Ken: ... *glare* You are insanely late.
akai: ...only by a month this time... better than three, right...? ^_^;;
Daisuke: Yeah, cut her some slack, Ken. Not everyone can be punctual like you!
akai: Let's not get started on that now, shall we?...
Ken: You should still apologize, you know...
akai: Yes, your Kaiser-ship... -_-;;
Ken: *glare*
Ok, I'm really, really sorry that this chapter's really late. I know I said I'd update in a month, but it's been two now, and I really have no excuse other than life's been busy, as usual, and I've not been writing, and have instead, been spending my free time reading Hikaru no Go... -_-;; GOMEEEEEEN, everybody!!! I'll work harder to update in a month next time!
In other news, I finally finished watching all of Digimon Adventure and Digimon 02 in Japanese! ^_^ *happy!!* They definitely changed some things in the English version... For example, you know the part right before Daisuke and Ken first jogress (DNA digivolve) outside of the Kaiser's fortress when it's about to blow up? Right in that part, the dialogue never made sense to me, and now I know why. In the original, Ken was actually quite depressed and, not really suicidal per se but, he actually said that maybe it'd be better if he was gone, and that he'd cause his family less pain that way... as though no one would miss him, so it didn't matter if he and Stingmon recklessly run into fights. And another great example is how in the original, they really stress that Daisuke could understand Ken's heart from the moment he touched the golden digimental, and the understanding only deepened when they jogressed. Daisuke said this in no less than four episodes. It's pretty cool ^_^
akai: *whispers* ...Did that info appease the fans??
Ken: akai! It's not about "appeasing the fans" as you put it!
akai: :P
Chisama
Sup Sensei~! ^_^ Once again, excellent chapter....I'm glad you did add the journal entries in, gave interesting insight to their thoughts. I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for....Daisuke losing courage or Ken losing Kindness...::sOb::
I feel bad for both of them... and by the end of this chapter, I'm not sure if you can feel bad for one more than the other... or, so it is in my biased opinion :P I'm glad you liked the journals. I'll try to work in more of them later... no promises though... -_-
syenite kai
*dances happily* it's updated it's updated! and for the first time in my whole obssessed with ken-chan career, i will say this: "DAMN YOU, KEN-CHAN!" *coughs* sad to say, ken-chan's a bastaaaaard~! well, the kaizer side of him.. kinda.. in a way. uh, yeah. poor dai-chan is battered and bruised!! *sniffles* and this review makes no sense... i'm hoping to see more of this :D
Heh, heh, heh... >:) I've made someone say that Ken's a bastard! Yes! I've accomplished my goal for the last chapter! (should I have said that??) ^_^;; No, but really, I was trying very hard to make Ken as evil as possible without pushing my PG-13 rating up to R. I didn't have a rape planned or anything, but I had originally wanted even more abuse than what I had eventually written. So I'm really happy you said that! It's good to know I got my thoughts across well enough and still have it be PG-13... ^_^
... and yes, your review did make sense ^_^
Angel Ran
Yaaaaay! A new chapter!!! *^^* I'm soooo happeeeeeeee~~y!!!!!!!!!!!! (i know, i spelt it wrong on purpose) And, you actually noticed my comment...*sniffs in happiness* I feel so loved =^__^= Anywho, I'm so glad you finally updated. I've been a little sad cause none of my favourite fics have been updated, so i've been moping around reading stuff i've already read. Not boring, but I prefer new parts.....
Anyways, I really liked the new developments in this chapter. ^_~ Poor Ken-chan!! and, poor Daisuke!! He got all beaten up! It does almsot sound like domestic violence, but I guess Daisuke would take a lot if it was for Ken *sniff* I hope things work out between them!! Daisuke had better realize that Ken is just gonna keep hurting him until something happens (write more! i wanna know!), so ....hold on Daisuke!! *cries* And Ken-chan!!! *sniffles* .....Thank goodness you updated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *flees the scene*.... -_-
New parts are always good, ne? ^_~ And yes, I noticed your comment ^_^ I figure that if people are nice enough to review me, especially twice in one sitting, I should acknowledge them in return ^_^ Sides, I always liked it when other authors included responses to people cause it felt nice ^_^ Ah, Daisuke. He'll realize that things have to change soon, but being the stubborn headed person that he is, there's going to be a tough time getting there... (and a chapter in this fic without angst and denial?! What would I have to be on for that to happen? ^_~ ) And Ken needs a hug... and a shrink... *sigh* poor Ken... poor Daisuke... Don't get too depressed as you're reading, now, you hear? ^_~
Moonlit Eyes1x2x1
OMG! I thought that either you died or this was yet another abadoned Kensuke/Daiken fic! Thank goddess you updated! Throughout the beginning I had kept telling myself "I can't read this, I can't!" Just so much angst! But knowing me, I ended up reading it all with a hunger for more...well, I hopes you update again soon! Ja!
No... no death for me... yet... still have another, what... sixty years... maybe?... if I'm lucky... ^_^;; However, I am glad that you're still reading this fic! I would've forgotten about it... -_-;; As for angst, that seems to be my trademark, huh? Too bad I can't write anything else... -_-;; I need to get to the fluff of this fic... but I'm afraid of how that'll turn out too... I'm so sad... But anyhow, I'm glad you like it, and here's more fic to fulfill your angsty needs and for your reading pleasure! ^_^
allekto
oh so sad... poor Ken. hell- poor Daisuke too. *shakes head* it's still amazing. honestly, the self lecture was almost creepy- very well written but creepy, because Ken would know exactly what his partner is thinking. i hope Daisuke gets a grip i really REALLY hope so... if for no other reason than the simple fact that a sad Wormmon is quite possibly one of the most depressing things ever. droopy little antennae and those big soulful eyes looking at Ken... hope you add to this soon!!!
Ah, yes, the update has occurred... the once in a blue moon event has happened! ^_^ Daisuke'll get a grip... eventually. Pretty soon, actually, when compared to the length of the rest of this fic... -_-;; I don't want to see Wormmon cry some more either! If you've ever seen the Japanese version, his voice is so cute that it breaks your heart to hear him close to tears... *sniffle* Hope you like this chapter!
New Obsessions
It's 3:45AM on daylights savings time...day.(Wow, what a weird sentence.) And I read your fic straight through right away. I LOVE IT! PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME WAIT A MONTH! *wails* I REALLY LIKE IT! AND YOUR NOTES! *bows* BRAVI!
GOMEN!!!! I made you wait two months -_- I'm getting worse and worse, I'm afraid. I used to be able to do one chapter a month, but now... WAAAAAA!!!! However, I am glad you like the notes ^_^ *blush* Enjoy!
Joey Rose
WWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
MMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [slightly paraphrased... -_-;; ]
Uh, ok.. ^_^ here's more! Don't worry, I won't abandon this work unless I die... It just may seem like I've died... @_@;; I do hope, however, that this chapter was worth the wait... -_-;;
So, now, on with more of your regularly scheduled programming! ^_^;;
Disclaimer: The usual... don't own the characters, do own the plot, not for profit, etc, etc...
To recap: Daisuke and Ken just had a really bad fight that resulted in Ken physically and mentally hurting his boyfriend, while Daisuke thinks that everything up to this point is all his fault, and his alone. Ken's parents are now aware that something is wrong, but still have no idea as to why the two lovebirds suddenly turned into enemies. Ken ran away to the Digital World to escape his parents' prying questions, and the true Ken is suffering in his heart as the Kaiser seems to have more control of himself at this point than he does.
Ok, hold on! Here we go! ^_^
Understanding
Chapter 7: Mounting Frustrations
*beep*
Ken's D-terminal gave a little noise as it received a new email, and about ten minutes later, it gave another little beep. Ken, however, was asleep and didn't hear the little sounds as they resonated around the clearing. Wormmon woke up and was going to wake Ken, but thought better of it as he saw his partner sleeping so peacefully under the soft glow of a digital moon and stars. The little digimon slipped out of Ken's arms, left his partner a brief message in the soft dirt ground, and went in search of his other half, hoping that they could come up with something that would help their partners reconcile.
"V-mon?... V-mon...?" Wormmon gently nudged his jogress partner awake. Slowly, the blue digimon woke up, blinking his large red eyes slowly in an attempt to clear his vision and see why his partner was waking him up in the middle of the night.
"What is it, Wormmon?..." V-mon groggily asked. "You just woke me up from a great dream about an eating contest Daisuke and I were about to win..." V-mon wanted to go back to sleep and maybe salvage what remained of the wonderful dream.
"Ken-chan and Daisuke had a really bad fight today."
This simple statement drew a worried look from the blue digimon. V-mon knew that Daisuke and Ken were going through a rough time in their relationship, but he was hoping that it would have blown over by now. Daisuke wasn't someone to hold a grudge, and Ken was usually pretty forgiving too.
"A fight?... How bad was it?..."
"Really bad... Ken beat Daisuke up pretty badly..." Wormmon cast his eyes downwards as if it was all his fault that his friend's partner was injured. V-mon didn't know what to say. He certainly didn't blame Wormmon, but he wondered why his friend wasn't able to stop the two boys from fighting.
"What happened?... Why couldn't you stop them?..."
Wormmon just continued to stare at the ground. Minutes passed, and V-mon was beginning to get more and more worried. Only something really bad could traumatize Wormmon this much, and V-mon was beginning to dread the answer to his question.
"...Kaiser... It was the Kaiser..." Wormmon sniffled out between teardrops that had begun to fall. "I couldn't stop him... He was the Kaiser again..."
V-mon reached over to give his partner a hug. He wasn't quite shaking, but he was torn between feelings of anger, fear, and sadness, and it showed in the way he held the green digimon. Tears of his own threatened to spill out but he held them back. Wormmon needed comforting, not more tears. So V-mon just held his other half there in the field under the stars until he felt Wormmon relax a little. Then he suggested the only thing he could.
"Let's go find Agumon and Gabumon. I think we need help on this one..."
Ken woke up at a time way later than he was used to as he squinted up into the mid-day sun. The first thing he noticed was that his partner was missing. His worries were quickly alleviated when he saw the message Wormmon had left for him. However, his anger began to flare up again at the thought of Wormmon talking to V-mon, as that meant that he was indirectly talking with Daisuke. He finished reading the message.
"P.S. You got two emails, Ken-chan! (^_^) "
Not that he wouldn't have checked his email next, but it was nice to know that he had received some. Ken just hoped that one of them wasn't Daisuke begging for forgiveness again.
Ken opened his D-terminal and navigated his way to the email function and glanced at the email addresses before clicking on them. To his surprise, they were emails from his homestay family.
Dear Ken,
Hi! How are things in Japan? I hope you're doing alright. I'm ok. I just graduated from college so I'm at home for the summer until I go to Japan! I just found out I'm going to live in Johana-machi. I don't really know where that is, or how far that is from Tokyo, but I will try to visit you sometime. So what's up with you? Find a girlfriend yet? I'm sure there are girls around you all the time. Ok, I'm off, but let me know what's up!! ^_^
Morgan
P.S. My little brother says, "hi!!!"
Hey, Ken!
Just dropping you a quick line. Gotta get back to studying... grrr. How's life in Tokyo? Have you adjusted to high school life yet? I'm finally out of school for the summer in a few days, so it's all cool. Last time, you said that you don't get out of school 'till the middle of July. Sucks for you! :P My sis's definitely coming, so you'd better watch out! I'd hide if I were you. How's your English coming along? Sorry if I'm writing stuff you don't understand, but I hope you'd at least remember a few of the things we taught you, even if that was last year.
This summer, I'm going to China for a month. Is that cool or what?! Too bad I can't make a pit stop in Japan. It'd be cool to see you again. I still got that picture from when you stayed with us. Do you still have all that hair? I hope you don't still look like a girl ;)
Catch you later...
Jon
Ken smiled as he looked up at the blue sky. He hadn't heard from Jon in almost a month. Jon had begun studying for finals, so he had said that he wouldn't be online as much. Even though Jon was in high school, he had to study extra hard because of his parents.
Ken remembered his homestay experience well, as it had only been a year since he went to America. Every summer, Tamachi Junior High sent about ten third-year students to America for a week and a half to experience American life and to see the sights. He had stayed for a few days with this family, the Hatters, and hit it off with their son, Jon, who was also sixteen, and his older sister, Morgan, who was twenty-two, neither of whom were digidestined, oddly enough. Ken could tell that Mr. and Mrs. Hatters were strict parents, but thought they were quite pleasant. So, ever since last year, Ken had been writing to Jon on and off, and to Morgan when she wrote him.
It always took him a long time to write back, however. As with most languages, Ken found it easier to read English than to write or speak it. And now that the Dark Spore was no longer active, it was getting increasingly difficult to do all the things he used to be able to do with ease. Even math problems that used to be easy were slowly becoming a challenge. It also seemed that with each passing year, the speed of his deterioration was increasing. Ken worked extra hard to compensate as he still held himself to high standards, but he was beginning to lose hope.
Just thinking about this was enough to bring his high spirits down a bit.
/One more frustration to add to the pile, huh? Why is my life so cursed? I thought it was going to be alright, but.../
Ken gave a little sigh and stood up. He didn't want to sit and think anymore. Thinking would only bring him down some more.
/Wormmon, where are you?... I hope you come back soon. Please. I don't want to be alone right now... I don't want to think, I don't want to dwell on things I can't change... What am I going to do...?/
Shaking his head, Ken walked to the lake and cleaned up a bit. He then decided he would spend the remainder of the morning composing replies to Jon and Morgan, even if he didn't have his dictionary. At least it would keep his mind busy...
Daisuke stared at his ceiling and tried to continue counting from where he last left off a little over a month ago. Gods, it seemed like it was forever and a day ago that he was lying here, in his bed, counting the invisible bubbles of air in the paint. The left side of his head still ached from Ken's beating and he winced as he gingerly touched the spot right under his eye. He was sure he had a not so pretty black and purple rose blossoming there. He didn't know for sure, since as soon as he got home, he had snuck off to his room and promptly fell asleep again. That, and he hadn't actually gotten out of bed yet today, so he was a little worried about what he'd find once he looked into his mirror. Daisuke gave a little sigh. It was times like this that he was glad for quiet Saturday mornings. Jun was out, probably hanging out with her college girl friends already, and his parents, well, he wasn't quite sure. His mother was probably out shopping at the super and his father was probably sleeping in, just like he was supposedly doing.
Thoughts of his parents only served to bring back thoughts of last night, though. Daisuke stopped counting as his vision slowly blurred and his mind drifted into the past.
"Ugh..." Daisuke groaned and sat up on the bed. Almost immediately, Mrs. Ichijouji was at his side, fussing over him, asking him if he needed another ice pack or some pain medication.
"Oh, Daisuke, sweetie... You're awake. Thank goodness! Do you need anything?... Can I get you some ice? Does it still hurt much? Would you like some aspirin?..."
"I'm ok..."
"No, really, sweetie...it's no trouble at all! I'm terribly sorry about Ken. I wish we could've helped more..."
Daisuke looked down over the railing and into Mrs. Ichijouji's eyes and said again, "I'm ok. Really..." And then he slowly lowered his head some more. He wondered how Ken was doing and where he was.
"Daisuke, do you think you need to go to the hospital? Does it feel like anything's broken?..." Ken's father had joined his wife and was looking up at Daisuke with concern. "We didn't take you there because we didn't know if you had told your parents yet. We weren't sure how much we could explain to them. Forgive us. I hope you're alright..."
Daisuke faced the two adults and tried his best to smile for them, but his smile turned into a grimace of pain as the left side of his face refused to let him. Nevertheless, he repeated yet again, "I'm ok." Yet, he really wasn't. He had felt the bottom of his heart drop out at the mention of his parents. He wasn't sure what he was going to tell them, and how he was going to explain why he was suddenly showing up at home with what's probably a very bruised and battered face. But he decided that it was best to leave such things to when they actually happened.
"Daisuke... about your parents... Have you told your parents about... Ken...?"
"..."
"...no." Daisuke hated the sound of his voice at that moment. He was disgusted at himself. He was infuriated that he had to let Ken's parents down. It was as if he was saying their son wasn't worthy of mention in his house. At the same time, he was frustrated that he couldn't do anything about it now, and beyond that, he knew he couldn't do anything about his lack of courage. His parents had instilled a fear in him that far surpassed any fear Berylvandemon had given him. The only thing that gave him any comfort at the moment was the looks of sympathy on his partner's parent's faces. And even that was something Daisuke felt he deserved very little of.
"Sweetie... oh... please come down here..."
Daisuke did as he was told and slowly climbed down the ladder. Never had he felt so bad about himself than at this moment. Not even when Ken had become the Kaiser again did Daisuke feel this bad. There was just something about Ken's parents that he knew he owed them at least an explanation for all the trouble he had caused that night. Maybe it was their kindness, or how they showed him genuine concern -- not just now, but in the past as well, or maybe it was their forgiving nature... so many of the same traits he saw in Ken...
/Ken... I wonder what you're doing now.../
And a thought suddenly began to dawn on Daisuke...
/Is this... is this how you feel, Ken? Is this why you're disgusted at me...? Is this how you felt...? Like you're not a person... like you're not important enough for me to tell other people...? Is this what you meant by denying our relationship...?.../
/How could I have been so selfish... to have forgotten how you were always so sensitive about not being acknowledged?... And to have thought that this was only between us when your parents are also part of our relationship?.../
As Daisuke stood there, thinking these thoughts to himself, he felt Ken's parents enfold him in a tight hug and Ken's father offered soothing words to the troubled teen.
"Daisuke, don't worry about it. We're not disappointed or anything. We're sure you have your reasons for not telling your parents. We don't know your parents very well, but we trust your judgment. Whatever your reasons are for not telling them... it's ok."
"And, sweetie, if you need to talk to someone, you are always welcome to talk with us. We want to help you two as much as possible. Ever since five years ago, you've been like a third son to us... It was almost as though Ken had a brother again..." At this, Mrs. Ichijouji broke down in tears. Daisuke quickly put his arms around her and tried to comfort her as he began to feel like he truly had a pair of loving parents in Ken's.
Daisuke broke out of his reverie and looked back up at the ceiling. He had said that he would call them if he needed someone to talk to, and of course he offered to help Ken's parents unravel his boyfriend, but in his heart, he felt like there really wasn't much he was going to be able to do. He didn't want to burden Ken's parents when they had to deal with Ken already, and he couldn't really help Ken without getting Ken more mad at him for telling his parents about their situation. Besides which, Daisuke had told them enough last night that there wasn't much else to say. So Daisuke hoped that the month would just pass and then they could move on with their lives, whatever that may turn out to be...
The sound of footsteps walking down the hallway made Daisuke look at his clock. Eleven a.m. it said.
/Just great./
As Daisuke fought with himself about whether to get out of bed or not, the doorbell rang, and he heard his father go to answer the door. A few seconds later, he heard the footsteps come to his room and he quickly turned away from the door.
"Daisuke, are you awake yet?" his father said as he opened the door.
Daisuke answered with a little grunt and said, "Yeah."
"Well, a friend of yours came over, so get out of bed."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Daisuke's father closed his door and Daisuke heard his father talk to the visitor. A light male voice with a bounce in it answered back.
/Tai?... Why is he here?.../
Now, fully awake and curious to know, Daisuke got out of bed and tried to make himself look a little bit more presentable. He took a long look in the mirror and was not surprised to see the huge bruise that spread all across the left side of his face.
/*sigh* I can't do anything about that now. Guess I just gotta hope that Tai doesn't ask me anything about it.../
There was a soft knock on his door just as he was thinking this, and he heard Tai's muffled voice float through the door.
"Daisuke, can I come in?"
/Have to face the music, I guess.../
"Yeah, the door's open. Come on in, Tai..."
"Thanks." Tai turned the doorknob and entered Daisuke's room. Daisuke was turned away from the door, but through the reflection in the mirror, Tai could see the giant purple splotch on his tanned face. Tai quickly closed the door.
"Daisuke... What happened? I heard from Agumon that you had a big fight with Ken, but I didn't expect something this bad!"
"Shhhh! Tai! Keep your voice down! I haven't told my parents yet so they don't know about this..." /not that they'd care anyway... they've always been so indifferent to Jun and me.../
"Oh... sorry," Tai apologized. "So, uh, mind telling me how you got that brilliant shiner? I didn't think Ken had it in him anymore to do that kind of damage..." Tai tried to joke. That, however, only made Daisuke more upset, as Tai didn't know just how close to the truth he had hit in that jest.
"Actually, Tai, seems like Ken still can... or maybe I should say, the Kaiser..."
"What??" Tai exclaimed. "You're not telling me that Ken's going to run around causing havoc again, are you?"
"No, no, no..." Daisuke shook his head to emphasize his point. "He's just really mad at me and he acts like that only around me... or at least I hope so..."
"Well, I guess we'll find out. I told Yamato to go check up on Ken. Seems like he can handle Ken, or so he says," Tai said with a chuckle.
Daisuke looked away and dejectedly said, "... well, I hope he can handle the Kaiser..."
"Don't worry about that. This is Yamato we're talking about. He can handle just about anyone." Tai gave a little smile as he remembered how the two of them used to have fights when they were young.
There was a little pause in the room where neither of the chosen children knew how to continue the conversation. Tai wanted to know what happened, but seeing how distraught Daisuke was at the mentioning of Ken, or the Kaiser, as Daisuke had said earlier, Tai was unsure of how to bring up the topic again without causing the younger digidestined more grief. Daisuke moved to sit on the bed and as he did, Tai moved towards the bed as well.
"Daisuke..." Tai began. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but please, could you please tell me what's wrong?..." Tai sat down on the bed next to Daisuke. "None of us want to see you two like this. From what our digimon told us, it seems like you and Ken are going through a bit of a rough time in your friendship... You two've never had such a bad fight, ever... not even when he was the Kaiser..."
"You can't possibly understand..." Daisuke meekly interrupted. "Sorry, Tai, but I can't tell you. I can't. Just, please, don't worry about me and Ken. We'll work it out... somehow..."
Needless to say, Tai wasn't very happy about Daisuke's quick rebuttal, but he was expecting the younger to be difficult. Just as it was with himself, Daisuke was amazingly stubborn at times, and it was times like this when it didn't help one bit.
"Daisuke..."
"Please... I don't want to talk about it..." Daisuke stared down at his hands and wondered if he should cut his nails that day or the next. He was trying to focus his mind on other things, and was hoping he could turn the conversation to something else. But in all honesty, he really didn't feel like talking about anything at all... even though it was Tai who was here in his room right at that moment. And even if Tai had wanted to talk about soccer, Daisuke didn't want to talk at that moment. It was depressingly quiet between the two youths for a few tense moments.
"...Alright... I understand... I'll leave for today, but I hope you'll open up to me sometime." Tai tried to give a little smile and cheer Daisuke up. "We're all really worried about you two and really want to help... you know that, right?..."
"...yeah..."
Tai let out a little sigh. "Alright... Guess I'll catch you around sometime..."
"...yeah..."
"...bye."
"... bye..."
Daisuke continued to stare at his hands as Tai slowly stood up and walked to the door. He took one last took as he stepped out of Daisuke's room and sighed. This was going to be a tough problem for all of them.
Daisuke told his parents that he had gotten his battered look from some kids at school when he got into a fight over a girl who had claimed that Daisuke had badmouthed her. His parents simply said that the school should do something about that, and that they're glad Daisuke was more or less ok. They seemed a little happy, too, when Daisuke had said it was about a girl, since they hadn't seen Daisuke take an interest in girls or dating since he was eleven and was chasing after that girl from their group that the blond boy was going out with now. That wasn't much of a reassurance to Daisuke, but he was glad that they seemed to take his story at face value, and they never mentioned it again.
And as the week passed and moved into the next, Daisuke was beginning to get depressed. He hadn't been able to talk with Ken's parents out of his guilt, and he certainly hadn't been able to talk to Ken. Daisuke was really beginning to miss talking with his best friend about the many various things that composed their lives. He had tried on numerous occasions to try and call his boyfriend, but each time he tried, he always ended up hanging up the phone right before he hit the last digit of Ken's number. He wanted to talk to Ken, he really did, but he couldn't bring himself to actually face Ken. All that Ken had said and done convinced Daisuke that perhaps, in this case, it was better to not face his nemesis, but to wait until the appointed day when they would have no choice but to sort this mess out. In the end, while he knew that he wanted to talk with Ken more than anything else, he also knew that it was better if he didn't try to talk to him right now. It was still all his fault that they weren't talking to each other anyway, or so he felt.
Tai was over again, for the fifth time in the past two weeks, and the older digidestined was beginning to get fed up. His previous four visits had turned up nothing, and it looked as though this afternoon was going to be another waste of everyone's time. Even though Tai had been able to stay longer and longer each time, it wasn't likely that Daisuke was going to tell him anything today either, although the younger had begun to talk to him more normally again.
Tai moved from one topic to another, trying to hold Daisuke's interest long enough for him to maybe sneak a question or two in about Ken, but Daisuke had been quick enough to see what was going on and deftly avoided all of Tai's questions. Eventually, Tai just asked directly and decided that enough was enough. He was determined to get some sort of answer today!
"Daisuke, what are you going to do about the presentation you two were supposed to give this weekend at the International Exchange Meeting?..." Tai knew this was a touchy subject. If anything, a situation where one had to confront one's former friend, and judging by the way Daisuke was acting, it was almost as if they were merely "former friends", is always the worst the first time around.
"I'm not going. Ken can handle it himself. He'd probably blow up again if I were there anyway." Daisuke looked away and tried to avoid Tai's gaze.
"You can't do that! You made a commitment to co-present a lecture on the popularity and phenomenon of soccer in Japan. You can't back out," Tai forcefully insisted.
"But..."
"Daisuke, when are you going to understand that you have to face this problem? You have to get your confidence back first, I understand, but it's been over a week since that day, and it's time you two talked it out. You can't avoid him forever!"
"You don't understand a thing!" Daisuke answered. /...and I don't have to avoid him forever... only until next month...... I hope.../
There was no way the older digidestined was about to let the young one get away with another sidestep. "Well, I would if you would just tell me what's going on!"
"It's not that simple..."
"Well, we've got all night..."
Daisuke's voice raised in intensity. "I can't tell you anyway! I told you before, I can't tell you! I can't deal with this right now! I have to start studying for finals soon, and you know how hard that is for me, since I'm so stupid! I don't need to deal with Ken right now!!" /... even if the truth is that I don't know how to deal with him... or how to change things back to the way they were... I must be really stupid.../
"You're not dumb, Daisuke, and that's just an excuse! Ken's more important to you than your schoolwork, everyone knows that! From the first minute you two became friends, you've done nothing but spend all your free time with him. I've even heard from Hikari that you'd dash out of school in the hopes of catching the next subway to Tamachi as though he was your boyfriend or something!!" Tai could tell that Daisuke was barely listening to him, and was trying to block him out, or move on to another, less painful, topic.
"Fine... fine... whatever," Tai began again, but he was beginning to really lose it. He was never good at controlling his temper before, and he certainly couldn't now. But he couldn't just fight with Daisuke, so he did the only thing he could -- back down and leave Daisuke alone for now. "But you have to face him sometime, and I still insist that you give this presentation. I'll be here on Saturday morning at ten. You'd better be ready to go or else..."
Irritation seeped into Daisuke's voice as he tried to sound nonchalant, "Yeah, fine, whatever."
And with that, Tai stormed out of Daisuke's apartment.
"I'm telling you, Tai. I can't take much more of Ken. He's driving me nuts! Not only is he being stubborn, but he's so cold that it's like trying to get info out of an iceberg!" Yamato had met up with Tai and was giving his "report" of how things went with Ken that day.
"I know... tell me about it! Daisuke's just as stubborn! I've never argued with him this badly before... I can't believe I stormed out like that..."
"What are we going to do about these two?... We can't spend all our time with them... As much as I want to help, we can't keep on doing this. We have lives of our own, Tai, and we have finals starting in two weeks, as do they. We can't keep on doing this."
"... yeah. I know. Maybe this weekend'll do some good. We can only hope they can solve their problem on their own..."
The fateful day arrived and every one of the digidestined showed up at the event to give some moral support. Tai and Yamato came separately, each dragging an unwilling, troubled teen behind them. The event went well for the first two hours, but when Daisuke and Ken were forced to work together in their part of the presentation, the friction that had been building since minute one finally ignited into a raging fire no one could put out. The two of them started out alright, with Ken giving a little introduction to their presentation, while the translator did her job and told the audience in English what the purple-haired boy was saying. And then, it all went to pieces.
"... The reasons for the popularity of soccer are many, yet it is really quite simple. Japan, along with South Korea, hosted the World Cup in 2002, as I'm sure you are all well aware..."
"... But we were into soccer waaaay before that too!" Daisuke offered.
"Thank you, Daisuke... I was just getting to that..."
"Well, I just wanted them to know that soccer was a really popular sport..." Daisuke looked like he was trying to stay happy, like nothing was wrong, but Tai could see that Daisuke wasn't really alright. He was fighting Ken for authority, as though he had to assert that he, Daisuke Motomiya, did in fact exist and was his equal, not some subordinate.
"Daisuke. I thought you weren't lecturing until the later half..." Ken was starting to sound irritated.
/Uh, oh. This isn't good.../ Tai thought to himself.
"What, am I not allowed to help now??"
"Daisuke!!"
By this point, the translator had stopped translating, as she felt that their audience didn't need to know exactly what they were arguing about. However, the boys continued to argue.
"What?! You know, your Kaiser-ship, I've had enough of you being such a cold bastard to me! I've tried to apologize, but you haven't listened to a word I've said!" Daisuke yelled. The phrase, "your Kaiser-ship" dripped with sarcasm as he made a mock bow to the already enraged boy.
However, Ken wasn't going to play into that as he coolly replied, "Well, who's fault is that?"
"It's... it's..." Daisuke faulted, but quickly regained his momentum. "It's as much your fault as it's mine! I'd even say it's more yours than mine!"
"How dare you!" Ken spat out. "Do you know how much crap I put up with because of you?! I don't know why I even bothered to begin with!" Realizing that now was not the place or the time to settle their differences, Ken put on his Kaiser face and regained his calm as he continued. "Besides, don't you think it's rude to be discussing our "relationship" problems in front of everyone? We do have quite the audience here, if you know what I mean, Daisuke-kun..."
That caught Daisuke off guard. He had almost forgotten that they were on their little "stage" and there were over sixty foreigners and countless more Japanese people sitting in the audience. He didn't want to lose his momentum, now that he had finally gotten his confidence back, but Ken did have a point, as much as he didn't want to admit it. "... Then, fine. You can finish this presentation without me! I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want so badly!" With that, Daisuke stormed off the stage and out the door.
*blink, blink*
"Well, at least Daisuke got his confidence back..."
"Or, at least his temper..."
Tai threw his best friend a look that said that this wasn't something to joke about, even if he himself wanted to. "...Yamato... I don't think we have much of a choice..."
"... I know. We have to do something about this now. We can't leave it the way it is... We have to solve this before finals hit, or we'll all do terrible on our exams..."
Tai gave a nod of agreement. "Yeah. I don't think I can handle finals with this bothering me. I have enough trouble concentrating as is..."
Yamato looked towards the remaining half of the pair, and was slightly surprised to see that Ken had a slight look of remorse on his face, which was the most amount of any emotion, other than cold, that Yamato had seen out of the former Kaiser for the past two weeks. But he brushed the thought aside and figured he would think about it later. "What lousy timing those two have..."
"Yeah..." Tai sighed out. "Whatever happened to their synchronicity??..."
Notes:
-This chapter was mad long... I in no way intended this to be 45k in size... -_-;; I just couldn't find a good place to end it, since in the grand scheme of my plot, it wouldn't make sense to cut it anywhere else... *sigh* that's what I get for planning my fics out ahead of time... In any case, I hope it was an enjoyable read for people, and worth the two month wait... ^_^;;
- The kids from America... Heh, heh... ^_^;; hope this doesn't count as a Mary Sue/self-insertion... I mean, it sort of is... but it does have a purpose... later on... I hope people don't flame me for this... ^_^;;
-The level of English I used in the emails is actually quite high for first year high school students...unless you're in a really top level private school... But I figure that with Ken being less intelligent than before, he wouldn't have gone to a top private school, and that he would actually be having difficulties with languages. In the show, he can speak Spanish (it's in the episode where Ken and Yamato go to Mexico), but I think now, he'd have a little problem remembering everything he used to.
By first year high school student, I mean the equivalent of the American sophomore in high school. The Japanese school system's a bit different where the school levels are broken up as follows: pre-K ~ K, grades 1~6, 7~9, and 10~12. They refer to what grade a student is in by level of school and what year, so first year high school means 10th grade, and third year junior high school means 9th grade.
-I don't actually know if Tamachi Junior High sends students abroad or anything, but my school does, so I took a little liberty in saying that Tamachi does too. I figure if my school in the middle of the Japanese countryside could send kids to America for 10 days, a school in Tokyo should be able to, too... -_-;;
-None of the kids in the Hatter family are digidestined, but they know about digimon and all that cause of the events five years prior. I think it would take a while before everyone had their own digimon. Unlike in the show where they said that everyone has one, etc, in real life, it would take a while to integrate things, and create laws and all that. Otherwise, things would just go out of hand... so in my opinion, anyway... -_-;
-The title of this chapter is "Mounting Frustrations"... I hope the mountain of Ken's frustrations is becoming more evident... as I hope Daisuke's is... (relationship problems, family problems, personal problems, and on top of it all, school and FINALS!!! ugh! :P )
-Daisuke's still counting air bubbles... ^_^;; (see chapter 1 if you don't remember ^_^;; )
-I said that Daisuke's mom's out at the "super". No, I did not forget to type "market". In Japan, supermarkets are just simply "super", but most people know what you mean if you ask where the supermarket is.
-Ah, so Daisuke finally figures out a little bit more. I think he would eventually figure out how Ken's feeling, even if he doesn't understand it all, or know what to do about it. He begins to realize why Ken lost his patience, and why he's so disgusted with Daisuke to the point where the Kaiser took over.
-Ken's pet peeve always been that he hates being ignored and he hates it when people don't acknowledge his existence. So it would make sense that this is one of the reasons he gets so upset when Daisuke repeatedly refuses to publicly acknowledge their relationship and his status in Daisuke's life... It's too bad Daisuke doesn't know what to do... or how to do it, even if he were to realize what to do... or, even worse, if he could find the courage to do what he needs to do...
-Ken's parents ^_^ *melts* I want parents like that!!
-Daisuke's parents are indifferent to Jun and Daisuke. "Indifferent" doesn't mean "don't care", but there is certainly a fine line between the two... Let's just say that his parents let him do whatever, and thinks that he is capable of handling his own things when it comes to friends and the whatnot, but if he breaks a rule of theirs, then they can dictate what must be done. In other words, they're not going to fuss over Daisuke and support him like Ken's parents, but they do want to know what's going on...
-At this point, all Tai and Yamato know is that Daisuke and Ken are having problems, but they don't know the exact nature of the problem. We'll see how long it takes for them to realize that the "relationship" problems Ken was talking about are boyfriend-type problems and not just friendship-type problems. ^_^; Will they figure it out before they get so fed up that they abandon our young ones to their own anger...?
-Daisuke gets his confidence back by then end, or maybe it's just the adrenalin from being in front of an audience... I don't know. All I know is that Daisuke is beginning to feel the need to assert his own equality, just as Ken was trying to, very nicely, ask Daisuke to establish his status in Daisuke's life. Both boys are suffering virtually the same problem now... so who will fold first, and who will be able to solve this problem...?
Yes, I know I'm bad for leaving this question looming... but I will try to update again by next month, so until then, bai bai! ^_~