Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ By My Decision ❯ Plans of Excitement and Plots of Evil ( Chapter 3 )

[Notes:

I think I'm the Queen of slowness. It takes me forever to get anywhere. But I feel better about the later half of this story, for it means even MORE bullcrap to be set up within the next chapter or two! Wheehee! I am a torturous bitch!

Yep…Hirokazu/Ruki/Ryo's one of the main triangles. Only because that one's near impossible to write in a subtle manner. The other one, though…it is a bit tricky. ^^; But not really too hard to figure out. It's probably already been blatantly obvious despite my subtle attempts in the last two chapters, but I tried to pull my own little prank in hinting at the other triangle…it's not what you may think, so, um…be ready for surprises or something! I am so EVIL and spiteful! Though half of the triangle is already figured out by most everyone…there's just one more piece left, and I've been stubborn as hell to show it. I guess this is my sick sense of suspense or something.

OH WELL! I'll be out of town for 2 weeks later on next month, so the next chapter may or may not be coming later than usual. Depends on how much free time I'll be having between now and December 21st. Didn't a similar issue happen once with GV? Oh dear…I really need to get that next part out…um, ENJOY OR SOMETHING.]

[POV - Takato]

Having 'Kazu around made it easier to sit through the rest of Seki-sensei's class, even though I couldn't talk to him anymore. I didn't really want to discuss anything further with him, anyway. Now that he knows about my little dilemma, I'm actually kinda worried that he's gonna try and do something about it. Which I REALLY don't need right now. More people getting muddled into my problems. It's bad enough that I already dragged Jenrya into the same physical state as me. There's no sense in involving anyone else in this just because I can't tell Juri how much I love her to her face. It's my problem, so I need to take a stand for myself and DO something about this!

It's just… how I'm gonna go about it… that's my real problem…

Lunch was going to start soon. I found myself staring at the clock's hands progressively reaching up to the 12. All of a sudden, I was wondering how Jen was doing in his class. Or if he was even awake right now. Poor Jen… it's my fault that you can't stay up and perform at your academic best. It's a good thing he'd called me yesterday… he'd probably walk straight home instead of discuss our plans regarding the festival. He probably already won't be giving too much input during lunch since he has to study. I'm just glad he's at least coming. I think it'd do him good to be with us in something that wasn't school-related or Digimon-related. At least, it should make him feel like he really has friends as opposed to just 'teammates'. It's really sad… after all we've been through, and after we've helped him through so much, Jenrya has these tendencies to STILL have this look on his face that's trying to tell us he's lonely… like he never had any friends to begin with…

I sighed and looked back to the front. Mikou-sensei was one of my sharper teachers; she could pinpoint any face in her crowd of students and tell which one of us is paying attention, and which one's off daydreaming.

Not that I was daydreaming, no. But she'll probably think I was. The bell's gonna ring in a couple of minutes, anyway. She can't squish in a lesson about the Pythagorean Theorem in that amount of time. God, teachers who make use of every minute of their time are so irritating…

… I have to get through this, somehow. I have to get this over with, and stop all my stalling. It'll be easier on both Juri and me if I just get this out of my system. Besides, I'm sure if I wasn't worrying myself sick over this issue, I could better focus on Jen's problems… and just let him know I'm always there for him…

"Matsuda!"

I blinked and looked straight into Mikou-sensei's eyes. "H-haaai!"

She smiled… and Mikou-sensei has particularly evil smiles. "That's better. You WERE paying attention all along, ne, Matsuda?"

"O-of course," I said with a nervous laugh. I scratched my head as all my fellow classmates turned their heads to me. Like I was the new attraction in the circus. Damn it, I should've taken a lower-level Math class… I hate being in here with all these snobs…

"As I should expect of you," Mikou-sensei said with with a nod. "So, you can tell me the formula of the Pythagorean Theorem, right? I do expect you to memorize this by tomorrow."

I froze, trying to find an answer… curse the Pythagorean Theorem and its intimidating long name…!

And the bell saves me yet again.

Mikou-sensei sighed and sat down, making the hand gesture for us to leave. "It must be your lucky day, Matsuda."

I just chuckled uneasily as I stood up and gathered my things.

"Just get a good night's rest tonight. You look like you need one right now."

Already to the door, I nodded to my math teacher. "Arigatou."

Not wanting to prolong this uncomfortable moment, I left the room and headed for my locker. After stuffing all my things inside, I put on a determined face and headed for the lunchroom.

[POV - Nobody]

In a circle table set pleasantly in a distant corner, sat the Tamers. There was one seat left empty, which was reserved for Takato when he came in. Jenrya, Juri, Hirokazu, and Kenta were all present and accounted for. Everyone had either a tray of food or a bento box with them. Kenta, being well-prepared, already had a book or two stacked next to his tray and was turning to a page of the section they'd be having the test over in the next class. Juri was looking as pleasant as always; politely eating her lunch and watching her friends talk amongst themselves. Jenrya was an utter wreck, really looking no more awake than he was at 7 AM. And, having to stay up through four classes after his brief nap had made him even worse than he was in the morning. Nonetheless, he was still able to maintain the energy to sit up, stay awake, and listen to Kenta going over the basics of chemistry.

Hirokazu sat in what he considered the 'head' of the table, intently watching the actions of his friends, and made an occasional glance at the empty seat between Jen and Juri. Taking a bite of his riceball, Hirokazu cleared his throat in an attempt to get the attention of his peers and let them know he had something he wanted to say.

His only willing audience was a yellow sock puppet.

"Rrruff!" The Puppet went. Hirokazu sweatdropped and looked to its controller, Katou Juri. "You wanted to say something, 'Kazu-chan? I'm always willing to listen!"

Hirokazu shook his head and gently pushed The Puppet away from him. "Not necessary. I was just gonna make a comment on how torn up Takato-kun must be today. First he's nearly late for school, now he's late coming to lunch."

"I see," Juri mumbled as she looked to her Puppet. "Takato-chan must be having problems, ne?"

Hirokazu was about to answer that, until he was interrupted…

"Arf! Sou ne! But Takato won't feel better until he talks to his friends about it!"

"I see," said Juri. "Well, how about I give him some of my chocolate when he gets here? I'm sure that'll make him feel better!"

"Haaaai! The chocolate cookie will work! Because we all know Juri-chan's cookies are better than the school's by a hundred-fold!"

This display of raw insanity was beginning to annoy Hirokazu. That and the fact that Juri chose to talk to herself rather than him.

"I'm sorry, Hirokazu-chan," Juri apologized on cue as she looked to her friend again. "Did you want to say something?"

The response she was given was another shake of the head. And just then, Takato was seen careening through the lunchroom, bento box in hand, making his way to the table.

Kenta looked up from his book. "There he is. About time…"

Juri smiled and turned sideways in her seat, positioning herself to look at Takato trying to get over with them. She cheerfully waved at him, which, on impulse, made Takato blush as usual as he squeezed his way through the other kids to get to his desired location. Exhausted and frantic, Takato set his box onto the table when he arrived, and practically collapsed into his seat. Apparently, Jenrya was mentally out of it enough to not even notice Takato until he saw his begoggled companion crash right next to him.

"Sorry I'm late," Takato apologized between his rapid breathing patterns. "People REALLY need to learn how to walk in these hallways…"

"Well, at least it seemed to wake you up," Hirokazu pointed out. "Jen here's still non-functional."

Takato looked to Jenrya with the most innocent guilty face he could muster. All he received was a small smile from his friend in return; no words were said.

"You really should try and eat something," Juri suggested, tapping Jenrya's bento box. "I'm sure you'll wake up a little bit after you've got some food in you."

Jenrya only slumped to the point where Juri couldn't see his face. Again, he said nothing.

"I think he's too tired to even pick up and eat something," Kenta assumed with a hint of impatience in his voice. "Lee-kun, if you want me to help you, you're gonna have to participate. You can't really study if you don't give me any input proving to me that you know this!"

Takato sighed. "Don't be so harsh on him, Kenta. It's my fault he's tired, anyway. I-"

Takato was cut off as Jenrya gently placed a hand over Takato's mouth. Jenrya looked up so he and Takato were on the same eye level, as he gave Takato another reassuring smile.

"You don't need to tell them," Jenrya said quietly to Takato, as Takato noticed, despite his condition, Jenrya could maintain his usual calm and friendly tone of voice. "I'm not mad at you."

Takato didn't know what to think of this. He certainly didn't expect Jenrya to be so calm, that was for sure. Still, Takato couldn't help but feel extremely guilty about putting his friend in such a position where he was too tired to even eat. As Takato slowly took Jenrya's hand away from his face, he could only look down, still having a desire to somehow make this up to his friend. After all, he was the only friend Jenrya was particularly close to… he couldn't treat Jenrya like this and not do something about it…

Hirokazu watched this with amusement. Not to mention confusion, as he recalled Takato saying something about apologizing to Jen earlier today…

"How's this your fault?" Kenta inquired as he closed his book and put it aside. "Do you happen to know why Jen-kun didn't sleep well last night?"

Takato looked to Jenrya as he considered telling his friends about the situation anyway. Jenrya was already staring away at the walls, resuming his zombie-like state of sleepiness.

"Nandemo nai," Takato dismissed, waving a hand. "Let's just forget about this. Ne, 'Kazu-kun, didn't you want to discuss some things regarding the festival this weekend?"

Taking pride in being noticed again, Hirokazu gave a confident nod and leaned over the table towards everyone else. "I did. Since some certain people are chickening out at the opportunities lying within this outing, Takato-kun and I decided that it'd be nice if we could all come together."

"That sounds nice," Juri commented. "I called Ruki yesterday, but I never heard back from her. It's okay if she comes, right?"

"There's no doubt in my mind that she'll be coming," Hirokazu assured. "I invited her too, and Ryo probably did as well, so we've already got a big group just from asking her."

Juri grinned in delight of this, knowing Ruki would certainly not be feeling so alone now. "How about you, Kenta-chan? Didn't anyone invite you?"

"I assumed Hirokazu was going to invite me too, seeing as he's obviously not getting a date out of Ruki this weekend."

Hirokazu snickered as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "You know I wouldn't ditch you like that anyway!"

Takato's gaze moved to Juri as that dreaded 'invite' topic came up. So she already invited Ruki… he knew it'd be pointless to ask her out now. Still… if they were all going out together…

"How about you, Takato-chan?" Juri asked just then. "You're going, right?"

Takato blinked, not expecting to have the attention focused on him so soon…

"S-sou. Jen and I are coming together." A short pause, as Takato took a deep breath. "I was… going to ask you to come along, but…"

"How sweet of you," Juri complimented; giving her friend a smile that told him she was deeply flattered in his consideration for her. "Sweet indeed!" She made her Puppet concur. "But now we can all come together, so there's no need to worry!"

"Exactly," Takato noted, feeling another fit of blushing coming on. "I'm sure it'll be great…"

"We should organize this thing right so we can save time," Kenta informed. "Time flies when you're having fun, you know. We need to set some time to meet at and where to meet, if we really want to do this whole thing together."

Hirokazu peace-signed his friend in his lazy casual manner and looked around at all his friends in the circle. "I'll take care of that. We basically meet when it starts, and we'll be meeting right in front of the place, somewhere nice and secluded from the lines and everything so it'll be easy to find each other and group up. And nobody's allowed to be late. Got it?"

"Yup!" everyone replied in unison.

"So, that's taken care of," Hirokazu confirmed, and already putting it behind him. "What day is it, anyway?"

"Thursday, of course," Kenta replied. "Kusakabe-sensei's only been announcing our history test to come on this day for a week and a half, now. Isn't that right, Jen?"

Jenrya, still visibly exhausted and irritated, turned to look at his fellow nerd companion. "Somehow I've mysteriously forgotten all about the test until you told me today."

"That's not good," Kenta scolded, shaking his head. "He's been telling us that this is a giant unit-length test, Jen-kun. Are you telling me that you haven't studied at all since he first announced the test?"

"I'll wing it," Jenrya assured with a yawn. "I think I've been sick this month or something…"

"Daijoubu?" Takato cut in, by now looking really worried. "You seemed just fine yesterday…"

"And don't blame it on PMS like Kenta-kun here did last time," Hirokazu remarked in his ever-snide manner. In that moment, Kenta just glared at the table, blushing furiously. "We know now that's a lame, impossible excuse."

"Gross," commented Jenrya, flinching at the thought. Sadly, that's the most emotion he had shown so far today.

"You'll feel better by Saturday, right?" Juri asked, and just like Takato, was genuinely concerned. "I mean, you can't miss out on such a huge event, Jen… we haven't gotten to know you that well last year when we all met you!"

Jenrya knew Juri was speaking the truth. Handling Digimon issues and new friends at the same time was a giant hassle… and, depressing as it was, Jenrya chose to focus more on the Digimon than making new friends at that time. Now that the fighting was over, Jenrya had found himself surrounded by teammates he barely even knew. Save for Takato, of course. But his ridiculous study habits kept him from even knowing his best friend inside out. It was time to switch priorities. After all, Jenrya knew that sometimes he just had to do things for his own benefit for once, not just everyone else's.

Rubbing a sleepy eye, Jenrya straightened up from his slump. "You're right, Juri-san. And I'm sorry… I want to know you guys better, too. It's not like I have any other friends at this point…"

Takato playfully slung an arm over Lee's shoulder and gave him a friendly squeeze. "I don't see how anyone could not like you, Jen-kun! You're such a nice guy."

The only response Jenrya could give for that was a nervous chuckle. He didn't think it was a good time, much less the right time to tell everyone that he became so unpopular by being the renowned 'karate maniac'.

"Well, I know Ryo, and he's no anti-social, so he's gotta be coming with us," Hirokazu figured, counting on his fingers. "So, assuming Ruki's definitely coming too, that means all of us are gonna be there. Lee, face it, you're not missing out."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Jenrya assured. "I've been dying to have a moment without my brother and sisters…"

"It must be so annoying to have siblings," Kenta mumbled as he finished up his lunch. "I'm always thankful that I'm an only child."

Juri nodded in agreement. "I love my half-brother, I really do, but he can be a big pain sometimes… I guess it's his age. I just never figured they would be so obnoxious. Shuichon didn't seem so bad."

Jenrya couldn't help but smirk. "You really weren't paying attention to us back then in the Digital World, were you?"

"I guess I am just making assumptions…"

"Well, at least we have this whole event planned out," Takato said with a sigh of relief. "But someone should tell Ruki and Ryo-san about it…"

"Done!"

Kenta blinked a few times. "Quick to take up that offer, ne, 'Kazu-kun?"

Hirokazu just grinned and smoothened his hair back. "What can I say? Not like I have anything else to do today."

"Fair enough," said Takato. "But who wants to tell Ryo?"

"I'll tell him too!"

It was Jenrya's turn to blink. "You're gonna tell them both?"

"Why not? I mean, they're both close friends of mine," Hirokazu explained in his most sophisticated manner. "Right?"

"I guess," Juri said uneasily. "But you know with Ruki-chan it would be a heavily one-sided friendship!" spoke her Puppet-persona.

"Not important," Hirokazu dismissed with the wave of a hand. "Just leave it all to me. They'll know what we'll be doing this weekend."

"If you insist," Takato conceded, also sounding uncomfortable in leaving any duty responsible to Hirokazu. "But isn't Ryo, like, your romantic rival or something?"

"Maybe," Hirokazu admitted, with a hint of despair in his voice. "But it doesn't change the fact that I love that guy to death! I mean, he's my hero! He's who I wanna be when I grow up!"

… there was a small period of silence.

"You never told me you liked him that much," Kenta said suspiciously.

"I know," Hirokazu acknowledged, his eyes sparkling with admiration. "It's always been a secret of mine… it doesn't matter that he and I are after the same girl… I'd never disrespect him!"

Takato could only sweatdrop. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're really bad at being secretive?"

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was after both Ruki and Ryo," Jenrya muttered to Juri.

On that notion, Juri bluened a bit. "Anou, don't say that… Hirokazu isn't promiscuous…"

"Then explain why he took forever breaking up with Kenta even after having massive crushes on them…"

"SILENCE!" Hirokazu shouted, trying to act like the leader again. "There will be no rumor-spreading of me at the table!"

"Now you sound like 'kaasan," Kenta commented as he stood up. "Jen, if you're not going to study, that's your problem. But lunch is gonna end soon and I'd like to get in some cramming time before the test, just to be safe. I can't concentrate in here."

"I'll meet you there," Jenrya said with yet another yawn.

Kenta just slumped. "Just make sure you eat something before you go. Ja, minna."

Hirokazu stood up from his seat just as Kenta had left.

"Well, I'm gonna hurry and get to class, too," he told his remaining friends. "I need some thinking time on how I'm planning to tell Ryo-sama and Ruki about what we planned for this weekend!"

Takato just smiled. "God forbid you doing something like studying, ne?"

"Perish the thought," Hirokazu replied. "Not when I have the two coolest people in the world to think about…! Later."

With that, only Takato, Jenrya and Juri were left at the table.

"Are you sure you'll be okay enough to take the test?" Juri asked Jenrya, reassuming her role of the concerned, caring friend. "Maybe you should take a nap at the Nurse's office or something…"

"Daijoubu," Jenrya told her, still trying to convince his friends that he wasn't so bad off… "It's not like I'm sick. I think it's better to get this test out of the way as soon as I can. Then I don't have to waste time worrying about it when I finally do get to sleep."

"I just don't think it's a good idea to take a big test in your condition," Juri warned. "But… if that's how you want to take care of it, I can't really stop you, I guess… just please be better by the weekend, okay?"

"I promise," Jenrya said. "I wouldn't mess up this event for anything."

"That's great," Juri said, holding her Puppet up to shoulders'-length. "Great!"

Jenrya chuckled very quietly, as if on reflex. "It's no wonder why Takato and everyone else likes you so much. You can always make people smile."

"I guess it's a talent I'm born with," Juri cheerfully assumed. Then she looked back to Takato. "Anou, how about you, Takato-chan? I swear, between you two I'll be worrying myself sick tonight."

"I-it was just an insomnia attack, I swear! It's also kinda the reason why Jen-kun's sleepy too…"

"Nani?"

Jenrya looked to his best friend, sensing the guilt vibes emerging from him. "Takato-kun, I said you didn't have to…"

"I'd rather not leave everyone just wondering," Takato explained. "Katou-san, I took your advice, and… I got a journal yesterday…"

Juri's eyes widened with delight. "You did…?"

"Sou da," Takato confirmed, looking down sadly. "I'm not sure if it's what I need yet, I'll need more time… the point is, I found myself unable to sleep last night, so, I kinda called Jen in the middle of the night to ask for help…"

Juri winced. "No wonder… don't you know it's rude to do that?"

"I wasn't thinking," Takato admitted. "And I didn't know what else to do. I expected Jen-kun to be mad, though…"

"I'm not mad," Jenrya reiterated. "I actually feel bad that I wasn't there for you in your time of need."

"It was 3 in the morning, Jen!" Takato reminded. "I shouldn't expect you to be there for me 24/7… nor anyone else…"

"As long as it was an honest mistake, let's put it behind us," Juri cut in. "But I'm curious… what was your problem, Takato-chan?"

"I… I don't know, really," Takato answered quietly. Even though he knew very well what his problem was. At least… most of it, right…?

"Even though you should've have called me at that time, I still feel like I should make this up to you," Jenrya insisted. "If you really don't know what's troubling you, let us help out. Maybe we can figure out what's bothering you, and we can help you through it…"

"That's a great idea!" Juri exclaimed. "I'd be more than happy to help you out. We'll do it together, okay?"

Takato found himself rather speechless by now.

"There's no need to worry," Jenrya assured. "We're your most trusted friends, remember? Your pain is our pain."

"S… sou, I guess…"

"We'll focus on it after the festival!" Juri decided, as she stood up. "Maybe a dose of fun will help you two feel better, anyway. I think we should all get to class now, though." Holding up her Puppet again… "Being tardy equals a painful detention!"

Takato and Jenrya nodded with their nervous "Sou, sou"s as Juri exited the lunchroom.

With one more small yawn, Jenrya's expressions changed to a more longstaying smile.

"See, Takato-kun? We're always here for you."

Takato smiled back at Jenrya, finally feeling a sense of comfort within the promises of his friends. "Arigatou."

"It's funny," Jenrya said, turning around in his seat. "Considering I've been a loner for most of my childhood, and the fact that Ruki and I never hit it off very well, I always thought that I'd have bad luck with girls, since I apparently seem to turn so many off."

"Sou?" Takato mumbled, not quite getting what Jenrya was getting at.

"I never imagined that Juri would be so happy in getting to know me," Jenrya said happily. "I'm surprised that we actually get along… Takato-kun, I think this means I don't have to be scared of girls anymore!"

Takato blinked, still not quite understanding. "Hai, Jen. Well, it's like I said… you're a great person once people get to know you. You're just shy, that's all… it doesn't matter, guy or girl, anyone can like you. If you can just open up enough. I'm sure you and Katou-san will be good friends."

Jenrya turned back to Takato. "I'm glad you think so. Maybe now I won't have to bother you all the time when I'm feeling lonely… it'd be nice to have some other friends to go to."

Second by second, Takato's confusion was turning into discomfort. "Sou da… well, maybe the festival will give you a good chance to get to know Katou-san and the others more than you ever did before."

"That's what I'm hoping for," Jenrya said longingly as he stood up from his chair. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Takato-kun. I hope everything works out between me and my new friends…"

[POV - Takato]

I rose from my seat as Jenrya was about to leave. It was odd… but something didn't sound quite right in what I was being told. Come to think of it, Jenrya was acting very similar to me lately… the whole… being quiet and shy around my closest friends thing… having inexplicable problems…

And I knew my behavior was very well stemming from certain feelings for a certain someone that I was keeping locked away as a secret… a secret I was too scared to admit to that person…

… No.

Jen wasn't like that, was he? There was no way… Jenrya was always more mature, beyond that whole 'crushing' stage…

Right?

Right.

Eheh… why was I even worried? Jen wouldn't do that to me. Besides, I like him more just as a single guy… he has an admirable independence from that sort of thing, unlike me…

Right? … Right.

"I hope you do well on the test!" I shouted out to him just before he disappeared into the hallway. "Good luck!"

Jenrya paused before completely exiting and waved back to me. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to…

Friends like Jen don't come by often, now do they?

[POV - Nobody]

"Love is stupid," Ruki muttered as she walked along the sidewalk, heading for home. It was barely time for school to end, but eerily school was called off early today. Something about a water main busting…

"You're not one to quite change your ways, are you?"

"If the best I can attract is two dumb Rooster Heads, then I definitely have a right to say love is stupid, Renamon."

Renamon blinked as she walked along a fence next to Ruki. "Would you have preferred someone else liked you, then?"

"I dunno…"

"You're so young," said Renamon. "And it's not like you know many other boys."

"I guess you're right," Ruki admitted. "How could I, though? How could anyone who goes to an all-girls private school?"

"Well, how about Takato?" Renamon suggested.

"EW!"

"… sorry I asked," Renamon apologized. "How about Jenr-"

"EW!"

"… okay…"

"Renamon, just thinking about those two makes me sick to my stomach. And not in a good way," Ruki said with as much honesty as she could muster. "I can respect them as Tamers, but they're both so lame when it comes to anything else."

"So, they're just strictly business partners?"

"Exactly," Ruki agreed. "If it weren't for Juri being such great friends with them, I wouldn't be bothering with either of them right now. They're no fun at all, Renamon."

"Point taken," Renamon conceded. "And Kenta…?"

"Lame," Ruki said immediately. "Total 'Kazu-Wannabe. Who in turn is a Ryo-Wannabe… so it's just a giant chain of Wannabe's."

"I suppose you've been around them enough to make that kind of judgment," Renamon said sadly. "Especially after we met Jijimon and Babamon."

"Don't remind me," Ruki muttered as she continued walking, but at a faster pace. "I guess considering the other options, Hirokazu and Ryo aren't that bad, but I'd still stab myself in the head before dating either of them."

"Interestingly put," Renamon commented. "I guess that's all we need to say about that."

"Pretty much," Ruki replied. "Who needs love, anyway? You've seen what a sap it made Takato."

"Again, good point," Renamon commended. "You're such a sharp girl, Ruki."

"Make way, kiddo! Teen sensation coming through…!"

Ruki turned her head slightly to get a small glimpse of a shorthaired girl on roller-skates coming her way, and quickly. Ruki wisely hopped next to the fence to make room for the girl to pass by. The girl complied and made her way through, but then stopped short when she noticed Renamon was there and still standing on the fence.

The girl brushed a few strands of her reddish-violet hair as she looked hard at Renamon, just making sure she wasn't seeing things out of a short delirium, due to the fact that she was temporarily short on breath from her run on the skates.

"Hey," she finally said. "That's a Digimon! …um, I think I remember which, uh…"

"Renamon," Ruki's partner said with a nod. "I hope I'm not too hard to remember."

"Sorry, I'm not a geek like my brother is," the girl admitted. She turned to Ruki. "I think I remember you too! Makino, right?"

"Lee Jaarin," Ruki acknowledged in her typical emotionless tone. Sure, Ruki was usually more willing to be open when it came to girls… but ones that are relatives of Jenrya, that was a whole other story…

"Bingo! So you do remember me," Jaarin said happily, grinning. "What're you doing out so early from school?"

"I could be asking you the same thing."

"You're funny," Jaarin complimented. "It's a wonder why Jenrya starts getting in such a rotten mood whenever you're mentioned. I'm off to Driver's Ed! My first day… how about you?"

"School crisis or something," Ruki muttered. "If you care that much, check it out yourself."

"Ruki isn't in a very good mood today," Renamon attempted to explain. "She's going to the festival with your brother and all their friends this weekend."

"Are you serious?" Jaarin asked. "That's cool! Jen's going, yeah, he's psyched because it's his first year where he doesn't have to tag along with us all the time. Not that I won't be going or anything…!"

"Doesn't that kind of ruin the whole purpose of going alone for him?" Ruki wondered out loud.

"I'll be going, but not with the family. Shuichon's coming too, but with 'tousan and 'kaasan. We'll be doing our own thing, don't worry. I'll actually be manning one of the booths!"

"Which one?" asked Ruki.

"Probably one with a game," Jaarin figured. "I'd like to do the one where you have to knock down little cans with a ball…"

"That sounds a little boring," Renamon commented.

"Well, I think it'd be something neat for me to do," Jaarin reasoned. "And it'd be really fun if Jenrya happened to stop by there. I could rig the game just for him just to pull a little prank." After saying that, Jaarin grinned a massive grin to end all grins.

Ruki was taken aback. "You'd really do that to your own brother…?"

Jaarin nodded.

It was Ruki's turn to grin, now. "Hey, that actually sounds like a fun idea."

Renamon couldn't believe it. "Ruki…! Really…"

"Renamon," Ruki said, sounding clearly annoyed. "Jenrya is like the king of wet blankets. He's exactly the type that's the most fun to pull pranks on, just so we can laugh at his expense. He's always been a real jerk to me, so why shouldn't I cash in on some of his humiliation?"

"It's perfectly okay if it's done by a fellow sibling, too!" Jaarin added. "Brothers and sisters do these things to each other all the time! I would know, coming from a family of four!"

"Well, being one of his," Ruki coughed just then. "Friends, I must say I completely commend you for your hideously evil plan. I'll do everything I can to help you execute it."

"That's the spirit, kiddo!" Jaarin cheered. "I'll cook up a plan, and I'll tell you all about it during the festival! I mean, sure, it's a nasty trick, but it's all out of love, right?"

Ruki was silent for a long time. "… uh. Whatever."

"I'll seeya when I seeya, then!" Jaarin shouted as she waved, and then promptly skated off.

Ruki smirked, having felt she accomplished something.

"Well, it's good to know not every Lee is a douche."

"I'm still not sure, Ruki," Renamon said with great concern. "Would Juri appreciate that kind of behavior?"

"Juri never TALKS to him, why would she care? The only one who ever DOES talk to him is Takato, and I couldn't care less of what he thinks."

"If you're that sure of it," Renamon assumed, still not believing Ruki was all that sure herself. "I just hope everyone enjoys themselves. Even Jenrya."

"You worry too much, Renamon," Ruki claimed. "Now let's get home. I need to pick out a good kimono to wear before 'kaasan bombards me with a lot of crappy-looking fashion outstandishly ones."

"I guess it's important to look your best."

Renamon and Ruki continued walking towards home. It was noon on a Thursday, and to think so much would be in store for them, and the others in the days following them…

[TBC]