Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ How to Tell You ❯ "Fighting Blocks the Pain." ( Chapter 2 )

How to Tell You
Chapter 2: "Fighting Blocks the Pain."

"Hah, I won!" Takato triumphantly slapped down the card, and Hirokazu groaned. "See, I could beat the Digimon Queen no problem in that tournament."

"Sure," Hirokazu said, picking up his cards. "Sure you could. You know I'm usually the one who wins."

"Well I'm getting better," Takato said. It was true, though -- he'd had to learn how to modify, thanks to Guilmon.

"So he is," Ruki said, listening in from nearby. "But he couldn't beat me yet. He would need much more skill to accomplish that. Renamon, what's the situation with his pet Digimon?"

Renamon responded lightly, so as not to be too distracted from Guilmon. "He is preoccupied," she said. "We are playing."

"See that he stays busy," Ruki said. "I think a card battle is in order now."

As Takato got up, he saw her, sitting on the bench, looking his way. "Don't look now, but she's right there," he said. "And it looks like she's waiting for someone."

"Looks to me more like she's watching you," Hirokazu said. "Definitely supports my theory of something going on." Both watched as she got up and walked over, looking at each of them.

"Which one of you thinks he could beat me," she asked, pulling out her cards. Her headphones were off, and she was looking at both of them. "I overheard you a few minutes ago. Which one of you said you could beat the Digimon Queen?" She already knew the answer, and just wanted him to admit it.

A moment passed in silence, before Takato answered. "I did," he said. "But, don't you think it would be better to wait for the tournament to see about it?"

"Are you afraid you'll lose, gogglehead?"

"No way! I just try not to push my skills too much," Takato said, covering up his fear. She scared him, not just as a tamer, but as a card player too. "But if you really want to, we can play."

"Then let's go," she said, smiling. "If you win, I'll admit that you're good enough to be the Digimon King."

"Uhh, miss Digimon Queen," Hirokazu said. "My name is Hirokazu, and I was just wondering if you would mind me watching the game? You know, make sure Takato here doesn't try cheating."

"Yes, I would mind. Now scram, gogglehead." She shoved Hirokazu away and looked Takato in the eye. "So, did you dream of me again?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Then remember what I said to you. Because I meant it," she said. "And don't worry about your little pet Digimon. Renamon is keeping him busy."

"What?"

"Just get your cards out and let's play." She held her cards ready and watched. "Or else I may decide to have Renamon start fighting."

"So, you meant all of what you said," Takato said, packing up his deck. He hadn't won, but he hadn't really expected to. "Then maybe you should tell it to Juri. If you ever see her, that is."

"Huh? Look, I have enough problems without having to worry about carrying messages for you, gogglehead."

"And why do you call us that all the time? It's not what you said in my dream."

"Because you're weak," Ruki said. "Not even worth my time, really. I don't know what I thought this card battle would prove. Whatever it was though, it failed."

"But you said you..."

"Don't remind me," Ruki said, glaring at him. "Even if it is true."

"Maybe you need a chance to share your problems with someone," Takato said. "And if you ever decide to, give me a call. Here's my number." He handed her a scrap of paper, with his phone number scribbled on it.

She crumpled the paper and stuffed it in her pocket. "Forget it, gogglehead. I don't need your help." Walking away, she stopped just long enough to say her goodbyes. "And we will meet again, goggle boy. I can guarantee it."

Walking into her room, she pulled out the scrap of paper, and placed in on the table. "Stupid, but ever so sweet, goggle boy," she said, looking at it. "But I can't call you... not yet. Not even while you might expect it, no. But if my own parents don't seem to care, how could anyone else? I just can't trust this gogglehead yet."

"I care, Ruki," Renamon said, stepping out of the shadows. "But I wish that sometimes you didn't push so hard. What is it about your past that makes you so desperate to forget it all in the heat of the fight?"

"It's my father," Ruki said, turning aside. "And beyond that, I do not want to talk about it, so just leave me alone. Take a night off, too, we're staying home tonight, so I can have some time to think."

As far back as Ruki remembered, she'd wanted to know why her father was never there. All the other kids had one, but not her. And every time she asked her mother about it, she just got the cold shoulder. Once she'd been old enough to start playing the Card Battle game, she'd devoted herself to it. She quickly found that the rush of victory could help her overcome the missing element in her life. And then she'd found the Blue Card.

"Huh? I've never seen a card like this before," she said, looking it over. "Maybe it's a promotional deal?" She'd already been a neighborhood card master by this point, and was known for how well she could play any Digimon -- especially Renamon. She took the card home, and ran it through her card reader, to see what it might be.

"Huh? What's happening here? Why is... my card reader is changing... into a Digivice? Sort of like the cards," she said, looking at it. It was mostly white, with blue highlights, and gleamed like something from her dreams. Examining it further, she saw that it seemed like it could still read cards, but more of note, she saw that the screen was displaying a Digitama.

The next day, Renamon had found her, and not long after they'd had their first encounter with a Digital Field. Renamon battled Tentomon, and won, and absorbed his data. Not even a challenge, but Ruki found the rush of that battle more intoxicating than even the card battles. She hunted for more, and got what she was looking for. But she never forgot why she needed the rush.

She lacked the emotional support of either of her parents, and needed something to fill the emotional hole she had inside. And with every battle, the hole just got deeper, until even the battles only filled the hole while they went on. And then the other Digimon had started appearing. "I wonder if they found a Blue Card too," she whispered, as she saw both Takato and Lee in her minds eye, with their Digimon.

Takato wasn't sure why, but he could tell there were more complex problems than anyone except Ruki could possibly know. And they were what drove her to fight, to prove herself as being independent and strong, when inside, she wasn't completely like that.

"But I'm not like that either," he said, sketching Growmon's evolved form. "I just make up these Digimon, and then they're what happens for Guilmon. But I wish I knew why she has these problems, or even what they are. Oh well, if she wants to tell me, I'll be here, and I'll be ready to help."

"Renamon!" Ruki said, her eyes flying open in the middle of the night. "I'm so empty... so empty inside. I don't know what to do about it though." She lay in her bed, frightened at what she was feeling inside, but even more worried to make the call she knew might be able to help. She didn't want to show her weakness.