Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Seeing Red
Chapter: 19
The rain was coming down in buckets by the time Renamon deposited Henry on the porch of his apartment. The pair were both wet, Renamon more so than Henry, the vulpine digimon having done her best to shield him from the worst of the downpour while traversing the city.
"We could have continued our 'date,'" Henry said, brushing himself off. "You didn't have to call it off on my account."
A small, barely visible smile graced the vulpine digimon's features. "My," she said, her tail swishing behind her, having returned to her normal, kitsune form. "You sound regretful that it ended so soon."
A light blush touched Henry's cheeks and he scratched his face anxiously. "I just don't like the thought of you going to all this effort to learn about us and for it to go to waste," he said, giving a polite cough.
"There will be other times," Renamon replied, feeling rather touched by the teen's sincerity. "And I would prefer one where you don't come down with a cold on account of the weather."
Henry opened his mouth to say something, only for a loud sneeze to interrupt him. From inside the apartment, a head jerked up from behind a couch, revealing Suzie Wong's shining eyes. Renamon shook her head mentally.
"Oh dear. It would appear that is going to be the case regardless," she said, watching Suzie jump up and run toward the glass door. She wondered how best to handle her departure. Humans often said goodbye simply, but her observations of Takato and Rika and many other humans over the years suggested that something needed to be added. A kiss or a hug perhaps? But then, Rika and Takato were more apt to do those things, even publicly. Rika more so. But that did not necessarily mean the same would apply here. Different couples seemed to prefer different things and part of building a relationship involved dancing about and trying to determine what the other side was receptive to.
What would be appropriate with Henry? she mused, watching Suzie approach the door, her head tilted in curiosity. Drawing closer to the boy, Renamon lifted her tail and swept it about his waist, hiding their hands as she clasped them together. Henry's palm all but disappeared in her massive grasp, causing him to jerk up toward her with a massive blush erupting on his face.
"R-Renamon…"
"I'll leave you now," she said with a soft smile. "Sleep well, Henry."
With that, the kitsune abruptly vanished from view with the sound of a flute playing upon the wind.
Henry stood there for what felt like an eternity, his skin popping from the heat escaping his pores.
What… What just happened? he heard himself think, though to his mind he sounded distant and not really there. His thoughts hadn't yet come to shore. But even without that, concern welled up from inside him. Was this right?
The sound of a door sliding open followed by the clearing of a throat caught his attention. Still dripping wet, he turned to find his little sister smirking at him, arms crossed and expectant.
"So, Henry," she giggled. "Is this what Terriermon meant when he said you had a hot, foxy date tonight?"
Henry groaned and palmed his face.
"Terriermon…"
###
Thunder boomed as Renamon materialized outside the door of the Nonaka residence. After stepping inside, she slid the door shut behind her and took stock of the situation.
The house was quiet, though not without the usual noise that accompanied the occupants. She heard the distant sound of the television, suggesting either Rumiko or Seiko were watching something. Rumiko, most likely, Renamon decided, remembering the day of the week. Rika's mother had a program that she liked to watch. A program that, while not a shared interest, was nonetheless watched together with her daughter. Adjusting the strap of the handbag that the mistress of fashion had given her for her 'date,' the vulpine digimon reached out with her mind, searching for her partner to let her know that she had returned.
She found the girl a tangled ball of tension. Yet, oddly, she was strangely receptive and opened her mind almost immediately instead of retreating.
"Renamon! You're back!"
Renamon allowed a small smile to touch her lips as she stepped into the hallway, Rika's relief at her return washing over her like a low tide.
"So I am," she replied. "Things went well between you and Takato?"
"As well as they could be, I guess." There was a mental sigh and a flickering of images. Memories of her conversation with her lover-boy. Though affection and concern were dominant feelings, Renamon noted an undercurrent of anxiety and frustration tinting them. Amidst the mental images, Renamon deduced that they had something of an argument. Nothing serious, but concerning nonetheless. The reasons for this being rather obvious, owing to Takato's nature to worry about things.
"Would you like for me to check up on him?" Renamon asked, silently approaching the living room where she found Rika and Rumiko seated at the table. Rika was doing her best to look engaged and relaxed, but the girl telegraphed boredom and tension from a mile away.
There was a pause on Rika's end followed by another sigh.
"No. I need to trust him right now to work things through on his own. He doesn't need me to hold his hand all the time."
Renamon felt the flash of agitation at that. Clearly, Rika was at war with herself on that point. Renamon could understand. The relationship was so new and she wanted so very much for it to work out. Yet at the same time, it clashed heavily with her preferences for self-reliance and desire to not behave like so many of the girls she went to school with. Girls who struck her as so desperate to maintain the relationships they were in or desired that they were devoured by its shadow. Rika prided herself on being her own person and often feared losing herself to the whims and desires of others.
Renamon tightened her paw into a fist as a memory of her own filtered down into the link between them. A memory of Henry's hand in hers. A simple gesture and yet to humans it meant so much.
And from what she sensed she knew how much it meant to Rika.
"A-Anyway, how'd things go between you and Henry?" her Tamer asked, attempting to steer the conversation in another direction.
Renamon's eyes fell upon the screen. On it, two characters were talking to one another awkwardly. Renamon remembered them from previous viewings. They had a similar relationship that Rika had with Takato prior to actually getting together. They orbited one another and a kind of tension was clearly evident. Evident, that is, to all save each other.
"Educational," Renamon smiled, but only for a second before it was replaced with a slight frown. "Though I admit that more study is required. The storm today put a bit of a damper on things, I'm afraid."
She felt a tremor of something in their link.
"I'm sorry about that, Renamon."
Renamon cocked her head to one side as she took in her partner's face. The girl was no longer looking at the TV screen and instead bent her head downward. Her lips and eyes were twisted into something approaching anger, but ripples of other emotions eddied the surface of her waters along with it. A kind of reproach.
"Sorry. I'm pulling a Takato. Blaming myself for things that I'm not in control of."
Renamon gave a mental chuckle at that. "Unless you are somehow able to control the weather, you have little to apologize for."
She felt a flash of embarrassment and anger from her partner and a blush became visible on the girl's face. Renamon frowned slightly, but before she could say anything, Rumiko spoke up.
"Rika? Are you alright?" the elder Nonaka asked, voice full of concern. "You look red all of a sudden. Don't tell me that this is making you embarrassed. We've been waiting all season for this moment! You're far too precocious for something like this to make you bashful." Rumiko giggled. "Especially now that you're in a relationship with Takato."
"Mom…" Rika groaned, turning away from the other woman and folding her arms together defensively. Renamon glanced at the television. On it, the characters who had been dancing around their feelings for many episodes were now consummating them with a deep, passionate kiss. Her azure eyes zeroed in on the dance of their lips. The way they were desperate for one another's breath. Their touch. She wondered whether or not it actually felt as good as portrayed.
It appeared that way when Rika and Takato kissed, she thought, remembering her observations from one of their dates. She lifted a paw to her lips, wondering if perhaps it was too soon to broach the subject with Henry. Or if it was even wise to do so.
Renamon glanced back at the flustered Rika and remembering her words of warning. It seemed she would have much to think about tonight.
###
"Rika, are you certain you wouldn't rather have me look in on Takato?"
Rika looked up from laying down her futon. Looking away from her partner's gaze with a light blush and a grimace, she nodded.
"Yeah, I am. Besides, you might wind up walking in on him having another 'private moment.' I'll pass up on you having to deal with that horror movie."
"I believe I had already seen him masturbating when your relationship began," Renamon replied with a small smile. "I would hardly call it a 'horror movie' even if it looks a bit odd. And, it would seem, neither do you."
Rika's blush deepened in ferocity and she roughly tugged at a corner on her futon to work off some of her frustration.
"I swear, you've been around Terriermon too long," she grumbled. "Look, I just think he's had enough unexpected walk-ins on him and other weirdness. He could use a break from his goggleheaded luck for a change." Rising to her feet, Rika stretched her arms and felt a pleasurable pop in her back. "So could I, for that matter."
Renamon cocked an eyebrow at that. Seeing this, Rika shook her head to the thoughts she sensed already forming in her partner's mind.
"No, I'm not dumping him. It's just…complicated." She pressed her lips together in one, tight line. "I guess I just wish things would stop being so weird between us. It feels like every time things start to go nice the universe has to throw a curveball into things." Her eyes flashing, she cast a sharp look at her partner. "And don't tell me if I didn't want things to get weird that I shouldn't have picked Takato."
"I won't this time," Renamon replied, folding her arms together as she weathered Rika's flaring temper. "And even if I did, it would only be in jest, which wouldn't suit you now. He makes you happy, and for as long as we've known him, he has never wanted to do anything more than make those he cares about happy. I am quite sure that he would prefer that strange things, such as what transpired between you last night, didn't happen."
Rika hmphed, kicking lightly at her futon. "Well, I'm glad we're on the same page with that," she grumbled, fidgeting with the corners of her pajama top. Renamon watched her carefully. Rika appeared to be looking at the futon as though it were an enemy she was about to fight.
"Rika? Do you feel that what happened last night will happen again?" she asked, deciding not to beat around the bush. Rika's hands froze in their fidgeting. With an effort, she broke them away from her clothes and smoothed them out.
"Neither of us have any control over what happens in our dreams," she said quietly. "Yeah, I'm kind of wondering."
A sharp gust of wind blew across the house like some angry god, punctuating her point. Unfolding her arms, Renamon approached her partner and laid a paw upon Rika's shoulder.
"I will remain here tonight," she said. "No patrolling. If I sense anything or see something develop, I will wake you and we can deal with it together."
Rika's face dissolved into a brilliant scarlet and she hurriedly looked away. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Renamon."
The vulpine digimon tilted her head questioningly. "May I ask why?"
Rika's lips twitched as she struggled to speak. "B-Because…" she stammered out. "Because we might be…might be…"
Rika trailed off, unable to say anything more detailed. A flash of an image filtered through the link between the pair showcasing Rika wrapped in a coiling, twisting embrace with Takato, causing Renamon to blink at the intensity of the frantic energy and emotion that accompanied it.
"S-Sorry," Rika said quietly, her face now blending in with her hair.
"Don't be," Renamon shook her head, recovering swiftly. "This is a bit unusual for you after all and it helps that I understand it. But perhaps this gives all the more reason for me to stay and be by your side should you need me." She gave Rika's shoulder a soft squeeze. "If I'm not mistaken, neither of you want your lovemaking to be this way."
Rika groaned as the heat in her face suddenly doubled in intensity. The embarrassment aside though, she wasn't sure what to say. That she was afraid? That she might find Takato in her bed with his penis buried inside of her with him not even being aware of what was going on? Would he be able to stop?
Would he want to stop?
Rika bit her lower lip trying not to think about it. She hated those thoughts. That fear to trust him. She thought back to their earlier conversation, how she had attempted to waylay his concerns and put him at ease. What she had said then was true, but it struck her now that Takato might have been the one in the right after all. Even though he hadn't meant to, hadn't even known what was going on, he had hurt her in some way and the very idea of it sickened him.
"Don't tell me that you don't know how what I did makes me feel."
Is this what I am? Someone who talks a good game about trusting people I care about, but as soon as there's a rough patch of road I suddenly can't? I know Takato! I know what he'd do given the chance and it's not that! So why am I being like this?
"This…is so…stupid," Rika said throatily, falling back on her usual, preferred method of dealing with a problem. Attack it as something that ought to be beneath her notice. With an angry glare at her futon, she stormed up to it and roughly threw back the covers.
"Renamon."
"Yes, Rika?"
Burrowing into her futon, Rika drew the covers around her. Warmth from her body heat steadily began to suffuse into her and she basked in it for but a moment before answering.
"If something happens, I want you to remind me that he didn't mean it. That he'll never really do something like that to me no matter what."
Renamon gazed at her partner as she stared up at the ceiling defiantly, as if daring Takato's hormone-filled dreams to come at her.
And for all she knew, she very well was. Rika was a fighter after all.
Yet, for all this. For all Rika's defiant attitude, Renamon could see a subtle trembling in the girl beneath her blankets. This fight meant a great deal more to her than merely fighting a wild digimon. This was a fight for her trust in Takato and their relationship with one another.
"Of course," Renamon said, bowing her head slightly, hoping that Rika's trust in the goggle-wearing teen would be well-rewarded.
###
"You're up awfully late."
Takato turned from the kitchen counter, mug in hand and steam rising from the black coffee within, to find his father standing in the doorway, one eyebrow lifted questioningly.
"Yeah, well, I can't really sleep," he said, dropping his eyes away. Lifting the mug to his lips, he took a sip and all but gagged on the bitter liquid. Takehiro stepped into the kitchen, a bemused smile on his face.
"You're not going to sleep if you drink that stuff," he said. "You might want to add some sugar to that. And some creamer, if we still have any."
Guilmon, who had been sniffing in a corner, poked his head up from by the table.
"No, he really can't sleep," the crimson dinosaur explained helpfully. This only served to confuse Takehiro all the more.
"Uh, but that's going to make it harder," he repeated, pointing at the coffee mug.
"That's kind of the point," Takato answered in his partner's stead, smacking his tongue against the inside of his mouth to rid it of the bitter taste that still permeated his tastebuds. "Man, why would anyone want to drink this stuff?"
"It helps sometimes to stay alert." A lightbulb clicked on in his head and his good humor evaporated into concern. "Is there something you're staying alert for? Not a wild digimon, I hope."
"No, but right now I kind of wish there was one," Takato said, his expression becoming downcast. An alarm sounded in Takehiro's head at his tone. He knew it well. It was the sort of voice his son had whenever he had stepped in something bad and was trying to think of a way to fix things.
"Anything I can do to help, son?"
"Not unless you can keep Takato from having naughty dreams about Rika," said Guilmon, to which the boy jerked.
"Ah! Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed, his face burning with embarrassment and shame. Guilmon drooped his ears right away.
"Ohhh… But Takato, you've been working yourself up all day ever since you found out what happened. Maybe your dad can think of something that'll help! Isn't that what parents are for?"
"Uh, huh?" Takehiro began intelligently, having been utterly befuddled by Guilmon's words. Backing up mentally, he replayed the conversation in his head to make sure he had heard it right.
"Guilmon, I don't think Dad can h-help me with…with those kinds of dreams!"
Yep, Takehiro thought. Heard it just fine.
"Why not?" Guilmon pressed. "You once told me that humans had them all the time."
"N-Not like this, they don't."
"Oh yeah." Guilmon tapped a claw on his chin. "But maybe your dad can still help anyway? It's got to be better than trying to stay up all night and worrying. You need to sleep and we don't know how long it'll be until your digivice gets fixed."
Takehiro's head went from one speaker to the next like a ping-pong ball. Now Takato's digivice was related to his wet dreams about Rika?
"I think I really need to know what's going on," he said, his protective nature toward his son coming out now. The red stain on Takato's face deepened at that and to distract himself he took another sip from his coffee.
"It's kind of hard to explain."
"I have all night," Takehiro said, approaching the kitchen table. Drawing back a chair, he sat himself down in it. This wasn't actually true and a quick glance at the clock on the wall – registering a little past midnight – made him wince unconsciously. He had to be up early to get started on the morning's batch of bread. If he had to struggle to stay awake while he did his job…
No. Takehiro drew one hand into a soft fist and smiled reassuringly at his son. I need to be here for him so he can figure this out.
Takato stood hesitantly however, chewing over his lower lip while Guilmon and Takehiro looked on.
"Takato?" Guilmon prompted. "He's not going to bed, so why don't you just tell him?"
Hanging his head, Takato let out an embarrassed groan and went over to the table.
"I barely understand it myself," he said, seating himself. "Last night everything was normal and then…then…" He swallowed, his face burning. "T-The next thing I know, I'm with Rika and we were…" Takato hurriedly hoisted the coffee mug to his lips and gulped down more deeply. Takehiro waited, knowing his son needed time to organize his thoughts, owing to the habit his mouth and head sometimes had with getting tangled up when dealing with difficult topics.
"You dreamt that the two of you were together," he offered, trying to help him out. "And it went a lot further than just kissing."
Takato set his cup down, his expression twisted into deep disgust.
"A lot further," he confirmed, a bit of steam from the hot coffee puffing out in his breath. "And it was real. It actually happened. I don't know how, but our digivices somehow made it real for both of us. We were both in each other's beds and we were… I was…"
Takato's teeth ground against one another as he struggled to say the words.
"…on top of her. I was in her."
A deathly silence fell within the kitchen as Takehiro digested his son's words. Takato continued.
"She felt it. She felt everything I did to her even though she was really in her home. She told me she understands and that I didn't know what I was doing, but how can I just accept that?" Lifting a hand, he pressed it against his forehead. The words were suddenly coming out faster, as though a dam broke. "It's like I raped her! And it could still happen if I go to sleep again! I can't do that to her again!"
His eyes shone with unshed tears. Takato wiped at them but one, breaking free, tracked down his face. He angrily rubbed at it with his sleeve before glaring at his reflection in the coffee.
"How can she still love me after that? How can I be someone she can trust and depend on if she can't even trust me when I'm asleep? Turning Guilmon into Megidramon was bad enough, but this…"
Takato trailed off, but the unspoken words hung heavy in the air for all to understand. Takato felt as though he had violated Rika's trust. However unintentional it had been and unknowing, he had broken faith for a mere moment of pleasure.
For himself, Takehiro wasn't sure how to set his son's mind at ease. Rika hadn't been able to do it despite clearly telling him she didn't hold him responsible for what happened. Of all people he felt that she would have made her honest opinions known if she felt Takato had crossed a line with her. Somehow, she hadn't reached him.
But then, I guess it would be pretty hard to, he mused, leaning his chin into his hands. Takato's always been pretty sensitive and this is pretty out there. I don't think there's an adult in the world that could have prepared either of them for this. After all, how many of them have a digivice that can bring a digimon to life?
"I don't understand," Guilmon said, his tone suggesting this was not the first time he had mentioned this. "Your digivice is getting fixed so it won't happen again, and it's not like you meant for it to happen either."
"No one said relationships were easy," Takehiro said, leaning back in his seat. "And this is a bit different from someone you love finding the collection of naughtiness that you hide under your bed."
"But Rika already saw Takato masturbating and she still asked him out on a date. And I accidently put in one of Kazu's naughty DVD's during one of their dates because we didn't know what was on it and she didn't digivolve into Angrymon or anything. She even said she's done worse."
"Ah, geez Guilmon…" Takato groaned, palming his face. His partner tilted his head to one side while Takehiro looked at his son, stunned.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No, but I've been pretty careless." Takato pressed his lips together, running his fingers along the coffee mug. "I'm really not worthy of Rika's trust."
"Hah? But doesn't she say she trusts you all the time? Rika doesn't say she trusts someone and not mean it. She sometimes plays funny games when she skates on sausages, but even she knows how silly that can be after a while. And I know she'd tell you how silly you are right now because you didn't mean for any of it to happen. So why keep skating on sausages? Especially since the problem is being fixed so it can't happen again."
Takehiro hid a smile at the mental image of his boy and Rika both wearing sausages on their feet. "He's got a good point, you know."
Takato didn't look at all convinced. Or rather, he didn't want to be convinced. Guilmon had made excellent points that were hard to argue with and Takehiro suspected Rika had made much the same. From the years of association, he knew Rika could be rough around the edges and sometimes had a knack for causing herself unnecessary trouble, but she was mature enough to know now to not fool herself the way she had when she was younger.
Takato had been more like that as a child, but the changes brought on by puberty had caused doubts to grow up within him. These were rough edges that needed to get smoothed out.
"Maybe we should look at it another way," Takehiro began. "Do you want to hurt Rika?"
Takato sat up at that, blinking in alarm. "What? No!"
"Do you like hurting her?"
"No! Dad, why are you asking me that?"
"Just giving you something a little simple and straightforward to consider," he replied. "Since you first became Gallantmon, I always knew that it wasn't by accident or some kind of vanity thing. You've always been a good kid at heart. I don't understand all this digital world stuff all that much, but I know it brings out a lot of the things that are good about you. That are the best in you. Rika knows that, otherwise she wouldn't have anything to do with you. And you know that about Rika better than anyone."
"Except Renamon," Guilmon supplied. Takehiro nodded.
"Right. Except Renamon, and I don't see her around, so I'm pretty sure she knows that you wouldn't hurt her either."
"I'm pretty sure Renamon wouldn't let me see her if she didn't want me to," Takato pointed out.
"I don't smell her though," Guilmon said, sniffing the air for emphasis. "Anyway, Renamon trusts you and if she trusts you, then that's good, right? She's never been wrong before."
Takato heaved a sigh, his gaze inward and disagreeing. Takehiro sighed.
"Well, I suppose that it is too much to expect that this is going to be resolved in one conversation. Look. Don't beat yourself up over this. I don't think Rika would much appreciate it and I think it'd be wise to take a page from her book. You didn't know this could happen and neither did she. What you went through was perfectly normal for a boy your age. You just had an extra quirk thrown in and there was nothing either of you could have done to prepare for it. The two of you will get past it. If you really love her, don't let this get in the way of things. Do what you can to fix it, but be careful about how you go about it. Sometimes, you can still wind-up breaking things anyway by trying too hard. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I guess," Takato replied uncertainly. Very little of this changed how he felt, but he did want to make things right with Rika. The question of how though remained unanswered.
Takehiro pushed his chair back and got up.
"Right. Well, if you ever need to talk more about this, I'm here for you." Reaching out, he tapped the coffee mug in Takato's hands. "Try not to stay up too much later. I bet Rika would prefer you rested instead of falling asleep on her. Take it from me. Girls don't like it if they think you find them boring."
Crimson bloomed once more on Takato's face as his father exited the kitchen. As his footsteps retreated upstairs, Guilmon took a step closer to his partner and brought his arms to rest on the table.
"Are you okay, Takato?" he asked.
"No, not really," Takato replied before giving his partner a wan smile. "Thanks for trying to help though."
"No problemo!" Guilmon beamed as Takato took another sip of coffee. "Hey! Why don't you try masturbating before going to sleep? I bet that would help keep you from having funny dreams!"
"Bu-wha?!" Takato half-choked on his drink and looked at his partner in bewilderment. "G-Guilmon! Why would you say something like that?"
"Well, you only do it so many times and once you've done it you stop being restless and funny smelling for a while. I'm just thinking that if you do it before sleeping then you wouldn't have to worry about having naughty dreams." His ears drooped. "I said something wrong again, didn't I?"
"N-No, boy." Takato patted his partner on the head. "I mean, it was kind of weird and unexpected, but…" He shrugged. "Maybe it's worth trying?"
"Do you want to be alone then?" Guilmon asked, his ears perking back up. Takato blushed, amazed at how easily his partner took to this topic of conversation. He had a hard enough time speaking about it, but Guilmon always seemed to look past the awkwardness.
Skating on sausages, he thought. Well, I guess that's a lesson to live by when you fight off wild digimon.
"Y-Yeah," he stammered out finally. "I'll be up in a little bit."
"Okay!" Guilmon beamed, drawing back from the table. "Have fun!"
"Jeez…" Takato moaned as his partner turned around and hurried toward the stairs that led to the living quarters of the bakery. Only a Guilmon could say something like that.
Now left alone in the quiet of the kitchen, Takato leaned back in his seat. He felt too wired for sleep and despite Guilmon's suggestion there was simply no way he could work himself up to the sort of mood needed to give it a try.
Not after what's happened, he thought, his mood darkening again rapidly. I still don't know if I want to trust that something won't happen when I fall asleep. What if it does? In fact, what'll happen if I have a nightmare or something? How will that affect Rika?
Leaning forward, he picked up the coffee mug and took another sip from it. It was still hot, but had cooled off to something a little more to his liking.
Too bad the taste is still bad, he thought, casting his thoughts to where they kept the sugar. Getting up, he started toward a cabinet where his parents kept such things, wondering how much he would need to sweeten his drink.
Movement from out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.
He found Rika standing at the entrance to the kitchen, mist flowing about her and wearing a white, translucent gown that left very little to the imagination. Her hair was down and she wore a soft smile. Takato's eyes tracked along her figure, hesitating only briefly on her visible breasts before freezing on her violet gaze. Those eyes, he saw, held love and longing and his lips parted into a silent exclamation.
"Rika?" he said softly. A part of him knew what was going on, but the shock of it hadn't quite yet registered yet. As though her name had been a call, she ghosted toward him, flowing through the chair Takehiro had pushed out as though it weren't even there. The girl pressed herself against him, one hand clasping about his while the other hooked about the hem of his waistband, tugging anxiously. Her lips found his and Takato gasped in surprise.
"Rika, what…?" he began around the kiss, his mind finally starting to catch up with events. He started to pull away, but Rika's hand tugged more fervently – almost irritably – at his pants. Before he knew what was happening, her fingers found their way inside and slid about his penis where they proceeded to stroke him, encouraging an erection to form. Takato's mind whirled as she traced along the crown of his penis. He shivered, feeling himself growing harder with each passing moment. It felt so real.
The coffee mug slipped free from his grasp and shattered upon the floor with a loud crash, splashing his bare feet with hot coffee. His mind going to full alert now as the steaming liquid stung him, Takato broke free. His eyes once more met Rika's, who was now glaring at him angrily for interrupting their kiss. Her hand, still wrapped about his member, gave a hard squeeze and then…
Then Rika's expression changed, becoming suddenly aware. Her eyes widened in apparent panic and then she was gone, her form dissolving back into the digital mist that had formed it.
Takato didn't even think twice. He dashed toward the phone, pausing only a second to curse as a foot cut itself on a jagged piece of broken ceramic before resuming his mad rush, a trail of red droplets forming behind him on the floor. Snatching the phone off the hook, he hurriedly dialed Rika's cellphone number.
"Rika…" he whispered as the phone rang. "Please, please be alright."
10