[Keywords: Clean * Rika * Renamon * Digimon * season 3 / tamers * F/F * lesbian * what-if / AU * drama * romance] Chapter 2: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19514141/ Chapter 3: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21257096/ Epilogue: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/22041301/ Rika stretched out on her bed, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Though it was early, she was already feeling excited for today. This was going to be a day of fun, for herself and others...well, for some at least; others would find that the fun would come at their expense. But that was their loss, not hers, and if they didn't measure up, too bad for them. She could almost giggle with anticipation, but being a queen meant she held herself to higher standards than before. Sure, it gave her the power to do what she wanted, but a queen should act like one. Turning to sit on the side of her bed, she rose to her feet, letting out a quiet yawn as she walked to the mirrors beside her wardrobe. She almost didn't think it possible, but she was even more pleased by her reflection as time had gone on. Ten years was a lot of time for change, and change she had. "And the best is yet to come," she said to her grinning reflections, turning to admire herself from all angles as she found herself reminiscing on what led up to today. ----- [i]She stood before Renamon and Vajramon in the stadium. The Deva had just given them a most tempting offer: Join him and the remaining Devas in service to the Sovereign Zhuqiaomon, and be rewarded with power, respect, and camaraderie. Offered to Renamon, that is; the fox-like Digimon had told the centaur that she would accept his offer on one condition: Rika came too. At first, Rika didn't know what to say. She had to admit, she wanted to accept it. But her home and family behind were not small things to give up. Not to mention, she had only recently started developing friendships with the goggle-head, the would-be pacifist, and even the too-nice-for-her-own-good Jeri. Could she leave that behind for something that had no promise of reward? But Renamon knew her well. She told Rika that this offer meant that the Digimon respected them. How much was there for them in this world, anyway? Sure, there were things for now, but what about in the future? Here, she and Rika had to keep everything a secret, anyway. Did she really want to keep going like this? In the Digital World, there would never be a shortage of battles, of prey. They could openly battle together and bask in the rewards for their hard work. More importantly, they could keep climbing the ladder they started. Together. She knew Rika well, indeed. They both wanted everything Vajramon offered, but what they also wanted was to get it together and never be split up again. It only took a little consideration for Rika to smile at her partner and reach out to shake her hand.[/i] ----- Her mind drifting back to the present, Rika clapped her hands loudly. Obediently, a pair of suit-wearing Gazimon filed into her room and stood behind her as she took off her nightgown and tossed it at them, one of them catching it without a word. Not that they were Digimon who really cared about the sight of a nude human, and their training to be servants had reinforced that nicely. "Prepare a bath," she said simply. Bowing to her, they walked to her adjacent bath chamber. Now wearing nothing but the ever-present purple-trimmed D-Power hanging from her neck, she left them to fill the bath while she looked at herself again in the mirror, this time more at her physical self than in a general appraisal. She had grown up to have a nicely toned physique, her body dotted with scars from years of fighting alongside Renamon. She had even defeated Champion-level Digimon alone, quite an accomplishment for the usually comparatively weak humans. She kept her hair quite short so it wouldn't get in her way in battle; she built her reputation on the battlefield, after all. On Earth, she might have been frowned on for her lack of feminine softness, not that any of those wimps would have had the courage to tell it to her face, but all she could see in her reflection was exactly what she wanted to be. "Hmhmhm, not just a pretty face," she remarked to herself as she mused back to her early teen years, when she learned what [u]real[/u] fighting was. ----- [i]After agreeing to join the ranks of the Devas, Rika and Renamon were taken to the Digital World to meet their new master. While it galled her to do it, she and Renamon performed the necessary groveling to the phoenix Digimon and bit her tongue at his condescension to "this human." Still, it was worth it for Renamon to be granted the power to digivolve to Ultimate. Actually, when that ceremony was completed, things had changed more than she expected. When Renamon tested her new power, she first digivolved not to Kyubimon, but to the similar yet purple-themed Youkomon. From there, she at last digivolved to her Ultimate level, Doumon. Rika's praise of her partner was cut short with a mildly surprised hum from Zhuqiaomon. He said that in her code, there was no capability to ever reach the Mega level, as if she were incomplete, which although not necessary to serve him was nonetheless strange. Rika wondered if "not necessary" meant "not desirable"; she didn't blame him for not trusting them with so much power, but she couldn't deny it was upsetting to hear. But she kept her understanding of the veiled "you'll never be on my level so don't get any big ideas" threat to herself, and the two of them bowed to him and asked how they could serve him. After proving their worth by easily eliminating a flight of trouble-causing Airdramon in his domain, they were educated on their true enemy. The Chaos. The D-Reaper. Rika felt a twinge of fear upon learning that they would not be fighting Digimon, but a program meant specifically to destroy them and that looked as if it would have a real shot at it. It wasn't long afterward that the other tamers found their own way to the Digital World to save Calumon, and when they approached the South Gate, Rika and Renamon were given the task of stopping them from reaching Zhuqiaomon. Unknown to them, their master had gained a new, much more powerful servant: The former Impmon, now Beelzemon, who arrived not long before they did. While Rika would rather have captured the tamers or driven them away, it was soon clear that Beelzemon was here to kill them, which he demonstrated by slaying Leomon. The events that followed were as amazing as they were frightening, and not just from Guilmon's world-threatening digivolution. Rika and Renamon stood by and watched as Beelzemon destroyed Zhuqiaomon's servants, taking what he needed to overpower Megidramon. Then there was another turn, one that Rika would never have even considered. Takato and Guilmon became one, a Digimon so strong it held its own against Beelzemon. Her surprise soon gave way to jealousy so great she could have walked in the middle of the battle just to strangle the knightly Digimon. A reprieve came when Zhuqiaomon called them back, saying that the Catalyst had escaped and they were to secure it while he destroyed the intruders himself. That suited Rika fine; she didn't want to look at Takato or Guilmon ever again. The pair quickly hunted the little white critter down and brought it back to Zhuqiaomon's palace. When she saw that Henry and Terriermon had done what Takato and Guilmon had done, Rika was almost sent into a fit of rage. Renamon, ever the calm to balance out the storm, took Calumon from her grasp before Rika squeezed him tightly enough to choke him. After the Sovereigns arrived to break up the fighting and show the tamers what the real enemy was, Calumon finally released the long-hidden power of digivolution unto the Digital World...and Renamon was still exempt from the ability to reach the Mega level. Even the mostly-stoic fox couldn't completely hide her frustration this time. "Fine," Rika had said, getting Renamon's attention back. "We'll do it our own way. We'll make everyone notice us. And we'll change the world for our own selves." Still in the service of Zhuqiaomon, and not relegated to near-uselessness like Lopmon was, Rika and Renamon stayed behind while everyone else went back to the Real World. In the brief but world-changing war that followed in both worlds, they fought long, they fought hard, and above all else, they endured. For the few months after the D-Reaper had been defeated, when the connection between the worlds had been severed, Rika was well and truly trapped in a post-Apocalyptic Digital World. But she and Renamon were getting what they wanted: Plenty of Digimon happy to take advantage of the discord, who their master would send them to eliminate. At last, when tenuous connections back to the Real World had been restored, Rika was permitted to leave, and by "permitted" it was more phrased as "begone from my presence until I send for you." Even after uncomplaining service, Zhuqiaomon found Rika's presence hard to stomach. Not that she blamed him; it wasn't like she served him out of loyalty, either. And yet, having turned away from potential friendships with the tamers while obeying a master who didn't value her...that was the start of her realization that she didn't belong anywhere in either world anymore.[/i] ----- By the time Rika was done thinking on that chapter of her life, she was in the spacious bath and humming happily to herself as she floated on her back. The Gazimon stood by wordlessly, awaiting instructions. She had plenty of time to soak and look her best before the games were to begin...and if she was late, who cares, they had to wait for her. The sound of something quietly splashing in the water beside her made her smile again, which widened as she felt someone approaching her. There was only one person who didn't have to ask permission to bathe with her. "Good morning, Renamon," she greeted the yellow and white fox woman who came into view. Her partner smiled down at her. "Hail, Queen Rika," she replied in almost a purr, resting her hands on Rika's shoulders. "Enjoying yourself?" "Quite. Lie down and join me," she invited. Always one to keep a certain amount of composure even when she didn't have to, Renamon instead moved to sit nearby with the water up to her neck. "Someone has to keep you on schedule," she said. "Hm, suit yourself, maybe later," the human replied with a shrug. "It's the first of a few big days for us, you know," Renamon reminded her before briefly ducking her head underwater to finish wetting her fur. "Of course I know; it was my idea," she boasted. The fox flicked her ears to shake a bit of the water off, nodding at her lazily floating partner. "So, in the meantime, how has your morning been?" she asked. "Fine, pretty much," Rika said, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I was just thinking back on how we got here." "And how far have you gotten?" "To just after I had first gone back to Earth." Rika folded her hands across her stomach and noticed Renamon looking at her in concern; they both knew the next big milestone. "You know, when we were serving him..." she trailed off, frowning so as not to look weak in front of Renamon. The Digimon understood, both that this was a hard thing for Rika to talk about and that she didn't want to be comforted right now. "I know that was a hard time for us," she said quietly as she started washing her fur. "That was the start of one of the darkest times of my life..." she said quietly, giving her partner a slightly forced smile, "but even that had a certain brightness." ----- [i]For a while, things actually weren't too bad. While the other tamers mostly busied themselves with taking care of the straggler Digimon who emerged into the Real World, which had gradually come to be referred to as just "Earth" with the gradual acceptance of the Digital World as its own reality, Rika spent much of that time in the Digital World. Renamon, unburdened with an annoyance like school, could come and go between the worlds easier than Rika could, and when Zhuqiaomon had a task he wanted completed, he would have the order relayed to Rika through Renamon. Luckily for Earth, the destruction left behind by the D-Reaper was so extensive that the Digital World as a whole wasn't as interested in causing trouble for Earth as it used to be. In an organized manner, anyway. Since Renamon couldn't reach the Mega level and thus couldn't fight stronger, Rika dedicated their time to fighting better. She consulted every source of strategy and tactics she could find, learning about real-world historical battles and how the combatants won or lost. She improved her own ability to fight by staying in as good of shape as she could. For a while, she joined dojos and various school clubs dedicated to martial arts, but was forced to leave them either because her allegiance to Zhuqiaomon demanded too much time or she was kicked out for being too aggressive to the other members. Undaunted, she sparred with Renamon to improve further, and occasionally found a weak troublemaker (whether human or Digimon) they could subdue and then force to fight her as more practice. Naturally, when she was spending almost all of what would have been free time carrying out orders or getting better at fighting, that left no time for the diversions that a teenage girl was "supposed" to have, but she rarely found herself caring. With the relative peace that followed the post-D-Reaper rebuilding, most of the time she and Renamon were assigned to long patrols in Zhuqiaomon's territory for new annoyances, training his other servants, escorting other tamers, or meeting with humans on their master's behalf. Four years passed. Their efforts were paying off. Renamon, in all of her forms, could on average win three-against-one battles against other Digimon of the same level. Furthermore, word of them was starting to spread, both in the Digital World and, through other tamers, on Earth. Rika was liking the respect they were getting, not very concerned whether it came from admiration or fear. When something like a dragon or a dinosaur was unnerved by her presence, even when her Digimon partner wasn't with her...those were some good feelings. And yet, there was an undeniable gap between the best Renamon could do and the kind of power a Mega Digimon wielded, and the climb to the top they had committed to long ago was stalled. Through it all, Rika's connection to Earth became more and more tenuous. There was just less there for her anymore. The reports on her activities she had to give to the government became shorter and delayed, not that she imagined they liked hearing from her when they were still decidedly not thrilled that Digimon were a real thing and some of their power was in the hands of children (and oh how she had to grit her teeth when those ignorant, weak suits looked down on her or Renamon). It had taken more than a little effort to convince them and her family that, if they forcibly prevented her from seeing her master when he summoned her, he would have her brought in by force and that wasn't worth the trouble it would cause. She made it clear to them that she had chosen a side and she had to follow through on her end of the deal. After some four and a half years of serving Zhuqiaomon, the only thing that Rika looked forward to seeing on Earth was Grandma Seiko. She wasn't any happier at Rika's decision than anyone else, but Rika at least felt like she supported her anyway. She could always be counted on when Rika needed a mediator, especially between her and her mom Rumiko. It was also nice that Grandma had been quick to accept Renamon, in fact she complimented Renamon on her style and feminine beauty despite Renamon's polite insistence that Digimon didn't think of the latter in the same way humans did. Put simply, just like always, even if she didn't understand Rika's life, she still respected her granddaughter for who she was and what she did. Grandma felt like the only human who would really miss her or Renamon if they died, and in turn was the only human whose death she would mourn. Rika found out she was correct when that exact thing happened, and that was when the bad times started. Coming back from the Digital World one day, she was met by a crestfallen Rumiko. After a day of accompanying her master and looking pretty while he met with the other Sovereigns, she wasn't particularly interested in listening to what anyone had to say, but when her mom said there had been an accident and wasn't able to explain who it involved, Rika's blood froze as she filled in the blanks for her. Rika didn't show up for the funeral. She had gotten to know herself very well in the last several years, and she knew she wouldn't be able to stay in control. While friends and family members were saying their goodbyes to Grandma, Rika and Renamon were in one of the more disorderly parts of the Digital World while the human stamped around, shouting out her anger at everything near her. What a good bit of luck it was for them when a tribe of Ogremon was attracted to the noise, who were happy to start a fight and who would not be missed. Seeing only a good target to vent on, Rika gave Renamon the order to destroy them all. Digivolving to Doumon, her partner began carrying out that order. Watching her eliminate the Ogremon should have calmed her, or at least given her something else to think about for a little while, but it only made things worse. Rika didn't want to be part of the battle as a commander or distraction. She wanted to join in. She got her chance when, after the Ogremon were seemingly destroyed, one of them had been lucky enough to escape complete destruction and had reverted to its Rookie Goblimon form. Renamon approached it to finish what she started, but when it was backed against a wall, she stopped when Rika barked at her to wait. They looked over at the tamer, both surprised to see her walking over with death in her eyes, though the Goblimon panicked when it realized what she was coming to do. It took a swing at her with its club, which she dodged and answered with a quick foot to its leg, and then to its face. Once it had been knocked down, Rika made good use of the heaviest nearby rock she could lift. Sure, it was only a Rookie and it was already scared of her, but stepping over that threshold changed her even more.[/i] ----- Another nudge from Renamon pulled Rika out of her daydream. "Hah, what?" "Finish washing up. I've been waiting to get things started, and I'm the only person you wouldn't want to keep waiting, aren't I?" Renamon asked playfully as she stepped out of the bath. Smirking, Rika sat up as Renamon shook the water from her fur. "You go on ahead to eat, I'll be with you in a little bit." Her partner gave her a respectful bow as she made her exit. Rika washed herself quickly before leaving the bath, the nearby Gazimon drying her off before she went to her wardrobe. She tapped her chin in thought...she should have asked Renamon to stick around a little while to help her make up her mind. While she had no more love for skirts and dresses than she did as a kid, she had a love of style that had only gotten stronger with her current position. What did she want to wear today that would look good and add to her powerful image... Of course. There was only one thing to wear on a day when she would be off the battlefield but still wanted to look her best while dressing for movement. And what kind of clothing was form-fitting, exuded power and authority, didn't interfere with movement, and looked good? A well-tailored business suit...with some extra flair. Soon she was dressed in her favorite outfit for days when she wasn't planning to fight: A white dress shirt, black button-up vest with purple pinstripes, matching black-and-purple-pinstriped pants, and black shoes. For added style, she wore white gloves, and instead of a suit coat, she wore a knee-length purple cape, which could be pulled off quickly if she entered battle and for dramatic effect and which had her self-adopted symbol on its back of a globe being grasped on the bottom by her and Renamon's hands. On days like these, she added a blood-red pocket watch, clipped by a chain to her vest, to her repertoire. Since the Digital World had very few timepieces, the watch, despite its old style, flipped open to reveal a digital display of the current date and time of whatever time zone back on Earth she wanted to know. Not interested in wearing any kind of crown, her D-Power was her badge of office. Taking another look at herself in the mirrors, she did a quick twirl to see her reflection from all angles and gave herself a thumbs-up. "Lookin' hot," she complimented herself. Almost ready for the day, she and the Gazimon walked to her dining hall, the other servants and guards showing proper reverence on the way. Ahh, even after years of being a queen, that respect still made her feel like she could walk on air sometimes. When she arrived, she saw that Renamon had already started eating, an assortment of breakfast foods on the table for them to sample from as they pleased. The vulpine Digimon joined the others in attendance in bowing to Rika, even if she looked a bit less dignified with a mouthful of food. Rika nodded to her and waved for everyone else to carry on as she began to help herself. The food was a nice distraction from the turn her memories had taken. ----- [i]The next few months were kind of a blur. Rika tried to carry on with her life as she'd always done, but she was just putting up a front. Inside, she was still angry, frustrated and, though she was ashamed to admit it even to herself, grieving for the loss of her grandmother. While she and Renamon had always been more relaxed when they were alone with each other, when that happened now, there were times when Rika just held onto her partner and cried. She found herself relying on Renamon even more than before. She would always listen. She would never look down on her. She could always be trusted. When Rika was approaching her eighteenth birthday, while she laid in bed with Renamon sleeping beside her, she was kept awake by a troubled mind as she watched the Digimon sleep. For the first time in months, the thing keeping her awake wasn't thinking about Grandma; it was thinking about Renamon. Of course Rika knew there was no one more important to her than Renamon; for years, they had been partners in life-and-death battles and had taken whatever fate could throw at them. They were friends, comrades in arms, and family at once. But when Rika's heart broke and Renamon stepped in to hold her together, Rika had become aware of a very new kind of closeness between her and her partner, one that suddenly left her very unsure of herself. She thought back on all the time they had spent together and how comfortable she was around Renamon, especially when she sometimes needed a supportive shoulder either to cry on or to physically keep her standing. She wondered what Renamon thought of her. The Digimon tended not to speak unless she had something worth saying, but Rika figured she should be able to read her better. Was she as proud of Rika as Rika was of her? Did she [u]value[/u] the time they spent together? Did she ever get confused about what their relationship was, too? If she ever needed someone to save her from an emotional breakdown, could Rika do it? Could she still climb to the top and give Renamon what she wanted? Sighing, Rika closed her eyes and tried to calm down the swirl of thoughts in her head. She was already behind on sleep, and worrying about it wouldn't help either of them, not now. No, now she could just be glad to have her. As much as she liked feeling strong on her own merit, Renamon gave her an extra feeling of safety. She felt nice to hug, too, and Rika had been doing that a lot lately. What would it be like to kiss her? Would she even want to try? How were they supposed- Wait. If her eyes could make a sound from how quickly they shot open, they would have. Whoa whoa WHOA. WHAT? Every bit of her brain suddenly hit the brakes on her train of thought as she rewound the last few sentences. Where did [u]that[/u] come from? Since when would she wonder what kissing Renamon would be like? Or what kissing [u]anyone[/u] would be like? She'd never so much as been on a date, and she could count the number of times she'd been asked out on one hand...without needing her thumb. There was also the hard-to-ignore issue of, well, Rika never had any real reason to think she was a lesbian before, so why would it come up now? Yeah, she'd heard Renamon talk about how some Digimon were fine with thinking of themselves as "he" or "she" but only because it was familiar, not because they attached much significance to it, and others didn't care, but Renamon had always been, pretty firmly, a female to her. Biology aside, that is, however Digimon were supposed to work in that way, or not. Also, it wasn't like Renamon was human in the first place. Not just in the context of how she was a Digimon, she might have been humanoid in shape, but unlike some Digimon who could pass for humans, she was an anthropomorphic fox. Wasn't that a little...weird? Taking the time to let the other side of her brain answer her doubts, she came up with a few counterpoints. It wasn't like she'd given herself any real reason to think she was [u]straight[/u], either; boys and girls alike weren't worth the time, but Renamon always was, wasn't she? There was no room in her life or her heart for romance at all...so she thought until now, when she was thinking about [u]Renamon[/u]. And Renamon not being human hadn't mattered before. When she appeared, didn't Rika accept her? Hadn't they risked their lives for each other? As little as she cared about other tamers, they and their Digimon were friends if not family, differing species be damned. It wasn't like Renamon wasn't smart enough to decide how she felt about Rika. But what she came back to was, when she thought about anyone else who could possibly be attracted to her, they weren't Renamon, were they? They couldn't do the things she did, could they? She'd never give them a chance, would she? But she would give Renamon a chance if Renamon would take it...and she wanted that to happen. Her already-flushed face reddened further as she rolled over to face away from Renamon, needing to think about what to do now. She couldn't just come out and tell Renamon about this, not without giving it a little time to see if she still wanted to pursue it further. But while she was fairly sure of what she thought, what would Renamon think? Would she go along with it just to not hurt Rika's feelings? Would she take it seriously? Would she be disgusted that Rika could feel that way about her? Were Digimon even capable of romantic love? Or...taking that romance to a physical level? Renamon didn't have any, well, female features...that Rika knew of. Or maybe it was just a combination of fur and being flat and Rika hadn't bothered to find out. Rika didn't sleep at all that night. That week was a very awkward one. Things in the Digital World had been quiet, giving Rika and Renamon plenty of time to spend together without doing battle, to Rika's mixed joy and worry. She tried to stay composed around her partner, but her mind kept playing tricks on her, making her think she saw Renamon gazing at her, or maybe there was a little something extra in that smile the fox gave her, and all kinds of other daydreams when she knew Renamon was behaving as she always did. Trying to figure out if Renamon was interested in her without just asking her was proving difficult with how close they already were. Even the old standard of "see how your target reacts to you 'accidentally' being naked" wouldn't work, as Renamon being around when Rika undressed or bathed was nothing new. "These are some hard waters to test," Rika thought one evening as she did her homework. That thought interrupted her as she dropped her pencil, the musing quickly turning into a perfect idea. The next evening, after she and Renamon had finished their regular sparring, Renamon asked her if something was bothering her lately. She [u]did[/u] notice...sort of...Rika could feel a blush threatening to break out, staying focused so as not to give herself away. After a calm brush-off of the concern, Rika said that she wanted to thank her partner for all the help she'd given her lately, in particular, taking a bath with her and trying some shampoo and conditioner on her fur. Renamon looked at her oddly, though whether that was from the suggestion of beauty aids or from how ridiculous she could look when waterlogged, Rika didn't know. But she accepted the offer, and that was all Rika needed. Once they were in the bathroom and properly soaked, and Rika could blame any blushing on the hot water, she beckoned Renamon over. Again, the fox looked at her oddly, and asked for the products Rika had mentioned. Shaking her head, Rika repeated the request, and Renamon knelt by the bathtub. Hoping she wasn't giving too much away, Rika started to lather up Renamon's fur herself. While it took a good bit of shampoo to get her nice and sudsy, it was worth the time and effort, especially since it gave the girl a chance to see how both of them reacted to her subtly intimate gesture. Actually, "subtle" wasn't really the case once Rika reached Renamon's chest and felt her partner shiver a bit as she brushed against...yep...her fingers hadn't deceived her: Renamon was an ironing board under the fur but that was still physically female as far as Rika was concerned. A hasty apology and she pulled her hands away. She didn't dare test her luck further south this soon after that confirmation, just finishing with Renamon's stomach and legs. A rinse and another round with the conditioner later, Renamon got a second rinsing off, and once Rika was done cleaning off, they set to work on finishing with Renamon. At least Renamon could shake most of the water from her fur, but Rika still put that hair dyer through its paces and brushed a good bit of loose fur out of her. But when she was done, she beamed with pride at how Renamon looked as good freshly groomed as she did in the middle of a heated battle. Still, Rika hadn't been successful in her original goal: Finding out if Renamon had [u]that[/u] kind of interest in her. Surprise aside, nothing suggested she wanted Rika to stop during the not-exactly-accidental grope, if it could even be called one...but no sign of returned affections either. That brought her to the conclusion that even if casually dropping her news on Renamon wasn't the answer, being subtle about it wasn't going to work either. She resolved to herself that she would tell Renamon everything on her upcoming birthday. The day came, and it passed fairly uneventfully. It wasn't as if she had any friends to party with, so Rika spent most of the day thinking about what she wanted to say and how she would react in any given scenario. Time marched on, until finally, when Rika came home and her mom was still at work, the tamer and Digimon found themselves alone. Rika had planned to do this later in the day, but the anticipation was driving her crazy, so she brought Renamon to her room and sat down with her. What followed were some of the most life-changing events in her then-eighteen years of life. As she promised herself, she bore her heart to her partner: Her gratitude for always being there for her however she needed, her desire to give the same back, her sudden realization and growing confirmation a new kind of love, her admission of the real reason for the bath, and, unexpectedly, her fear of what could happen now. All that, and more. Rika didn't know how long she spoke as Renamon listened intently and only showed mild surprise at most during the girl's rambling speech. Finally, Rika ran out of things to say, and sat with her hands in her lap as she forced herself to keep up a strong, confident front. She jumped a bit when Renamon reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you came out to me on your own." "...You...knew?" "I suspected. Not for long, but how you've been acting lately was making me wonder. If I was correct, I knew you would tell me when the time was right." "And...was the time right?" "This seemed like a suitable choice, yes. A confession in the schoolyard at sunset amidst the cherry blossoms, followed by 'please go out with me,' really wouldn't suit you." "Hahaha, it was already silly but you didn't have to go the distance and bow while saying it. Yeah, that's always romance in high school, right?" "For some people." "But...seriously, how do you...?" "To be honest...I'm not sure. I'd never even considered the possibility until I thought you were doing the same." "...Oh..." "But I want to find out." As Rika felt hope swell in her chest, Renamon's hands moved to take Rika's in them, moving her larger fingers to interlock them with Rika's own. She gave up trying to stop herself from blushing. "However it turns out, I'm with you for life." "Same to you." "Promise." "Promise." Rika had waited long enough, and this was a good enough sign. It was time to get a little more daring. Gripping Renamon's hands, she pulled her forward, surprising her partner, and wrapped her arms around her as she let herself fall on her back with Renamon atop her. Before Renamon could ask what she was doing, she reached up to stroke a fluffy cheek with a coy smile, and when there was no resistance, she closed her eyes and leaned in. It was time to answer the question of what kissing Renamon would feel like. It didn't happen. A gasp from aside brought both of their gazes to the door, which had been cracked open with someone watching them, and even in their surprise, it only took a moment to recognize Rumiko. Everything was frozen for a few seconds as they stared at each other, the Digimon and tamer still in a compromising position, until the birthday cake Rika's mom was holding dropped from her hands. That snapped Rika out of it, and snapped something inside her, too. Her surprised expression hardened into her usual confident stare. So what if they'd been too distracted to let her mom sneak up on them? Nobody was going to tell her this was something to be ashamed of. She got her answer for her unspoken question when Rumiko stepped back, shaking her head. That would've been all she needed to know. But this time, it wasn't enough. She didn't just confess to Renamon and had her perfect moment ruined to let this go. Pushing Renamon off her, she got to her feet, threw the door open, and approached her mom. The woman kept backing away from her, now more in fear than shock, as Rika matched her pace. "What's wrong, Mom?" "R-Rika, were...were y-you and her..." "Were we [u]what[/u]?" "Were you going to...to-" "To what? Make out? Lock lips? Suck face?" "...K-Kiss?" "Uh huh. That [u]was[/u] going to be our first kiss. Then you wrecked it." "I...I'm sorry, Rika, I just, I didn't know you and she were...like that-" "No, no, that's not it. You wouldn't be backing away from me if you were just surprised. You wouldn't be [u]scared[/u]." "I just didn't know!" "You wouldn't have shook your head at seeing your daughter found someone she can love." "Why didn't you tell me? We could have talked about it." "What's to talk about? It's not your problem. Or [u]is[/u] it a problem for you when I say, 'I love another girl, and she's not human?'" "..." By now, Rumiko was backed against the front door, with Rika not an arm's length in front of her and Renamon keeping her distance behind Rika. Rika stared her mom down, waiting for her to have anything to say for herself, while in her head, the already-fraying connection to whatever used to be here for her was finally wearing down to nothing. "Rika, I...I just...I don't understand how this hap-" "Of course you don't understand. You never understand. You NEVER understand!" "I...don't know what to say." "Then I'll give you two choices. One, you can tell me, and I'll hold you to this, 'I accept that you love Renamon.' Or..." Rika let her step away from the door, reaching by her to open it and point outside. "You can say nothing at all, walk away, and we'll never talk about it again." She set her hands on her hips as she waited for a decision. Rumiko looked back and forth at Rika, Renamon, and the open door. Her mouth opened a few times as she tried to say something, whether it was what Rika said she wanted her to say or anything else. At last, Rika got her answer. Rumiko closed her eyes, turned, and walked out the door. She calmly shut the door behind Rumiko and stood still for a while, staying quiet when Renamon walked up behind her and took her in a hug. The last step of a long-brewing chain reaction had been set off, and Rika was done resisting it or trying to talk herself out of it. "Renamon. That's it. I've had enough." "We both knew we wouldn't be accepted right away." "No, no, I mean, this place, this city, this..." "...What do you want to do, then?" "Is there anything here you would miss?" "...No." "Then go get my cards, and follow me. We're leaving." "For where?" "We're leaving this world. I don't care about it anymore. There's no future for us here." Now it was Renamon's turn to be quiet and think about what Rika said. Rika would normally have expected to feel angry after that confrontation with her mom, but this time she felt very different: Committed to the path she wanted to walk. Part of her had just died and broken off, leaving her unwhole for now, but that emptiness could be filled with something new. She felt a little happiness again when Renamon let her go with only a nod as she went to retrieve the requested cards, and with her shoes on when Renamon returned and slid the cards into the pocket on her belt, she opened the door. To be met with Rumiko reaching for the door. "Rika, I- oof!" "Move." "Ah...Rika, wait!" "I gave you a choice, and you made it. You don't get another chance." "I'm sorry I walked away from you!" "Doesn't matter." "Please, Rika, I don't want it to be like this! Just let me try to work this out with you!" "...Let go of me. We're going out." "No. Not this time." "And we're not coming back." "...What..." "We aren't your problem anymore, and you aren't our problem. We're going somewhere we can make something of ourselves." A sharp "crack" sounded as Rumiko's palm crossed Rika's cheek. "I'm sorry I had to do that, Rika, but I'm not letting you leave." "Then that was the last in your line of mistakes." "Now you listen-" "Not slapping me. Being sorry for it. Like you think I'm so weak that actually hurt!" Grabbing Rumiko's wrist, Rika gave it a squeeze that made Rumiko grunt in pain as her hand was pulled off. "You wanna make it like that?! [u]I'll[/u] show you what a [u]real[/u] hit feels like!" Taking the collar of Rumiko's shirt in one hand, Rika balled up her other fist and pulled it back...and then stopped and let her go. "Actually...you know what? I've got a better idea. It's about time Renamon got her say in this." "Wh-What...what are you going to do?" "Renamon." "Yes, Rika?" "It looks like I can't talk her out of it. But this involves you too. Why don't you take a turn to show her I'm out of here forever?" "What would you like me to-" "Surprise me." "Renamon...please..." Rumiko got down on her knees and bowed to her. "I don't want to lose my daughter. Please...help me. How would you feel if she walked out on you?" Renamon looked at Rika. "That has happened once. I know how it feels." She then looked back at Rumiko. "And it will never happen again." She stepped away from them, her eyes fixed on Rumiko in a scowl as she turned her head to Rika. "Give me some power." Rika's hand went to her D-Power, and with a flash of light, Renamon was replaced by the nine-tailed Youkomon. Rumiko was frozen before the mythical creature, eyes wide as the Digimon fanned her tails out and balls of violet flame appeared at their tips. "Nothing can break us apart. Certainly not you." "R-Rika...how...how could you let her...do this...?" Rika didn't answer, watching curiously as a similar event from a few months ago replayed in her mind. Renamon knew Rika had gotten over her fear of killing Digimon. Was she about to show Rika she was willing to kill humans? But she didn't need to digivolve to do that...what was she doing? The kitsune twisted her body around to spin in a circle, her fanned-out tails wrapping together and the wisps of fire joining into one large ball. After the second spin, she came to a stop, whipped her rear half forward, and flung the ball with her tails acting like a single massive arm. "FOXFIREBALL!" Rumiko covered her face with a scream as the ball... Missed? No, it hadn't missed. She hadn't been aiming for her in the first place. It streaked around her and back through the open door, flying around the corner and out of sight. A pleased grin spread across Rika's face just before an explosion came from inside, far enough in that it sounded to be about where her room was...or used to be. Of course Renamon would know how to aim a guided shot like this. Rumiko didn't say anything, just watching in stunned silence. Rika supposed that got the message across. After snapping her fingers to get her partner's attention back, Youkomon reverted to Renamon and walked to Rika's side as the girl turned away. "If you want to still live there at all, you'd better call someone before that fire spreads past my room. We, meanwhile, are off to where we belong." And so it was that on that day, she found romance, she was more committed than ever to the promises she made to her partner, and she never again thought of Earth as "home."[/i] [u]Rika, Queen of the South[/u] Chapter 1: There's No Future for Us Here What if Renamon accepted the offer to join the Devas, and from there, what if she and Rika cut their ties with the other tamers and climbed to the top themselves? This came about thanks to a conversation with my friend :iconflyingwolf:, when we were discussing how Digimon likes the redeemed villain archetype. I, too, have always liked that kind of character, but I asked him if there's ever been the reverse, with a good character who became evil and stayed that way. He mentioned one, and I forget who it was but it was from either a game or series I'm not familiar with...and admittedly, when it comes to Digimon, I've only watched the first three seasons, the first movie, and maybe half of the fourth season, and everything outside of that, I dunno much about. But the conversation continued from there into "what if" scenarios...and thus came an idea that was too good to pass up. So, maybe they aren't evil, but they still took a very different path than they did in the show. Without going into too much detail, season three of Digimon is my favorite. I liked the first, and I liked the second more, but the third stuck with me the most, so this feels as much like a long-overdue tribute as a fun idea. That, and while Rika is the main focus of this story, I guess every furry has to do something involving Renamon at some point or other, am I right? Sure I dig Renamon, but I don't think of Renamon as one of my "intro to furry" crushes (I don't know who that is, but my furry roots go back way farther). That said, she and Rika were a pair who showed me one other very fun thing: Yuri shipping! ...In series other than Sailor Moon and Tenchi, that is. Consider this a tribute to them, too. This mostly uses material from the animes, with bits from the rest of the universe, but if you're like me and only watched the shows, don't worry; I've kept you in mind when writing this. Digimon (c) Namco-Bandai. This story's copyright policy: "Sharing is caring." Do what you like with this story, not like I can do anything to stop you, in fact I'd be flattered you'd want to share it or save it so you can read it whenever you want. All I ask is that you link back to the original source. Chapter 2: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19514141/ Chapter 3: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/21257096/ Epilogue: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/22041301/ Keywords: Rika * Renamon * Digimon * season 3 / tamers * F/F * lesbian * what-if / AU * drama * romance