The Dark Bandit
Part Six
Hikari stepped on to the veranda and waited for her brother to
begin. Taichi was peering over the edge of the balcony towards the castle's
grounds in silent contemplation. Wordlessly, she stood next to him.
"Taichi? Are you alright?"
With a sigh, he began speaking, not tearing his eyes away from the
scenery. "I spoke with Daisuke today," he stated. There was a
silence. Hikari waited for him to continue. "I told him that I would speak
with Father."
"About withholding information from you?"
He nodded. "I don't want him to be in trouble," he told
his sister. He looked towards her, and she could see the indecision and worry
in his eyes. "His mother's dying, Hikari."
"Lady Motomiya? I thought she just had a cold?"
A shake of the head was his response. "She's been sick quite
often over the past year. According to Lord Jyou, she won't live too much
longer. Her husband agrees."
"How horrible!" Hikari gasped.
"Mother and Father have agreed that traveling would only
increase her suffering. They've agreed to allow the Motomiya family to stay
here as long as necessary. Including Ken."
Hikari nodded. "A wise decision," she agreed. "Lord
and Lady Motomiya have been some of our parents' closest advisors and
allies."
Taichi nodded. "Just as Ken and Daisuke are some of
ours," he agreed. "Well, Daisuke anyway," he added.
"At least we'll be able to support them," Hikari noted
optimistically.
Her brother nodded and turned back to the landscape. "Daisuke
is in serious trouble. If I withhold this from Father, I'll be in serious
trouble as well. It's my duty as a Prince - as the heir to the throne - to tell
him of this development. But -,"
"But Daisuke is your friend and his mother is dying."
Taichi turned away from the wall and from her. He began to pace.
"Sometimes I hate this position," he sighed as he walked back and
forth. "I never thought I would, but now I understand why Father
often has sleepless nights."
"Taichi- if Father could be persuaded that the Dark Bandit is
our friend," Hikari began.
Her brother paused in his pacing. "I don't think that will
happen, Hikari," he stated frankly. "I'm not quite sure why, but
Father is convinced he's an enemy." He glanced towards the Princess's
inner chambers. Daisuke and the bandit in question were speaking animatedly.
"I've tried to sway him on the matter, especially where Miyako is
concerned. He won't be deterred."
Hikari sighed and sat down in a chair.
"Hikari. You could be in trouble as well," he warned.
"You met with someone that Father considers an enemy."
"I know," Hikari replied. "I was always aware of
that."
"You see where the dilemma lies?" Taichi turned back to
her. "If Daisuke is in trouble for being an ally of his, then you are as
well."
Hikari didn't respond at first. "I'm aware, brother. I
believe Father's wrong."
Taichi sighed deeply. "Hikari, it doesn't matter if Father's
wrong. He's still our father, and he's still the King. You're still in
trouble."
She frowned. "Taichi, I don't know what to tell you. You're
right about that, of course. But the decision is yours. Withhold information or
not, it's your option."
He sighed again. "I know," he assured her.
"What will you do?"
There was a long silence before the Prince answered. "I
suppose I'll have to tell Father about Daisuke," he replied. "As for
you-,"
"As for me?"
"I suppose if you can convince everyone to remain silent
about it, I will, too."
"Taichi!" Hikari gasped in surprise. "Thank you,
brother. I'm sure I'll be able to."
"I certainly hope so," he replied gravely.
***
Daisuke and his ally arose when Taichi and Hikari returned from
their discussion. When Hikari noticed her friend's dizziness, she immediately
told him to remain sitting.
Taichi was silent and grave. His face was carved into a serious
mask.
"Daisuke, I'm sorry," Hikari told him once he had sat
again.
Daisuke nodded. "It's alright," he told her. "I
knew what I was in for."
"Let me help you back to the room?"
"It's alright, Princess. I can make it. I made it here,"
he protested.
"Barely," she returned. "Let me help."
He shrugged. "As you wish."
The two and V-mon left the room, shutting the door noiselessly
behind them. Taichi was silent for a few moments before he spoke.
"Daisuke is your friend?" he questioned casually.
The other young man in the room nodded, slightly disturbed by the
Prince's informal attitude. "He is," he replied.
Taichi stared the masked figure in the eyes. "My father
believes you an enemy. My sister disagrees. Apparently, so do Sora, Miyako, and
Daisuke. Any theories on the discrepancy?"
The Dark Bandit thought a moment before he responded. "Your
father considers me an enemy for valid reasons," he replied cautiously.
"My original plan for existing was to oppose many of his ideas."
"Ideas like what?"
He thought carefully again before he answered. "Forgive me,
Prince, but your view of the world is slightly limited," he explained.
"I have seen innocent people imprisoned because of your father's belief
that they were enemies."
Taichi was slightly intrigued. He frowned deeply.
"Explain."
"In a village near where Daisuke's family now resides there
was a poor old man," the bandit began. "Daisuke was a friend of his
and he tried to help him by giving him food or a few coins when he saw him. At
first, I didn't understand why. I thought he was just a lazy old man. But he
told Daisuke his story, and he told me. Daisuke felt sorry for him. The old
man's farm had failed many years ago and he had been poor ever since. His
family had died long ago. He was forced to live off of handouts."
The Prince was disturbed by the story, but hid it well.
"Continue," he encouraged.
"It was very tough for him to survive," the bandit went
on. "As a result of his hardships, he was frequently forced to steal much
of his food. His family who had once lived with him had been imprisoned or
killed for stealing many years previously. Despite his hardships, no one would
help him in the least. Except Daisuke. One day after a winter storm, we both
went to the market together, and guards were dragging him to jail. He was an
old man with few years left and he had only stolen food to survive. No one
helped him, he had no choice but to steal. When he was imprisoned, he was
beaten severely as a punishment. Eventually, he died because of that."
The Prince gasped aloud, unable to mask his surprise.
"Daisuke spoke to his parents about it. They told him that he
could contact the King personally and tell them. A few weeks later, Daisuke
went to court and explained the situation to your father. He wasn't
confrontational, and he wasn't angry. He simply wanted to make the King aware
of a situation that he felt the King might not know about. Your father informed
him that what was wrong was wrong. The old man still had to be punished."
Taichi frowned. "That's a sad story," he noted.
"But,"
"Let me finish, please," the Dark Bandit interrupted.
"Not long after that, Daisuke - and myself - began visiting the prison in
the area. We discovered that quite a few people in the area were imprisoned
under similar circumstances. And the reason the old man's farm had failed? It
had been neglected when he was called to fight in his King's army."
"The war a few years back," Taichi recalled with a nod.
The bandit nodded. "Quite a few people were called to fight.
Some went voluntarily. Some did not. Their farms were abandoned for their wives
and children to work. But they were unable, in most cases, to keep it going.
Still, the King refused to compensate them for much of their services. They
received very little pay, if any, and most lost their farms. When they were
unable to eat or pay taxes, they resorted to stealing to survive. Then they
were imprisoned and often killed for their actions, either directly or through
neglect."
Taichi looked at the ground for a moment. "I didn't
know," he confessed. The Dark Bandit merely nodded grimly. "But - I have
a question. If it was Daisuke going through all of these actions, why is it you
that does the dirty work?"
The Dark Bandit shrugged. "Various reasons, sir," he
replied. "I was more skilled. Daisuke was too easily noticed. His hair and
facial features are very recognizable. My - family situation - was less
inviting. Daisuke had too many obligations as a lord's son."
"And what of his parents? Did they know nothing of his
complaints?"
"They did. They were unable to help him, however. Mostly for
fear of becoming the King's enemy."
The Prince was silent for a long moment. Then, he nodded, holding
out his hand in offering of friendship. "I believe your story," he
told him. "I'll speak with my father about this, I assure you. You can
consider me an ally as well."
The Dark Bandit smiled. "Thank you, your majesty."
***
Ken returned to his room quite late that evening after his
discussion with Taichi. To his great distress and confusion, when he entered
the parlor to walk to Daisuke's room, Wormmon in his arms, he discovered
Princess Hikari weeping faintly on the couch.
"Princess Hikari?"
"Ken!" She stood up and looked at him in surprise.
"Um, are you feeling better?"
"Yes," he replied. "I - um - couldn't sleep. I
wanted to see if Daisuke was alright. What are you doing here so late?"
"I brought Daisuke back from the meeting we had
tonight," she explained. "A short while ago, a group of guards burst
down the door and dragged him to the dungeon. I tried to stop them, but they
wouldn't listen."
Ken frowned, confused. "What?"
Hikari remembered then that he hadn't been at the meeting.
"Oh! You don't know. Daisuke told us that he knows the identity of the
Dark Bandit."
His surprised look prompted her to continue.
"Taichi told me that he was sorry, but because Father considers
the Dark Bandit an enemy, he had no choice but to tell him that Daisuke was
withholding information."
He frowned only more severely. "But why would they storm in
on him in the middle of the night?" he wondered.
Hikari frowned in agreement. Suddenly, a look of determination
arose in her eyes. "I need to speak to Taichi," she decided, rising
from her seat. She glanced towards Ken. "Come with me?"
He was surprised for a moment, but nodded. "Absolutely,"
he replied.
***
The pain in Daisuke's head was stronger than any he had really
ever felt before. He forced his eyes open in confusion, expecting to see a
doctor standing over him once more.
Instead, he saw only darkness. "Hello?" he asked aloud.
His voice was hoarse. He realized he was sitting up. Glancing upwards, he noted
that his arms were chained to the wall above his head. With some confusion, he
recalled what had taken place. Then he passed out again, the pain too great to
bear.
***
Hikari stared down her brother once she was in his chambers.
"In the middle of the night, Taichi?" she questioned.
Her brother's eyes grew wide in confusion. "What?" he
asked. It was late, he was half asleep. Why was she here?
She stormed past him in anger and sat down on his bed.
"Daisuke is gone," Ken explained in a slightly more
controlled voice. Outwardly, he displayed concern and worry, inside he felt
anger and betrayal towards the Prince.
"Gone where?"
"Don't tell me that nonsense," Hikari snapped. "The
soldiers arrived not ten minutes after we'd returned to his room. Why couldn't
you have waited?"
"Soldiers? They took him?"
Ken nodded silently while the Princess fumed. "He's still
injured, Taichi! Couldn't you let him have a night's rest!"
Taichi shook his head. "That's impossible. I haven't even
spoken to Father, yet. I wasn't planning to."
Hikari paused in her ranting. "You weren't?" she
wondered.
Her brother shook his head, no. "I allied myself with the
Dark Bandit tonight as well," he explained. "He told me his story and
motivations. I had decided to speak to Father tomorrow about a few of the
problems he had brought up."
"Problems?"
"The Dark Bandit told me that he and Daisuke knew some people
in a village, and around the kingdom, who had been imprisoned and killed
because of stealing. They stole because their farms had failed while they were
fighting Father's wars."
Hikari gasped. Ken only frowned even more deeply.
"Then you and Father didn't order the soldiers to take
him?"
Taichi shook his head again. "No." He frowned. "The
only people who knew Daisuke could be considered a traitor were the people at
the meeting," he explained. "One of them must have told Father before
I could."
"One of them is quite loyal to your father above you,"
Ken observed quietly. "But who?"
"Who was at the meeting that could have been a traitor?"
Hikari wondered. "Sora? Miyako? Yamato? Takeru? Could one of them be
it?"
"I wouldn't have believed any of them would go to Father
before me," her brother responded. "I trusted them."
Hikari nodded agreement. "That's why I invited them,"
she replied.
Taichi sighed. "I don't dare disturb Father now. It's
late."
"Taichi! You can't let him simply sit there overnight!"
"It's wise," he replied. He looked at Ken and his sister
with apology in his eyes. "It's quite late," he repeated. "If I
disturb Father now, he'll be less likely to listen to me than before."
"But Taichi! What about Daisuke?" Hikari repeated.
"He's right, Princess," Ken collaborated. "As much
as I don't like it, it isn't wise to bother the King at this moment."
She heaved a sigh. "I suppose you're right," she agreed.
"Good night, brother."
"Good night, Hikari," Taichi replied. "Goodnight,
Ken."
***
Daisuke floated in and out of consciousness until the next
morning. V-mon's gentle nudging at his side returned him to the world of the
waking. Daisuke recalled then that it was common practice to simply keep the
prisoner's partner digimon locked with them, yet not chained as the prisoner
was. The idea was that the digimon partner wouldn't go too far from his human
companion. In the most cruelest cases of torture, he recalled cases where the
digimon had been caged separately. He was relieved to discover that this was
not the case.
"Daisuke? Are you alright?" V-mon questioned. Daisuke
brought himself to reality and nodded.
"I think so," he replied. His throat was dry and his
voice hoarse. "What happened?"
"I think the guards stampeded you," the blue digimon
replied. "I thought you said Taichi told you they would take you this
morning - not during the night."
"He did," Daisuke replied. He frowned. "Something's
not right here."
"Why do you think that?"
"Taichi isn't one to break a promise," he replied.
"I'm sure that if he said he wouldn't tell his father until morning, he
meant it."
"So why are we here?" V-mon questioned.
Daisuke sighed. "Apparently, either Taichi changed his mind
or someone else told the King."
"We're doomed aren't we?" the blue digimon questioned
gloomily.
***
Ken stood silently in the back of the throne room as the Prince
and Princess approached their parents. He'd never much cared for the King's
policies dealing with his prisoners, and he was fairly certain that Daisuke was
no exception to those practices. In fact, he did not doubt that his closest
friend was being made to suffer at the moment.
The situation was delicate. Rarely did a Prince dare to disagree
with his father. Though Taichi was of legal age to assume the throne, he was
fairly inexperienced as a ruler. The last few days' crisis regarding Miyako had
indicated to Ken his true leadership qualities, however. He did not doubt the
Prince's qualifications for his future position.
Beside the King sat the Queen, who was, as far as could be seen,
innocent in the situation. Though she was, as the King had mentioned when Ken
had arrived with Miyako and Daisuke earlier in the week, the woman in his life
and one of his most trusted advisors, she appeared to have little real power.
No, Ken decided, it was the King who was truly at fault in this
situation. And Ken would not have doubted if one of those present in the court
at that very moment was the hooded bandit he himself had fought twice.
The King and Queen could be ruled out immediately, he decided. The
Queen was too short to be the fighter he recalled, and the King was unlikely to
fight a battle with a simple bandit such as himself, no matter how threatening
he might be to his reign. And if he was, he would not disguise himself in such
a plain outfit. Or would he?
Koushiro was standing nearby, speaking to Lord Jyou. The two were
old friends from many years past, and were apparently there to discuss some
important matter with the King. Koushiro was most likely not the hooded bandit,
as he rarely emerged from his lab, either at the manor he inhabited or the
temporary one at the castle. When he did, it was to read or write in long
manuscripts and books. His digimon was a bug type known as Tentomon, who was
nearly as smart as his partner. Secretly, Ken was glad of Koushiro's apparent
innocence. He had always admired the man's intellect, and when he was young he
recalled having been taught many fascinating things by the scholar.
Lord Jyou, the royal doctor, was equally unfit for fighting.
Although he was, like Koushiro, in good physical health, he disliked violence
by nature. His main duties around the palace were to assist the royal family
and their guests and servants with any injuries or illnesses they might face,
as well as training young doctors in the craft. His partner was Gomamon, a
partner who was as playful as Jyou was serious. Their clashing personalities at
first appeared to be a problem, but they worked well together, with Gomamon
improving on Jyou's somewhat imperfect bedside manner.
The young man, Iori, was standing near the thrones with a piece of
paper, Armadimon beside him. He was studying it carefully. He was a good
fighter, but too small to be the hooded bandit. Besides, he had a distinctive,
quiet, and polite voice that sounded nothing like Ken remembered his opponent's
to be.
Ken watched as the Taichi and Hikari approached their parents
together. They held hands as they walked down the hall, drawing upon each other
for strength. When they reached the end, they separated and prepared themselves
for what was to come.
***
Daisuke was about to drift to sleep again from boredom when the
heavy wooden door somewhere to the left of him slammed open with a bang. Light
streamed in through the door from the outside world, and he squinted.
Previously, his only source of illumination had been some from tiny barred
windows located behind him.
Without a word, a large man entered. He carried a large ring of
keys attached to his belt, and he fumbled through them as he walked. Within
three steps, he was next to Daisuke. After a bit more searching through the
keys, he unlocked the boy's wrist and grabbed him by his collar.
Stumbling, Daisuke stood up. "Uh - hi?" he asked meekly.
The man grunted in response and banged his already badly bruised head into the
wall. With a groan, Daisuke fought to focus his blurring vision. He took the
slamming to mean that sarcasm would not be appreciated. Wincing from the pain,
he decided to follow the advice.
The guard seemed to sense his understanding. He nodded and grunted
again. Then, still holding his collar, he led his prisoner out of the cell.
V-mon stared blankly for a moment and then decided to risk
following. The guard ignored him, so he followed them down the hall, wisely
keeping silent.
After a short walk, they reached another room. Daisuke was led
inside. The guard removed his hand from his collar tossed him at a wall. While
Daisuke was recovering, he slammed the door behind them. V-mon rushed inside
quickly to avoid having the door shut on his tail.
The guard quickly grabbed Daisuke again as soon as he had shut the
door, this time by the back of his collar, and shoved him, face first, in to
another wall. Daisuke groaned in pain. V-mon winced in sympathy.
The man sharply grasped Daisuke's wrists and chained them, using
irons already there, to the wall above his head. Daisuke recalled his previous
prison visits of observation and winced in expectant pain.
The guard pulled a long strip of leather from its hook on the wall
beside Daisuke, whose eyes grew wide and then shut again in fear.
***
"Father, please," Taichi said. "They weren't
stealing to be malicious. They were only doing it because there was no other way
to live."
"And the Dark Bandit has saved Miyako's life - and
ours," Hikari added. "He is not a bad man."
The King's eyes were now narrowed in anger.
"Taichi, Hikari," the Queen spoke gently but firmly.
"My children, the reasons for their wrongdoing are not the issue. They
committed a crime, therefore they had to be punished. There can be no further
discussion on the matter. No negotiations."
"I disagree, Mother," Taichi replied as politely as
possible. "Forgive me, Mother, Father, but I think you need to rethink
this. That man would have died if he didn't have food to eat."
The King was positively beside himself in anger. "Taichi, I
will take no more discussion on this matter. It is, as your mother said, not
open for negotiation. When I am gone and you are in charge, you may change laws
as you please. But now, it is my power alone. I will not tolerate anymore
arguments on this. Hikari, you as well. No more discussion."
Hikari nodded with a defeated sigh. She knew better than to
disagree with her father when he was like this.
But Taichi ignored the warning. He knew the risk as well, but
Daisuke was his friend, and he refused to give up yet. "Father, this is
important. That man, and many like him, have no choice but to steal to survive.
And they're being killed!"
"If he could not take care of his farm, he should not have
been a farmer," the King replied with a slight sneer of disrespect.
Taichi shook his head. "It was your fault," he accused.
"The farm failed because you called him to fight in war. While he was
fighting for you he could not take care of his farm. You gave them little or no
compensation for their fighting, so of course they had no means to
survive."
The King rose from his throne. Hikari gasped.
"Dear, easy. He's still young," the Queen attempted to
calm him down.
Iori, Koushiro and Jyou gasped, and even Ken, watching from the
back of the room, could understand the seriousness of the situation.
The King, unfortunately, did not calm down. "Taichi, I'm
quite disappointed," he stated in a booming voice. "I was under the
impression that you were a good son. But, it appears that I have been
wrong."
"He's only a boy," his wife reminded him.
"He's old enough to understand," the King snapped in
response. His eyes burned with anger. He nodded to the guards at the end of the
hallway. Ken moved out of their way with surprise as they marched to the front
of the room. "I do not wish to see you for the next three days," the
King told his son. "You will be confined to your room."
Taichi frowned. "Confine me as you wish, Father. It won't
change my mind," he replied with defiance.
"We shall see," the King replied. He nodded to the
guards, who by this time had reached the front of the room. "Take him to
his room and stand guard. Only Hikari may come and go." The guards nodded
obediently and clomped off, their armor clinking as they led Taichi from the
throne room. Ken watched and caught his newest ally's eyes as he left. Defiance
bristled in the young Prince's eyes for the first time that Ken could recall.
Daisuke would be proud, he thought to himself. Then he stepped
forward. When he had reached the King he bowed and knelt as was the custom
before standing again. "Your majesty, I wish to address you."
"Is this going to be another argument, Ichijouji?" the
King questioned sharply.
"No sire. Only a request."
"A reasonable request, I hope?"
"That is for you to decide, sire."
The King sighed. "Very well. What is it?"
"I wonder if I could visit my friend, sire. Daisuke was
recently imprisoned. I was hoping I could speak with him for a brief period. I
would like to update him on his mother's condition."
"It has changed?" the Queen questioned.
Ken bowed once more before addressing the Queen. "Yes, your
majesty. I visited her this morning on request from his sister. Jun was greatly
worried about her brother when I told her the news. I saw his mother in place
of him, and told her he was not feeling well. I did not wish to worry
her."
"It is true," Lord Jyou collaborated from where he
stood, having just recovered from the previous event. "The Lady recently
developed a terrible fever. She was slightly delirious late last night."
The Queen turned to her husband. "My husband, consider
allowing him a brief visit. The boy's mother is most likely near death."
The King frowned but nodded. "I'll allow a brief visit,"
he replied. "No more than twenty minutes."
Ken nodded and bowed in appreciation. "Thank you, your
majesty," he replied. He turned to leave, and Hikari walked with him.
***
Daisuke groaned in pain the moment he heard the door close,
indicating the guard had left. He had allowed himself only brief gasps before
then, but now he groaned aloud. He felt the cool feel of the bricks on the side
of his face and relaxed.
"Daisuke?" V-mon asked, almost startling him. "Are
you alright?"
Daisuke turned his head to look at his digimon partner, who was
standing to his left. "I've been better," he replied.
"That looked very painful," the blue digimon commented.
"It was," Daisuke replied. "But I'll be
alright." He smiled weakly. "Don't worry, pal. We'll be fine."
"Do you think Ken is alright?"
"I'm sure he is."
The door swung open with a creak again, and Daisuke braced himself
for another round. He hadn't been asked questions or interrogated the way he'd
expected to be. He supposed that would happen later.
***
Hikari sighed once she and Ken were in the hall again. "Our
ranks are thinning," she commented.
"I'm sorry about how that went," he apologized. "It
appears your father wasn't as receptive as you'd hoped."
"Actually, that was as receptive as I'd hoped him to
be," Hikari replied pessimistically.
"Hikari!" Tailmon rushed to her. "Where have you
been? It's nearly time for lunch already. Where were you at breakfast?"
Hikari smiled at the feline digimon. "I was busy arguing with
Father," she replied. "Come on, Tailmon. I think we need to think
things over."
"Where are we going?"
Her partner glanced towards Ken. "Your room alright? We need
to talk, and think."
Ken nodded. "I need to get Wormmon, too," he agreed.
"He's probably worried about me."
***
Daisuke groaned. His back was sore, and his shirt was torn nearly
to shreds from the whippings he had just received. He was back in his original
cell, his arms chained in the same position. He was leaning against a cold
brick wall, and the bruises on his back stung even more because of it. On top
of it all, his head was still hurting badly.
The door opened with a bang once more, and Daisuke was not
surprised to see the King enter the room. Apparently he planned to interrogate
his prisoner personally.
The King had a tall, commanding figure. He stood in front of the
aching redheaded boy and stared him in the eyes. "Daisuke. I'm
disappointed."
Daisuke glared in response. "So am I," he replied.
"You know, I remember the last time you came to visit me.
Smug, arrogant boy. Thanks to you, my own son has turned against me."
"Taichi-?" Daisuke questioned, shocked. Before he could
get another word out, the King slammed his fist into the side of his mouth.
V-mon stared in alarm but knew better than to speak up lest he be hurt
as well.
"You'll speak when I tell you to speak," the King
ordered sharply. "Now, who is this Bandit guy?"
Daisuke felt blood between his teeth. He didn't respond. The King
punched him again, this time straight on. Blood dripped from the boy's nose.
V-mon winced again, both at the sight of his friend and the
thought of the pain he must be feeling.
"What will convince you to tell me? If one of your friends is
hurt? Your family?"
Daisuke looked away. "Nothing. I won't betray him."
"You're withholding valuable information," the King
reminded him as he punched him again. More blood spewed from his nose.
Daisuke didn't respond. The King groaned in disgust and rose to
his feet again. "I'll waste no more time with you today," he
grumbled. "You'll talk soon enough." He marched out of the room,
slamming the heavy door behind him.
As soon as he was gone, Daisuke spit the blood from his mouth. He
turned his head and wiped his bloody nose on his arm. At this point it didn't
matter what he looked like.
V-mon ran to the corner of the room where a shallow bowl of water
was kept. He carried the bowl carefully back to his partner and helped him to
drink from it. Daisuke did so, grateful.
"Thanks, V-mon," he told him. "Blood doesn't taste
good." V-mon frowned in disgust.
"You look really bad, Daisuke," he told the boy. He
tried to wipe a bit of the blood from his face, but didn't accomplish much.
"That's alright. No one's going to see me in here."
***
Wormmon looked just as concerned as his partner when he was told
of the recent developments. "When you go visit him, can I go, too?"
he asked Ken.
Ken shrugged. "Sure. If it's allowed." He smiled
faintly.
"Taichi's not going to give in by being confined,"
Tailmon predicted. "He's only going to get angrier. Your father should know
that by now."
"I guess he's not quite certain of what else to do. He can't
throw his son in prison. He hasn't done anything but question him. And he's his
only son, so I'm not certain he'd like to fully destroy his relations with him.
But he needs to do something," Hikari theorized.
"There has to be something we can do," Tailmon grumbled.
"While all this stuff is happening with Daisuke, Miyako's life is still in
danger."
"That's right!" Ken remembered. He frowned. "Sora
is with her, but she's limited protection. I hope she'll be alright."
"I'll stay with her for a while today," Hikari decided.
"You need to visit Daisuke this afternoon. I hope he's alright."
"So do I."
There was a knock on the door. When Ken opened it, a stiff looking
guard stood outside. "The King has decided your visit is now. Come with
me."
Ken nodded. He turned to Wormmon, who immediately hopped down from
the chair he'd been sitting on and hurried to his partner. "Princess, I
hope you'll excuse me," he told Hikari, bowing slightly.
"Of course," she replied. "I'll be with Miyako if
you look for me. Tell Daisuke I wish him well."
"If he's still conscious," Tailmon added cynically.
Ken took Wormmon in his arms and followed the guard down more
steps than he could count and into a dark hallway. The eerie darkness of the
corridor made the boy shudder. Wormmon did the same.
"Fabulous place," he muttered under his breath, and his
digimon nodded gloomily.
They finally stopped in front of a door and opened it. The guard
handed Ken a set of keys. "I'll be at the end of the passage," he
informed him. "Lock the door when you're done. If I see you let him loose,
I'll pound you." He held up his huge fist as proof of his strength.
Ken stared blankly at the man and nodded. "Understood,"
he replied politely. He bowed slightly and turned to the door. He waited until
the man had retreated to the end of the hall as he had said he would before he
unlocked the giant door and opened it, wondering why he had been trusted with
the keys.
He stepped in the door, squinting in the dim light of the cell. It
was small, but not too small, and there was apparently only one prisoner.
Daisuke was shackled by his wrists to the side of the wall. V-mon sat beside
him. When Ken appeared in the doorway, both strained to see in the light and
then blinked several times in disbelief. Ken shut the heavy door behind him and
rushed to his friend.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "You look
horrible." He fumbled with the keys for a few moments before he was able
to unlock the irons.
"Ken? What are you doing here?" Daisuke wondered,
finally collecting his thoughts.
"Visiting you," he replied. "I managed to convince
the King to let me see you."
Daisuke blinked and rubbed his eyes. V-mon stared blankly.
"Daisuke, I have bad news and good news," he reported.
"Go ahead. I don't suppose it can be too bad."
"Your mother is doing worse."
"Worse?" Daisuke paled.
"I saw her this morning. Lord Jyou said that she developed a
high fever late last night. She was nearly delirious this morning."
"You didn't tell her where I was, did you?"
Ken shook his head. "I'm sure your father and sister have
been informed by now," he assured him. "But I said nothing to your
mother."
Daisuke nodded. "The good news?" he wondered.
"Taichi's on our side. Unfortunately, his father isn't."
Quickly, Ken recounted the events of the previous night and that morning.
"So the King is our enemy after all," Wormmon
summarized.
Daisuke frowned in thought. "It somehow doesn't surprise
me," he replied.
V-mon was examining his back. "You look terrible," he
told his partner. Ken turned to look at what the digimon was observing. His
eyes grew wide and his face paled.
"Daisuke! What have they done?" he gasped. "You're
bruised as anything back here. And your face looks like it's been through
target practice with the Prince and I."
"Almost," Daisuke replied. "His father came in
personally and punched me a few times."
"He's got a mean right hook," V-mon collaborated.
Ken's eyes grew even wider. Then they narrowed. Daisuke recognized
the anger in his eyes. "I'll be back," he informed his friend. Before
his friend could reply, he stood up and left the cell.
Daisuke wiped the partly-dried blood from his nose.
"Ech," he grumbled.
A few moments later, Ken reappeared with a bucket of water and
some rags. "I found these outside," he reported. "It's not much
in the way of medical help, but it's something."
"Thank you," he replied. He leaned forward and let his
friend gently clean his numerous wounds.
"This shouldn't have happened to you," the dark haired
boy grumbled as he cleaned his wounds. "I started doing this to stop
people from being hurt."
Daisuke shrugged. "And so far you have." He winced as
the cool wet cloth was placed on his back.
Ken abandoned the argument for fear of upsetting Daisuke further.
"You would have been proud of Taichi this morning," he told his
friend. "He sounded a lot like you when he was defying his father."
Daisuke smiled a little. "I knew he had it in him," he
replied.
"Hikari was really worried about you."
"I noticed. I think. I don't remember much." He sighed
and touched his head gingerly. "Any ideas as to who could have told the
King before Taichi?"
"So far it seems to be one of the Ishida brothers," Ken
confessed. "Taichi doesn't like it. He considers Yamato a very close
friend. And Takeru and Hikari are friends as well. Neither of them appears to
be the informative type. And I don't think it would be Sora or Miyako."
"So we're as lost as ever on who's after Miyako," V-mon
noted.
"Precisely. Not an ounce of progress made."
Daisuke sighed and smiled up as his back was finished. "Thank
you, my friend."
Ken shrugged and smiled back a bit. "No problem." He
sighed. "I should go."
"Already?" V-mon asked.
"He did say only twenty minutes," Wormmon recalled.
Ken nodded in concurrence. "He did. I need to get back. If I
can come again, I will." His eyes became serious and grave once more.
"Stay alive, please?"
Daisuke nodded. "Fear not. I will not be a victim of our
King's cruelty," he replied with equal sincerity.
***
A dark figure appeared before another. "Shall I attack
tonight?" he questioned in a low, gruff voice.
"It would be wise. Attack her when she is most
vulnerable," the other replied.
"As I always have," the hooded figure replied.
"Keep your identity a secret," the other warned.
"Naturally," he replied before leaving.
***
Taichi paced from his bedroom to his balcony again. He was getting
tired of pacing, getting tired of being in his bedroom.
"It doesn't make sense," he grumbled to himself.
"Yamato couldn't be a traitor. I just know it. And none of the others,
either."
"But who could be that scary guy in a hood?" he
wondered. "He's someone who's skilled at fighting - really skilled. It
couldn't be Father, I would recognize him. And he wouldn't do that, he's got
more important things to do. It couldn't be Jyou or Koushiro, or Iori, either.
Koushiro and Jyou aren't fighters, and Iori's not tall enough."
Agumon sat on his bed nearby, examining his feet. Taichi stared
incredulously at his digimon. "Are you going to help me think at
all?" he demanded.
Agumon shrugged. "I'm as stumped as you are," he replied
casually.
"You don't have to stay here, you know," his partner
reminded him. "Father didn't confine you. Only me. You can come and go as
you please."
"Are you certain you won't mind?" the yellow digimon
questioned.
Taichi shrugged nonchalantly. "I won't mind, Agumon. I don't
think anything will happen to me here."
"Alright, if you're sure you won't mind." He hopped off
the bed and headed for the door.
"Agumon?"
"Yes, Taichi?"
"You'll come back, right?"
"Of course, Taichi. I always do." He smiled as he left.
Taichi grinned back at his digimon as he departed. As soon as the
door had shut, he collapsed on to his bed and groaned noisily. "How am I
gonna take three days of this?" he demanded of himself. He turned over
onto his stomach. "Why couldn't I just be like Hikari and say 'Yes,
Father,' when he stood up? I should know better." He banged his head
into the bed.
He sat up again and heaved a sigh. "No, I had to be
disobedient and insolent and stupid." He flopped down again and buried his
head with his pillow.
There was a knock at the door, and it opened. "Taichi?"
his sister asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," he replied. "Just frustrated."
"With Father?"
"With myself, with Father, with this whole darn mess. I can't
figure out how Father knew."
"I can't either. Nor can Ken." Hikari sat on the bed
beside her brother. "I'll stay with you for a bit."
"Aren't you supposed to be with Miyako?" he wondered,
rolling back over and sitting up. "Making sure she's safe?"
Hikari shrugged. "Ken's with her now," she replied.
"He can deal with it himself. Sora's relaxing alone."
Taichi nodded. "Thank you," he said appreciatively.
"So what did I miss today?"
"After you left, Ken got permission from Father to visit Daisuke.
It seems his mother's health has deteriorated. She came down with a serious
fever last night."
"She doesn't have much time," he agreed forlornly.
Hikari shook her head in agreement. "Ken and I went back to
his room to discuss things. Then a guard arrived and said that he could see him
now. I went to be with Miyako. We played cards and went for a short walk around
the grounds. Not too far. Yamato and Takeru came with us."
Taichi frowned. "I doubt either of them told," he
confessed.
His sister agreed. "Nor do I," she stated. "We
filled them in on what happened. Then Ken told us what had happened with
Daisuke." She paused momentarily. "He's really bad, Taichi."
Her brother sighed. "I expected it," he confessed.
"How's his spirits?"
"Still intact, so far," she reported. "According to
ken, he's not giving in yet."
"Good. I hope he doesn't."
"Don't you want to know?"
"Of course I do!" Taichi replied. "But I don't want
Father to know. He's an ally. We don't need the guy killed."
Hikari nodded in agreement. "Who he is really isn't the
issue," she reminded him. "It's who our enemy is."
***
"Nope. Go fish," Takeru stated with a grin. Miyako
grumbled as she pulled the next card from the pile.
"Your turn, Ken," Yamato reminded him.
"Oh. Right. Sorry." Ken snapped himself out of his train
of thought and focused on the game. "Um. Do you have any Queens?" he
queried.
Yamato grumbled to himself as he handed over his Queen. Ken peered
over his remaining cards. "Any threes?"
"Nope." Yamato smirked happily. "Go fish."
Ken drew a ten of spades from the pile and lost himself in thought
again.
Takeru nudged him in the shoulder. "Have any tens?" he
asked.
Ken wordlessly handed over the ten he had just picked up, silently
thinking that there were a million other things he could be doing. However,
Princess Hikari had requested that he look out for Miyako - and that meant as
himself. With Daisuke gone, there wasn't much to do anyway. He didn't feel like
being alone, for once.
"Any fives?" Takeru asked.
"Go fish," Ken replied.
"Does anyone else find it the least bit disturbing that
you're playing cards?" Sora asked. She was sitting across the room near
the window, having declined the offer to play.
"Yes," Yamato replied as handed Miyako his three.
"Immensely," Ken agreed.
"But what else are we going to do?" Takeru asked.
"We've already gone over every angle. We don't know who the enemy is or
what he's after. There's no point in worrying about it right now."
Miyako seemed to agree, but she was to busy cheering herself for
having gotten rid of one of her cards that she didn't respond. "Yahoo!
Ken, have any fours?" she asked. Ken handed over the card.
"He has a point," he noted. "However, it does seem
a bit unjust to be enjoying ourselves when others are suffering."
Miyako frowned. "There's always someone suffering," she
pointed out. "We can't suffer just because they are."
Takeru nodded his agreement. "We can't do anything right now,
so we might as well just relax."
Yamato, Ken, and Sora shared similar frowns but said nothing.
Yamato glanced at Ken, who shrugged. Then Ken glanced at Sora, who had a
similar response. In unison, all three shrugged again.
"Have any tens, Takeru?" Miyako asked, still on her
winning streak.
Takeru shook his head, causing the girl to frown in disappointment
as she plucked another card.
"Someone's taking the game a bit seriously," Yamato
noted. Miyako simply glared at him. The boy wisely backed off, much to the
others' amusement.
"It does look like a silly little game," Wormmon agreed.
He'd been sitting in Ken's lap, observing the proceedings.
Ken smiled a bit and whispered to his partner. "It's not so
much the game, but Miyako," he told him. Wormmon nodded in understanding.
Yamato, who was sitting next to Ken, heard, and laughed, but thankfully Miyako
was oblivious.
Patamon was perched on Takeru's head, but Gabumon, Piyomon, and
Hawkmon were sitting on the opposite side of the room, near Sora.
There was a knock on the parlor door and Jun entered. "Sorry
to interrupt," she told them all with a smile. "But Father wants to
see Ken."
"Me?" Ken wondered. He and Lord Motomiya had never
really spoken much. "For what reason?"
His surrogate sister shrugged in response. "He didn't
say."
The boy shrugged. "Sorry," he apologized to the group as
he stood up. "I guess you'll have to forfeit the game."
Miyako gasped. "No! No we won't! Sora can play. Right
Sora?"
Sora looked up from the window and shook her head. "No,
thanks," she replied.
The moment her head was turned, a dark figure landed on the
balcony outside the window. Everyone screamed. Sora was confused for a moment
and then noted the hooded bandit. Quickly, she jumped away from the window,
which opened shortly afterwards.
Jun screamed loudly and fainted in Ken's arms. He blinked and
tried desperately to hold her up.
"What do you want?" Yamato demanded, taking the lead as
one of the few calm ones.
"None of your concern, Ishida," the figure replied.
Miyako hid behind Ken, who was trying to figure out what to with
Jun. The hooded bandit turned towards him. He gulped. "Why are you hiding
behind me?" he hissed.
She shrugged. "I don't know!" she replied frantically.
"You were the closest."
"Well, if you're going to use me as a shield, help me
with her," he demanded. Miyako nodded and helped him to lower Jun to the
ground.
Meanwhile Takeru, Yamato, and Sora were attempting to hold him
off. Yamato, who almost always wore his sword, drew it and was attempting to
hold off the intruder. Ken and Miyako observed the fight. Suddenly, he thought
of something.
"Run," he hissed. He grabbed her arm and dragged her out
of the room.
"Where are we going?" she yelled as she followed him.
"I have no idea," he replied. "I just know we've
got to get out of here."
"Well, is there anyplace to hide?" she questioned.
"A closet or something?"
"None I know of," he stated.
"So where do we go?"
He thought as rapidly as he could. "The kitchen," he
replied. "There's no one there this time of night. We can hide."
"Good enough," Miyako agreed, following him as he
changed directions and ran down a flight of stairs. A few moments later, they
burst into the kitchen. It was dark in there, and there was no one present,
just as Ken had predicted. Quickly, they dove behind a pile of pots and pans
and stayed as quiet as they could.
"Hopefully Yamato was able to hold him off long enough,"
Ken whispered softly as they caught their breaths.
They remained there for the next few hours. Exhausted, both soon
fell asleep.
***
Sorry
about the delay in getting this part up. School just started, and between
buying books and the actual studying, my time spent on these stories is
limited. Blech.
Hmm…any notes about this part? Oh, yeah, there was
finally an explanation. Actually, this is the last time the Dark Bandit
actually appears in his own story for a while. For the next few chapters, the focus
will change a bit. Don't worry, eventually we do get back to the title character.
Sorry everyone I'm keeping in suspense. Eventually you
DO find out who is after Miyako and why. The next part won't take quite so long
to get up.
The characters aren't mine. Only the plot. Thanks
for reading and reviewing, all the people that did!
