Mizu-Kagami Part Three

Disclaimer: Same as always. Only Kagami's mine, and I doubt anyone else wants him.

Author's Notes: Had some trouble with this chapter, but I think it turned out okay (except for the part where I had it all pretty and HTMLed and was ready to save it when my bloody computer froze. *kicks stupid computer*) Note that I use the words shinka and jogress in here in place of digivolve and DNA digivolve because the word digivolve bothers me. I don't hate the dub or anything, it's just that I always thought the word digivolve sounded kinda, uh.....dumb. For XV-mon's attack I also use X-laser because I figure if I'm using Japanese names I might as well be consistant and anyway, it is an X. Why the dub calls it V-laser when it's obviously X-shaped is beyond me. Ah well. Read, review, yada yada yada.

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"Huh?" Daisuke glanced up from where his eyes had been intently studying the clock.

"Something wrong?" Miyako questioned from her spot near the window. The newest generation of Chosen Children were gathered in the computer lab, waiting for their most recent member to arrive.

"I thought I heard someone call my name just now," Daisuke admitted. "Didn't you guys hear it too?"

"Daisuke, please keep the voices in your head to yourself," Takeru said with a hint of a smile. "The rest of us don't really need to hear about them."

"Look who's talking," Daisuke muttered, making a face at him. "I'll bet you've got a whole family of voices under that stupid hat of yours."

"Just one," said a voice from under said hat. Daisuke started in surprise.

"W-what?" He stared at Takeru, wide-eyed. "Now I know I heard that."

"Heard what?" Patamon giggled as his head poked out from under Takeru's hat. The others laughed as Daisuke glared at Digimon and partner.

"That was a dirty trick!" he accused.

"I'm sorry I'm late, everyone." Daisuke whirled as Kagami entered the room, cradling Minomon in his arms. "I lost track of the time."

"That's all right," Hikari assured him. "We weren't waiting long."

"Y-yeah, it's okay," added Daisuke belatedly. He didn't know how to explain it, but something about Ken just seemed....wrong. He was beginning to get a little freaked out by it. Ken just seemed too....calm, too serene. Ken had never looked like that before, and, rather than reassuring Daisuke that his friend was all right, it was only worrying him more.

"So let's get going," Miyako spoke up. "Now that we're all here."

"Right." Daisuke turned from Kagami and held his D-3 up to the computer. "Digiport open!"

The six children and their Digimon were swiftly transported to the Digital World. Daisuke turned to look at Kagami and was surprised to see his form seemingly waver for a moment, rippling like water.

"K-Ken?" Daisuke rubbed his eyes, and when he looked again his companion looked perfectly solid. Kagami gave him an odd look.

"Yes, Daisuke? Is something wrong?"

"N-no. Nothing. I just thought I saw something, that's all," Daisuke lied. "Uh.... did any of you guys see anything strange when we came through?"

"I didn't see anything," Iori said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Maybe you need to get your eyes checked," Takeru added.

"You're acting a little odd today, Daisuke," added Hikari. "Maybe you should go home and lie down."

"No, it's okay." Daisuke waved a hand. "I'm just--in a weird mood, that's all. Nothing to be worried about."

"So, what are we doing today?" Miyako asked, changing the subject. "The Digital World's been pretty quiet lately, so there's not much reason for us to come back here except to have fun."

"Agumon's supposed to show up soon," Hikari said. "Taichi and I talked to him last night. Something's been upsetting lots of the Digimon around here lately. He said that yesterday he almost got trampled by a herd of Monochromon. When they calmed down. he asked them what was wrong, and none of them were really sure why they were so upset. They were just scared all of a sudden; they didn't even know what scared them."

"That's strange," Iori said. "Did Agumon have any idea what the problem could be?"

"He didn't say, but--" Hikari paused as something orange appeared in the distance. "Here he comes. You can ask him yourself."

"Hi guys!" Agumon came running up to them. "I'm glad you came. Things have gotten really weird ever since yesterday. There were at least three stampedes of wild Digimon, and that's just in the immediate area!"

"Do you feel anything wrong?" Iori asked the orange Digimon.

"A little." Agumon shifted nervously. "I feel it too. Something's wrong, but I'm not sure what."

"What about you guys?" Miyako turned to Hawkmon.

"I don't feel anything wrong," her Digimon replied.

"That could be because we've been in the real world," Tailmon spoke up. "Since we weren't in the Digital World much yesterday, maybe whatever's wrong doesn't affect us."

"We sent Tentomon to find Gennai," Agumon reported. "In case he knows anything about what's going on."

"That was a good idea," Takeru said. "Until he comes back, though, I guess we'll just have to do what we can to try and calm everyone down."

"Right!" Daisuke stepped forward, taking charge. "We should probably split into groups and each group can go a different way and talk to the Digimon we meet. Then we can all meet back here in about an hour or so. I'll go with Ken."

"Thank you for volunteering to be my partner, Daisuke," Kagami said respectfully, with a tilt of his head. "I would be honored to go with you."

"Uh....yeah." Daisuke looked at him nervously. Ken wasn't sounding much like himself either.

"All right. I'll go with Iori, and Miyako and Hikari can search together," Takeru said. "We should probably be in our jogress pairings in case trouble arrives."

"We'll meet back here in about an hour, okay?" Daisuke said. The others nodded. "All right! Come on, Ken." He grabbed Kagami by the arm and practically dragged him away.

"Is something wrong, Daisuke?" Kagami asked curiously. Wormmon and V-mon both glanced at Daisuke expectantly.

"You bet something's wrong!" Daisuke said raggedly. "What is up with you, Ken? You've been acting weird ever since yesterday. Did something happen in the dark world that you're not telling us about?"

"Of course not." Kagami smiled sweetly and carefully pried Daisuke's hand off his arm. "Do not be so concerned my friend. Am I not allowed to act a little different every once in a while?"

"This isn't 'a little different!'" Daisuke pressed. "It's like you're a whole different person!"

"But that's ridiculous, Daisuke." Kagami reached up and carefully moved some of Daisuke's hair out of his eyes. Daisuke practically leaped backwards at the touch, blushing furiously. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes! You're not usually so--so--" Daisuke struggled for a word and finally settled on V-mon's earlier assertion. "Touchy-feely."

"Does it upset you?" Daisuke sucked in a sharp breath as Kagami pressed in closer. He could feel the other boy's breath on his cheek.

"I--I--" Daisuke shook his head to clear it. "This isn't like you, Ken!"

"But does it upset you? I am curious to know." Kagami smiled. "You like me, do you not? I am almost certain of it. It makes sense, yes?"

"I--I--I'm not going to answer that!" Daisuke's head was a jumble of confusion. He didn't understand what was happening, and it was starting to freak him out. His tumultuous emotions weren't helping matters, either.

"Why not?" Kagami's voice was not petulant or accusing. He sounded as if he truly wondered at the reason. "What is this feeling that causes your face to change colors? That causes your breath to quicken? What do I do to you that causes this reaction?"

Daisuke's mouth worked but nothing came out. For once in his life, Daisuke Motomiya was speechless.

Kagami leaned closer and began to ask another question, but a shout from V-mon cut him off.

"Look over there!" The blue Digimon pointed. Daisuke shook himself out of his stupor and stared. There was a cloud of dust forming in the distance.

"What is it?" he wondered.

"It doesn't look good," Wormmon said.

Daisuke took a few steps forward, trying to see better. Kagami hung back with Wormmon, waiting.

"Can you tell what it is?" V-mon asked his partner.

"Not....quite....yet..." Daisuke said slowly. His eyes suddenly widened. "Holy--! It's a stampede of Tyrannomon!"

In front of the cloud there could now be seen the shapes of the large red Digimon, rushing towards them at top speed.

"What should we do?" Wormmon turned to Kagami expectantly.

"You guy's had better jogress," Daisuke said. "Those Tyrannomon are pretty big; I think Paildramon'd have a better chance at calming them down than XV-mon and Stingmon would." He reached for his D-3 and looked at V-mon who nodded.

"Right! V-mon shinka....XV-mon!"

Wormmon turned to Kagami.

"I'm ready too, Ken-chan! Wormmon shinka..."

Nothing happened.

"What the...?" Daisuke looked from Wormmon, who was staring at himself in confusion, to Kagami, who was looking at his D-3 calmly, not looking at all surprised or dismayed at his partner's failure to evolve. "What's wrong? Are you hungry?"

"I ate before we left," Wormmon told him. "I don't know why I can't evolve." He turned to Kagami. "Do you know what's wrong, Ken-chan?"

"It didn't work." Kagami shrugged. "Perhaps there is simply something wrong with you today, Wormmon. My D-3 seems to be working fine."

"We don't have time to figure it out," Daisuke decided. "XV-mon! Think you can handle those guys yourself?"

"I can try," XV-mon replied, nodding. He flew towards the stampeding Tyrannomon. Daisuke watched nervously as his Digimon tried to stop the stampede.

"Hey! What is it, why are you guys so scared?" XV-mon flew along side the Tyrannomon. The frightened Digimon didn't reply, so XV-mon decided it was time to try another tactic. He flew a ways in front of them and let loose an attack. "X-laser!"

The beam hit the ground just in front of the Tyrannomon. Rather than having the desired effect of stopping or at least slowing them down, the Digimon continued to run blindly, fueled by some unknown terror.

"It's not working!" XV-mon glanced back at Daisuke, Kagami and Wormmon. "I'm not strong enough to stop them all!"

"We need Paildramon." Daisuke turned desperately to Wormmon. "Are you sure you can't evolve at all?"

"I've been trying!" Wormmon said. His blue eyes traveled to the D-3 at Kagami's belt, which remained still and dark. "Nothing's working. I don't know what's wrong!"

Before Daisuke could say anything more, XV-mon cried out. They all turned just in time to see the Digimon fly too close to one the Tyrannomon and be batted away. XV-mon crashed to the ground a few feet away and de-evolved back into V-mon.

"V-mon!" Heedless of the danger, Daisuke ran towards his partner. Wormmon started to follow, then paused when he realized that his partner hadn't moved.

"Ken-chan, we have to do something!" Wormmon turned to Kagami.

"You cannot evolve." Kagami shrugged. "There is nothing we can do, then. Perhaps there is something wrong with you that you have not yet realized?"

"B-but Ken-chan..." Wormmon's voice trailed off as he lowered his head.

Daisuke, meanwhile, had nearly reached V-mon. The Tyrannomon had already passed him by and were stampeding somewhat in Kagami's direction when they skidded to a stop, staring at him. Daisuke was too distressed to notice, but Wormmon saw quite clearly as the Tyrannomons' eyes widened and they turned, as one, and retreated the opposite way....back towards Daisuke and V-mon. Daisuke looked up to see the Digimon rushing towards him. His face blanched and he hurriedly tried to move himself and V-mon out of their way.

As Kagami watched the Tyrannomon advance on Daisuke, a strange feeling surged through him. He saw, in the haze of his stolen memories, a mental vision of Osamu, the same boy whose picture he had stared at the night before, crossing a busy street and being hit by a car. As his mind replayed the fatal impact, he felt an odd clenching feeling in his chest and, without even realizing it, he began to run towards Daisuke.

The Tyrannomon were faster than Kagami, but didn't matter. As Daisuke and V-mon closed their eyes and prepared to be trampled, the Tyrannomon caught sight of Kagami and immediately swerved, running off in yet another direction. Wormmon watched the entire thing with wide eyes, mentally scrambling for an explanation as to why the Tyrannomon had seemed so afraid of his partner. Surely they still didn't think of Ken as the Digimon Kaiser...?

"Daisuke?" Daisuke opened his eyes when he felt a light touch on his shoulder. Kagami was looking at him with oddly sad eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Uh....I think so." Daisuke examined himself quickly, then, satisfied that he still had all of his limbs, turned to his Digimon. "V-mon? What about you?"

"I'm okay," the blue Digimon assured him.

"That's good." Kagami leaned back, one hand going over his heart. "I had the strangest feeling just now. My chest was hurting again. Do you understand it, Daisuke?"

"I'm not sure what you mean." Daisuke gave him a worried glance. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No....this is not a wound." Kagami's voice was unsure, questioning. "It is so odd. I do not understand it. I feel that I should know why I hurt so, but I do not. I thought that only a wound hurt like this, yet it seems I was wrong."

"Ken-chan?" Wormmon slowly crawled over to where the three were sitting. "Are you all right? The Tyrannomon--"

"I wonder what scared them away," Kagami interrupted him. "It was very strange indeed, Daisuke. They all just turned and ran the other way for no reason at all."

"But--" Wormmon started to speak up, but Kagami cut him off again.

"I suppose it does not matter either way. Come, Daisuke, perhaps we should get back to the others. They will want to know what happened." Kagami stood and offered Daisuke a hand to help him up.

"R-right." Daisuke took the proffered hand with a curious glance at Wormmon, who was looking fairly upset for some reason.

When Daisuke and Kagami finally rejoined with the rest of the team, they discovered that they hadn't been the only ones with a near miss. Takeru and Iori, with help from their Digimon, of course, had managed to calm down two rather upset Meramon. Like the Monochromon Agumon had met, the Meramon had no idea what had agitated them so much.

"We had a problem with some Tyrannomon," Daisuke reported. "But we didn't get a chance to ask them what was wrong."

"Why not?" Takeru questioned.

"It was my fault," Wormmon spoke up miserably. "I couldn't evolve."

"Were you hungry?" Miyako questioned. Wormmon shook his head.

"Are you sick?" Hikari asked. Wormmon shook his head again.

"I feel okay," he said. "I feel like I should be able to evolve, but...I can't. Ken-chan and Daisuke and V-mon were almost hurt because of me."

"It wasn't your fault," V-mon tried to comfort him. "Maybe whatever's wrong with the Digital World interfered."

"But you evolved without a problem," Wormmon pointed out. "And so did Patamon and Armadimon. So it must be something wrong with me. Or...." He trailed off and glanced almost imperceptibly in Kagami's direction, remembering the strange behavior of the Tyrannomon. Maybe it isn't me....

"I think we should go," Kagami said calmly. "I need to get home or my parents will worry."

"It's not that late," Daisuke said. "You could stay a while longer..."

"Thank you for the offer, but I really must go." Kagami bowed respectfully and walked towards the nearest TV. "Come on, Wormmon."

"Coming." Wormmon hurried to catch up with his partner, casting one unhappy look backwards. Daisuke watched them go with mixed feelings.

"That was weird," Takeru commented once they were out of sight. "I wonder why he left so abruptly?"

"He's been acting wrong ever since yesterday," Daisuke murmured.

"Did he say anything strange to you?" Iori questioned.

"He...." Daisuke trailed off, not sure if he wanted to reveal exactly what Kagami had said to him. He shook his head. "Nothing important, really, but.....well, it wasn't something Ken would usually say. He's been acting so....so not-Ken, I guess. I mean, with Ken, there's always something in him. You look into his eyes, and you see some sort of deep emotion that he's hiding. But ever since I ran into him yesterday, his eyes have been kinda flat. Indifferent, like he's not really feeling anything. He's even been talking kinda funny."

"Do you think something could have happened to him in the world of darkness?" Hikari wondered.

"Maybe." Daisuke looked thoughtful. "He said it was nothing, but I don't think I believe him. The Ken I know would've been majorly freaked after being pulled into the dark ocean, but he's acting like it was just another day."

"What does Wormmon think?" Miyako spoke up. "I mean, he knows Ken better than any of us, right?"

"I never got a chance to ask him," Daisuke admitted. He glanced down at V-mon and smiled grimly. "But I think I have an idea about how to do that...."

~~~~

Ken was safe, for the moment. The snake had retreated momentarily, though it was still watching him from a distance. Ken knew that it was toying with him. At the first sign of surrender it would dart in again, whispering poison words in his ears.

The thought of that chill touch made Ken shiver with something beyond cold, beyond pain. He wrapped his arms about himself, touching what was left of his tattered shirt. His pale skin was marred by jagged scars, and he looked as bedraggled as a kitten in the rain.

"Daisuke," he whispered, his voice hoarse from the useless attempt at convincing the water snake to leave him be. The name tasted sweet on his lips, and he liked the sound of it in his ears. He couldn't quite recall whose name it was. All he knew was that it belonged to someone who he cared about, who he trusted to come save him.

Then why isn't he here? one part of Ken's mind demanded. It was the part which was sore and weary, ready to give in to the snake's promise of peace. Ken shook his head violently, causing bubbles to form from the sudden movement. The bubbles comforted him for some reason. He will come. He's all I remember, so he must be important to me. If he's so important that I remember him and nothing else, he's got to care for me enough to come rescue me.

The thought gave him strength, until another unpleasant thought burst in.

What if I made him up? What if the name is something formed by my own fevered brain and misery, and there is no Daisuke? What if I really am nothing, and I'm all alone?

The snake, sensing his momentary weakness, inched closer to him, its eyes shining with pleasure. Ken balked reflexively and looked longingly towards the barrier. He could see very little through the water, but he imagined that he could see a shining place of comfort and safety, and let the feeling run through his body. He had to escape. He was certain that once Daisuke came and freed him, everything would be all right. It had to be. He would see that Daisuke was real, and then he would be certain that he was not nothing.

Unless he's just a figment, said a voice, and Ken wasn't certain if it was the snake or his own mind speaking. Does nothing dream of escaping the prison which cannot be escaped from?

"No!" Ken said aloud, shaking his head again. "He's real. He must be. He's real, and he'll come for me." Despite his words, Ken couldn't suppress the uncertainty and fear that hovered on the edges of his mind, slowly closing in on him in an attempt to swallow him whole.

He will come....won't he?

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Yes, I'm evil. Poor Ken-chan, I put him through so much. I love torturing my favorite characters (Is that twisted or what?) *^_^*