Introduction

When Odaiba gets a new transfer student, the Digidestineds' lives are turned upside down. Ken is spending a term at their school…and he's far from happy about it.

Pushing everyone, including Davis, away from him, Ken treats everyone as insects, and does his best to aggravate people. But when a new friendship is forged after an unforgettable event, a young emperor finds himself choosing between his destiny…and his humanity.

Only when someone reaches out, will the damned be saved…

Chapter Seven; All The Hidden Pain

"Ken, honey? Are you sure you know what you're saying?" Mrs. Ichijoji asked quietly, staring at her son in disbelief. Sitting beside her, her husband seemed to be having a silent heart attack.

"Yes, mother. I know full well what this means." Ken replied, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. His parents looked at each other, communicating with their eyes in the way that parents do when they don't want their child to hear.

"But…it's an honour to go to Tamachi Grammar School. When we sent you to Odaiba Public for a term, we didn't see it being…permanent." Mrs. Ichijoji persisted. Ken shrugged, and looked away, avoiding eye contact with his parents.

"Then you shouldn't have sent me there at all. I like it there, mother. I get treated just like a normal person, and…and I have friends! I can't leave them!" Ken said, in what he hoped was his best persuasive voice.

"They got along fine before you came, and they'll do fine after you leave." Mr. Ichijoji finally spoke up, deciding now was the time to put his foot down.

"That's not the point! I don't want to leave them!" Ken persisted. His father's face darkened, and the older man stood up, glaring down at his son.

"You are not going to such a common school! Do you know how many jobs will be open to you after you leave Tamachi? You could do anything you wanted…doctor, scientist, politician…anything!"

"But who said I wanted to be any of those things? They were Sam's dreams, not mine!" Ken's eyes widened at what he'd said, and he clapped a hand over his mouth in horror. But it was too late – the damage was done.

Sam's future was never discussed in this household. It was taken for granted that Sam's future had become Ken's – that the younger Ichijoji would live out those dreams for his dead brother. It was never acknowledged that Ken might want to do something else…until now.

"Just what are your dreams, then?" Ken's father queried softly, in a dangerous tone. Ken swallowed hard, and glanced at his mother, who'd buried her head in her hands.

"I…I don't know…at the moment? To stay at Odaiba with Davis and Kari and the others. In the future? I guess…I guess…" Ken's voice trailed away, and his father grabbed his arm, tightening his hold until it was starting to hurt.

"You guess what?"

"In the future, I guess I'd like to be something like a…a detective." Ken admitted, forcing his words out before he lost courage. His mother gasped, and his father stiffened, every muscle in his body tensing.

"You're one of the most intelligent children in the country…in the world…and you want to go to a public school and be a detective!" He barked the last word as though it was some filthy thing, worthy of disgust. Ken flinched, and got up, meaning to seek sanctuary in his bedroom.

His father soon put a stop to that idea though, by grabbing his arm again.

"You're not going anywhere young man…not until we talk some sense into you!" He growled. Ken glared back, beginning to let his anger surge through him.

"Get off me." He said icily. He could feel his Emperor persona rising up to engulf him, and he welcomed it, retreating into the calculated rage that he revelled in whilst in the Digiworld.

"Don't you talk that way to your father, Ken." Mrs. Ichijoji admonished. In reply, Ken simply turned his penetrating gaze on her, and she drew back at the angry emotion in his cold eyes.

"Get off me, father!" He demanded again, grabbing the older man's wrist. His father, however, refused to loosen his grip. Ken's eyes narrowed at the insolence, and he tightened his own hold on his father's wrist, squeezing his hand as hard as he could.

"Ahh! Ken…stop it!" Mr. Ichijoji gasped, letting go of his son's arm. Instantly, Ken was across the room, and heading for the front door.

"How dare you tell me what to do! I'm not Sam; I can't live his life for you! You lost him long ago, why can't you accept it!"

SMACK! Mrs. Ichijoji screamed as her husband struck her son across the face, sending him back into the wall. Dazed by the impact, Ken slowly slid to the floor, his fury evaporating away into nothing.

His father stood there with wide eyes, staring first at his son, then at his own hand.

"Oh God…I'm sorry, Ken…I just got so wound up when you started talking about Sam like that…" Mr. Ichijoji fell silent, trembling slightly. It was the first time he'd ever raised a hand to either of his sons, and it was something that he'd never meant to do.

Ken blinked slowly, gathering his senses. Leaning on the wall for support, he shakily got to his feet, before staring at his parents.

"I hate you." He whispered. His mother gave a loud sob at the words, and his father reeled back as though he'd been the one slapped.

"You…you don't mean that…Ken…Kenny…" Mrs. Ichijoji whispered, reaching out for her son. Ken backed away, moving further towards the door.

"I hate you." He repeated. All of a sudden, it was like a gate had been opened, and all his resentment towards his parents came pouring out like a flood, completely overwhelming him until that was all he could think about.

"I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I hate you!" He screamed, fumbling for the doorknob behind him. His mother was crying hard now, and his father had gone a deathly pale, all the colour draining away from his face.

Finally succeeding in pulling the door open, Ken turned and ran, not really caring where he was going, just wanting to get out. Ignoring his parents' pleas for him to come back, he stumbled down the apartment block stairs, away from the home he hated so much.

"I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I hate you!"

Hearing shouts, Davis frowned and looked around him, wondering what they were. They weren't something he'd expected to hear in this neighbourhood – after all, he'd been sure that Ken didn't live in a place like Davis and the rest of the gang.

He'd been bored, and had decided to take the train over to Tamachi, to see what Ken was up to. What he hadn't expected was for Ken to come tearing out of his apartment block, almost running straight by him.

"Ken!" Catching hold of the taller boy's wrist, Davis swung Ken to face him, and stared as he realised that Ken's amethyst eyes were full of tears.

"Davis?" Ken asked tremulously. The next thing Davis knew, Ken had collapsed into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder.

Unsure what to do, Davis wrapped his arms around the other boy, and looked up to see a worried looking man that he assumed was Ken's father watching them from a balcony. Hearing light footsteps behind him, he twisted to see a woman hurrying down the apartment stairs, her face white and concerned.

"Ken? Ken, honey, come back inside…you're not thinking clearly…" She murmured, reaching out to touch her son's shoulder lightly. Ken stiffened, and pulled himself both out of Davis' arms and away from her hand.

"Leave me alone."

"Ken…please…"

"I said leave me alone!" Ken yelled, taking off again. Davis gazed after him in shock – he'd never seen Ken act so out of control before. Turning back to Ken's mother, he took in her shattered expression, and came to the conclusion that something had gone very wrong at home.

Taking a deep breath, he extended his hand towards the older woman, and said as calmly as he could;

"Mrs. Ichijoji? My name is Davis Motomiya, and I have this idea…"

Ken sat on the park bench, inwardly screaming with misery. Outwardly, though, his control was perfect once more, as though he'd never run sobbing from his home.

Shivering slightly as a particularly strong gust of wind blew by him, Ken stared fixedly at the ground, showing no sign of being the slightest bit uncomfortable.

His cheek throbbed, and he guessed that there was already a lovely purple bruise beginning to come out. >At least my face will match my hair…> He thought wryly.

He shivered again, and he dimly wondered whether it really was the cold wind, or whether he was going into a state of shock. But he somehow couldn't really get himself to care enough to find out. He just couldn't find the inner effort to remember what he'd learnt in health class.

Retreating into his thoughts again, Ken never noticed the figure standing in front of him until it called his name.

"Ken?" Davis winced as Ken looked up at him. Although it would seem to an outsider that nothing was wrong with Ken, Davis had got to know the purple haired genius. He'd got to know him very well indeed.

Well enough to know that the blank, slightly vacant look in Ken's eyes definitely didn't belong there – and neither did the bruise on the side of his face that was beginning to appear.

"Davis? What are you doing here?" Ken asked in bewilderment, not understanding. Davis sighed, and sat down next to him.

"Think back, dude. I was there when you ran out of your apartment, remember? You collapsed sobbing into my arms."

Ken blushed, suddenly remembering. He'd forgotten all about it in his distress. Noticing his discomfort, Davis put a supporting hand on Ken's shoulder, meaning to comfort him. Instead, Ken stiffened at the touch, and glared at Davis.

"I don't need your pity, Davis." He snapped. Davis sighed – they were back to the 'I can't acknowledge weakness' stage.

"Of course you don't, Ken. I was just wondering whether you'd like to sleep over at mine tonight."

Ken blinked, caught off guard by the offer.

"Sleep…at yours? He asked faintly. Davis smiled and nodded.

"Sure. I've already asked your mum, and it's fine with her. So it's up to you."

Ken thought furiously, trying to sort out his feelings. On the one hand, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to cope with so many hours of Davis-style conversation. But on the other hand, he wasn't exactly eager to go back home at the moment.

"Ok." Davis beamed as Ken accepted, and was instantly on his feet, pulling Ken up from the bench.

"Great! Come on, let's get your stuff!" He laughed, pulling the genius along behind him.

Dimly, Ken was wondering whether he'd made a mistake in accepting Davis' offer. But it only took one of his friend's smiles to make him sure that he was doing the right thing.

"So what do you want to do first? Playstation or movie?" Davis asked, dumping Ken's bag on the table. Ken eyed him warily, his Davis Sense tingling in warning.

"It depends…what game and what movie?" He said suspiciously. Davis beamed at him.

"They're great! We can either play Combat Man 1.9 on the console, or watch 'The Brain That Didn't Die'." Davis laughed.

Ken paled at the sound of the movie – it had to be one of the worst horror films that had ever been made…he'd seen the beginning, and that had been enough. He'd vowed never to watch the rest of the stupid thing.

"Playstation!" He exclaimed hurriedly, rushing towards the sofa and picking up a controller. Laughing, Davis went to put the game in. >Guess Ken's not a fan of cheesy old horror films, then…>

Two hours later, and Ken had soundly beaten Davis no less than 34 times. Davis made the excuse that as Ken was a guest, he was letting him win. Ken replied that he didn't believe that for one second. This argument carried on for quite some time, eventually ending in a small play fight.

To Davis' disgust, Ken won that too.

Now they were getting ready for bed, and Davis had already decided that this would be the best time to confront Ken about the argument with his parents – a sleepy Ken was a defenceless Ken, he figured.

"Hey, Ken?" He called softly, watching the futon beside him for any signs of movement. To his relief, Ken shifted so that he could face the other boy – Davis had been afraid that the genius had already gone to sleep.

"Yeah?"

"What were you arguing about with your parents earlier? You know, when you broke down crying?" Davis asked. Ken stiffened.

"It's none of your business." He snarled. Davis, however, wasn't about to give up just because Ken wanted him to.

"Damn it, Ken! I'm your friend! It is my business!"

"Wrong, Davis. You're not my friend – you're just a pet monkey I like to keep around for entertainment." Ken said cruelly. That was it – Davis snapped.

Rolling out of bed to stand over the futon, the brunette glared down at the other boy.

"For God's sake, stop pulling away from people and treat them like they deserve to! Stop pretending to be such a cruel dumbass!" He bellowed.

In a flash, Ken was off the futon and pinning him to the floor, a dark and dangerous look in his eye.

"Maybe I'm not pretending…maybe I'm showing you who I really am." He hissed threateningly. Davis gulped, but continued to stare determinedly back.

"I don't believe that, Ken. I might have, a couple of months ago…but I've seen how kind you can be now. I know that you only put on this front when you're feeling upset or vulnerable."

Growling, Ken pulled Davis up a bit, before slamming him back down onto the floor hard.

"Is that something a kind person would do?" He demanded. Davis winced, but still smiled up at Ken.

"You could have hurt me much more if you'd used your full strength. But you didn't. That makes you kind." He answered simply.

Ken froze, gazing down at him. He didn't understand this – how could Davis have such faith in him, even after he'd hurt him so much? Letting out a small whimper, Ken let go of Davis and pulled back, retreating to the other side of the room.

"Why can't you let me be, Davis? Why can't you just let me act like the emotionless person I want to be?" He whispered, drawing his knees up to his chest and letting his head drop onto them.

Davis felt a stab of pity for the boy who was meant to have it all. He wasn't exactly sure why, but it was clear that Ken had some major issues about people caring for him…and whatever had happened with his parents today must have dug them back up again.

Crawling over, Davis placed a comforting hand on the other boy's arm. Ken looked up, trying to hide the fact that his purple eyes were filling with tears.

"Why do you want to be emotionless? Why do you try to stay cold and distant, Ken?" Davis asked. Ken bowed his head, searching for the right answer.

"Because it's the only way I can cope – without the mask, I start to break down inside." He answered softly.

"But you don't need a mask, Ken – you've got us now. Me, Kari, TK…"

"Yeah, well, I won't have you in two months time, will I? Don't try and shatter the mask, Davis; I'll need it again soon."

Davis stared, suddenly getting what Ken was on about.

"That's right…you're leaving at the end of term, aren't you?" He whispered. Ken nodded miserably, still refusing to look Davis in the eye.

"Maybe…maybe you won't need your mask at Tamachi anymore…" Davis offered. Ken let out a small snort of derision.

"Yeah, right. Let down your shield there, and you get torn to bits. Elitist, pompous gits! I hate them!" He snarled.

"Then stay at Odaiba with us." Davis pleaded. To his horror, Ken began to sob hard at his suggestion.

"You think I haven't tried to do that? Damn, Davis, are you always this stupid?"

Davis flushed, beginning to get a good idea about what exactly Ken had been arguing with his parents about.

"Your parents won't let you stay, will they?" He whispered. Ken shook his head, letting out another stifled sob.

"Of course not…why would they want their genius son to go to some lowly public school? Why would they care whether he actually wanted to live out Sam's dreams?" Ken laughed bitterly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he'd just mentioned his brother.

"Sam? That's your brother, right? The one who's dead?" Davis could have kicked himself – could he have been any more insensitive? But instead of getting angry or more upset, Ken just nodded.

"Yeah. He was always the smart one in the family…I was the dumb, insignificant brother who got pushed to the side, constantly living in Sam's shadow."

"You, dumb? I find that hard to believe, Ken." Davis laughed. Ken simply smiled – a harsh, twisted one, full of pain.

"Believe it. I started wishing he'd just go away…disappear. Then guess what happened less than a couple of weeks later? A car hit him! A car hit him, and I watched him fly across the road and crash to the floor. Guess I got my wish, right?"

Davis gulped. Ken had watched his brother die? No wonder the genius had some issues – he'd actually wished for his brother to disappear, then watched as Sam died.

"Ken? You do know that Sam's death wasn't your fault, right?" He began hesitantly.

"You should have seen my parents' faces! It was like their whole world had just ended." Ken continued. Davis wondered whether the genius had actually heard what he'd said.

"They wanted Sam…so I gave them Sam. I turned into the little genius they always wanted. How many years ago was that? Let's see…about four years ago! Bit late to be reconsidering, right?"

"It's never too late, Ken never!" Davis said heatedly, wanting so badly to make the other boy feel better. Ken just let out a tired sounding chuckle.

"You don't understand, Davis….it is too late for me to stop. I can't remember how to be Ken."

As Ken slumped in defeat, Davis caught him, wrapping his arms around his exhausted friend. Wiping away the tears that had begun to flow, Davis lifted Ken onto the futon.

>I'm so sorry, Ken. I'm so sorry for the pain that you have to live with every day.>

Ha ha! Remember my plea! Read and review if you want to read the last chapter and epilogue!