IDIL's Note: Oh, wow. It's been a loooong time since I've written anything in the Digimon fandom, but I felt obliged to as the 10th anniversary of Digimon was a few days ago. So here's a little implied Ryuki fic for those interested. ;) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Digimon.

Rika glared up at the figure in front of her, her eyes shifting to assess the best possible way to eliminate the threat. "Let me through, Akiyama," she growled, trying to push her way past him.

The boy grabbed her firmly by the arm, making her face him. "Not until you tell me what's going on. Is what I hear true? Are you really going back to the Digital World?"

She glared at the ground angrily, ashamed that she had been found out so easily. Damn Takato; she should have known better than to trust him with any secrets. Still, now that he'd told Ryo, and Ryo was here to stop her, she had to deal with the situation. "Yeah, that's right. I'm going back. What's it to you?"

"You can't go back, it's too dangerous."

"It's fine, my mother's already agreed to it."

"But what about me?"

"What about you?"

"I haven't agreed to it!" He glared just as furiously at her as she did at him.

She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, attempting to stare him down with her famous icy glare. If there was one thing she hated, it was people treating her like a little kid. "So? It's not like I'm a child who has to tell you everything and only do what you want me to. I have my own life, you know. I'm old enough and smart enough to make my own decisions."

"But that portal hasn't been tested yet; you could die! Or be stuck in another dimension! Ever think about that, genius?"

"I know the risks, and I'm willing to take them. Takato's already gone once and come back; it'll be fine."

"What if the portal's destination's changed? Rika, I know we all miss them, but we shouldn't be risking our lives like that!"

She huffed, clearly offended by his statement. Did they mean nothing to him? Had he forgotten what Cyberdramon had done for him? What all of the digimon had done for them? "Why not? They risked their lives plenty of times for us."

"What about the people back here? Have you thought about what would happen to your friends, to your family if you never came back?"

She shrugged. "They'd be fine…they'd move on."

"God damn it, Rika!" He slammed his hand into the wall behind her head, his angry shouts gradually turning to a sort of sarcastic laughter. "You just don't get it, do you? And they call you a genius…There are some people out there who wouldn't move on if you didn't come back! They care about you too much! Your mother…your grandmother…your friends…and me, Rika! Me! I wouldn't be able to move on, because I…!" He snapped his eyes shut, letting his arm fall back down to his side. Damn it, he hadn't wanted to tell her this way…but maybe this was exactly what it would take to keep her here, to make her understand that she couldn't just make these sorts of reckless decisions by herself; her actions affected the hearts of too many people, his included. He sucked in a breath. Well, it was now or never… "I love you, Rika!"

A few moments of silence passed, and he opened his eyes, fearing that she had already left. It turned out that she was right behind him, smirking with her hands crossed over her chest, but she had a soft look in her eyes. "You're annoying."

He shook his head, chuckling to himself. Typical Rika. "Come on, I just confessed to you and that's all you can say?" He grinned as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "Surely you can do better than that, Wildcat."

Again she glared at him, a faint blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. Stupid Ryo. What had he thought? That she was just going to say it back? She looked away from his teasing expression, pouting like a petulant child. "I just said I was going to the Digital World. I never said you couldn't come with me."

He looked up, surprised. All of a sudden, going to the Digital World didn't sound so bad to Ryo. If he was allowed to go then he could protect her, no matter where they ended up. He didn't need to let anyone know of his leave because time stood still in the human world, even while eons passed in the Digital World. That, and all his friends could probably hint a guess as to where he'd gone. And Rika? Well, he figured that her previous statement was the best chance at an invitation he'd ever get, and he had to admit, being stuck with her anywhere for only God knows how long seemed like a sorely tempting idea. On impulse, he grabbed her hand and started running in the direction of the portal. Letting go, he sped up, yelling behind him, "Last one to the gate's a rotten digi-egg!"

Rika increased her pace as well, shaking her head at the (surprisingly) older boy. At least she could count on her trip to be interesting…