Title: Bounce

Authoress: XxMookinexX

Summary: First rivals, then friends, then something more… in stressful situations you learn to trust… and you open up your heart… and though the distance stays the same… and other people start to change… you hold that wish, just like before.

Pairings: Well… it changes. Try to figure it out as you go along. There are hints of practically everyone here and there. Although it is eventually a 'happy ever after' story I do not promise that various characters will stay together till the end of time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters, I only wish I did. Any and all unrecognisable characters and situations belong solely to me and are not to be touched without permission. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole purpose to entertain.

A/N: I do not intend to use an OC as a main character, if any appear they will merely be background people mentioned in passing to make this more realistic. Any characters which appear OOC are written that way out of a desire to keep them in character according to the situations I have placed them in.

Situation: This story takes place when our characters are still 13/14. In the sixth movie (which this story and all subsequent stories are set one year later than) Rika had just turned 13, so I am working on the following ages: Takato, Jeri, Henry, Kazu and Kenta are all 13 or 14, and go to the same public school. Rika is 14, but goes to a private school. Alice is also 13. Ryo is 17. Ai and Mako are both 4. Suzie is 8. I don't know where the last four go to school.

This is written in personal third person, and will mainly follow Rika's path through these events. This story contains three arcs: fade, shift and rebound. Each arc contains three chapters. There will be various side stories or sequels to this which I will announce as they come into play.

Oh, the back-story about Rika's father is suggested in the 6th movie. If you can't remember it and can't be bothered to go back, here's a reminder of some important stuff you may have missed:

- By this time all the digimon are in the real world again even after the D-reaper events.
- Rika's past with her dad - basically she was happy and normal and then he abandoned her or died (in the animation he simply disappears) – I would guess from her comment that she doesn't 'trust adults' it would be the former or some sort of betrayal on his part.
- Rika's currently in the stage where she's easily embarrassed and slightly awkward and standoffish. It's cute.
- Takato and the others threw a surprise birthday party for her, but due to various memories brought on by being forced to sing earlier that day, she storms off when asked to join in the Karaoke. Takato goes to follow her, but Renamon stops him, leaving her to her thoughts.

»«»«»«

BOUNCE
the continuing story

First rivals, then friends, then something more…
… in stressful situations you learn to trust…
… and you open up your heart…
… and though the distance stays the same…
… and other people start to change…
… you hold that wish, just like before.

Arc One:
fade

Line One: DRIFT

They sat together, hunched in darkness, dark eyes absorbed by the fire that burned before them.

"Hey," she whispered. His eyes flicked towards her, but other than that he made no sign of having heard. She was quiet then, because she didn't want to anger him. She didn't want him to become exasperated and leave. Against all odds, he was her closest friend at the moment. The old her would have said it was a brand new low. But she'd gone too far. The others were all angry or upset because of her recent irrationality.

There was silence. It seemed to stretch forever and ever, filling the distance between, harsh in it's absoluteness. Eventually it grew too much for him to bear. He hated quiet. It made him think of being alone. He could not stand that empty feeling.

"What?" he asked at last, impatient to find out what was on her mind. That was why he'd come here, after all. To stop the grief where it was. To make her wake up. It was still hard to believe she was the same fiery girl he'd had such respect for. He'd never imagined she'd be the type to really run away from home. She was tough, certainly, but he'd thought she was more aware of her family's feelings than that. He'd thought she was more intuitive about all of their feelings. But looking at the state of her now, he guessed she was a long way from where she once was. That much was obvious by her dishevelled state. The fresh tearstains glittered on her cheeks.

He could have followed Henry's advice and left her here to repent, but he'd been so angry with her. He'd wanted to knock some sense back into her suddenly empty head. Now he understood. She was questioning all her friendships. She didn't know how to make so many sincere apologies all at once. It didn't help that she was tired, and upset. That her first love was over before it started. That she was jealous. That she overreacted, and was angry. That she didn't understand how much all of them loved her.

He really hoped she could find the strength to return to normal. It wasn't right seeing her like this, but Goodness knows she'd needed someone. Not that she readily accepted it. But he was used to her abuse by now. For all her kindness, she really was a very selfish person. She shifted to stare at him when she spoke, her expression solemn.

"What should do I do?" she asked. He sat back, his fingers digging into the cold sand that surrounded them.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I want you to come home, but it's your decision to make." Even as he spoke, he could not meet her gaze. It wasn't because he was angry. He'd calmed down since hearing that revelation. It was because he felt sorry for her, and that seemed incurably wrong to him. He could no longer see her on his level anymore, let alone above that, and that was the biggest betrayal of that day by far.

"I'm sorry."

He moved then, unable to stand her tone of voice. Broken. As his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her close in a sideways hug, her head lolled against him. She was all too fragile. She would never have let him hug her before. What had happened to her energy? Her vitality? It seemed so laughable, that he had once been afraid of her, but Rika Nonaka had fallen a long way since then.

»«»«»«

"Rika."

"No!" she shouted stubbornly back through the curtain. She fastened her arms over her chest as a gesture to show she wasn't moving. She didn't know why she bothered though. It wasn't like anyone could see her. In fact, that was rather the point, wasn't it?

"Rika, Honey, you promised!" She cringed internally at her mother's voice. Dammit!

That was the crux of the matter, really. She had promised. Even so the idea of drawing back the curtain now, knowing who was out there… she'd never live it down. Besides, if she'd known that they'd all be there to watch her in her moment of humiliation she never would have promised in the first place.

"Rika." It was Takato's voice. He sounded as regretful as ever. He should be, she thought vindictively. This is entirely his fault. "Rika," he repeated, this time a little more sure of himself. "You don't have to come out if you don't want to, but will you at least tell us if you like it? We tried really hard on this one." She sighed. Stupid Takato. He really was too kind for his own good. That kindness would get him hurt one day. Had already, she supposed, back in the days of D-reaper.

She turned back to her reflection unhappily. This wasn't how she'd wanted to spend her birthday. But they really had gone to all the effort of having this arranged for her. She found herself blushing slightly and quickly shook the thought away.

"Rika?" Apparently it was Jeri's turn to try and coax her out. "Do you not like it? If so we can try and find you another one." Rika groaned mentally, but she knew she couldn't hide in the dressing room forever. She reached out through the curtain and grabbed Jeri, pulling her through.

There was a familiar yelp, and a small, feminine exclamation of surprise as well as some muffled laughter. Rika soon found out why when Takato was the one to appear through the curtain, not Jeri. She glared at him, fully aware that he could see her, and that he was staring at her and that her cheeks were bright red. She let out an angry growl and pushed him outside again. There was a thump, as of one falling over backwards.

"Not a word!" she snarled, reaching out and this time managing to successfully snag Jeri and pull her through the curtain instead. Jeri was giggling slightly at Rika's mistake, but that soon transformed into a delighted cry when she looked Rika up and down.

"Oh! Rika, you look amazing!" There was a derisive snort from outside.

"Shut up, Kazu! No one asked you," Rika yelled, knowing full well that it must have been him. Henry and Kenta were too polite, Takato was too scared of her, and Ryo… Ryo wasn't there.

She could have kicked herself. She'd automatically summoned his name into her head along with the rest of them. As if they were friends. As if they were anything these days.

They could have been, once. But as soon as the digital world had opened up again he'd run back there, refusing to believe that Cyberdramon would stay in his rookie form. He'd said it was too dangerous. He'd said that he was sorry. He'd said a lot of things. How she wished she could hate him for it, but she'd realised that the frustrated feeling she'd been harbouring when she was around him was as much to do with a grudging crush as an injured pride. Not to say she wasn't spiteful, however. Rika could be very spiteful when she put her mind to it. He deserved it, too. For running away like a coward, just like her Father. How stupid.

He'd had the nerve to tell her it would never work out between them. He'd said the age gap was too big. He'd said they'd burn out too quickly, that they'd only hurt each other.

So Rika, at the tender age of thirteen, had pulled back her fist and punched him in the face. She'd said she'd never said she liked him in the first place. She'd screamed that he was nothing but an annoyance. She'd said he was beneath her. She hadn't meant it, but she'd enjoyed saying so. She'd liked watching him wince. She'd wanted to hurt him, she realised in hindsight, as much as he'd hurt her.

But it hadn't worked. He'd stood up and embraced her, even though she was still shouting abuse. It was because, more than anything else, he hadn't been able to stand seeing her cry. She'd hated herself for that. She'd hated breaking down. But he'd been her first love.

Jeri had said it was only natural. She said she'd have cried too, if it had been Takato. Rika had smirked and teased her mercilessly about her crush for the next hour, and somehow things had started to feel right again. Slowly.

"Rika?" She jumped, startled. Jeri was looking at her rather worriedly. "You're scowling," she stated. "Do you really hate it that much?" Rika sighed. She hated to upset the other girl, and now Jeri looked far too concerned.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else," she apologised and waved the other girl's worries away with a gesture. She forced a smile onto her face. Oh well, better get this over with. Gritting her teeth, she tugged the partition that separated the dressing room from the room beyond open. There were several very loud intakes of breath. She couldn't see their expressions since she had her eyes closed. She waited patiently for the laughter to start.

Surprisingly none came.

"Oh! Aren't you precious?" Her mother engulfed her in an instant, blocking her friend's expressions from view even though she had opened her eyes just to see them.

It took a while until she was finally released from her mother's cooing clutches. She blinked and blushed as she realised the boys were all staring at her. Kenta's mouth was hanging open, whilst Henry and Takato looked pleased with themselves, if a little unsure of her reaction. Kazu, on the other hand, looked as if the ground had given way. He whistled under his breath. Guilmon sniffed at her feet and then looked up to give her a goofy grin.

"Pretty," he told her, as Terriermon just laughed. Guardramon had been too big to come into the store, and Kenta had left MarineAngemon behind to keep him company. Renamon leant against the far wall and smiled appreciatively before fading from view. Rika appreciated the gesture. She was never one to parade her looks. For someone who was the daughter of a model, she was pretty self-conscious when she bothered dressing up for the world. That's why she so rarely did it.

"You look really nice, Rika," Takato said. She rolled her eyes, as if the words didn't matter to her or were somehow far too predictable. Henry nodded in agreement. She started to glower heavily at the floor, her embarrassment growing, but couldn't help a smile when Kazu smacked Kenta so that the other boy would close his mouth.

"Wow, Rika," Henry said with a chuckle that spread to his eyes. "I had no idea you could look so feminine." Rika frowned and retreated back into the changing room, drawing the curtain closed behind her. She was more than aware of the awkward silence she'd left behind.

"Way to go, Henry." It was Kazu's voice. "You know Rika doesn't like compliments." Idiots.

Jeri looked on worriedly as Rika stared at her reflection again, properly considering herself this time. She liked the colour. Her mum would say the light blue brought out her eyes. In fact, on the whole she did like it, but that didn't change what it was. The idea of wearing a dress was completely repulsive to her. She'd only done it since both her mother and Jeri had ganged up on her. A birthday present. A dress. She could think of much more useful things they could have bought her instead. But maybe she'd let them buy it for her anyway, just incase.

»«»«»«

They went bowling. Rika had never been before, but it had been fun. She'd liked the way everyone celebrated when someone got a strike, and cheered up those who were failing miserably. Kenta, for all his apparent genius, was completely rubbish at the game.

Rika had actually turned out to be surprising good at it. Jeri had said she'd found her secret talent. She'd smiled, knowing that her real talent was in being a digimon tamer, but that was hardly a secret. Kazu had said she had pent up aggression. She'd responded by thwacking him over the head with the flat of her hand. The idiot had deserved it.

All in all it had been a good day. Everything had been going fine until they left. Her mum went off to pay, whilst the rest of them got back their shoes and headed for the exit. Takato, surprisingly, had been the one to win the game. It was sheer dumb-luck as far as Rika was concerned. How else could he get four strikes in a row? She wasn't that bitter about it though because Jeri had taken the opportunity of congratulating him to start holding his hand. The two of them had begun to take on a lovely shade of beetroot, and her entertainment was growing rapidly by the second.

Kazu was unable to resist the opportunity to mock them, and kept making loud comments like "Chumly's growing up so fast!" whilst Kenta started mock crying beside him imitating a proud mother. Rika was walking with Henry, trying desperately to pretend that she didn't know the pair behind them, even as she tried hard not to laugh at their jokes about the pair in front of them.

She'd been completely unaware of her surroundings, and then Renamon had appeared beside her, head tilted forward to whisper into her ear.

"Rika, Ryo's here." Her eyes had widened and she'd almost stopped walking from shock. Her heart had leapt into her throat as adrenaline started to pump through her veins. "He's with someone else." Internally she deflated like a balloon, but she was determined not to let it show. She blinked her eyes, swallowed and tried to act like nothing had happened as Renamon disappeared again. At least her heartbreak had been a fast one.

Henry was watching her out of the corner of his eye as she forced a smile onto her face again. She'd have gotten away with it, she was certain, if Kenta hadn't picked this time to become annoyingly observant.

"Hey! It's Ryo!"

"Ryo? Where?" Kazu sounded like he was about to wet his pants from excitement. The thought caused Rika to smirk. Stupid little boys. She could be very vindictive when she wanted to be.

Kenta pointed him out, and Rika found it impossible not to look, like everyone else. The girl was tall, and had a ridiculously well rounded figure. She was smiling at him, even as her fingers fiddled with her shoulder-length brown hair. Immediately, Rika knew she would hate her. Bimbo. Who actually flirts like that?

"Ryo," Kenta beckoned, catching the seventeen year old's attention and making him turn away from his companion. He smiled, and everything was just like how she remembered, including the dimple on the left side of his cheek. He was still as annoyingly perfect as he'd always been.

"Hey, guys," he said as the two groups met up. By this time, several of the more observant people had noticed the girl by his side and were casting cautious looks in Rika's direction. She ignored them, determined to appear unphased by this almost tragic development. Stop it. Stop noticing me.

"Wow, man, it's been ages. How've you been? Last I heard you were still in the digital world." Trust Kazu to be completely oblivious to any undercurrents what so ever.

"Yeah, my dad and I talked it out and cut a deal about that. I'm in full-time education again. But so long as I keep my grades up I can check up on cyberdramon whenever I want. Plus he says I can defer my entry to college, just so long as I keep my options open." He never told me that. He looked at Rika then, and gave her the smile she'd always considered belonged only to her. "Hey Rika, Happy Birthday." He remembered? She opened her mouth to reply, but the girl Ryo was with cleared her throat loudly. Ryo looked a little taken aback, but got the hint when she indicated she'd like to be included in the conversation. Go away.

"This is Leah. She's the sister of one of my friends."

"We're going out," she added. "And you are?" Rika felt like doing something violent, but held herself in check. Jeri squeezed her hand, offering her silent support.

"These are the guys who saved the world from D-reaper," Ryo explained before pointing them out one-by-one. When he got to Rika, Leah suddenly squealed and lunged forward, grabbing her by both hands. Don't touch me.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry, but I only just realised! You're the daughter of Rumiko Nonaka, right? The famous model? I'm such a big fan of hers. And you did some modelling yourself, didn't you?" As if saving the world was of lesser concern to her than her mother's modelling career. "That's so cool!"

"Thanks," Rika said icily. Her right eye was twitching slightly. "You can let go now. You're cutting off my blood supply, and I make a rule of not letting people I don't like touch me." Leah's face drained from colour a little bit and she backed off, before beginning to blush. She was obviously embarrassed. Ryo looked at Rika cautiously, half-afraid she might explode. "It was nice seeing you again," she stated with very little warmth in her tone. "Bye."

She walked away, and the others excused themselves and followed after, the two idiots lingering back to apologise to Ryo for her behaviour. "Sorry, Ryo. It's just Rika. You know she doesn't need an excuse to have her knickers in a twist."

It was notable that no one said anything to Leah after that.

"Did I say something wrong?" Rika overheard her say as they left. Ryo sighed and wrapped an arm around her.

"Rika's nice once you get to know her. She just doesn't like strangers." It was a lie, but it probably made the girl feel better. He hesitated. "It probably didn't help that you said we were going out." Rika blushed, and was more than thankful when the doors finally closed behind them. Why does he have to be right all the time?

»«»«»«

They'd had cake as she opened her presents. No one mentioned the incident with Ryo; aware that she was trying her best to pretend it never happened. It had been a good day mostly. They'd even sung Karaoke, and this time Rika had joined in, unlike last year. They'd been awed at her voice. It was beautiful. They'd wondered why she had been so upset the year before. Only Takato could guess, remembering the incident with the runaway train, but he hadn't known the reason why. It was just that she'd been too reminded of her father. She got moody when she remembered the people who'd walked out on her. She questioned fate. Whether whoever was in charge out there didn't like her, or whether she was just destined to be unhappy. But she didn't tell them that. She laughed and shrugged it off, and pretended to be having a brilliant evening, which she was really. She was just bitter and sore.

Eventually only Jeri was left. At which point Rika finally allowed the smile to disappear off her face.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Fine," Rika replied. "I told you, we decided it wouldn't work out last year."

"No," Jeri shook her head stubbornly. "You said he decided it wouldn't work out last year. You said nothing of the sort." Rika sighed unhappily. So perceptive.

"There's nothing I can do. If he doesn't like me, he doesn't like me."

"But he does like you! That's what makes this so unbearably stupid." The outburst shocked Rika so much that she accidentally agreed with her, voicing her thoughts aloud. Thoughts she was used to keeping to herself.

"Yeah. I thought so too. But I was wrong. He won't change his mind. He's an idiot. He's moved on. He made that abundantly clear today." And it hurts because I thought it would be different.

"Really?" Jeri nudged her in the side with a sly smile on her face. "Maybe he doesn't like her that much. She was the one who insisted they were going out, after all. If he felt it was important, wouldn't he have said so?" Rika appreciated the sentiment, even though she knew it wasn't true. I wish it was true.

"He was just being considerate, Jeri. No." She shook her head. "I've given up on love. I don't have a Takato like you." Jeri giggled, blushing and ringing her hands nervously.

"But knowing we like each other doesn't make confessing any less embarrassing or awkward. Kazu sees to that." Rika laughed, her spirits uplifting again. She walked Jeri to the door and waved goodbye until she pulled the outer gate's door closed behind her. She was feeling great right up until she received the text message. It was from Ryo. She blushed angrily, and hesitated with her thumb hovering over the buttons, unsure what to do. Should I read it?

"Is it Ryo?" Renamon asked, appearing at the wall, arms crossed, but face inquisitive. Rika nodded, and Renamon waited quietly to see what would happen. She knew better than to try and influence any decision Rika might make. Rika had always made her decisions to the best of her ability on her own. She was strong-willed. She hated depending on anybody. That's why she'd had so many issues.

"I know you haven't forgiven me yet. That's why I stayed away. But did you have to be so cold to Leah? It's not her fault."

Rika didn't know what word to use for what she wanted to do just then. She was emotional. She wanted to do something. But she was torn. She wanted to scream, she wanted to punch him, she wanted to find somebody else, anybody else to fall in love with and parade them in front of him and prove that she didn't need him to be happy. All he ever caused her was grief. There was nothing good about him. He was a nuisance. But she didn't hate him yet, in spite of everything. For some reason, she knew, she wasn't over him, and that was what she hated. Their situation, and the fragility of her heart. It was unbearable. She used to think she was so much stronger than anybody else.

"I meant it when I wished you Happy Birthday. I want to be friends with you, Rika. I hate this situation."

She hated the way he always found a way to put how she was feeling into words before she had a chance to. She hated the way he was so understanding. The way he looked so perfect. The way she liked him, but he didn't like her back. Not enough to want to be with her anyway. But she couldn't believe she wasn't good enough, when compared to someone like Leah.

"What's so good about her?" she asked, half to herself, half to Renamon. Renamon didn't know what to say. Some human emotions were beyond her. She understood the concept of love. Saw the way Rika and her mother and grandma loved each other, and understood the way that Takato and Jeri blushed around each other, and liked to be close to one another. She'd understood that Rika and Ryo were in a similar situation, although their way of spending time together had involved arguing and teasing more than holding hands. It had never been gentle.

"I hate this." Rika stamped her foot, closing her eyes to block everything out. "I hate feeling this way." She was angry, and Renamon could only suppose this was why she'd said what she said next. "I wish I'd never met him."

»«»«»«

Heya, the next update soon, but let me know what you think.

Luv ya

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