Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ How to Tell You ❯ Guardian Spirit ( Chapter 3 )

How to Tell You
Chapter 3: Guardian Spirit

Takato hadn't really expected her to call anyway, but he'd needed to at least offer his help. As he loaded a bag with the rolls he was going to give Guilmon, he thought about her. "(Hey, maybe I really do like her,)" he thought, heading out.

"Just make sure you're home in time for dinner," his mother called out as he left. "We won't be waiting for you tonight."

"All right," he said. "(Maybe I should see what Guilmon thinks? Nah, he probably wouldn't understand it anyway. He'd just think it's another game. But Lee might...)"

"Hello, Takato," Juri said, holding up her sock puppet. "It's good to see you today!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's good to see you too, Juri," Takato said, panicking. "Look, why don't you just go on ahead to school and I'll meet you there. I have to, uhh, make this delivery for my mother before school."

"Why can't we go with you?"

"Hey look, just don't ask questions," Takato said. "I won't skip classes today." He needed to find some way out of this, before he was too late. "(Hey look, it's Lee and his Terriermon... Maybe they can help.)"

"Hey, Takato," Lee shouted, smiling. "Come on, you'll be late if you take too long."

"See, Lee will make sure I get to school," Takato said. "Now go on, Juri. You wouldn't want to miss classes, would you?"

Finally, he got rid of her and got the food to Guilmon, then headed for school with Lee. "Hey, Lee," he said, breaking a rather awkward silence. "What would you do if a girl, well, you know, liked you?"

"Like the sock-puppet girl seems to like you?"

"Err, sort of, except someone who's totally Juri's opposite," he said. "You know, like that Ruki."

"If Ruki liked me, I'd run to China," Lee said, grinning. "And I'd suggest the same to you. But why do you ask?"

"Well... I guess I never really told you about the night before I got Guilmon, did I?" He paused for a moment, then told the story briefly. "I had a weird dream, about Ruki, fighting a Lynxmon. Weirdest thing, though, Other than maybe in the newspapers or maybe a card battle magazine, I don't thin kI'd ever seen her."

"You dreamt about Ruki? That is weird," Lee said, looking over at Takato. "Well, maybe it was just a freak coincidence. Or maybe it's an omen of some sort. I dunno, but I bet there are all sort of ancient sayings about this sort of thing."

"I don't doubt it," Takato said. "Look, don't tell Hirokazu or Kenta, or really anyone, for that matter, but I think I kind of do like Ruki. And the other night I had another dream, where she said she liked me -- and yesterday she told me that she meant it all when we were about to have a card battle. That's really weird, huh?"

"Yep. Oh well, maybe you should think about it before you do anything rash," Lee said. "Well, I'd better get to my class. Maybe we can talk some more after school."

"Yeah," Takato said, wondering how he really felt about Ruki.

"Ruki, what's the matter," Renamon asked, standing by the bed. "Why won't you get up?"

"Because, I... I really can't say. Father never cared, mother is the same, I've always been empty, and tried to fill it."

"Ruki, you need help," Renamon said. "I'll go..."

"No, I have to be strong, can't show weakness. Just act like I'm sick is all." Ruki was not dealing well with what she had discovered about herself, and it horrified Renamon. "Yes, just sick, that's all. I'm just sick."

"You can't possibly believe that," Renamon said, looking down on her tamer. "I mean, honestly, there are far worse things than just being weak. I'm going to find you help, Ruki. You shouldn't be like this."

"Takato, I smell something bad," Guilmon said, looking to the trees.

"I don't want to fight today," Renamon said, leaping down from the branch. "I need your help."

"Where's your tamer," Takato asked.

"She isn't here. She didn't ask me to come either," Renamon said. "She needs help, and I don't know how to help her with this."

"So she can call me if she wants my help," Takato said. "She can ask me herself. I mean, what good is it to try helping if she doesn't want it?"

"But she needs it," Renamon said, looking down at Takato. "Whether she admits it or not."

"Look, she can ask once she's ready, but until then," Takato said.

"Renamon play again?"

"Huh? You just... played with Guilmon yesterday?"

"What did you think? That I battled him?" Renamon scoffed at the accusation. "He wouldn't be here if that had happened."

As the next few days went by, Renamon kept going to Takato, asking for help. Ruki may been too proud to ask, but Renamon was not the same. On Sunday, they just talked, until Renamon left, saying Ruki needed her.

"I don't know," Takato said, closing his eyes. "I mean, yeah, I really care about her, but I'm not going to intrude if she doesn't want it. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped."

"Takato, I tired of hearing you complain about girl tamer," Guilmon said. "It like you fight her even when she not here. It confusing me."

"Sorry Guilmon. It's just that she keeps bothering me, even if she isn't here. I'm worried that she hasn't come out for so long now."

"Then maybe help her come back out?"

"Maybe," Takato said. "Maybe."

"Thank you, Renamon," Ruki said, holding the cup of tea. "I'm so glad you care enough to help me. Even my mother isn't that concerned."

"Of course I care, Ruki," Renamon said. "And I have a confession to make. I've been talking to Takato these past few days."

"You haven't told him, how weak I am," Ruki said, more of a question than a statement.

"No. But he won't come to help unless you ask. No matter how much I ask, he insists that it be you who asks for help." Renamon looked down at Ruki, pain visible in her eyes. "So tomorrow, I want you to try and be strong, and just ask him for the help you need. Having a shoulder to lean on when you're in trouble is no sign of weakness, but of greatest strength."

"I'll try," Ruki said, sipping the tea. "I will try."

Renamon sat awake the whole night, keeping a silent vigil over Ruki. "(She only thinks she's alone,)" she thought, a tear falling from her eye. "(But with friends, she need never feel that way again.)"

"I wonder," Takato said, lying in his bed awake. "I wonder if anything will change tomorrow. Or will it be the same as ever?" But as he worried about the future, the reassuring voice of Terriermon reminded him of what to do. "Oh well, whatever happens, I'll just have to moumantai, I suppose."

Author's Note: You may (if you're a fan of a certain American cartoon) notice similarities in the reactions of Ruki and Takato to a certain other pair of characters. If you know what cartoon I'm referring to, or more specifically, which characters, then congratulations. The answer will be revealed when I publish Chapter 4 (which is already finished) later today, or perhaps early tomorrow.