Chapter 9

Navigating Metal City was a hundred times easier with a guide. Suddenly the twists and turns weren't as confusing to Davis as they once were. MetalKoromon snuggled comfortably on Davis' palm, squeaking instructions to the boy and his partner. The trio took detours to avoid the main street and the tight surveillance of the Digimon Kaiser. Davis wondered briefly if Ken would turn a blind eye to his escape, but then again he wouldn't because he had a mission and responsibility to make sure saving the Digital World was no easy task for them.

Ken had given Davis much to think about but to the burgundy haired boy, nothing made much sense. If the Kaiser was actually a good guy, that would make him a double agent. But he could also be lying to throw him off guard.

What nutter would cook up such an insane plan, and why would Ken, the almighty genius accept it?

Then again, there was mention of his memories. Ken said that they knew something the others didn't, and Ken had regained his memories much sooner than Davis. His eyes had shown sincerity and truth in them.

His rational side reasoned that Ken was a good liar.

Davis' gaze shifted down towards the purple tumbler in his other hand. When he returned it to Ken, he was going to wring more answers out of him. Hopefully, his amnesia would have improved by then.

Behind him, he heard a soft thud. He turned around and saw V-mon sprawled face-down on the ground. Startled, he hurried over to help his fallen partner up. The blue dragon had his eyes shut. Davis placed MetalKoromon on his shoulder and gently patted V-Mon's cheek. "V-mon, buddy. Are you alright?" he asked concernedly.

V-mon slowly opened an eye. He grinned weakly and replied, "I'm fine. I just feel very tired and hungry. I wonder if I should have tried to eat the sticky webbing."

MetalKoromon's eyes blinked on and off as he spoke, "You don't look okay. I think we should rest."

V-mon struggled to his feet wobbly, using Davis as support. "I said I'm okay. Look, I can keep going all day," he said, before falling into Davis' arms again.

The boy sighed and stuffed the bottle into the pocket of his jacket and lugged V-Mon over his back in a piggyback ride. Fortunately, V-Mon was only until Davis' waist and weighed no more than a light toddler. Davis grunted and shifted his weight, whereas MetalKoromon hopped onto V-Mon's head.

"Daisuke, I am fine. You don't have to carry me," the blue Digimon protested.

"Nonsense, you have burnt yourself out. Now, just hang on tight. MetalKoromon, lead the way." A beep sounded from his pocket and he pulled out his D-Terminal. He read the message and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that was fast. Hikari and Takeru are inside the citadel and are asking me to wait at the entrance."

They found their way to the main entrance. Davis hurriedly halted his tracks and hid around the corner when he spotted two Guardromon standing next to the glass entrance. The metal walls were twenty feet tall, thick enough to withstand the might of an armada. There was no way they could scale the barrier.

"I don't suppose the Guardromon would just let us leave huh?" V-Mon commented from atop Davis' back.

"Why don't you ask?" Davis shot back quietly, peeking out around the corner. He couldn't see really clearly from where he was but he thought the Guardromons' eyes were not glowing red. "I don't see any Evil Rings on them. Do you think Takeru and Hikari took care of them?" he murmured.

"Um, Daisuke, I think we just got spotted." V-Mon pointed to their left. True enough, a Guardromon was walking their way. When it got close enough, it said in a robotic voice, "Unauthorized non-resident identified. Intruder alert. Intruder alert." Seconds later, alarms blared.

"Unauthorized? No-one told me I had to sign my name at the gates!" Davis grabbed his Digimon companions and fled. He didn't see where he was going and tripped, sending the trio sprawling. Davis rubbed his bruised chin and rolled over on his back, only to see two missiles heading towards him. He closed his eyes and raised a hand to shield himself, preparing himself for the explosion that would tear through steel and flash.

"Silver Blaze!"

The missiles exploded a safe distance away from Davis, but he still felt the wave of heat wash over his body. When he opened his eyes, he saw a white blur fall from the sky in front of the approaching Guardromon. With incredible speed, Tailmon slashed upwards. Her sharp claws shredded the Evil Ring on the metal sentry's chest, deactivating the robot.

Pegasmon landed in front of Davis and his riders dismounted. Hikari and Takeru helped Davis get on his feet. The boy had a face as white as sheets and he was breathing heavily. Hikari placed a hand on Davis' shoulder and asked worriedly, "Daisuke-san, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"We're lucky to have found you in time. That was a really close call," Takeru said.

Taking deep breaths to calm his nerves, Davis raised his hand. "I'm fine, don't worry. That was really scary." Then his face scrunched up, a vein bulging at his forehead and he shouted to the heavens, "Damn it, Ken! That's the second time I almost got killed today!" He was sure the Kaiser was watching somewhere and imagined him nodding apologetically.

Davis' human companions were startled by the outburst, as well as confused by why Davis had yelled a certain name. The goggle bearer huffed and smiled. "That felt good."

Hikari and Takeru nodded uncertainly. Tailmon came up to them and reminded, "We have to get out of here. More servants of the Kaiser will be here soon."

Realising that they were in a tight spot, the Chosen Children readied themselves to escape. V-Mon gave a weak whimper and reverted to his Baby form, Chibimon. "I'm starving," he said. Davis picked up both MetalKoromon and his partner. "Hang in there, little guy. We'll be home soon and you'll have food," said Davis. Chibimon nodded and curled up in his partner's chest.

Davis whispered to MetalKoromon, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

The metal mouse's eyes glowed. "Yes, I am. Staying here won't do us any good. I want to get out and get stronger, then I can come back and save my friends."

Davis pursed his lips and was silent for a moment. Then he told MetalKoromon to stay quiet as he slotted the creature into the inner pocket of his jacket. He spotted a purple object to his left, which turned out to be Ken's tumbler, which he had dropped when he tripped. Picking it up, he brushed off the water bottle and pocketed it.

"Daisuke-san, hurry up! We have to leave!" Hikari's eyes widened in shock and she screamed. "Look out!"

Davis turned his head and found several missiles heading his way. Not again, he thought as he rolled out of the way. A high pitched squeak came from his pocket. He had rolled over MetalKoromon by accident. Apologizing profusely and hugging Chibimon in his arms more tightly, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards the exit where Takeru and Hikari were waiting.

The glass door slid open to let them out and they ran out to safety. Once outside, they sprinted and didn't look back until they reached the TV set with sat in the dunes. To their chagrin, a dust tornado was making its way towards them from opposite the portal.

"We're not going to make it," shouted Takeru. Pegasmon had reverted back to Patamon and was clinging onto his partner's hat for dear life, whereas the boy had a hand on it to make sure it didn't get blown away.

"We have to! If we miss this then it's a very long trek through the desert and we're in no condition to do so," Davis shouted in reply. "D-3's out and ready!"

The TV set began to shake violently was the tornado approached. Davis stepped on a patch of moving sand and he fell to one knee. A hand gripped his arm firmly and he looked up to see Hikari's determined expression.

"Not this time, we're not leaving without you." She jerked him onto his feet and they took off towards their exit. Tailmon took Chibimon from Davis and said, "I'll handle him, go!"

The tornado was nearing TV set every second. Takeru who stood by the portal waved them over, urging them to be faster. He then held out his green D-3 and vanished through the gate. Hikari and Davis held theirs out but the TV set rose into the air.

"Leap towards it!" Davis cried out and they did so, vanishing into the portal just in time before the cyclone tossed the TV set right into the air and it crashed on the ground, its screen fizzling with static.

Davis felt the familiar pull through the portal like zooming face first down the slide. A moment later, he crashed onto the pile of humans and Digimon. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was five thirty in the evening. They had left for the Digital World at four. Had he only been wandering aimlessly for such a short while?

The dogpile untangled themselves. At the bottom of the mountain was Taichi, Iori and Miyako. The latter's partners were on the computer table. Takeru stood and helped them up whereas Hikari attended to her brother.

Davis dusted himself off. Thankfully his clothes had changed so there wasn't any sand. The Digital World had a free laundry system for him, but the same couldn't be said for Hikari and Takeru. He froze for a moment, as he remembered Metalkoromon. Did that little guy disappear along with his clothes? He patted his pockets and felt a wriggling bulge in his pants pocket while Ken's bottle was in this other. He didn't even want to question how they got there. He placed a hand over Metalkoromon and the Digimon stopped moving.

Taichi stretched and cricked his neck. "Well, turns out we're saved the trouble to going after them. How did everything go? Is everyone alright?"

Miyako got on her feet and shrieked. "No, I am not alright! I just ran all the way to the cafeteria and back, then we had to go all the way to get Taichi-sempai. Now that we just got back here, Daisuke and the rest are fine? That's too much!"

Davis glared at her. "I almost being killed by missiles three times today, had to run through a maze of the city without any food and water for ages and Veemon couldn't Evolve to fight. Thank you for asking." He scoured his bag for his unfinished lunch and gave it to Chibimon, who gratefully devoured it.

Clenching her fists, Miyako turned red with rage. She was about to unleash a rant when Iori stopped her. There was no point in fighting among themselves, he reminded her, and the only thing that mattered was everyone is safe. The girl folded her arms and looked away.

Taichi rubbed his head. "Did you at least destroy the Dark Tower?"

Nobody looked at him. Taichi sighed, understanding the situation. "It's alright. Everyone go home and rest. We'll discuss this tomorrow."

The kids shuffled out of the room. Hikari handed Davis the sandwiches she brought with her. The bread was squashed in her pockets but he accepted them with a smile. "You can thank Miyako for them. She rushed to get us this food after all."

Davis glanced at the retreating figure and nodded begrudgingly. He gave them to Chibimon who tore open the wrappers and inhaled the bread. She walked out with Takeru first, leaving Davis in the room with Taichi.

The older boy placed a hand on his junior's shoulder and faced him. The Davis was looking at the floor. "Daisuke, don't worry too much about today. You haven't fail, you just haven't succeeded yet. We've seen worse in our old days. There is still a way to take back Metal City, don't fret."

The younger boy's eyes slowly rose to meet Taichi's. "I just feel… it's complicated. I feel angry that we couldn't retake Metal City, but I'm glad that everyone else is fine. I also feel scared. I almost died three times today. Do you know how that feels?"

Yagami's face broke into a huge grin and he threw his head back, barking with laughter. He wiped the tears from his eyes, his expression still full of mirth. "You have no idea. Back when we were eight kids around your age, seven to be exact because Hikari didn't join us until later, running around in the Digital World with no idea what to do and where to go… We faced dangers every day, ran from and fought enemies, all while having no idea how to get home."

His laughter died after a while. "I never really thought about emotions and all. The only thing in my mind was to keep everyone safe. A leader always puts his team before himself. I sensed that in you, and that was why I gave you these." Taichi tapped the goggles on Davis' head. "Maybe you should to Yamato and Sora, they could teach you a thing or two about emotions and fear."

Davis rubbed the goggles absentmindedly. He wore them just to show appreciation towards Taichi's generosity. He didn't give the symbolism of leadership much thought. They had grown on him, and he was beginning to feel fond of the headgear.

"Well, it's time to go. Better keep up on soccer practice, Daisuke. Don't let me down." He suddenly realised that he had a Science Project that was abandoned halfway when Miyako and Iori came for help. "Oh shoot, I have to go. See you, Daisuke!" Taichi shot down the hallway like a bullet.


Ken stood in the dark throne room, facing the screens. He still wore his grey garments, unchanged since his departure from Metal City. His cameras showed his foes' hasty retreat as waves of enslaved Guardromon flooded towards their targets. Metal City was still his, and it will remain so for the time being. The Chosen Children would not return to retake the citadel soon, he was sure. Their next encounter will be somewhere else. It was the first victory he had had for some time now and he felt a grim sense of satisfaction, dampened only by his knowledge that it was not just a game anymore.

Nevertheless, he could now redirect his focus towards other more urgent matters, like how there was a dark figure leaning against the wall at the corner. The shadows concealed his appearance, but they did not stop his dichromic eyes from gleaming like polished jewels through the dark.

"Who are you?" the Kaiser demanded without turning his head, opting to see out of the corner of his eyes.

The figure chuckled and its eyes, one red and one purple beamed at him. When it spoke, a male voice emanated from it. The sound was not unlike a man's voice layered with robotic echoes, making it sound slightly demonic. "I am who you think I am, but I am also not who you think I am. I am simply me."

"Stop speaking in riddles. How did you get in here?"

"My, my... Such impatience. Didn't you want to know who I am?"

Ken didn't speak, merely glaring sideways at the intruder. He saw the figure move and haphazardly guessed that it was a shrug.

"I am but a servant of higher powers, invoked by the moment you realised you were more than you seemed. You can call me an advisor, of all sorts."

"What sort of advice?"

Another shrug. "Depends. To keep things short I am here to help you fulfil your role as the Kaiser, in case you haven't already figured that out."

Ken turned to face the figure fully. He pointed a finger at the newcomer, saying sharply, "I think I am doing perfectly fine as the Kaiser, I don't need your help. Who do you work for?"

The dual coloured eyes vanished. Ken spun around as the voice from the darkness laughed from behind him and saw the figure next to his screens. Even the light from the lit screens couldn't reveal who he was.

"You're doing fine? Is that how you call the fiasco that has been your 'kingdom' for the past month? Letting these upstarts," the dark figure waved a hand and images of the chosen children appeared all over the screens, "thwart your quest to reorganise the Digital World? Oh yes, I think you're doing pretty well."

The Kaiser gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at the sarcastic comment. He summoned a panel, ready to initiate an alarm to summon his guards. A warning "uh-uh" stopped him.

"You don't really want to do that. Your guards will think you're going crazy. In fact, your little green friend over there probably already does."

Ken turned his head to spot Wormmon looking at him concernedly from the door. His antennae wriggled, sensing his partner's distress.

"Ken-chan, are you okay? I heard you talking to someone," the caterpillar Digimon asked.

Glancing back towards the figure, Ken said, "Don't you see this person right here? We have an intruder. Get the guards."

Wormmon squinted towards the place where the mystery intruder supposedly stood. He blinked and said, "There's no one there, Ken-chan. What are you talking about?"

Ken's eyebrows furrowed and he insisted, "Look harder. Do you spot an odd-coloured pair of eyes right there? Next to the computer screens?"

His partner shook his head. "No, I don't see anyone. Are you alright, Ken-chan? Are you sure you're not seeing things?"

The figure laughed and replied, "He can't see me, Ken-chan. No one else can, and no one would believe you if you told them. I am inside your head, boy."

Ken pointed at the intruder and closed his eyes. Concentrating hard, he imagined that the figure disappeared completely. "Then you are just a figment of my imagination. Begone!" He opened his eyes and the intruder had indeed vanished. Then, an amused snort and slow clapping came from the other side of the room, sitting cross-legged right next to really worried Wormmon.

"Boom, and I'm gone. From that spot. Congratulations, you made me disappear. Thank you for enjoying the show and hope you have a good night." Wormmon poked the air where Ken's eyes were drilling holes into.

Not taking his eyes of the sarcastic speaker, Ken ordered, "Leave me, Wormmon. I'll be fine. I think I'm just tired. I'll go back home soon to call it a day."

"Are you sure, Ken-chan? You don't look so well."

The figure nodded and jerked his head in the Digimon's direction. He stroke Wormmon on the head but the Digimon didn't seem to notice. "What he said. Are you sure you want to be alone with me?"

After giving the impertinent intruder another glare, Ken faced Wormmon and said gently but sternly, "I will be. Now hop on, get yourself some rest too. I'll see you tomorrow." His partner reluctantly crawled out of the room.

The figure made a Tsk-tsk sound and sighed. "I like Wormmon. He's such a nice little guy, unlike his emotionally unstable partner."

Ken was struggling hard not to tackle the figure for being so annoying. He asked tiredly, "What do you want? If your purpose is to torment me with irritating comments and riddles then you have achieved your goal. Your voice itself is hell to listen to. Please leave me alone."

The figure stood up agilely and raised his hands as if in surrender. He took a few steps towards and some light reflected off his body. Ken understood why he couldn't see what the person looked like. He wore a black full body suit with mildly reflective black armour which covered his torso, legs knee down and forearms. His face was a smooth black mask with two eye holes. He looked like an unarmed mix of a Dark Trooper and a Shinobi.

"Why the fancy black suit? Are you a ninja, here to kill me?" Ken said snidely. He had to maintain the impression that he was in control, whether or not that was true. This was his throne room and he was the one with power, he kept reminding himself. It would not do to show weakness in front of a potential foe, even if said foe claimed to be in his head.

The masked man snorted. "Please, I am not one of those overrated wall crawlers who claim to be professional assassins. I'm not one of those flashy anime characters that disappear in a cloud of smoke either. Killing however, that is easy… I have killed more than I cared to count. But for the record, no. I'm not here to murder you, although it would be as easy as snapping my fingers to cause you brain damage and leave you as a permanent vegetable."

The tone was calm, but the threat hung in the air. Queasiness filled Ken's stomach and he clenched his fists. He repeated, "What do you want?"

Dichromic eyes rolled at the question. "It's always what do I want. What do I want? I want order, I want balance, and I want a bowl of good ramen, something I haven't had in a long time."

The last part came as a surprise to Ken. He raised his eyebrow. The masked man caught the look and said, "You asked me who I work for, I can only say that there are higher forces in a battle of good versus evil. You are an instrument, one that will even the playing field. The Chosen Children need to grow stronger, and so do you. Your job is to make them more powerful and to do that, you need to become a bigger threat than you already are. You need to up the stakes, that's what I am here for."

Ken looked at him carefully. "So you are telling me that my role as the Kaiser is to provide threats to the Digital World so that the Chosen Children can grow stronger and defeat me and subsequently the true evil?"

"You got the gist of it."

Ken mulled the thought over for a while. Then he said, "Makes sense. My intuition tells me that this is true. My memories are not completely recovered yet but I have a feeling that this is what I was meant to do. I may not trust you, but I will consider taking your advice. Maybe."

The masked man shrugged again. "I sense a capital 'M' in that maybe but alright. Your enemies may not know it yet, but you are a good guy, as long as you do the right thing."

"The right thing huh… Then will doing the wrong things for the right reasons make me a bad guy?"

Ken could somehow tell that behind the mask, the man was smiling. "The world is not split into black and white, boy. It depends on how you look at things. Would you tell a lie for the benefit of others? Would you kill to protect? I'll leave you for now. My advice for the time being is to step up your game. Use Perfect level Digimon to fight the Chosen Children. They need stronger enemies to battle with and you need to test your limits as well as the limits of your control toys. Goodbye."

"Wait. You still haven't told me who you are."

A chuckle resonated from the being. He said, "You sure are a persistent one, kind of reminds me of myself. For future reference, you may call me Nauticus, for I am one who gives directions."

The eyes closed and Ken felt the presence vanish from the room, leaving him alone with bright screens displaying the faces of the Chosen Children. He faced the flat screened monitors and folded his arms across his chest, deep in thought.


It was another day for the Chosen Children as they gathered in the computer room while waiting for Davis to turn up. The goggle boy had a meeting with his soccer club and was running late. Takeru and Hikari sat next to each other and chatted happily about the upcoming school festival, discussing what activities they would be able to do. Miyako held her head on her hand as she scrolled through the newsfeed of her mail, looking utterly bored. Being the hardworking one, Iori was doing his homework, occasionally giving a peeved look at the racket the Digimon were cooking up.

"Iori, could you please tell Upamon not to keep hitting me with that thing?" Patamon complained as he rubbed his side. His wings folded in front to shield his face.

"No, you shall pick up a ruler and fight me with honour dagyaa. Do not hold back like a coward yaa!" The beige fur ball held on to his ruler in his mouth and pounced at the orange hamster, attempting to whack his face. "I learned this move from watching Iori, Mee yan dagyaa!"

Patamon squeaked as he flapped his wings and levitated out of Upamon's reach. "Takeru, do something!" Upamon bounced about furiously, trying to land a hit while screeching at Patamon to come down and fight him like a true Mon. Poromon watched confusedly from the sides.

The blond boy laughed and said, "Don't worry, Patamon. Just play with Upamon. He can't hit as hard as Nagisa-sensei, I know that for sure." Hikari giggled at the thought. No one could ever escape the wrath of Disciplinary Teacher Miss Shiranui Nagisa. Students swore that their buttocks never felt the same again after that.

Miyako laid her head on the table and covered her head with her hands. Growing up with three siblings meant that she had learned to tolerate the near-hazardous noise levels. Heck, she had even learnt to sleep through it. That ability had gotten her late for class once or twice because she remained asleep even though her alarm was ringing and she had to adjust her biological clock. Unfortunately, this didn't mean she wasn't having a hard time shutting out the noise the Digimon (specifically Patamon and Upamon) were making while concentrating on finding a cure for her boredom.

Tailmon rested on the metal cupboard near the wall, curled up in a comfortable position. The view was great up there and she could see everything that was happening in the room. Great view or not, she usually chose to take a nap there where she wasn't bothered by anyone else. She flicked open an eye to observe her friends and shut it moments later.

Finally, Iori couldn't take it anymore for he stood up and walked over to Upamon. He took the ruler from his partner and addressed him sternly. "Upamon, this is not a toy. You shouldn't use it to hit others like Kendo. We need to wear protective equipment, and it's pronounced Mien, not Mee Yan."

Takeru grinned. "Iori-kun seems to be really into Kendo."

Not hearing him, Iori continued, "Upamon, I know you're excited but please don't make too much noise. We don't want to attract attention to ourselves."

The flaps on Upamon's ears drooped and his expression fell. "Sorry, Iori dagyaa. I won't misbehave again gyaa," he apologized, "I just want to play Kendo like you do."

Iori smiled gently and assured his partner that he would teach Upamon a bit of Kendo later. "Just let me finish my homework first, then we can learn Kendo at home."

Hikari smiled as well. "Although different, Digimon are very much like their human partners. Isn't that right, Tailmon?" She elicited a purr from the feline Digimon.

Patamon flew over into Takeru's chest. He looked up at the boy and said, "I'm just like Takeru. We're both easy going and happy." Takeru laughed in agreement and scratched the Digimon behind his ears, making him wriggle delightfully.

"I guess Poromon is like Miyako in some way, like how easily flustered they both are," Takeru commented. The pink Digimon squawked in disagreement and his feathers bristled.

"What do you mean by easily flustered? I am most certainly not easily flustered. Not at all. Why are you all laughing?"

Miyako lifted her head enough to give the others the Evil Eye. Then she realised that they were one person – or Mon—down. "Where's Chibimon?"

The room went silent and burst into chaos as they scrambled to find the missing blue Digimon. Chibimon had a bad habit of sneaking off to search for food sometimes and the last thing they needed was a hungry rabbit-dragon wandering around the school. Tailmon's keen ears picked up something and she ordered everyone to be quiet.

"I think I hear singing."

She traced the sound to a quiet corner at the other side of the room. Situated at a corner was a small cupboard with its doors slightly open. She swung them open and there sat Chibimon with headphones connected to an mp3 player, singing softly and slightly out of tune. He looked up when he saw everyone looking at him.

"Is it time to go?" he yelled in his high pitched voice.

"No, but what are you doing?" Iori asked.

"What? I can't hear you!"

"I said, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! IS DAISUKE HERE YET?"

Rolling her eyes, Tailmon stepped forward and pressed the stop button. Taichi had one of those machines and Hikari had taught her to go and turn it off when Taichi was being annoying at home. She pulled the headset off his head and tapped his forehead with a claw. "Can you hear us now?" She practically screamed at him.

Chibimon rubbed his ears and shook his head to clear his mind. "Loud and clear, Tailmon. Is it time to go?"

"No, Daisuke is not here yet. Where did you get these?" Tailmon held up the headset.

"Oh, that belongs to Daisuke. It's quite simple to use, really. Just put in the CD and—"

Takeru interrupted him quickly and said, "We know how to use it, thanks. By the way, was that Teenage Wolves that you were singing?" He knew his brother's songs well enough to tell which track from Yamato's albums Chibimon was singing.

Chibimon nodded eagerly. "Yep, Daisuke is a fan and so is Jun."

Takeru chuckled. "I know, we've met."

Patamon added, "If you want, we can take you to visit Yamato's place next time. I'm sure Daisuke will enjoy it there." Chibimon cheered. Takeru raised an eyebrow at his partner for making such a rash promise, one that he nor Yamato was consulted about. They were going to have a talk later.

Miyako was starring open-mouthed at Chibimon and her eyes dropped to what he was holding. "What… are you… Are you really?"

Iori caught on to what she was talking about and blinked in surprise. "I don't believe it."

Takeru's attention was caught next and his eye twitched. "You…"

Hikari was just as surprised. She asked the question on everyone's mind. "Are you reading an encyclopaedia?"

Chibimon looked down at the book he was reading beforehand and confirmed their suspicions. "Yep, I am. India seems like a really nice place to visit." Sure enough, before him was a fifth edition Encyclopaedia with many pictures. The page Chibimon was on had a photo of the Taj Mahal, the Indian Streets and sacks of curry spices.

Everyone else was at a loss for words. Hikari managed to ask in a strangled voice, "Can you read? Do you actually understand the printed letters?"

"Nope, not really. I mostly look at the pictures. I learned a bit of katagana from Daisuke, and I can guess what several words mean. I see him with headphones on while reading his books all the time. By the way, what does 'curry' mean?"

Hikari pulled Takeru aside and left Miyako and Iori to explain some things to Chibimon. "Hey, Takeru. Do you think that Daisuke-kun is acting weird?" she asked in a quiet tone.

Confused, he replied, "How so? He seems quite swell to me. He even taught Chibimon to read. You were really right when you said that Digimon take after their partners. Maybe I should get started on Patamon's education as well."

Hikari ignored the last part and said, "That's the thing. I know Daisuke-kun well enough to say that he wouldn't be reading books, at least not the usual type you and I read. He likes manga and comics, he likes watching TV and playing games. Soccer is his favourite sport and he practically lives and breathes it." She glanced at Chibimon for a second and continued, "But he seems to be every academically focused, spends less time on soccer and now he's reading? Something is very off here."

Takeru just shrugged. "Hey, people change all the time. Maybe his interests changed. All I can say is that he is doing well and that should be good, eh?"

Hikari nodded slowly, saying, "I guess… but this isn't right. He isn't the person I remember him to be…"

"Who isn't who you remember him to be?"

Hikari and Takeru jumped when they heard Davis' voice behind them. The boy had a curious expression and was carrying a sling bag. His friends hurriedly assured him that it was nothing. If eyebrows could rise even further, Davis' would have hit the ceiling. Deciding to let the matter drop, he asked, "Where's Chibimon?"

The gang parted a path and Davis was left staring at Chibimon with a headset and an open encyclopaedia. After a moment, Davis said, "You took my stuff without asking me."

Touching the tips of his stubby hands together, Chibimon nodded apologetically. "Sorry, Daisuke. I should have asked."

"Yep, you should have."

Trying to break the tension, Hikari asked, "How was your meeting? What was it about?"

Taking his eyes off Chibimon, Davis answered, "Big news. We're having a practice game this Sunday. Our opponent is the Tokyo Youth Soccer Tournament Champion, Tamachi Boys F.C."

"Wait, isn't that the team of the genius kid, Ichijouji Ken?" Miyako asked, suddenly alert. She quickly sat down at the computer she was using previously and did a quick internet search on Ken's profile.

Davis nodded, think darkly about how he was going to go up against the Digimon Kaiser's alter ego and maybe even lose badly, from what he had heard about him. The gang gathered around Miyako as she read the information out loud.

"Ichijouji Ken-kun of the Tamachi Boys F.C. scored a total of 45 goals in the last tournament, strongly securing his team's victory. No kidding, calling this guy a genius is no exaggeration."

Davis bit the inside of his cheek. "45 goals is really absurd. Even international players can't score that many goals. I don't see how we can beat them."

Hikari put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't fret, Daisuke-kun. Just try your best."

Davis agreed with her silently. It wasn't about winning anymore, it was more about not getting thrashed completely. The thought of losing to the Digimon Kaiser really soured his mood. Miyako's voice calling his name in a cute manner jerked him from his misery.

"Dai-chan?" He felt soft hands with long, gentle fingers grab his hand and held on to it.

"Even though you might get brutally defeated this Sunday, could you please be a sweet, proud loser and get me Ken's autograph?" She asked him cheerfully, perfect teeth gleaming at him. He gave her a deadpan look.

"I thought you said earlier that you weren't into younger guys?" Iori asked innocently. The corner of Davis' mouth curled upwards.

The lavender haired girl turned back to glare at the small boy. "What's one year? My own mom is three years older than my dad anyway."

Are her hormones raging that bad to be thinking about marrying at this age, Davis thought silently, if she is like that at this age then I can't imagine how many kids she will have by the time she is 30. Out loud he said, "Why don't you get it yourself?"

He added in his head, you probably won't want it anymore after you find out who he really is.

Miyako blinked. "Good point. But, just in case I forget," she clenched his hand harder, "could you please help me?"

Davis rolled his eyes and agreed to it. "Alright, now can you please put my hand down?" The girl did so, embarrassed.

Hikari smiled and said, "Then we'll all go and give you support." The others gave grunts of assent. They were interrupted by Upamon bursting into song. The Digimon had Davis' headphones on and was trying to follow the melody of the Teenage Wolves' latest hit, making up words as he went along and ending with his usual dagyaa.

As everyone else sighed, Davis' face-palmed. He thought about the Ken's purple tumbler back at home, washed clean and dried, placed on the desk in his room. It turns out Ken would be getting his bottle back soon after all.


A/N: Sorry it took this long, but I have a part time job, music projects and a job as a beta reader to juggle in addition to my fics. Did I mention that I'm qualified to be a beta-reader now? So proud of myself.

There's a lot that went on in this chapter. Davis almost got killed several times, he knows who the Kaiser is, Ken has a new invisible 'friend' and the much awaited soccer tournament is coming up. Not being a fan of football, I hope I can write that well enough.

I have some sad news for MOTOS readers. I am putting the story on hold for the time being and diverting all attention towards this fic, which I intend to complete first. MOTOS as an AU requires a lot of set up and planning and judging by the pace it's going as compared to LFAW, it might yet double in chapter count. Having two parallel longfics is no easy job, so to those who want to attempt such a feat in the future, consider yourself warned. That being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next update.