Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon
Savior
"Master! Master!" A gekomon ran into his computer room. He landed on hands and knees before the mighty Kasier who busied himself at his computer.
"What is it?" He asked calmly, silently seething that he had been interrupted while working.
"The girl-" it panted.
"What about her?" He muttered, voice detached. He had little patients for any discussions of her. Wormmon had spent much of the last few days trying to get him to release her from the dungeon. This argument continued well after Wormmon left as the debate continued in his head, making a night of sleep impossible.
"She's sick."
"What?"
"Incredibly sick. We went to take her some food, but we could not get her to rise-"
Before the Gekomon could finish he jumped from his seat and ran past him. He ran down the stone hall and down a creaky metal stairwell. He reached the foot of the stairs and found himself staring down a long hall. This is where he kept his slaves, his dungeon. He walked down the hall, his footsteps sounding hollow in his ears. Digimon roared and growled behind steel locked doors. The place could hold anything.
He reached the farthest door and pulled the lock off. The dead bolt, which now that he thought about it seemed a little over done, fell to the floor with a loud clang. He pulled the heavy door open and stepped inside.
'Nothing's over done when it comes to the DigiDestined.'
The air was icy and each breath he took made his lungs and nose sting. He tried breathed through his mouth, but the air tasted old and musky, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Stepping further into the cold cell he let his eyes adjust to the dim light. Water fell from the ceiling and trailed down his shirt causing him to shiver.
She lay on the floor at the very back of the cell. She shook under the thin sheet she had been given. He regretted the treatment he had given her down here.
He crouched beside her and pulled his glasses off her face. He touched her forehead and brushed aside her bangs that plastered there from sweat. She was burning up. Her clothes and the blanket were soaked through. Each breath she took was ragged and labored.
He tossed the blanket away and picked her up. She whimpered and tried to push him away. "Hey, calm yourself," he cooed gently. He pushed himself off the floor and took a moment to steady himself with the extra weight in his arms.
He trudged into the hallway. Roars and screams of his captives rang in his ears and the sound of them crashing against the door echoed through the hall. He cursed himself for placing her so far from the stairwell. He cursed himself again for having stairs and not elevators.
He ascended the rickety old stairwell and continued to push himself down the hall, ignoring his slaves who ran to his side volunteering to take his bundle from him. He denied them the "honor", as they so oddly put it. He found an empty room, one close to his room, and kicked it open. He entered the semi dark room and walked over to the bed. He struggled to turn down the blanket and after many attempts; almost dropping her twice he laid her down gently. He covered her with every blanket in the room he could find, but it didn't stop the shaking.
"Someone get in here now!" Four gotsumon ran in. "Strip her of those clothes and have them burned. Get her another nightshirt. And someone make her some tea." The four digimon dispersed to their tasks. He went to his own room and stripped his bed of his thick blanket. He walked back to his room and paused before he knocked. "Are you done?"
"Yes master." Someone called after a few moments of silence. He kicked the door open and walked inside. The gotsumon had stepped away from the bed, waiting for their next orders. Ignoring them, he laid the big blanket over her.
The last gotsumon ran in carrying a tray with two cups and a teapot on it. He appeared to be having trouble balancing it and Ken wrenched it out of his hands, the force knocking the cups over.
"Get out!" He ordered. "If I need you, I will call for you." The gotsumon scurried out of the room and he turned away in disgust. Placing the tray on the nightstand, he poured a cup and placed it aside to cool. He went to the bathroom located through a door in the car corner of the semi lit room. He came back with a bowl of water and a white cloth under his arm. Water spilled over the sides of the bowl as he made his way back to the bed.
After putting down the bowl and cloth, he picked up the tea and blew on it softly. Taking a seat beside her, he brushed hair from her face. "Hey, come on. I need you to sit up and drink this." Her eyes flickered open briefly and her lips moved with incoherent sounds. Using his free hand he pulled her up and let her lay against him. He blew on the tea again before putting it to her lips. "Drink."
She opened her mouth and the liquid spilled inside. Her pale, sickly face contorted into one of pain and she jerked away. The scolding tea spilled onto his pants.
"Ah, shit!" He cursed as he jumped to his feet. It looked like he wet himself. She mumbled something that sounded remotely like 'I'm sorry'. With a sigh of aggravation, he let the subject slide. He picked up the white cloth and put it into the bowl, allowing the cool water to soak into it. He laid it on her head.
'Isn't this wonderful,' the voice laughed. 'Here she is. Dying. You hold her life in your hands. Don't blow it!'
"Ken." He knew it was Wormmon by the sound of his annoying little voice. He ignored the fact that the puny little insolent hadn't called him master. "Your doing it wrong, Ken."
The presence snapped his head around at Wormmon. "How can you say that 'I' am…" 'Shut up,' he ordered the presence. 'Wormmon is probably right. I have no idea how to take care of anyone.' "What am I doing wrong?"
Wormmon crawled closer to him. "When a human has a bad fever you want to cool them down. The wet cloth is the right idea, but all the blankets need to be taken off."
"Cool down," he repeated. "Okay." He pulled the blankets off of her.
"Just keep the cloth cool. You need to get her body to cool down. Or else she'll die." He nodded and wiped her face with the cloth.
The day wore down and he stayed by her side every minute of it. It was his fault she was sick and he would be damned if she died. The hours passed, he was sure it was well into the night. She withered and whimpered feverishly in the bed. She wasn't getting any better; at least she wasn't getting worse.
"Ken, please eat," Wormmon begged, worried about his master. The boy ignored the worm. He wouldn't eat until she was up and well. Stroking her hair softly, fear rose inside him. She could not die!
Wormmon watched the Kaiser, a worried frown on his small features. He had never seen him this way. So compassionate towards another life, this was not the Kaiser he knew and feared. This was the Ken he once loved; the one that had died the day the Kaiser came to be.
**~~**
Soft sunlight shone through the slits in the dark, thick drapes. Her fever had cooled considerably and her body had ceased its withering. She slept quietly in the bed, two blankets pulled over her. The room was silent except for her breathing, which was still harsh and labored sounding.
Ken sat in his chair beside her, staring into space. Wormmon lay asleep at his feet like a loyal little puppy but he didn't pay any attention to him. Ken rubbed his eyes. His stomach growled from hunger and his eyes ached from lack of sleep and focus.
A loud cough escaped her and her lips began to move. It snapped him from the half sleep he had slipped into. Curious, he got up from his seat and moved his ear to her mouth. No sound came out, but something touched his cheek. He reached up and caught her hand. Her eyes opened a tiny bit then closed again. "I-I can't see," she whispered.
"I have the glasses," he answered softly.
She nodded. "I'm not in the dungeon anymore, am I?"
"No, I moved you into a room again."
She opened her eyes again. They were unfocused and dilated. "Why?"
"Because you were sick." She nodded another okay. "How do you feel?" He asked, picking up her hand and squeezing it lightly. She looked like she was starting to doze.
"Like hell."
"I can't take care pf you," he informed. She got a look of confusion on her face. "Your too sick. I'm going to take you to the real world-"
"No, I can't go back," she protested, cutting him off.
"Yes," he argued. "You have too. I'm going to take you too a friend of mine. He'll treat you and he won't ask questions."
"So, I won't have to go home?"
He shook his head. "You don't have to go home. Do you feel up to going? The sooner we can go the better, but if you can't I'm not going to make you."
"Its fine. I can."
"Okay. I'll be right back, then we'll go." He got up and nudged Wormmon with the toe of his shoe. "Wormmon, we're going to leave soon," he notified the green worm when he was fully awake.
"Alright master, I'll hold down the base."
"You do that," Ken replied. "I'll return in a moment." He walked out of the room and into his own. He tossed on some new clothes and stepped in front of the mirror to examine his reflection.
'Look what she's doing to you, to us. We look ragged and exhausted. Is this the type of impression the Kaiser should give? And why should you care if she lived or died? Let her!'
He ran a hand through his spiky hair, suddenly disgusted with himself. He turned away from the mirror and returned to her room. He touched her shoulder, letting her know he was there. She was partially asleep. "Ready?" He asked her. She nodded. "Do you want the glasses?" She nodded and he slipped them onto her face. She blinked twice, but her eyes didn't clear. He lifted her up, bundling her up in one of the two blankets. She let out a nervous breath. He walked out of the room, feeling the weight of her against him. He walked into the control room where his computer sat untouched since he had left it the day before. He picked up his dark Digivice and raised it to the computer screen. "Digiport open!"
When the light that had come from the port disappeared, he looked around. He was standing in his room, his old room. The air was still and cold and it looked exactly the way he had left it.
'Oh goody,' the presence sneered. 'I was feeling a bit nostalgic.'
"Where?" She started to ask before coughing loudly.
"Sh," he ordered. "This is my old room. But if my parents are home and they hear us, they'll make you go home." She stayed quiet this time. He made his way to the door and struggled to open it a tiny bit. Outside of his room it was warm and soft sounds filled the air. The sounds of talking, from a television from one side of the hall and sizzling from the kitchen on the other. "Great, surrounded from both sides," he whispered.
He pushed his door open farther and slipped out into the open hallway. Quietly he tiptoed down the hall, the carpet crunching softly under his foot. He now stood at the doorway to the living room. No doubt his father was in their watching some dim-witted comedian or game show host trying to entertain the rest of the idiots in the world. And as far as his family went, it was working. 1…2…3. He rushed past the door way without being noticed. His father was completely oblivious.
Now he stood at the opening of the kitchen. Inside his mother moved around, chopping and stirring dinner for his father.
He liked neither of his parents. They were simple minded and never cared about anything except for fame and fortune. And if that meant exploiting their only living son.
1…2…3. He rushed past the opening. Inside he heard a utensil clang on the floor. "Ken?" Shit! Forgetting to be quiet, he made a mad dash for the door. He ran out, slamming it behind himself hearing 'Kenneth' once more before rushing down the hall. He ducked into the stairway hall. He heard the door open and someone stepped out. "Kenneth?" With a sigh of sadness and disappointment, she went back in and he breathed out the breath he was holding in.
"She sounded worried, like she wanted you back," the sickly girl in his arms stated with exertion in her voice.
"They want me back, but not for reasons you may think," he objected. He stepped out of the stairway and walked down to the elevator. It was safer to take it then trying to get down the stairs with the bundle in his arms. The doors closed and he leaned against the wall.
The elevator doors opened and he stepped into the lobby of the apartment building. People looked at him with confused recognition. They recognized him but there was something different about him, so they didn't say anything or call attention to him.
They walked out into the street and the doorman hailed a cab. "Have a nice afternoon, sir." The man said before closing the cab door.
"Where to?" The driver asked.
"Kimino clinic," he directed. He sat her down in his lap and she rested her head in his chest and stared out the window. He held her hand in his.
They arrived at the clinic and he paid the driver. They got out of the cab and walked into the clinic. The door of the clinic slid open and he stepped into the cold waiting room. There was a woman in a chair watching her two-year-old play with some Hot Wheels on the floor.
He walked to the information desk where a woman was reading a magazine and chewing loudly on a piece of pink gum. He stood there waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. When she didn't he cleared his throat, getting the woman's attention. "What can I do for you, sugar?" She asked with a large smile on her face.
"I need to see Doctor Guvin," he relied, his voice practically begging.
"Alright, let me see if he's available." She got up from behind her desk and disappeared though a door. A few moments later she returned. "Go on back, sweetheart. Second door to the left."
Ken nodded a thanks and walked through the door, which she closed behind him. He carried her to the room the woman had directed them to go into and walked inside. A young doctor with brown hair and pale skin stood inside, leaning over a open folder on the counter. "Guvin," he puffed.
The man turned and looked at him with bright green eyes. "Ichijouji! What brings you by?"
"I need some medical help, without any questions," Ken replied. He held the girl up a little higher so the doctor could see her.
"Put her on the table and I'll have a look at her." Ken placed her on the table and stepped back. "Okay, I need you to go out to my secretary and tell her this girl's name so she can pull her files."
"Guvin, I need this to be in total secrecy."
"It will, but I need her files. What's your name, honey?" He asked as he listened to her heart.
"Kari."
"Okay, Kari, just relax. I'm just going to have a look at you. Can I take these sunglasses from you?" The doctor asked, setting a hand on her forehead. "Your burning up," he whispered to himself.
"She can't see without them," Ken announced to him.
"Alright," he nodded, green eyes grim. "Go pull those chart, Ichijouji."
Ken stepped out of the room and walked out to the secretary's desk. He got a strong whiff of bubble gum as he approached. She looked up at him. "Doctor Guvin need's medical charts for Hikari Yagami."
"Hikari Yagami," the secretary repeated. She turned to her computer and began to type. "Okay, let's see here."
"She's not from Tomachi, will that be a problem?"
"Where is she from?"
"Odiaba."
"That won't be a problem." She continued to type. She sat back and looked up at him. "It's printing. The printer is back in his office. The first door on your right." He nodded and walked towards the room.
Soon he returned to the examination room, papers in hand. He had taken the opportunity to make copies of the papers, just in case he needed them later. The doctor stood over her, taking her blood pressure. He looked up at Ken and took the papers. He gave them a quick look over. "So this kind of thing isn't out of the ordinary," he state aloud.
"What?" Ken asked as he crossed the room to Kari and took her hand.
"Well, it seems your girl here as a history of being sick. Quite a weak immune system she's got. How do you know her, Ken?" He glared at the doctor. "Sorry. Forgot, no questions," the green eyes doctor apologized, backing off. He turned back to Kari. "So is he taking Kari of you?" She gave a weak nod. "Tell me if this hurts." He placed his hands on her abdomen and pressed on it lightly. She just shook her head. "Alright Kari, Ken and I are going to step out for a second. Come on Ken."
"Okay," he nodded. He gave her hand a small squeeze before following the doctor out of the room.
Guvin shut the door behind him. "She's incredibly sick, Ken. Now I know you want no questions, but I need to know what happened to her. And where she got those bruises. Is she abused, is that what this whole secrecy thing is about?"
"Bruises, what bruises?"
"On her arm and there's one on her cheek."
"Oh, uh that was me. We fought and I got kinda rough," he replied as he scratched the back of his head.
"What's going on with this girl, Ken?"
"Will she be alright?"
"I don't know Ken. I'll take some blood, run some tests. But you may have to take her to the hospital."
"I can't do that."
"Even if her life depended on it?" Guvin demanded. Ken didn't answer. "It doesn't matter what YOU can or can't do. If she's sick, you need to take care of her." He grabbed Ken by the front of his shirt. "And don't ever touch her again. If she has any more bruises then I'm calling social services. Got it?"
"I got it," he replied, voice low in shame.
"Why don't you go to the waiting room? Or go to the coffee shop across the room. I'm going to finish the examination." Guvin turned to the door, but stopped and looked over his shoulder with a small grin. "By the way, you look like hell."
"Thanks," Ken muttered, but the doctor had already disappeared into the room. Ken took the doctor's advice and headed out of the clinic, to the coffee shop across the street. He got in line and fished in his pocket for some cash. Opening his hand, he found two seventy-five, a button, some lint, and her tag and crest. Oh yeah, all mighty Kaiser can't even scrape three bucks together.
He got a hot chocolate and a bagel and sat down at a table in the back. His stomach grumbled in anticipation over the bagel. Damn, he was hungry! He took a bite and examined the crest in his hand.
Light. It had been taken from her the second time he she had come to his hideout. When his minions had changed her out of her freezing, water soaked clothes; they had given him the personal items she carried. These included a camera, her digivice, her d-terminal, and her tag and crest.
'Light, what an interesting crest. That could work in our favor…'
He ignored the presence and returned to his own train of thought. Why did she make him feel this way? All of a sudden he was worried about someone other then himself. He even risked exposing himself in the real world by taking her to a doctor. Could he actually have feelings for her?
Stuffing the rest of the bagel into his mouth he shook out any thoughts of liking her. He stood up and began his trek back to the clinic. He walked in, straight passed the secretary and into the examination room. The doctor wasn't in the room, but she sat on the table, legs dangling over the edge. She looked at him, face still pale and tired.
"Where's Guvin?" He asked.
"He said he'd be back soon," she replied. He nodded. The room filled with an uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry Ken," she finally spoke.
"Sorry? For what?" He asked, confused.
"For treating you like crap. You have saved my life on more then one occasion and yet I still treated you like you were my enemy. I let my friend's black and white thinking get the better of me."
"You don't have to apologize, I expected it. Sort of," he excused with a shake of his head.
"Well, you shouldn't!" With the raise of her voice came a long painful cough. He set a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "I was just stuck on the thought, like you said, my friends can do no evil. They shouldn't have left me behind, but they did. That hurt, I blamed you. I'm sorry."
"Its okay," he excused again.
The door opened and the bright-eyed doctor walked in. "Ichijouji, your back. Good."
"So what's the news, Guvin?" Ken asked.
The doctor patted Kari lightly in the head. "This girl's indestructible, I'll give her that. She'll live through this. Just give her a week of bed rest and she should get better. And here." He pulled two bottles from the front pocket of his white doctor's coat. "Have her take a teaspoon of this three times a day until it runs out. Make sure she eats before hand or it will do hell to her stomach. And have her take one of these once a day. When it runs out come back for a refill."
"What will these do?" Ken asked, examining the pills.
"The liquid will bring down and keep down her fever. The pills will strengthen her legs again," Guvin replied. He turned back to Kari. "We'll have you walking again in no time." He looked back at Ken. "And I don't want to see anymore bruises, got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Then go home and get her to bed."
"Come on, let's go back." He picked her up and followed the Guvin to the open door. They walked into the waiting room and he stopped upon seeing a tall, blue haired teen at the front desk talking with the bubble gum scented secretary.
"Joe, what brings you by?" Guvin asked as he stepped forward in front of Kari and Ken.
"Hi Derrick. I was just coming home from visiting my brother and decided to stop by while I was here in Tomachi. I don't get a lot of free time to socialize as you know," the blue haired boy shook the doctor's hand.
"Cool, I was just finishing up with a patient so you came by at a good time," Derrick Guvin replied, handing Kari's papers to his secretary.
"What was the appointment for? Maybe I could pick up some pointers." He looked over at Ken and froze.
"Pneumonia-"
"YOU!" Joe yelled, his glasses starting to slide down his nose. "Kari?"
"Oh no." Ken started to back up.
"You know them?" Guvin asked. Without saying anything Ken took off down the hall. He ducked into Guvin's office and fumbled with the lock. He set her down in a chair in front of the desk and walked to the computer.
"Looks like we'll have to set up the Digi-Port in here." She nodded.
"Let me in, Ken!" Came with pounding on the door from outside. "Kari! Kari, it's going to be okay." Ken glanced up and saw Kari tense up in the chair.
The Digi-Port came up on the doctor's screen. "Okay, we're outta here!" He picked her up and went back to the computer. "Digi-Port open!" In a bright flash he found himself in his control room.
"Master, your back," an Apemon standing guard stated in a gruff voice.
"Did anything happen while I was gone?" He demanded as he walked down the hall, expecting the Apemon to follow.
And he did. "Nothing, master."
"Good." He turned into the room he had kept her in before they left and laid her down. The Apemon waited in the doorway. The sound of a crash came from the control room. "Go see what that was." The Apemon left. "Probably the worm. Are you hungry? You need to take that medicine."
"Yeah, I am," she replied.
"Alright. I'll have DigiTamamon make some soup or-"
"Master, you need to come see this." The Apemon had appeared in the doorway.
"Can't you fools handle anything without me?" He snapped. "Handle it yourselves, I'm busy."
"You might find this to be an emergency."
"Fine, I'll come." He stood up, but stopped and glanced back at her. "I'll return in a bit." He turned and followed the Apemon out of the room and back to the control room. His eyes widened when he saw two Veggiemon restraining the blue haired DigiDestined. He retreated to the back of his mind as the anger of the presence pushed forward. "You followed me," he sneered to the taller boy. The DigiDestined looked up at him with hatred in his black eyes. "You are Reliability. That was a very stupid move on your part."
"I wasn't going to let you take Kari again!" Reliability yelled back. The Veggiemon tightened their vines around him and he grimaced in pain.
"And what was your plan of action to save her? Your friends aren't her and you have no digimon."
"What's going on with her? Why'd you take her to the clinic?"
Ken punched him in the stomach, sending him doubling over on the floor. "I'm talking." He reached into the boy's pant pocket on his cargo kakis and pulled out a digivice and D-terminal. He examined the Digivice. "Well look at that. The prehistoric version. It's a piece of junk." He threw it back at Reliability, hitting him in the chest. He held up the D-terminal. "I'll be keeping this. Wouldn't want you to contact your friends. Take him to the dungeon."
He watched his minions drag the fighting teen out of the room on route to the dungeon. "Great, " he muttered to himself, irritated. "One more headache."
Savior
"Master! Master!" A gekomon ran into his computer room. He landed on hands and knees before the mighty Kasier who busied himself at his computer.
"What is it?" He asked calmly, silently seething that he had been interrupted while working.
"The girl-" it panted.
"What about her?" He muttered, voice detached. He had little patients for any discussions of her. Wormmon had spent much of the last few days trying to get him to release her from the dungeon. This argument continued well after Wormmon left as the debate continued in his head, making a night of sleep impossible.
"She's sick."
"What?"
"Incredibly sick. We went to take her some food, but we could not get her to rise-"
Before the Gekomon could finish he jumped from his seat and ran past him. He ran down the stone hall and down a creaky metal stairwell. He reached the foot of the stairs and found himself staring down a long hall. This is where he kept his slaves, his dungeon. He walked down the hall, his footsteps sounding hollow in his ears. Digimon roared and growled behind steel locked doors. The place could hold anything.
He reached the farthest door and pulled the lock off. The dead bolt, which now that he thought about it seemed a little over done, fell to the floor with a loud clang. He pulled the heavy door open and stepped inside.
'Nothing's over done when it comes to the DigiDestined.'
The air was icy and each breath he took made his lungs and nose sting. He tried breathed through his mouth, but the air tasted old and musky, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Stepping further into the cold cell he let his eyes adjust to the dim light. Water fell from the ceiling and trailed down his shirt causing him to shiver.
She lay on the floor at the very back of the cell. She shook under the thin sheet she had been given. He regretted the treatment he had given her down here.
He crouched beside her and pulled his glasses off her face. He touched her forehead and brushed aside her bangs that plastered there from sweat. She was burning up. Her clothes and the blanket were soaked through. Each breath she took was ragged and labored.
He tossed the blanket away and picked her up. She whimpered and tried to push him away. "Hey, calm yourself," he cooed gently. He pushed himself off the floor and took a moment to steady himself with the extra weight in his arms.
He trudged into the hallway. Roars and screams of his captives rang in his ears and the sound of them crashing against the door echoed through the hall. He cursed himself for placing her so far from the stairwell. He cursed himself again for having stairs and not elevators.
He ascended the rickety old stairwell and continued to push himself down the hall, ignoring his slaves who ran to his side volunteering to take his bundle from him. He denied them the "honor", as they so oddly put it. He found an empty room, one close to his room, and kicked it open. He entered the semi dark room and walked over to the bed. He struggled to turn down the blanket and after many attempts; almost dropping her twice he laid her down gently. He covered her with every blanket in the room he could find, but it didn't stop the shaking.
"Someone get in here now!" Four gotsumon ran in. "Strip her of those clothes and have them burned. Get her another nightshirt. And someone make her some tea." The four digimon dispersed to their tasks. He went to his own room and stripped his bed of his thick blanket. He walked back to his room and paused before he knocked. "Are you done?"
"Yes master." Someone called after a few moments of silence. He kicked the door open and walked inside. The gotsumon had stepped away from the bed, waiting for their next orders. Ignoring them, he laid the big blanket over her.
The last gotsumon ran in carrying a tray with two cups and a teapot on it. He appeared to be having trouble balancing it and Ken wrenched it out of his hands, the force knocking the cups over.
"Get out!" He ordered. "If I need you, I will call for you." The gotsumon scurried out of the room and he turned away in disgust. Placing the tray on the nightstand, he poured a cup and placed it aside to cool. He went to the bathroom located through a door in the car corner of the semi lit room. He came back with a bowl of water and a white cloth under his arm. Water spilled over the sides of the bowl as he made his way back to the bed.
After putting down the bowl and cloth, he picked up the tea and blew on it softly. Taking a seat beside her, he brushed hair from her face. "Hey, come on. I need you to sit up and drink this." Her eyes flickered open briefly and her lips moved with incoherent sounds. Using his free hand he pulled her up and let her lay against him. He blew on the tea again before putting it to her lips. "Drink."
She opened her mouth and the liquid spilled inside. Her pale, sickly face contorted into one of pain and she jerked away. The scolding tea spilled onto his pants.
"Ah, shit!" He cursed as he jumped to his feet. It looked like he wet himself. She mumbled something that sounded remotely like 'I'm sorry'. With a sigh of aggravation, he let the subject slide. He picked up the white cloth and put it into the bowl, allowing the cool water to soak into it. He laid it on her head.
'Isn't this wonderful,' the voice laughed. 'Here she is. Dying. You hold her life in your hands. Don't blow it!'
"Ken." He knew it was Wormmon by the sound of his annoying little voice. He ignored the fact that the puny little insolent hadn't called him master. "Your doing it wrong, Ken."
The presence snapped his head around at Wormmon. "How can you say that 'I' am…" 'Shut up,' he ordered the presence. 'Wormmon is probably right. I have no idea how to take care of anyone.' "What am I doing wrong?"
Wormmon crawled closer to him. "When a human has a bad fever you want to cool them down. The wet cloth is the right idea, but all the blankets need to be taken off."
"Cool down," he repeated. "Okay." He pulled the blankets off of her.
"Just keep the cloth cool. You need to get her body to cool down. Or else she'll die." He nodded and wiped her face with the cloth.
The day wore down and he stayed by her side every minute of it. It was his fault she was sick and he would be damned if she died. The hours passed, he was sure it was well into the night. She withered and whimpered feverishly in the bed. She wasn't getting any better; at least she wasn't getting worse.
"Ken, please eat," Wormmon begged, worried about his master. The boy ignored the worm. He wouldn't eat until she was up and well. Stroking her hair softly, fear rose inside him. She could not die!
Wormmon watched the Kaiser, a worried frown on his small features. He had never seen him this way. So compassionate towards another life, this was not the Kaiser he knew and feared. This was the Ken he once loved; the one that had died the day the Kaiser came to be.
**~~**
Soft sunlight shone through the slits in the dark, thick drapes. Her fever had cooled considerably and her body had ceased its withering. She slept quietly in the bed, two blankets pulled over her. The room was silent except for her breathing, which was still harsh and labored sounding.
Ken sat in his chair beside her, staring into space. Wormmon lay asleep at his feet like a loyal little puppy but he didn't pay any attention to him. Ken rubbed his eyes. His stomach growled from hunger and his eyes ached from lack of sleep and focus.
A loud cough escaped her and her lips began to move. It snapped him from the half sleep he had slipped into. Curious, he got up from his seat and moved his ear to her mouth. No sound came out, but something touched his cheek. He reached up and caught her hand. Her eyes opened a tiny bit then closed again. "I-I can't see," she whispered.
"I have the glasses," he answered softly.
She nodded. "I'm not in the dungeon anymore, am I?"
"No, I moved you into a room again."
She opened her eyes again. They were unfocused and dilated. "Why?"
"Because you were sick." She nodded another okay. "How do you feel?" He asked, picking up her hand and squeezing it lightly. She looked like she was starting to doze.
"Like hell."
"I can't take care pf you," he informed. She got a look of confusion on her face. "Your too sick. I'm going to take you to the real world-"
"No, I can't go back," she protested, cutting him off.
"Yes," he argued. "You have too. I'm going to take you too a friend of mine. He'll treat you and he won't ask questions."
"So, I won't have to go home?"
He shook his head. "You don't have to go home. Do you feel up to going? The sooner we can go the better, but if you can't I'm not going to make you."
"Its fine. I can."
"Okay. I'll be right back, then we'll go." He got up and nudged Wormmon with the toe of his shoe. "Wormmon, we're going to leave soon," he notified the green worm when he was fully awake.
"Alright master, I'll hold down the base."
"You do that," Ken replied. "I'll return in a moment." He walked out of the room and into his own. He tossed on some new clothes and stepped in front of the mirror to examine his reflection.
'Look what she's doing to you, to us. We look ragged and exhausted. Is this the type of impression the Kaiser should give? And why should you care if she lived or died? Let her!'
He ran a hand through his spiky hair, suddenly disgusted with himself. He turned away from the mirror and returned to her room. He touched her shoulder, letting her know he was there. She was partially asleep. "Ready?" He asked her. She nodded. "Do you want the glasses?" She nodded and he slipped them onto her face. She blinked twice, but her eyes didn't clear. He lifted her up, bundling her up in one of the two blankets. She let out a nervous breath. He walked out of the room, feeling the weight of her against him. He walked into the control room where his computer sat untouched since he had left it the day before. He picked up his dark Digivice and raised it to the computer screen. "Digiport open!"
When the light that had come from the port disappeared, he looked around. He was standing in his room, his old room. The air was still and cold and it looked exactly the way he had left it.
'Oh goody,' the presence sneered. 'I was feeling a bit nostalgic.'
"Where?" She started to ask before coughing loudly.
"Sh," he ordered. "This is my old room. But if my parents are home and they hear us, they'll make you go home." She stayed quiet this time. He made his way to the door and struggled to open it a tiny bit. Outside of his room it was warm and soft sounds filled the air. The sounds of talking, from a television from one side of the hall and sizzling from the kitchen on the other. "Great, surrounded from both sides," he whispered.
He pushed his door open farther and slipped out into the open hallway. Quietly he tiptoed down the hall, the carpet crunching softly under his foot. He now stood at the doorway to the living room. No doubt his father was in their watching some dim-witted comedian or game show host trying to entertain the rest of the idiots in the world. And as far as his family went, it was working. 1…2…3. He rushed past the door way without being noticed. His father was completely oblivious.
Now he stood at the opening of the kitchen. Inside his mother moved around, chopping and stirring dinner for his father.
He liked neither of his parents. They were simple minded and never cared about anything except for fame and fortune. And if that meant exploiting their only living son.
1…2…3. He rushed past the opening. Inside he heard a utensil clang on the floor. "Ken?" Shit! Forgetting to be quiet, he made a mad dash for the door. He ran out, slamming it behind himself hearing 'Kenneth' once more before rushing down the hall. He ducked into the stairway hall. He heard the door open and someone stepped out. "Kenneth?" With a sigh of sadness and disappointment, she went back in and he breathed out the breath he was holding in.
"She sounded worried, like she wanted you back," the sickly girl in his arms stated with exertion in her voice.
"They want me back, but not for reasons you may think," he objected. He stepped out of the stairway and walked down to the elevator. It was safer to take it then trying to get down the stairs with the bundle in his arms. The doors closed and he leaned against the wall.
The elevator doors opened and he stepped into the lobby of the apartment building. People looked at him with confused recognition. They recognized him but there was something different about him, so they didn't say anything or call attention to him.
They walked out into the street and the doorman hailed a cab. "Have a nice afternoon, sir." The man said before closing the cab door.
"Where to?" The driver asked.
"Kimino clinic," he directed. He sat her down in his lap and she rested her head in his chest and stared out the window. He held her hand in his.
They arrived at the clinic and he paid the driver. They got out of the cab and walked into the clinic. The door of the clinic slid open and he stepped into the cold waiting room. There was a woman in a chair watching her two-year-old play with some Hot Wheels on the floor.
He walked to the information desk where a woman was reading a magazine and chewing loudly on a piece of pink gum. He stood there waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. When she didn't he cleared his throat, getting the woman's attention. "What can I do for you, sugar?" She asked with a large smile on her face.
"I need to see Doctor Guvin," he relied, his voice practically begging.
"Alright, let me see if he's available." She got up from behind her desk and disappeared though a door. A few moments later she returned. "Go on back, sweetheart. Second door to the left."
Ken nodded a thanks and walked through the door, which she closed behind him. He carried her to the room the woman had directed them to go into and walked inside. A young doctor with brown hair and pale skin stood inside, leaning over a open folder on the counter. "Guvin," he puffed.
The man turned and looked at him with bright green eyes. "Ichijouji! What brings you by?"
"I need some medical help, without any questions," Ken replied. He held the girl up a little higher so the doctor could see her.
"Put her on the table and I'll have a look at her." Ken placed her on the table and stepped back. "Okay, I need you to go out to my secretary and tell her this girl's name so she can pull her files."
"Guvin, I need this to be in total secrecy."
"It will, but I need her files. What's your name, honey?" He asked as he listened to her heart.
"Kari."
"Okay, Kari, just relax. I'm just going to have a look at you. Can I take these sunglasses from you?" The doctor asked, setting a hand on her forehead. "Your burning up," he whispered to himself.
"She can't see without them," Ken announced to him.
"Alright," he nodded, green eyes grim. "Go pull those chart, Ichijouji."
Ken stepped out of the room and walked out to the secretary's desk. He got a strong whiff of bubble gum as he approached. She looked up at him. "Doctor Guvin need's medical charts for Hikari Yagami."
"Hikari Yagami," the secretary repeated. She turned to her computer and began to type. "Okay, let's see here."
"She's not from Tomachi, will that be a problem?"
"Where is she from?"
"Odiaba."
"That won't be a problem." She continued to type. She sat back and looked up at him. "It's printing. The printer is back in his office. The first door on your right." He nodded and walked towards the room.
Soon he returned to the examination room, papers in hand. He had taken the opportunity to make copies of the papers, just in case he needed them later. The doctor stood over her, taking her blood pressure. He looked up at Ken and took the papers. He gave them a quick look over. "So this kind of thing isn't out of the ordinary," he state aloud.
"What?" Ken asked as he crossed the room to Kari and took her hand.
"Well, it seems your girl here as a history of being sick. Quite a weak immune system she's got. How do you know her, Ken?" He glared at the doctor. "Sorry. Forgot, no questions," the green eyes doctor apologized, backing off. He turned back to Kari. "So is he taking Kari of you?" She gave a weak nod. "Tell me if this hurts." He placed his hands on her abdomen and pressed on it lightly. She just shook her head. "Alright Kari, Ken and I are going to step out for a second. Come on Ken."
"Okay," he nodded. He gave her hand a small squeeze before following the doctor out of the room.
Guvin shut the door behind him. "She's incredibly sick, Ken. Now I know you want no questions, but I need to know what happened to her. And where she got those bruises. Is she abused, is that what this whole secrecy thing is about?"
"Bruises, what bruises?"
"On her arm and there's one on her cheek."
"Oh, uh that was me. We fought and I got kinda rough," he replied as he scratched the back of his head.
"What's going on with this girl, Ken?"
"Will she be alright?"
"I don't know Ken. I'll take some blood, run some tests. But you may have to take her to the hospital."
"I can't do that."
"Even if her life depended on it?" Guvin demanded. Ken didn't answer. "It doesn't matter what YOU can or can't do. If she's sick, you need to take care of her." He grabbed Ken by the front of his shirt. "And don't ever touch her again. If she has any more bruises then I'm calling social services. Got it?"
"I got it," he replied, voice low in shame.
"Why don't you go to the waiting room? Or go to the coffee shop across the room. I'm going to finish the examination." Guvin turned to the door, but stopped and looked over his shoulder with a small grin. "By the way, you look like hell."
"Thanks," Ken muttered, but the doctor had already disappeared into the room. Ken took the doctor's advice and headed out of the clinic, to the coffee shop across the street. He got in line and fished in his pocket for some cash. Opening his hand, he found two seventy-five, a button, some lint, and her tag and crest. Oh yeah, all mighty Kaiser can't even scrape three bucks together.
He got a hot chocolate and a bagel and sat down at a table in the back. His stomach grumbled in anticipation over the bagel. Damn, he was hungry! He took a bite and examined the crest in his hand.
Light. It had been taken from her the second time he she had come to his hideout. When his minions had changed her out of her freezing, water soaked clothes; they had given him the personal items she carried. These included a camera, her digivice, her d-terminal, and her tag and crest.
'Light, what an interesting crest. That could work in our favor…'
He ignored the presence and returned to his own train of thought. Why did she make him feel this way? All of a sudden he was worried about someone other then himself. He even risked exposing himself in the real world by taking her to a doctor. Could he actually have feelings for her?
Stuffing the rest of the bagel into his mouth he shook out any thoughts of liking her. He stood up and began his trek back to the clinic. He walked in, straight passed the secretary and into the examination room. The doctor wasn't in the room, but she sat on the table, legs dangling over the edge. She looked at him, face still pale and tired.
"Where's Guvin?" He asked.
"He said he'd be back soon," she replied. He nodded. The room filled with an uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry Ken," she finally spoke.
"Sorry? For what?" He asked, confused.
"For treating you like crap. You have saved my life on more then one occasion and yet I still treated you like you were my enemy. I let my friend's black and white thinking get the better of me."
"You don't have to apologize, I expected it. Sort of," he excused with a shake of his head.
"Well, you shouldn't!" With the raise of her voice came a long painful cough. He set a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "I was just stuck on the thought, like you said, my friends can do no evil. They shouldn't have left me behind, but they did. That hurt, I blamed you. I'm sorry."
"Its okay," he excused again.
The door opened and the bright-eyed doctor walked in. "Ichijouji, your back. Good."
"So what's the news, Guvin?" Ken asked.
The doctor patted Kari lightly in the head. "This girl's indestructible, I'll give her that. She'll live through this. Just give her a week of bed rest and she should get better. And here." He pulled two bottles from the front pocket of his white doctor's coat. "Have her take a teaspoon of this three times a day until it runs out. Make sure she eats before hand or it will do hell to her stomach. And have her take one of these once a day. When it runs out come back for a refill."
"What will these do?" Ken asked, examining the pills.
"The liquid will bring down and keep down her fever. The pills will strengthen her legs again," Guvin replied. He turned back to Kari. "We'll have you walking again in no time." He looked back at Ken. "And I don't want to see anymore bruises, got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Then go home and get her to bed."
"Come on, let's go back." He picked her up and followed the Guvin to the open door. They walked into the waiting room and he stopped upon seeing a tall, blue haired teen at the front desk talking with the bubble gum scented secretary.
"Joe, what brings you by?" Guvin asked as he stepped forward in front of Kari and Ken.
"Hi Derrick. I was just coming home from visiting my brother and decided to stop by while I was here in Tomachi. I don't get a lot of free time to socialize as you know," the blue haired boy shook the doctor's hand.
"Cool, I was just finishing up with a patient so you came by at a good time," Derrick Guvin replied, handing Kari's papers to his secretary.
"What was the appointment for? Maybe I could pick up some pointers." He looked over at Ken and froze.
"Pneumonia-"
"YOU!" Joe yelled, his glasses starting to slide down his nose. "Kari?"
"Oh no." Ken started to back up.
"You know them?" Guvin asked. Without saying anything Ken took off down the hall. He ducked into Guvin's office and fumbled with the lock. He set her down in a chair in front of the desk and walked to the computer.
"Looks like we'll have to set up the Digi-Port in here." She nodded.
"Let me in, Ken!" Came with pounding on the door from outside. "Kari! Kari, it's going to be okay." Ken glanced up and saw Kari tense up in the chair.
The Digi-Port came up on the doctor's screen. "Okay, we're outta here!" He picked her up and went back to the computer. "Digi-Port open!" In a bright flash he found himself in his control room.
"Master, your back," an Apemon standing guard stated in a gruff voice.
"Did anything happen while I was gone?" He demanded as he walked down the hall, expecting the Apemon to follow.
And he did. "Nothing, master."
"Good." He turned into the room he had kept her in before they left and laid her down. The Apemon waited in the doorway. The sound of a crash came from the control room. "Go see what that was." The Apemon left. "Probably the worm. Are you hungry? You need to take that medicine."
"Yeah, I am," she replied.
"Alright. I'll have DigiTamamon make some soup or-"
"Master, you need to come see this." The Apemon had appeared in the doorway.
"Can't you fools handle anything without me?" He snapped. "Handle it yourselves, I'm busy."
"You might find this to be an emergency."
"Fine, I'll come." He stood up, but stopped and glanced back at her. "I'll return in a bit." He turned and followed the Apemon out of the room and back to the control room. His eyes widened when he saw two Veggiemon restraining the blue haired DigiDestined. He retreated to the back of his mind as the anger of the presence pushed forward. "You followed me," he sneered to the taller boy. The DigiDestined looked up at him with hatred in his black eyes. "You are Reliability. That was a very stupid move on your part."
"I wasn't going to let you take Kari again!" Reliability yelled back. The Veggiemon tightened their vines around him and he grimaced in pain.
"And what was your plan of action to save her? Your friends aren't her and you have no digimon."
"What's going on with her? Why'd you take her to the clinic?"
Ken punched him in the stomach, sending him doubling over on the floor. "I'm talking." He reached into the boy's pant pocket on his cargo kakis and pulled out a digivice and D-terminal. He examined the Digivice. "Well look at that. The prehistoric version. It's a piece of junk." He threw it back at Reliability, hitting him in the chest. He held up the D-terminal. "I'll be keeping this. Wouldn't want you to contact your friends. Take him to the dungeon."
He watched his minions drag the fighting teen out of the room on route to the dungeon. "Great, " he muttered to himself, irritated. "One more headache."