Summary: AU. In 2002, Motomiya Daisuke moved next door to Ichijouji Ken, and they became best friends. In 2007, they are reunited...as enemies. Daiken.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon Adventure 02
Warnings: Some language, non-explicit sexual situations.
As always, if you spot any spelling or grammatical errors, please feel free to tell me. Concrit is also more than welcome.
And So We Meet
Chapter One
January, 2002
It was raining on the day that the Motomiya family had moved into apartment number 351. Daisuke wasn't happy about it all, since it meant a lot of things that didn't much appeal to him. Going to a new school (away from Yagami Hikari), having to make new friends (even though he didn't really have all that many friends to begin with). Sure, some strange things had been happening in Odaiba; but that was over with now. But his parents had made the decision, and that was that.
Their car pulled into the apartment complex's parking lot.
"Is it true that we're going to be living next door to Ichijouji Osamu?" asked Jun, a little too excitedly. Daisuke knew that she was just as upset with the move as he was. And he wished right then that she wouldn't try so hard to hide it, since it made her habits even more annoying than usual.
"Yes," said his mother. "But please don't make a fuss, Jun-chan. We're not even supposed to know about it."
"Of course," replied Jun, smiling wide.
"Liar," muttered Daisuke, rolling his eyes.
Jun didn't hear him, which he was only half-glad for. A part of him wanted to have argument with her, if only to distract him from the uncomfortable knot in his stomach.
They got out of the car, and Daisuke dragged his feet all the way to the elevator, and then again when they left it. Just before he was about to take his first step into what was to become his home, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. He glanced behind him, and saw his mother giving him a weak but geniune smile.
"Don't worry, Dai-chan. Everything will work out just fine--I promise."
He nodded, but didn't say anything. His mother gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. After a moment of awkward silence, she retracted her hand and entered the apartment. Daisuke followed shortly behind her.
"I'm home," he said, as cheerfully as he could. Somehow, the words sounded empty. He gave himself a mental shake--this wasn't the end of the world, he decided. And he would do his best to make sure that he would be able to say those words sincerely very soon.
_
The rain stopped an hour or two later, and Daisuke found that he was itching for some kind of activity. It was already sunset, so he figured he'd get him mother angry at him if he went for a walk outside. So he decided that he'd do a bit of exploring. Grabbing his coat from where it was crumpled atop his new bed, he left the apartment and wandered down the landing until he came across a fire escape. Daisuke wondered if this apartment building had an accesible roof, since his old one had been sadly lacking one, and began to climb the stairs, determined to find out.
It turned out that the fire escape did indeed lead to a roof, but Daisuke was surprised to find that there was already somebody there. A boy, about his own age, peering intently through the steel safety bars.
The boy turned his head when he heard Daisuke walking towards him, surprise written on his face.
"Hi," said Daisuke, coming to stand next to him.
"...Hello," replied the boy, shifting a little to the side.
Daisuke peered through the bars, mimicking the boy's previous action. "Woah. The people look so small from up here. Like ants, or something."
"Ah," agreed the boy, hesitantly.
Daisuke bit his bottom lip, suddenly feeling like he was interrupting something, even thought he had no idea what. He glanced back to the boy. He had dark hair and blue eyes, and there was a sadness to them, even though his expression was neutral.
"Are you okay?"
The boy didn't answer.
"I mean, I know it's none of my business, but my parents always tell me it's better to get stuff off your chest when it's bothering you."
"You're right," said the boy. "It isn't any of your business."
"Geez, I was only trying to help."
The boy made a angry sound in the back of his throat, and began to walk away.
"My name's Motomiya Daisuke!" he yelled at the boy's back. "What's yours?"
The boy paused. "Ichijouji Ken," he said softly. "Now please leave me alone."
As the boy named Ichijouji Ken opened the door of the fire escape, Daisuke felt a smile tugging at his lips. He had found himself a challenge, and Motomiya Daisuke never backed down from a challenge.
___
Daisuke made it his daily mission to go up that fire escape, to see if he could meet Ichijouji again. It was nice to get his mind off of all the doubts that had plagued him since the move. Ichijouji hadn't been there the second time, or the third time, but the fourth...
"Are you stalking me, Motomiya-san?" asked Ichijouji, with the same quiet coldness that Daisuke remembered from their previous encounter.
Daisuke pulled a face and rubbed the back of his neck. "Kind of."
"It's tiresome trying to avoid you," said the boy. "I really would appreciate it if you left me alone."
"But I don't want to."
Ichijouji frowned at him, his lips drawn tight in distaste. He looked as though he wanted to say something nasty, but he didn't. Instead, he asked, "Why not?"
Daisuke grinned. "Because I want to be your friend."
Ichijouji blinked in surprise. "But you don't know anything about me."
"I know that you like to come up to this roof. I know that you live next door to me. Isn't that enough?"
"How do you know that I live next door to you?"
"My older sister Jun keeps going on and on about how cute some guy named Ichijouji Osamu is, and how she's sooo excited that we're neighbors. I'm actually pretty smart, ya know. I can figure out that you two must be related."
Ichijouji's face fell slightly. "I see."
"And…there's also the fact that the plaque next to your door says 'Ichijouji'."
At that, Ken blushed, and he began to fiddle with his fingers. "Of course," he said, sounding embarrassed.
Daisuke felt bad, and decided to change the subject. "Is Osamu-san your brother?"
"Yes," said Ichijouji, with a nod.
"Well, I don't know anything about him. I want to be your friend." Daisuke realized belatedly that he had just indirectly insulted somebody else's older sibling, and blushed in shame. "Th-that's not to say that I wouldn't want to be his friend! I just...I don't really know what he's like. I'm sure that he's...but you seem like such a cool guy, and..." Daisuke trialed off, his blush deepening with his embarrassment.
When he looked up, though, Ichijouji was smiling. If only just a little. "You're a very straight-forward person, aren't you?"
Daisuke laughed, once again reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "I've been told that before." Just then, an idea struck him. "Hey, do you like to play soccer?"
Ichijouji nodded, bemused.
"I'll go and get my ball! Wait here." Daisuke sprinted back to his apartment and retrieved the item in question (it was one of the few thiings he didn't have trouble finding in his room), and sprinted back. Panting, he held it out to the other boy. "Wanna play?"
Ichijouji looked at the ball sceptically. "On the roof?" he asked.
"Yeah!"
After a moment of deliberation, Ichijouji's mouth stretched into a geniune smile. "Alright," he said. "I should warn you, though: soccer is one of my specialties."
Daisuke soon came to learn that this was not an exageration in any way.
___
It became something of routine for them, even once school started. Once or twice a week, they would meet up on that roof to play soccer one-on-one. Ichijouji would give Daisuke pointers, and they would take turns showing off their tricks with the ball (Daisuke could use his knees to kick the ball up into the air twenty-seven times in a row before it fell to the ground; Ichijouji could do it thirty times). After a while, Ichijouji began to talk to him. And, after what must have been a month, he finally answered Daisuke's question.
"The reason why I was upset that day is because Ryo-san has gone missing."
"Huh?" asked Daisuke, who had stooped down to tie his shoelaces.
"When we first met, you asked me if I was alright." Ichijouji wasn't looking at Daisuke, which he Daisuke had come to understand meant that the boy was talking about something that made him feel uncomfortable. "I wasn't alright."
"Ryo-san?"
"Yes. He and I...we did a lot together. And he's gone now, without a trace."
"That sucks!" exclaimed Daisuke, shooting back onto his feet.
What Ichijouji said next was so soft that Daisuke almost didn't hear it.
"Everybody thinks he's dead, but I know he's not. And one day I'm sure that he'll come back. It's just that..."
"You miss him, huh?" Daisuke walked over to where Ichijouji was leaning against the steel fence, and did so himself.
"Yes," said Ichijouji. The melancholy of that single word caused Daisuke's breath to hitch in sympathy.
"I'm not going anywhere." Daisuke said it without really thinking, but he didn't regret it. He meant every word. Even so, he wondered if maybe he'd crossed the line.
Ichijouji didn't look angry, though, Just...blank, like he didn't have any opinion about it at all. "That's a big promise to make, Motomiya."
"Yeah, well--if this Ryo-san is anything like me, then he's doing everything in his power to get back here. Because Motomiya Daisuke never abandons his friends."
"There's that word again," muttered Ichijouji, as if he didn't quite believe it. "It seems as though you've decided that all on your own."
Daisuke felt his stomach fall to his feet. "You mean...we're not friends?"
Ichijouji finally looked at him, and Daisuke could see the confusion quite plainly in the blue of the other boy's eyes. "I don't know."
"Oh." Daisuke frowned. He really wanted to be Ichijouji's friend, but Ichijouji was uncertain. In that case, there was only one thing to do. "Ichijouji..."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to sleep over at my apartment?" He grinned. "It's a bit of a mess, but we have a spare futon. And an old Playstation, if you feel like playing."
Ichijouji stared at him for a moment, his mouth open. He must have become aware of this, because he snapped it shut, a slight flush spreading across his cheeks. "I wouldn't mind," he said.
"Is that a 'yes"?"
At last, Ichijouji gave him a hint of a smile, and nodded.
___
It turned out that Ichijouji was also better at video games, which no longer surprised Daisuke at all. All it meant was that he had to try harder. Anyway, it was worth the humiliation to see the smile on Ichijouji's face.
Ichijouji had a really nice smile.
__
Daisuke met Ichijouji's older brother for the first time at one of Ichijouji's soccer matches. Since the two boys went to different schools, they couldn't play on the same team. This fact really bummed Daisuke out, but it wasn't too bad. It gave you a whole new perspective when you watched a fellow player as a spectator, rather than as a teammate (or as an opponent).
And Ichijouji was nothing if not a sight to behold. It was almost like watching a well-choreographed dance, where Ichijouji was at center stage. It was difficult not to admire him, and Daisuke felt proud. A part of him also felt envious, but it was easily overpowered by the thought of that's my friend out there, and he's awesome.
After the game, which Ichijouji's team had won (to nobody's surprise), Daisuke ran down from the bleachers to congratulate him, padding across the grassy field to where Ichijouji was drinking a bottle of water. But somebody had beaten him to the punch.
"You're really something, Ken-chan. With skills like that, you'll have no trouble making it to the national team."
The voice was similar to Ichijouji's, but more self-assured, more confident. As Daisuke got closer, he noticed that its owner also looked an awful lot like Ichijouji, but his hair was short and messy, and he wore glasses. (In the back of his mind, Daisuke couldn't help but think that Ichijouji was slightly better-looking.) In spite of these differences, the two of them were the same height.
So this is Ichijouji Osamu...
"Thanks, niisan. But I don't really want to make the national team," said Ichijouji, and Daisuke knew from the tone of his voice that he was blushing.
Unsure of what else to do, Daisuke called out, "Hey, Ichijouji!"
"Motomiya," said the other boy, smiling.
"You must be Jun-san's little brother," said Osamu, holding out his hand. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Osamu."
Daisuke took the hand and shook it. "Motomiya Daisuke," he said, feeling a little awkward. "You've met Jun?"
"I have. She was very...enthusiastic."
Once Daisuke's hand was free, he used it to rub the back of his neck. "Man, I'm really sorry about that."
Osamu gave him a half-smile. "Not to worry."
Ichijouji took Daisuke's embarrassed laughter as the opportunity to ask, "Niisan...did Mama come with you?"
Osamu shook his head. "She said that she had to run some errands that simply couldn't wait."
All of sudden, Daisuke felt even more awkward.
"...I see," said Ichijouji, and grabbed Daisuke by the wrist. "I'll see you later, Osamu-chan. Motomiya and I are going to get some ice cream."
Daisuke let himself get tugged along for a minute or two before he finally wrenched his arm free of Ichijouji's less-than-gentle grasp. "What the hell?!"
"...Sorry." Ichijouji's eyes were downcast, his mouth pulled into an unhappy line.
Daisuke sighed, his anger winking out of existence as if it had never been there in the first place. Forcing on a grin, he slung an arm around Ichijouji's slim shoulders. "You really were great today. Why don't we go get some ice cream for real? You know, to celebrate."
Ichijouji ducked his head down, so that Daisuke could no longer see the expression on his face. "If it isn't too much trouble..."
"Of course not! That's what friends are for." Daisuke let go of Ichijouji's shoulders, and began to walk in the direction of nearest ice-cream joint. When he noticed that Ichijouji wasn't following him, he turned around and called out, "Are you coming or not, Ken?"
Ken was standing in place on the sidewalk, looking at Daisuke like he'd grown a second head. "Motomiya..." he said, dumbfounded.
"Daisuke."
"Daisuke," said Ken, tasting the name on his tongue. "I do want to go, just give me a moment to catch up."
The ice cream they ate that day tasted especially sweet. That's what Daisuke thought, anyway.
__
Of the two Ichijouji brothers, Daisuke would come to learn, Ken was considered the 'athletic' one. Osamu, on the other hand, was considered the 'smart one'. Which wasn't to say that Ken wasn't smart, because Daisuke was pretty sure that he was some kind of genius. But that just went the extra mile in demonstrating how smart Osamu was. Osamu was also an overachiever, while Ken seemed much happier to take things at his own pace. This meant that Osamu unintentionally overshadowed Ken in pretty much every sphere that mattered to Ken's parents. Sure, Ken was the star player on his team, but Osamu caught the attention of esteemed professors and foreign academics. Lots of boys were good at sports, but Osamu--he was the really special one. The type of genius that only appeared once every few decades.
Daisuke could see that Ken was jealous, even if the other boy would never admit it aloud. It wasn't because Osamu got more attention from the public--Ken didn't seem to care much about fame, and in fact seemed rather frightened by it--but rather because Osamu seemed to get all of their parents' attention.
And Daisuke could understand that, since Ken's parents seemed to ignore almost anything to do with Ken, save for feeding him. They never showed up at his matches, they rarely praised his above-average grades (not perfect, like Osamu's). The few times that Daisuke had slept over at Ken's apartment, it had almost seemed like Ken was just an appendage to Osamu, and only got any kind of consideration when Osamu went out of his way to remind their parents that Ken even existed.
It was painful to watch.
So Daisuke did his best to be a good friend. He knew that nothing he did would ever be enough to make up for everything that was lacking from Ken's life, but he sure as hell wasn't going to make things harder.
Ken needed to smile more often.
____
Not too long after his twelfth birthday, Ken began to act weird. He became stiff and awkward whenever Daisuke touched him, and became increasingly reluctant to have their sleepovers. It made Daisuke worried; was Ken getting tired of him?
Worse, did he no longer want to be Daisuke's friend?
One night, up on the roof, just after Ken had flinched away from Daisuke putting a hand on his shoulder, Daisuke decided that enough was enough. "What is up with you, Ken? Do you think I'm dirty, or something?" It was the only thing that Daisuke could think of, since Ken was such a neat freak.
"What do you mean?" asked Ken.
"Don't play dumb! You're acting like I'm a walking biohazard!" Daisuke ran a hand through his hair. "I don't get it. I won't know if I'm doing something wrong if you keep quiet about it, Ken."
"...I don't think you're dirty, Daisuke," said Ken. And wow, thought Daisuke, his friend looked like some weird combination of terrified and angry. His fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides. "I could never think that about you."
Daisuke swallowed, feeling suddenly as if he were in alien territory. But he pressed on, still determined to find out the truth. "So what is it, then?" He took a step closer.
"You ask me that now, but I'm sure that you'll regret it once I've told you."
"Maybe," said Daisuke, honestly. "But I'll regret it more if you don't tell me."
Ken closed the rest of the distance between them and looked Daisuke directly in the eyes. "We'll see," he said. Then, he pressed his lips against Daisuke's in a tentative kiss.
Daisuke was at a loss. It wasn't that it was unpleasant--because that wasn't quite right. It was tingly where Ken's lips were brushing against his, and butterflies were having their way with his stomach. The problem was that he had no idea what to make of it. Ken, his best friend in the whole wide world, was kissing him. And that just didn't compute.
He just stood there, his arms hanging limply at his sides, until Ken finally pulled away.
A deep blush stained his friend's cheeks, his breath coming in short spurts, his hands trembling. "I'm sorry," he said, looking at the concrete just in front of Daisuke's feet.
"Ken...what was that?"
"I think that should be quite obvious."
Daisuke's lips were still tingling, even though the contact had been broken. "But...aren't we both boys?"
"Is that all you have to say?" asked Ken, coldly.
"Right now? Yeah." Daisuke found himself fiddling with a piece of his t-shirt. "The reason why you've been acting so wierd lately is because you wanted to...kiss me? So, now you've gotten it out of your system, and things can go back to normal."
Ken glared at him. "This is not just something that I can just get out of my system."
"Why not?" asked Daisuke, his confusion, and something like fear, creeping into his tone.
"Can you get Hikari-san out of your system?"
And, just like that, Daisuke understood. Unsurprisingly, it didn't make him feel any better. "That's different," he said. Because it was different. Hikari was a girl; more importantly, Hikari wasn't his best friend.
Ken shook his head. "Shut up. I don't want to hear it." Before Daisuke could reply, he had run into the fire escape and slammed the door shut behind him.
Daisuke ran after him, but found that the door was locked when he tried to open it. Knocking on it with all of his might, he bellowed, "Let me in! Come on, Ken, let's talk about this!" He continued to slam his fists into the wood until his hands began to sting, at which point he gave up. He turned around and pressed his back against the door.
"...Daisuke?" asked Ken from the other side, his voice muffled.
"Yeah."
"Do you hate me now?"
Was Ken...crying? Daisuke frowned and put his ear to the door. It wasn't his imagination; those were definitely quiet sobs he was hearing. "I could never hate you," he said. He meant it.
"You didn't s-see the way you were looking at me."
"I was just surprised." Daisuke heaved a sigh. "Your best friend kissing you isn't exactly the type of thing you expect to happen. Especially when he's a guy."
"I really am sorry."
"...Are you gonna open the door now?"
"Alright."
Daisuke stepped away from the door, and it opened a moment later, revealing a Ken who looked, quite simply, miserable. He was no longer openly crying, but the expression on his face made it quite clear that he still wanted to. Daisuke couldn't help but feel guilty. Without really thinking about it, he pulled Ken into a tight hug.
"D-Daisuke," sputtered Ken, stiffening.
"So you're willing to kiss me, but a hug makes you get all worked up? You're weird, Ken."
At that, Ken hugged him back, burying his face into the nape of Daisuke's neck. "So...you don't mind that I feel this way?"
"As long as you don't mind that I don't."
Ken chuckled--a distinctly unhappy sound--and Daisuke felt that same weird tingly feeling when the other boy's breath brushed against the exposed skin at the nape of his neck. "I guess we both mind, then."
"Guess so. But we're still friends, right?"
"Yes," said Ken, pulling out of the hug.
But Daisuke couldn't seem to be rid of the weird, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that, no matter what, things were never going to be the same between them. Some part of him--a small, traitorous part of him--was convinced that this was the beginning of the end.
___
It wasn't two weeks after the incident that evening that Daisuke's father broke the news over the dinner table, and Daisuke almost choked on his mouthful of curry.
"My company is transferring me to Fukuoka. I tried to get them to reconsider, but the decision has already been made. We're moving in three weeks."
"What?" asked Daisuke, after swallowing the mass of food, unable to keep his horror from showing on his face. "But we just got here!"
"Yeah," agreed Jun, sounding more than a little upset. "I've finally managed to make new friends, but now we're moving again?"
Their father bowed his head, and said in tired, strained voice, "I truly am sorry. We don't have a choice."
At that, both Daisuke and Jun deflated. They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. What more was there to say?
__
It was a week before their departure that Daisuke finally worked up the courage to actually tell Ken about it. Things had gone back to normal for the most part between them, except for the fact that Daisuke made a conscious effort not to touch Ken as much, and that Ken wanted to get together less often. But they were still friends.
On the surface, Ken took the news well. But Daisuke knew his friend well enough to notice the coldness in his eyes from that point onwards, the suble aloofness of his words. How he smiled less often, and how the smiles he did gave, more often than not, didn't reach his eyes.
Fukuoka was on the other side of the country.
And, on the day that they left, Daisuke tried to get Ken's email address. He had never seen the need for it before, since the two of them lived so close to one another. But Fukuoka was on the other side of the country.
"What's the point?" said Ken, his face blank.
"What do ya mean 'what's the point'?" said Daisuke, a little angrily. "My parents won't let me phone here often because it's expensive, but I can email you whenever I want."
"But you'll still be gone, Daisuke." At last, a hint of sadness crept into Ken's tone. "All it will do is remind me that you aren't here, and that will be...painful."
"You mean that you wanna forget about me?"
Ken's expression hardened. "I'm going to try. So don't bother calling me, either."
"C'mon Ken...don't be this way..."
But Ken had turned away already, walking stiffly back into his apartment, and closing the door.
Daisuke left feeling worse than he could ever remember, like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and trampled by bulldozer. But, when they arrived in Fukuoka, he did his best to put all thoughts of Ken in the back of his mind. He knew that he would never be able to forget about his friend, but it hurt too much to actively remember him.
He didn't think about Ken for a long time, but the memory of him was always there, waiting, in the back of his mind.
___
February, 2007
Daisuke moved back to Odaiba in the winter of 2006, again because of his father's work. He was reunited with some of his old acquaintances, and his crush on Yagami Hikari was rekindled. He tried out for the soccer team, and qualified with ease. It was close to the beginning of the year that, after a chance encounter with Inoue Miyako and Hida Iori after school, he received his D3 from one of the computers in the computer lab.
And that's when everything went to hell.
___
The only sound in the control room was the subtle hum of the computer monitors. The Kaiser sat on his throne, enthralled by one particular image on the screens before him. The familiar face was displayed from every possible angle, and the Kaiser was hard-pressed not to trace a gloved finger down the screen before him--the one that displayed it from the front.
After several moments, he ceased resisting the impulse. A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. "Well, well. It seems like my fortune is looking up." Slowly, he caressed the digital image of that face, and his smile became something less ugly.
"Wouldn't you agree, Daisuke?"
____
The Digital World, Daisuke decided, was awesome. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that there could be place where talking monsters became your friend, a place where you fought with those monsters against the forces of evil. He would have preferred not to fight, of course. But there was a certain thrill to freeing a captive Digimon, a sense of satisfaction.
Not to mention, it meant that he got to spend more time with Hikari-chan. And that was always a plus (even if it did mean that he had to see her and Takeru flirting all the time).
"It looks like the Digimon Kaiser, or so he calls himself, has been very busy," said Koushiro to the five of them. "The number of black areas on the map greatly outnumber those of the white areas. We have our work cut out for us."
Daisuke looked at the screen, confirming with his own eyes what Koushiro was talking about. For the first time, he felt a sense of trepidation. There were that many Dark Towers for them to destroy?
"Who does this guy think he is, huh?" asked Miyako.
"Whoever he thinks he is, he's bad news," said Takeru.
Hikari nodded her agreement. "I'm still having trouble believing that we have to fight a human, but Tailmon saw for herself what he's capable of…"
Daisuke, holding Chibimon in his arms, said, "We'll beat him, Hikari-chan. Just you wait."
"That's not quite what I meant, Daisuke-kun…"
Daisuke knew that hadn't been what she had meant, but he didn't know what else to say. After all, however awesome the Digital World was, however nice it was to have found a companion in V-mon, however desirable it was to able to spend more time with Hikari-chan…
Daisuke was almost one hundred percent sure that he had heard the Kaiser's voice somewhere before. And really, that was bothering him more than he wanted it to.
____
Daisuke wasn't happy. There were many reasons for this, among them being the fact that he was shackled to a sheer cliff face, the fact that his partner was shackled to the cliff face opposite him, and the fact that his D3 was missing. There was also the fact that the Digimon Kaiser was standing atop the cliff to which V-mon was shackled, looking supremely smug, and holding said D3 in his black-gloved hand.
And then there was the nauseating, crushing sense of betrayal, because he knew exactly who the Kaiser was. It didn't matter how the other boy chose to dress, or wear his hair; Daisuke had known him long enough to be able to see past it, even after all these years.
"Well now," said the Kaiser, voice just as smug as his smile. "It looks like I have you at a disadvantage. Wouldn't you agree?"
Daisuke opened his mouth to make some kind of retort, but found that it was impossible to speak past the lump in his throat.
The Kaiser's smile widened, and Daisuke was suddenly very happy that those undoubtedly familiar eyes were hidden from view. Lifting up an Evil Ring with his free hand, the Kaiser said, "Are you going to beg for your partner's freedom, or are you just going to gape at me?"
Blinking away the burning in his eyes, Daisuke took a deep breath and asked in strangled voice, "Ken?"
"That doesn't sound like begging to me."
A new emotion entered the mix—anger. But it just mixed in with all the other feelings already tightening in his gut, leaving Daisuke weak and helpless. He sagged against his restraints, allowing his eyes to drift away from his friend's (enemy's?) face.
"Since you're being so stubborn, I guess I don't have a choice."
"Daisuke?" called out V-mon. "Daisuke, don't worry about me! Even if I become a slave, you'll find a way to free me. I have faith in you!"
Tears of frustration (nothing else, no way they were caused by anything else) burned into Daisuke's eyes against his will. He looked up just enough to see that the Kaiser was preparing to throw the Evil Ring that would turn his partner into a mindless slave. Just then, the tension in his stomach became an intense, shooting pain that caused him to double over as much as his restraints would let him.
Daisuke heaved, and was sick all over himself. And relieving the contents of his stomach did nothing to make pain go away. Involuntarily, he sucked in a hard breath at the pain, clenching his teeth together.
"…Daisuke?" asked the Kaiser, all traces of smugness gone. "If you think I'm going to fall for this--"
Daisuke heaved again, straining against his shackles as his stomach gave a particularly painful lurch. Afterwards, he sagged back against the cliff face, feeling dazed and confused and pretty damn terrible. And for whatever reason, he couldn't quite decide if he was too hot or too cold.
To his vague surprise, Daisuke felt the metal shackles around his wrists and ankles being released, and he collapsed forward into a pair of strong arms. Somehow, as if by a visceral instinct, he knew who they belonged to.
"Please," he said weakly. "Please…don't do…anything to V-mon."
A bare hand was pressed up against his forehead. "You idiot," growled the Kaiser. "What possessed you to come here when you have a fever this high?"
"Don't have a stupid fever," mumbled Daisuke.
"Yes, you do." The Kaiser barked an instruction, and Daisuke became aware of the sensation that he was being moved through the air.
Daisuke's stomach gave yet another lurch. "Gonna…puke on you."
"I already smell like vomit, thanks to you. I doubt it will make much difference."
Still, Daisuke did his best to keep it down this time, and began to shiver violently as a result. A few more tears leaked out of his eyes, but he buried his face in the front of the Kaiser's cape to hide it from the Kaiser's view.
When had Ken gotten so goddamn tall in the first place?
"If you hurt him, I'll kill you," said Daisuke, hating how his words lacked any kind of conviction.
"No, you won't. But you can stop worrying; I'm not going to hurt him…for now."
"For now? Ken…" Daisuke did his best to swallow past the lump in his throat, to stop the way his body was quaking. "I get it that you wanna punish me. I do. But what does V-mon have to do with it? Or the other Chosen Children?"
"Have you ever considered that none of this has anything to do with you?"
"…If I left, would you leave the others alone?"
"If they left as well, yes."
"Not gonna happen."
"Not without persuasion. I'm going to make it happen, I assure you."
Without really thinking about it, Daisuke snaked his arms around his friend, hugging him. "I missed you," he said.
"Don't lie, Daisuke," said the Kaiser, even as he returned the embrace. "It doesn't suit you."
"Asshole," said Daisuke, and promptly threw up again.
____
When Daisuke came to, he was in a bed, and there was somebody leaning over him, pressing something cool against his forehead. As his eyes adjusted to the room's semi-darkness, he recognized the figure.
It was Ken. More importantly, is was Ken as Daisuke remembered him, his dark hair hanging limply around his face, his clothes neat and modest and not even remotely audacious.
"Ah. You're awake," said Ken softly, standing up and turning around. When he faced the bed again, he was holding a glass of water and some pills. He leaned down and said, "Open your mouth."
Daisuke complied, and felt the pills being pressed on his tongue. Then, the glass was pressed against his lips, and some water was carefully poured into his mouth.
"Swallow," instructed Ken.
Again, Daisuke complied.
"Sit up."
This instruction Daisuke had more difficulty following, because something was tying his wrists down. But he sat up as much as he could. Again, the glass was pressed to his lips, and cool liquid lapped against his painfully dry lips.
"Drink."
And Daisuke did, hungrily. God, he was thirsty. Some of the water spilled down his chin, but he couldn't care less.
Ken removed the glass once Daisuke had drunk all the water, and said, "I still can't believe you came to the Digital World like this. Were you trying to die of dehydration?"
"Why do you care?" asked Daisuke, pulling experimentally against whatever was binding his wrists. His stomach hurt a little less, but now that his head was clearer, he could taste the betrayal, as bitter as bile. "That'd make you happy, wouldn't it?"
Ken sighed, like somebody who had just heard a particularly ridiculous story from a small child, and made Daisuke lie down again with a gentle push to his shoulders. He took the cloth from off of Daisuke's forehead and wrung it out, dipped it into a metal bowl by Daisuke's feet, and replaced it. "Oh yes," he said. "I'm doing this because I want to see you vomit yourself to death."
"I get it. You wanna keep me alive so that you can fuck with me some more."
"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it."
Daisuke felt tears stinging his eyes again, but this time was successful in keeping them at bay. "You know what? I don't get it. I don't get why you're doing this."
"Helping you?"
"You know what I mean, Ken."
"I don't have to justify anything to you," said Ken, icily.
Daisuke sighed. "Guess not." He licked his lips. "Where are we, anyway?"
"We're in my apartment in the Real World."
"And V-mon?"
"Unharmed."
Daisuke took a deep breath, because he wanted to shout. But that wouldn't help anything. "So what? You're just gonna…keep me here?"
"Don't be stupid, Daisuke. My parents are going to come home eventually, and I can only imagine the fit that Jun-san would throw if you went missing."
"…Where's Osamu?"
Ken looked at him straight in the eye when he said, "Osamu-niisan is dead."
"What?" said Daisuke, horrified.
"He was run over by a car not too long after you left."
"Shit…Ken…I'm so sorry."
"Spare me your pity. It's a little too late for it, now."
"…Is that why you're doing this?"
For a moment, Ken looked positively livid, and Daisuke almost regretted asking the question. But the expression was gone after only a few seconds, replaced by a blank, calculating look that Daisuke recognized as Ken's "I am actually thinking about this" expression.
"Maybe in the beginning," said Ken. "Now, it's become much more about controlling the Digimon before they're able to wreak havoc on the Real World."
"I thought you said you didn't have to justify yourself to me."
"I don't have to justify myself. What I'm doing is wrong, no matter how much I try to excuse it by citing noble intentions. But it's necessary, and somebody had to summon the conviction to do it."
"So…you know that Digimon are alive and stuff, but you're still enslaving them against their wills?"
Ken smirked, but it wasn't quite smug. More like wryly amused. "How very astute of you. You'll forgive me, but I'm fresh out of gold stars."
"This isn't funny, you jerk."
Ken's smirk widened. "Oh, but it is. To say that Digimon aren't alive is, of course, incorrect. I've brought Wormmon back to the Real World with me a number of times. But to equate their lives with that of humans is naïve at best." The smirk disappeared. "At the beginning, I went too far. I did many things that were unforgivable. But the fact remains that Digimon are immortal so long as they're in the Digital World, while humans are not. And any Digimon under the influence of one of my rings loses all awareness, while retaining some of their basic personality. They can no longer think; they can no longer feel." He paused, his eyes seeming to lose focus for just a moment. "In a way, I envy them."
"It looks like you enjoy it to me."
Ken tilted his head to the side, reaching out to place his fingers gently against Daisuke's cheek. "I do enjoy it."
"So all of that "it's necessary" stuff is bullshit," said Daisuke, turning his head so that he could escape from Ken's touch.
"I never said I was a good person, Daisuke," said Ken, and there was a sort of grim acceptance in those words. He gripped Daisuke's jaw firmly, and forced Daisuke to look at him. "For the longest time, I tried to convince myself that I was good, that I was flawless. But that illusion shattered years ago. Now, I know the truth: saying something over and over again doesn't suddenly make it true." He ran his thumb over Daisuke's frowning lips. "How I miss the ease of mind that only childish delusions can provide."
Just as Daisuke was going to demand that he stop, Ken did so of his own volition. But Daisuke's lips tingled uncomfortably, as if Ken's fingers still lingered. Just then, a wave of nausea overtook him, and Daisuke's eyes scrunched shut reflexively.
Ken seemed to understand. "There's a bucket next to the bed, in case you need to vomit again. The ropes are loose enough for you to lean over that far."
Daisuke swallowed hard. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the Digital World, of course. I have some business to finish with your friends."
Ken was close enough that Daisuke was able to grab his wrist just as he was standing up. "Wait," he said. "Please."
"Now why would I do that?"
"Ken…I…I have one more thing to say."
Ken jerked his wrist out of Daisuke's grasp, but didn't move away. "I'm listening," he said.
"If you hurt them, I'll never forgive you."
Ken didn't react immediately, but soon he began to chuckle. Then, he threw his head back and laughed. It was a very pretty laugh, Daisuke thought, if you ignored the fact that Ken sounded more than a little crazy. Daisuke couldn't think much else right then.
When Ken finally stopped, he said, "Consider me threatened, Daisuke." Then, he walked over to the laptop glowing atop his desk, held up his black D3, gave a soft command of "digital gate open," and was gone.
Daisuke was left alone.
___
It turned out that, once he put his mind to it, the ropes were actually pretty easy to wriggle out of. Daisuke figured that Ken had done that on purpose, because there was no way Ken would ever do such a half-assed job unless it was on purpose.
But he was still without his D3, so his only option was to stay in the Real World.
He wobbled to his feet, and almost fell back onto the bed when a wave of nausea and dizziness caught him off guard. However, he managed to wait it out, and was soon walking unsteadily out of Ken's bedroom, and into the familiar hallway of the Ichijouji family's apartment.
Somehow, he managed to get back to his own Odaiba apartment without throwing up on anybody.
___
The click of the Kaiser's boots echoed around the control room as he walked towards the main monitor, where Stingmon was already standing. When the digimon caught sight of his partner, he glowed white and devolved, leaving Wormmon in his place.
"The other Chosen Children are really worried about Daisuke, Ken-chan."
The Kaiser scooped the digimon into his arms. "I wasn't expecting him to be sick like that." He sighed. "Knowing Daisuke, he probably didn't even notice until he was vomiting."
"Ken-chan…"
"I know what you're going to say, Wormmon. And no, I'm not going to stop. Not yet."
"…do you like making him suffer?" It was an honest question, without judgment.
"Yes, and no." The Kaiser hugged Wormmon closer to his chest. "There's a visceral satisfaction to it, but the guilt that comes afterwards…"
"Visceral?" asked Wormmon, confused.
The Kaiser smiled gently. "It's something that's…primitive, from the part of you that doesn't worry about things like right and wrong. When I first came back to the Digital World, I gave into that visceral part of myself completely."
"I understand now. Thank you for explaining."
The Kaiser put his partner down carefully, almost reluctantly, and began to type into the console, his attention now focused on the images of his enemies. For a moment, though, he paused, and said, "V-mon is being held in cell block alpha. I don't think he remembers anything from the time he was Ryo-san's partner, but I'm sure you want to visit him anyway."
"I do. Thank you, Ken-chan."
The Kaiser heard his partner scuttling away, and returned to typing. Planning was a much more delicate process when humans were involved; he really did want to minimize the chances of actually killing one of his enemies, after all.
For an instant, the image of Daisuke's face as he'd said if you hurt them, I'll never forgive you flashed into the Kaiser's mind, and he felt disgust pulling his mouth into a sneer. Honestly though, the Kaiser wasn't sure whether it was disgust at Daisuke, for doubting him, or disgust at himself, for being tempted to make those doubts into a reality.
Maybe it was a little bit of both.
___
The Chosen Children managed to find out about Daisuke's whereabouts because of Koushiro, and, secure in the knowledge that Daisuke wasn't confined to some dank dungeon in the Kaiser's base—wherever that might have been--they were able to fight the Kaiser without holding back.
For the two days that Daisuke's mother forced him to stay in bed, Daisuke was left to think about whether or not he should tell his allies about the Kaiser's identity. In the end, he figured that he didn't really have choice. Not only because his miraculous escape and lack D3 would make no sense otherwise, but also because they had a right to know.
He came to this decision, even though a part of him was terrified that something would happen to Ken as a result.
The second thing he thought about a great deal was the fact that Ken was in the Digital World to begin with. He kept scouring his old memories, looking for any indication at all that Ken was a Chosen Child. But no matter how much he tried, he still came up with nothing.
No matter how he looked at it, this was all completely unexpected. Never mind the fact that Ken was, of all things, the Digimon Kaiser.
Daisuke was beginning to think that he had never really known Ken at all. And really, that hurt more than anything else.
___
Daisuke was more than a little surprised when Miyako handed him his D3 in the computer lab the first day he came back to school.
"The Kaiser said that he was giving it back to you as a present," she said, sounding a little confused.
Daisuke took it from her, and said, "I, uh, have something to tell you guys."
Everybody looked at him expectantly, and Daisuke felt his conviction wavering. It was well and good to decide these things while lying alone in bed, but to actually go through with it was another story.
"What is it, Daisuke-san?" asked Iori.
"If you don't want to tell us, Daisuke-kun, you don't have to," said Hikari, smiling gently.
Daisuke shook his head, because Daisuke was supposed to be the brave one. "I have to." He clutched his D3 a little harder than necessary. "I know who the Digimon Kaiser is," he said.
"Really?" asked Takeru. "How?"
"Me and him were friends, before I moved to Fukuoka."
"And?" prompted Miyako.
"Ichijouji Ken." said Daisuke. "His name is Ichijouji Ken."
"I've seen him on TV," said Hikari, clearly surprised. "Are you sure about this, Daisuke-kun?"
"Dead sure. He took me to his apartment after I got sick in the Digital World."
"But what does this mean for us?" asked Iori skeptically. "Even if we know who he is, it's not like we can do anything to him."
"Iori-kun is right," said Takeru. "We need to defeat him in the Digital World. I mean…we could try reasoning with him on neutral ground…"
"You think I haven't already tried that?" said Daisuke. "He thinks that he's protecting the Real World from the threat of Digimon, or something."
"Imposing balance by force…" said Takeru.
"Guess so."
"So…he doesn't think he's the bad guy?" asked Miyako.
"I dunno," replied Daisuke. "He knows that it's wrong, but he thinks he's doing it for the right reasons."
Iori was frowning visibly now. "Thank you for telling us, Daisuke-san. But I don't think that this changes anything."
Takeru nodded his agreement. "No matter his reasons, what he's doing is wrong, and we have to defeat him. But as long as he leaves us alone in the Real World, we have to do the same."
"Yeah, well, I thought you should know."
They went to the Digital World, and destroyed some Dark Towers without much incident. Afterwards, when Daisuke was walking home from the computer lab, Hikari caught up with him.
"Daisuke-kun, can I talk to you for a second?"
Daisuke blushed in spite of himself. "S-sure, Hikari-chan."
"Please excuse my boldness, but…I'm sorry that this has happened."
"Eh?"
"I can't imagine what it must be like to have to fight against a friend, and…and I think what you did earlier was very brave."
For some reason, Hikari's words didn't make Daisuke glow with pride, like he had always expected they would. Still, he forced himself to grin. "It was nothing, Hikari-chan. But thanks for worrying about me."
"Daisuke-kun…you and I were in the same class for a while. Do you remember?"
"'Course I remember," said Daisuke, with some genuine cheer.
"Again, I may be too bold in saying this, but…you've changed since then." Hikari bit her bottom lip. "Back then, you boasted more, and you smiled more easily."
Daisuke wasn't really sure how to take that, and he shuffled his feet against the sidewalk uncomfortably. "Even somebody like me can grow up, Hikari-chan," he said, more sadly than he would have liked.
Hikari shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Daisuke-kun." Then, she looked him in the eyes and said, "We're your friends, you know. All of us. So…please don't force yourself, Daisuke-kun. Only smile if you want to smile."
"…Thank you, Hikari-chan."
Hikari gave a quick bow, and said, "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah," said Daisuke. "Bye, Hikari-chan."
As he watched her back getting smaller and smaller, Daisuke heard the distinct sound of clapping coming from behind him. Whirling around, Daisuke came face to face with none other than Ichijouji Ken, dressed in the gray uniform if Tamachi High School.
"That was touching, Daisuke. Really, I can see why you have a crush on her," said Ken, walking closer, still clapping slowly.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Ken stopped clapping, and stood in place. "I came to talk to you. Did you get my present?"
Daisuke's hand went unconsciously to the D3 in his pocket. "Yeah," he said. "I thought you wanted me stuck here, Ken. Why'd you give it back?"
Ken smirked. "I'll take it back later. For now, I've decided that things are more interesting with you involved."
"What about V-mon?"
"I'll release him."
Daisuke hadn't been expecting that. "Really?"
"Do I have a reason to lie?"
"Well, yeah," said Daisuke.
"I'm not lying."
Daisuke was getting sick of this. "Whatever. Why are you really here?"
The smirk on Ken's face disappeared. "…How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine now," said Daisuke. "I…guess I should thank you for that."
"Why?" asked Ken, frowning. "You probably would've been at less risk if I hadn't shackled you to a cliff."
"So…are you trying to say you're sorry?"
"No. I'm saying that you shouldn't thank me."
Daisuke took a step closer to the other teenager. "I told them, you know. About who you are."
"I knew you would," said Ken. "You have no reason to lie on my behalf anymore, not even by omission."
The bitterness was carefully disguised, but definitely present. And really, that just pissed Daisuke off. "You know what, Ken? Cry me a fucking river. I didn't wanna leave. I wasn't the one who wanted to forget everything, remember?"
Ken's mouth pulled into a thin line, his eyes narrowing. "I said it already, didn't I? Lying doesn't suit you."
"Are we done, Digimon Kaiser-sama? 'Cause I am this close to punching in your stupid face."
Ken's eyes narrowed even further. "The only way you'd ever land a hit is if I let you."
Daisuke couldn't even muster up a response. He was too angry, too raw. And the desire to throttle his former friend was almost too strong to resist. So he did the only other thing he could do: he stormed off in the wrong direction. Sure, it meant that's he'd add another ten minutes onto his walk home, but it was worth it if it meant that he didn't have to see Ken's face.
Ken didn't follow him.
___
In spite of the bitterness of that confrontation, Ken had held true to his word, and had given V-mon back to Daisuke during one of their battles. Daisuke was pretty sure that it was all part of some big, complicated plan, because that was just the way that Ken did things.
He really had missed V-mon, but he only realized how much once he finally had his partner back.
It figured, thought Daisuke, that his next soccer match would be against Tamachi High; the team on which Ken was the star player. In the past, it might have made him excited. But now—now he was dreading it.
It was easier to face Ken when he was dressed as the Kaiser. It was easier to pretend that way, that he was some stranger in a funny costume. And their conflict with him was escalating.
Daisuke was almost tempted to pull out of the game. But he would never betray his teammates like that, so it wasn't really an option. Thankfully, though, it looked as if Ken was going to do the pulling out for him, and Daisuke regained some of his conviction, managing to score a goal for his team in the first half of the game.
But that's when Ken decided to show up, looking immaculate and dignified in his soccer uniform. As he descended the steps to the soccer field, Daisuke couldn't help but feel a hint of that old admiration. But it was quickly overtaken by anger.
And, of course, Ken quickly dominated the match. Daisuke had improved, to be sure, but Ken had improved even more. And it showed. Soon, the Tamachi team was leading them eight goals to one, and the game was very nearly over.
Daisuke decided that, even if there was no way for his team to win, he was not going to let Ken have a crushing defeat. So, just before the whistle was blown that signaled the end of the match, Daisuke did a slide-tackle on his adversary which sent him stumbling, and caused him to miss the final goal.
After the game, Daisuke was more than happy to get away as soon as possible, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It was Ken, unsurprisingly, and, since they were in public, Daisuke couldn't exactly punch him in order to get his hands off.
"What do you want?" asked Daisuke, turning around to face him, and dislodging his hand in the process.
"I just wanted to congratulate you on that last tackle. It was a very well-chosen play."
Ken's amicable smile didn't fool Daisuke in the slightest. "Yeah, well, it looks like I gave you a pretty nasty scratch," said Daisuke, noticing the blood trickling down from a deep-looking cut just above Ken's ankle. "Sorry 'bout that." His tone made it abundantly clear that he wasn't even remotely sorry.
Ken smiled a very fake smile. "No need to apologize. I should have expected it, so it's my own fault that it happened." He held out his hand for Daisuke to shake. "You're a worthy adversary, Motomiya-kun."
Reluctantly, Daisuke took the offered hand in his own, shaking it lightly. However, he felt the tips of Ken's fingernails brushing against his palm as Ken let go of his hand. Daisuke's breath caught in his throat at the teasing contact, but Ken was visibly unfazed.
"Until we meet again," said Ken, still smiling. Then, he walked away, leaving Daisuke frozen in place, staring at his palm like it had suddenly mutated.
It was later that day, in the Digital World, that Daisuke found himself facing Ken once more, this time as the Kaiser.
The Kaiser was standing at the top of a steep incline, holding what looked to be an egg timer in his glove-clad fingers. To the side, Daisuke could see his four fellow Chosen Children suspended from an arch-shaped rock formation, and a Monochromon not too far behind them, waiting on his master's orders.
"You have a minute to decide which of your friends gets to live, Daisuke. I suggest you hurry up, because time is running out."
Daisuke stared in horror at the Kaiser, then looked back to the other Chosen Children. There was no time to waste wondering why Ken was doing this, or whether or not he would actually go through with it. No time to dwell on the fact that Daisuke had never once believed that Ken would ever actually go this far. As his eyes took in the faces of his friends, shouting things at him that he was much too panicked to really understand, Daisuke came to his decision.
"Please!" he yelled up to the Kaiser, feeling wetness against his cheeks. "Kill me instead! This is between us, Ken—they shouldn't have to die because of it!"
The Kaiser lowered the hourglass. "A selfish request," he said. "But, since you're so adamant about it, I guess that I can accept." He grinned nastily. "First, though, you have to beg for it."
"I'll do anything," said Daisuke.
"Get on your knees," commanded the Kaiser.
Daisuke did so.
"Now say: 'Digimon Kaiser-sama, please spare my friends.'"
"Digimon Kaiser-sama, please spare my friends!"
"V-mon," said the Kaiser. "Put your foot on Daisuke's head."
"Daisuke…" said V-mon, sounding distraught.
"Do it, buddy. It's the only way."
Daisuke felt the tips of V-mon's claws pressing into his scalp, and grimaced in pain.
"Very good," said the Kaiser, pleased. Then, he shouted at his Monochromon to attack.
Daisuke waited for the attack, his heart hammering against his ribcage like a countdown. But it never came. He heard the familiar voices of his friends, and looked up to see all of them riding on their armor-evolved digimon.
Confused, he looked over to where they were supposed to be captured, only to find that there were Bakemon now suspended by those ropes. Suddenly, everything clicked, and Daisuke felt angrier than he could ever remember being.
He shouted, "Digimental up!" And had Fladramon fly him up the hill, to where the Kaiser was standing, directing his army of Bakemon. Just as Daisuke stepped off of his partner, Stingmon came at them, his two laser daggers a deadly shade of crimson.
"You take care of him," said Daisuke. "I'll go deal with the Kaiser."
"Got it, Daisuke!" shouted Fladramon, lunging out of the way to avoid Stingmon's offensive.
Daisuke took off on a run towards his opponent, and managed to catch him off guard. The two of them slid down the steep incline, Daisuke using the Kaiser as a make-shift sled. But the young despot didn't seem the least bit fazed, and even said, "My, you seem awfully upset."
Once they had reached the bottom, Daisuke aimed a hard punch at the Kaiser's jaw, but his hand was caught before it could make impact. Using Daisuke's surprise to his advantage, the Kaiser swung leg so that Daisuke's own weight caused the two of them to flip over, then pinned Daisuke beneath him.
"I told you, Daisuke. You'd never be able to land a hit unless I allowed it."
Daisuke did his best to buck the Kaiser off of him, but the Kaiser was too strong. Frustrated, Daisuke shouted, "How could you do this?! TELL ME!"
The Kaiser stopped smirking. "You're crying," he said.
And he was. Daisuke could feel that same wetness on his cheeks, the burning behind his eyes. He would have done something about it if his arms were free. After he'd strangled the Kaiser, anyway.
"So what if I am, huh?!" Daisuke sniffed. "I seriously thought that they were gonna die. That you were gonna kill them!" He renewed his struggling, but to no avail. "Let me go, you asshole!"
The Kaiser's expression was unreadable as he said, "I will, but only after you answer a question." A blast went off nearby, but the Kaiser seemed completely unaffected. "Will you do that, Daisuke?"
Daisuke gave another sniff, and hated himself for it. "Fine. I'll answer your fucking question."
"Do you hate me?"
Out of all the things that Daisuke had expected the Kaiser to ask, that was probably somewhere near the bottom of the list. He hadn't actually thought about it himself. He was angry at Ken, he wanted to punch Ken in the face, he wanted to see Ken defeated…but did he hate him? If he was honest, the answer was…
"No," he said, feeling the anger dissipating. In its wake, he felt tired. Exhausted, even—like he wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep for a week. "I don't hate you."
True to his word, the Kaiser stood up, releasing Daisuke from his hold. It took Daisuke a little longer to push himself to his feet. And by the time Daisuke was standing, Ken had already been scooped up by Stingmon, who had abandoned his fight with Fladramon to do so.
Before the Kaiser retreated fully, he said, "You're an idiot, Daisuke."
If he had stayed grounded for a moment longer, he might have heard Daisuke say, "I know."
___
Two days later, Daisuke finally worked up the nerve to confront Ken in the Real World. Thinking back on the events that had taken place, Daisuke felt angry, but he also desperately wanted to know why. This time, Ken had gone too far, and Daisuke was sure that there had to be a reason.
They hadn't faced the Kaiser in the Digital World that day, and Daisuke figured that Ken would have to come back to his apartment some time. So he devised a plan: he'd show up later in the evening, and wait until Ken came back Then, he would get his answers.
And so, he found himself at the familiar apartment block, the sun hanging low in the sky. He rode the familiar elevator, and walked down the familiar landing, and was poised to knock on the familiar door with the "Ichijouji" plaque next to it, until a thought occurred to him. He had a feeling that he knew where Ken was bound to go when he came back.
Daisuke turned around, and walked until he found the stairs leading up to the building's fire escape. He climbed them, and opened the door, walking out onto the roof.
Ken was standing where Daisuke had first met him, looking down at the streets below them.
"I had a feeling you'd come," said Ken.
"I want some answers."
Ken didn't turn to look at him, his gaze lingering on the sights from below. "They really do look like insects, don't they?"
Daisuke walked over to stand next to him, but didn't take his eyes off of Ken's face. "Did you hear what I said, Ken?"
"Do you know…when I first became the Kaiser, there was a month or so when I went to the Digital World for good? And I stood right here before I left, screaming out how much better I was than the rest of humanity." His lips quirked into a bitter smile. "But, even back then, I knew that it was really the other way around." He sounded sad, thought Daisuke, and tired. "When I came back, my parents were so happy. And all I could think was, 'Ah, they don't know me at all. If they did, they would've been happy that I was gone.'"
"Ken…"
"You'd be better off hating me, Daisuke. It's what I deserve."
"Is that why you did it?" asked Daisuke. "To make me hate you?"
Ken lifted his hands, curling them around the rails. "I wanted to punish you, as well. To test you." Finally, Ken looked at him. "You should have known that I would never actually kill them. Or you."
Daisuke lunged at Ken just then, snarling, and slammed him into the railing by the scruff of his neck. Ken didn't stop him.
"I should've known?!" barked Daisuke.
Ken gasped a little, his eyes narrowed in pain. "Yes."
Daisuke's snarl deepened, and for a second, he was too angry to say anything. Swallowing, he managed to growl out, "What the fuck do you want from me, Ken?"
Ken looked him in the eye, and for a moment, Daisuke could make out the desire held in that gaze. "I don't think you really want me to answer that question."
Daisuke let go of the other teenager and took a step back. When Ken pushed himself upright, he touched his neck lightly, wincing. Then he said, "Are you satisfied, Daisuke?"
No, thought Daisuke, hands clenching into fists. He wasn't satisfied. But he was tired of words, tired of half-formed answers that didn't really answer anything. He looked up at Ken, and wondered if his best friend was somewhere buried underneath whoever this person was.
And then, without really thinking about it, he grabbed Ken by the scruff of his neck once more, and crushed their mouths together.
This kiss was nothing like the one they had shared all those years ago, that first experimental touch. It was also nothing like the few kisses that Daisuke had shared with girls. It was hard and demanding, all teeth and tongue. And Ken was starting to respond, moaning into it as he grabbed a hold of Daisuke's wrists and tugged. Daisuke released his shirt front, but slipped his hands around Ken's back, pulling him closer. And Ken returned the embrace, clutching at Daisuke with an almost frightening desperation.
Daisuke could feel the telltale bulge through the front of Ken's uniform pants, and let his hands slide lower on Ken's back, bucking into it. This caused Ken to gasp into his mouth, and Daisuke found himself being spun around and pressed against the railing, Ken's arms caging him in.
But he didn't mind. It was nice to just give into this. Because it felt good—better than good, even—and he didn't have to think. There was no confusion in this, just sensation, just sweet, sweet friction.
Ken broke off the kiss, his mouth coming to rest just by Daisuke's ear. And that was okay, Daisuke decided, because the friction was still there, and this way he could hear the way that Ken's breath was hitching, the little moans he made in the back of his throat.
Daisuke had never done anything like this before, not even with a girl, and it didn't take long for it all to become too much. He groaned as he felt Ken shuddering against him, and followed suit soon after.
Chest heaving in the aftermath, Daisuke was tempted to say something stupid like that was awesome, but managed to stop himself. And in the wake of the pleasure, reality was returning with a vengeance. Ken was still his enemy, had still done something beyond belief, and still hadn't given him a proper answer.
Fortunately, Ken moved before Daisuke had to push him away.
Daisuke looked at the concrete, suddenly very aware of how the wet patch in his boxers was anything but comfortable. "This…this doesn't mean that I forgive you."
"I never expected you to forgive me," said Ken softly. For the first time since the beginning of—whatever the hell this was—Ken really sounded like himself, like the person who had once been Daisuke's best friend. And somehow, that made everything worse.
"I need to go," said Daisuke. He didn't dare look at Ken as he left.
As he rode the bus back to Odaiba, he wondered how he was going to be able to face his teammates the following day.