Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, or anything of worth, so your suing efforts would be useless, ha! Useless I say! No seriously, I'm not out to make any money, just have fun. (and surely that's not against the law is it?)
Warning: Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai. That is Male/Male and Female/Female romances. For the sanity of everyone involved, please don't bother to read something which will just disgust you if you don't like that sort of thing. Not much in this chapter but a defininte setup here.
***
Chap. 1: Little Boy Blue
***
Detective Ken Ichijouji stared blankly at the flamboyant spray of slightly wilting flowers demarking his customarily austere desktop, and tried not to twiddle his thumbs. He wondered, in the idle numbness of boredom, whether they acted as some sort of alarm crying, invalid!, to any passerby happening to glance his way. He sighed, and then as he had about a thousand times before in the course of this long week, reached out to pluck the card from its resting place between two floppy tissue like blossoms.
"You're my hero Ken honey, welcome back! The city's safe with you back on the job! Hugs and kisses, Yolie"
Ken winced as he envisioned his lovably batty fiancée blowing him a kiss. He resisted the urge to bang his head against his desk.
'Back on the job my foot! I've been doing nothing but desk sitting ever since I came back from the hospital! This is ridiculous.'
Thinking back, Ken shuddered as he remembered the pain of the bullet ripping into his back during the drug bust. Thankfully, there was no major damage and he was out of the hospital in a relatively short time, but it seemed as if the whole force had been treating him like he was made of glass since his return. Ken loved his job, and despite its dangers, this inaction left him feeling like he was letting everyone down.
Ever since his brother had been killed by a drunk driver in a hit and run case, Ken had wanted to become a police officer. He looked up to the people who had rightfully brought the person responsible to justice. Now, saddled with nothing but fluff and paperwork, Ken was helplessly frustrated at his inability to be useful. Despite the fact that he had been injured, Ken was confidant that he was one of the best on the job! He was their youngest detective, and his record was nearly spotless.
Grimacing faintly he considered the medal they had awarded him for his recent botched case that had left him with a bullet in his back. 'All that glory heaped on me for the biggest mistake of my life, charging into there and not looking back! I can not believe this. What kind of officer do they take me for?' Nevertheless, it had launched him as a poster boy in the department, precious and shiny as that damned medal, and now apparently, just as decorative. If only they would let him do something to really help, instead of leaving him to sit pretty all the time, wasting his abilities. There was so much service to be done, wrongs to be righted, crime to clean up!
Channeling his restless energy and impotent fury at his sudden psychological demotion, Ken resolved to confront the chief right away about his most unusual case load.
***
"Right, right, I know, Agent Yamaki... Yes it is important to get someone on the case, but..." Lieutenant Gennai sighed. 'Never try to reason with the feds' he thought to himself.
"Honestly sir, I don't know if we have any officers to spare, and its such a weak lead... er, no, of course I didn't mean to imply..." He frowned into the phone receiver hoping that he hadn't just gotten himself in deep shit. If they started researching the department's past...
"Er, yes sir, I'll make sure to get someone right away. Um..." the line went dead. Gennai rubbed his forehead tiredly, wishing that he could explain how exactly he knew that Yukio Oikawa was never coming back to this town. No, that was out of the question.
'Well, never mind, if they want to waste manpower, I guess I'll just have to let them.' He snorted bitterly, recalling what exactly they had asked of him. Right, a regular UC operation. It seemed like Oikawa was back to his old tricks again.
The phenomenon called 'monster' had been seeping quietly into the black market for years now, leaving a bewildering wake of zombie like junkies wherever it passed. It wasn't an oral drug, it wasn't intravenous, you didn't have to smoke or snort it. It was more insidious. It seemed to infect the mind.
It had been created in the laboratory of the formerly prosperous biotech firm called, Hypnos, founded by the brilliant scientist, Yukio Oikawa. For years Oikawa had been doing research concerning artificial intelligence and biotechnology on a grant from the government. The result, 'monster' was not what one would traditionally call a drug necessarily, it was a machine which interfaced with human beings, affecting their minds, taking in their bio rhythms, almost, it seemed, drawing from them, to create a mental image of a life form of great power and intelligence, capable, of great deeds. Oikawa had synthesized its essence into a pocket-sized device and showed his results to the government. They deemed it much too dangerous to exist. They seized all data on the project and had it destroyed.
A few months later, Hypnos had folded. Oikawa had liquefied his company. With the appearance of abandoning the entire field, he had used his assets to purchase various establishments around the country, and lived of the proceeds. He bought, bars, nightclubs, music halls, a few miscellaneous shops, nothing too suspicious. And he had never come back to this town, the place where his great discovery had been created and eliminated.
Or so that was the story. Almost immediately after the closing of Hypnos, traffic on 'monster' devices began. It should have been expected really, its highs were higher than any known substance, it was a one time purchase, no habit to support, it was easy to disguise and transport, and it had no known physical side affects. It merely drove you mad. Investigations on Oikawa had begun immediately, but nothing could ever be traced back to him. He was the only conceivable source of the devices, yet, he seemed more eager to bury monster than even the government. Even so, after all these years, he still remained under suspicion.
The government had finally caught a break in the case, and unfortunately, Lieutenant Gennai realized why they had turned to him. This year, a new variant of monster had appeared, something not requiring the pocket machine in specific, but a program form that could inputted into computers, or even simpler machines like cell phones and pagers. They had dubbed it, 'digital monster', digimon for short. They figured Oikawa had to be at the bottom of it, and maybe this time, they could catch him red handed.
'A criminal always returns to the scene of a crime' thought Gennai. 'That's what Yamaki said.' He remembered the one time he had seen the infamous Oikawa face to face. He had been a young officer in the group that had busted into Hypnos, confiscating the original 'monster' data, under his superior, Sergeant Hida, along with agents from the federal government. "The scene of the crime eh?" he said out loud.
Oikawa owned a club in the strip district popularly frequented by the college crowd as well young professionals. The FBI had asked him to assign a criminal intelligence team there to watch for any activities relating to 'digimon' and to try to maneuver Oikawa or his employees into a trap. Oikawa had never been known to appear in that club, even at the time he purchased it. 'Empty lead' thought Gennai again, 'empty lead...'
***
Ken's eyes widened as he struggled to compute the implications of what was being proposed to him. When he had come to demand that he be put on some /real/ cases, he hadn't expected that the reaction would have been so, well, positive.
"And so, the FBI wants our best men on it Ichijouji. I think you'll be perfect for the job." Gennai couldn't resist smirking a little. This fell into place so neatly! After Ichijouji's injury, his fiancée Yolie had come to Gennai asking if they couldn't keep him out of serious trouble for a while, at least until the wedding... He should have thought of it before, Ken was the ideal stooge!
Ken nodded gravely, thinking out his next statement carefully. "Excuse me sir, but, as you know, I've never been part of an undercover operation before, and I was wondering who else is going to be on this team. Perhaps I could get some advice as to how I should act, or what kind of things I should be looking for..." he trailed off expectantly.
"Oh, you're gonna be on your own on this one Ichijouji. We'll bring in surveillance equipment if you find anything noteworthy. Other than that, we don't want to gamble on sending in anything that might get you discovered as from the police."
"What!"
"Don't get me wrong kid, this is an extremely important assignment, but for now we want it to kind of low profile. The feds want us to get feelers out in all sorts of directions, but they don't want to commit, or even show an indication of making a move until they're sure they can get something concrete. I got it on high authority that there are expectations on this watch, but they don't want to take any chances that this operation would be discovered. You can tell your family, but don't even hint to anyone else what you'll be up to."
Ken's brow wrinkled in consternation. Something sounded awfully fishy about this.
"But Lieutenant, this seems, a tad, devoid of planning. Wouldn't this have a much greater chance of success with specific objectives and courses of action laid out?" He was trying to be polite about his misgivings, but this reeked of, well, sloppiness. Ken could never bring himself to be utterly forgiving of such a thing. He preferred, well, was looking for, perfection...
Gennai screwed up his face trying to make himself look stolid while he concealed the fact that he was looking up into Plato's heaven for a good answer.
"That is, well boy, I don't often say things like this, but I'm trusting this all to you. This case is, well, it's a real chance. The FBI wants this operation as insular as possible, they told me, get someone you trust implicitly. Ichijouji, after your last case, you've shown great bearing and honor as an officer, so, I naturally thought of you. A success here could really move you up the ranks..." 'Ichijouji really is good.' Gennai thought. 'He'll end up on top no matter what happens. Sending him on a bit of a wild goose chase won't hurt him, and for the sake of his wedding, I'll just keep him puffed up and safe on the sidelines for now...'
Ken straightened immediately, eyes shining with enthusiasm and sincerity. "Very well. I understand sir, and knowing you trust me," he paused gathering his resolve and looking his commander straight in the eye. "I promise I will not let you down."
As the young man saluted, took up the case file, then exited, Gennai sighed. 'I hope I'm doing the right thing.'
***
Yolie hummed tunelessly to herself as she focused on the image on the screen, painstakingly checking and rechecking every detail, backtracking at the slightest hint of a flaw. In all her years as forensic pathologist for the police, she'd never encountered such as challenging puzzle as this!
'Click.' Yolie jerked her head sharply as she took in the new variation that appeared on screen. She rushed to compensate. 'Click, click, click...' the mouse veritably flew across its pad.
Ken was surprised to observe her in a clicking frenzy, intent on the computer screen as he entered the apartment they shared. Curious, he padded over toward his, less than attentive girlfriend's side to see what had her so obsessed. 'Probably work' he thought, knowing how dedicated and precise she was.
Catching a glimpse of the screen as he drew near, Ken felt himself halt in embarrassed agitation. Shaking off his apprehension and forcing an uneasy smile he commented a little more shrilly than he would have liked, "Really excited about the wedding huh?"
He didn't know why talk about their wedding always affected him like this. He wasn't frightened, only, at times it seemed such an unreal event to him, like part of the story that he forgot he'd be living through. After all, they had been introduced at work, dated for a couple of years, lived together as amiably as could be, so now, it was only natural that they get married, wasn't it?
Anyway, he swallowed ruefully as he took in the full function of the program onscreen. There was some vague man shaped mock up which he assumed represented himself, standing next to a detailed rendering of Yolie which was currently modeling a beautiful wedding dress. His lovely fiancée was occupied modifying the details of said dress. Having gotten no response from his previous attempt at communication, Ken laid his hand on Yolie's arm and tried again. "Ahem, couldn't you, I don't know, make me look a little better..."
He wished he hadn't asked, as Yolie convulsed in surprise, sending the mouse airborne into the side of his head.
"Hi honey, I'm home." he deadpanned.
"Uh, Ken! Hi! When did you get here?" she finally replied. Her brow wrinkled a little and she continued. "You said something, about you?" When he only stared at her and the computer image incredulously, she began to get an inkling that she had missed something. Ken pointed directly at the vaguely male-ish tux clad little icon. "Me." he repeated, not sounding amused. Yolie's eyes widened in comprehension as she stuttered sheepishly, "O-o-o-oh yeah, you..." she chuckled contritely and put on her most winsome smile, "I uh, kinda... forgot."
***
"Um, Ken..." Yolie tried to interject bashfully, still subject to chastisement for her earlier behavior.
He continued speaking unremittingly. This idea of going undercover into total uncertainty made him feel so apprehensive, it was like he had to get all of his thoughts out. Like unless he laid things out, things would go haywire and his whole life would change.
"I'll be on solo surveillance at a bar owned by Yukio Oikawa downtown. I'm supposed to try and pick up any leads on monster traffic or digimon activity, and as of yet, the assignment seems to be on an indefinite time frame..."
"Ken, Honey?" She tried again, still rather timid in overcompensation, but with more urgency.
"This is very secret and I even debated whether to let /you/ know all the details, but I didn't want you worrying too much," he paused, "what, with our wedding coming up and all..." He almost appeared to shudder.
Now more than slightly miffed, Yolie narrowed her eyes and barked, "Ken!"
Shaking out of his monologue, Ken turned to his fiancée and studied her quizzically.
"What is it Yolie?"
"Oikawa only owns one club in this town."
"That's right honey, that's why I'm being sent to stake the place out, establish a cover and some leverage to expose the..." Ken continued, shrugging off the interruption.
"I've heard about that place Ken, it's..."
He still seemed to be ignoring her, since from his judgment she wasn't making any sense. "If I find any relevant information, they're going to back me up with a full surveillance crew, but for now..."
"Ken!" she tried once more, growing frustrated.
"You can't let anyone know about this, and as far as identities are concerned, we've got no connection with police..." Yolie never listened to him, Ken thought.
Deciding to cut straight to the point, Yolie leveled out the exact fact she'd been trying to get through to Ken during the whole conversation, hoping to finally grab his attention.
"It's a gay bar."
"I'll be posing as a bit of listless barfly, but with a trust fund big enough to cover my vices." he finished. Then he did a double take. "What?"
"Oikawa's club is a gay bar," she repeated, trying not to smirk. Ken holed up in a gay bar for the next few months, what a perfect defense for her wedding! She had to remember to thank Lieutenant Gennai for this!
"Wait, are you sure?" he practically wheezed.
"Of course! Oh, this is so great! Honey, we have got to get you all dolled up!" She fluttered off eagerly, hurrying to assemble a perfect party boy garb for him.
"No, wait, Yolie, stop! Maybe I should talk to the Lieutenant. No, hey what are you doing?" he sighed, getting dizzy trying to trace her flurry of activity back and forth across their apartment. She began stockpiling various strange articles of clothing that she'd found somewhere along with a huge array of hair care products, and even some makeup. "...Yolie, I'm not even going to be starting this assignment until next week!" She kept buzzing along, completely oblivious of his last words. He drooped, knowing the window of communication had been lost.
***
Ken felt ridiculous. Once Yolie had gotten her hands on his wardrobe, he should have known there was no escape. At least she'd given him /some/ say on the matter, but what a choice he'd had to make!
He was clad in a tight blue and white outfit with yellow and black trimming. The sleeves and pant legs were fastened with metallic clasps and he felt a bit taller in the large clunky military type boots he was sporting. He had absolutely drawn the line at that absurd collar, shoulder pad cape thing that she'd wanted him to wear, so the heavy jacket lay unbuttoned about his neck, revealing a plain white shirt, which was elegantly flattering.
Of course that meant he'd had to compromise on his hair and accessories, so his normally long midnight hair was spiked and gelled into a masterpiece, giving off purple and navy blue highlights. He wasn't sure he wanted to wear the strange pair of sunglasses she'd given him, but as he stared at the rainbow colored neon sign blinking, 'digital world', he decided he'd give them a try.
The interior of the club was dark and loud, radiating with the eerie glow of neon signs and weak fluorescent light. Dance music pounded through the building almost like a heartbeat. Weaving through some aesthetically arranged tables and booths, Ken tried to determine for himself a plan of action. Scoping the place out, he realized it wasn't all that large. Near the entrance, the walls were lined with plush looking booths, and it appeared that this was pseudo-dining area for there were various tables laid out in-between. The furniture faded out gradually integrating into a medium sized dance floor, with a bar on the boundary between zones, and more tables and couches lining the sides of the room. One corner of the table area seemed to consist of a stage, probably for live performers. There was a small upstairs area, really resembling a platform that ringed above the dance floor, and it was filled with more tables and booths. It gave a great view for the stage apparently. The second floor sported much dimmer lighting and seemed a little quieter, despite the fact that a space was cleared there for a DJ. The DJ's alcove was currently empty.
Drawing a blank for his next course of action, Ken decided he should simply wait until he could get some inkling of lead or begin pursuing something promising. He plunked himself down on a bar stool, then turned it so he could survey the clientele, looking for anything shady.
He almost jumped out of his seat when a warm hand clapped down on his shoulder. Turning around quickly, he found himself face to face with a handsome young man smiling cheerfully at him.
"What's your pleasure?" the man inquired smoothly, eyebrows quirking expectantly and warm brown eyes twinkling.
Ken had somehow managed to block out the possibility of acting his part by focusing solely on the technical aspect of the job, but now, faced with the reality of it, he broke out into a cold sweat.
"I, uh, er, um..."
The man drew back slightly, running his hand through thick spiky red brown hair. He tugged a bit on the strap of a large pair of goggles he was wearing, then cleared his throat. "Ahem, order? Me, bar guy, Davis?" he paused to hold up a bottle. "Liquor?" The bartender set down the bottle and then tried again, noting Ken's shell shocked look.
"So, I haven't seen you around here before, and I work almost every night. You new here?"
Ken managed a feeble nod, tense and unsure of what to do. When the bartender set down a glass of some kind of clear liquid in front of him, he replied, "Thanks... Davis. Yes, I am new."
Davis reached out a hand patted him jovially on the cheek. "That a boy! Loosen up man, it's not like we bite here, well, not in public anyway... Take a sip of that, looks like you need it." Ken wished immediately for Davis' tan olive complexion when he felt his pale skin flushing. The furred cuff of Davis' jacket tickled his nose.
Taking stock of the man, Ken noted of him his friendly air, and judging from his build, muscular and athletic, a good man to have in fight. Probably a great choice for a bartender. Admiring Davis's soft leather jacket, adorned with bright flames, Ken decided that employees were as good a place to get information as any. He took a deep breath and raised the glass to his mouth for a drink, pleasantly surprised to find that it was water.
Davis moved about continuing to mix drinks but chatted amiably with the nervous newcomer.
"What's your name?" he queried.
"Ke-, I..."
"Kai?"
Ken struggled to pull his act together, building his cover on a whim. "Yeah, Ken Kai actually." He smirked arrogantly, drawing a character out. He had played this game on occasion, and he liked to think he was pretty good. "Some people like to call me... the Kaiser."
***
A/N: Kenyako my @$$. i can see kenyako as a great fake couple, just not a real one, kinda like my opinion of yamasora (ack please don't kill me!). rabid kensuke fan talking here... anyway, i decided to use the dub names for this one 'cause I wanted it set in the US. i ain't even gonna speculate on Japanese night life. btw, i don't really know much about clubs, or police so please forgive any blatant mistakes... just, this idea's been bouncing around in my head for months, and i had to write about it. will definetely be shounen ai/shoujo ai. think kensuke, the rest will fall into place. i will work all my favorite couples into here, just wait! 'runs around with rubber stamp that says denial on it'
Warning: Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai. That is Male/Male and Female/Female romances. For the sanity of everyone involved, please don't bother to read something which will just disgust you if you don't like that sort of thing. Not much in this chapter but a defininte setup here.
***
Chap. 1: Little Boy Blue
***
Detective Ken Ichijouji stared blankly at the flamboyant spray of slightly wilting flowers demarking his customarily austere desktop, and tried not to twiddle his thumbs. He wondered, in the idle numbness of boredom, whether they acted as some sort of alarm crying, invalid!, to any passerby happening to glance his way. He sighed, and then as he had about a thousand times before in the course of this long week, reached out to pluck the card from its resting place between two floppy tissue like blossoms.
"You're my hero Ken honey, welcome back! The city's safe with you back on the job! Hugs and kisses, Yolie"
Ken winced as he envisioned his lovably batty fiancée blowing him a kiss. He resisted the urge to bang his head against his desk.
'Back on the job my foot! I've been doing nothing but desk sitting ever since I came back from the hospital! This is ridiculous.'
Thinking back, Ken shuddered as he remembered the pain of the bullet ripping into his back during the drug bust. Thankfully, there was no major damage and he was out of the hospital in a relatively short time, but it seemed as if the whole force had been treating him like he was made of glass since his return. Ken loved his job, and despite its dangers, this inaction left him feeling like he was letting everyone down.
Ever since his brother had been killed by a drunk driver in a hit and run case, Ken had wanted to become a police officer. He looked up to the people who had rightfully brought the person responsible to justice. Now, saddled with nothing but fluff and paperwork, Ken was helplessly frustrated at his inability to be useful. Despite the fact that he had been injured, Ken was confidant that he was one of the best on the job! He was their youngest detective, and his record was nearly spotless.
Grimacing faintly he considered the medal they had awarded him for his recent botched case that had left him with a bullet in his back. 'All that glory heaped on me for the biggest mistake of my life, charging into there and not looking back! I can not believe this. What kind of officer do they take me for?' Nevertheless, it had launched him as a poster boy in the department, precious and shiny as that damned medal, and now apparently, just as decorative. If only they would let him do something to really help, instead of leaving him to sit pretty all the time, wasting his abilities. There was so much service to be done, wrongs to be righted, crime to clean up!
Channeling his restless energy and impotent fury at his sudden psychological demotion, Ken resolved to confront the chief right away about his most unusual case load.
***
"Right, right, I know, Agent Yamaki... Yes it is important to get someone on the case, but..." Lieutenant Gennai sighed. 'Never try to reason with the feds' he thought to himself.
"Honestly sir, I don't know if we have any officers to spare, and its such a weak lead... er, no, of course I didn't mean to imply..." He frowned into the phone receiver hoping that he hadn't just gotten himself in deep shit. If they started researching the department's past...
"Er, yes sir, I'll make sure to get someone right away. Um..." the line went dead. Gennai rubbed his forehead tiredly, wishing that he could explain how exactly he knew that Yukio Oikawa was never coming back to this town. No, that was out of the question.
'Well, never mind, if they want to waste manpower, I guess I'll just have to let them.' He snorted bitterly, recalling what exactly they had asked of him. Right, a regular UC operation. It seemed like Oikawa was back to his old tricks again.
The phenomenon called 'monster' had been seeping quietly into the black market for years now, leaving a bewildering wake of zombie like junkies wherever it passed. It wasn't an oral drug, it wasn't intravenous, you didn't have to smoke or snort it. It was more insidious. It seemed to infect the mind.
It had been created in the laboratory of the formerly prosperous biotech firm called, Hypnos, founded by the brilliant scientist, Yukio Oikawa. For years Oikawa had been doing research concerning artificial intelligence and biotechnology on a grant from the government. The result, 'monster' was not what one would traditionally call a drug necessarily, it was a machine which interfaced with human beings, affecting their minds, taking in their bio rhythms, almost, it seemed, drawing from them, to create a mental image of a life form of great power and intelligence, capable, of great deeds. Oikawa had synthesized its essence into a pocket-sized device and showed his results to the government. They deemed it much too dangerous to exist. They seized all data on the project and had it destroyed.
A few months later, Hypnos had folded. Oikawa had liquefied his company. With the appearance of abandoning the entire field, he had used his assets to purchase various establishments around the country, and lived of the proceeds. He bought, bars, nightclubs, music halls, a few miscellaneous shops, nothing too suspicious. And he had never come back to this town, the place where his great discovery had been created and eliminated.
Or so that was the story. Almost immediately after the closing of Hypnos, traffic on 'monster' devices began. It should have been expected really, its highs were higher than any known substance, it was a one time purchase, no habit to support, it was easy to disguise and transport, and it had no known physical side affects. It merely drove you mad. Investigations on Oikawa had begun immediately, but nothing could ever be traced back to him. He was the only conceivable source of the devices, yet, he seemed more eager to bury monster than even the government. Even so, after all these years, he still remained under suspicion.
The government had finally caught a break in the case, and unfortunately, Lieutenant Gennai realized why they had turned to him. This year, a new variant of monster had appeared, something not requiring the pocket machine in specific, but a program form that could inputted into computers, or even simpler machines like cell phones and pagers. They had dubbed it, 'digital monster', digimon for short. They figured Oikawa had to be at the bottom of it, and maybe this time, they could catch him red handed.
'A criminal always returns to the scene of a crime' thought Gennai. 'That's what Yamaki said.' He remembered the one time he had seen the infamous Oikawa face to face. He had been a young officer in the group that had busted into Hypnos, confiscating the original 'monster' data, under his superior, Sergeant Hida, along with agents from the federal government. "The scene of the crime eh?" he said out loud.
Oikawa owned a club in the strip district popularly frequented by the college crowd as well young professionals. The FBI had asked him to assign a criminal intelligence team there to watch for any activities relating to 'digimon' and to try to maneuver Oikawa or his employees into a trap. Oikawa had never been known to appear in that club, even at the time he purchased it. 'Empty lead' thought Gennai again, 'empty lead...'
***
Ken's eyes widened as he struggled to compute the implications of what was being proposed to him. When he had come to demand that he be put on some /real/ cases, he hadn't expected that the reaction would have been so, well, positive.
"And so, the FBI wants our best men on it Ichijouji. I think you'll be perfect for the job." Gennai couldn't resist smirking a little. This fell into place so neatly! After Ichijouji's injury, his fiancée Yolie had come to Gennai asking if they couldn't keep him out of serious trouble for a while, at least until the wedding... He should have thought of it before, Ken was the ideal stooge!
Ken nodded gravely, thinking out his next statement carefully. "Excuse me sir, but, as you know, I've never been part of an undercover operation before, and I was wondering who else is going to be on this team. Perhaps I could get some advice as to how I should act, or what kind of things I should be looking for..." he trailed off expectantly.
"Oh, you're gonna be on your own on this one Ichijouji. We'll bring in surveillance equipment if you find anything noteworthy. Other than that, we don't want to gamble on sending in anything that might get you discovered as from the police."
"What!"
"Don't get me wrong kid, this is an extremely important assignment, but for now we want it to kind of low profile. The feds want us to get feelers out in all sorts of directions, but they don't want to commit, or even show an indication of making a move until they're sure they can get something concrete. I got it on high authority that there are expectations on this watch, but they don't want to take any chances that this operation would be discovered. You can tell your family, but don't even hint to anyone else what you'll be up to."
Ken's brow wrinkled in consternation. Something sounded awfully fishy about this.
"But Lieutenant, this seems, a tad, devoid of planning. Wouldn't this have a much greater chance of success with specific objectives and courses of action laid out?" He was trying to be polite about his misgivings, but this reeked of, well, sloppiness. Ken could never bring himself to be utterly forgiving of such a thing. He preferred, well, was looking for, perfection...
Gennai screwed up his face trying to make himself look stolid while he concealed the fact that he was looking up into Plato's heaven for a good answer.
"That is, well boy, I don't often say things like this, but I'm trusting this all to you. This case is, well, it's a real chance. The FBI wants this operation as insular as possible, they told me, get someone you trust implicitly. Ichijouji, after your last case, you've shown great bearing and honor as an officer, so, I naturally thought of you. A success here could really move you up the ranks..." 'Ichijouji really is good.' Gennai thought. 'He'll end up on top no matter what happens. Sending him on a bit of a wild goose chase won't hurt him, and for the sake of his wedding, I'll just keep him puffed up and safe on the sidelines for now...'
Ken straightened immediately, eyes shining with enthusiasm and sincerity. "Very well. I understand sir, and knowing you trust me," he paused gathering his resolve and looking his commander straight in the eye. "I promise I will not let you down."
As the young man saluted, took up the case file, then exited, Gennai sighed. 'I hope I'm doing the right thing.'
***
Yolie hummed tunelessly to herself as she focused on the image on the screen, painstakingly checking and rechecking every detail, backtracking at the slightest hint of a flaw. In all her years as forensic pathologist for the police, she'd never encountered such as challenging puzzle as this!
'Click.' Yolie jerked her head sharply as she took in the new variation that appeared on screen. She rushed to compensate. 'Click, click, click...' the mouse veritably flew across its pad.
Ken was surprised to observe her in a clicking frenzy, intent on the computer screen as he entered the apartment they shared. Curious, he padded over toward his, less than attentive girlfriend's side to see what had her so obsessed. 'Probably work' he thought, knowing how dedicated and precise she was.
Catching a glimpse of the screen as he drew near, Ken felt himself halt in embarrassed agitation. Shaking off his apprehension and forcing an uneasy smile he commented a little more shrilly than he would have liked, "Really excited about the wedding huh?"
He didn't know why talk about their wedding always affected him like this. He wasn't frightened, only, at times it seemed such an unreal event to him, like part of the story that he forgot he'd be living through. After all, they had been introduced at work, dated for a couple of years, lived together as amiably as could be, so now, it was only natural that they get married, wasn't it?
Anyway, he swallowed ruefully as he took in the full function of the program onscreen. There was some vague man shaped mock up which he assumed represented himself, standing next to a detailed rendering of Yolie which was currently modeling a beautiful wedding dress. His lovely fiancée was occupied modifying the details of said dress. Having gotten no response from his previous attempt at communication, Ken laid his hand on Yolie's arm and tried again. "Ahem, couldn't you, I don't know, make me look a little better..."
He wished he hadn't asked, as Yolie convulsed in surprise, sending the mouse airborne into the side of his head.
"Hi honey, I'm home." he deadpanned.
"Uh, Ken! Hi! When did you get here?" she finally replied. Her brow wrinkled a little and she continued. "You said something, about you?" When he only stared at her and the computer image incredulously, she began to get an inkling that she had missed something. Ken pointed directly at the vaguely male-ish tux clad little icon. "Me." he repeated, not sounding amused. Yolie's eyes widened in comprehension as she stuttered sheepishly, "O-o-o-oh yeah, you..." she chuckled contritely and put on her most winsome smile, "I uh, kinda... forgot."
***
"Um, Ken..." Yolie tried to interject bashfully, still subject to chastisement for her earlier behavior.
He continued speaking unremittingly. This idea of going undercover into total uncertainty made him feel so apprehensive, it was like he had to get all of his thoughts out. Like unless he laid things out, things would go haywire and his whole life would change.
"I'll be on solo surveillance at a bar owned by Yukio Oikawa downtown. I'm supposed to try and pick up any leads on monster traffic or digimon activity, and as of yet, the assignment seems to be on an indefinite time frame..."
"Ken, Honey?" She tried again, still rather timid in overcompensation, but with more urgency.
"This is very secret and I even debated whether to let /you/ know all the details, but I didn't want you worrying too much," he paused, "what, with our wedding coming up and all..." He almost appeared to shudder.
Now more than slightly miffed, Yolie narrowed her eyes and barked, "Ken!"
Shaking out of his monologue, Ken turned to his fiancée and studied her quizzically.
"What is it Yolie?"
"Oikawa only owns one club in this town."
"That's right honey, that's why I'm being sent to stake the place out, establish a cover and some leverage to expose the..." Ken continued, shrugging off the interruption.
"I've heard about that place Ken, it's..."
He still seemed to be ignoring her, since from his judgment she wasn't making any sense. "If I find any relevant information, they're going to back me up with a full surveillance crew, but for now..."
"Ken!" she tried once more, growing frustrated.
"You can't let anyone know about this, and as far as identities are concerned, we've got no connection with police..." Yolie never listened to him, Ken thought.
Deciding to cut straight to the point, Yolie leveled out the exact fact she'd been trying to get through to Ken during the whole conversation, hoping to finally grab his attention.
"It's a gay bar."
"I'll be posing as a bit of listless barfly, but with a trust fund big enough to cover my vices." he finished. Then he did a double take. "What?"
"Oikawa's club is a gay bar," she repeated, trying not to smirk. Ken holed up in a gay bar for the next few months, what a perfect defense for her wedding! She had to remember to thank Lieutenant Gennai for this!
"Wait, are you sure?" he practically wheezed.
"Of course! Oh, this is so great! Honey, we have got to get you all dolled up!" She fluttered off eagerly, hurrying to assemble a perfect party boy garb for him.
"No, wait, Yolie, stop! Maybe I should talk to the Lieutenant. No, hey what are you doing?" he sighed, getting dizzy trying to trace her flurry of activity back and forth across their apartment. She began stockpiling various strange articles of clothing that she'd found somewhere along with a huge array of hair care products, and even some makeup. "...Yolie, I'm not even going to be starting this assignment until next week!" She kept buzzing along, completely oblivious of his last words. He drooped, knowing the window of communication had been lost.
***
Ken felt ridiculous. Once Yolie had gotten her hands on his wardrobe, he should have known there was no escape. At least she'd given him /some/ say on the matter, but what a choice he'd had to make!
He was clad in a tight blue and white outfit with yellow and black trimming. The sleeves and pant legs were fastened with metallic clasps and he felt a bit taller in the large clunky military type boots he was sporting. He had absolutely drawn the line at that absurd collar, shoulder pad cape thing that she'd wanted him to wear, so the heavy jacket lay unbuttoned about his neck, revealing a plain white shirt, which was elegantly flattering.
Of course that meant he'd had to compromise on his hair and accessories, so his normally long midnight hair was spiked and gelled into a masterpiece, giving off purple and navy blue highlights. He wasn't sure he wanted to wear the strange pair of sunglasses she'd given him, but as he stared at the rainbow colored neon sign blinking, 'digital world', he decided he'd give them a try.
The interior of the club was dark and loud, radiating with the eerie glow of neon signs and weak fluorescent light. Dance music pounded through the building almost like a heartbeat. Weaving through some aesthetically arranged tables and booths, Ken tried to determine for himself a plan of action. Scoping the place out, he realized it wasn't all that large. Near the entrance, the walls were lined with plush looking booths, and it appeared that this was pseudo-dining area for there were various tables laid out in-between. The furniture faded out gradually integrating into a medium sized dance floor, with a bar on the boundary between zones, and more tables and couches lining the sides of the room. One corner of the table area seemed to consist of a stage, probably for live performers. There was a small upstairs area, really resembling a platform that ringed above the dance floor, and it was filled with more tables and booths. It gave a great view for the stage apparently. The second floor sported much dimmer lighting and seemed a little quieter, despite the fact that a space was cleared there for a DJ. The DJ's alcove was currently empty.
Drawing a blank for his next course of action, Ken decided he should simply wait until he could get some inkling of lead or begin pursuing something promising. He plunked himself down on a bar stool, then turned it so he could survey the clientele, looking for anything shady.
He almost jumped out of his seat when a warm hand clapped down on his shoulder. Turning around quickly, he found himself face to face with a handsome young man smiling cheerfully at him.
"What's your pleasure?" the man inquired smoothly, eyebrows quirking expectantly and warm brown eyes twinkling.
Ken had somehow managed to block out the possibility of acting his part by focusing solely on the technical aspect of the job, but now, faced with the reality of it, he broke out into a cold sweat.
"I, uh, er, um..."
The man drew back slightly, running his hand through thick spiky red brown hair. He tugged a bit on the strap of a large pair of goggles he was wearing, then cleared his throat. "Ahem, order? Me, bar guy, Davis?" he paused to hold up a bottle. "Liquor?" The bartender set down the bottle and then tried again, noting Ken's shell shocked look.
"So, I haven't seen you around here before, and I work almost every night. You new here?"
Ken managed a feeble nod, tense and unsure of what to do. When the bartender set down a glass of some kind of clear liquid in front of him, he replied, "Thanks... Davis. Yes, I am new."
Davis reached out a hand patted him jovially on the cheek. "That a boy! Loosen up man, it's not like we bite here, well, not in public anyway... Take a sip of that, looks like you need it." Ken wished immediately for Davis' tan olive complexion when he felt his pale skin flushing. The furred cuff of Davis' jacket tickled his nose.
Taking stock of the man, Ken noted of him his friendly air, and judging from his build, muscular and athletic, a good man to have in fight. Probably a great choice for a bartender. Admiring Davis's soft leather jacket, adorned with bright flames, Ken decided that employees were as good a place to get information as any. He took a deep breath and raised the glass to his mouth for a drink, pleasantly surprised to find that it was water.
Davis moved about continuing to mix drinks but chatted amiably with the nervous newcomer.
"What's your name?" he queried.
"Ke-, I..."
"Kai?"
Ken struggled to pull his act together, building his cover on a whim. "Yeah, Ken Kai actually." He smirked arrogantly, drawing a character out. He had played this game on occasion, and he liked to think he was pretty good. "Some people like to call me... the Kaiser."
***
A/N: Kenyako my @$$. i can see kenyako as a great fake couple, just not a real one, kinda like my opinion of yamasora (ack please don't kill me!). rabid kensuke fan talking here... anyway, i decided to use the dub names for this one 'cause I wanted it set in the US. i ain't even gonna speculate on Japanese night life. btw, i don't really know much about clubs, or police so please forgive any blatant mistakes... just, this idea's been bouncing around in my head for months, and i had to write about it. will definetely be shounen ai/shoujo ai. think kensuke, the rest will fall into place. i will work all my favorite couples into here, just wait! 'runs around with rubber stamp that says denial on it'
