Walking past the gymnasium, Ken stopped as he heard a familiar name be shouted through the thick metal echoing off the cheers of female voices. Widening his eyes, he wondered if it really was the Digidestined and Daisuke. Grabbing the door handle, he pressed the button and slowly pulled it open, peering into the gym with one purple eye.
Seeing the back of Yolei's head, Ken blinked then glanced around as far as the crack of view would allow him, spotting the shorter little kid, Cody. Kari wasn't anywhere in sight, but he could hear her voice cheering for T.K.. What a creep.
Opening the door, he slid his skinny frame inside unnoticeably, sneaking his way up the bleachers to the very top where he sat down in a corner and leaned against the wall. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered why he would bother staying with the others around, he only needed to talk to Daisuke, maybe find a way home, and blast their way out of here.
"Back To The Future style..." Ken grinned, nodding his head.
Suddenly, the gymnasium speakers crackled and the volume turned up, a song filtered through the surrounding speakers and echoed across the gym. The Digidestined and Ken paused for a moment as they heard the tune "Dude Looks Like A Lady" suddenly blast throughout the school.
"What the hell?" Ken questioned outloud to himself. "How did they find out my secret theme song..." He darted his eyes around from left to right, slowly narrowing them. He spotted a lock of his long hair and squeaked, growing self-conscious. "I AM NOT A HE/SHE!" He immediately buried his face in his palms in denial.
Daisuke stopped in his game of basketball to listen to the lyrics of the Aerosmith song with a grin, he chuckled and looked around the court. "So.. Anyone seen Ken?" He snickered, the song triggering an image of Ken with his long feminine hair.
T.K. came up beside Daisuke with the ball, passing him to make a goal on his net, as the cinnamon child was distracted momentarily. Until he shot out an arm and grabbed the bouncing ball easily from T.K.. Raising an eyebrow, T.K. snorted and took off after Daisuke as he turned and headed for his own net. He wouldn't let the doofus win that easily, especially with Kari watching.
Sighing Ken shrugged into the corner, muttering to himself about various things as would any average crazy homeless bum, and just sat there in silence until he noticed the back of Miyako's head spin around and feast her light brown eyes on his hunched form. As she blinked with no recognition, suddenly it hit her who he was and she glared at him wickedly.
'Smile you idiot.
Say cheese.
No...I'd rather say...bongos.
Then say it.
No.
Why not?
Because...you're not the boss a'me.
I AM you...if you haven't noticed.
Well maybe I haven't.
Then fine.
Fine!
FINE!
FINE!
FINE!!''
A wide grin stretched across Ken's lightly colored lips, creating a toothy smile that showed the tips of his white teeth amusingly- what he wasn't going for. Reaching his hand up, Ken slapped the base of his palm against his forehead and he sighed and shook his head. Raising his head away from his hand, he mentally scolded himself.
'Ahh! Stupid! Evil geniuses DO NOT do that!
..Or do they?
Hrm...maybe if they're playing chess.
What does chess have to do with anything?
I d'no...evil geniuses just seem to...like...chess...a lot...?
...
Nevermind, think of your character, act the role, play the part, all that good stuff.
..Damn, Dai looks- cut that out!'
"What are YOU doing here, Ken?" Yolei's voice slapped him back into awareness, shouting out at the longhaired genius that sat up in the bleachers from the gym floor. She didn't sound at all happy to see him, which made him cringe inside for a moment, until he remembered whom they viewed him as and sighed.
Remaining in his relaxed position of leaning against the railing of the benches and having an arm slung casually over on pulled up knee, Ken fixed a dark glare on Yolei, returning her burning gaze from beneath the overhanging veil of dark blue strands. Clearing his throat, he drew in a breath and replied sounding casual in a cruel and taunting way. "I'm just.. Hanging out. Evilly. Watching the little fools as they frolic carelessly about, obviously enjoying their last moments of life in this world. Yes...I am watching...very, very, evilly."
That was brilliant, excellent performance, though a little thick.
And a little stupid.
Would you SHUT up?!
Make me.
Fine.
Fine!
FINE.
FINE THEN DO IT!
FINE I WILL!
FINE!
FINE!!
Shifting his glare from Yolei to the two boys playing on the basketball court, the droning beats of the basketball slamming into the floor drummed steadily in his ear. Raising a slight eyebrow, he looked at T.K. then stared at Daisuke with wavering violet eyes. Sitting there in his place among the empty seats, Ken watched Daisuke grab the ball away from T.K. and dribble it down the court, obviously unaware of his presence.
To keep himself from calling out, Ken curled his bottom lip beneath his front teeth and looked back at Yolei, who seemed to melt beneath his blank stare until Cody walked over and glared at him from her side. With a slight smirk, Ken lowered his eyes and exchanged daggers with Cody, submerging himself into his character.
"What is it that you want, Ken? Why did you come here?! You can't cause trouble in the real world, no matter who you think you are!" Cody shouted rebelliously up at Ken, glaring at him with his emerald green eyes, turned cold at this supposedly evil and sadistic child's presence. Sliding his feet shoulder length apart, Cody looked as if he was ready to protect Yolei from the icy daggers Ken shot with his eyes.
"Oh yeah?! Well what if I thought I was the boogey man!?"
As Cody's voice reflected off the walls of the empty gymnasium, T.K. and Daisuke both stopped their game, turning their own sets of eyes towards Cody at the base of the rising benches, then to Ken who was at the top and looking poised and comfortable like a tiger relaxing before his chance to pounce. Though the entire group knew Ken couldn't harm them in the real world, they were still edgy around the boy.
Knowing he couldn't tell them his real answer for coming here in the first place, Ken looked away from Cody to Daisuke, his gaze losing the hardness only reserved for those who knew it so well. With a quick wink, he grinned and looked back to Cody with a sardonic grin. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it? As I stated earlier, fool, I've come to watch my foes before watching their corpses be burned."
'Ehh, a bit thick there Ichijouji.
Take a lil off the top, will ya barber?
Shut up.
Sure.
Fine.
Don't start this again.
Fine, I won't.
Fine.
...FINE!
FINE!!'
Standing up smoothly, Ken rose to his feet and started to walk down the steep stairs carefully, knowing one miscalculated move would send him tumbling down like a sack of potatoes. A stupid and now embarrassed sack of potatoes. Staring at Cody, he smirked, as he seemed to glide down the steps until the tenth one from the bottom. His shoelace snared on his rising foot, as he was about to take a step down.
"REVENNNGGEEE!" The shoelace cackled...somehow. "That's for stepping on me so many times, you INSOLENT childishly-shoelace-tying fool! Double knots, DOUBLE KNOTS!! AHA HA HAHA!"
'...Did my shoelace just talk to me?
Your usual breakfast consists of string cheese and pink lemonade after a 2 hour sleep. You WONDER why you hallucinate...'
Losing his footing, Ken's eyes widened as he watched the wooden edges of the stairs swoop up at him before he curled and avoided a second bashed nose.
The momentum of the rest of his body carrying him head over heels, Ken rolled and bounced down the last few steps before arriving at the very bottom in a dazed and crumpled heap, staring up at the twisting ceiling way above his head. Hearing the laughs of the Digidestined, he blinked a few times, wondering if he heard Daisuke's laugh among those jeering guffaws. Yep...ended up just like the potatoes.
Until a set of footsteps stomped up to him at a fast pace, a hand grabbed his and pulled him calmly up to his feet. Lifting his head, he looked up at Daisuke's worried face for a moment before clamping a hand down on his shoulder and bending his head down, his hair falling around his face and making it look as if he was catching his balance as he spoke quickly and decisively.
"Remember who they think we are." He whispered beneath his breath, listening carefully to the Digidestineds laugh at his fall, the dull throbbing pain of his head, back, and knee being ignored as he took the time to talk with Daisuke.
"What?" Daisuke blinked, raising an eyebrow at Ken as he looked down at the mask of hair, hiding his friends' facial features. The single sentence not making any sense, though Daisuke kept it in mind.
"Remember, Dai. Meet me at the soccer field, bring a soccerball thing-sorry for this." Ken hissed, pressing the base of his palm into Daisuke's shoulder and shoving him back. Suddenly turning around and limping away, his pride and his leg hurt, Ken looked back at Daisuke from over his shoulder, eyeing the Digidestineds who regained themselves and stopped laughing long enough to watch Ken shove Daisuke.
"Don't think I didn't do that on purpose, digifools. Potatoes are only the beginning for what I shall soon come to conquer. Believe me when I say this, YOU WILL REGRET EVER LAUGHING AT ME!" Ken boomed and growled as he turned to open the heavy metal door just beside him, but finding it locked. Jerking it twice, fed up, he screamed, "WHO IN THE HELL KEEPS LOCKING ALL THESE DOORS?!"
"...I do," came a male voice, just across the gym's waxed floor.
"Oh no! It's George!" Takeru shouted.
"George!" Yolei gasped.
Everyone turned their heads to look at the school janitor.
"GEORGE!" They all shouted in unison, excluding Daisuke and Ken.
Ken tilted his head down, scratching his brow, "Okay...all this weird crap is starting to SUCK now, okay?"
"Don't be worried, little friend...I have just what you need." George calmly said, and reached into a compartment of his yellow plastic janitor toolkit on wheels. He propelled out a bottle of copper liquid, holding it up high in holiness. "PINESOL CLEANER!"
"PINESOL CLEANER?!" Cody gasped.
"NOT PINESOL CLEANER!" Kari protested.
"YYYES! PINESOL CLEANER!" George confirmed loudly.
Ken stood there. "..Wh...what the freaking HELL. I DON'T EVEN -HAVE- A FREAKING LINOLIUM FLOOR." Angrily thrusting out his arm, he pointed a firm index finger in the direction of George and the digidestined. "SCREW YOU, AND SCREW YOUR -FREAKING- PINESOL CLEANER ALL RIGHT?!"
Spinning back around, the violet-haired boy grabbed the locked door's handle. Forgetting about its unavailability, he tugged back his elbow roughly to open it, only finding it rigidly stuck in place.
"Goddamnit..." Ken muttered with a growl, and simply sidestepped to the next door and wretched his hand on the knob. He shoved the door open and stormed outside into the school hallway. Few seconds later it closed with a bang and the group were left behind to simply look at one another. The sounds of squeaky wheels echoed off in the background, signaling George waddling off to continue his janitorial work.
Cody broke into weak tears, pawing his palms to his face.
"He...he insulted the Pinesol cleaner..."
"Don't worry Cody...he's gone now..." Yolei comforted the smaller child in a warm voice, clasping her hands on his shoulders and peering around one side of him.
"It...it was even lemony fresh and..."
"Shh...it's all right..."
As Daisuke watched Ken take his leave, he realized he knew what he was talking about and nodded to himself as he stood up and trotted over to Kari and T.K.. Watching them laugh and talk as they walked off to the other end of the gym, he found himself eager for the day to pass so he could meet Ken at the soccer field after dinner.
"Hey T.K.! Just hold on a minute! We haven't finished our game!" Daisuke called, jogging over to the rolling orange ball and picking it up. Dribbling it steadily as he stood their in the middle of the gym, he grinned as he watched T.K. turn around and eye him, then the ball. A glimmer of confidence sparkled in Daisuke's eyes as he watched the blonde haired boy approach slowly.
Until T.K. was a few steps away and reaching for the ball, Daisuke took a quick leap ahead to the right side of him, bouncing the ball as he jumped. With a grin he streaked towards T.K.'s end of the court, his shoes screaming against the shiny floor with each quick pivot.
T.K. wouldn't be beaten that easily, he lowered his eyebrows in determination as he watched Daisuke soon get cocky and trot around the front of his home net, bouncing the ball lazily as they kept solid eye contact with each other. Leaping ahead, shoving off the floor with his Adidas sneakers, T.K. reached for the ball and swiped it away from Dai.
"Hah! You got overconfident. Typical, Davis." T.K. smirked, dribbling the ball on the spot as he spun and began to run towards the opposite end of the gym towards Daisuke's net. The ball bouncing in his ears he began to breathe harder form the running, the previous scores from before taking their toll on him.
"You think so, T.P.?" Daisuke's voice cut through the air as he sprinted beside the taller kid, keeping right at his side and eyeing the sphere beating against the ground like a drum, with hungry eyes. He definitely wanted to beat this loser and prove himself better, though not for Kari. Who'd want some boring chick, anyway?
Daisuke looked at T.K.
"Five-three, it's been a tough game so far kiddies, but it looks as though Davis Motomiya has a chance, for he has, ladies and gents, been holding back on his game until the last few minutes of scoring. Therefore being smart. Smarter than spunky over there." Daisuke grinned, announcing his name as Davis, seeming as how that's who they all thought of him as.
As T.K. listened he looked over and made a face at Daisuke, noting to himself at how he didn't seem one bit out of breath, panting hard and nearly ready to fall over like the other times they went against each other. Raising an eyebrow at the thought, he pushed it away as mere determination; knowing how powerful willpower could be once you actually want something.
"Don't think you're going to win! I already got the top score." T.K. huffed between breathes of air, he kept his eye on the sweaty boy beside him as he pivoted and spun the opposite way, trotting parallel to the opposing net. Eyeing it out of the corner of his eye, he took a quick glance back at Daisuke who slipped and fell while he meant to turn as sharp as T.K. did.
Quickly stepping back up on his feet, Daisuke spun and bolted after T.K. who was just setting up for a shot. Sliding between him and the net, Dai spread his arms and leapt into the air as T.K. thrust the ball away from him, launching it off his right palm and sending it sailing into the air. His hopes were shot down as Dai's hand swung and beat the ball to the ground over his head.
"Ah ha! Too slow T.B.!" Daisuke laughed, landing on the floor and dodging past the boy, twisting his way beneath T.K.'s arms and grabbing for the runaway ball. As his fingers stretched out into the air, the orange orb of air bounced off the floor and through his hands as Dai fell against the wooden surface with a grunt.
Not watching the overhead timer, an annoying bell buzzed loudly through the gym, announcing the end of the game and the loss of Daisuke. With a sigh he slowly rose from the floor and dusted off his white t-shirt, looking around for a moment before spotting something in the window of the doors. As he peered through the gap between them, Daisuke watched as the figure with straight dark hair turned and stepped out of view. With a grin he knew who it was.
...Batman.
[S.K.: Oohh.. Big conspiracy time.. Dun da dun dun..]
In a dark room, one large silhouetted human shaped creature sat at one end of a gleaming table in the center of a dimly lit room. Soft blue lights filtered in from the edges of the walls, being the only light existing within the oval shaped room.
A small green Digimon slid into the room, looking rather nervous and miniscule in front of the table. Holding a piece of paper, it looks up to the large being with a nervous grin. "Uhm.. Shir. The trio arrived yeshterday. They're unaware of the child'sh preshenche in the Digital World.. Uhhmm.. Yesh, that'sh all." It remarked with the small hint of a lisp caused by a forked tongue.
"Hmm.. Excellent. Send Gexmon then. Have him take care of the child and the idiot boy. I want that child to myself. Get to it." The figure commanded, his voice deep and brooding as he spoke serenely.
"Right away, shhhhhir!" The digimon spat, turning and running off, after actually getting saliva droplets of spit on the knee of the shadowed master. The human figure sighed and put its forehead in its palm. His deep and harsh voice grumbled.
"Beautiful...I have freaking Sylvester to work with..." Snatching a tissue from a nearby box of Kleenex, the dark hand snaked to his knee and wiped the disgusting drool off of himself. Crumpling up the used thin napkin, the figure tossed it carelessly to a garbage can just beside him, the scrunched ball landing onto a heaped pile of more scrunched white balls. One silently fell down off the mountain onto the ground, due to overfilling.