Characters: Daisuke, Ken||Pairing: Ken x Daisuke/Daisuke x Ken
Chapter Word Count: 1,620||Story Word Count: 4,746||Chapter Count: 3/8
Daisuke forced himself to move, when every instinct he possessed told him to stay where he was, not draw attention to himself. If he'd been anywhere else except out in plain sight, he would probably have listened to those instincts. But now he needed to get out of plain sight.
An outcropping of rock provided a bit of shelter. It wasn't very big and the only way he managed to hide under it was to pull his wings in as tightly as they could and hold his breath, hoping that whatever soared overhead wouldn't have seen that tiny flicker of movement.
He waited. Waited. Waited, wishing that he didn't have to breathe, keeping it to the shallowest of breaths, listening. He couldn't look out. He had to just stay hidden.
Kaiser caught him the first time because he hadn't paid attention to what was going on around him. He wouldn't let that happen again.
He had no idea of how long he huddled under there, hating that he had to do it in the first place. This wasn't his nature, to hide from anything that could bring him harm. He'd always been more than ready to bring a fight to whatever stood against him, he and V-mon together, or by himself in the days before V-mon.
Only now he didn't have V-mon and if he got into a fight with one of the Kaiser's slaves, then he wouldn't be able to watch for the Kaiser himself.
Caution wasn't a lesson that Motomiya Daisuke learned easily, but months kept chained and leashed to the Kaiser's hand, begging submissively for every meal: that did it very well indeed.
Whatever it was that passed overhead vanished only moments after Daisuke got underneath the concealing ridge. He still didn't move, waiting and checking for any sign of it returning or anything else – like the Kaiser's fortress – coming along.
I don't think that was the fortress. He always likes to take it slow. And whatever that was, it had gone by fairly quickly.
That still didn't mean that it wasn't something he needed to keep an eye out for, though, he reminded himself. Kaiser had a lot of AirDramon and Devidramon and a few other Digimon, all of whom could fly. Not all of them could do very well at night, but the point was that Kaiser had Digimon who could fly and by this time, Kaiser knew that Daisuke escaped, which meant any enslaved Digimon would be looking for him.
So I have to find the others. He bit his lip, thinking. I hope they have my D-3 and D-Terminal. Kaiser had had it taken somewhere else right after capturing Daisuke. At least he said he had. For all Daisuke knew, that had been some kind of a hidden code to trick him, so if he'd ever escaped, Kaiser would have a way to lure him back.
He wasn't sure if Kaiser were that cunning but he also wasn't sure if he wasn't, and after all this time, the idea that Kaiser would do anything to keep him had been very thoroughly engrained into him.
First and foremost, finding the others, and he had no idea of where to look for any of the Digimon that would be there at night. How long until sunrise? How long until the afternoon, when his friends would stand a chance of turning up again?
Unless it was the weekend. Could it be the weekend? He'd stopped paying serious attention to the passage of time because he'd not needed to. Now he regretted that.
First things first. I'll look for Digimon who aren't Kaiser's slaves. They could probably tell him something. Best thing he could do right now.
After taking another few minutes to make certain there weren't any dangerous movements in the area, Daisuke darted out from under the rock shelf and spun himself higher into the air. His stomach still demanded food and he hoped he could find a Digimon village or even a restaurant soon. He didn't have any money on him, but he'd gladly wash dishes for the chance to eat.
He darted around, careful not to go back the way that he thought he'd come – though after all the sky dancing he'd done in celebration of his freedom he couldn't be sure of that at all – watching out for any lights, both above and below. A few Digimon swept by him, sending jolts of fear all through him the first time or two, but none of them paid him any mind at all, or had the red eyes of enslaved Digimon.
That helped him relax even more, the sure certainty that he'd genuinely escaped and would never go back stealing over him in a comforting wave.
There. Kaiser rested one finger on the small blinking dot that represented Daisuke. The map it blinked on told him the location as well: quite some distance from the fortress. He's flown quite a way. I wouldn't think he had that much energy in him.
He wanted Daisuke to keep himself in good condition, but his dear pet didn't always listen to what he wanted. He would fly on occasion, when Kaiser let him do so, and he ate from Kaiser's own hands, once Kaiser made it very clear that he would not eat at all otherwise. His portion of the room even included a comfortable set of cushions – beds weren't always the best for Fliers, after all. He did have to keep Daisuke chained up at night, though, not wanting him to run off.
Perhaps once I have him back and he understands that he can't escape me, he'll have learned differently. It was an interesting thought and one Kaiser intended to explore once he'd scooped up his pet and brought him home.
His hands missed the warmth of Daisuke's hair and wings. He wanted to go right there and get him back without hesitation, but the more he considered matters, the more he thought this might be something he could turn into a proper lesson for Daisuke. Not just that he couldn't escape his master – no one could escape Kaiser, after all – but that he shouldn't even try.
And that his friends had stopped looking for him after all this time as well.
And if he won't believe it, I can certainly convince him. He'd been considering that for some time anyway. He hadn't paid enough attention to the remaining Chosen to know if it were true or not, but Kaiser actually did not care. He wanted Daisuke to believe that. It would make matters so much easier, especially given all the effort Kaiser put into such matters before now.
Why would they keep on looking for someone that they're not going to find? A small, cruel smile played over his lips. They would not find Daisuke because he wouldn't let them find him. Daisuke remained where a good pet should, serving his master, and if ever they did somehow find him, what they would find would be the Kaiser's pet and not their former friend.
It also didn't hurt that he'd encouraged them to fight him more than to spend their time wandering around looking for what they wouldn't find. Giving them problems that weren't Daisuke made for such interesting footage he could show Daisuke now.
He brushed his fingers over one of the screens before him and the map resolved from blocks and lines into full surveillance of the area. Night made it harder to see, even for him, but after a few minutes of careful searching, he spied Daisuke as the other flew past one of the Evil Towers.
Kaiser let out a small longing sigh at the sight of him. His clothes remained tattered and worn, his hair hadn't been brushed lately, and he carried the chain used to keep him to the wall wrapped around his arm where it wouldn't catch of anything.
There were few points where Kaiser thought Daisuke had been more alluring to him. Despite everything, he kept enough strength and focus to take a chance to escape and from the way the Flier kept looking around, he did his best now to avoid being caught again. It wouldn't do any good, of course, but Kaiser thought the effort adorable.
He rested one hand on Daisuke's image, brushing against where he could see the collar. He'll try to get rid of it. I know him. But it won't do any good.
Now, where would Daisuke be likely to land? He would be looking for his friends, that wasn't difficult to work out. But he wouldn't be able to find them until the next day at he earliest and even then, Kaiser could distract them without any real effort. He had all the advantages here, being able to keep tabs on both targets. If Daisuke didn't figure that out, and come to the proper conclusion that his best course of action would be to return and beg his master's forgiveness, then Kaiser would have to make it plain to him once recovering him.
Digimon kept several small villages scattered around the world. Once they'd even had towns and one or two things that could masquerade as cities, such as where Andromon lived – he made a note to himself to go recapture Andromon now that he had the Evil Spirals. The longer his reign extended, the less and less he saw signs of anything more than a few huts huddled together.
Kaiser liked that. It meant less places for Daisuke to hide at the moment, and in the larger scheme of things, it meant he was winning.
And to the victor went all the spoilers, including one defiant Flier.
To Be Continued
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