Author's Notes- I really have no idea what sprung this thought into my head. The beginning plot of this story was much, much different at first. But I think I like how it evolved into this better than the original idea. So enough of my chatter- read, and be happy!
Thanks to: herongale, Kendra and Kate. ^^ Thanks so much for the beta-ing! You guys are wonderful.
By Amai
He bit his tongue so hard it drew blood. "Again, yet another control spire is broken down by those gnats, and nothing I do can stop it." The night was young, and Ichijouji Ken, or rather, the Digimon Kaiser sought to take advantage of this opportunity to reflect over his past failures. Even in the ebony shade of the evening, an aura of pure fury raged off each indigo line of the dictator's form. His fists were clenched tightly, the palms white as an ancient glacier, and perhaps as cold as well.
He had purposely locked Wormmon within the fortress so he could be alone with out any inconsistent noise to stir up his tormented thoughts even more than they were already. "I enjoy a fight, but only if I win…" His dry lips curled into a dark grimace, as he looked around, as if to find some wandering Digimon to punish for all of his burden. To his disgust, there were none. Even though he would have rather preferred to have some Chosen Children to punish for all his ailment…more so, one specific one.
Motomiya Daisuke. Oh, yes.
Ken's scowl softened a bit as he began to think of the smaller boy. "Why must I be so interested in such a maggot? He's so flighty and simple, I can't stand it…" But really, it was something else that bothered him about the child, something he couldn't identify…but something that was ridiculously familiar to him. "What is it that makes him so desirable? He's distracting me…and the consequences are dire."
He continued to pace around the area when a peculiar sound caught his ear. He stopped to listen, but the sound desisted. "Must be some infernal Digimon wandering around. It seems its gotten lost at a perfectly wrong time." He cocked a bitter grin, putting a single hand on the handle of his whip, advancing towards were he had first heard the sound. The sound resumed as he began to walk again. He stopped, frowning when he still didn't detect just what was following him.
Growing impatient, the Kaiser cracked his whip, to intimidate the fool out of hiding. When he got no response, he stiffened, moving hastily forward in the midnight darkness. It made no difference to him, as his visor made it equally easy to detect visual clues as it did in the daylight. The thing that irked him was that he was coming up empty handed…yet, that sound could still be heard. He entered a thick thicket of bushes, ignoring the sharp pain that cut into his right arm as he struggled to force his way through the thorn-laden area, and carried on. This was a dire mistake. Agility and athletic skills can only go so far, as Ken learned.
And learned quite soon after his last move, as for the first time in a long time, Ichijouji Ken, the Digimon Kaiser was caught off guard. Terribly so.
It happened quickly, yet not hastily. Ken's visor was swiped cleanly from right before his hard, violet eyes. And those eyes widened, the owner of them growling, his voice taking a feral note. "Who ever did that, will pay dearly for their insubordination." He refused to show that he was the slightest bit surprised, and now quite blind within the lapsing between darkness in light betwixt each branch that obstructed his vision so.
He readied his ever-so-precious whip, of which he had used so many times before, to strike forward, hopefully to cut some of those blasted bushes out of his face, and perhaps strike his hiding assailant as well. But to his dismay, the thickness of the winding and wrapping works of nature were just too much to be able to hack right through, and the whip got intertwined in the tangible mess, as tangled up as Ken was, both physically and mentally.
"I suppose you would have liked it this way." Ken said, each word that made its way out of his dry lips dripping with sticky malice. He spoke as if he could see the other, again using the art of intimidation to work its way into his hands in order for him to manipulate it into something of his own creation. Either way, he knew that he would find away to reap vengeance on whoever this brave soul was. "Afraid of the Kaiser, are you? So afraid you resort to traps of sorts. Well, that won't get you anywhere against a mind like mine…" He was already processing a way to get out of his thick prison of branches. "But then, I suppose imbeciles such as you couldn't perceive the downfalls of your actions…I suppose you very well forget whom you were messing with."
Alas, even the smartest of the geniuses couldn't have anticipated what Ken had seen next, as a face, as clear as the rising moon suddenly appeared in front of him.
"When then, who am I messing with?"
Two words formed into Ken's mind, right as to his dismay, a pressure point hidden on the back of his neck was triggered, sending him into the limitless world of unconsciousness.
Motomiya Daisuke…?
—
"You're so beautiful, don't you know?" Dark chocolate eyes traced over the form of the sleeping Emperor. He pulled a hand out to gently touch his face, or maybe perhaps transfer some of his warmth over to the ice-cold skin he held.
Daisuke stared at his Kaiser, fingering the stolen whip with one hand and continuing to stroke skin as cold as the dawn with the other. He wasn't surprised that it was this easy to catch the Emperor. Not at all. And he reveled in the fact that he had successfully turned the tables against his Kaiser so efficiently too. So lovely…he's the reason –why- I'm still here…The Emperor had a lot to learn. A faint grin formed on his face, as he processed just what he was going to do, now that he had the Kaiser all to himself. "I'm going to have some fun with him. That's what I'm going to do."
Motomiya Daisuke always loved challenges. Be it physical or mental. And the Kaiser was the best of the challenges he had ever seen. If anything, it was his destiny to pursue. To know him as he knew himself.
My destiny to figure out my Kaiser.
—
Being awoken to the gentle prodding of ones face can be nice…but when you are restrained quite tightly to a position of which you can't move, that feeling can turn as rotten as an apple left out to fester and decay for weeks on end. The Kaiser pursed his lips, managing to look indifferent despite the insane rage that was growing with every millisecond that passed. He spoke. "And I suppose you plan to humiliate me in front of your despicable friends, hmm?" It was really all he could say. Gone were the moments of vicious taunting on each and every way he would manage to achieve his revenge for such embarrassment. Replaced what a dull feeling of rage and realization.
He had been caught. And quite easily…by his very own foe. Words could not convey the feeling of being defeated for the second time in a matter of hours to Ken. But despite that, he knew for a fact that a dimwitted idiot such as his captor would not be able to keep him like this for long.
His dearest crime was assuming too much. Everyone has their secrets, including him, and to a much greater extent, Daisuke.
"And why would I?" Daisuke said nonchalantly, averting his eyes from the whip he had been so intent on playing with to Ken, his chocolate eyes sparkling again with that fascination. Ken seemed taken aback, and scowled. "If you had no intent on turning me in, why did you capture me in the first place?" And why did I let you? He added on in his head, seething at the situation in front of him.
Daisuke hopped up onto a chair, his form becoming much like a feline's as his face widened into a grin of a little child, or perhaps, what his grin had looked like all along. Ken struggled with his hands (he was rather tightly tied in a chair, with something that he could feel, yet not define. All he knew that whatever had him tied up would take a great deal of time to unloosen, because for some odd reason it was clamped on him as tight as a Venus Fly-Trap latches onto its food), his frown growing.
"You interest me." Was all that Daisuke said, his grin ever bright in the darkness that surrounded them both. Ken found it odd that even though he narrowed his eyes, squinting to see anything in the dark abyss the two of them were both in, he could still see nothing but himself, the chairs both Daisuke and he resided on. The idea that Daisuke was so close, just inches away sitting on the chair irritated Ken to know end. So close…But, he had other things to wonder about as his face took a look of confusion at Daisuke's last statement. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said!" The burgundy haired boy responded, resuming play with Ken's coveted whip. He hopped off of the chair and sauntered over to the Kaiser, his face growing more playful with each stride. The whip had somehow wrapped itself along Daisuke's leg, and he unraveled it from the leg, letting it drag on the floor, "The fact that you've kept up this tag game with them for so long…and haven't noticed that what you wanted was right in front of you all along." His voice took a mocking tone as he pulled the whip to his mouth, "That's pretty laughable with you think of it. Ichijouji Ken, Digimon Kaiser…blinded by his own insecurity. Hah!" He pointed the whip towards Ken's general direction.
"What are you implying? That I'm afraid?! Once I work my way out of his infernal tie you've seemingly got me in, we'll see who's afraid, maggot."
"I really wouldn't be saying that, Ichijouji." Daisuke stared at the captured dictator, licking his dry lips at the scene he had so efficiently set up. Daisuke, how –do- you do it? "What if I said I knew more about the Digital World than you've ever dreamed about? What if I said that I could have taken over this world in a blink of an eye, and you wouldn't have been able to do anything about it?" Ken narrowed his eyes, regretting having let Daisuke grab hold of his visor.
"I would say that I'd be a fool to believe you."
The smaller boy leaned forward, so his lips were ever so close to the Kaiser's. He grinned at the flash of surprise that crossed his captives face, and proclaimed, "Oh, ye have so little faith my Kaiser!" Ken suppressed a shiver at the possessive adjective. It was so…awkward, the way Daisuke was acting. Yet, it seemed natural, as if he acted like this every day. In a way, from what Ken had observed, he sort of did. What he perceived as odd was almost…unexplainable. It was as if Daisuke's personality had merged with something else…something distorting it, or maybe, completing it.
Why am I so focused on him? I must find away to get out so I can give this boy a taste of his own medicine! Ken pushed away, as little as he could.
Daisuke didn't move, however. His odd little grin grew even more as he purred, "The things I could do with you, right now. Have you realized how helpless you are yet?" He waved Ken's visor in one hand, and his whip in the other. "Even without these, I could have done so many things…" He finally pulled away, looking upward suddenly. "But, being the nice guy I am, I realized how useless that would be."
"What do you mean?"
"Come with me, and I'll show you." Daisuke answered, and began to walk forward, his form becoming smaller in the dark abyss as he gained distance from Ken. The Kaiser glared, clearing his throat. He had still not been able to gain freedom from the unknown restraints holding him down. "Are you at least going to help me out of here? Or are you afraid what I'll do to you once I'm free?"
Daisuke glanced at him a replied, matter-of-factly, "Help you out? You've never been tied up in the first place." As if by cue, Ken pulled his hands from their place on the chair, noticing no string, no chain….it was as if he were holding himself down. Even a genius like he couldn't truly understand what just happened. He stood still for a small while, contemplating the most recent events.
"Well, are you just going to stand there or am I going to have to force you to come with me?" Daisuke grinned, "Which I would probably enjoy doing."
The Kaiser felt like breaking something. "Don't you CARE that you've just freed one of the most powerful beings in this entire world?" His words formed into a feral growl, "And that you have seriously pissed him off?"
Daisuke sighed, throwing the Kaiser his whip. "Y'know, as fun and amusing as this is, what part of 'Let's go' don't you understand? Haven't you heard a word I've said?" His face became stone, uncompromising and serious, "I could twist and bend you in indescribable ways and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it, except watch your body slowly twist itself into oblivion."
Ken's eyes flashed with fury, "You lie! This'll teach you to mock me with such words!" He cracked his whip towards Daisuke's face, grinning with triumph as a lash was created. The crimson liquid that seeped out of the new wound made its way into Daisuke's mouth, and he licked it off his lips, mirroring Ken's smirk. "I won't lie. That hurt. But!"
A blink, and Daisuke was gone. Ken's eyes widened, as he looked around, frantic to find Daisuke yet again. "Where in the hell did he go?!"
To his horror and surprise, Daisuke hugged him from the back, flipping him over and pulling him to the ground and pinning him there. Without a second to waste, he breathlessly kissed his Kaiser, his tongue playing with the other's as if it were a kitten playing with yarn. His hands wandered possessively along Ken's chest, and they danced along the skin, soft and tender. He trailed his kisses down his Kaiser's neck and the Emperor shivered, for he was not accustomed to feeling so…ruled over. What is it about him? He's not supposed to take control! I am!
He had made it no lie that he was attracted to Daisuke. He might have not mentioned it, but it was there. It was just lying partly dormant until he would have captured the boy (and his pitiful friends) for his own enjoyment. He had no idea that …his prey would become the hunter. It seemed that way, almost. And it angered the Kaiser, yet...he really couldn't say he didn't enjoy it.
They pulled away, albeit reluctantly and Daisuke stared at the taller boy expectantly. Ken didn't say anything, his mind too clouded to really speak a word of importance at this point. He was so used to knowing everything…but now that that knowledge was taken away from him, he felt lost...angry, lost and most of all…confused. His eyes hardened.
"I don't understand you." How could someone so predictable, a feisty boy bent on defeating 'evil' be so terribly different? And as he saw the ever-burning fire in Daisuke's eyes, he thought, Yet, so much the same as I had perceived him at first.
"There's nothing to understand, not here at least." He stretched, as if the intimate moment they had shared earlier had been but a brief, unimportant chat. At that action, the Kaiser, or really, Ken, found himself rather offended. "You're so difficult. Not that I'm not as well…I guess we won't go anywhere. Doesn't make a difference."
"What do you mean? Everything you say makes absolutely no sense!" Ken could feel his temper setting itself off again. Why did he ignore it? Sharing a moment like that isn't –meant- to be ignored!
Daisuke winked at him, and Ken could feel the scenery around him alter…physically and mentally. "That's the point!"
"The Digital World is made out of computer data and dreams…that's what I had heard and that's what had lured me here in the first place."
The Kaiser could hear Daisuke so very clearly, but as the area surrounding him slowly changed, everything became too blurred for him to actually distinguish between anything…no, no, he wasn't lost, he didn't feel lost, he felt..
..at home.
The world had finally stopped twisting and distorting once Ken had opened his eyes yet again. What the-? But I hadn't closed my eyes in the first place…Disregarding that thought for a moment, he looked around. This room. It was almost…familiar. Home. Ken had thought before banishing the idea back into the recesses of his mind. You have no home. Don't let a delusional insect like him convince you otherwise.
Oh, but Daisuke was very tempting. Ken wouldn't deny himself that, but…he despised the idea of Daisuke ruling over he, the Digimon Kaiser! He had always desired the boy, secretly…he had desired capturing his fire and controlling each one of the flames for his own enjoyment. Digimon could only go so far in interesting him once he had captured them…but a human now, if crafted properly, could become his most valuable possession. Now it was all wrong! It was all backwards, where Daisuke was slowly breaking the Kaiser's barrier of ice, rather than the Kaiser breaking Daisuke's barrier of flame.
He hated sounding like a little child, for if anything, those were the epitome of all annoyances in his life, but…it just wasn't fair.
Buried in his own mind consuming thought, Ken very nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You're so cold."
"I don't see why you would give a damn. Being cold is what I want to be." He wasn't really focused on his words as he said them; he just let them flow out naturally.
He did not look at Daisuke, but he could feel the boy's expression changing as warm hands hugged his chest from behind. He didn't resist the hold. Although, he did realize something…And with saying what he said next, he tried his damned hardest to stay indifferent.
"You're not wearing any clothes." Ken had given up even wondering why these random things were happening.
"I don't feel like wearing them, so I let them go. Clothes can sometimes be an inconvenience anyway. Why do we wear them?"
"So we don't freeze. So we're not on the same level as animals." He rather liked the feel of Daisuke's skin on his. So warm…
"I'm already warm. And you, you're contradicting yourself. You're wearing clothes but you're still cold." The smaller boy let out a small chuckle, "I don't need them, so I don't wear them. We don't have any limits, we just make them…"
"I don't understand."
"The Digital World is made partly of our dreams. Dreams are made of wishes…if you use that idea, anything can be yours."
The Kaiser, or maybe Ken, gasped. An epiphany. A extreme epiphany! What knowledge that simple statement had given him! "So…" He spoke slowly, as to not show his anxiety and surprise, "…is this what you meant before? Is this…?"
"Yes." Daisuke buried his head into his Kaiser's hair, enjoying the smell that this action produced. "My dream...my wish, was you."
Ken could feel something that felt distinctly like an erection from the younger boy. "Why?" And then he knew. He knew why. And he hated him because of that.
"Why, I desire you, Ken. Love you, even." Daisuke said matter-of-factly, as if those three words meant nothing. He pulled closer to Ken. "I've been here longer than you know…and I've followed you as far as I could go. The Digital World was my playground, and I wanted a new playmate…but you were different, and that's what attracted me. But I can't keep it in any longer. Please, let me take advantage of you, just once?" His voice was pleading, like a little puppy begging for food. "I don't have much time, and I want this to be special…"
"Wait! I…but…why?" For the first time in a very long while, the Kaiser was speechless.
"Fine, if you want, I'll put it in simpler terms. I love you. Please let me fuck you."
Ken stiffened, then relaxed. He didn't know how to answer. The silence cut into him like a knife through butter. Daisuke didn't move, however. "You act like this is wrong. There was a time where things like these weren't considered wrong…and where everyone indulged in the acts. People still do that, but now they've labeled it all as wrong. Interesting."
He couldn't resist the urge to snort sarcastically. "So, you're saying that maybe we're all whores?"
"Maybe. But I wouldn't use that word. I'm just saying that maybe sex isn't a bad thing. Maybe being yourself isn't a bad thing. We all hide behind masks, even I do. You as well." He slowly stood up, pulling the taller boy with him. "Come with me, let me show you something."
Again, Ken didn't resist, and followed Daisuke's soft footsteps to what seemed to be a mirror. He positioned the both of them in front of the mirror, and spoke, "Look at yourself and tell me what you see." At first, Ken was silent, ignoring the command.
"Are you afraid?"
"I am definitely not afraid!" Was the reply that made it out of the Kaiser's mouth. "I don't see why I must do this."
"You're shaking."
"Maybe I am."
"But then, if you're not afraid, why won't you look?"
He paused, throwing down his hands in defeat. "Fine. I give up. I see…" At first, he was going to be snappy, and answer with "Myself" as a haughty retort. But as he looked closer, he failed to see just that. Instead, "I see…my…brother?" Indeed, that was quite what he saw. Without his visor his eyes were cleared of any visual obstacles, and he saw the truth…I look like…my brother? He stood, like a broken marionette as Daisuke lifted one of Ken's hands and stroked his face. "Why is that?"
He stayed silent, the information finally seeping into his brain. Masks…I guess, oneesan was my Mask. He stiffened, suddenly looking angry, "But I made it like that for a reason!" I couldn't be myself…I couldn't forsake Osamu…he never got to live his own life…
Daisuke's voice didn't change. "Well, so you did." At that reply, the Kaiser ripped away from the fiery boy's grip. "Don't patronize me."
"I'm not. I just said that everyone has their masks, and it would be nice once and a while to let them go. That's why I'm here, that's why you're here." He shook his head as if he were contemplating something, and then brushed it away. "I saw you today. Not anyone else, not your brother, who I saw before. That's what I had hoped to see, instead of the flashes of your own self." His face broke into a sunny smile as he opened up his arms. "Doesn't it feel great?"
Just the way he came about it made it so tempting to jump into those wide, open arms. And Ken found himself doing just that, although, still not losing that stiffness he seemed to care throughout the ages with himself. Maybe it was too familiar to let go.
They stood like this for a while before Ken lifted up his head, his face looking pleading, just like Daisuke's had only but a little while ago. "You can."
Daisuke's eyes brightened, making him look like a little child that had just received a present. He touched his face, licking his tongue before finally plunging into the kiss, whilst helping Ken to finish the waste of his uniform. The taller boy sighed, letting Daisuke do what he wished with him. It was a feeling of humiliation and bliss at the same time, but for some reason, he knew it was out of his hands to do anything.
Perhaps, it had been this way all along. Daisuke sighed, as if he were releasing a burden held for many eons.
"Thank you…my Kaiser."
---
He laid in a sprawl, his limbs every which way. He was sweaty, and tired, but he didn't feel any remorse. In anything, he wanted more. He wanted this child, this boy, to be with him forever. To share all of those secrets he had learned just from seeing his true self together. Then in struck him.
I still haven't changed, really.
He still desired to take over the Digital World. In fact, this desire was even stronger than before, for he had all the knowledge he needed.
His skin was still cold.
His tired eyes opened, and he shot a glance at his supposedly sleeping partner. Only to meet his chocolate brown eyes looking back at him.
"I really didn't expect you to make a complete 180. Do what you want, because that's what you will do, anyway."
Although his face was neutral, Ken could feel himself cringe the slightest bit by each and every word that Daisuke had said. They sounded almost cold…but he wasn't used to hearing anyone cold with the exception of himself. Damn you. I won't feel pity. You should have known that nothing could change me, nothing. The Digital World will be mine, and there's nothing that can sway that decision.
"…Explain to me, Daisuke…why provide me with this information, if you knew the outcome? What were you intent on doing? Why didn't you tell the others?"
The boy didn't move to look at Ken, but spoke. "You and me are the same person, just inverted. You complete me as I complete you…I had to, I needed to…" The boy of flame warmed up against Ken more than he already was, his leg wrapping the Emperor's. "I wanted to. You weren't getting anywhere being like this…mulling over your past experiences and going about your work as if it were pain at the same time. I know you weren't going to get anywhere, so I did what I have always done best ever since I was a little child. I played. I played you right into my arms," He squeezed Ken's hand, "Where I could help what you had lost…the world, our reality can only work if you know how to play it right. It's a game, and I don't intend on playing it alone."
"But then…what about everyone that knows you?" The Emperor voiced. Don't tell me you still have a connection to them…you make no sense…
"What about them? I've played with them enough, let's start our own game. One where there aren't any limits for 'good' or 'evil'. And my family? I've disappeared to them a while ago…" He closed his eyes, remembering when Hikari mentioned that his elder sister, Jun, hadn't said anything about him when he had assumed she had in someway insulted him, her little brother. That was when I truly knew that they had forgotten…
"So…this is why you do what you do." His Kaiser remained silent for some seconds, and added. "I understand." A final note, as his head relaxed onto Daisuke's skin. He didn't understand fully, but what the smaller boy had said was enough.
He could feel his body shift as Daisuke stood up, his body clad in the clothes he once used to wear. "I've got to go."
At this, the Kaiser's head shot up. "What do you mean? You can't leave!" I won't let you! He had no idea why he what he said sounded so urgent…he would always see him another time on the other field. The enemy field. But something about the way Daisuke said it…it seemed final. Like a death.
"I've got to. You've gotten all the information you need to go on with your life." As if by cue, Daisuke's face broke out into a mysterious grin. " 'Sides, my mask is broken." He threw down his goggles. "I need to return these to their rightful owner and get a completely new one."
"Wait!" He hated sounding this desperate. "I don't-"
"You'll know what I mean later. I'll be seeing you around, Ichijouji! Even if you can't see me." And with that, and a wave of a hand, Daisuke was gone.
And Ken was left clenching his fists in frustration as he realized he was now in the control room of his Fortress, his clothes intact on him yet again. "Damn you! You weren't supposed to leave yet!"
"Master?" Came the all-too-familiar humble voice of Wormmon as he neared the befallen Kaiser.
"Out of my sight, witling." He stood up, his face neutral of any other emotion than anger. "I've a Digital World to acquire."
---
He made it on the soccer field with no time to loose. The days lately had been going very smoothly, but Ken couldn't help but to notice something. Whenever the Chosen entered the Digital World…Daisuke was never with them. He had tried to add up the facts in his mind, but what Daisuke had said before he had last seen gave him the impression he was going back to the others.
Or maybe, he was right about the finality of the smaller boy's statement. For once in my life, I pray that I am wrong…
"Ah, Ichijouji-san! You came after all." His coach grinned at him. "I'm sure you already know what to do."
The boy plastered on his usual faux grin and nodded. "I'll get right to practicing before the match, then."
"Oh, and you'll be heading against Motomiya over there. He's pretty new on his team, but don't let that make you too over confident. I've heard he's kind of good."
Ken's eyes widened as he heard this being said. Motomiya? His eyes wandered over to where a boy sat, putting on his shoes for the soccer match. But it…he's…He looked different. But yet…this boy's form still screamed out 'Daisuke' at the same time it was so different. As he advanced towards him, he saw just where exactly the most difference came from. His eyes…even before, they had still been covered by something. But now…he seems to know where he's going. Its almost like he reset himself.
"Hello." Ken started out a little gruffly, pulling out his hand. And if so, he probably doesn't remember anything of before. He could feel a little voice in his head telling him to take this advantage…Maybe I can mold him on my own. "I'm Ichijouji Ken. I'll be facing off against you, and I just wanted to see the face of my opponent before we begin." The day is already brighter…
The boy looked up, his face looking a trifle confused for a bit, then softening. He took Ken's hand in his own and smiled.
"Your skin…"
"What?" The indigo haired child blinked, taken aback by that statement. The boy laughed, staring at him.
"Your skin. It's warm now."