Note: I own the following characters: Ariyuki (more to come in future chapters). I don't own any of the Digidestined or their parents. If anyone knows Ken's parent's American names, it would be great if you could tell me. I'm not sure I got them right. By the way, I know the Digidestined's real names are all Japanese like Hikari, Daisuke, etc. but I'm going to use their American names, because I know how to spell them.
A Lost Darkness: Chapter 1
Ariyuki
Born from Darkness in the Light, the child exists in shadow
Born from hatred, given love, the child exists to fight
Yet know he not the road is long, and should he stray from right
Grow cold his heart, grow dark his mind, may Evil grow that night...
"Wha...where am I? What is this place? I'm so cold...Help me, someone!"
"Man, what a day," whined the indigo haired, supremely genius boy. School had just ended, and a fatigued Ken Ichijouji trudged down the sidewalk, his bookcase over his shoulder and his hand in his pocket. He sighed and stared up at the sky; he couldn't wait to get home and rest. He just hoped there wouldn't be any obstacles to keep him from his destination like yesterday; there had been a traffic accident and the sidewalks were packed with worried and infuriated spectators so that it was impossible to get through them; Ken was stuck amongst the suffocating mob for three hours.
To Ken's despair, there was an obstacle; two obstacles. The two last obstacles he'd want to face when he was tired, sore, and had a headache.
"Ken! Hey there!"
"What's shakin', Ken? Ow! Hey, watch where your stepping your large feet, Yolie!"
"Keep out of my way, crybaby, Davis!"
Davis and Yolie, fighting as usual, came bounding down the sidewalk to the left of Ken, racing to see who could reach him first. Had Ken not used his quick reflexes and dodged the Duo of Disaster they would have crashed right into him and caused another accident. Reviving from the painful crash right into a traffic light post that Yolie had pushed him into to save herself, Davis jumped up and threw his arm around Ken's achy shoulder. Ken winced in agony.
"So, how was your day?" Davis asked cheerfully, clearly in the usual plucky mood.
Ken wished dearly that he could just slap that silly grin off Davis's face. "Well-"
"Bet it was a breeze, right?"
"Actually-"
"Doesn't your team have soccer practice today?"
"No, we-"
"Everyone's gonna go to Keichoe's Ice Cream Parlor, Ken. Ya comin'?" Yolie budded in.
"NO!" Ken shouted, more sharply than he had intended, wrenching himself from Davis's Kung Fu-like grip, "Sorry, but I have a ton of homework to do," He lied, patting his book case convincingly.
"Aw, man! That bites! What's it for?" Davis asked.
Ken grinned to himself; just about any excuse, no matter how stupid it sounds, could fool Davis. "It's for Earth Science," Ken replied, giving a fake, yet quite believable face of misery. "I must determine the definition of Oceanography, then create a Mohs scale of a mineral's hardness. Then I have to use a mineral, scrape it across a tile, and try to create a non-glazed, porcelain streak."
Not to Ken's surprise, Davis and Yolie, though not as stupid as Davis, looked stumped.
"Could you translate that?"
"Shut up, Davis! Well, if you ever get finished with it, let us know, alright?"
"Sure thing," said Ken, walking away, hiding his face of self-amusement from his friends. "Thank God," he muttered to himself once he was a block away from Davis and Yolie. He massaged his achy shoulder, wishing bitterly that he had taken the long way home. At least then he could have avoided The Pair of Pains. The two were great friends to him; he just really wasn't in the mood for their shenanigans.
Ken inhaled deeply and looked at the peaceful sky; it was a nice light blue with puffy, soft looking, marshmallow-like clouds dotted here and there. To his left was a warm breeze just strong enough to ruffle his soft blue hair. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in his deep thoughts. What a year it had been.
He remembered plainly two months ago, when he and his friends had rid their world, and the Digital World of the Evil menace, Malo Myotismon. It took every Digidestined in the world and their wishes to defeat him. Without that, Malo Myotismon surely would have won that battle and would be ruling both worlds by now. Ken recalled as if it were yesterday, Malo Myotismon disappearing, but he also remembered seeing something he knew the others didn't; a single bat with a crimson "M" on its head flew away out of sight. He told himself over and over again that it was nothing, that it might have just been a wisp of dark clouds, but he still couldn't shake the premonition of a trace of Evil in the air; a whisper of Darkness still lingered, and he could feel it constantly.
He didn't dare tell the others about this, in fear of a various number of reactions: They could all be terrified by his news and panic; they could all scoff and call him crazy, which could dramatically drop their relying on him; or they could, actually would bombard him with questions and never leave him alone. No, they were better off not knowing.
A sudden sound brought him back to reality; a sob, or sniffle. Definitely a sound of someone crying. Ken reopened his eyes and, judging by the direction of the sound, turned to his left. Of all the evil, surprising, unexpected Digimon, nothing prepared Ken for what he saw. His entire body came to a halt, and he stared.
It was him! Or was it? He couldn't believe his eyes; Walking down an alley, in the opposite direction of him, was himself. Stunned, and making an attempt to see if he wasn't imagining things, Ken squinted at the slowly shrinking figure; he could barely identify him, because he was so distant, but the little detail he could see was blue hair, and a gray outfit. He blinked, and at that moment a crowd of people overtook him, separating his eyes from the kid; when the mass of bustling people dispersed, Ken scanned the ally for any trace of the mysterious youth, but he had gone.
Ken stood there for about three minutes, unable to conceive what his own eyes told him. Had he just seen himself walking down the alley? Or was he more stressed than he thought? He took a deep breath and shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. His entire body was hot from sudden shock, and his legs were weak and numb; when he thought he heard Davis and Yolie's voices down the street, he decided he'd better start heading home.
Once entering his place of residence, he used his tired feet to kick off his shoes, then walked over to the living room, and slumped down on the couch, sighing heavily. He massaged his shoulder, remembering bitterly when Davis grabbed it. Ken was seconds away from ripping Davis's arm off.
A delicious smell that he hadn't noticed upon entering caught his attention. He forced himself up off the sofa and sauntered into the kitchen. On the stove, boiling in a pot, were his mother's homemade noodles. Taking an extra sniff, he noticed she had added tofu and garlic. Ken took a quick look around, making sure no one was near, then grabbed a pair of chopsticks (his favorite blue ones), extracted a single noodle, and slurped it up; like everything else his mother cooked, it was hot and delicious.
"Ken Ichijouji!"
Ken nearly choked on the noodle in shock. He spun around and saw his mother, Molly, standing in the kitchen, her arms folded, and giving Ken a What-are-you-up-to? kind of grin. He swallowed his half-eaten piece of noodle and smiled. "It's delicious, mom."
Molly stepped forward and gave her son a hug, which he did in return, and asked, "How was your day, sweety?"
"Exhausting," he replied into his mother's chest. "While in gym class, I got kinda careless and a soccer ball struck me hard on the shoulder," Ken pulled down his shirt collar to reveal a large bruise on his right shoulder.
Molly gasped. "Oh, you poor thing! Does it hurt much?"
"Not as much as when I got hit," said Ken.
"Well, I'll get an icepack," replied his mom. She hurriedly walked to the freezer and grabbed the icepack from the top shelf. She handed it to Ken, saying, " Now you go lay down and rest with this. I'll bring you your dinner when it's ready." She kissed Ken on the forehead.
Since no one else was around, Ken didn't blush. "Thanks, mama." Sitting on the sofa, Ken wondered if he should have told his mom about him seeing himself in that alleyway, but thought better of it. He didn't want his mother thinking he had been knocked silly by the soccer ball.
Two hours later, when Ken's shoulder was numb from the freezing icepack, his father, Cal came home, looking almost as exhausted as his son.
"Hi, dad," said Ken from the couch.
"Hey, son. What's wrong with your shoulder?" he asked, noticing, and pointing to Ken's cold compress.
"Nuthin'," Ken replied, "just an accident at school today with a soccer ball. How was your day?"
"Do you really have to ask?" said his father, sitting down next to Ken, gazing up at the ceiling. "It was long, and tiring, and I thought my secretary would never leave me alone about the joke I told today." He looked down at his son and added, "Judging by the icepack, I'd say your day wasn't fabulous either."
Ken made a face. "Well, as soon as the chicken's done, dinner'll be ready."
"Thank you, God!" said his father, putting his hands together in an exaggerated prayer, "I'm so hungry, I thought I was gonna die of starvation at the office."
Unable to bear his refrigerated shoulder anymore, Ken removed his cold compress, trotted back to the scrumptious smelling kitchen, and stuck it back into the freezer where it would wait until someone else in the family received an injury. His stomach growling, Ken opened the oven to check on the fried chicken; it certainly smelled done. To Ken and his father's delight, the oven timer went off at that exact moment. Molly came bustling into the kitchen. "Finally," she exclaimed, checking the mouthwatering chicken, "I bet you're both hungry. I know I am."
Dinner was luscious as always; the tofu and garlic noodles had given off such a delectable fragrance that the entire bowl was the first on the table to be bolted down. The broth was the best part. Ken drank the warm, flavorful liquid down like his favorite tea. Certainly no one could resist Molly's chicken; she knew just how to cook it so that the inner and outer layer was juicy, mouthwatering and tender.
"I've died and gone to heaven, dear!" said Cal in a dreamy way, after he consumed his last bit of noodles.
After the gone but not forgotten dinner was finished, Ken treaded wearily into his room, carrying with him a plate of left over noodles and chicken, where he met Wormmon, sitting on his computer chair.
"Here," said Ken, setting the tray down on the floor. "This is for you. Mom's cooking was great today!"
"Wormmon took one bite and smiled at Ken in contentment. "It is great!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah. Man, I'm exhausted," moaned Ken, stretching and unzipping his gray school shirt. While throwing it on his bed, and rummaging around his dresser for a pair of pajamas, Ken decided to tell Wormmon about seeing himself. He knew Wormmon wouldn't think he was crazy. "Hey, Wormmon," he began, but at that moment, Ken's mother creaked the door open.
"Ken? Oh, you're getting ready for bed? Never mind, then."
Molly made to leave, but Ken stopped her. "No, mom. What do ya need?"
"Well," Molly hesitated.
"What?"
"Oh, I'm such a silly goose!" said his mom. "Out of all my errands today, I forgot to pick up the bread and brownie mix..." her voice trailed off from there.
"You want me to go get 'em for ya?" asked Ken in a weary to himself voice.
"Well...I was hoping you would, honey. See, I've got laundry to do, and your father's not feeling well-"
"Yeah, I know," said Ken. "Don't worry. I'll do it," Ken sighed, then pulled on and zipped up his school jacket.
"What were you saying, Ken?" Wormmon asked.
"Nothing; I'll tell ya later," said Ken.
"It's kinda cold outside, honey. You should wear your sweater," Molly walked back into Ken's room and over to his closet and pulled out his green and purple sweater that his mother made. "Here."
"Thanks, mom," said Ken, taking the sweater from his mom and pulling it over his head. As he started shoving his last arm through the last sweater hole, Ken strolled over to the front door, opened it, and took a step outside. Gazing up at the sky, Ken saw it was a dark shade of blue with thick gray clouds everywhere; much different from earlier that day. It was going to rain. "I might be a little late coming home," Ken announced to his parents, opening the closet door next to the front door and extracting a black umbrella.
"Be careful, dear!" Molly called after Ken as he closed the door.
Outside, in the gloomy twilight, the breeze was colder than he thought. As the soft, yet chilling wind blew against his back, a shiver ran up his spine; Ken shifted his shoulders. As Ken walked down the sidewalk, pass the same tall, dark buildings he'd grown used to seeing over the years, he came across the passage where he thought he saw himself. He halted, giving the alley a last glance, but nothing was there. Just a cold gust of wind that ruffled his hair and howled through his ears like a sorrowful cry.
It strongly reminded him of the crying he heard earlier; the crying he heard from himself. Suddenly, the lane grew unpleasant and uninviting. The billowing wind gave the alley a dark effect, and the noise in the trashcans (probably caused by cats) weren't helping. A sudden rattling noise from somewhere made Ken gasp, turn, and walk away swiftly, trying not to look too much like he was afraid.
Once he entered the warm grocery store, he felt much safer. He took one look back outside in the dark gloom before heading to the baked goods isle. After retrieving the wheat bread from the isle, he started for the brownie mix. Once that was nabbed, he strolled over to the deserted checkout center and paid $3.50 for the mix, and $4.20 for the wheat bread. Ken took notice to a store window and squinted outside; from what he could see through the dark windows, it was raining hard.
The store clerk noticed Ken gripping his umbrella in tension and slight fear. She gripped his shoulder and Ken looked up into her gentle, yet tired brown eyes. Though young, her brown hair was dull and worn-out looking. "You can make it," she said wisely. "Just watch yourself."
Securing the groceries by tying the bag into a tight knot, Ken unfolded his umbrella, took a last look at the kind clerk, who gave a wave good-bye, then slowly stepped outside. Though the wind was hardly blowing, it was freezing outside. The rain poured down swiftly. Thinking out of the will to get back home to the warmth, Ken dashed across from street to street, hardly noticing he was nearly run over by a passing van, though he did get soaked by the puddle the van ran over.
Just as he began darting pass the alley without giving it a thought, a sudden noise caught his ears. He halted, and backtracked until he was standing in front of the passageway. He couldn't see anything, but he knew what he was hearing; crying. His grip tightened on the umbrella handle with apprehension. The sobbing was clearly coming from the other side of the alley.
Ken darted down the alleyway, breathing heavily. The crying was getting louder as he grew nearer. His heart pounded, excitement coursing through him. This might be his chance to see if he'd actually seen himself or not.
Tripping and slipping occasionally on the floor littered with garbage, Ken kept his ears open to the sniffling and sobbing of the mysterious youth. Finally he made it to the other side. Panting and pleased with himself, he gazed around. He wasn't familiar with this part of Tokyo. It seemed deserted, lonely, and a place for homeless people to live; Ken felt uncomfortable here.
Just as he began to forget what he was doing here, he heard it; the crying. It was coming from straight ahead, though Ken couldn't see because this part of the city was clouded with a light mist. Ken walked slowly through the fog, making sure he wouldn't pass the mysterious youth. Just as his feet were getting soggy and cold, he heard a particularly loud, shrill sob.
Ken shot his head up from the ground, and there, ten yards away was him, the imposter child.
"Hey!" Ken shouted angrily, rushing forward. Whoever this kid was, he was in for a good, long chat. However, as Ken drew closer, he started slowing down, and stared in both disbelief and disappointment; it wasn't him. This boy's hair was far too long; about to his hips, and in a braid. This kid's hair was also a slightly lighter shade of blue than his own, even though it was hard to notice because it was so wet.
Ken even realized that this kid was only about nine or ten years old. He was wearing an outfit similar to Ken's, only he had a long, gray jacket. The youngling was crying into his knees, his little hands gripping his pants tightly; he was frightened.
"Hey," said Ken more gently this time.
The child snapped his head up and gazed into Ken's face. His eyes were big and blue, the kind of eyes Yolie would fall for instantly, and tears were streaming from them, mingling with the rain on his cheeks.
"You okay?" Ken asked, sitting beside the youngster.
He drew a deep, shuddering breath and shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Ken continued, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I...I'm lost," he replied down to his knees. He voice was high-pitched and somewhat girlish. "I don't know where I am."
"Oh," Ken gazed around. "Are your from this part of town?"
"N-no!" he replied, unable to control his quavering voice. "I don't e-even think I'm from-from this place!"
"You're not from Tokyo?" Ken asked in surprise.
The boy shook his head, water splashing from his long hair, and into Ken's face. He sighed. "Do you know how you got here?"
"No!" the boy sobbed. "I don't know where I came from. All-all I know is that-that this isn't my home!"
"Could you tell me how and when you got to this part of town?"
"I remember that-that I woke up here. Right here on this bench! I tried calling for Ma-mama, but she didn't-she didn't come! I started wandering around here, but when-when I knew she wasn't any-anywhere, I came back here! Af-after I cried for a long, long time, I walked down there-" he pointed down the street, "-and I met a weird old lady!"
"She l-looked scary and told me I was awfully young to be around here at this time! I was so scared of her, I ran away as-as fast as I c-could! Twice someone tried to take me away! The second one-one tried to hurt me! I'm so scared!"
The boy wrapped his little trembling arms around Ken's waist and cried even more into Ken's chest. Ken then embraced the young one with his left hand, his other hand on his umbrella, holding it over both him and the boy. While comforting him, Ken thought to himself. He couldn't just leave him here. Twice the poor thing had nearly been abducted and possibly killed.
Ken pulled himself out of the warm embrace. "C'mon," he said. "I want to take you to my house. Me and my parents will take care of you for a while. We'll get ya cleaned up," Ken held out his hand and the boy took it without question, giving Ken a timid smile. As they walked hurriedly toward the alley where Ken came from, Ken told the child his name. "What's yours?" he asked.
"Ariyuki," he replied, staring up at Ken.
"Well, Ariyuki, I think it's best that we get out of here as fast as we can."
"Me too."
A few feet from the alleyway, the two boys were block by a fat, middle-aged woman. With a red umbrella over her red head, she was dressed like a Madam, and gave Ken the creeps.
"And what would two fine young lads like yourselves be doing in a place like this at this time of night?" The Madam grinned at Ariyuki, who's grip tightened on Ken's hand. She then reached her long, red painted fingers toward the youngling, a cynical look on her crooked moleful face.
Realizing the intentions of this Madam, Ken pulled the frightened Ariyuki behind him. "C'mon," he told him, grabbing his hand, and sliding around the woman, not taking his eyes off her. The big woman gave them both a wicked smile. If she was the old woman Ariyuki had mentioned, he was going to make sure she didn't come anywhere near him.
Once on the other side of the alley, Ken glanced at his water-proof watch. It read 9:00. Looking down, he noticed Ariyuki yawn and close his eyes. Thinking, Ken lifted the light Ariyuki off the ground, and began to carry him. He heard Ariyuki yawn again, and felt him wrap his arms around his neck; he had fallen asleep.
Finally, after walking for what seemed like hours, Ken found himself knocking on his locked door. The door opened, and Molly threw herself on her son, waking Ariyuki.
"Ken! Oh, Ken! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, mama," Ken replied, stepping inside.
"You've put us in a fix, young man," scolded his father. "We were ready to call the police."
Ariyuki yawned and rubbed his eyes, catching both Ken's parent's attention.
"Who's that?" his father asked.
"This is Ariyuki. He's the reason I'm late. Come on, I'll explain everything in the living room."
Once everyone gathered in the living room, Ken told the tale about how he found Ariyuki, and about Ariyuki's strange past and unusual amnesia. He even told them about Ariyuki's near abduction. When he had finished, Molly threw her arms around both Ken and Ariyuki.
"Oh, you poor things! You poor drenched things!" she cried.
"It shouldn't be me you should worry about. It should be Ariyuki. He's been in the rain, crying, all alone for hours," Ken said.
Molly and Cal examined Ariyuki from his wet hair and clothes, to his tired little eyes. Cal even made Ariyuki open his mouth to check for a sore throat, and check his temperature with a thermometer; he had a light fever. Then Molly spoke up. "What this little one needs is a nice warm bath, some hot chocolate, and bed rest. Come along, dear." Molly sheparded Ariyuki into the bathroom where she would be bathing him.
While Ariyuki was soaking in the warm, bubble bath water, Molly untied his braid and began washing his hair. When she had finished, she pulled Ariyuki out of the tub and wrapped a big towel around him. She gently dried him off, they even began playing a pee-a-boo game with the towel, which Ariyuki greatly enjoyed. All the while, Ken and Cal were standing back, watching, chuckling with amusement.
After drying him off, Molly gave Ariyuki a pair of Ken's pajamas (a fuzzy pair with green and blue stripes) which were slightly too big for him, and rolled up the sleeves for him. When they emerged from Ken's bedroom, Ariyuki's cheeks were rosy pink and his hair was neatly done in a fancy braid by Ken's mother.
"Isn't he just the cutest?" Molly asked, picking Ariyuki up, making him giggle in excitement.
"Looks cute to me," said Cal.
"Absolutely," said Ken.
While Molly began making the hot chocolate for Ken and Ariyuki, the three young men were relaxing on the couch, watching the News, Ariyuki laying his head on Ken's lap. When Ken picked up Ariyuki's long blue hair, he noticed a blue and white cloth holding Ariyuki's braid in. It looked like a torn off piece of something.
"What's this?" Ken asked.
He showed the end of long blue hair to Ariyuki.
"I...don't know," Ariyuki held his braid with the cloth. "I was wearing it when I got here. I remember seeing something on it, though."
Ariyuki removed the piece of cloth and flattened it out. Ken gasped and stared. On the cloth were two symbols; On the left, the sign of Kindness, his crest symbol, and to the right, a symbol he'd never set eyes on. Below the symbols, in gold thread was writing in a language he'd never seen or heard of. Why would this piece of torn cloth have his crest symbol on it?
"Ariyuki, where'd you get this?" Ken asked.
Ariyuki grabbed the cloth. "Hmm. I don't know...Or I don't remember..." Ariyuki gazed at the cloth, as if recalling something,"...it does seem familiar, but I can't...can't-Ow! My head!" Ariyuki dropped the cloth and held his head, gasping in pain.
"Ariyuki!" both Ken and his father shouted at the same time.
Molly came rushing in. "What's wrong with him?"
"We don't know; his head just began hurting!" said Cal.
Then, as soon as Ariyuki began to wail in pain, he stopped. His hands dropped to his sides and his head fell onto Ken's chest as he caught him. He had apparently fainted. Molly sobbed and gathered Ariyuki in her arms.
"What happened to him?" Molly asked, breathless with fear.
Ken and Cal couldn't supply an answer. Then, Ariyuki stirred. His eyes opened slowly and he moaned in an attempt to sit up. Ariyuki stared at everyone, who were gazing at him uncertainly, then broke down and cried.
Molly laughed sympathetically and embraced Ariyuki. "It's alright, dear. You're okay. How's your head, sweety?"
"It hurts," came Ariyuki's muffled reply from Molly's pink cotton shirt.
"Well, we'll fix that, okay?" Molly looked up at Ken and Cal, then back to Ariyuki. "Maybe you should get some sleep, dear?"
"What about me and Ken's hot chocolate?" Ariyuki asked.
"Oh," Molly laughed while tears of gratitude slid down her cheeks, "Of course. Your hot chocolate," she released Ariyuki and bustled back into the kitchen.
Ariyuki turned and put his arms around Ken. Ken placed his hands on Ariyuki's head; it was wet from sweat. What happened to him? Ken asked to himself. " You okay?"
Ariyuki nodded then stared down at the cloth on the floor. Ken did to. "Why d'you think the cloth doesn't want me to remember?" Ariyuki asked.
"What? What are you talking about?" said Ken, laughing slightly, looking down at Ariyuki.
"I could feel something," said Ariyuki. "I don't know what it was, but when I started thinking about the cloth and something else, I felt something grab my head."
Ariyuki could feel the stinging in his head again, and stopped trying to remember the cloth and its history. He grabbed the cloth and tied it back in his hair.
Later, Cal disappeared into Ken's room. Then Molly returned five minutes later with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. She'd even added marshmallows. As Ken drank his mug properly and professionally, something he'd learned to do since he was nine, he looked up and saw Ariyuki mimicking him.
Ken felt somewhat insulted. "What are you doing?" he asked with a tone of annoyance in his voice.
Ariyuki lowered his own mug. "What?"
"Why are you copying me?"
"I'm not copying you."
"You're drinking the same way I am!" Ken said, almost yelled.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" retorted Ariyuki, "I don't mimic people. It's like cheating." For the first time, Ariyuki showed Ken his face of agitation. It reminded Ken of someone; probably himself.
"I'm sorry," said Ken, staring down at his half empty mug, feeling ashamed. Even if Ariyuki really did mimic him, he was only about ten, and young kids tended to do that. He remembered he used to do that all the time to his departed brother, Sam.
"It's okay," said Ariyuki, returning to his mug as if their quarrel had never happened. When Ariyuki finished the mug, he sighed and crawled over to Ken, laying his head on his lap again. "What're we doing tomorrow?" Ariyuki asked, closing his eyes.
Ken paused. He hadn't thought about what his parents were going to do with Ariyuki the next day. They were probably going to send him to an orphanage. Ken knew this would crush Ariyuki's heart. Ken didn't know why, but he also felt like his own heart would be crushed.
He felt a great need to stay with, and care for Ariyuki. He didn't want to surrender him to someone else. To Ken, Ariyuki was a younger brother, and he'd only known him for a few hours. "I don't know," he replied simply.
"We'll think of somthin'," said Ariyuki, "Maybe go on an adventure and find out what my piece of cloth means."
"Maybe," said Ken, "Or...I could...tickle you all day!"
Ariyuki laughed hysterically as Ken tickled his stomach and sides. Molly stood in the background, watching, delighted to see Ken so happy. She felt the same for Ariyuki.
In no time at all, Ariyuki retaliated. Gasping for breath, he reached up and found Ken's stomach; Ken had to release Ariyuki in order to grab his little hands. He was way more ticklish than Ariyuki. He had become much more ticklish over the years. Just then, Ken's father stepped into the living room.
"All finished!" he said proudly.
"'All finished' what, Dad?" asked Ken.
"Well, ever since your brother, you know, passed away, I never thought we'd use his bottom part of the bunk bed. So I took it down. Well, now that Ariyuki's staying with us tonight, I decided to put my manly skills to work." said Cal, flexing his invisible muscles. "The bed's all ready for ya, Ariyuki."
"So that means a cute little someone needs to go to bed," sang Molly.
"Okay," said Ariyuki, jumping off the couch.
"I'll come with him," said Ken.
Once Ariyuki entered Ken's room and saw his bed, he walked wearily over to it, as if it were too good to be true. Then he caught sight of Wormmon sitting on Ken's top bunk.
"Wow! Can I sleep with this?" Ariyuki reached up for Wormmon, but Ken, seeing Wormmon's face of fright, got to him first and swept him up.
"Nope," said Ken, trying to sound playfully selfish. "This is my favorite stuffed toy. I-uh-keep him to myself."
Ariyuki gave a half curious, half suspicious look as if he thought, or knew Ken was hiding something. "Oh, okay." Ariyuki climbed onto the bed and under the blankets.
Ken dug around his closet until he finally found his old teddy bear. He gave it to Ariyuki. "This is Mister Snuggles," said Ken. "Take good care of him, and be nice."
Ariyuki giggled. " Kay."
Ken hugged Ariyuki good-night, then shut off the lights, and shut the door. At that moment, Ariyuki shrieked with terror. In panic, Ken swung the door back open and turned on the lights. "What's wrong?" he asked in alarm.
Ariyuki looked petrified, his eyes gigantic, and squeezing Mr. Snuggles so tight, his eyes began to bulge. Ken stifled a laugh.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" he asked in amusement.
Ariyuki nodded his head with difficulty.
"Alright, I'll leave the door cracked."
"Thank you," said Ariyuki, almost in tears.
Ken giggled to himself as he shut the door, leaving a small crack of light for Ariyuki, so he could keep his nightmares and monsters at bay.
"What happened?" Molly asked once Ken reentered the living room.
"Nothing; Ariyuki's afraid of the dark," replied Ken, "So I left the door cracked."
"Poor little guy," said Cal, deep in his thoughts. "To think he was all alone in that part of the city for hours; raining, dangerous criminals and whores everywhere-Ken, I'm willing to bet that if you didn't take Ariyuki home, he'd probably be dead and left in the streets by now!"
"Cal, please!" squealed Molly, "Don't think about such things! Ariyuki is safe in bed now."
"Now," said Ken, "but what about tomorrow? What will we do with Ariyuki tomorrow?"
"I'm not sure," said Cal. "We could send to the Cinako Orphanage on Ola-"
"No!" interjected Ken, "We can't send him there! He'll be scared out of his wits! And how do you think he'd feel about us just leaving him there?"
"What else can we do, Ken?" inquired his father.
Out of frustrated rage, and feeling as though he were talking to an idiot, Ken banged his fists on the coffee table. "Anything else!"
"Ken!" Molly cried out of alarm. "Both of you, calm down! This isn't something to fight about," Molly cleared her throat, "I think Ariyuki should stay with us."
Ken kept his excited smile to himself with Cal dropped his jaw, "Molly, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that Ariyuki should remain in our care. There's no one else he'll stay with and you know it!"
"Well, he might not love us so if you hadn't spoiled him so much!"
"I didn't spoil him!" cried Molly (Ken hushing them to keep their voices down in case Ariyuki woke up). "I cleaned him, and gave him love and attention! That's what all children need, Cal!"
"What about Ken, huh? Did ya think about Ken at all while you were pampering that boy? Do you really think he wants you totally ignoring him like you did when Sam became totally famous?" Cal was standing up, his rage seemed boundless. When Molly trembled with fright, Cal sat back down, breathing slowly, "I'm sorry, Molly, but we just can't adopt a child off the streets."
Why not? It worked in
"Annie", though Ken, gazing at his quarreling parents."I am not sending him to a place where there's no guarantee that he'll find a family that loves him!" yelled Molly, "I love him! I want him to stay here in my care, where he'll be nurtured for and taught about life the right way!"
"I think mom's right," said Ken softly. "I too care about Ariyuki, like a little brother. I want to care for him and take responsibility for him, like Sam did for me."
Both Cal and Molly stared at their son and the wise words he just spoke. "Then I guess this discussion is over," said Cal, taking a deep sigh. "But before we can take legal custody, I'll have to take him to the hospital for a checkup, then City Hall to sign the custody papers."
If Ken hadn't been raised properly, he'd be jumping around the room in joy like a maniac. Instead, he smiled, bowed gracefully, thanked his father, then sauntered into his room, shutting the door. In silence, to not disturb Ariyuki, Ken removed his dirty school clothes, pulled on his blue and white pajamas, then climbed the ladder to Ken's top bunk. Pulling the blankets over himself, he awoke Wormmon, who yawned almost too loudly.
"Where have you been, Ken?" he asked, wiping sleepy tears away.
"Just a family meeting," said Ken. He picked up Wormmon, and tilted him over the edge of the bed until Ken was sure Wormmon could see Ariyuki. "See him?" he asked.
"Yeah? Is he staying the night?"
"Only forever." said Ken, "That's my new little brother you're looking at."
Wormmon tilted his head curiously at Ariyuki. When Ken pulled him back, Wormmon asked, "Ken? Do you intend on telling him about me?"
"Yeah," said Ken, "But I'm gonna wait a while. I want him to get used to his new home first. Then I'll introduce you. You're gonna love him, Wormmon; he's kind, adorable, innocent, and gentle."
"Kinda like you," whispered Wormmon, curling up on Ken's chest like some sort of twelve legged cat, and closing his eyes.
"I wish," murmured Ken, smiling to himself as he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.