Twenty-Nine Degrees
Part VII: Ocean Blue
By Pata
About two hours outside of Odaiba there is a visitor beach, mainly used for marine biology studies due to its rich wildlife. A little way off from this beach there is a port, where other countries ship supplies to Japan. Miyako's parents, who own a ninety-nine cent store, go to the dock often to restock.
This particular time, Ken had wormed his way into coming along. Miyako was happy enough to except; she found Ken to be quite attractive in an elusive way. Her parents were less excepting of the strange boy, but Ken was a master of deception. He promised that he and Miyako would simply walk along the beach and the docks while her parents picked up their supplies. It seemed fair enough.
Ken beguiled and charmed Miyako into giving him her absolute trust during the two hour car ride by being uncharacteristically kind, generous, and flirtatious. Miyako was such as sucker for a good-looking guy that it hadn't taken much to get her head over heels in love with him.
The beach was relatively normal, not particularly romantic or beautiful in any way. The currents in the water were strong and sometimes riptides would appear; swimming was forbidden. Out off the edge of the dock, the water was nearly twenty-nine feet deep -- a fact that Ken found not only amusing but also rather ironic: Miyako was another victim of the Twenty-Nine Degree Murders.
The temperature of the water was also extremely cold and cold not sustain life for more than a couple hours. Anyone lost in that ocean was good as dead.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Miyako whispered.
Ken nodded. "Come on," he said. "I'll take you to the edge of the dock. We can have a better view."
He took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. Wow, déjà vu, he thought. It's just like Hikari...
Together they walked to the edge of the pier, flirting dangerously. Ken almost felt sorry for Miyako; she really was making a fool out of herself. Ken didn't love her at all; in fact, he wasn't even attracted to her -- well, he -- NO! That was a moot point anyway.
The reached the edge of the pier, still holding hands. Ken smiled to himself. It was going well enough. Not perfectly though. One thing Ken had definitely not factored in was falling in love with Miyako, even through the denial. That wasn't supposed to happen, but it could be overlooked.
"Close your eyes," he said. Miyako, of course, obeyed, squeezing her eyes shut.
"It's just so romantic, Ken-kun," she breathed.
His breathing was laboured and quick. It felt like it was a million degrees out. In fact, it was only around forty-five, it was December, after all. He turned Miyako around so that her back was facing the ocean. She was about three feet away from the unblocked edge of the dock, which dropped off about six feet into the freezing and tide-ripped ocean below.
He took both her hands in his and moved closer to her, forcing her to take another step or two backward. She was nearly teetering on the edge of the dock now. Ken couldn't stop his heart from pounding. His body was tingling. Without even thinking about it, he leaned in closer to Miyako and kissed her deeply.
He was just as surprised as she was. This wasn't supposed to happen! She fell into the kiss, of course, and he arched himself against her. He could fix this. Ken Ichijouji could fix this.
With the pressure of his body he forced her back another step, until she was on the very edge of the pier, and with the last of his energy shoved her back, releasing her hands as she plummeted backward into the ocean.
"KEN!" she screamed.
"MIYAKO!" he screamed as well, genuinely amazed at his own callous. He understood what Hikari meant now, about killing Takeru. It was the same kind of feeling. But he refused to give into it. He was Ken Ichijouji, God damn it, and he didn't care about any life.
There was a splash as she connected with the water, and a last heart-wrenching scream. Miyako, he knew, could not swim well, and there was a large current that ran directly through this part of the water. She flailed around in the sea, submerged to her chest.
The water was cold, and after a minute her body began to fall numb and her protests became more and more feeble. Ken stared over the edge of the pier, pretending to be concerned, but made no move to help her. The only thing above the water was her head...
...mouth...
...nose...
...eyes...
...forehead...
...arms...
...fingertips...
...and she was gone, only a stream a bubbles to remind him of where she had been.
He got up and walked nonchalantly back to her parents. He rubbed water all over his body to make it look as though he had been swimming; he scooped up a handful of saltwater and splashed it into his eyes to make himself cry. He then told her parents that she had fallen off the dock, and he had done all he could to save her but it was too late.
*
News of Miyako's death was all over the television. The total number of casualties related to the Twenty-Nine Degree Murders had reached five, and no one had any idea who the murderer was. The fact that the murders had even gone through Christmas - which had been just a day ago - caused even more hatred to arise.
Ken and Hikari maintained normal daily lives and pretended to be interested in the case in order to avoid suspicion. Both knew that what they were doing was wrong, but it had become unreal, a sick game that they played.
The one who was the most affected by Miyako's sudden and painful death was Daisuke. The boy had grown very close to the other Digidestined, close enough even to love her, to some degree. Her death, coupled with those of his friend "T.G.", his mentor Taichi, Mimi, and of course his sister's love interest Yamato, had driven him nearly to the brink of insanity.
Seeking release from all the hurt, Daisuke had foolishly turned to drugs. Only almost sixteen years old, and the boy was already addicted to crack. His grades had dropped so low that he had dropped out of tenth grade, and he was dirty and careless. His entire life revolved around his next fix.
All of this wrecked havoc on Daisuke's body, of course. The amount of crack that Daisuke took each day was so abnormally high that he was literally killing himself - and very quickly. But he couldn't stand it. Too much death...he needed release.
It was reported that Motomiya Daisuke died of a crack overdose on December twenty-ninth (a fact with Ken and Hikari found very unnerving). His body was discovered in an alleyway not far from his home. His face was contorted into a look of pain and unhappiness, and the words "I LOVE YOU" had been written on a piece of paper clutched in his fist.
No one ever discovered whom the note was written for, but Mrs. Motomiya had it framed and placed in her hallway. The picture fell and shattered, destroying the note, only two days later.
*
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life
I've loved them all
*
Beauty Fades