Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Lessons In Friendship

Chapter Six: The Fight

Davis reluctantly strolled down the street, his best friend by his side, the two of them heading back towards the elementary school, which they had recently just left. They were walking side by side in comfortable silence, and they had to dodge a group of little kids playing soccer.

Ken tilted his head to the side, watching him, and a small smile slipped across the former Emperor's face. "See? Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Maybe for you...

Davis rolled his eyes at the former Emperor, and he made a face, unwilling to agree so easily without a fight. Somehow, Ken had managed to convince him to talk to T.K. as soon as possible, and unfortunately that meant right now. When he had left school earlier, after a shouting match with the blond, T.K. had stalked away to his basketball practice in fury. The golden-haired Digidestined's face had been red with anger, and his eyes had been sparkling with outrage. There was no doubt that T.K. had been angry with him and probably still was. He was not exactly looking forward to confronting T.K. again, but if he didn't, Matt would be on his case quicker than you could say lone wolf.

Why do I always let Ken talk me into these things!

It was not that he didn't want to talk to T.K., he did. As much as he hated to admit it, he valued the blond's friendship.

"You are planning to speak with T.K., aren't you? Matt was pretty insistent about it," Ken said, glancing anxiously at him, as if reading his mind. There was a frown on the raven-haired Digidestined's face, and he looked ready to start an argument at the first sign of protest.

Davis had to smile.

Does he always know what I'm thinking?

Possibly, that was the case. After all, they were DNA partners. The bond between them was strong. Ken seemed to be able to read his mind at the most unlikely times, which made Davis suspect that their heartbeats and partners were not the only thing they shared. Now, it appeared to include their thoughts as well. "Are you afraid that I'm going to back out?"

Ken did not answer. The former Emperor chose to stare down at the sidewalk instead, his raven hair gleaming in the sun. "No, I'm afraid that you're going to let your temper get the best of you again," he said quietly.

"Is that what you think of me!" Davis pretended to look offended. "I'll have you know that I can keep my temper in check when I want to!"

At least, I hope I'll be able to.

Seeing the look on Ken's face, Davis crossed his arms over his chest and quickly sped up, anxious to get this over with. His raven-haired friend had to run to catch up to him.

"Well, you must not want to very often then," Ken said dryly. The former Emperor looked amused about something, but Davis had no clue as to what it might be.

"What do you mean by that?"

Ken's expression was neutral, but he looked as if he were trying not to laugh. "Have you ever considered taking an anger management course?"

"What?" Davis gave the former Emperor a dirty look, and coming to a stop on the sidewalk, he shouted, "I do not need an anger management class! I just get a little carried away sometimes, that's all."

It wasn't like he purposely got angry. It just sort of happened whenever he was around T.K.

"Davis..." Ken crossed his arms and smiled slightly, shaking his head. "I'm just trying to point out the fact that you tend not to think first before you say something. There was no need to be so harsh with T.K."

"He was insulting me!" Davis said hotly, refusing to back down.

Did Ken really think I was going to let him get away with that?

Davis knew he was being childish, but he could not help it. Not when T.K. was involved. As much as he liked T.K., there were definitely occasions when the blond had been a thorn in his side, especially during those first few days after T.K. had left the mainland to move to Odaiba with his mother, where he had proceeded to attend the same school that Davis had been going to for years with Kari. The worst part about it was that T.K. knew exactly which buttons to push, to get him going.

In response to his outburst, Ken, not surprisingly, ran a hand through his hair and sighed. The former Emperor's face held an expression of deep disappointment. "How can you blame T.K. for being angry? He might have said some things he shouldn't have, but so did you. I'm sure he didn't mean any of it."

Davis made a face at his friend and frowned, his thoughts once again returning to the aforementioned blond. The fact that he had fought with T.K. was not even what was bothering him. It was the way T.K. had treated him earlier that had gotten under his skin. He would never admit it to Ken, but he hated arguing with T.K. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be friends.

Or at least, I thought we were, but does T.K. feel the same way?

Though he hated to admit it, one of his biggest fears was that someday he would find out that T.K. did not really like him after all. The blond had certainly never gone to any great effort to be his friend, always treating him like he was a child. Then again, Matt, T.K.'s own brother, had said that T.K. did like him. Why would Matt say that if it wasn't true? He didn't have any reason to lie.

Oh really? The way you treated him earlier was reason enough, wasn't it?

Davis blushed at his own fleeting thought and quickly ducked his head, hoping Ken hadn't seen. Guilt was not a good feeling, and boy did he feel guilty. He shouldn't have been so hard on Matt. He hadn't meant to be, but T.K. had gotten him so angry, he had not been able to stop himself from lashing out at someone. Luckily, Matt appeared to have forgiven him, despite his unusual behaviour.

He shouldn't have, though. I don't deserve it.

"Davis, are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" Davis looked up in surprise, and he found Ken staring at him, clearly impatient over his current tendency to keep drifting off during their conversation. "Did you say something?"

The former Emperor let out a sigh, and he quickly shook his head, a slight smile on his face. "Never mind. But you have to remember, I was there and I heard some of the things you said to him. T.K. isn't the only one to blame. You were just as bad as he was."

Flashback

Ken shoved his hands deep into his pockets, heading slowly down the street towards Davis's school. The goggle-headed leader had invited him to stay over for the night, and they had made plans to meet up at the school entrance. He took his time, scanning the street around him, and he smiled to himself.

I wonder if I'll ever get use to the feeling of freedom.

Ever since he and the other Digidestined had defeated MaloMyotismon, a weight seemed to have been lifted off of his shoulders. The darkness no longer haunted him. It was always there, a flicker at the edge of his mind, but he did not let it consume him anymore. Personally, he did not think it would ever really go away. He had been through too much to expect a totally clean slate, but with Davis and the others supporting him, he knew it would never hurt him again.

I'm free. Free and where I belong.

The sound of shouting suddenly startled Ken out of his thoughts, and he frowned, squinting ahead of him for the source of the yelling.

Uh oh...that sounds like Davis and T.K. I wonder what they've done to anger each other this time.

Ken sighed and shook his head. Recently, the two had been getting along quite well. Really well, in fact, ever since MaloMyotismon's defeat. He should have known it wasn't going to last.

I guess I'd better go break it up before the fists start flying.

His frown deepened, and he sped up his pace, both concerned and a little bit annoyed.

How did I end up being the mediator for their rare, but fierce arguments?

Since joining the Digidestined, Ken had come to know each of then very well. Both T.K., and Davis had become good friends to him, and he hated being stuck in the middle of their fights. Luckily, as stated before, they didn't fight all that often, it was a rare occurrence these days, but when they did, he was always the one left to pick up the pieces. Davis always expected him to be on his side, since they were best friends, but he did not want to end up hurting T.K. either. As a result, those two had a way of unintentionally making his life difficult.

He caught sight of the school up ahead and he hurried over to the entrance, where Davis and T.K. stood glaring at each other. Neither one appeared to have noticed that they had attracted an audience, which didn't surprise him seeing as how it looked as if they only had angry eyes for each other. A crowd of students stood around them, as if expecting a flurry of fists at any moment. Some of the students looked worried, while others watched in anticipation, excited looks on their faces. Ken shook his head in disgust and he pushed his way towards the front of the crowd, anxious to find out what was going on. He found himself standing next to Davis, and giving both of his friends a stern look, he said, "What's going on here?"

Davis jumped, startled by his sudden presence, and turned towards him. There was a scowl on the goggle-headed leader's face, and he looked very angry. "Why don't you ask T.M., since he's the one who started it all!"

Ken felt his heart sink. This looked more serious than he had first thought. Ignoring Davis, he turned his violet eyes on T.K. "What's going on, T.K.? Why are you guys fighting?"

T.K.'s sky blue eyes travelled over the crowd before finally coming to rest on his face. "Not here," he said quietly. "Let's go to the computer room."

"Fine, we'll go to the computer room, but it isn't going to change anything!" Davis shot back.

Ken grabbed the goggle-headed leader by the arm and he dragged him towards the front entrance to the school, motioning for T.K. to follow him. The crowd began to disperse, some looking relieved, others disappointed.

They made it to the computer room in stony silence, with Davis glaring at T.K. the whole way. Once inside, Ken faced both of them and waited expectantly, curious to know which one of them would find the courage to speak first. To the right, T.K.'s handsome face was strained, and he looked upset.

"You want to know what's going on? T.K.'s been acting like a real jerk, that's what!" Davis shouted, breaking the silence.

"If you would be quiet for two seconds and listen to me, you'd realise what an idiot you're being!" T.K. snapped, his eyes flashing with anger.

Ken stared at the blond in surprise. Those were some harsh words, especially coming from T.K., who did not usually speak so rudely of his friends. What had Davis done to make him so upset? Normally, T.K. was pretty laid back and he didn't usually let Davis get to him, so why was now any different than usual?

I don't get it. Why is Davis accusing T.K. of insulting him?

Davis clenched his hands into fists and glared at the blond, unwilling to back down. "See? I don't care what the others think of you, T.B.! You're not as saintly and perfect as you make yourself out to be!"

"I never said I was perfect," T.K replied, his voice very quiet. "Not once and you know it."

"Then stop acting like you think you're better than me!" Davis shouted in return, looking ready to explode with anger.

T.K. suddenly let out a weary sigh and seated himself on a desk, his handsome face twisting into a look of despair. "I don't think I'm better than you," he murmured, running his fingers through his golden hair. T.K. had given up his Gilligan hat a while ago, much to Davis's disappointment. Now the goggle-headed leader couldn't make snide remarks about it, like he use to. T.K.'s partner Patamon was always making jokes about messing up his hair when they went to the Digital World to visit. Matt had nearly had a fit when T.K. mentioned that Patamon still liked to sit on his head. The musician had seemed very offended, as if T.K. had committed some sort of crime. Sometimes Matt could be very weird, especially when it came to the topic of hair.

"Right," Davis said sarcastically. "Saying so would ruin your image. It doesn't stop you from thinking it, though!"

Now would probably be a good time to intervene...

"Guys, this is getting us nowhere," Ken said loudly, trying to be heard over their shouts. "Will you please tell me why you're fighting?"

"I told you, ask T.O. He seems to think he has all the answers to everything," Davis shot back, giving the blond a sour look. "I'm sure he'll manage to turn this whole thing around and somehow make me look like I'm the bad guy. Come on, T.J., I want to hear this, or have you lost your touch?"

T.K. suddenly shot to his feet, making Ken gasp in surprise. The expression on the blond's face was one of fury. "I don't have to sit here and listen to this! You know what, Davis? Think what you want to about me. I really don't care what you say anymore."

He turned to leave the room, but Ken grabbed his arm, stopping him. "T.K., wait."

The blond shook his head and gave him a sad smile. "I'll see you later, Ken," he said softly, his eyes dark.

Ken tried to protest, but T.K. gently pulled his arm away and left the room without another word.

Great...Now what am I going to do?

Ken turned to look at Davis, who stared defiantly back at him, but despite his friend's angry expression, he did not fail to notice the way the goggle-headed leader kept gazing anxiously after his blond friend.

"Come on, Davis, let's go."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Go where?" Davis asked, giving him a suspicious look.

A sudden idea came to Ken, and though he wanted to smile, somehow he managed to keep his face expressionless.

Somewhere where I can hopefully get you straightened out, that's where!

Instead of answering, he gave his friend a mysterious smile and said, "You'll see."

End Flashback

"Ken? Hello, earth to Ken. Wake up, dude," Davis shouted, frowning at his friend, who was staring up at the sky, his thoughts elsewhere.

What in the Digiworld is he thinking about?

Ken had always been a bit more reserved than the rest of the Digidestined, but this was strange, even for him.

Ken blinked at him, as if he had forgotten where he was. "Davis," he said seriously, "what were you and T.K. fighting about?"

Davis froze, his heart filling with sudden dread. He did not like where this conversation was going, not one bit.

"It doesn't matter," he mumbled, feeling uncomfortable. Now that he actually thought about it, it really had been a stupid argument.

The former Emperor continued to stare at him. "I mean it, Davis. What were you and T.K. fighting about?"