Yes, it's an AU. And despite a preference for some of the Japanese names, this is set in an American high school. Dai is a sophomore, Ken is a junior (for brains, not age). The rest fall in there somewhere, except Iori, who's a freshman (poor guy).
And we're back to // for thoughts. I realized that ff.net did something funny with the I, so.... (shrugs*)
Damn html coding (again!)
*****
Sunday was more of a success than Daisuke could have dreamed, and so he woke up on Monday with high hopes for another fun day of soccer, video games, and watching Ken play with Worm and Vee.
More grudgingly, he had to admit that Ken wasn't half as bad as he had begun to fear on Friday. The contact he'd had with the genius was limited, but Ken's attitude before the hair incident had seemed stand-offish at best. However, Daisuke had been introduced to a side of Ken he had never expected, and he liked what he'd seen so far. He could be friends with someone like that, very easily.
Jun had spent the night at whoever's house she had gone visiting, so it was up to Daisuke to answer the door to Ken's knock. He opened it and grinned at the boy standing on the stoop. "Did you have breakfast yet?" he asked.
Ken blinked at him, looked at his watch, and then looked back at Daisuke. "You're awake, dressed, and ready for breakfast, and it's only eight o'clock?" ken said questioningly, frowning in mock-confusion.
Daisuke grinned. "I set my alarm to get up. Since I actually -knew- what time you were stopping by today, I could get ready," Daisuke said primly. The effect was ruined by his wide, impish grin. "Get in here," he commanded, stepping back and holding the door open for Ken.
"Yes, sir," Ken saluted Daisuke as he complied and stepped into the house. He slipped his shoes off and then followed Daisuke to the kitchen. "I already ate, by the way," he told Daisuke in answer to the question he'd been greeted with.
"Ah, too bad. I would have introduced you to the Daisuke skillet."
"Daisuke skillet? Sounds ominous," Ken replied, taking a seat at the table as Daisuke scavenged in the fridge. The brunet turned to glare at him, lips twitching.
"I know what that means," Daisuke said darkly.
"I figured you did," Ken responded, smiling.
The brunet paused. "Did you really?" he asked seriously.
It was Ken's turn to hesitate. "Did I really what?"
"Really think I knew?" He turned to face Ken fully, intent on getting an answer.
The genius blinked in confusion, but nodded. "Yeah. Why wouldn't you?"
Daisuke shrugged and turned back to the fridge. "Because I'm an idiot," he said simply, as if stating a well-known fact. "Do you know why I didn't want to take part in the auction?" he asked as he pulled a plastic-wrapped plate from the fridge.
"No," Ken answered. "Why?"
"I had a dream last Monday that the auction was taking place. Kari was doing the calling thing that Mrs. Kido did, where she hollers out all the bids. It came to be my turn, and she started the bidding, but nobody said anything, so she lowers the starting bid to a penny, and says something like 'take pity on this loser and get him off the stage, only a penny', and still no one says anything. And in the end, I get booed off the stage."
Ken grimaced in sympathy, but the look was lost to Daisuke, who kept his back to Ken as he warmed the plate of food.
"I'm not a bad guy, really," Daisuke continued, head tilted forward so that Ken had a perfect view of the back of his neck. "I just tend to be more than most people can handle. Jun's my sister, and some days even she has to tell me to get out of the house and leave her in peace."
"Daisuke," Ken started to speak, but Daisuke spun around and raised a hand, warding away any of the words the genius would have spoken.
"Don't. I don't need your sympathy, or anything like that, Ken. I just..." he trailed off and sighed. "I just didn't want yet another person this week wishing they could be rid of me. I get enough of that. I guess... I was hoping that if I told you, you'd understand, and maybe you'd try? Or something like that." He rolled his eyes, scratched the back of his head, and turned back to the microwave in time to push the stop button before the bell dinged.
He took the plate to the table and took the chair across from Ken. As intent as he seemed on his food, Ken was surprised to be caught staring at him when Daisuke looked up.
"Want some?" the brunet offered, holding out a forkful of food.
"I'm fine, thanks," Ken said with a shake of his head. He looked away, feeling heat rush to his cheeks at being discovered. His eyes bounced over the walls, and the odd pattern on the wallpaper, but inadvertently went back to Daisuke as soon as Ken thought the other boy was immersed in his food. The second time he was caught, Daisuke didn't even bother to glance up from his food.
"Man, I don't have horns, or two heads. Despite the fact that my goggles aren't present, there's nothing remotely interesting in staring at me."
"Sorry," Ken was quick to apologize. Realizing that he felt uncomfortable and that sitting and doing nothing would do nothing to alleviate that condition, Ken asked the first question that popped into his head. "What's the story behind the goggles?"
Daisuke had just taken a bit of food, and so it took him a few seconds of chewing before he could utter a response. "Coach Yagami used to go to school with my sister, and when I was ten or eleven he gave them to me. And since he's my hero..." Dai shrugged. "It's a good look on me."
The grin that Daisuke flashed him was full of brass, and more at place in Ken's data-base characterization of the boy across from him. He had little-to-no experience dealing with Daisuke personally, but he had seen the boy interact with other people, and what he had seen had lead him to believe that Daisuke was nothing more than a simple-minded annoyance. An annoyance might be close, as even Daisuke agreed with that, but simple-minded could be ruled out. Daisuke had proved himself to be perceptive that morning, and Ken doubted that it was a fluke.
"You've known Coach Yagami a long time, then," Ken finally said, having considered carefully what part of Daisuke's answer he would respond to. "Is that why those rumors went around last year when you made the varsity team?"
Daisuke's gaze hardened. "I didn't get on the team because I knew him."
"I didn't say you did," Ken shot back just as coldly. He took a deep breath to stave off the defensiveness he could feel rising, though why he should be on the defensive, he didn't know. "I played on your team last year, Daisuke. Remember? You were on that team because you could play better than most of the juniors and seniors. If it had been any other way, I personally would have been writing to the school board."
Daisuke's scowl slipped into a sincere smile. "Thank you."
^*^*^*^*^
"And he takes the pass out and... score!" Daisuke cheered, throwing his arms up victoriously. Half a yard away, nestled between a brown-nosed pug and a big black mutt that Daisuke claimed to be Doberman, Ken smiled slightly.
If the brunet minded at all that he was playing by himself, he didn't let on at all, seemingly content to chase himself around his rather expansive back yard. Ken had been surprised the day before when Daisuke had pointed out the boundaries of the property his sister owned.
"It belonged to an uncle who moved here decades ago. He left it to my parents, but they were happy to stay in Japan. When my father lost his job, and Mom had to start working, we moved into this shoe-box apartment. Jun had moved here a couple of years before that, and it didn't take too much for her to convince our parents that I should follow her out." Daisuke had recounted that Sunday evening, shortly before Ken left.
A little less than a full day later, Ken watched as Daisuke played soccer against imaginary opponents. When Ken had asked if Daisuke wanted him to play, the brunet had grinned and pointed at Worm. "Play with the little guy," he had instructed, already jogging away from the house. Ken had done as told, content to enjoy the company of animals and contemplate the enigma he was uncovering in his host.
It was easy to see why some people couldn't handle being around Daisuke for very long. He never sat still, and when he was sitting, his mouth was running about anything and everything. At any point in time, -something- was moving, making noise, attracting attention.
On sudden impulse, Ken stood up, patting Worm's head gently to show that nothing was wrong. Daisuke froze as Ken stepped off the porch, intention clear in the challenging smirk on the genius' face. "Ready to play against a real opponent?"
Daisuke kicked the ball into the air, caught it, and tucked it under his arm, assuming a confident pose as he did so. "Think you can handle this, Ichijouji? Because from where I'm standing, playing against you is just like playing alone."
Ken raised one eyebrow. "You're on, Motomiya." He had six days to give in to the urge to be a child again. That was an option that he had never considered when he signed up. He had figured he'd have to play another role for someone else, just another persona added on top of the ones that were already there.
However, with Daisuke, he was discovering that the only person he had to be was himself.
*****
"Hm... pizza? Or tacos? Hamburgers? Or roast beef? Spaghetti? Or fre-" Ken clamped a hand over Daisuke's mouth to stop the list of possible lunch items to continue.
"Unless you can magically produce a car and a license to operate it, our options are limited to greasy hamburgers and fries, or something nearing edible at the place down the street. Everything else is across town. However, if you -want- to walk two miles to have tacos, or something else, we can do that, too," he amended, remembering that he was at Daisuke's disposal for the week, and whatever the brunet wanted, with some exceptions, Ken had to give, even time and energy enough to walk for an hour just to get food.
"Nah," Daisuke shook his head. He glanced up and down the street, looking from the fast-food place to the restaurant and back, until Ken wondered if the boy was seeing a tennis match in his head. With Daisuke, one never knew. "Come on!" the brunet said suddenly, grabbing Ken's hand without thinking and pulling the taller boy with him. Ken had little choice but to follow, as Daisuke's grip was firm and Ken had no desire to create a scene by yanking his hand away.
"Where are we going?" he asked as Daisuke's impulse took them away from both eateries.
Daisuke didn't answer him, at least not immediately. They turned a couple of corners quickly, and then Daisuke cut across the yard of a two-story house that had been split into apartment's. Daisuke picked apartment B to knock on, letting go of Ken's hand in the process. There was a long pause, and Ken was about to suggest that whoever it was wasn't home, when there was the sound of a loud crash just inside, and then the door opened.
"Hello? Oh! Konnichi wa, Motomiya-kun! Ichijouji-kun? Ah, good afternoon. This is a surprise." It was for Ken, too. He hadn't expected Daisuke to lead him to a teacher's house, and definitely not the one belonging to the science teacher.
"Hey, Mr. Kido! Is your wife here?" Daisuke asked, grinning. The man smiled back a little uncertainly and pushed a pair of thin reading glasses back up the bride of his nose.
"Daisuke!" a feminine voice called, confirming that, yes, Mrs. Kido was home. The woman shoved her husband aside lovingly in favor of squeezing Daisuke into a hug. She pulled back after what Ken thought must have been too long for a formal hug, and smiled at the brunet. "And Dai, you know you can call me Mimi when we're not in school." Then her eyes went to Ken. "Ken! This is a surprise! Oh, wait, it's not." She said the last to herself, eyes blink wide as she seemed to recall the auction. "Oh, well. What can we do for you boys?"
"Food," Daisuke answered simply, earning a blank look from Mimi and a smirk from Ken, who decided to elaborate before she sent them out prepackaged foods for a can-drive.
"We were trying to decide what to have for lunch, and Daisuke's stomach lead us here," Ken said, smiling politely. "I didn't realize he was going to interrupt you and your own meal, and I'm sorry, Mrs. Kido."
"Dude, stuff it," Daisuke said, frowning at Ken.
Mimi smiled through it all. "Daisuke, don't be rude. Ken, don't be silly. We're actually all outside, and Matt's cooking, but you're welcome to round the numbers out to ten."
"Kari's here?" Daisuke asked, eyes widening. There was a small flash of hope, then dread, and then it all disappeared in a cloud of -something- Ken couldn't identify readily. "And TK?"
"They spent the night with their brothers," Jyou answered. "Come on, Mimi. You told Sora you'd get the potato salad out there in time to eat it with everything else."
"Yes, dear," she replied turning to walk back in the house. "Dai, just take Ken through the connecting door and out through Tai's place; he won't mind. And maybe you'll manage to pull Izzy away from his computer."
"Alright," Daisuke agreed, watching as the couple disappeared into the kitchen. He waved Ken inside, shut the door, and immediately turned to what Ken had thought was a closet. It opened easily, and Ken blinked when he realized that it connected to the next apartment. The brunet seemed comfortable with his surroundings, and so Ken followed after him. The difference between the two apartments was seen easily, even with just a small impression of the first: where the Kido's place had seemed to exude neatness and order, the one that belonged to these occupants was littered with memorabilia, books, and computer stuff, all of it strewn about and piled incongrously as if stuff just stayed whereever it was first set down. "Hey, Mr. Izumi! Mimi says to pull your nose out of the screen!" Daisuke called.
"I tried that," a deep voice said. Coach Yagami's head appeared around a doorway. "Go on ahead outside, Dai. I'm assuming you're here to eat?"
"Of course! But first, Mimi said that I should try to pull Izzy away from the computer."
The older brunet grinned. "He's away from the computer, trust me," he said, running a hand through his already disheveled hair.
"I didn't hear that!" Daisuke clamped his hands over his ears teasingly. "Dude, it's the middle of the day!"
"What can I say? The timing was too perfect to pass up?" He grinned and then yelped again as he was pulled forcibly back into the room. The door shut loudly.
Daisuke laughed. "People," he muttered, shaking his head. He looked at Ken, and then paused, noticing the flush that was creeping up the taller boy's cheeks. "Ken? You okay?"
"Fine," Ken answered, looking away. "Aren't we supposed to be outside?" he asked, hoping to turn Daisuke's attention away from him.
"Yeah," Daisuke said softly, giving Ken one more scrutinizing glance before leading the way outside. The backyard for the apartments wasn't near as impressive as Daisuke's and Jun's, but it was more than Ken and his parents had in their apartment. "Sora!" Daisuke called. The woman in charge of the grill turned around and smiled as Daisuke ran towards her. " What are you cooking?"
Ken followed more slowly.
*****
Eight thirty saw the boys barely heading home, the sun rapidly disappearing from the sky. Daisuke was talking enthusiastically, as he had all day, as Ken followed along beside him, more lost in his thoughts than aware of his surroundings. The brunet's voice was a soothing background hum that the taller boy was able to ignore the words, at least until Daisuke put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from taking another step.
Ken looked up and blinked, and Daisuke grinned back. "Dude, okay, so I don't mind being ignored because everyone does it, but it's after eight, and unless you're spending the night, which would be cool but I'd have to ask Jun, you probably should walk the other way. And if you do spend the night, that's cool, but my clothes aren't going to fit you right."
Daisuke had stopped them in front of his house. Ken looked down at his watch and then at the darkening sky. By the time he was halfway home, it would be dark out, and his mother would never forgive him for worrying her like that. "Would it be possible to call home and ask for a ride?" he asked Daisuke. Better to ask his mom to come get him than to walk home by himself in the dark.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" Daisuke asked, head tilted to the side. Sensing that Daisuke was asking only so that he could tease him, Ken shook his head before he replied.
"My mother is, though. She hates it when I walk home in the dark. If I start now, it will still be full-dark before I get home."
"Ah," Daisuke murmured with a nod. "You can spend the night," Daisuke suggest softly, already heading up the front walk to the door. Ken looked at him for a moment, surprised, before following.
"Spend the night?" he repeated. Daisuke shrugged, shoulders lifting as he unlocked the front door.
"Yeah. Think about it. You could be out of the house by noon, and you wouldn't have to be stuck with me all day."
"I don't think it works that way," Ken argued, though he wondered why. It could work that way. Midnight to noon would be the requisite twelve hours. Or, he could leave at eight in the morning and come back at eight at night, and he'd still have his twelve hours in for the day. It had possibility.
"Think about it, dude. If I say that for the week, what I wanted was for us to be buds, then we just say that's what friends do. They have sleep-overs and stuff. Or something. Jun used to do it ages ago."
'Jun used to do it', which implied that Daisuke never had. Ken looked closer at the lines of tension in Daisuke's back and shoulders, noticing the stiff way he held himself as he opened the door and waved Ken inside.
Instead of rejecting Daisuke's offer, Ken commented quietly, "I have no clean clothes."
"I can lend you some of mine!" Daisuke said quickly, eyes wide and rather hopeful when he turned to stare at Ken and wait for the taller boy's answer.
"I'll ask my mother," Ken said with a nod. Daisuke practically shoved the phone into Ken's arms before taking off into the recesses of the house in search of Jun and her approval. Ken smiled. His answer had been cinched when he decided that it wouldn't do to make miserable the person who paid seven hundred dollars for his company. It didn't hurt that making Daisuke smile left a pleasant, fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach, or that the thought of seeing rejection on that same face left him feeling sick.
It was an odd mix of emotions, something he'd never had to deal with in relation to another person for a very long time. Not since-
"Ken, Jun says you can stay!" Daisuke hollered cheerfully, interrupting Ken's train of thought. "Have you called your Mom? Is it okay?" The brunet came charging down the hallway and skidded to a halt in front of Ken. "Dude, have you even -dialed- yet?"
"I was thinking." The excuse came easily. To dispell further conversation, at least for the moment, Ken made his phone call. Daisuke hung over his shoulder while he explained the situation to his mother and asked for her permission to spend the night. She agreed easily, and the phone call was concluded in under four minutes and only one admonition for Ken to brush his teeth.
"Cool!" Daisuke punched the air, and then headed back towards his room. "I'll get the sleeping bags out, and we'll have to hook the VCR back up for movies and stuff. You can have the bed, but you have to deal with Vee, too, most likely. I used to think he wanted to sleep with me, and then I discovered he just liked my pillow."
"The dogs come in at night?" Ken asked, surprised.
"Yeah." Daisuke turned the overhead light on, then walked further into the room to turn the lamp on the nightstand on as well. "I also listen to music. I used it to replace the city-noises when I moved here, and now it's just..." he shrugged.
"One habit to replace another," Ken filled in.
"Exactly. So, yeah. Dogs, music, and snoring. Anything I should be aware of?" he asked Ken.
Ken shook his head, even as he swallowed hard. Daisuke accepted the first motion as an answer. He skipped out of the room and returned a moment later with a rolled sleeping bag which he quickly spread on the ground.
"Okay, so. The twelve hours of today are up, and that's it, if you want, or if not, we can play games or watch movies, or whatever. It's been a long day, and if you're tired, we can go to bed now, or-"
"What movies do you have?" Ken broke in, sitting on the edge of Daisuke's bed.
Ken watched as Daisuke pulled a long, oblong box from under his bed. "What movies do I -not- have?" Daisuke asked, opening the flaps of the box. "These are the comedies. There's a box of thrillers, a box of action, a box of anime and cartoon mixed, and then there's the romantic movies that I refuse to watch. They belong to Jun."
"A comedy would be good," Ken said, glancing at the titles he could read on the side of the tapes. "That one?" he pointed to a random movie. Daisuke grinned and took it out.
"I love this movie. Especially the part where-" he stopped and looked at Ken. "Have you seen it yet?"
Ken shook his head. "No."
"Then I won't ruin it." The television and VCR were turned on, and the movie was shoved, rather forcibly, into the player. "I'll going to get some popcorn," Daisuke announced, standing up. "What do you want to drink?"
"Whatever you're having," Ken requested. He watched as Daisuke ran from the room.
Five days until they could go their separate ways and never have to deal with each other again. Five days of being friends with someone nicknamed 'the friendless wonder' behind his back. Five days of Ken learning to be something he'd never been.
Ken sighed. He had a bad feeling that he wouldn't be walking away with a friend in five days. He might be lucky if he made it out with his heart intact.
And we're back to // for thoughts. I realized that ff.net did something funny with the I, so.... (shrugs*)
Damn html coding (again!)
*****
Sunday was more of a success than Daisuke could have dreamed, and so he woke up on Monday with high hopes for another fun day of soccer, video games, and watching Ken play with Worm and Vee.
More grudgingly, he had to admit that Ken wasn't half as bad as he had begun to fear on Friday. The contact he'd had with the genius was limited, but Ken's attitude before the hair incident had seemed stand-offish at best. However, Daisuke had been introduced to a side of Ken he had never expected, and he liked what he'd seen so far. He could be friends with someone like that, very easily.
Jun had spent the night at whoever's house she had gone visiting, so it was up to Daisuke to answer the door to Ken's knock. He opened it and grinned at the boy standing on the stoop. "Did you have breakfast yet?" he asked.
Ken blinked at him, looked at his watch, and then looked back at Daisuke. "You're awake, dressed, and ready for breakfast, and it's only eight o'clock?" ken said questioningly, frowning in mock-confusion.
Daisuke grinned. "I set my alarm to get up. Since I actually -knew- what time you were stopping by today, I could get ready," Daisuke said primly. The effect was ruined by his wide, impish grin. "Get in here," he commanded, stepping back and holding the door open for Ken.
"Yes, sir," Ken saluted Daisuke as he complied and stepped into the house. He slipped his shoes off and then followed Daisuke to the kitchen. "I already ate, by the way," he told Daisuke in answer to the question he'd been greeted with.
"Ah, too bad. I would have introduced you to the Daisuke skillet."
"Daisuke skillet? Sounds ominous," Ken replied, taking a seat at the table as Daisuke scavenged in the fridge. The brunet turned to glare at him, lips twitching.
"I know what that means," Daisuke said darkly.
"I figured you did," Ken responded, smiling.
The brunet paused. "Did you really?" he asked seriously.
It was Ken's turn to hesitate. "Did I really what?"
"Really think I knew?" He turned to face Ken fully, intent on getting an answer.
The genius blinked in confusion, but nodded. "Yeah. Why wouldn't you?"
Daisuke shrugged and turned back to the fridge. "Because I'm an idiot," he said simply, as if stating a well-known fact. "Do you know why I didn't want to take part in the auction?" he asked as he pulled a plastic-wrapped plate from the fridge.
"No," Ken answered. "Why?"
"I had a dream last Monday that the auction was taking place. Kari was doing the calling thing that Mrs. Kido did, where she hollers out all the bids. It came to be my turn, and she started the bidding, but nobody said anything, so she lowers the starting bid to a penny, and says something like 'take pity on this loser and get him off the stage, only a penny', and still no one says anything. And in the end, I get booed off the stage."
Ken grimaced in sympathy, but the look was lost to Daisuke, who kept his back to Ken as he warmed the plate of food.
"I'm not a bad guy, really," Daisuke continued, head tilted forward so that Ken had a perfect view of the back of his neck. "I just tend to be more than most people can handle. Jun's my sister, and some days even she has to tell me to get out of the house and leave her in peace."
"Daisuke," Ken started to speak, but Daisuke spun around and raised a hand, warding away any of the words the genius would have spoken.
"Don't. I don't need your sympathy, or anything like that, Ken. I just..." he trailed off and sighed. "I just didn't want yet another person this week wishing they could be rid of me. I get enough of that. I guess... I was hoping that if I told you, you'd understand, and maybe you'd try? Or something like that." He rolled his eyes, scratched the back of his head, and turned back to the microwave in time to push the stop button before the bell dinged.
He took the plate to the table and took the chair across from Ken. As intent as he seemed on his food, Ken was surprised to be caught staring at him when Daisuke looked up.
"Want some?" the brunet offered, holding out a forkful of food.
"I'm fine, thanks," Ken said with a shake of his head. He looked away, feeling heat rush to his cheeks at being discovered. His eyes bounced over the walls, and the odd pattern on the wallpaper, but inadvertently went back to Daisuke as soon as Ken thought the other boy was immersed in his food. The second time he was caught, Daisuke didn't even bother to glance up from his food.
"Man, I don't have horns, or two heads. Despite the fact that my goggles aren't present, there's nothing remotely interesting in staring at me."
"Sorry," Ken was quick to apologize. Realizing that he felt uncomfortable and that sitting and doing nothing would do nothing to alleviate that condition, Ken asked the first question that popped into his head. "What's the story behind the goggles?"
Daisuke had just taken a bit of food, and so it took him a few seconds of chewing before he could utter a response. "Coach Yagami used to go to school with my sister, and when I was ten or eleven he gave them to me. And since he's my hero..." Dai shrugged. "It's a good look on me."
The grin that Daisuke flashed him was full of brass, and more at place in Ken's data-base characterization of the boy across from him. He had little-to-no experience dealing with Daisuke personally, but he had seen the boy interact with other people, and what he had seen had lead him to believe that Daisuke was nothing more than a simple-minded annoyance. An annoyance might be close, as even Daisuke agreed with that, but simple-minded could be ruled out. Daisuke had proved himself to be perceptive that morning, and Ken doubted that it was a fluke.
"You've known Coach Yagami a long time, then," Ken finally said, having considered carefully what part of Daisuke's answer he would respond to. "Is that why those rumors went around last year when you made the varsity team?"
Daisuke's gaze hardened. "I didn't get on the team because I knew him."
"I didn't say you did," Ken shot back just as coldly. He took a deep breath to stave off the defensiveness he could feel rising, though why he should be on the defensive, he didn't know. "I played on your team last year, Daisuke. Remember? You were on that team because you could play better than most of the juniors and seniors. If it had been any other way, I personally would have been writing to the school board."
Daisuke's scowl slipped into a sincere smile. "Thank you."
^*^*^*^*^
"And he takes the pass out and... score!" Daisuke cheered, throwing his arms up victoriously. Half a yard away, nestled between a brown-nosed pug and a big black mutt that Daisuke claimed to be Doberman, Ken smiled slightly.
If the brunet minded at all that he was playing by himself, he didn't let on at all, seemingly content to chase himself around his rather expansive back yard. Ken had been surprised the day before when Daisuke had pointed out the boundaries of the property his sister owned.
"It belonged to an uncle who moved here decades ago. He left it to my parents, but they were happy to stay in Japan. When my father lost his job, and Mom had to start working, we moved into this shoe-box apartment. Jun had moved here a couple of years before that, and it didn't take too much for her to convince our parents that I should follow her out." Daisuke had recounted that Sunday evening, shortly before Ken left.
A little less than a full day later, Ken watched as Daisuke played soccer against imaginary opponents. When Ken had asked if Daisuke wanted him to play, the brunet had grinned and pointed at Worm. "Play with the little guy," he had instructed, already jogging away from the house. Ken had done as told, content to enjoy the company of animals and contemplate the enigma he was uncovering in his host.
It was easy to see why some people couldn't handle being around Daisuke for very long. He never sat still, and when he was sitting, his mouth was running about anything and everything. At any point in time, -something- was moving, making noise, attracting attention.
On sudden impulse, Ken stood up, patting Worm's head gently to show that nothing was wrong. Daisuke froze as Ken stepped off the porch, intention clear in the challenging smirk on the genius' face. "Ready to play against a real opponent?"
Daisuke kicked the ball into the air, caught it, and tucked it under his arm, assuming a confident pose as he did so. "Think you can handle this, Ichijouji? Because from where I'm standing, playing against you is just like playing alone."
Ken raised one eyebrow. "You're on, Motomiya." He had six days to give in to the urge to be a child again. That was an option that he had never considered when he signed up. He had figured he'd have to play another role for someone else, just another persona added on top of the ones that were already there.
However, with Daisuke, he was discovering that the only person he had to be was himself.
*****
"Hm... pizza? Or tacos? Hamburgers? Or roast beef? Spaghetti? Or fre-" Ken clamped a hand over Daisuke's mouth to stop the list of possible lunch items to continue.
"Unless you can magically produce a car and a license to operate it, our options are limited to greasy hamburgers and fries, or something nearing edible at the place down the street. Everything else is across town. However, if you -want- to walk two miles to have tacos, or something else, we can do that, too," he amended, remembering that he was at Daisuke's disposal for the week, and whatever the brunet wanted, with some exceptions, Ken had to give, even time and energy enough to walk for an hour just to get food.
"Nah," Daisuke shook his head. He glanced up and down the street, looking from the fast-food place to the restaurant and back, until Ken wondered if the boy was seeing a tennis match in his head. With Daisuke, one never knew. "Come on!" the brunet said suddenly, grabbing Ken's hand without thinking and pulling the taller boy with him. Ken had little choice but to follow, as Daisuke's grip was firm and Ken had no desire to create a scene by yanking his hand away.
"Where are we going?" he asked as Daisuke's impulse took them away from both eateries.
Daisuke didn't answer him, at least not immediately. They turned a couple of corners quickly, and then Daisuke cut across the yard of a two-story house that had been split into apartment's. Daisuke picked apartment B to knock on, letting go of Ken's hand in the process. There was a long pause, and Ken was about to suggest that whoever it was wasn't home, when there was the sound of a loud crash just inside, and then the door opened.
"Hello? Oh! Konnichi wa, Motomiya-kun! Ichijouji-kun? Ah, good afternoon. This is a surprise." It was for Ken, too. He hadn't expected Daisuke to lead him to a teacher's house, and definitely not the one belonging to the science teacher.
"Hey, Mr. Kido! Is your wife here?" Daisuke asked, grinning. The man smiled back a little uncertainly and pushed a pair of thin reading glasses back up the bride of his nose.
"Daisuke!" a feminine voice called, confirming that, yes, Mrs. Kido was home. The woman shoved her husband aside lovingly in favor of squeezing Daisuke into a hug. She pulled back after what Ken thought must have been too long for a formal hug, and smiled at the brunet. "And Dai, you know you can call me Mimi when we're not in school." Then her eyes went to Ken. "Ken! This is a surprise! Oh, wait, it's not." She said the last to herself, eyes blink wide as she seemed to recall the auction. "Oh, well. What can we do for you boys?"
"Food," Daisuke answered simply, earning a blank look from Mimi and a smirk from Ken, who decided to elaborate before she sent them out prepackaged foods for a can-drive.
"We were trying to decide what to have for lunch, and Daisuke's stomach lead us here," Ken said, smiling politely. "I didn't realize he was going to interrupt you and your own meal, and I'm sorry, Mrs. Kido."
"Dude, stuff it," Daisuke said, frowning at Ken.
Mimi smiled through it all. "Daisuke, don't be rude. Ken, don't be silly. We're actually all outside, and Matt's cooking, but you're welcome to round the numbers out to ten."
"Kari's here?" Daisuke asked, eyes widening. There was a small flash of hope, then dread, and then it all disappeared in a cloud of -something- Ken couldn't identify readily. "And TK?"
"They spent the night with their brothers," Jyou answered. "Come on, Mimi. You told Sora you'd get the potato salad out there in time to eat it with everything else."
"Yes, dear," she replied turning to walk back in the house. "Dai, just take Ken through the connecting door and out through Tai's place; he won't mind. And maybe you'll manage to pull Izzy away from his computer."
"Alright," Daisuke agreed, watching as the couple disappeared into the kitchen. He waved Ken inside, shut the door, and immediately turned to what Ken had thought was a closet. It opened easily, and Ken blinked when he realized that it connected to the next apartment. The brunet seemed comfortable with his surroundings, and so Ken followed after him. The difference between the two apartments was seen easily, even with just a small impression of the first: where the Kido's place had seemed to exude neatness and order, the one that belonged to these occupants was littered with memorabilia, books, and computer stuff, all of it strewn about and piled incongrously as if stuff just stayed whereever it was first set down. "Hey, Mr. Izumi! Mimi says to pull your nose out of the screen!" Daisuke called.
"I tried that," a deep voice said. Coach Yagami's head appeared around a doorway. "Go on ahead outside, Dai. I'm assuming you're here to eat?"
"Of course! But first, Mimi said that I should try to pull Izzy away from the computer."
The older brunet grinned. "He's away from the computer, trust me," he said, running a hand through his already disheveled hair.
"I didn't hear that!" Daisuke clamped his hands over his ears teasingly. "Dude, it's the middle of the day!"
"What can I say? The timing was too perfect to pass up?" He grinned and then yelped again as he was pulled forcibly back into the room. The door shut loudly.
Daisuke laughed. "People," he muttered, shaking his head. He looked at Ken, and then paused, noticing the flush that was creeping up the taller boy's cheeks. "Ken? You okay?"
"Fine," Ken answered, looking away. "Aren't we supposed to be outside?" he asked, hoping to turn Daisuke's attention away from him.
"Yeah," Daisuke said softly, giving Ken one more scrutinizing glance before leading the way outside. The backyard for the apartments wasn't near as impressive as Daisuke's and Jun's, but it was more than Ken and his parents had in their apartment. "Sora!" Daisuke called. The woman in charge of the grill turned around and smiled as Daisuke ran towards her. " What are you cooking?"
Ken followed more slowly.
*****
Eight thirty saw the boys barely heading home, the sun rapidly disappearing from the sky. Daisuke was talking enthusiastically, as he had all day, as Ken followed along beside him, more lost in his thoughts than aware of his surroundings. The brunet's voice was a soothing background hum that the taller boy was able to ignore the words, at least until Daisuke put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from taking another step.
Ken looked up and blinked, and Daisuke grinned back. "Dude, okay, so I don't mind being ignored because everyone does it, but it's after eight, and unless you're spending the night, which would be cool but I'd have to ask Jun, you probably should walk the other way. And if you do spend the night, that's cool, but my clothes aren't going to fit you right."
Daisuke had stopped them in front of his house. Ken looked down at his watch and then at the darkening sky. By the time he was halfway home, it would be dark out, and his mother would never forgive him for worrying her like that. "Would it be possible to call home and ask for a ride?" he asked Daisuke. Better to ask his mom to come get him than to walk home by himself in the dark.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" Daisuke asked, head tilted to the side. Sensing that Daisuke was asking only so that he could tease him, Ken shook his head before he replied.
"My mother is, though. She hates it when I walk home in the dark. If I start now, it will still be full-dark before I get home."
"Ah," Daisuke murmured with a nod. "You can spend the night," Daisuke suggest softly, already heading up the front walk to the door. Ken looked at him for a moment, surprised, before following.
"Spend the night?" he repeated. Daisuke shrugged, shoulders lifting as he unlocked the front door.
"Yeah. Think about it. You could be out of the house by noon, and you wouldn't have to be stuck with me all day."
"I don't think it works that way," Ken argued, though he wondered why. It could work that way. Midnight to noon would be the requisite twelve hours. Or, he could leave at eight in the morning and come back at eight at night, and he'd still have his twelve hours in for the day. It had possibility.
"Think about it, dude. If I say that for the week, what I wanted was for us to be buds, then we just say that's what friends do. They have sleep-overs and stuff. Or something. Jun used to do it ages ago."
'Jun used to do it', which implied that Daisuke never had. Ken looked closer at the lines of tension in Daisuke's back and shoulders, noticing the stiff way he held himself as he opened the door and waved Ken inside.
Instead of rejecting Daisuke's offer, Ken commented quietly, "I have no clean clothes."
"I can lend you some of mine!" Daisuke said quickly, eyes wide and rather hopeful when he turned to stare at Ken and wait for the taller boy's answer.
"I'll ask my mother," Ken said with a nod. Daisuke practically shoved the phone into Ken's arms before taking off into the recesses of the house in search of Jun and her approval. Ken smiled. His answer had been cinched when he decided that it wouldn't do to make miserable the person who paid seven hundred dollars for his company. It didn't hurt that making Daisuke smile left a pleasant, fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach, or that the thought of seeing rejection on that same face left him feeling sick.
It was an odd mix of emotions, something he'd never had to deal with in relation to another person for a very long time. Not since-
"Ken, Jun says you can stay!" Daisuke hollered cheerfully, interrupting Ken's train of thought. "Have you called your Mom? Is it okay?" The brunet came charging down the hallway and skidded to a halt in front of Ken. "Dude, have you even -dialed- yet?"
"I was thinking." The excuse came easily. To dispell further conversation, at least for the moment, Ken made his phone call. Daisuke hung over his shoulder while he explained the situation to his mother and asked for her permission to spend the night. She agreed easily, and the phone call was concluded in under four minutes and only one admonition for Ken to brush his teeth.
"Cool!" Daisuke punched the air, and then headed back towards his room. "I'll get the sleeping bags out, and we'll have to hook the VCR back up for movies and stuff. You can have the bed, but you have to deal with Vee, too, most likely. I used to think he wanted to sleep with me, and then I discovered he just liked my pillow."
"The dogs come in at night?" Ken asked, surprised.
"Yeah." Daisuke turned the overhead light on, then walked further into the room to turn the lamp on the nightstand on as well. "I also listen to music. I used it to replace the city-noises when I moved here, and now it's just..." he shrugged.
"One habit to replace another," Ken filled in.
"Exactly. So, yeah. Dogs, music, and snoring. Anything I should be aware of?" he asked Ken.
Ken shook his head, even as he swallowed hard. Daisuke accepted the first motion as an answer. He skipped out of the room and returned a moment later with a rolled sleeping bag which he quickly spread on the ground.
"Okay, so. The twelve hours of today are up, and that's it, if you want, or if not, we can play games or watch movies, or whatever. It's been a long day, and if you're tired, we can go to bed now, or-"
"What movies do you have?" Ken broke in, sitting on the edge of Daisuke's bed.
Ken watched as Daisuke pulled a long, oblong box from under his bed. "What movies do I -not- have?" Daisuke asked, opening the flaps of the box. "These are the comedies. There's a box of thrillers, a box of action, a box of anime and cartoon mixed, and then there's the romantic movies that I refuse to watch. They belong to Jun."
"A comedy would be good," Ken said, glancing at the titles he could read on the side of the tapes. "That one?" he pointed to a random movie. Daisuke grinned and took it out.
"I love this movie. Especially the part where-" he stopped and looked at Ken. "Have you seen it yet?"
Ken shook his head. "No."
"Then I won't ruin it." The television and VCR were turned on, and the movie was shoved, rather forcibly, into the player. "I'll going to get some popcorn," Daisuke announced, standing up. "What do you want to drink?"
"Whatever you're having," Ken requested. He watched as Daisuke ran from the room.
Five days until they could go their separate ways and never have to deal with each other again. Five days of being friends with someone nicknamed 'the friendless wonder' behind his back. Five days of Ken learning to be something he'd never been.
Ken sighed. He had a bad feeling that he wouldn't be walking away with a friend in five days. He might be lucky if he made it out with his heart intact.