T_T; I'm so sorry everyone, for taking so long. I had a very big
downtime and writer's block. I think I still do now. Oo; But, I would like
to thank... the ones who were patient with me. (Though I don't think there
is anyone at the moment. xX; Ack, I'm really sorry! T_T;) Oh, and mucho
thanks goes to the ones who pointed out my mistakes. ^^; Mucho thanks to
Anon. :D Thank you!
GOMEN NASAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!! T0T;;;
*kOff kOff* AnyhoO... on with the fic. ^-^
~*~*~*~
Disclaimer: Anything you know or see that isn't mine, it isn't mine! So that means anything relating to Digimon isn't mine! So there! The only thing that's mine so far is my story! Don't copy! ^^;
NOTE: If the text appears in reallie weird symbols and everything (xX; I hate it when it does that), just right click, and then click "Encoding". A list should appear next to it, and click "Unicode." It should look better after that. ^^; If it doesn't, please tell me in the reviews, okaie? :D
~*~
(Review from last time)
"Thanks so much for the new body, Keisuke. Ugh... but you're so heavy..." the female voice complained as she swung his legs to and fro from the rail of the rooftops. "Oh well... at least I can fly even with your weighty body..." she muttered.
Who exactly are you, you witch? Keisuke demanded in her mind.
"Oh... your son probably met my 'mother' two years ago... I'm just cleaning up and continuing her dirty work," she replied with a crooked smile. "Now shut up, you insignificant bug. I have to continue collecting the energy to make my own body," she said haughtily as she broke connection with Keisuke.
"Stupid fool... so easy to take control of his body. Ah well, enough about him. Hm... so many delicious excitement and energy here... Now the fun begins..." she murmured as she looked down upon the people below with a nasty grin.
~*~
Chapter 4
~*~
Ryo ran up the stairs in the building as fast as he could. Though he was tiring quickly, he put as much energy into himself as he could till he reached the roof. After reaching the highest floor, he ran towards the nearest exit and slammed the door open. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.
"Dad?!" he asked, disbelievingly.
Ryo's father sat on top of the rails with his legs swinging dangerously above the street below. He looked behind him, and seemed surprised at first, but then he began to smile maliciously. Ryo was disturbed by his behavior.
"I don't get it... You don't seem drunk... What are you doing?" Ryo asked, apprehensively. 'Dad...?'
Ryo's father turned around and went off the rails, placing his feet firmly against the ground. He leaned against the bars and looked up and down his son thoroughly. Ryo began slowly walking to his father. 'Something's wrong... I've never seen him act like this...'
"So, you must be Ryo," his father said silkily. Ryo froze. His father's voice was a woman's voice. Ryo looked at his father in horror.
"You're not my dad," he said flatly, tensing up. 'Who is this person? Why does he-I mean... she?-look like my father?' A disturbing thought struck him. 'A... a... hermaphrodite?!' Ryo felt very sick for a second. 'Ew... no, that can't be it... Uggh... Ewww...'
"We meet at last Ryo Akiyama. I finally found one of you," she said with a cock of his head. Ryo felt goosebumps go up his arm. 'What is with this guy...?'
"Who are you?" Ryo demanded. "You're not my father! Tell me who you are!"
"That's... not important, Ryo. Hn... My, aren't you a cute thing?" she replied with a creepy look. Ryo was just right about to puke now. 'If ANYONE saw this scene... this is WRONG...'
"I'm just borrowing your dad's body, dear boy. Ugh... I shouldn't have gone for him though... Maybe I should have taken Rumiko's body... So much easier," she complained as he dragged his feet around. Ryo clenched his fists. 'This thing... what has it done with my father?!'
"Where is my dad?!" he yelled at him. His father grinned at him.
"Don't worry, boy. He's still here... Just... You can say I'm the more dominant one," the voice replied with a devilish smirk. This infuriated Ryo even more.
"Let my father go, you jerk! You have no right possessing his body!" Ryo exclaimed aloud.
"Hn... You're right. Maybe I should go to someone else..." she said thoughtfully as she placed his father's index finger on his chin.
Ryo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You... you..." he growled as he trembled with anger. "I won't allow you to do that!" He lunged at his father, attempting to deliver a blow, but before he reached his father, he saw an evil glint that came out his father's eye. His father lifted his hand so quickly and made some sort of blue forcefield before Ryo could even get close. The barrier caused Ryo to bounce off the shield and hit the ground rather painfully.
"Oh, dearie me, Ryo. Did I hurt you?" she asked cruelly. "I'm sure if you hit me, I wouldn't be hurt. But your father will." He gave Ryo a nasty smirk. Ryo hit himself mentally. 'Damn... I didn't think...' He looked up and suddenly noticed blue winds surrounding him and his father. He looked around, alarmed.
"What the...?" 'It's the same one I saw in the building. What is it?' he asked himself, frustrated. He looked up at his father, and saw him yawn and stretch.
"This is boring... You're no fun," the voice pouted. "I think I'm going to go now." With that his father began slowly disappearing into the air. Ryo stared at him incredulously. 'What... what is this...?'
"Wait, no!" he cried out. "Give me back my dad!!!"
The voice cackled as the entire body was now part of the blue air. "I think you should worry more about your closest friend, Ryo... For you see... I destroyed his home..." she cackled mirthlessly. "And maybe the rest of his world along with his friends... Aww... Now, I feel bad... NOT!" She continued laughing insanely. Ryo felt his chest tighten. 'What is this...THING talking about?'
Suddenly, the wind around started to blow fiercely, and Ryo could barely keep his feet planted firmly on the ground. He covered his eyes with his arms, since the winds began to irritate his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his ear talk quietly and eerily, causing a shiver to go up his spine.
"We'll meet again, Ryo... And at that time... I'll be there to kill you. You... and your friends," she murmured dangerously. Ryo's eyes widened in horror. But before he could do anything, his father had disappeared and with the unearthly blue winds. Ryo was left standing there, stunned and horrified.
'What just... happened...?'
~*~
Ruki grumbled as she got ready to pose for the very last shoot of the day. She didn't even know why she was doing this. Suddenly, she saw her mom flash a smile in her way from her office. Ruki raised an eyebrow at her mother, and then she rolled her eyes. That was the reason why she did this. She scoffed at herself. She couldn't believe that she had gotten this weak. Just a smile could now sway her into doing what the person wanted. She shook her head. 'The world is coming to an end...' she thought sarcastically.
"Ok, Ruki. This is the last one, so let's make this one a good one," the photographer said as he began preparing his camera. Ruki sighed. 'Why... was I doing this again?'
"This time, turn sideways and give a sad, melancholy expression, like someone who's lost something very precious of hers," he said as he looked towards her. Ruki did what he asked. He smiled gleefully. "Perfect, Ruki. Now stay like that. Hey! Turn on the fan!"
"Aiite," responded one of the workers.
Suddenly, there was a large gush of wind that blew against Ruki's body. It surprised her at first, but she just stood there, knowing that she would have to pose with her hair flying all over the place. But, the wind felt nice, compared to the stuffiness of this place. The photographer grinned and gave her a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes in reply.
"Ok, now give me the same face as before, Ruki." After she had done so, he exclaimed out loud, "Perfect! Ok..."
*Flash*
Ruki blinked several times. God, she hated that annoying blinding light. Oh yes, she did. But she kept her lid cool and waited for her next instructions. Oh wait... That was it for today. Ruki let out a large sigh of relief. Finally. She was about to turn around to get ready to leave the studio, but a cheerful voice called out from behind her.
"Ruki!"
The auburn-haired girl turned around in surprise. The voice sounded familiar. She gave out a smile, realizing who it was.
"Hey, Juri," she greeted with a small grin. The other girl smiled broadly in return. She looked at Ruki with deep admiration.
"You looked so pretty in that last pose!" she exclaimed softly as she clapped her hands together lightly. Ruki let out a small chuckle.
"Yeah, right," she replied as she started walking to where her backpack was. Juri giggled. She knew better than to argue, but she knew that she got her point across.
"Want to walk home together?" Ruki suggested. Juri looked surprised, but it was quickly replaced with a face with eagerness.
"Sure!"
"Ok, hold on. I gotta change out of these ridiculous clothes and tell my mom I'm leaving earlier than her," Ruki replied. Juri nodded.
"I'll just wait outside the studio, Ruki," Juri responded softly. Ruki nodded back at ther and then left to do what she had to do first.
She quickly took off the modeling clothes, and changed into her old outfit. She sighed as she put away the more expensive attire into the changing closet. Suddenly, she saw a bright smile flash at her from the darkness of the closet. It startled Ruki, but then realized it was just her mind playing with her. She rolled her eyes. 'Great... Now I'm seeing things... Stupid lights...' However, the smile stuck to her mind. It was familiar... She widened her eyes in realization. 'That was Ryo's smile.' Today's encounter with Ryo rapidly replayed in her mind.
"See you at school, pumpkin!"
Her jaw suddenly stuck out, and her fingers curled up into a fist. 'That jerk... Calling me that like he did two years ago.' She let out a frustrated 'Ugh!' and shook her head. Suddenly, she realized something.
'Wait a minute... He said he'll see me at school?' Her jaw dropped. 'NO WAY... That better not happen...UGH, I'm going to die if that boy is going to be in the same school as me...' Ruki was very irritated by now. She grabbed a hold of the nearest softest thing available, and screamed as loud as she could into the object.
Rumiko looked up from her desk. 'Was that Rika?' She pondered for a few moments. 'Nah, probably not...' She continued doing her work without having the slightest thought that it was Rika.
Ruki slammed the door of the dressing room closed. She breathed deeply and placed her hand into her bedraggled hair. 'Ok... Calm down, Ruki... Or else Mom or Juri will start fussing all over me.' She quickly tried to calm down, and fixed her hair. Afterwards, she strolled into her mother's office as casually as possible.
"Kaa, I'm going home first," she said.
"Oh," her mom replied, turning around to face her daughter. "Oh, ok, hon. Your grandmother should be home by now. So, walk home safe, ok?"
"Sure, see you later," Ruki speedily said, leaving the office. 'Ah... I guess I was convincing enough...'
"Juri!" she called out to her friend. Juri turned around and smiled pleasantly at Ruki. Suddenly, her smile vanished, instead replaced with a look of worry on her face.
"Is there something wrong, Ruki?" she asked, concerned. Ruki looked at her in surprise. 'Damn. It knew it was going to be hard with Juri. She sees through everything, darnit.' Ruki shrugged inwardly. 'Oh well.'
"No, I'm fine. Why do you say that, Juri?" Ruki lied in the most relaxed way she could manage.
Juri continued looking at her with the same face. Ruki felt like strangling her. 'Stop. Looking. At. Me. Like. That.'
The other girl sighed and gave up. "Well, ok. If there's something that's bothering you, you can just tell me, okay?"
Ruki wasn't expecting that. Juri would usually persist in asking what was the matter, but guess not today. Oh well. "Yeah. Thanks, Juri," she replied, grateful of her friend's compassion. Juri smiled and nodded.
Both had developed some sort of mutual friendship with one another. Though when they first met, Ruki was disgusted by Juri's frail personality, and Juri was plainly intimidated by the stronger girl. However, after the battle with the D-Reaper two years ago, they began to spend time with one another, since they were the only girls in the Tamers group, except for Alice and Shuichon. Both found out that they had many opposites and differences, but they both believed in many other things that seemed more important than what they argued on. For two years, they continued to learn from each other, till now. Now, Ruki openly smiles with Juri, which was a rare case still to her other friends. You can say... that they're best friends now. Strange... but true. Ruki saw Juri as a younger sibling whom to take of, while Juri looked up to Ruki like an older sister. It just happened to turn out that way.
They walked down the streets of Shinjuku. Though their homes were in completely opposite directions, they both went down the same way, following the other.
"Hey, Juri?" Ruki suddenly asked as they walked on the sidewalk.
"Hn?"
"Do you like someone?"
Juri nearly choked on her own saliva. 'That was random.' Her face turned a beet red as she spluttered her denials. Ruki rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Right." Ruki gave out a slight smirk. Juri was getting very nervous by her friend's smirk. Usually... smirks aren't supposed to be a good thing. Well, it wasn't this time either.
"Juri, listen to me," Ruki said with her hands in her pockets. Juri looked at her friend, her face still red from Ruki's question.
"It's ob-vee-uhs." Ruki emphasized each syllable to get the point clear. She nearly laughed out loud at her friend's reaction.
Juri turned huffy. "I don't know what you're talking about." She began to walk faster than Ruki. Ruki couldn't contain her laughter. "You silly girl. Get back here," she said as she grabbed Juri's wrist gently. Juri leaned back with a cry of surprise. She turned around and faced Ruki with a pouty expression on her face.
"Ruuuukiiii. Why are you telling me this now of all times?" she complained. Ruki scowled and ignored Juri's whine.
"He likes you back, you know."
Suddenly, Juri turned very quiet and very scarlet. Ruki gawked at her.
"You mean you didn't know?!" she exclaimed in surprise. Oh man, she couldn't believe this. 'How could EITHER of them be so... BLIND?'
Ruki sighed in exasperation. "You know what? Just forget what I just said. All of what I had just said. Ok, Juri?" she said, tiredly. Juri remained silent. Ruki sensed something wrong. 'What's wr-Oh.' Ruki then realized how shaken Juri was from her comment. 'Oops.'
"Juri, it's okay. Don't worry," Ruki began saying. She felt awkward. Awfully awkward. "You like him back, too, don't you?"
It took a while before Juri finally nodded. Ruki then tried to smile in the gentlest way she could manage. "Don't worry. It'll all work out, okay?" she said to Juri, trying to comfort her friend.
'Oh jeez... what have I gotten myself into?'
~*~
Traffic lights lit up in the street of where the Matsuda bakery was located at. As fewer customers began to arrive, the two owners began putting their delectable items away.
"Hon, what time is it?" Mrs. Matsuda asked as she started packing away the remaining bread.
Her husband glanced at the clock. "It's 8:27PM. Why?"
Mrs. Matsuda looked at him, worried. "Don't you think Takato and his friend is staying out really late, today?"
Mr. Matsuda realized why she was worried. He frowned in disapproval. "They should be here by this time..." he murmured.
Suddenly, there was a tinkling of bells at the front door. They both looked up and found Ryo coming into the bakery. He seemed rather depressed, however it diminished once he saw the expression on their faces.
"What's wrong?" he asked, apprehensive. "Where's Takato?"
"He's not with you?" Mrs. Matsuda asked, anxious.
"Un-no," Ryo replied, hesitantly. "We didn't see each other since the morning."
Mr. Matsuda had put on a set jaw. Ryo didn't like the way things were going. "So... he's not here, yet?"
Both of the Matsudas shook their heads. Ryo was beginning to feel very uneasy. "What time does Takato usually come home?"
"He usually comes right after school," the mother replied. "Or at least by seven."
Ryo glanced at the clock. '8:36PM. Holy shoot, where is he?'
"Do you want me to look around town?" he asked Takato's parents. They remained quiet. Ryo began to feel panicky. 'This is my fault, isn't it? Oh jeez... I should go out and look for the kid.'
"I'm going to go out and look for him," Ryo said as he turned around to leave the bakery once again. However, right when he took a step out of the shop, he noticed a police car coming towards the bakery. He stopped and looked at the car curiously, and was surprised when it had stopped right in front of him. Takato's parents also noticed the car, and they stepped outside of the building to see what was going on. The officer came out of his vehicle and greeted the parents courteously. Ryo just stared in wonder. 'Why was a police officer visiting a good family like the Matsudas at this time of the day?'
"Good evening. Is this the Matsuda residence?" he asked politely.
The two parents looked at each other, both confused, and then turned their attention to the officer. "Y-yes. It is. Is there anything wrong, officer?"
He turned around and went to his car. Opening the front seat, he gently picked something or someone up in his arms. It looked like an unconscious kid. Ryo widened his eyes in realization.
'"It's Takato!" he exclaimed. He quickly rushed over to the officer to see his friend. The parents followed suit, alarmed at their son's condition.
"Oh my goodness, Takato, what happened?" his mother asked as his father took Takato out of the officer's arms.
"I found him in a small cave in the local park. He was unconscious, but I didn't see any injuries on him. He must have fainted somehow," the officer informed the parents. They nodded understandingly, though both had signs of being upset. Ryo looked at Takato and frowned. Takato had the expression of pain on his face, but he lied in his father's arms limply. 'Something bad must have happened. Something really bad. '
"Thank you so much, officer," Mrs. Matsuda said as she bowed at the man. He bowed in return and wished for Takato to get well soon. Takato's mother thanked him once more, and the officer promptly left. The two parents went into the bakery hurriedly to place their son onto a bed as quickly as possible. Ryo followed after them, ready to lend a hand if there was any needed.
~*~
O_O! I FINISHED! ahHhHhh. ... It's shorter though... than the previous chapters. xX; I'm really sorry about that. I just really wanted to bring out the next chapter as soon as I can. I'm planning to put the first day of school in the next chapter. oOoOo... Heehee... *planning all the evil things to do with Ruki and Ryo* Mu-Ha-Ha-Ha!!! xD okok... Sorry for the ENORMOUSLY long wait everyone... And please tell me if there is any mistake I need to fix! I did this chapter in a hurry, so I probably overlooked some things. Oh, and I know the conversation between Ryo and his father was quite confusing. It tried to make it not confusing as I could. ; Ack. Well, remember to review! :D Thanks for reading this much so far! It means a lot to me. :] Thank yoooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuu!!! T0T;;
IM: Digiberry // E-mail: [email protected]
~*Mika*~
P.S.!! If you want me to inform you of the next chapters of my story, please put you e-mail address in the review, so that I can e-mail you the notification! Thankies! :D
GOMEN NASAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!! T0T;;;
*kOff kOff* AnyhoO... on with the fic. ^-^
~*~*~*~
Disclaimer: Anything you know or see that isn't mine, it isn't mine! So that means anything relating to Digimon isn't mine! So there! The only thing that's mine so far is my story! Don't copy! ^^;
NOTE: If the text appears in reallie weird symbols and everything (xX; I hate it when it does that), just right click, and then click "Encoding". A list should appear next to it, and click "Unicode." It should look better after that. ^^; If it doesn't, please tell me in the reviews, okaie? :D
~*~
(Review from last time)
"Thanks so much for the new body, Keisuke. Ugh... but you're so heavy..." the female voice complained as she swung his legs to and fro from the rail of the rooftops. "Oh well... at least I can fly even with your weighty body..." she muttered.
Who exactly are you, you witch? Keisuke demanded in her mind.
"Oh... your son probably met my 'mother' two years ago... I'm just cleaning up and continuing her dirty work," she replied with a crooked smile. "Now shut up, you insignificant bug. I have to continue collecting the energy to make my own body," she said haughtily as she broke connection with Keisuke.
"Stupid fool... so easy to take control of his body. Ah well, enough about him. Hm... so many delicious excitement and energy here... Now the fun begins..." she murmured as she looked down upon the people below with a nasty grin.
~*~
Chapter 4
~*~
Ryo ran up the stairs in the building as fast as he could. Though he was tiring quickly, he put as much energy into himself as he could till he reached the roof. After reaching the highest floor, he ran towards the nearest exit and slammed the door open. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.
"Dad?!" he asked, disbelievingly.
Ryo's father sat on top of the rails with his legs swinging dangerously above the street below. He looked behind him, and seemed surprised at first, but then he began to smile maliciously. Ryo was disturbed by his behavior.
"I don't get it... You don't seem drunk... What are you doing?" Ryo asked, apprehensively. 'Dad...?'
Ryo's father turned around and went off the rails, placing his feet firmly against the ground. He leaned against the bars and looked up and down his son thoroughly. Ryo began slowly walking to his father. 'Something's wrong... I've never seen him act like this...'
"So, you must be Ryo," his father said silkily. Ryo froze. His father's voice was a woman's voice. Ryo looked at his father in horror.
"You're not my dad," he said flatly, tensing up. 'Who is this person? Why does he-I mean... she?-look like my father?' A disturbing thought struck him. 'A... a... hermaphrodite?!' Ryo felt very sick for a second. 'Ew... no, that can't be it... Uggh... Ewww...'
"We meet at last Ryo Akiyama. I finally found one of you," she said with a cock of his head. Ryo felt goosebumps go up his arm. 'What is with this guy...?'
"Who are you?" Ryo demanded. "You're not my father! Tell me who you are!"
"That's... not important, Ryo. Hn... My, aren't you a cute thing?" she replied with a creepy look. Ryo was just right about to puke now. 'If ANYONE saw this scene... this is WRONG...'
"I'm just borrowing your dad's body, dear boy. Ugh... I shouldn't have gone for him though... Maybe I should have taken Rumiko's body... So much easier," she complained as he dragged his feet around. Ryo clenched his fists. 'This thing... what has it done with my father?!'
"Where is my dad?!" he yelled at him. His father grinned at him.
"Don't worry, boy. He's still here... Just... You can say I'm the more dominant one," the voice replied with a devilish smirk. This infuriated Ryo even more.
"Let my father go, you jerk! You have no right possessing his body!" Ryo exclaimed aloud.
"Hn... You're right. Maybe I should go to someone else..." she said thoughtfully as she placed his father's index finger on his chin.
Ryo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You... you..." he growled as he trembled with anger. "I won't allow you to do that!" He lunged at his father, attempting to deliver a blow, but before he reached his father, he saw an evil glint that came out his father's eye. His father lifted his hand so quickly and made some sort of blue forcefield before Ryo could even get close. The barrier caused Ryo to bounce off the shield and hit the ground rather painfully.
"Oh, dearie me, Ryo. Did I hurt you?" she asked cruelly. "I'm sure if you hit me, I wouldn't be hurt. But your father will." He gave Ryo a nasty smirk. Ryo hit himself mentally. 'Damn... I didn't think...' He looked up and suddenly noticed blue winds surrounding him and his father. He looked around, alarmed.
"What the...?" 'It's the same one I saw in the building. What is it?' he asked himself, frustrated. He looked up at his father, and saw him yawn and stretch.
"This is boring... You're no fun," the voice pouted. "I think I'm going to go now." With that his father began slowly disappearing into the air. Ryo stared at him incredulously. 'What... what is this...?'
"Wait, no!" he cried out. "Give me back my dad!!!"
The voice cackled as the entire body was now part of the blue air. "I think you should worry more about your closest friend, Ryo... For you see... I destroyed his home..." she cackled mirthlessly. "And maybe the rest of his world along with his friends... Aww... Now, I feel bad... NOT!" She continued laughing insanely. Ryo felt his chest tighten. 'What is this...THING talking about?'
Suddenly, the wind around started to blow fiercely, and Ryo could barely keep his feet planted firmly on the ground. He covered his eyes with his arms, since the winds began to irritate his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his ear talk quietly and eerily, causing a shiver to go up his spine.
"We'll meet again, Ryo... And at that time... I'll be there to kill you. You... and your friends," she murmured dangerously. Ryo's eyes widened in horror. But before he could do anything, his father had disappeared and with the unearthly blue winds. Ryo was left standing there, stunned and horrified.
'What just... happened...?'
~*~
Ruki grumbled as she got ready to pose for the very last shoot of the day. She didn't even know why she was doing this. Suddenly, she saw her mom flash a smile in her way from her office. Ruki raised an eyebrow at her mother, and then she rolled her eyes. That was the reason why she did this. She scoffed at herself. She couldn't believe that she had gotten this weak. Just a smile could now sway her into doing what the person wanted. She shook her head. 'The world is coming to an end...' she thought sarcastically.
"Ok, Ruki. This is the last one, so let's make this one a good one," the photographer said as he began preparing his camera. Ruki sighed. 'Why... was I doing this again?'
"This time, turn sideways and give a sad, melancholy expression, like someone who's lost something very precious of hers," he said as he looked towards her. Ruki did what he asked. He smiled gleefully. "Perfect, Ruki. Now stay like that. Hey! Turn on the fan!"
"Aiite," responded one of the workers.
Suddenly, there was a large gush of wind that blew against Ruki's body. It surprised her at first, but she just stood there, knowing that she would have to pose with her hair flying all over the place. But, the wind felt nice, compared to the stuffiness of this place. The photographer grinned and gave her a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes in reply.
"Ok, now give me the same face as before, Ruki." After she had done so, he exclaimed out loud, "Perfect! Ok..."
*Flash*
Ruki blinked several times. God, she hated that annoying blinding light. Oh yes, she did. But she kept her lid cool and waited for her next instructions. Oh wait... That was it for today. Ruki let out a large sigh of relief. Finally. She was about to turn around to get ready to leave the studio, but a cheerful voice called out from behind her.
"Ruki!"
The auburn-haired girl turned around in surprise. The voice sounded familiar. She gave out a smile, realizing who it was.
"Hey, Juri," she greeted with a small grin. The other girl smiled broadly in return. She looked at Ruki with deep admiration.
"You looked so pretty in that last pose!" she exclaimed softly as she clapped her hands together lightly. Ruki let out a small chuckle.
"Yeah, right," she replied as she started walking to where her backpack was. Juri giggled. She knew better than to argue, but she knew that she got her point across.
"Want to walk home together?" Ruki suggested. Juri looked surprised, but it was quickly replaced with a face with eagerness.
"Sure!"
"Ok, hold on. I gotta change out of these ridiculous clothes and tell my mom I'm leaving earlier than her," Ruki replied. Juri nodded.
"I'll just wait outside the studio, Ruki," Juri responded softly. Ruki nodded back at ther and then left to do what she had to do first.
She quickly took off the modeling clothes, and changed into her old outfit. She sighed as she put away the more expensive attire into the changing closet. Suddenly, she saw a bright smile flash at her from the darkness of the closet. It startled Ruki, but then realized it was just her mind playing with her. She rolled her eyes. 'Great... Now I'm seeing things... Stupid lights...' However, the smile stuck to her mind. It was familiar... She widened her eyes in realization. 'That was Ryo's smile.' Today's encounter with Ryo rapidly replayed in her mind.
"See you at school, pumpkin!"
Her jaw suddenly stuck out, and her fingers curled up into a fist. 'That jerk... Calling me that like he did two years ago.' She let out a frustrated 'Ugh!' and shook her head. Suddenly, she realized something.
'Wait a minute... He said he'll see me at school?' Her jaw dropped. 'NO WAY... That better not happen...UGH, I'm going to die if that boy is going to be in the same school as me...' Ruki was very irritated by now. She grabbed a hold of the nearest softest thing available, and screamed as loud as she could into the object.
Rumiko looked up from her desk. 'Was that Rika?' She pondered for a few moments. 'Nah, probably not...' She continued doing her work without having the slightest thought that it was Rika.
Ruki slammed the door of the dressing room closed. She breathed deeply and placed her hand into her bedraggled hair. 'Ok... Calm down, Ruki... Or else Mom or Juri will start fussing all over me.' She quickly tried to calm down, and fixed her hair. Afterwards, she strolled into her mother's office as casually as possible.
"Kaa, I'm going home first," she said.
"Oh," her mom replied, turning around to face her daughter. "Oh, ok, hon. Your grandmother should be home by now. So, walk home safe, ok?"
"Sure, see you later," Ruki speedily said, leaving the office. 'Ah... I guess I was convincing enough...'
"Juri!" she called out to her friend. Juri turned around and smiled pleasantly at Ruki. Suddenly, her smile vanished, instead replaced with a look of worry on her face.
"Is there something wrong, Ruki?" she asked, concerned. Ruki looked at her in surprise. 'Damn. It knew it was going to be hard with Juri. She sees through everything, darnit.' Ruki shrugged inwardly. 'Oh well.'
"No, I'm fine. Why do you say that, Juri?" Ruki lied in the most relaxed way she could manage.
Juri continued looking at her with the same face. Ruki felt like strangling her. 'Stop. Looking. At. Me. Like. That.'
The other girl sighed and gave up. "Well, ok. If there's something that's bothering you, you can just tell me, okay?"
Ruki wasn't expecting that. Juri would usually persist in asking what was the matter, but guess not today. Oh well. "Yeah. Thanks, Juri," she replied, grateful of her friend's compassion. Juri smiled and nodded.
Both had developed some sort of mutual friendship with one another. Though when they first met, Ruki was disgusted by Juri's frail personality, and Juri was plainly intimidated by the stronger girl. However, after the battle with the D-Reaper two years ago, they began to spend time with one another, since they were the only girls in the Tamers group, except for Alice and Shuichon. Both found out that they had many opposites and differences, but they both believed in many other things that seemed more important than what they argued on. For two years, they continued to learn from each other, till now. Now, Ruki openly smiles with Juri, which was a rare case still to her other friends. You can say... that they're best friends now. Strange... but true. Ruki saw Juri as a younger sibling whom to take of, while Juri looked up to Ruki like an older sister. It just happened to turn out that way.
They walked down the streets of Shinjuku. Though their homes were in completely opposite directions, they both went down the same way, following the other.
"Hey, Juri?" Ruki suddenly asked as they walked on the sidewalk.
"Hn?"
"Do you like someone?"
Juri nearly choked on her own saliva. 'That was random.' Her face turned a beet red as she spluttered her denials. Ruki rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Right." Ruki gave out a slight smirk. Juri was getting very nervous by her friend's smirk. Usually... smirks aren't supposed to be a good thing. Well, it wasn't this time either.
"Juri, listen to me," Ruki said with her hands in her pockets. Juri looked at her friend, her face still red from Ruki's question.
"It's ob-vee-uhs." Ruki emphasized each syllable to get the point clear. She nearly laughed out loud at her friend's reaction.
Juri turned huffy. "I don't know what you're talking about." She began to walk faster than Ruki. Ruki couldn't contain her laughter. "You silly girl. Get back here," she said as she grabbed Juri's wrist gently. Juri leaned back with a cry of surprise. She turned around and faced Ruki with a pouty expression on her face.
"Ruuuukiiii. Why are you telling me this now of all times?" she complained. Ruki scowled and ignored Juri's whine.
"He likes you back, you know."
Suddenly, Juri turned very quiet and very scarlet. Ruki gawked at her.
"You mean you didn't know?!" she exclaimed in surprise. Oh man, she couldn't believe this. 'How could EITHER of them be so... BLIND?'
Ruki sighed in exasperation. "You know what? Just forget what I just said. All of what I had just said. Ok, Juri?" she said, tiredly. Juri remained silent. Ruki sensed something wrong. 'What's wr-Oh.' Ruki then realized how shaken Juri was from her comment. 'Oops.'
"Juri, it's okay. Don't worry," Ruki began saying. She felt awkward. Awfully awkward. "You like him back, too, don't you?"
It took a while before Juri finally nodded. Ruki then tried to smile in the gentlest way she could manage. "Don't worry. It'll all work out, okay?" she said to Juri, trying to comfort her friend.
'Oh jeez... what have I gotten myself into?'
~*~
Traffic lights lit up in the street of where the Matsuda bakery was located at. As fewer customers began to arrive, the two owners began putting their delectable items away.
"Hon, what time is it?" Mrs. Matsuda asked as she started packing away the remaining bread.
Her husband glanced at the clock. "It's 8:27PM. Why?"
Mrs. Matsuda looked at him, worried. "Don't you think Takato and his friend is staying out really late, today?"
Mr. Matsuda realized why she was worried. He frowned in disapproval. "They should be here by this time..." he murmured.
Suddenly, there was a tinkling of bells at the front door. They both looked up and found Ryo coming into the bakery. He seemed rather depressed, however it diminished once he saw the expression on their faces.
"What's wrong?" he asked, apprehensive. "Where's Takato?"
"He's not with you?" Mrs. Matsuda asked, anxious.
"Un-no," Ryo replied, hesitantly. "We didn't see each other since the morning."
Mr. Matsuda had put on a set jaw. Ryo didn't like the way things were going. "So... he's not here, yet?"
Both of the Matsudas shook their heads. Ryo was beginning to feel very uneasy. "What time does Takato usually come home?"
"He usually comes right after school," the mother replied. "Or at least by seven."
Ryo glanced at the clock. '8:36PM. Holy shoot, where is he?'
"Do you want me to look around town?" he asked Takato's parents. They remained quiet. Ryo began to feel panicky. 'This is my fault, isn't it? Oh jeez... I should go out and look for the kid.'
"I'm going to go out and look for him," Ryo said as he turned around to leave the bakery once again. However, right when he took a step out of the shop, he noticed a police car coming towards the bakery. He stopped and looked at the car curiously, and was surprised when it had stopped right in front of him. Takato's parents also noticed the car, and they stepped outside of the building to see what was going on. The officer came out of his vehicle and greeted the parents courteously. Ryo just stared in wonder. 'Why was a police officer visiting a good family like the Matsudas at this time of the day?'
"Good evening. Is this the Matsuda residence?" he asked politely.
The two parents looked at each other, both confused, and then turned their attention to the officer. "Y-yes. It is. Is there anything wrong, officer?"
He turned around and went to his car. Opening the front seat, he gently picked something or someone up in his arms. It looked like an unconscious kid. Ryo widened his eyes in realization.
'"It's Takato!" he exclaimed. He quickly rushed over to the officer to see his friend. The parents followed suit, alarmed at their son's condition.
"Oh my goodness, Takato, what happened?" his mother asked as his father took Takato out of the officer's arms.
"I found him in a small cave in the local park. He was unconscious, but I didn't see any injuries on him. He must have fainted somehow," the officer informed the parents. They nodded understandingly, though both had signs of being upset. Ryo looked at Takato and frowned. Takato had the expression of pain on his face, but he lied in his father's arms limply. 'Something bad must have happened. Something really bad. '
"Thank you so much, officer," Mrs. Matsuda said as she bowed at the man. He bowed in return and wished for Takato to get well soon. Takato's mother thanked him once more, and the officer promptly left. The two parents went into the bakery hurriedly to place their son onto a bed as quickly as possible. Ryo followed after them, ready to lend a hand if there was any needed.
~*~
O_O! I FINISHED! ahHhHhh. ... It's shorter though... than the previous chapters. xX; I'm really sorry about that. I just really wanted to bring out the next chapter as soon as I can. I'm planning to put the first day of school in the next chapter. oOoOo... Heehee... *planning all the evil things to do with Ruki and Ryo* Mu-Ha-Ha-Ha!!! xD okok... Sorry for the ENORMOUSLY long wait everyone... And please tell me if there is any mistake I need to fix! I did this chapter in a hurry, so I probably overlooked some things. Oh, and I know the conversation between Ryo and his father was quite confusing. It tried to make it not confusing as I could. ; Ack. Well, remember to review! :D Thanks for reading this much so far! It means a lot to me. :] Thank yoooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuu!!! T0T;;
IM: Digiberry // E-mail: [email protected]
~*Mika*~
P.S.!! If you want me to inform you of the next chapters of my story, please put you e-mail address in the review, so that I can e-mail you the notification! Thankies! :D