Disclaimer: Funnily enough, Digimon still doesn't belong to me.

Warnings: Sexual undertones.

Revised on: 06/12/2017

Captive

Chapter Eleven

At some point during the afternoon, it had occurred to the Kaiser that he was losing his footing. Perhaps it had been when Miyako had started to speak to him like he was somebody worth talking to. Or perhaps it had been around the time that she'd stood up after dunking her head under the water, long hair plastered along her back and her shirt clinging wetly to her body. Whichever it was, he could at least admit that he was enjoying her company far more than he should've been.

The days he had waited for her to recover from her illness had been restless, not providing the satisfaction he was used to receiving from the Digital World. At the time, he had blamed it on boredom, and yet...

Everything became vibrant when he saw her again. The thought of not being near her - not kissing her or taunting her or seeing her smile - made him feel a sense of deep, irrational foreboding. And as much as this frustrated him, he had no idea what to do about it. Truth be told, he didn't want it to stop.

That was perhaps the most disconcerting thing of all.

How long would it be before she realized that she actually did have something she could use against him?

He knew that he couldn't trust this sudden civility of hers, because all she cared about was the safety of her little pet. He also knew that she would take any opportunity at all to stop seeing him.

His stomach twisted painfully at the thought, and it stubbornly refused to untwist.

Gathering the items of clothing he had just created, he walked back to his bedroom, knocking on the door. Nobody answered, which meant that Miyako was probably still in the shower. He opened the door carefully and, seeing that the room itself was indeed empty, walked in, placing the clothing on the bed. However, just as he turned to leave, the bathroom door opened, revealing Miyako - hair dripping and skin damp - clad in nothing but a towel.

Her mouth fell slack when she caught sight of him in turn, and it took him a moment to realize that his own mouth was hanging open as well. His brain was telling him just how inappropriate it was to keep staring at her, but he just couldn't tear his eyes away. Not from the smooth, rounded flesh where the very top of her breasts were exposed, and certainly not from the little droplets of water that slid slow and tantalizing over every other part of her skin.

"Um..." she said, her eyes very wide.

It was as if a switch suddenly went on in his brain. "I..." It was difficult to speak because his mouth had gone dry. "I was just bringing you the clothes." But, even having said that, he still couldn't bring himself to look away.

Miyako was naked underneath that towel, he realized, and his face heated. But the embarrassment was easily overpowered by whatever it was that compelled him to continue staring at her.

She blinked hard, her face flushing. Then, before he had the chance to say anything more, she retreated back into the bathroom and shut the door.

With the sound of the door closing, the Kaiser let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. He left his bedroom but didn't walk far, leaning heavily against the cool dark stone of the corridor wall. This was ridiculous, he thought, as he felt his heart pulsing in his ears. Was this what is was to like somebody? Surely not. He couldn't even believe that he was giving Miyako's foolish musings a second thought.

He thought then of the archives he'd watched during her absence - of the way she had laughed and smiled so easily with the other Chosen Children - and a new emotion rose to the surface.

Jealousy, however, was an emotion he was intimately familiar with.

"I...guess I just think you'd be really clingy and jealous. You're not exactly good boyfriend material."

His hands clenched into fists, and he let out a heavy breath. How could he allow mere words to affect him so much? He was above it; he was beyond it. He was...he was...

He was starting to go beyond the point of caring. If that's what she thought, then so be it. In spite of everything, he still had an advantage, and she would soon be reminded of it. Perhaps it was obvious, even to a mere insect, that he had some kind of attachment to her, whether he "liked" her or not. And Miyako was, if nothing else, smarter than the average insect.

His hands relaxed, fists unfurling, and he allowed his head to lull back against the wall.

He wanted to see Miyako-san every day, but he still wanted very much to win the game.

He was confident that the latter desire would be fulfilled within a relatively short period of time. It was the former that required some real planning. With that acknowledged, a smirk began to creep across his face; it seemed as if his recently-captured Agumon might be useful in a way he hadn't originally considered.

He knocked on the door of his bedroom tentatively, and waited to hear if there was any affirmation from Miyako that it was alright for him to enter. Thankfully, it only took her a few seconds to say, "You can come in now."

Opening the door slowly, he found that she was fully clothed, and refused to believe that the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach was disappointment. He bowed slightly and said, "I'm sorry about earlier."

She bit her lip, then replied, "It's okay. I know that you didn't do it on purpose." Her cheeks flushed red and she crossed her arms. "I mean, you shouldn't have stared. But...I guess it must be weird to see a girl like that for the first time."

He wasn't quite sure why he said what he did next, but it came before he could really consider whether it was appropriate or not. "It's true that it was the first time I've seen something like that, but that wasn't the reason why I couldn't look away." It was too late to backtrack, so he continued. "You..." He swallowed, but soon felt a calm determination overtaking him, burying any embarrassment he might have felt. "You're beautiful."

She stared at him for a moment, apparently dumbstruck, then let out a harsh, forced laugh. "For you to say something like that, I really must be the first." She let out another laugh, this one even more strained. "I guess I should get going now. So...goodbye?"

He walked closer to her, and she backed away until her knees knocked against the side of his bed. She looked down at them sharply, then back at him, swallowing visibly. "W-what?"

It was annoying, seeing the abrupt shift in her attitude between now and earlier that afternoon. But it just made him all the more sure of what he was about to do. "You're beautiful," he said again. He remembered the admiring glances that she sometimes threw the other girl - the one named Yagami Hikari - and the annoyance grew. "In fact, you're the prettiest girl I've ever met."

She swallowed again. "That's flattering and all, but I seriously doubt you've met that many girls."

His eyes narrowed behind his dark glasses. "Don't patronize me." He leaned in even closer. "I know when a girl is pretty or not, Miyako-san."

"O...kay. Thank you for the compliment. Can I, uh..." she licked her lips. "Can I go now?"

He didn't respond immediately; her discomfort was oddly compelling. And yet, it was also infuriating. What was she afraid of, exactly? Why couldn't she just take a compliment in the spirit with which it was given? His mouth twitched downwards. He recalled some of the lingering looks that Miyako gave the Yagami girl, and decided to say, "You're prettier than Yagami, you know."

"...Huh?"

"Yagami Hikari: you're prettier than she is."

He probably shouldn't have been surprised by the way her face twisted in anger, but he was. "I'm not."

"You are."

"I said that I'm not."

"And what you said is wrong."

She glared at him. "Believe it or not, insulting somebody's friends is not a good way of giving them a compliment."

"I never insulted her. Does it really make you that uncomfortable, being told that you're better than those insects?" He leaned in closer still, feeling a thrill shiver up his spine. "And, if I recall, you even admitted that she wasn't your friend. What was it you said again? 'If it wasn't for this place, I doubt that she would want to spend time with me.'"

"I..." Her hands had curled into fists. "Maybe she doesn't see me as a friend, but that doesn't change the fact that she's pretty, and kind, and..and wonderful. So don't you dare talk about her that way!"

Softly, dangerously, he said, "Have you forgotten who you're talking to?"

She didn't reply.

"I can and will talk about that insect - and all of your other pathetic 'friends' - in any way that I wish."

She sighed, and the anger seemed to drain out of her body. "...I guess I should thank you."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"I...actually had forgotten." She smiled weakly. "For a little while...I'd forgotten what type of person you are." Bowing her head forward in what appeared to be supplication, she said, "I'm sorry for speaking out of turn. Can I please go home now?"

Finally, he took several steps back, and couldn't quite bring himself to feel triumphant. She was prettier than Yagami, and it was disgraceful that she couldn't seem to admit it. Is this your friendship? He wanted to ask. Allowing yourself to be belittled by the opinions of your inferiors? So much so that you can't even recognize the fact that they are your inferiors?

But he didn't press the subject further, since it was obvious that Miyako wasn't willing to hear reason just yet. In the meantime... "I want to show you something before you leave, so come with me."

She followed without any further protest.

Well, this was it. Miyako had officially gone too far, and all because the Kaiser had given her a compliment.

Cntext was everything, it turned out. Months before, she would've gone weak at the knees if Ichijouji Ken had said she was the prettiest girl he'd ever met. But then, she hadn't known who he really was back then. The Kaiser was handsome - easily the most handsome boy that she'd ever met - but it didn't make his behavior any less unsettling. Shojo manga didn't really capture just how creepy boys could be. Even when they were cute.

Then again, she thought back to a few minutes prior, when she'd retreated into the bathroom after her embarrassing little run-in with the Kaiser. She thought of the way her heart had been beating, of how difficult it had been to get herself to move away from her position slumped against the door, of how her hands had been shaking when she'd finally managed to start getting dressed.

But none of that had been from fear.

She didn't have time to contemplate that matter much longer, because the Kaiser said, "We're here. You can stop walking now."

She blinked blearily as she came out of her thoughts; she had been so absorbed that she hadn't even noticed where he was taking her. They were in a cellblock - but it was different from the one where she had once been kept. There was only one cell, and it was far larger than any of the ones she'd seen so far. It took her a moment or two to notice the cell's occupant, because he was so much smaller than the cell itself. It was just lucky, she guessed, that his orange coloring made him stand out against the otherwise grey-black background.

"You recognize it, yes?"

"Taichi-sempai's Agumon..." she breathed.

"Correct," he said.

"This..." she felt the rage from earlier coming back with a vengeance, but managed to keep all but the barest quiver from entering her tone. "This is why you were so happy the other day, isn't it?" Her fingers twitched involuntary. "Are you going to make me watch as you kill him, or something?"

"You have my intentions quite mistaken, Miyako-san." He walked closer to the bars of the cell, gesturing to Agumon's arm. A band of black was visible there, and Miyako realized with horror that it was an Evil Ring. "Why would I waste such a valuable slave?"

Unsure of how else to respond, she found herself laughing in disbelief. "So you're gonna make the others fight him, aren't you? And you wanted to show me so you could, what? Rub in how utterly powerless I am?" This time, she would not allow herself to cry.

"You're mistaken again, I'm afraid." His voice lacked the smug quality it often acquired when he knew he had the upper hand.

"So what is it, then? Did you just wanna make me feel like a useless piece of crap for the sheer fun of it?"

There was a long, pregnant pause, and then, "I want to make a deal."

Miyako stared at his back. "...A deal."

"Yes," he said. "You've already noticed that I'm...more attached to you than I probably should be. I've decided that there's no point denying it anymore."

She couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"As such, simply having one advantage is not enough to guarantee your further cooperation."

"So..."

"So I'm offering you a deal. If you agree to continue meeting with me, I won't carry out my plans to have your allies fight against the Agumon."

"You do like me, then."

"Maybe. All I for sure know is that I want to keep seeing you."

She felt vaguely nauseas. "This is the worst confession ever."

"Is that so."

"Yeah, it is." Her fingers twitched again. "And by 'cooperation', you mean...?"

"Meeting me when I ask you to. Perhaps also keeping the excuses to a minimum."

"So you're basically asking me to date you?"

"No, but you can think of it that way if you want to."

Not for the first time, she found that she hated being right. "You do realize that I'm never going to speak to you again once all of this is over, right?"

Another pause. "You want to go home, don't you? I'll lead you back to the main control room."

She looked at Agumon for a while, feeling a crushing, inescapable sense of helplessness. She then thought of how much pain it would cause both him and the others if they ended up fighting. It was true that she wasn't brave like Daisuke was, but she wasn't the kind of person who would allow her loved ones to suffer just so that she could be spared the humiliation of being at the mercy of their enemy.

At length, she finally said, "When would you like to see me tomorrow?"