"It's Just a Little Crush" Story Written by Freedom Fighter Chapter Two Recap: As Jeri gathers up the courage to admit her feelings for Takato, he tries to figure out why she's being acting so strange lately. But that's not the only thing on his mind. School, figuring out Jeri, and worrying about Guilmon's place in the world all crossed his mind. But things got even more complicated when Jeri... and you, the readers... found out that Rika had confessed her love for him first! ****** The episodes "Juggernaut" and "Grow Mon Grow" are presented, in pieces, in this chapter. Now that we've reached the midway point at the end of this chapter, I am not going over the rules again. Read my notes from the first two chapters for those details. But there is one rule in particular I would like to reiterate. If you intend to enter the contest, leave a signed review or your e-mail address with your anonymous one. If you have an account here but you don't sign in prior to reviewing, please mention that you have an account anyway so I have your e-mail off your profile as a contact point should you win. Also remember: Tamer(s) who signs the song, the song's original artist, and the song's title. I've got two confirmed entries thus far. Either most of you aren't participating, or you're holding off til you've got all five songs. Whichever option is fine by me (preferably most of you are doing the second), but remember... I need a minimum of five entries! As for this chapter's song... this one I decided at the last moment since it was so hard to find a song that fit this Tamer's personality. The one I selected still might not fit, but I tried my best. Enough babbling! On to Chapter Three! Disclaimer: None of the characters or songs belongs to me, but to their respective creators. That's true! And if you try to sue me for this fanfic, I'll have Suzie come to your house and dress you up like a doll! ****** [Begin playing song lyrics] Under a lover's sky I'm gonna be with you And no one's gonna be around If you think that you won't fall Well just wait until, 'till the sun goes down Underneath the starlight starlight There's a magical feeling so right It will steal your heart tonight You can try to resist Try to hide from my kiss But you know, but you know That you can't fight the moonlight Deep in the dark you'll surrender your heart But you know, but you know That you can't fight the moonlight, No-o you can't fight it It's gonna get to your heart Underneath the starlight starlight There's a magical feeling so right It will steal your heart tonight You can try to resist Try to hide from my kiss But you know, but you know That you can't fight the moonlight Deep in the dark you'll surrender your heart But you know, but you know That you can't fight the moonlight, No-o you can't fight it It's gonna get to your heart [Stop playing song lyrics] ****** Chapter 3 - "A Girl Here, A Girl There" "Tomorrow, I'll tell him. I just have to." After spending some time to renew her bond with Renamon following the battle with Harpymon, Rika returned home. Upon entering her house, she saw her D-Arc and her cardholder in the trashcan. "How was I so stupid to leave these things behind?" She pulls them both out and clips them on to their normal positions on her belt. "Now that I have Renamon back as my best friend, it's time to focus on another one. Sort of..." Rika looks up towards the ceiling and imagines a young boy her age walking up to her and giving her kiss across the lips. Rika smiles as she says the name of her crush out aloud. "Takato Matsuki. Oh, why do I long for you so much? It can't be love... can it?" "You have feelings for him, don't you?" Rika turns around as Renamon materializes in front of her. "I don't know what you're talking about," Rika replied. "But I just heard you say..." "Forget what I said, Renamon. It's just a little crush." "A little?" "Okay, so it's a BIG crush. Happy? Now, just drop it!" "As you wish." Renamon disappears without an objection. Rika heads for her closet to look for something to sleep in. "There's got to be a way to tell him without looking stupid. Now, let's see." Rika stops walking as she begins to think. She starts to say a few of her ideas out loud. "I know! The next time we have to battle an evil Digimon, I'll just jump in and stop everyone mid-battle. I'll then take Takato by the hand and tell him that I'm madly in love with him!" Rika begins to imagine the scene in the park. As she does, she watches as her dream gets squashed as the Digimon ignores her request and fires an attack to get rid of her. "Maybe that's not such a good plan after all," she stated disappointedly. "There's got to be something more realistic I can try, without anyone finding out that I've gotten soft since the early days." It seemed that when it came to making advances at the boy of your dreams, Rika was probably the most uneducated girl in the whole city. Even though her mother seemed to be dating men left and right, Rika never really paid attention to it all. Her thoughts were more focused on wondering why her mom would be so carefree and easy that she'd rather go out than try to get more involved in her life. "Maybe I should get tips from my mom," Rika told herself as she walked down the street the following evening. Originally, she was heading for the park because her D-Arc was going off. She thought that another wild Digimon had bio-emerged. But halfway there, the beeping stopped. So, Rika waved it off as a fluke. Either that, or Takato and/or Henry had things well under control. But by now, Rika was getting frustrated over the whole thing. "It shouldn't be that hard to tell Takato my feelings! I'll just walk up to him and forcefully tell him that I want him to be mine! At least that way, he'll pass off my behavior as normal." What Rika didn't know is that her opportunity would come sooner than later. Much sooner, it turned out, as she happened to bump shoulders at that moment with none other than Takato himself! "Takato!" she screamed silently at herself. "But I didn't expect him that soon!" Rika took a quick sigh before Takato noticed that he had bumped into her. "Okay, just act normally, and then ease him into the proposal," she thought. "Watch where you're going, goggle head!" she yelled at him. "Not bad," she contemplated again. "This isn't as hard as I thought." "Sorry bout that, Rika. I was thinking about something." That brought Rika back to her own thoughts. She had been waiting all day to meet Takato and now was the time to ask. "Actually, you're just the person I wanted to see." "I am?" Takato blinked, pointing at himself. "Allow me to explain." "Okay." "Takato, I'll just get to the point. I'm in love with you." It took a few seconds for Takato to process the exact meaning of Rika's words. She decided to repeat herself, just in case he had zoned out and not heard her the first time. "Takato, I said that I'm in love with you." "You're joking, right?" "Joking?" she shouted, holding back as much of her anger as possible so that she wouldn't scare him off, "You think I'm joking, Takato Matsuki?" "You mean you're not?" he shot back nervously. "Is that brain of yours getting enough circulation, goggle head?" "Hey Rika, I just got back from fighting off a Digimon all by myself! Give me a little credit! I'm tired here!" "I will when you wise up and stop thinking about yourself!" "Wise words coming from someone who just realized how stubborn she is just yesterday." Rika could've right there and then challenged Takato to a battle so she could have Renamon beat the living crap out of Guilmon just to show how stubborn' they really were, but Rika thought otherwise. After all, how was she going to attract him after that? "Look," Rika started, calming down, "I'm not here to pick a fight. I'm here to admit my love for you. Can't you see that?" "You mean it?" Takato asked in surprise, finally getting the picture. "You're in love with me?" "Well, duh." "Wow... I don't know what to say. I've never been in love before." "Just say you love me." "What?" "Just say you love me!" "Well..." "Just say you love me!" "Okay, okay, I love you! Geese, you're making this sound as if we're getting married tomorrow." "Go ahead and make wisecracks, funny boy, because you know that's what I like about you." Before Takato could thank Rika for her compliment, despite how unlike her it sounded, Rika runs off in the direction she came from. "That was the weirdest two minutes of my life," Takato commented. ====== "What the hell was I thinking?" Rika shouted aloud, even though there were a few other people on the street with her. "Of all the things I could've said, I had to say THAT! You know that's what I like about you.' I must've sounded so stupid!" ====== "What the hell was I thinking?" Takato shouted, although in a softer tone than Rika. "I can't believe this. First it's Kazu and Kenta and then it's Guilmon. Last night, it was Jeri, and tonight, it was Rika! What's going on in my life? I'm too young to be thinking about so many things at once. Say... don't I have school tomorrow? Oh man, my math homework! Miss Asaji's gonna put me in detention again! I'd better get home and do it." With that, Takato runs off in the direction of his home, trying to straighten everything out in his mind. ====== "I just thought that it was time I told you," Jeri stated ever so slowly. "Told me what?" Takato asked, although he now knew his worst fear was coming true. "That I think I'm in love with you." "I knew it!" Takato shouted excitedly, although he didn't mean to do so. "You mean you knew I had a crush on you the whole time?" "Well, not exactly." "Then tell me!" "Well, I thought that you were going to tell me you loved me because..." "Because what?" "Because last night Rika told me that she loved me." Takato stood there silently as he saw tears starting to form from Jeri's eyes. He was starting to feel sorry for himself after telling her that Rika loved him too. "I knew I shouldn't have told her about Rika," Takato thought. "Now Jeri's really gonna hate me. I won't be able to go another day without her glaring at me." But then, Jeri quickly surprises Takato by not breaking down or running away in tears, but by jumping for joy. "I knew there was someone else! I could tell by the sound of your voice!" "And you're happy because?" "Well, this gives me the chance to show you what makes me the right girl for you!" "Excuse me?" "Oh, don't worry. You won't have to do anything... except fall in love! Just leave it all to me! See you tomorrow!" With that, Jeri happily skips off as a big sweatdrop appears on Takato's forehead. "Girls are just weird. They just force everything onto you." ====== Shortly thereafter, Takato spots Kazu and Kenta, so he decides to approach them. The two don't seem too happy about seeing him, though. "Well, look who's here," Kazu remarked snidely. "Don't tell me you two are still sore about yesterday," Takato said. "If you're talking about seeing that monstrosity you call a Digimon, then yes, we're still sore." "He's real, I'm telling ya!" "Sure," Kenta jumped in, "as real as the rumors that you and Jeri are an item!" Takato was taken aback by the accusation. "What rumors? Jeri and I aren't together!" "Speak of the sweetheart," Kazu smirked as he pointed to Kenta and Takato that Jeri was heading towards them. "I thought she had already skipped home," Takato said silently, not wanting Kazu and Kenta to get proof of them as a couple. "Not that I'm saying that we aren't. Then again, she did just ask me to be her boyfriend a few minutes ago. Man, this is all too confusing." "What are you boys doing today?" Jeri asked with that delightful smile of hers. "Are you playing Digimon?" "Digimon is for kids," Kenta replied. "Yeah," came the answer from Kazu. "Besides, it's all just pretend." "But Guilmon is real!" Takato shouted. "Man, you're not scaring anyone with that oversized stuffed dinosaur of yours!" "Guilmon's not a toy," Jeri jumped in, defending Takato, as usual. "We're not into playing Digimon anymore because it's lame." "Well, if you don't like it, you two don't have to play it." "What's wrong with you boys? Sometimes you guys fight even when there's nothing to fight about!" "Hey Kenta," Kazu said, ignoring Jeri's comment, "want to hang over at my place?" "Sure," Kenta responded. "We'll leave Takato with his kiddie games." "It's not a game!" Takato shouted at them as the two boys left. Jeri, obviously wanting Takato to calm down, walks up to him. "Did I say something wrong?" Takato shakes his head. "It's not you, Jeri." "So... are you going to play with Guilmon later?" "It's not playing!" Jeri gasped in shock as Takato runs off. "There I go with my big mouth again. I scared him off." Jeri pulls her puppet out of her backpack to relax herself. Her puppet fails in that objective, though. "Yeah! You scared him off, you dummy!" She scowled at her puppet as she stuffed it back into her backpack and walked off, wondering what to do next. "Looks like I'd better get to work," she noted as she began thinking of how to get back on Takato's good side. ====== At almost the same time, Rika was sitting alone in her room. She had just finished an interesting conversation with Renamon about what had been happening the past few days, especially between the two of them. "It's funny that I don't find Takato and Henry's Digimon to be silly. But I guess that comes from the fact that I'm in love with Takato." Rika then came up with an interesting thought. "But what if he just said yes so that I'd go away? Maybe I haven't forced the issue enough." Rika then smirked. "Don't worry, Takato. Deep in the dark, I know you'll surrender your heart." ====== And likewise, Henry was also home. Well, he was still walking down the hall towards his family's apartment, but you get the idea. He also had some things on her mind. "I'm glad Rika and Renamon are back together, but something keeps drawing me towards her. Why? I've never felt this way about anyone before, much less Rika. Maybe it's because she's finally lightening up. She's changed so much since Takato and I first met her." This also strikes a provoking thought into Henry's mind. "I wonder if Takato likes Rika. Hmmmm... I sure hope not. I think I might be falling for her myself." ====== That evening proved to be anything but peaceful as the sky filled with ominous dark clouds. Takato, Rika, and Henry, as well as their Digimon, made their way to the location where the latest Digimon was going to bio-emerge. Rika was the last to arrive, but she was just in time to see a blond haired man in a suit release Henry from his grip, after he had been holding him off the ground. As the man left, Rika ran past and inquired about his identity. "Who's the thug?" she asked Henry. "He's trouble," he responded as he straightened his clothes out. "You Digimon loving freaks!" the man yelled as he walked off. "Look what you've done!" The group ignores Yamaki's comments and turn their attention to more pressing matters. "Ready?" Henry asked Rika. "Yep," she responded with a nod and a smile. "That's what I like about Rika," Henry said to himself. "Still, I wonder if she's seeing anyone." All romantic thoughts aside, Takato, Henry, Rika, Guilmon, Terriermon, and Renamon did their best to fight off this new Digimon. But he seemed to be more powerful than any of the ones they had faced before. But after a long battle in which they thought they weren't going to win, Takato manages to produce a Blue Card out of nowhere. "It's a Blue Card!" Henry stated matter-of-factly. "We're with you!" Rika shouted as she looked over at Takato, who nodded in reply. "This battle has just begun!" he yelled, as he readied his D-Arc to slash the card. - Begin card slash sequence - Takato takes the Blue Card in one hand and the D-Arc in the other. He raises both hands over his head, crossing them in the process. He then uncrosses them, slashing the card through the D-Arc's reader as it does so. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!" - End card slash sequence - - Begin matrix digivolution sequence - "Growlmon digivolve to... WarGrowlmon!" - End matrix digivolution sequence - In place of the giant dinosaur Digimon known as Growlmon came WarGrowlmon, a giant dinosaur Digimon... wearing heavy plated armor and other high tech items of weaponry. The struggle between the newly evolved WarGrowlmon and their dangerous adversary, Mihiramon, continued for several more minutes as the two Digimon exchanged blows. In the process, Henry and Rika watch with their fallen Digimon as Takato cringes as he feels every blow that WarGrowlmon receives. Finally, WarGrowlmon tires Mihiramon out and throws him into the air, finishing the rogue Digimon off with the Atomic Blaster attack. ====== As the battle ends and WarGrowlmon lands on the ground, Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri, who had all been off to the side watching the whole battle, run out to congratulate Takato and the others. "Is that really Guilmon?" Jeri asked the boys aloud. "No," Kazu replied, "he digivolved twice. That's his ultimate form, WarGrowlmon." Jeri begins to look around for Takato. Obviously, she wanted to see if he was okay. "Did Takato leave?" "A real Tamer never leaves his Digimon," Kenta states as Takato appears and runs over to hug his Digimon. "I'm happy for Takato," Jeri thought. "If only I could be like him. Then we'd be perfect for each other." Meanwhile, Rika and Henry were off to the side. Jeri glanced over in that direction. She didn't know that the girl over there was Rika, the one who had asked for Takato's love first. But Jeri had her suspicions, and she didn't want to reveal her hand too soon. Renamon was slowly recovering from the hard landing she had taken after being hit off of the building by Mihiramon. Rika was worried about her Digimon, but Henry and Terriermon kept reassuring her that Renamon would be okay. "I'll never leave your side," Rika told Renamon. "You'll be my partner, now and until the end of time." "She's so dedicated to Renamon now," Terriermon said to Henry. "It's going to be hard to separate those two so that you can flirt with Rika." "Terriermon!" Henry shouted, hoping Rika didn't hear him. "I knew it! You do like her! I can always tell these things, you know." Henry slowly backed away. He did like Rika, but he was unsure of whether or not Takato had already fallen in love with her. He had to find out himself before jumping into a battle he couldn't win. And there was only one way to do that. He had to confront Takato and ask him himself. ****** Next Chapter: Kazu and Kenta are still mad at Takato for passing off what seems to be made-up Digimon. But instead of discovering the truth, they decide to pursue another rumor. The one in which Takato and Jeri are a couple! Is it true? Will they do anything to discover the truth? And in terms of everyone else... where do Takato, Jeri, Rika, and Henry all stand on this? ****** And more confusing this story gets, definitely. Bummer. Yes, I skipped over the action scenes only because I'm coming back to them in the next chapter. So chill, okay? It's another two-day wait until Chapter Four, so leave a review so I know to continue! And keep those entries coming, folks! Copyright Date: 2/6/02