AN: This was too much fun to write. Sorry to anyone who's also reading the multi-chapter fics I've started. I haven't been able to get inspiration for those in a long time. I just got this one browsing through some forwarded e-mails that I saved. Anyways...
Daisuke stared up at the facade of the department store. Thousands of green and red and white lights draped from the ceiling and around the doors and windows. The entire parking lot was lit up with the glow coming off the building. It was fascinatingly beautiful, and the curious brunette barely took his eyes off them long enough to avoid walking into the sliding doors his friend was trying to drag him through. As the lights outside were flooded out by the bright lights inside the store, he finally gave up staring at them and turned his focus to following the Ichijoujis. Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji led the way through rows upon rows of beauty supplies and clothes racks, pausing now and again to glance at a few items that had been marked down for the holidays.
After a few minutes of browsing, Daisuke jabbed Ken in the shoulder. "What are we here for again?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.
"Something to give my uncle and his wife for New Years."
"But," the brunette protested, "that's three weeks from now. Why don't they find New Years gifts after Christmas? Then we wouldn't have to be here right now."
Ken shrugged and glanced at his father. Mr. Ichijouji was bent over a jewelry counter with his wife, gazing down at some ring or another, likely arguing whether or not the band was worth even half as much as it cost. They would be busy for some time trying to find something. Ichijouji Ryounosuke had always had odd taste when it came to gifts, and his new wife Nessarine had not been around long enough for any of the Ichijoujis to know what to buy for her. Naoko and Yoshitomo would likely spend most of the next hour at least comparing gifts and explaining why they probably would not be fitting.
"While we wait for them, do you mind if I check something?" Ken suggested finally, turning back to his best friend. "There's a bookstore upstairs and I want to see if they have a book I ordered several months ago. Izumi-sempai suggested it to me."
Daisuke blanched. "I don't care where you got it. Lets just get out of here. My feet hurt from standing still. When are we going back to your place? No one warned me about the shopping detour."
"We didn't plan on it, Daisuke-kun. Anyways, we'll leave just as soon as possible, okay? Let's just go to the bookstore; maybe you'll find something to keep you busy until we leave."
Nodding, Daisuke followed the older boy across the main floor of the building. It seemed like a long walk to him. The two of them passed more clothes displays, a labyrinth of candy and chocolate stands, jewelry displays, and a tall man dressed up in a jumpsuit of what looked like red felt with a white faux fur lining. 'Santa Clause,' Ken had explained as they passed him.
The second floor of the store was no less packed. Ken, with Daisuke close beside him, wove his way expertly through miniature shops and a vast toy department before finally coming to a stop. Before them was a large, dark brown door; like something from a medieval fortress, only less massive. A silver ring the size of a person's head served as a door knob, and Ken quickly seized it and pulled the door open. Stepping inside, he glanced back to watch his startled friend hesitate a moment before joining him.
"Spooky," the younger boy muttered. His gazed uneasily over the bookshelves, eyeing the random objects that littered the shelves. As dark as the room was, he could hardly see some of them, but he managed to make out several vials and one round thing that looked a bit too much like a skull than was comfortable. A snake like thing draped across two shelves, and a wooden wind chime hung just where he could still see it before being swallowed by the shadows. It moved slightly as the door swung shut, beating out hollow 'clunking' sounds that were surprisingly creepy in themselves. If Ken hadn't told him it was a bookstore, Daisuke would have sworn the place was some sort of magic shop. As it was, he was torn between his desire to wait outside and his fear of letting Ken go deeper into the darkness on his own, which was precisely what the boy was doing.
Gathering his courage, the brunette stepped away from the wall he hadn't realized he was clinging to, and moved to follow after his friend, knocking into one of the bookshelves as he did so. Several books crashed to the floor, along with a glass vial that shattered on the floor, spraying a cold liquid across the boy's shins. With a yelp, he excused himself and vanished back into the light outside the store, slamming the door shut behind him. Ken could fend for himself. And maybe pay for the glass he broke.
Looking around, he tried to estimate just how long it would take Ken to find his book and come out. After a few seconds of waiting, he concluded that however long it would be was too long. As bad as his day had been until this point, the boy was not about to wait around outside a bookshop-turned-witch's layer for his book-freak of a best friend to show up again, possibly as a toad. Besides that, he was almost twelve years old. What harm could it do if he were to wander around for a few minutes by himself?
Shoving off the wall he was leaning against, Daisuke began wandering around, glancing at various displays. He stopped for a few seconds to try to figure out 'Santa Clause's' purpose before meandering on. Pausing by a clothes rack, he ruffled through a row of outfits, gawking at several articles of what he assumed were supposed to be clothes. They had far too little material and were too frilly with too many sequins and too much glitter to serve any purpose on anyone. It dawned on him that perhaps they were just a joke; something stuck onto a hanger by someone just as bored as he was for the purpose of confusing people. If so, then it would make a perfect gag gift for Ken's uncle. Balling up the tiny garment, he decided to show it to Ken when he returned.
"Now what to do...?" he muttered. Looking around again, he noticed a mother with her little girl browsing aimlessly through a display of girl's dresses. The mother looked wholly exasperated with searching for an outfit, and by the look of her, the girl was on the verge of throwing a fit. Daisuke smiled at the sight of them and ducked behind a rack of outfits, sneaking along until he was behind the same rack the woman was looking through. Careful not to be seen by her, he leaned close to the dresses and called out in the squeakiest voice he could manage, "Pick me! Pick me!"
The woman yelped in shock and jumped back, while her daughter began to stare in awe at the dress her mother had been touching. Daisuke called again to the woman, adding a whiny plea to be taken home. He could barely contain his laughter as he quickly snuck away, watching the mother pull out the outfit to show her suddenly delighted daughter. He stopped laughing when he accidentally ran directly into one of the department store salesmen.
He bowed quickly. "Gomen nasai!"
"It's not a problem," the salesman replied, smiling lightly. "Just watch where you're going next time."
"Hai."
"And try to do your running outside from now on."
"Hai."
"You shouldn't be here by yourself as it is. Are your parents here?"
"Iye. I'm with friends. We're looking for a gift for his uncle." He hid the gag garment behind his back, hoping the man didn't think he was trying to steal it. Hopefully he would at least believe that Daisuke wasn't there on his own.
The salesman nodded, glancing curiously at whatever it was the boy was hiding, but he didn't ask. Instead, he waved an arm to encompass the entire store and smiled down at his little customer. "Well is there anything I can help you finding?" he asked.
Relaxing, grateful that the man believed him, Daisuke was suddenly in the mood for more jokes. Trying to think of the saddest things he could imagine, he forced himself to start crying. Backing away from the man in mock hysteria, he glared up at him crying out, "Why can't you people just leave me alone!" before darting off toward the changing rooms around the corner. He was vaguely aware that Ken had followed him into the clothes department, and he could hear his startled friend apologizing to the salesman.
"...Sumimasen. He's supposed to be on medication..."
Daisuke darted inside one of the changing booths and locked the door. Ken would be furious with him for sneaking off and then running away, so it wouldn't matter if he hid for a few moments more. He listened intently to his friends approaching footsteps, then watched the older boy's shoes as they passed by the dressing rooms. Waiting a few moments longer, quietly unlocked the door and drew in several deep breaths. "There's no toilet paper in here!" he screamed finally. He heard Ken halt and cry out his name in shocked horror. Smiling at a job well done, the brunette burst from his hiding place and dashed back the direction he'd come from, away from Ken.
He fled past the clothes department and 'Santa Clause;' past the bookstore and the candy displays. Dodging customers and display shelves and roving vender stalls, he eventually reached an escalator and raced down two floors, into the basement level shops. Below the main floor was nothing more than a regular shopping center, sort of like what he imagined Wal-Mart would look like. Tachikawa Mimi had said that there was a little of everything one really needed to survive at Wal-Mart. This floor was similar. The basics in clothes were situated in the center. Food was off to the left wall. Nothing was brand name quality, but it was all usable. Wandering past the clothes, Daisuke found toys and school supplies along the right wall, which eventually gave off into car and sport supplies. Between the two groups, he noticed a section of electronic devices: cell phones, home phones, alarm clocks, television sets, VCRs and DVD players, cameras, computers and computer accessories, and the like. He studied several of the devices, wondering at some of them. He had never been much for electronics, and he didn't know what many of the things in front of him were.
As he tried to figure out what was probably the largest television set he had ever seen apart from the ones attached to buildings downtown, Ken found him.
"Daisuke-kun, what on earth are you doing?" the older boy cried, latching onto his friends arm with and iron grip and pulling him back towards the escalator. He was definitely furious, but he seemed a bit tickled by his friend's antics as well.
"Ken-kun, matte." Daisuke grinned. "We may want to go back there for a moment..."
Confused, Ken glanced back and forth between him and the area they'd come from, frowning worriedly. "Why? What did you--" He cut off as something started beeping at the back of the store. Identical beeps joined quickly, at random intervals, until the sound was deafening and almost constant. Moaning, Ken buried his face in his hands for a second, before shoving Daisuke onto the escalator. The two of them raced out back to the main level of the store, fleeing the sound of the triggered alarm clocks in the electronics department.
"You're insane!" Ken yelled the moment they were a good distance away. He didn't release his grip on Daisuke's arm as he dragged him through the department, looking for his parents. As they virtually marched around, Daisuke repeatedly slipped a hand into his jacket pocket, tossing the contents of a box of condoms he'd found downstairs into random customer's bags. He watched Ken carefully as he covertly continued his operation, stopping whenever the boy turned to look in his general direction.
Without warning, Ken jerked to a stop. His eyes trained on the gag garment the younger boy had picked up, he slowly released his grip on the boy's arm. "Dai-kun," he mumbled, still staring at it. "What is that?"
Smiling brightly, Daisuke un-balled it and held it out for Ken to see. "I found it upstairs. I mean, it can't be for real, right? So I figured it would make a good gag gift for your uncle. What do you think?"
"I think," Ken stated hesitantly, biting back a laugh, "you should show it to my parents. I think they might like it."
"Cool. Now we just have to find them." That decided, the brunette continued his march, gazing around intently to try and find the elder Ichijoujis. He found them finally, just beside the escalator leading to the second floor. "Ichijouji-sama," he called, jogging towards them. Ken was right behind him, grinning at the gift his friend had found.
"Ichijouji-sama, I think I found a gift for your uncle. Or...Ken-kuns's uncle. Your brother. Whatever. Look!" He unfurled the garment again, beaming proudly as the Ichijoujis looked at it. "What do you think?"
Mrs. Ichijouji paled considerably before turning a bright pink color, and Mr. Ichijouji simply stared. Ken smiled brighter and began to giggle, covering his mouth with both hands to hold in his pleasure. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Mr. Ichijouji gently took the garment from Daisuke and crumpled it back into a ball.
"Daisuke-san, do you know what this is?"
"A gag?"
Ken turned away to hide his laughter as his father leaned over to quietly and as quickly as possible explain to the brunette what exactly it was he had picked up. The man then handed the crumpled item back to the boy, directing him to return it where he'd found it. "Or just hide it somewhere," he added. "We'll send Ryounosuke-kun a book or something…and this will stay between us and the security cameras."
Daisuke cringed and glared at his laughing best friend. "You didn't think to tell me what it really was?" he grumbled as the two of them headed back to the second floor clothes department.
Ken smiled. "Oh come on. It was funny."
"Was not."
"It was to me. I just can't believe you honestly didn't know what a teddy is."
Blushing, Daisuke ran darted past the clothes racks, stuffing the garment between two decent outfits, and ran back to his friend. "I'm not a hentai, so sue me."
"It's just cute, that's all."
"Whatever. Let's just get out of here. And don't you ever tell anyone about this, do you hear me?"
"Sure. Whatever."
Fini
AN: I don't own Digimon or the characters therein. I made up Ryounosuke and Nessarine on my own, so I guess I own them. …Yay. I own something. The story concept is also mine.
I know that Davis is supposed to be the Child of Courage, please don't remind me, I already know. His freaking out in the bookstore was just a side thing that would actually be pretty normal for a child. Just because he is ready to take down bad guys in the Digital World with the help of his flame throwing partner doesn't mean he isn't scared of anything. Some things are just plain creepy.
I just had to say that before someone tried to cuss me out for making him OOC.
I also know that Christmas is indeed celebrated in Japan. However, it's not as big there as it is in other places in the world, so I chose to emphasize that by making Davis unfamiliar with Santa Clause. He would actually have a different name in Japan, but I don't recall what that is, so...