about using it as references if I didn't tell you all this first?" Takato asked bluntly.
"... Ok you raise a fair point." Rika sighed, finally looking at Takato's half finished sketch of her. She saw that her face was probably the most finished aspect of it. The clothes that were lightly sketched in over the anatomy were clearly inspired by her casual wear.
"Huh.. Not bad.." She smirked a bit. "I like it."
"Really?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yes."
"That's.. Good." He smiled. "I'm glad I finally got to show you this.. Originally I was gonna wait until I did a good drawing of you and surprise you.. But I'm glad you know."
Rika smiled a bit and slid into the seat beside him. "Yeah.. Me too.. It's also nice to know you stare at me, weirdo."
"H-Hey! I'm not trying to be weird!" He said.
"Oh my gosh you can't help yourself! You're like Kazu!" She laughed, poking his cheek with a small grin.
"Do not even put me in the same tier as that creep!" Takato said with indignation.
Rika laughed at him and smiled, leaning against him. "I don't mind you looking, Gogglehead. I know you're not being weird like Kazu… For the most part."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Takato asked.
"You're still a boy. I won't say I'm tuned into your staring but I've caught your glances a few times Gogglehead. You're not as discreet as you think you are."
His entire face turned red. "Sorry.." He said. "You're just pretty."
Rika giggled. "I know.." She said proudly. "I don't mind, you're respectful, but you're a boy." She spoke matter of factly. "Besides, I'd be lying if I said I didn't look sometimes too."
Takato stared blankly. "Uh.. What? Not much to look at here.." Takato said awkwardly.
"You have your moments, don't sell yourself too short, Gogglehead." She smiled.
"Did you just compliment me?" Takato asked with a surprised tone.
"Yes, idiot. I did. Why is that so hard to believe? I've changed,"She said. "And you have too."
Takato sighed. "Yeah.. Point taken." He said. "Sorry, I guess I'm still caught up in the past sometimes." He mused.
Rika smiled. "Yeah.. Me too." She said, putting an arm around his shoulder.
"Guess it's something we gotta work on.. Together." Takato smiled. "We're still us, but you aren't the same girl who attacked my pet dinosaur."
"And you're not the exact same Gogglehead who's always being a moron. You are still a dumb Gogglehead usually though."
"Just like you're still kind of a teasing jerk to me usually." Takato laughed. "Even if I enjoy it."
The two sat there for a bit longer before deciding to leave. As they walked home, Takato walked beside Rika. "Y'know normally it's the boy that walks the girl home, Rika."
"Well yeah, but I don't care." Rika said bluntly. "Your house is closer and I live across the city. Making you walk all the way back would be selfish."
"I.. Really don't mind." Takato said meekly.
"I know, and that's endlessly irritating." She chuckled.
The couple reached the Matsuki's residence and stopped quietly, standing in front of the store. Takato chuckled. "I uh.. Guess I'll see you later Rika."
"I'm coming to see you tomorrow. We're too busy to hang out often during the week, so unless you make prior plans, I own your weekends." She said bluntly.
Takato chuckled. "No real complaints there. Not like I'd use them for anything productive anyways."
Rika nodded. "Good, we're in agreement then." She said, turning. "See you later, Gogglehead."
Takato waved. "Uh.. Bye.. Rika." He spoke quietly. "I love you." He said. His eyes immediately widened at what he said, desperate to take the words he just spoke back.
Rika was also shocked. She turned to face him. "What did you say?" She asked.
Takato became instantly flustered, stumbling over his words to speak. "I-I-I didn't mean to say that Rika! I'm sorryughI'msuchanidiotohhhI'mso stupid!" He said, pushing a fist against his forehead in frustration.
Rika missed most of his rambling, except the part where he called himself stupid at the end. She saw his panic and took a deep breath. For a while she had also feared saying those words. They were only fifteen, and they really did care about each other, but she always stressed over whether the word 'love' was right for this situation. She smiled. Hearing it finally felt right.
"Takato." She spoke in a calm tone. The calm usage of his real name snapped him from his self-deprecating ramblings.
"R-Rika..?" He said nervously.
Rika approached him. "Be honest, did you mean it when you said that?" She asked, a serious but calm tone to her voice.
Takato's words got caught in his throat. He really didn't know what to say. They hadn't even kissed, and Kazu made fun of his sure yeah two years is a long time in a relationship to go without even a first kiss but still. He had just used the 'L-word' as Kazu called it. He scrambled to think. He didn't know if saying yes would make her mad, or if saying no would make her upset. Rika didn't normally do this serious and calm tone, so he couldn't read her. He thought hard.
The only conclusion he could come to was that if he couldn't determine how she would react regardless, he should just be honest. So he thought about it. Did he really love Rika? He wasn't sure if he knew what the word meant. Love just always seemed like a distant word you use when you're married that kinda means 'really like.' But it was clearly more. He looked at Rika, her calm, storm gray eyes stared back at him. He thought about it. He'd been with Rika two years as her boyfriend, and longer as her friend.
He wanted the best for her obviously. But the more he thought about it and envisioned what he meant by best, the more he saw her potential happy future. Working a job she liked, spending time with their friends, working hard as a Tamer, graduating, seeing the world. Anything he could think of. And as more images came to mind, more and more Takato saw himself standing beside her in those images. Him being there when she gets out of working, him sitting beside her, holding her hand as they have a reunion with their friends as adults, him traveling with her, looking into the starry night sky from the boat they would be riding.
He took a deep breath and realized he didn't know what love was, but he knew he wanted to be with Rika for now, and the foreseeable future. He wanted to be with her through whatever the two of them endured. He wanted to share his experiences with her, be with her regardless of everything else. Takato may not know exactly what love is, but that sounds pretty close. He looked Rika in the eyes.
"Yes.. I meant it, I love you." Takato said.
Rika smiled. It was an earnest, warm smile not like the one she gave when teasing him or messing with him. He recognized that smile from the times she would thank him for a fun date, or hug him goodbye. He still remembered the first time he saw that smile the night he asked her to be his girlfriend.
Rika bridged the space between them and got close. She put a hand against his cheek. Takato's eyes widened as Rika leaned in, closing her eyes. He felt something soft and moist press against his lips. He knew what it was but it took his brain a second to register it. "She's kissing me.." His brain was swimming with noise, running a mile a minute trying to understand what this meant, but in all that noise, a voice of wisdom came through, one that he noted sounded remarkably like the girl kissing him, a voice that just said "don't think too hard, just enjoy it."
And Takato took that advice, finally reciprocating his girlfriend's kiss as he rested a hand on her back. After only a few moments that felt like an eternity to them, their lips separated. Her storm gray eyes stared into his gentle crimson eyes.
"I love you too, Takato." Rika said, looking at him. The two stayed close in their pseudo embrace, just staring at each other.
Until like all good things, it came to an end. A rather sudden, crashing end. "TAKATO MATSUKI WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" His mother's voice tore through the evening air.
Takato's eyes widened. "Crap.." He said.
Rika met his expression and sighed. "Crap.."