My Happy Ending Ch. 4

GOZO – heat without mercy

Ryo couldn't sleep this night. This girl had definitely been Rika. He couldn't await until he could ask Mr. Sato, when the students had their free day.
He was going to search for Rika, and if he didn't find her, at least leaving a note for her in the hotel.
Around three o'clock in the morning, Ryo finally fell asleep.
The next morning, Ryo awoke with a headache. At first, he didn't remember the last night. Finally remembering, he thought it had been a dream, but then he became aware that it couldn't have been a dream at all.
Having dressed quickly, he exited the room and went into the restaurant in the hotel to have breakfast. He met half of his class there. Seeing Mr. Sato, Ryo went over to him and asked when their free day would be.
"On Wednesday, why do you ask?", Mr. Sato answered suspiciously.
"Well, I just wondered.", Ryo responded.
It was Monday and Ryo couldn't help but feeling impatient for Wednesday to come. He was convinced that he would find Rika.

Rika awoke on Monday morning, feeling the sun burning on her body. The window of her room was open and the sun was shining through it and lit up the whole room.
Opening her violet eyes, Rika sat up in her bed and found the others still asleep. She went into the bathroom and washed her teeth and cleaned her face. Afterwards she got dressed and was about to exit the room and go to breakfast, when she stopped.
Her gaze wandered to her watch. Finding it was nine o'clock, Rika decided to fix the alarm clock, what Makoto had forgotten at her arrival in the morning. Rika didn't want to be like Makoto and let them oversleep because of what she turned the alarm clock to five past nine.
At twenty past nine, Makoto, Yuri and Ayumi came running into the restaurant. Having had no time to do their make-up, they nearly looked like humans, Rika thought.
The three girls demonstratively sat down at a table without Rika. But Rika didn't care. She was still in thoughts about Ryo and the fact, that Makoto had reported he was in Malta, too.
As much as Rika knew, Takato, Jeri, Henry, Kazu and Kenta were on school vacation in Paris and Hong Kong. So, the only remaining person, who could be on Malta, too, was the Legendary Tamer also known as Digimon King.
Finally snapping out of her daze, Rika found herself in a bus, driving through desert lands.
"Hey, where are we going?", she asked a girl of her class, who was sitting in front of her.
"Didn't you listen to Ms. Yuki?", Risa, the black haired girl, responded.
"No.", was the simple answer.
"We're driving to the ferry, which will bring us to Gozo.", Risa explained patiently.
Rika noticed surprised, that Risa was sitting all alone.

On the ferry to Gozo, Ryo was being annoyed by the girls in his class, who were constantly hanging on his arm.
"… you know, he was friendly but I wanted a boy-friend, more like a man than he being childish. Someone like you, Ryo.", Natsuki went on talking, not noticing that Ryo wasn't at all paying attention.
Souta had watched his friend suffering long enough. Standing up, he went over to where Ryo and all the girls of their class sat, (Well, except these, who were on the toilet) and tried to free Ryo from his mental pain.
"Sorry, but I need to talk to Ryo…", Souta explained.
"But, I'm talking to him now!", Natsuki complained.
"It's really important.", Souta said annoyed.
Ryo shot Souta a thankful look. He stood up and followed his friend around the next corner, where he, leaning against a wall, sank to the ground exhausted.
"Ryo, what's wrong with you?", Daisuke asked concerned.
Ryo sighed deeply.
"These girls are… I wish it was Wednesday now…", Ryo trailed off.
"Man, he's not himself since yesterday.", Daisuke told Souta, who shook his head sadly.
"Why do you want it to be Wednesday so badly?", Souta asked finally.
"It's our free day. And firstly, we might get rid of that mob, which is chasing after me, and secondly, I'd like to search for someone on Wednesday. Will you help me?", Ryo asked hopefully.
"Well, if you tell me who and why you are going to search…", Daisuke demanded.
"I have the idea it is about a certain girl with a ponytail.", Souta sighed.
"Hai. Indeed. I'm a hundred per cent sure, I've seen her out of the bus yesterday   night.", Ryo answered.
"Well, I guess, I'll help you.", Daisuke decided.
"Yeah, me too.", Souta added.
"Arigatou. You're the best friends ever!", Ryo exclaimed happily.

"Rika?"
"Na… ni?", Rika yawned and opened her eyes.
"We're on Gozo. Come on, let's go.", Risa said.
Rika stared at her classmate disbelievingly.
"What's the matter?", Risa asked.
"Nothing. It's just… I thought you don't like me?", Rika wondered.
"Why do you think that?", Risa asked back.
"Because in this class, nobody likes me.", was the simple answer.
"I don't see, why I shouldn't like you. I have no reason to dislike you.", Risa explained.
"Oh.", Rika couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Quit talking, girls!", Ms. Yuki addressed Rika and Risa. "We're going to catch the bus to the 'Azure Window' now."
Since it was already three o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived at the 'Azure Window', they only had three hours left to go swimming. Not being surprised about the unspectacular sightseeing, Rika and Risa decided to leave the 'Azure Window', which was nothing more than a giant rock, looking like a window. The two girls walked to the ocean, where they got undressed, leaving them in their bathing suits only. Rika and Risa went into the water and swam to a rock, in which was a big tunnel. Deciding not to swim through it, because it was very dark and they couldn't even see the end of it, they climbed up the mountain a bit. Perhaps four meters above the water, Rika stood beside Risa and looked down.
"Friends?", Risa asked and offered Rika her hand.
"Friends!", Rika responded, took Risa's right hand in her own left hand and  
with a loud scream, the two girls jumped into the water.

Ryo spent the whole afternoon in the capital city of Gozo, 'Rabat'. The only interesting things there were the cathedral and the view. Since Rabat was situated in the middle of the island and also on the top of a hill, Ryo and his friends could look over the entire island. At all ends they could see the ocean, reflecting the sunlight.
It was around half past five, when Ryo and his class made their way back to the bus stop. Half an hour later, they sat on the ferry, which brought them back to Malta.  
Ryo, Daisuke and Souta stood at the rear of the ferry and watched a beautiful sundown.
Since the air was getting cooler, Ryo put his jacket on. Souta yawned. Daisuke stretched his arms.
"Shouldn't we have went to the 'Azure Window' today?", Souta wondered.
"Well, Mr. Sato isn't good at planning things. We took the wrong bus this morning, so we were so late that we had to leave some of our plans out.", Daisuke explained.
"Ryo? Hey Ryo!"
Ryo suddenly noticed, that he was called by Souta.
"Eh?", he finally stuttered.
"Dozed off again, he?", Daisuke commented, grinning.
"Let me guess: You were thinking about your Queen again.", Souta grinned widely.
"What Queen?", Ryo asked confused.
"Your Digimon Queen!", Souta responded.
"Well, hai."

"Ha! I win!", Risa shouted.
She and Rika sat under deck on the ferry and played cards.
"Everybody can play 'Maumau'!", Rika defended herself.
"Oh, don't be offended! You're a bad loser!", Risa told her new friend.
"Learn to play Digimon Battle Cards and beat me, then I'll admire you!", Rika shot back.
"I don't think I'll understand that game…", Risa began. "Have you ever been beaten?"
"Well, hai.", Rika responded quietly.
"By who?"
"Akiyama Ryo."
"Really? I think I've heard of him before.", Risa thought for a moment.
"He's used to being called the 'Legendary Tamer' or the 'Digimon King'.", Rika explained calmly.
"Ah! I remember! I saw him on TV a few times…", Risa said. "Do you know him privately?"
"Hai. He's one of my few friends. One of my best friends, too.", Rika said. Thinking of her friends made her feel sad, because she wished to be with them again.
"Hey Rika, what's the matter?", Risa asked, seeing her friend in pain.
"Ah, I miss him.", Rika responded honestly.
"Hey, do you like him?", Risa grinned.
"Well, hai, since he's one of my friends, of course I like him!", Rika explained.
"You know exactly what I mean! Do you LIKE him, more than a friend?", Risa shot back.
"Don't know…", Rika murmured deep in thoughts.

Being very exhausted from their trip to Gozo, the three boys from the Fukuoka school fell into their beds lazily. Although it knocked on the door several times that evening, nobody thought about opening the door, because they assumed it were the girls.
Waking up, Ryo realized that it was already Tuesday and he jumped for joy, realizing that the next day would be their free one.
"Boys, boys! Listen!", Mr. Sato sighed, deeply annoyed.
Ryo, Daisuke and Souta fell silent.
"Well, class, we're going to Comino today, which is the smallest island around here and lies between Malta and Gozo. It is an island with only one hotel and there's only sandy beach. So go now and get your swimming stuff!", Mr. Sato told his class and they stood up from their breakfast tables.
Arriving at Cirkewwa (Malta) once more, they again took the ferry but this time to Comino.   
Arriving in Comino, the girls in Ryo's class immediately settled themselves down on the sandy beach.
Ryo, Daisuke and Souta set up camp in a safe distance, not wanting to be annoyed by the girls.
"Ryo, where do we begin searching for your dreamgirl tomorrow?", Daisuke questioned.
"Nani? Oh, you mean Rika? …I don't really know. I have no idea where she will go tomorrow. If it's her free day, too, or not. Sorry.", Ryo explained.
"Well, in this case, we should go to the hotel, where you saw her two days ago, and ask in the lobby, where the class went.", Souta guessed.
"That's a plan!", Daisuke shouted.