Chapter 12: Davis VS Ken! Heart VS Leaf! Rivals to the End?

~Digimon/Ninja!~

Matt and TK got quite a surprise when they got back to their village.

They just opened the door to their house when they found their father with a woman. Not a stranger. A very familiar woman.

"…Mom?" Matt gasped. TK only made a squeak.

The mother who left TK was in the living room with their father. She looked curvier now, her figure was fuller and her eyes were bloodshot red.

"Boys, I can explain everything…" She said, sounding breathless.

"Leave them of out of this, Nancy." Hiroaki said.

"I have to tell them."

"That they have a baby sister?"

"I left because you got me pregnant!" Nancy lashed out at him. "Don't you know how humiliating it would be if I stayed here, with my ex-husband's child? This damn village would bully us!"

"Then go to Corazon if you're so empowered!"

"Corazon doesn't need another reason to hate Konoha! I'm not letting that happen to my sons! And how can you be stupid to say that? Rina would be abused for being a leaf civilian!"

Ex-husband and ex-wife argued back and forth, allowing everything they said to sink into their stunned sons.

"I don't believe it…" Matt gasped.

"We have a sister…" TK said, just as shocked.

"Oh gods…" Sora hugged her boyfriend after he told her and their friends about what happened.

"Wow." Shikamaru dryly commented.

"You have a little sister?" Joe repeated what the brothers told him.

"Yeah." Matt answered.

"A full-blooded sister, not half?" Lee questioned.

"Yes."

"And she's missing?" Mimi asked.

"Yes!"

"Technically, mom said she was taken by a woman so that means she was kidnapped." TK pointed out.

"I better go and check on my sister." Tai said, walking to his apartment which was just nearby. He unlocked the door and uncaringly stepped in cold darkness. "Hey Kari, I'm home!" He was replied with silence. He responded with a shrug. "She's probably still pouting."

"I can't sense her chakra trail." Sakura said grimly.

"She doesn't have much of one." Izzy reminded.

She glared at him, making him cower. "I know the difference between a weak trail and no trail at all. Kari is not here."

Akamaru sniffed inside and whined. Tai didn't like it.

"Kari?" No answer. He walked down the hall, calling her name, hoping for some form of answer. "Kari?" Once again, no answer and he started to panic. "Kari!"

He ran to her room, only to find it empty. The window was closed and her bed was perfectly made like she never slept in it. No way Kari could sneak out on her own. No way could she break out of a chakra-guarded cell.

"KARI!"

"But Baa-chan! Its has to be the Atatsuki!"

Tsunade growled and drank her sake in front of the obonxious kids in front of her desk. "Do you have any physical evidence to support your theory so I could arrest Danzo's allies?"

"Uh, no." Naruto admitted shamelessly.

"Danzo was in on it! We heard him say he had a deal with Kinu right before the mummy burned his head off!" Tai exclaimed.

"The elders must have known! They babied Kinu and they supported Danzo!" Yolei retorted.

Tsunade sighed heavily. "As much I agree with you, I cannot prosecute the elders without some form of solid evidence. The elders are too high-powered, even for me."

"But what about Kari? We need to investigate her kidnapping!" Tai persisted.

"Kari and Kinu never liked each other. Kinu seems to hate her right from the moment they met…" Cody recalled.

"And Kinu is basically the head of Atatsuki, so she could've arranged the kidnapping." Tenten added, laying a hand on her little brother's shoulder.

"Aside from Sasuke, Kinu, Danzo and the elders, who would be the closest to the Atatsuki?" Joe asked.

The Konoha gang and DD thought long and hard.

Then Tai thought of someone. Actually, he thought of two someones. "Do you think Davis will mind if we take Ken off his hands?"

They got the front gates of Corazon in less of a day. They were greeted with staring glares with everburning fires of hate from the heart villagers.

"What a warm welcome." Matt noted sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah. We get the picture, you hate us."

They headed to the Shinkage's office and slammed the scroll containing Tsunade's permission on Kaito's desk. With no other choice, Kaito called for Ken. Sasuke's cousin came in, accompanied by two ninjas holding his arms in iron grips.

"The Atatsuki took my sister. You're practically the clone of Sasuke so you have to know something." Tai told him, straight in the eye.

Ken slowly nodded, understanding Tai's determination. "Yes, I know something. I know more. I know who took your sister…And I know where to go…But I don't know why she was taken in the first place." He ruined his serious setence with a blunt end.

"That's alright!" Naruto grabbed Ken and headed for the door. "Lead the way!"

But the door was flung open before they could exit out of it.

"Hang on a minute!" A protest stopped their tracks. The Corazon crew had showed up and they weren't happy.

"You can't just take him! He's a missing-nin! He can't leave the village for at least 5 years of house arrest and 1 year of parole!" Yoshi exclaimed. Corazon was firmer with their missing-nin, adding more punishment and years to his sentence.

"We don't have time to wait for six years!" Ino protested.

Davis looked to the Shinkage, hurt by the 'betrayal'. "You're just letting him go, Hamada-sama?"

"He's telling the truth." Kaito answered calmly.

"That can be dealt with." Davis retorted with a growl baring sharp teeth.

"Davis," Kaito said sternly as Tsunade did with Naruto. "The Takamatsu clan's mind-reading techniques are no different than Yamanaka. Miyuki's father had just confirm Ken's thoughts and those thoughts proved his innocence."

"What innocence? He lost that when he betrayed us! I got the scar to prove it!" Davis lashed out and begun to lose his temper. He gained his dragons ears, tail, hands and eyes. His markings pulsed on his face as he got angry. "Why is that those who done wrong always get away scot-free!"

"What do you mean?" Mimi innocently asked.

Davis snapped his furious face to his former village-friends. "Naruto and I put all of our efforts to get accepted by Konoha and we get shunned. Sasuke and Ken betrayed everyone and they're the ones praised as heroes! You leafy guys are so twisted!"

Ken stepped forwards, hands up and out in surrender. "Davis, your anger is blinding you."

"Just like yours towards your brother did?"

"Don't bring that or my brother in this, please. This isn't about me, this is about an innocent life in danger!"

"That innocent life almost killed our princess!"

"Our princess would want us to save her!"

"Don't drag her into this! This is between you and me!"

"Then we'll settle this and I'll show how strong I got."

"Ha! As if! I know all the times you mess up, Mr Perfect. Just like the time with the fountain where you-"

"Don't you bring THAT up! Besides, you done just as worse, like when on our second mission you-"

"DON'T SAY IT!"

Two boys bickered back and forth over memories of the past, deeds in the present and accusations of the future. The Konoha gang and DD watched, bemused.

"They're so much like Naruto and Sasuke." Sakura said.

"I'm worried when they start fighting physically." Choji said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, remembering how much he and Naruto fought as children. Then at the corner of his eye, he noticed Princess Kokoro coming forward and stood near the middle of the boys, watching them argue with a stern look and hands on her cocking hips. Then she begun moving her hands gracefully.

"I hope she's not doing another Storm Release." Mimi whimpered, touching her hair. "My hair kept sticking up all night."

Davis and Ken must've heard her because they froze in fear but Kokoro instead swiftly locked some sort of a part of handcuffs on their arms, chaining them together.

"K-Kokoro!" Davis stuttered in shock, eyes staring at the handcuff locked on his left arm that was connected to Ken's right arm.

"Princess!" The Corazon crew shrieked.

"You all are acting like fools!" She told everyone bravely.

"Wait, me too?" Davis pointed to himself, pulling Ken forward and they crashed down together. "Gett off me!" He shoved him off, but only threw both of them around instead, rolling over to a nice pair of tanned, strong, long, smooth legs.

Davis and Ken directed their eyes up to Kokoro. The princess had her hands on her cocked hips, chin up and face not changed from brave and stern.

"The only way you're getting out of that is if I do the complicated chakara passcode and I will not do that unless you work together with your past and put this fight to rest." She told them.

"I rather be in a pit full of snakes than work with these jerks!" Davis yelled angrily, immediately shooting up but brought Ken with him and once again, they crashed down.

"Ow." Ken moaned.

Then Kokoro bent down and took Davis's face in her hands. Their eyes met and shared that oh so familiar spark. "I want to come and find Kari. I want this feud to end." She was begging on her knees for him! "But selfishly…I want the boy I love back." She caressed his face tenderly, stroking his soft skin one last time before letting go, leaving him stunned. She stood up and turned towards her father. "Father, I wish for permission to accompany Ken and the leaf ninjas on their mission."

Kaito wanted to refuse but he was unable to say 'no' to his precious little girl.

"Hold it!" Davis shouted just before Kokoro finished her path to the leaf ninjas. He stood up, dragging Ken with him. "I'll go with you!" Davis failed to realie that he had to come along since he was attached to the only person who knew of the Atatsuki.

"You have to, Davis, since you're stuck on me." Ken deadpanned.

"Shut up, Ken!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Annalise leapt forward, arm out. "If Davis is going to be alone with them, I'm going too."

Tai couldn't help but grin with delight. "So you agree with your Princess?"

"No I don't. I want beat you up if you try anything on him!" The sporty beauty shook her fist at him, bringing down his happy grin.

Anya rolled her eyes, muttering 'bloody hell,' but she approached ahead and placed her hands on the shoulders of Annalise and Davis, glaring at Ken. Lori appeared right beside Davis, eyeing the lock keeping him attached to Ken.

"If my best friend is going, than so am I." Miyuki announced.

"What a waste of time." Kamenosuke commented but he stepped forward after Miyuki.

"Count me in." Keenan volunteered.

"And me." Kristy added.

"Me too." Relena announced.

Jun sighed. "Come on, girls." She rolled her shoulders and walked forward, followed by Wing, Pua, Chou, Sanura and Mana.

Senri and Shuu took a glance to each other and then ran over.

Marcus crossed his arms, glaring at his rival village but walked forward, along with Yoshi and Thomas.

"The sooner this is over with, the better." Anya commented dryly, with arms around Davis, her picky hands poking at the lock trapping him with Ken, silently trying to figure out a way to free him.

"Don't worry, Daisuke-kun. I'll free you." Lori offered. She leapt across him, unloading an arrow with a tanto attached, set it on her bow and pulled it back, her eyes targeted on the chara lock on the chain.

Her friends saw the spark of flames lighting up on the arrow and froze white.

Davis yelped and started yelling. "Lori, no, don't-!"

But Lori already let her flaming arrow go, hoping it would strike the lock and free her dear 'Daisuke-kun'.

But…

It backfired. Literally.

By setting her beloved friend and hated enemy on fire. The trapped boys screamed. Davis dropped and rolled around to get the flames off him, dragging Ken with him.

Kokoro just shook her head, frowning.

A day barely passed and already the two groups were at each other's throats.

"For goodness sake!" Kokoro exclaimed, frustrated with the lack of communication and contact between both teams. "How we can find Kari if we won't work together?"

Lips were pressed firmly in striaght lines in both groups. "Um…"

Konoha was afraid of they say anything, Corazon would flip its lid. Corazon was afraid that they'll lash out at the first word Konoha would say.

But two enemies were communicating.

Just not the way Kokoro wanted.

"You wanna piece of me?!"

"Trust me, I truly do!"

Kokoro groaned over the sound of Davis and Ken fighting in the background. If no one was going to be make any effort in finding Kari, she would have to do it herself.

"Ken," She turned to her left at the fight. The wrestling boys stopped, stuck in an unusual position with with Davis standing on one leg with Ken on his back, Ken's arms locked around his neck, Davis's other leg tangled with Ken's legs and Davis's hands pulling on Ken's hair.

Then Davis put his other leg down, back straight, arms open and out, promoting Ken to be thrown off.

"Hey Ko!"

Kokoro sighed. As much she wanted him, she can't right now. "Davis, please…"

Ken tugged hard on the chain, bringing Davis down and shot up, looking at his former teammate.

"Yes, princess? Gah!"

Davis pulled him down, quickly igniting another wrestling match.

"She needs to talk to me!"

"I need to talk to her first!"

"I need Ken to show us where the Atatsuki is stationed! Now stop fighting or I'm repeating my episode of the meeting."

At once, the boys stopped. Looking at Kokoro's upset and stern frown, Davis decided to turn away and let his love and former friend talk. Once Kokoro got the directions from Ken, she thanked him, sneaked a quick glance at Davis and walked off to take the lead.

Almost immediately, Naruto popped up right in front of Davis, grinning gleefully. Davis only glared at him and turned away from him…only for Naruto to show up in his view again and started a game of evading. Ken grunted as Davis kept pulling and tugging him during his little game.

Then Sasuke noticed a black spot embedded on the back of Ken's neck, shown just above his tight shirt's high collar.

"What is that on your neck?" Sasuke asked once he stood next to his cousin.

Ken looked as far as he can to his neck. He said nothing. At least, for a few minutes. He sighed first, shutting his eyes and spoke the truth. "That's the reason why I betray the only family I had left."

"How?"

He went silent again and then revealed. "Before Davis came to Corazon, all I thought about was ways to avenge my clan, even though everyone was afraid it would me to the wrong path. But when I made friends, I thought less and less of revenge. Davis taught me I don't need to follow someone else's path. I can make my own. I was planning to move on from the past and embrace a bright future. Then, one day, for some reason my desire for revenge came back and I betrayed my village and hurt my best friend in one day."

His 'best friend' didn't hear a word of his confession. He was too busying trying to ignore Naruto.

"I have the same mark." Sasuke turned and pulled down his collar, showing the black spot on on back of neck, exactly the same as Ken, earning the boy's surprise. "And I had the same story as you."

Yolei overheard them while drooling over Ken and came forward with a question. "If you were guarding it to keep the emperor from rising for a year, why didn't you just kill him a year ago?"

"Because the emperor must never be brought back to life. I am either to guard him to my death when he's dead or stab him in the heart when he has risen."

"What's so bad about him anyway?"

"He was an emperor of our lands thousands of years ago. A curse was placed upon him and can only be killed by getting stabbed through the heart my clan's dagger." He whipped out his inscent-decorated dagger quick and swift right in front of her face, making her squeak. "His curse makes him undead but invincible. He has the power over Fire, Metal, Earth, Wood and Water yet he has to live in such great agonizing pain. Once my dagger pierces through his heart, he will die and stay dead." He sounded very dramatic about it, even passionate.

And then he walked, dragged actually when an irritated Davis decided to try to walk away from Naruto, leaving Yolei bemused and behind.

"Ok…" Yolei trailed off.

The two groups travelled side by side in silence. Kokoro walked in front, dead set on finding Kari, veins bursting with the power of her strong will. Davis follwed her from right behind, Ken trailing beside him. Every once in a while, Ken would sneak a side-glance to his friend, who stared directly at Kokoro's lean back.

"Davis…" Ken said softly. Even Davis blankly ignored him, he carried on. "Davis, I know you're angry. You're angry at me for breaking our friendship and scarring you, you're angry at the leaf village for hurting you. You taught me to make my own path, to be happy, to take the one positive chance out of 99 chances of failure. I made terrible mistakes when I'm blinded by anger, so please don't the same as I any longer."

"I'll listen to him if I were you." Naruto inputted.

"You, shut up." Davis snarled.

"Listen to them, Davis!" Kokoro scolded without even turning around to shoot a stern look.

Davis blushed and huffed.

Ken narrowed his eyes determinedly. "I will atone to my sins and mend the bonds I have broken."

"Whatever." Davis mumbled.

Suddenly, Ken and Kokoro halted at the same time.

"We're here." Ken announced grimly.