Series: Sanguine Bindings||Story Title: Ruler of the Shadows
Characters: Ken, Daisuke||Romance: Ken x Daisuke/Daisuke x Ken
Chapter: 16-40||Chapter: 500||Total: 8,000
Genre: Supernatural, Romance||Rated: PG-13
Notes: In the setting of this story, these are the differing points: the Chosen are roughly five years older than in canon, meaning that Ken, Daisuke, Takeru, & Hikari are sixteen, while Miyako is seventeen, and Iori is fourteen. There are some other differences, but those will be revealed during the course of the story. Except for this: this story will involve vampires. It begins in episode 2, once Daisuke's been captured.
Summary: On his second trip to the Digital World, Daisuke is captured by the Kaiser. Time to learn a little about the guy he's just started fighting. Like the fact he has sharp, pointy teeth and a thirst for more than conquest.
Iori clung to Digmon's back as they raced around the battlefield, focused more on the fighting. Every now and then he caught a glimpse of Kaiser and Daisuke where they stood near the cave opening, but he couldn't do anything other than notice that Daisuke still seemed to be giving something of a struggle. Kaiser could hold him without much effort, but Iori gave Daisuke credit for trying.
The Kaiser is a vampire. In the part of his mind not actually involved with trying to find ways and means Digmon could shatter the Evil Rings, he considered that. He'd never believed in vampires. They were the stuff of fiction to him, nothing more, and not fiction he read.
Digimon were different. He'd never heard of them before the beginning of school to form an opinion, so it had been more like finding out entirely new information as opposed to 'this thing you believed wasn't true and had no reason to think was actually was true after all'.
But now they had to figure out how to beat a vampire. Figuring out how to beat the Kaiser had been hard enough and they hadn't gotten all that far with it.
It will be different now, he decided. We can't be spied on anymore, not by Daisuke, at least. He didn't want the Kaiser to take Daisuke away, but if he did…
Iori hated the thought but he followed it to the end, anyway. If Kaiser did, then whatever eye he'd had into their plans vanished. If Kaiser didn't, then it would have to be because Daisuke threw off the control, more so than he had already. Iori wanted that to be the outcome. It would be the best of endings, or middles, or whatever one would call this.
But he couldn't be certain that it could happen. Kaiser didn't look as if he planned to let Daisuke go at all, let alone long enough for them to defeat him.
"Iori, look out!"
Miyako's cry from above caught his attention a few seconds too late. One of the Kaiser's slaves – he couldn't tell which one it was, there were too many of them – launched an attack toward him. Digmon couldn't get out of the way fast enough, and Iori found himself hurtling from the top of his partner, rolling against something tall and hard.
He blinked for a few moments, trying to get his senses sorted out, then realized he lay now at the base of a tree. He stared up at it, wondering why this seemed important, until he heard the Kaiser speaking.
"I'm going to have so much fun with you, Daisuke. And even better, you're going to have fun with me."
The Kaiser was barely even paying attention to the fight! They weren't doing that badly!
Then it clicked. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed for the nearest branch.
He'd heard vampires could be killed with a stake to the heart. He wondered if the Kaiser had one.
To Be Continued
Notes: Iori is going to try something. We're not even halfway through the story so the results probably won't be what he expects.