"You picked the deck by the looks, didn't you?"

Ruki sighed. Juri had been trying to learn the card game for a while, but she was still making the basic mistake. Ruki almost envied her for the way she simply found the game fun, but Juri said she wanted to win. So, why did she always pick the cards out by the looks?

"Well, I don't usually get such a big choice..." Juri said.

The two were at Ruki's home, with culumon wandering around aimlessly in the garden. Ruki had been trying, and failing, to improve Juri's skills.

"Well, what's your usual deck? Do you just borrow Takato's cards?"

"Yeah."

Ruki sighed. She knew that though the gogglehead was a fanatic, he was prone to the same trap as Juri by taking his favourite characters rather than looking at the effectiveness of the card.

"Okay, you know the types well enough, but you have to look at the numbers. Like this Agumon card, it tells us he's a rookie, what his special attack is, he's a vaccine, and so on."

"But most of the cool-looking ones have pretty good numbers..." Juri noted.

"Yeah, but sometimes they have terrible attacks no matter how you modify them..." Ruki began, only for Renamon to enter the room.

"There's a wild digimon nearby." The fox-like Digimon said.

Ruki bolted up right away before realising her mistake.

"Ah... Sorry, Juri, this shouldn't take too long..."

"I'll wait here. Good luck."

Juri took another look at the various cards as Ruki and Renamon left, checking the numbers and the pictures. As she compared two, she realised something. Lying beside the pile of cards, was a blue and white D-Arc. it took Juri a few seconds to figure out why that was wrong.

"Wait, that's Rukis! She left it behind!" She said aloud, grabbing it and hoping she caught up with Ruki.

***

It was only a Mushroomon, Ruki noted, but that could still pose a big problem. It was running through a thankfully empty street near her home,  apparently quite lost, until it saw Renamon.

"This shouldn't take long at all." Ruki muttered, drawing out a modify card.

"Ruki! Wait!"A voice cried out just as she used the card.

The first thing Ruki noticed was her D-Arc was the wrong colour. The second thing was that it had still apparently worked. The third thing was noticed by both her and Juri.

"Aaah!" the two cried out as they felt a strange surge of energy, like a static shock across their whole bodies.

"What was that..." Ruki wondered, as Juri caught up.

"You picked up my Digivice by mistake... Did it actually work though?" Juri asked

Renamon was attacking the Mushroomon without showing any problems, so Ruki nodded.

"Looks like it. I think we had better swap back though... It gave me an electric shock or something."

"Yeah, I felt something weird too when you used the card."

Renamon had indeed taken care of the wild digimon quickly, and the two girls returned to Rika's home, thinking nothing more on the strange surge the two had felt.

***

The two quickly forgot the incident, the surge and the wild digimon fading from memory fast. The pair went their seperate ways later that day.

The next day, to Takato's surprise, Juri managed to win a match against him. He lost the next two matches.

"Wow... Ruki taught you really well..." he said, stunned. Juri simply sat there, quietly pleased with herself.

***
The day after that, Juri awoke, feeling... She wasn't sure. For some reason she just felt bored.

Yawning, she looked around her room, and was confused. It suddenly occured to her something felt wrong.  But she couldn't figure out what. She decided to get dressed, opening her closet, only to be greeted with more confusion.

'...I feel like I don't like these dresses... But I always wear them.' She thought.

She looked through her closet, looking for something different. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like a skirt was out today. Her selection of shirts felt quite limited as well. In the end, she found a pair of black jeans, which apart from a a few t-shirts and some shorts, were the only clothes she had that weren't a dress or a skirt. She felt sure that would need to be fixed, because though she couldn't explain it, the dresses and skirts just felt wrong now...

"...Juri? Are you okay?" Her step-mother shouted. The clock said she was about ten minutes later than she normally was to wake up.

"I'm fine..." Juri replied. Her step-mother opened the door.

"...Why are you wearing those today?"

"I just don't feel like wearing a skirt." Juri said, finding herself surprised to be feeling defensive of the choice.

***

Across the city, Ruki awoke. She also felt something wrong. Rather than the usual acceptance and dislike of another school day she felt... Not enthusiasm as such, but not an urge to just stay under the covers. She pulled on her uniform, and then as she walked out of the room she caught sight of herself in a mirror. She paused.

'...I don't actually look bad in this.' she found herself thinking.  She walked out of her room, and her Grandmother was surprised.

"You're up early."  Seiko noted. Ruki looked at the clock. Ten minutes earlier than normal.

"Maybe my alarm was set wrong." Ruki pondered.

"No, it was the right time, I heard it."

"You're up already, Ruki?" Her mother said as she entered, and Ruki felt herself surprised once again.  Ruki stared for a moment at her mother, who was dressed fairly normally for Rumiko. But for some reason now, Ruki suddenly had an entirely alien thought.

'My mother's dress looks amazing...' was the semi-treacherous thought. For a second, it had shocked her, and then she had thought again.

'Why is thinking that such a bad thing though? It does look good...'

She was snapped free from it as her mother waved her hand in front of her face.

"...Earth to Ruki..." Rumiko said as she did this. Ruki shook her head.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah. Um. That's a nice dress..." Ruki said. Rumiko was now the one confused.

"...Are you serious?"

"Yes. It's nice..." Ruki found herself continuing lamely. Rumiko stayed still for a moment, then let out a surprisngly girly scream as she hugged her daughter.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said! Whatever's into you today I like it!" Rumiko said. Ruki meanwhile had another treacherous thought.

'I shouldn't be liking this... But I am! Why does it feel wrong?!'

***

Takato was surprised when Juri entered. He didn't conceal it.

"Juri... What's up with your clothes?" He said. Juri felt the strange urge to be defensive again.

"I just wanted to wear these." She said bluntly, sitting down.

Takato had little else to say. But it seemed any time someone else asked, the same line was said. Jeri's usual open attitude and polite conversational manner were gone, and she was being to the point instead, dealing with things quickly.

'It's weird. She's acting like... I dunno, but something's up here.' Takato mused.

***

"Seriously?" The girl said, confused.

"...Yeah." Ruki replied. All she had said was she liked the ribbon the girl had in her hair and the whole class was looking at her like she was ill.

"Are you feeling okay?" Another girl asked, well aware how out of character Ruki was being.

The rest of the class had long accepted she was the quiet, lonely type, and they had long since learned Ruki was more content to be kept out of the discussions on matters like this. But now Ruki had been the one to raise it.

"I... Yeah. I just... I just realised it's a nice ribbon."

"Has Ruki been replaced by aliens?" A third girl asked. The class looked at her instead.

"...Momoko, I don't think she's been replaced by aliens. Maybe Ruki's just coming out of her shell."

"What, so now she's a lizard or a bird or something?" Momoko said, perplexed. The ribbon-girl prodded Ruki gently.

"No scales, no feathers. And not a robot..."

"Why are we talking about robot alien lizards?! She just likes the ribbon!" The second girl spoke again.

"Yeah, and none of us could see the day the phrase 'Ruki Makino commenting on fashion' happening anytime soon."

Ruki simply sat there, a little bewildered by the fuss caused by a simple comment

***

The next day, Juri found herself looking at her hair. Somehow it didn't seem to suit her. She spent the best part of ten minutes then trying to adjust it, and then had a brainwave...

At the same time, Ruki was also adjusting her hair, but to her initial surprise and the not-yet faded surprise of her mother, with Rumiko's help.

"I don't think I suit ribbons..." Ruki said, a little disappointed. It didn't help most of her mother's ribbons seemed to clash with her red hair.

"Well, maybe just wear it down... Oh, wait, that girl who was here a few days ago! I liked her hair..."

"You mean Juri?"

"Yeah. I think maybe this ribbon here... It's not that long, but maybe..." Rumiko said, adjusting it so that Ruki had a single, short pigtail on the side of her head. She thought it looked quite good...

***

"Takato, what's up with Juri?" Kenta said.

"Yeah... She's dressing weird and her hair..." Hirokazu added. Takato sighed.

Juri had walked in this morning with her hair the spitting image of Ruki's usual hairstyle.

"I'm not sure. She's changed somehow. She's even got good at the card game..." Takato said. She'd challenged him repeatedly and won every time recently. His pride was severely dented.

"Seriously? Well, obviously she'd have improved since she was getting lessons from the Digimon Queen herself but... She can't have got that good."

"Maybe it's the hair..." Kenta muttered.

"No way. Look, I bet I can beat her easily..." Hirokazu said, and quickly went to challenge Juri to a match. He was surprised to lose very quickly. He returned having declined a rematch.

"...The hair has magical powers of death and destruction..." he said, traumatized. The other two boys stared at him.

"That's a bit much, isn't it?"

***

"...What's going on here?" Momoko said again.

"You won." Ruki repeated.

"But I was playing you. I can't have won."

"You did. Look..."

"Wow, this is like that Samson story. Ruki changed her hair and now she's lost her skill at the card game..." The ribbon-girl noted.

"Yeah, but it's still fun. Winning isn't everything." Ruki said.

"And it's a cute hairdo..." The second girl from yesterday added.

***

Takato had decided that this mystery with Juri needed investigating. And since it seemed to be linked to her having went to Ruki's, he figured that was the best place to start.

"Oh, you're Ruki's friend!" Her mother said, as she answered the door, and ushered him inside towards where Ruki was. He stopped for a moment as he saw Ruki.

"...Did you and Juri swap hairstyles?"

"Huh? I just felt like a change... Did Juri have my old hairstyle?" she replied.

"So it was that girl who inspired this! I'm really glad Ruki's found a friend like that." Rumiko said.

"I think we might need to go see Juri." Takato said to Ruki.

"Why?"

"Something weird is going on here..."

Ruki sighed.

"Okay, you might be right. But let me finish my homework first..." Ruki said. Takato was confused.

"Huh? Oh..." He said, noticing that Ruki's desk was covered with her schoolbooks. She was also still wearing her uniform.

'Okay, I'm pretty sure this is very out of character. Ruki always changed out of her uniform the minute she got home as far as I knew...'

***

Takato had a plan b. He instead asked Jeri to come to Ruki's, meaning that by the time she arrived, Ruki's homework was done, and Ruki had also decided to go and change out of her uniform. Juri had arrived during this

"I dunno what's going on here but it's like the two of you have switched places. Well, not exactly..." Takato said.

"Well, whatever's happened, I think it's better." Juri said.

"How is it better? You're not as cheerful as you usually are, you and Ruki have swapped hairstyles..." He said, as Ruki then entered the room again. Takato paused.

"...And dress sense." He finished, looking at Ruki.

Rather than the heart t-shirt and jeans, Ruki was instead wearing a pink dress. Takato wasn't exaclty knowledable about the wardrobes of his friends but after Jenrya, Ruki was the second person he thought least likely to wear a dress of any sort, let alone a pink one.

"What? Is something wrong?" Ruki asked in confusion.

"It's like you two have changed places!" Takato said.

"You already said that, Goggles." Juri said.

"See? You never say that, Ruki does!"

"He's right..."

"And you never agree with me usually!"

"You're still right..."

"Okay, this is freaky." Takato changed track slightly.

"You're right again..." Ruki said, a hint of an almost singsong note at the end.

"You're doing it on purpose now to tease me."

"Right again..."

"You never do that, Juri does!"

Ruki then burst out laughing, while Juri simply stared in bewilderment and Takato facepalmed.

"Okay, is this just some prank you're playing? Act like each other for a week?" He said, exasperated. The two girls paused.

"...No, it's not a joke. It's just... I woke up and felt eveything was wrong. The clothes I had just seemed too... Too girly somehow." Juri said.

"And I realised for some reason I kind of liked some things I thought were lame. I used to hate wearing my school uniform but I... I think I look pretty good in it. And this dress..."

"Yeah, I know, you'd never wear it normally. But this isn't right..." Takato said.

"But I don't mind this." Juri said.

"Neither do I." Ruki added.

"Huh? But you two couldn't have been more different before..."

"And now things are better, I think. I used to be useless at the card game, and I never had any real confidence. I never said no even if I didn't want to do something... And I never really picked out anything I wanted to do myself. My step-mother was actually glad when I wanted to go get new clothes and things, I think she doesn't mind me being a little more independent." Juri said.

"I'm actually closer to my mother now. And I'm speaking to people in my class at school. I used to hate any loss at anything but now I can enjoy just taking part. " Ruki noted.

"So... You two don't mind whatever's happened here?" Takato asked, confused.  Juri nodded.

"Yeah. I'd never have been confident enough to do this before." She said, before to the surprise of Takato and Ruki, she walked over and kissed the very bewildered boy.

"Okay, so, we don't mind it, we like how things have become... Uh, Takato... Juri... Are you two listening?" Ruki tried as the two continued kissing.

"Well, I guess Takato's convinced now too. So we're all happy. Just one problem."

"Hm?" Juri asked.

"Could you two go and make out somewhere else?" Ruki asked, sheepishly.

"Oh, right. Takato, we're going to get something to eat and then we're gonna have a match."

"Uh, okay..." The somewhat stunned boy said, as Juri dragged him out of the room.

"And you're paying..." She said as they left Ruki's home.

Ruki watched them go. It was weird. Before, she'd never care about how others got on, but seeing the two apparently go on their first date made her feel happiness for her two friends. And also a strange pang of jealousy as well that Juri could be so confident to basically drag her crush kicking and screaming... Well, stuttering and blushing at least... off to their destination. She was pretty sure Takato's concenrs at the change in personality would probably be long gone before she next saw him.

"Oh, Ruki, did your friends leave?" Rumiko asked.

"Yeah. They had somewhere to go." Ruki replied, before heading back inside.