Chapter 2: The Big Reveal
Tap, tap, tap… tap, tap, tap…
That was all that could be heard in the quiet apartment as Ken approached the bedroom after being invited over to Koushiro's home. She knew the Chosen were excited to learn about the team who came before them, but she had already decided not to reveal everything. She didn't fully trust them for obvious reasons. There was just something about this meeting that put her on guard.
It could just be her natural defenses acting up for no reason. She didn't really have the best track record with new people and Digimon for the matter. Besides, Jun had made it clear to be careful. They may know about the Digital World, but that didn't mean they were trustworthy.
"Taichi, I wasn't finish-!" Ken opened the door to see the one called Taichi playing with an auburn-haired teen, apparently a year younger than him, by covering his eyes. This must've distracted him from his work as his body language was stiff as if he wasn't used to being touched without warning. The wild-haired brunette spun the other's chair around and kissed him on the lips, cutting off his protest.
Hikari giggled from next to her as Ken raised an eyebrow wonderingly. To be that intimate, they must have been going out for a while.
"How long have you been sitt- Oh, hello!" Taichi's attention was directed toward Ken and his sister when Koushiro noticed the two of them standing near the now opened door.
The Ichijouji prodigy watched Koushiro push Taichi away from him tenderly and stood up to greet her. "I'm Izumi Koushiro. I was told you're one of the Original Chosen."
"That's right," Ken nodded in confirmation, making sure to keep the profile she had been forced to perfect while outside the apartment. She had an image to maintain, despite how much she hated pretending to be someone she was not, to be almost an exact replica of her brother. Wallace would have another fit if he learned what else her parents forbid her from doing in public.
Koushiro gestured for the two of them to enter the room, closing the door behind them. Once in the room, Ken and Hikari took a seat on the bed. Ken grounded herself, knowing what they were going to discuss would not be pleasant for her. Ken watch as Koushiro pressed a few buttons on his laptop. After a blank document appeared, the computer genius then began typing in some information. "From my understanding, you went to the Digital World around the time Greymon and Parrotmon came to our world. Is that correct?"
"I wasn't around when that event actually happened," Ken stated slowly, watching them closely, "but our Digivices and Digitames came out of the computer once the reporter started mentioning a terrorist attack on the news."
"They came out of the computer?" Koushiro followed up with a raised brow. From next to him, the Yagami boy blinked in surprise.
Ken nodded. "Yes; they hatched immediately after we touched them. And it wasn't long before we were sucked through the computer and waking up in the Digital World." Koushiro typed that information in his computer as he began to inquire on what the Digital World looked like at the time and of any Digimon they encountered when they first woke up. At first, they had been surprised by how Server looked at the time. It was certainly way different now and not on the verge of mixing with the other islands and continents at the time. What equally surprised her was when they mentioned they had gotten attacked by a Digimon when they first awoke in the Digital World as well.
Ken relaxed a bit as she talked about the Gazimon she encountered. The Chosen weren't too pushy for information. They were curious and wanted to understand what they went through during their time. It was nice actually talking about her experiences with those who knew about the Digital World. The Chosen were quite surprised that they were the servants of Vamdemon.
"Vamdemon?" Hikari spoke up suddenly. The Chosen seemed quite surprised that the Gazimon were the servants of Vamdemon and that the vampire was even around during this time. "He was around for that long?"
Ken nodded. "During my time, the Digital World wasn't synced with our world as it is now. Vamdemon had only been around for a couple decade at the time. In fact, he was only just starting to expand his territory when this whole war began."
"Did you ever fight him?" Taichi asked. The Chosen were very eager to know, given their history with the vampire. Hikari and Takeru had been more willing to tell her a bit about them, while they were looking for a TV that would take them to the Human World.
"Not directly," Ken replied. "During this time, almost all of the Digimon you faced were just trying to protect their territory or trying to stay alive in this very horrifying time. The one exception was Piemon." The Chosen all stiffened upon hearing that name. From what she had been told, the Chosen's battles against the Dark Masters had not been pleasant. "Piemon, as strange as it might sound, was one of the few Digimon that was activity helping us throughout the war."
Koushiro's fingers came to a halt as his head snapped up to gaze at her. "He...helped you?" Ken nodded with a small shrug.
"Don't ask why. I'm unsure about that as well. As far as I know, he had his own reason for helping us. What those reasons are, I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine."
There was a thick silence as they tried to process why Piemon would even help them. It was a puzzling question even till this day and maybe they would never know. They couldn't exactly ask him, now could they?
With a shake of disbelief, Koushiro decided to change the course of his questions. "Ichijouji-san, can you tell us about your other teammates?"
"There were six of us," Ken said slowly. It had been an unspoken promise among them to protect each other. The Digital World, Ken was glad to talk about. The others, she had to be careful about what she said. They had been betrayed too many times and suffered a great deal to give that information away so easily to total strangers. Chosen or not, she would not utter a single name until she was ready to do so. She had to be sure these Chosen could be trusted with this information.
However, unknown to Ken, there had been a shift in her tone, a slight shift in her mannerism that caught the younger Yagami's attention. Her tone sounded sad, vulnerable even. The little girl that still mourned her dead brother was trying to make herself known.
"Were?" Koushiro asked, hearing the shift in Ken's voice.
"One of my teammates died in the last couple of years," she answered sadly. She had to ground herself. She was starting to slip, which was very uncommon for her.
Koushiro froze instantly, his features twisting in shame in where there should be none. The other had not meant to be so tactless; he had not known. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Koushiro said, his voice trailing off a bit. Ken realized the computer genius was not accustomed to apologizing.
"It's alright. I guess I'm still getting used to his death."
"Still, we are sorry for your loss," Taichi said, apologetically. "We did not mean to sound insensitive." Ken smiled at the Chosen in reassurance. There was no way they could have known that Barbamon's evil magic would cause Osamu's declining health the moment they returned home, nor Demon's influence to prevent Osamu from controlling his anger. They couldn't have known of her and Wallace's near-death experience, nor Jun's constant night terrors and phantom pains. They couldn't have known about the visible claw-like scars Jamie and Adolf now bore on their chests and backs. There was no way they could have known about their suffering.
Everything they have done to save this world was written in an ancient book that recorded all events of the Digital World. It was believed that the book was hidden somewhere within the Digital World's archives. The location had once been located on a floating island, but the island had since been destroyed, drowning to the depths of the ocean as a result of the Holy Beasts being the new rulers of the Digital World. Upon them changing the Digital World and separating the continents, the location of said archive was now unknown and believed to be only an ancient myth to the Digimon. But what really annoyed Ken was how the Holy Beasts were so determined to undermine their victory and the lives that had been lost during this time as a mere story, a legend, a myth. If she ever met them, Ken would be so happy to put them in their place.
"You're not being insensitive, Yagami-kun. You are just curious about what my group went through during our time in the Digital World. It was difficult and not very pleasant, honestly." There was another thick silence that seemed to stretch for a very long time. The Chosen could only gaze at each other, wondering what they could ask and what they shouldn't. Five minutes had come and gone before Koushiro finally gathered the courage to speak again. "The Digital World must seem very different to you now."
Ken smiled slightly. "Yes. The Digital World looks totally different now. A lot sure has happened in a millennia." Koushiro had been typing on his computer when his fingers froze once again. However, it was Hikari who spoke up his time. Maybe a bit too much has changed, she silently added to herself.
"A millennia?"
Ken nodded. "Time moved very quickly in the Digital World when we were there," she reminded them. "We had spent over fifty years in the Digital World, yet when we returned only a few minutes have passed by." Ken was silent again, watching them as they processed what she had said. This was clearly different from what they have been through in the past.
"Alright," he said as he briefly glanced at Taichi. They were both gazing at the computer screen. Were they trying to figure out what to ask next?
"Can you still tell us a little bit about your other teammates, Ichijouji-san?" Hikari inquired. When Ken didn't respond, Hikari continued, more hesitant this time, "I understand this must be hard for you to talk about, but...maybe we could all meet and talk and maybe get to know each other better."
"Yeah," Taichi said, "We could all have a picnic in the park. I heard it's supposed to be nice all this week."
"I'm sorry," Ken said finally. "I can't do that."
"Why not?" Hikari asked, taken aback by Ken's sudden rejection of the idea, even Taichi seemed taken aback by Ken's sudden rejection.
"Yagami-san, Izumi-san, Yagami-kun, you all don't understand the suffering we all went through. The ones that had brought us into their world were killed right in front of us." The three paled slightly, shock clearly visible in this eyes. "Those we thought we could trust betrayed us and almost got us killed, more than once. We had no help. We had to figure out thing on our own and survive against all odds. Everything and everyone was against us, believing we would fail or not even worth their time." She paused, taking a moment to ease the pain and frustration she felt. "As much as I would like to tell you who they are, I can't. I have to protect them at all cost."
"You don't trust us?" Hikari looked crestfallen as the two boys said nothing.
"It's not that I don't trust you. As far as I am concerned, you are trying to help the Digimon and their home. But there's too much at stake. I must protect my team, even if it means not revealing everything you want to hear. There are evils out there that would do at nothing to find us and use us for their own personal gain. If I believe telling you who they are would put their very lives at risk, I will protect them to the very end." Ken soon found herself gazing at Taichi. Despite the obvious concern and disappointment he felt, there was understanding. True understanding from a fellow leader. After a moment of silence, Ken spoke up again, "Tell you what," they looked at her, "I will ask my team tomorrow about meeting your group. Though, I can't guarantee they will agree to it."
The Chosen seemed to accept the offer. "That would be a great help," Koushiro said. Ken nodded, allowing the other to ask his next question. "I had talked to Tentomon a little bit before you guys got here. He told me what he had been told as a child about the Great War. From my understanding, the war was between a group of very powerful Digimon and the Rebellion Army. He mentioned that the Digimon refer to you by many names." Koushiro tapped on the keyboard, pulling up another document filled with notes up on the screen. "Umm, the Guardians and the Kings and Queens of the Digital World were two he mentioned."
"That's right. Although, we prefer the Guardians." Koushiro added that to his growing document of notes.
"Can you tell us more about this Great War then and how your team ended up in the Digital World?"
"It all started in 1995, the day of the Hikarigaoka Incident," Ken shuddered a bit, remembering the horrors they faced their first week there. As she spoke, Ken felt Hikari's intense gaze on her. Was she slipping again? "We were all at home when the computer started acting up, allowing our Digivices and Digitames to enter our world. They hatched moments later and it wasn't long before we were sucked into the computer. We hadn't realized how bad things were when we first got there."
"What you mean?" Taichi asked.
"By the time we got there, there were only three continents left. The others had either been completely destroyed or already merging with other continents to form into one big one, one they could control. The Digital World was nothing like today. Digimon, of all attributes, friends, and foes, were trying to kill each other. The Digital World as a whole had been very close to being destroyed."
The Chosen looked uneasy as Ken continued her story. "Before the war, the Digital World had been at peace, everyone had gotten along and lived in total harmony with each other. But there had been a prophecy. A prophecy about these evil Angels and Demon coming to destroy the Digital World, to reconfigure it into their own twisted world. The leaders of the Digital World had not taken the warning to heart and by the time they acted, it had been too late. More than half of the Digital World had been destroyed. But also in this prophecy, told of six human children coming to save the Digital World, who would return peace to this world."
"You," Hikari gasped. "You and your team." Ken nodded. She was clever.
"You keep mentioning 'they'," Koushiro questioned her. "I can only assume they are the enemy you fought in this war." Ken shifted nervously, part of her confidence and cool slipping. She had to keep it together. "Who are they exactly?"
"… The…" Ken had to pause to gather her courage when speaking about these foul Digimon. Even till this day, she could not help but to be afraid of them. "… Demon Lords." Ken took a deep breath before continuing her story of a past she wished she could forget. "They were evil, twisted creatures. They had corrupted a lot of Digimon, very nearly turning our partners. Each one was dangerous in their own way. And if they had gotten their way in destroying the Digital World and recreating it in their image, they would have invaded our world soon enough."
The Chosen were completely entranced in the story, but as the story continued their expressions turned grim and uneasy, their complexion paled just a bit more, and their bodies tensed a tiny bit more with every word that escaped her pale pink lips. It had become obvious they had not expected this; and as she continued her story, telling them some of the events that had happened, the three begun to realize the dangers Ken and her group had been put into. They could now understand why she was reluctant to give them certain information. "It had taken years to finally defeat them, locking five of the seven away in the Dark Area, where the Warrior Ten promised they would forever stay. But despite the victory, many had lost their lives...and without the Village of Beginnings, those Digimon were not able to be reborn."
"The poor Digimon," Hikari said, her wide brown eyes misted slightly.
"Wow," Taichi said with a grimace as he sat on a wooden chair next to Koushiro. The elder Yagami had grabbed one of the two chairs Koushiro had surrounding a small table on the opposite side of the room sometime in the middle of the story. "I'm kinda glad we didn't have to face them. Man, and I thought Vamdemon was bad."
Ken nodded, knowing why she had been destined to face these monsters and not the Chosen. "You guys are very lucky, indeed. You may have been able to defeat the Dark Masters and Vamdemon, but the Demon Lords were on a far dangerous level. If you have been there, you would have had no hope in defeating them."
Hikari spoke up. "Why's that?"
Ken glanced at her, frowning slightly. "The first Demon Lord we faced was Demon. He had this very twisted ability to corrupt through emotions. If you had the smallest amount of hatred, of doubt, of jealousy, of sadness, any amount of negative emotion what so ever, he would be able to change you, to control you, and make you do his bidding against your will."
"But it's impossible for someone not to have any negative emotion." Hikari's eyes were wide, uneased, shocked even.
"That's what made him so sneaky and dangerous."
Koushiro typed some stuff into his laptop, but he seemed very disturbed by her story. And she didn't blame him. It was like living in a horror movie, only tens times worse. As Koushiro was typing some information into his computer, two dings interrupted the uncomfortable silence: one from her phone and another from Koushiro's computer. Ken glanced at the text message. It was from her parents. Ken frowned as she read her father's message, demanding her to tell him where she ran off too. Ken knew already she was going to get a beating for not being home when they had gone to check up on her to make sure she wasn't goofing off. As she shoved her phone back into her pocket, Ken noticed the alarmed look on Hikari's face. Hikari was seated right next to her. She would have been able to see the text for the brief minute Ken glanced at it. Well, this wasn't good. How much did she see?
"Ichijouji-san? Daisuke-san just informed me that you contacted his sister not long ago." He glanced at her with curious eyes. "In fact, the two of you seem to talk quite frequently," he said glancing briefly at the email Daisuke Motomiya had sent him. "How do you know her?"
Ken body tensed for a fraction of a second as the other mentioned her teammate. Jun didn't have the best track record with her brother or with others in general. After the war, much like the rest of them, Jun had found returning to their normal lives difficult. Their awakened abilities remained with them even after leaving the Digital World. Jun's abilities allowed her to be very intuitive of other feelings. Jun struggled with these new abilities. Her bubbly, spunky, and enthusiastic personality tended to drive others away, especially with her knowing their true feelings and intent. Jun tried to not allow her wariness of others to deter her from trying to befriend others. She had her, Momoe, and the others for support, but she still struggled with it, causing Ken to always come to her defense. And just like so many times before, whenever someone mentioned the other girl, Ken grew defensive and protective.
"Motomiya Jun-chan is a very close friend of mine." Ken's tone had returned to that of a leader protecting her teammate. "Why? Am I not allowed to have friends?" From the friendly and calm tone, she had been expressing the entire meeting had turned sharp and cold in a matter of second.
Koushiro immediately looked panicked. He had not realized how accusing his words might have sounded to the elder Chosen. "No...no...of course you can..." He stammered, trying to fix his mistake. "I have many friends outside of this district as well. I-I didn't mean to offend you. I only wish to understand this new information." Ken didn't say another word, but the protective aura still surrounded her. One of the two leaders of the Guardians was still present, still protecting her own. As Koushiro returned his gaze to his computer, a figurative light bulb suddenly flickered to life as he realized something. "Motomiya-san is one of your teammates, isn't she?"
Ken's arms were crossed against her chest as violet eyes bored into dark eyes. "And what if she is?" Ken knew that Jun had a very rocky relationship with the Chosen. Jun and her brother didn't exactly get along. Daisuke was quick to judge her and thought poorly of her when he didn't get his way and in retaliation, she spread rumors about him at school. That poor attitude transferred over when he hung out with his friends. From what Jun told her, the Chosen were friendly enough when talking to her, but their posture and eyes were judgmental, guarded even. They were open to talking to her in public, but Jun felt they were judging her based on what Daisuke said about her around his friends. At least, that was how she felt when she met Taichi and Yamato for the first time. To Ken that was unacceptable.
As the two stared at each other silently, intently, he knew what he said next was imperative to not only to start a growing relationship with their predecessor but also to show if they were worthy to be considered an ally, earning their undivided trust. Koushiro's hands shook slightly as he tried to calm his jumping heart and frantic nerves. This was a first for him to be the deciding factor on what could happen going forward. Normally, his boyfriend or Yamato would be the ones to figure things out when it came to keeping the group together or attempting to befriend possible allies. It would be amazing, given their experience, to have the Guardians as their allies and it would be nice to have someone so knowledgeable about the Digital World to compare notes with. But that came down to what he said next.
Koushiro swallowed thickly, never removing his eyes from the other boy. Doing that would only prove to be a mistake for the genius knew Ken was testing him, the team's worth as people and as possible allies was on his shoulders. Koushiro liked to believe they were sincere and trustworthy enough to make the other see he had nothing to fear. But would he be able to convey that without offending the other genius?
Koushiro took a steady breath, but before he could speak there was a sudden knock on his door. It was his mother. "Come in."
Kae Izumi walked into the room with a tray of freshly baked cookies on four small plates and four glasses of tea. "I do apologize for interrupting," she said, "but I thought you four might want a snack." Kae was completely oblivious to the tension in the room, but her kind and warm motherly presence seemed to calm the storm that had started to brew over the horizon once her gaze landed on the tense and overprotective boy genius, Ken Ichijouji. "I didn't realize Koushiro was inviting anyone else over other than Taichi." Koushiro smiled weakly, coughing into his hand. He had not expected to meet one of their predecessors today to formally tell her. "I wasn't sure if you were allergic to anything," she said, "I do hope these are okay."
The Ichijouji boy smiled softly as he accepted the tea and cookies his mother offered him. "I am not allergic to anything that I am aware of," he said. "Thank you, Izumi-san. You are too kind."
The comment truly made his mother happy. "My you really are such a kind boy as they say you are," his mother commented with a giggle as she handed out the other drinks and cookies.
"Yes, Izumi-san." Ken's voice and features were still sincere and genuine, but towards the end, Koushiro heard a subtle shift in his tone. It sounded rehearsed, pained maybe. Koushiro found himself gazing at the other genius. There had been subtle changes in his voice throughout the meeting. There was pained, which would be natural due to the subject of their conversation, but there also seemed to be a change in his mannerism. One that sounded more feminine at times. He wondered...
"Man, Koushiro, your mom always makes the best cookies. So lucky." Koushiro smiled at his boyfriend, knowing the real reason for that comment was because his own mother was a horrible cook. They all ate in silence. The thick tension had died down a bit, but Koushiro knew the question should not be avoided. He had to answer it now or risk everything.
"Ichijouji-san, I don't know Motomiya-san personally. I haven't met her. All I know is what Taichi and some of the others have told me, but that is just plain bias and not true facts." All eyes were on him as he spoke. "I don't like judging others based on biased opinions. I would rather meet her myself to judge her character." There was a small pause before he added, "Although, what I think of her or any member of your group shouldn't matter. We are all on the same side. We are all allies. My only wish is that you and your group will help us further in protecting the Digital World."
There was silence again as he waited for the other's response. Koushiro only hoped he had said the right thing. As he waited, Koushiro noticed the immediate change. The thick tension was completely gone and Ken, who had been silently watching him, silently studying him, visibly relaxed. Koushiro exhaled slowly. It looked like he had done it. Now what? What was on the other's mind?
"Oniichan would have liked you," Ken said, much to his confusion.
"Excuse me?" Koushiro was very confused now. Was Ken talking about Osamu Ichijouji? The boy genius that had died two years ago?
"I can see why you inherited, Oniichan's trait." And then it hit him.
"Ichijouji Osamu was a Guardian?" The sadness in Ken's voice made sense now. Not only had the genius lost one of his teammates, but someone much closer, a brother.
"Yes, Oniichan was the Guardian of Knowledge. None of us came out of this war unscathed. But Oniichan seemed to have gotten the short end of it. He may have died from the hit and run, but he had been suffering from health implications that he had sustained during the fight." Koushiro almost didn't want to write this down, but he did anyway. "Jun-chan is also a member of my team." He leaned over a bit. "Tell me, do you know Montgomery Wallace-kun from Colorado?"
"Of course, I do. He's a friend I met a few years back." Koushiro then paused, his eyes widening in understanding. "No way...he's..."
Ken nodded. "He's a Guardian as well. During the war, we got separated a lot. This ultimately, resulted in me leading Wallace-kun and Jun-chan, while Nogushi-kun led Oniichan and Hideyoshi-kun whenever we got separated. Technically, there are two leaders in my group, myself and Nogushi-kun."
The room was filled with another silence as Koushiro furiously typed on his computer. It saddened him to know that the former holder of Knowledge died due to this war. It made him wonder what happened to him during his time in the Digital World, but that was a question he would not ask. It was none of his business. But there was one question that had been bugging him for some time now. "Ichijouji-san, how long have you known about the Kaiser?"
"Not until a few hours ago," Ken replied. "I got a distress call from Wormmon. I was actually surprised when I was able to get through the computer. I had tried before in the past, but had been unsuccessful."
Koushiro and Taichi shared a look. It had been the same with them. No one knew when the gate suddenly became active again, they were just glad it was. "So you learned about him when you found your partner?" Taichi asked.
Ken nodded. "Wormmon called me not long after the Kaiser had attacked a village he had been staying at. I had come upon one of the Digimon that had been attacking nearby and managed to free him. It was then when I learned about what was going on." He then glanced at Taichi. "It was then when we heard the Kaiser as he rode on one of the Airdramon above the forest. We had followed him and found him in the part of the forest that had a river. Your partner was there. However, by the time we got there, Greymon had already been ringed and was being taken away. I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."
Koushiro clutched Taichi's hand, knowing Ken had been the closest to his partner before being taken away by the Kaiser. "What made you want to help the others then? From what I'm understanding, the Great War made you wary of other people. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to just grab your Digimon and return home?" Koushiro had a feeling the Guardians were not like that. They had been through a lot to save this world and would happily put themselves in danger to make sure the current evil was put out for good. He just wanted to know Ken's reasonings.
"Maybe, but the Kaiser not only hurt Wormmon but others as well, so it became personal for me. I hadn't expected the Kaiser to be a human, to be honest, and seeing him treating Digimon like they didn't have feelings, irritated me." He glanced at Koushiro with a sad smile. "I could've just went home. You are right about that. There are certain things I would not like to relive. And I know for a fact there are forces out there that would not want me or my group involved." Koushiro tilted his head. What did he mean by that? "But like it or not, the Digimon are in danger, your Digimon was in danger, not intervening was something that I could not allow. It had always been my job to protect them and I will continue to do so, even if I have to do it myself."
Taichi and Koushiro looked contemplative; they had always wondered how Greymon had gotten captured in the first place and why he hadn't contacted them. He had been patrolling one of the Koromon villages nearby, with easy access to a TV, but given that the Kaiser had been hunting him down specifically, it made sense why he didn't. Koushiro knew Taichi felt guilty for not being there for his partner, but luckily there had been someone there who had been trying to save him. Despite Ken's knowledge of the Digital World, and limited knowledge on what he had been up against, the Guardian had been unable to retrieve Agumon and free him of the Evil Ring. But that wasn't his fault, either. An Airdramon had feinted at Stingmon, surprising him and catching him off guard. There was so much at stake now, but now there was only one pressing question.
"Ichijouji-san, would you and your team be willing to help us?" Koushiro asked. Ken was silent for a while, not responding right away. Koushiro immediately held Taichi's hand in comfort, knowing that they might stand a chance with their predecessor by their side. Ken had many options to consider before agreeing. He had proven to them that he would always put his team first. He was a true leader.
As Ken thought, Taichi shifted nervously. If he said no, it was very possible he might not be able to see Agumon again. The Kaiser had proven to be more cunning and powerful than they first realized. What to do? What to do? Taichi tried glanced at his boyfriend. The silence was killing him. Sensing his discomfort and rising panic, auburn-haired teen reached up and pulled Taichi down for a kiss, knowing it would help. The elder Yagami consented and kissed his boyfriend on the lips, silently smiling. Koushiro always did know how to make him feel better.
When they finally parted, Ken had seemed to come to an answer. "Alright. I know Jun-chan and Wallace-kun would want to help." Taichi's smile only grew.
"Do you have a plan?" Taichi asked. Normally, he, Yamato, or Koushiro would be the ones with the plans, but Taichi felt Ken would be more successful. None of their plans had worked or just resulted in one of them getting hurt. Taichi didn't want to risk his partner's life. He firmly believed Ken had a plan to free Agumon from the Kaiser, now that he knew who he was up against. Taichi had been trying to figure out how were they going to free Agumon with the flock of Evil Ringed Airdramon around for the past several hours. But maybe Ken had one and had been proven right when he saw Ken's resolute expression.
"Don't worry. I have a plan that's fool-proof. I just need to message my team."
Taichi could sense Ken's resolve and came over to him, placing a hand on the other leader's shoulder. "I know you'll succeed." He really did. And he was more than glad to leave his trust with his predecessors. "You're the best Tamachi has. Don't want to let them down, right?" He smiled, winked and returned to Koushiro's side.
Ken blushed at Taichi's gesture and looked away. He then pulled out his D-Terminal and contacted a couple of people. A few minutes later, two of the four confirmed that they would help Ken out. Smiling, he glanced at Taichi. "The plan's all set, Yagami-kun. Wallace and Jun agreed to help me with the mission. We'll get Agumon back for sure."
Taichi smiled widely, but before he could comment, his sister spoke up. "Oniichan, if I may…?" She looked at her older brother for permission.
Confused, Taichi nodded, wondering what was going on.
Hikari mouthed 'thank you' and turned to Ken, who was gazing at her in equal confusion. "Ichijouji-san, why are you hiding the fact that you're a girl?"
Taichi and Koushiro couldn't believe their ears. Taichi stared at her accusingly, his face flushed in embarrassment, while Koushiro nearly fell out of his computer chair in surprise. "You knew Ken was a girl and didn't tell us?"
Hikari had the courtesy to flush slightly. "Sorry, Oniichan," she mumbled in embarrassment, "but I wanted to make sure after I heard the mannerism change earlier in the meeting." Tailmon agreed as she munched on a cookie.
Bowing her head, Ken sighed. She should have calculated the fact Hikari was pretty good at picking up peoples' intentions and, apparently, their real identities into her equation. "I am a girl," Ken admitted, finally raising her head. "I'm not ashamed of it. I will be ashamed if you think less of me because of my deception."
Koushiro was the one who spoke. "I perceived it earlier as well but wanted to see if Taichi could pick it up. I don't think any less of you, but still, ask that you and your teammates free Agumon. For Taichi's sake."
"You have my word, Izumi-san," Ken promised. She glanced to Taichi, waiting for his words.
He shrugged, before smiling widely. "I have nothing to say. I'm impressed."