Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Takato Matsuda panted heavily, his sweat allowing his usual blue sweatshirt to cling to his chest as he leaned against the tree, hoping he wouldn't be seen by-

"GOGGLEHEAD!"

"Crap." The brown haired boy said fearfully, and tore out from the shade, praying her voice was louder than usual.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap" he continued repeating, a sort of demented chant.

"I SEE YOU! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I CATCH YOU!"

"I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Takato yelled, pumping his legs faster.

If anything, it only seemed to make things worse.

"I'LL MAKE YOU SORRY!" was the angry reply.

Really, it wasn't his fault. So he made some comment about the fact that she was wearing a skirt (really, you didn't see that sort of thing on Ruki everyday), and then she just goes ballistic.

Totally unjustifiable.

Unfortunately, Takato just wasn't nearly as in shape as the redhead, and he could feel his legs turning to jelly and his hair clinging to his face, as though pleading with him to stop.

And then, out of nowhere, as though through some contrivance, he tripped over a protruding tree root, landing with a hard thump on the ground, chin first as he lay sprawled, stunned for a moment. Struggling to regain his balance, he rolled over, breathing hard.

Before the brown haired boy could get his bearings, his pursuer was on him in a flash.

With a hard whoosh of air from his lungs, Takato's eyes snapped open as Ruki Makino looked triumphant, pinning him down with her body, straddling him.

"Got you Gogglehead." She taunted, smirking down on him with a superior look.

"Ca-can't breathe..." Takato wheezed, looking up pleadingly.

"That's your own fault." The redhead replied in a matter-of-fact tone, rolling her eyes. "Now, what to do with you." She said slowly, rubbing her chin thoughtfully with a malicious grin.

Feeling cold fear creeping up his back, Takato said quickly, "Mercy! Mercy!"

"You're not getting off the hook that easy." Ruki commented, and glared at him, crossing her arms.

"I said I was sorry." He responded tartly, still having trouble breathing with the girl on his chest.

"Hmph. Well... maybe I should beat on you, just to make sure..." the redhead began slowly, grinning dangerously.

"Wait! Please!" Takato babbled, before he noticed the amused look on her face. "You-you're joking?"

"Had you going there, didn't I?" Ruki said, rolling her eyes and chuckling. "I wouldn't beat you up, stupid. Just hit you." With that, she cracked her knuckles menacingly.

Panicking, Takato began flailing his limps about, struggling to break free from her hold. However, Ruki proved herself superior in the physical department, pinning both his arms down with her hands, grinning a bit wider.

"You're only making it worse for yourself..." she was practically singing the words out, her face inches from his, her lip curled into a victorious smirk.

Pinned and panicking, Takato's thoughts were jumbled and mixed. As he looked up at Ruki, her back wreathed by the golden sunlight, her hair shimmering like fire, her face slightly damp with sweat, an idea that would never have come to him if he was in control of his senses took over.

With a single, swift movement, he pressed his lips against her softly. The move surprised them both so much neither moved in that time.

It was only for a moment, as suddenly Takato realized that he had, in effect, kissed the Digimon Queen, Ruki, one of his best friends and the scariest girl he knew.

As he pulled away in a sudden panic, he hoped his death would be painless. But somehow, he figured it wouldn't be.

Ruki was gaping at him, staring with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. Her arms had gone slack on his, and the weight had mostly been lifted off his torso. Slowly, she lifted a single finger to her slightly swollen lips, and her eyes widened further.

Realizing that he was free, Takato pulled himself together and did the most sensible thing he could.

He ran like Hell.

When he didn't hear a thing after Ruki slid off him with a soft thump, he panicked further, pumping his legs harder. Oh no! She's so pissed off she can't even find the words to yell at me!

After another few moments, the redhead pulled herself together, and stood up so fast that the wind whipped around her. Her eyes were blazing and her fists were clenched.

"GET BACK HERE!" she roared, and the chase was on again.

Takato pushed himself through a brush without much difficulty, ducking around trees and generally praying for a miracle.

Instead, he found himself once again on the realization that Ruki was in much better shape than him, as he was suddenly, violently tackled to the ground. The two rolled about for a moment, with Takato mostly struggling to get free and Ruki struggling to hold him down.

The redhead won out, and pinned him once again, staring at him with hard violet eyes.

Fear choked in Takato's suddenly very dry throat.

"You call that a kiss!" Ruki hissed, and the brown haired boy blinked in surprise.

What-

"This is a kiss!" and with that, she grabbed a fistful of his blue sweatshirt and pulled him forward, slamming their lips together hard.

After only a second, Takato realized that kissing Ruki was pretty much like doing anything with her. She was harsh and demanding, forcing him closer.

Without resisting, going mostly on instinct, he put his hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer as well, not breaking the kiss.

There was a wet sensation pushing against Takato's lips and he realized it was Ruki's tongue a moment after she thrust it into his mouth, forcing his own into a dance.

It only lasted a moment, as suddenly Ruki pulled back, still staring at him with the same hard look, her lips swollen.

The tables were turned, and Takato was the one red faced and looking utterly bewildered and befuddled.

"W-why" he began, but she cut him off.

"That's how you kiss." The redhead said in lieu of an answer. She stood, brushing off her skirt (funny, he had almost forgotten that was the cause of this whole episode), and looked away. "Don't think that kiss means we're dating, Gogglehead." She said slowly, glaring at him.

Feeling crushed, Takato bowed his head, and bit his lip tightly. "Oh... okay."

"Well then, come on. You're taking me to the movies."

His head shot up and the brown haired boy looked perplexed, staring at her as though she were insane. "But I thought you said-"

That was all he got before she jammed her lips to his again, bruising them with her force before she pulled back. "This one means we are. Now come on. You're paying." Ruki said, and pulled back.

Takato, feeling it was better to take the path of least resistance, nodded and stood shakily. "Alright."

Ruki looked at him critically, and started walking off. "And don't even think about trying to hold my hand or any of that other crap. Got it?" her voice was hard as steel and she glared at him.

Feeling that he had placed himself in a very peculiar (but not altogether bad) situation, Takato nodded, swallowing hard.

This was going to be a strange relationship...