Chapter 7: The Kaiser revealed

School

The younger Digidestined were currently watching Daisuke practice Soccer with the rest of his Soccer club. His opponent was about to score when Daisuke managed to get a sliding tackle, effectively kicking the ball away from his fellow club member.

Hikari: "Nice play, Daisuke."

Daisuke: "Heh, it was nothing."

Coach: "Daisuke! Get over here! You can talk to your friends after the debrief."

Takeru: "You should go, we will meet you at Koushiro's office later."

Daisuke: "Sure, see you guys later. Coming Coach!"

Coach: "This Sunday, we will be having a practice game. Our opponent is the champion of the last youth tournament."

Everyone gasped while Daisuke had a look of excitement.

Daisuke: "Isn't that the team with that Genius kid?"

Coach: "Yep, Ichijouji Ken. He will be a very tough opponent, so I expect the very best from all of you."

Koushiro's Office

Iori: "So you will be facing against Ken in your match?"

Daisuke: "Yep. He'll be an amazing opponent. Unfortunate that we didn't face off in the last tournament."

Takeru: "I assume you would have if you made it to the finals right?"

Daisuke: "Tch, don't remind me…"

Hikari: "Will you be able to win against him?"

Daisuke: "It's not about winning against him. Right now, every boy who plays Soccer in this country want to be like him. Just thinking about playing against him makes me excited!"

Miyako: "Dai-chan~"

Daisuke: "Eh? Dai-chan?"

Miyako: "If you meet him, can you get me his autograph?"

Iori: "I thought you said you didn't like younger boys?"

Miyako glared at Iori before responding.
Miyako: "What's one year? My mother is three years older than my father anyway."

Koushiro: "You should be careful. It's still possible Ichjouji Ken is the Kaiser. But regardless of that, why don't you just get his autograph yourself?"

Hikari: "Yeah, we can all go to support Daisuke."

Takeru smiled.
Takeru: "We should go regardless. It will help the Digital World if we can get any information about Ichijouji."

The next morning

Daisuke and his team were stretching on the field, while the rest of the younger Digidestined, and Koushiro, were sitting by the sidelines. The Digimon were acting like stuffed toys in the arms of the Digidestined. Just then, a bus stopped near the field. A mob of girls were outside of the bus cheering.

Daisuke: "Looks like they're here…"

One by one, the team came out of the bus. However, Ken was not seen.

The small group of people in the stadium were surprised that Ken was not there. As the team was stretching and warming up, Daisuke ran over to them.

Daisuke: "Um… hi. Is Ichijouji Ken playing today?"

Boy: "He knows about the match today, but we don't know if he'll come."

Daisuke: "I see."

With the blow of the whistle, the game began. Both teams seemed to be evenly matched, and by the time the whistle was blown again to signal half-time, Daisuke's team was leading by one point. But they wouldn't be for long. Just before the second half of the game started, a car pulled over next to the field. A mob of girls started screaming in joy. Ken had arrived.

Daisuke: "So, he has finally decided to show up."

Miyako: "It's him! It's really him!"

Ken looked towards the sound of Miyako's voice and instantly had a look of shock.
"It's those kids… hmm that one with the googles has a jersey on. Looks like I get to have some fun."

Ken slowly began to walk to the field. When he reached it, his coach was happy that he could make it.

Ken: "Sorry for being late. I had some unavoidable business to attend to."

Coach: "No, no it's no problem. Would you like to play in the second half?"

Ken: "With pleasure."

Ken walked onto the field, glancing at the Digidestined who were shouting encouraging words to Daisuke.

Daisuke: "It's nice to finally meet you, Ken Ichijouji."

Ken: "Nice to meet you too. You have nice friends over there."

The whistle was blown, signifying the start to the second half. Before Daisuke could even react, Ken had sped past him and was already receiving a pass from his teammate. Ken proceeded to weave his way through all of Daisuke's teammates and scored a goal.

Daisuke: "Damn, he's fast."

Hikari: "Wow."

Iori: "He tied the score in under ten seconds…"

Miyako: "Ok, that was cool."

Ken and his team continued to score more points, effectively putting them in the lead by a large margin.

Koushiro: "His skills are way beyond elementary school level… I've never seen anyone so fast and precise."

Hikari: "He plays so differently than the others… It's like they aren't even playing the same game."

Takeru: "He sees the whole field of play."

Patamon: "How can you tell, Takeru?"

Takeru: "It's the same as Basketball. He knows where his opponents and teammates are at all times, making it much easier to score."

Ken: "Go forward! Formation D!"

Ken's teammates moved forward to cover him so he could score his tenth goal, but Ken wasn't expecting Daisuke to make a reckless sliding tackle which prevented him from scoring. He also just grazed Ken's leg. The game ended with Ken's team leading by eight points. Daisuke ran over to Ken's team.

Daisuke: "Hey, Ichijouji, about your leg… are you alright?"

Ken: "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal."

Daisuke: "Good, but you really live up to your reputation. We didn't stand a chance."

Ken: "You made a good play at the end. I thought you would come from another angle."

Daisuke: "Well, when we were losing like that, I figured I could only go for the captain."

Ken: "It was a good play. That's the only time anyone successfully defended against that formation."

Daisuke: "Really?"

Ken: "Motomiya Daisuke, right? Until next time."
"It won't be long, and I will have my revenge."

Ken held out his hand for Daisuke to shake, who promptly did so.

Hikari: "Are you ok? Usually, you are sad when you lose but right now you seem quite happy."

Daisuke: "Why would I be sad? That genius remembered my name! It's amazing to even be acknowledged by him!"

Koushiro: "Sigh That game didn't help at all…"

Iori: "What do you mean?"

Koushiro: "I thought maybe I would be able to find some similarities between the Kaiser and Ichijouji, but they are like two different people…"

Hikari: "So, we are still at square one?"

Takeru: "Don't worry about it. If he was the Kaiser, he would be more cautious of us. After all, he probably would have recognised us."

The next morning

Koushiro's office

The younger Digidestined were sitting in Koushiro's office with not much to do in the Digital World. They had already cleared all the Kaiser's dark towers and had no clues on what they could do next. Until Koushiro's desktop started beeping to inform of a new dark tower.

Koushiro: "That's odd…"

Tentomon: "What is it Koushiro?"

Koushiro: "Well, the Kaiser has set up a dark tower in this area, but it's just a barren wasteland."

Iori: "He could be setting up a foothold so he can expand from that area."

Koushiro: "It would make more sense to set up in an area with more resources though."

Daisuke: "Whatever his plan is we should just go over and stop it."

Takeru: "I think we should go over to investigate. If anything happens that we can't handle, we can always use the gate to get back here."

Koushiro: "That works for me. Just be careful."

Takeru: "Why would he set up a dark tower here… there is really nothing around us."

Hikari: "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Daisuke: "Don't worry Hikari! We just need to go in, take out the dark tower and we are done! Of course, if the Kaiser decides to show his face, we will beat him as well!"

Iori: "While your enthusiasm is great, we should still be careful."

The group then began to walk towards the dark tower when suddenly, all of them except Daisuke and Veemon fell into the sand. Daisuke began to dig the sand with Veemon's help.

Veemon: "Hey, shouldn't we call Koushiro?"

Daisuke: "What good would it do? They need to be the ones to contact him if they want to get out from wherever they are…"

Just then Ken's voice was heard, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Ken: "You seem to be having trouble there, let me help you. I have your friends with me. If you want to see them again, you better hurry and come to the dark tower."

Daisuke and Veemon immediately started running over and saw Ken standing atop a hill next to the dark tower.

Daisuke: "Where are my friends!?"

Ken: "Are you really that blind? They are right there on your left."

Daisuke looked to the left and saw his friends and their Digimon with rope tied around their bodies, effectively preventing them from using their arms. They also had pieces of cloth tied around their mouth to prevent them from speaking.

Daisuke: "Damn, don't worry guys! I'll save you."

Ken: "Now now, let's not get so hasty. After all, you wouldn't be able to save them if they're dead. Come out, Deltamon!

Deltamon burst out from a large rock and walked towards the tied Digidestined.

Ken: "Now, Deltamon is quite hungry, and I think your friends would make a good meal for him."

Daisuke: "like I would let you!"

Ken: "Let me? You actually think you have control here? Your friends' lives are in my hands. If you truly want to save them… let's, see. How about you bow to me."

Daisuke immediately went down to his knees.

Daisuke: "Let them go… Please."

Ken: "What? 'Please?' I think you mean 'I beg you'. I'm feeling merciful so I'll give you another chance."

Daisuke: "I beg you, please let them go…"

Ken: "I quite enjoy this pathetic scene. I guess I could release them. But not all of them. After all, Deltamon is very hungry after waiting so long. I'll let you leave with one of your friends and their partner. I'll even let you choose which one."

Daisuke: "What?! Just one…"

Ken: "This hourglass is for one minute. You have until then to decide. And if you don't, they all die."

Daisuke looked towards his friends. Takeru and Hikari were shaking their heads. It could mean not to choose them… or it could mean they didn't want to die. Miyako was thrashing in the rope, while Iori was unmoving. Their Digimon partners seemed to be accepting their fate.

"Dammit, how am I supposed to choose…"

Ken: "Ten seconds left."
"You hurt my pride in that Soccer match. You deserve this suffering and even more."

Ken: "Time's up. Digidestined, when you leave this world, just remember your 'friend' here had the chance to save you."

Daisuke: "Wait! Don't kill them! Take me instead!"

Ken: "You're asking for too much, but I will grant you your wish, after all, I am feeling merciful today. Deltamon! You may feast on him!"

Deltamon began walking towards Daisuke. Daisuke didn't flinch. He just looked past Deltamon towards his friends.
"At least this way, they will get away hopefully they can contact Koushiro… wait contact Koushiro? Hikari and Takeru don't have their earpieces anymore… wait… they have their Digivices? But their earpieces… why wouldn't the Kaiser take away the Digivices?"

Just then, there was a loud cracking noise and a dust cloud formed at Deltamon's leg, and Deltamon lost his balance and sunk into the sand. From the dust cloud, there was a familiar bug Digimon.

Digmon: "Sorry, we were late."

Just then, Holsmon, Nefertimon and Pegasmon flew overhead. Takeru and Hikari were on their partners.

Miyako: "Daisuke! Sorry for taking so long."

Iori: "Koushiro brought us back and we were planning for a sneak attack, but we had to abandon the plan when we saw Deltamon about to attack you."

Daisuke: "You guys… but then those are…"

The trapped 'Digidestined' who were hanging by the ropes started to change form into ghostly figures.

Veemon: "They were just Soulmon…"

Daisuke: "So that's why they didn't have the earpieces…"

Ken: "Idiots! Why couldn't you hold them for longer!"

Wormmon: "Sorry, they realised the trap and disappeared before we could catch them fully."

Daisuke: "Such an underhanded trick… Veemon let's do this. Digimental Up!"

"Veemon, Armor-Evolution! Fladramon! Burning Courage!"

Ken: "Go Soulmon! Attack the flying Digimon, Formation A!"

"If they are Soulmon then… yes, that should work."
Hope: "Kari, revert Nefertimon to Tailmon and hop on."

Light: "Huh? What's your plan?"

Hope: "Just trust me on this."

Hikari: "Let's do it Nefertimon."

Nefertimon flew over Pegasmon and reverted to Tailmon, both Hikari and Tailmon landed on Pegasmon safely.

Takeru: "Get Tailmon to use her Holy ring. If I remember correctly, she could kill Soulmon easily using it."

Hikari: "Great plan, just get us close."

Ken: "Formation C! Attack them!"

The Soulmon began to surround them but as they tried to attack, Tailmon whipped her tail around to hit them with her Holy ring, resulting in multiple Soulmon being destroyed.

Iori: "They are killing them…"

Miyako: "Hikari! Takeru! Stop it! You're killing those Digimon."

Takeru and Hikari looked back to their friends and gave them a solemn frown, before turning back and continuing to destroy the Soulmon.

Ken: "Formation F!"

The remaining Soulmon began to back away from the group in the air.

Pegasmon: "Holsmon, go destroy the dark tower with Digmon then go help Fladramon."

Holsmon: "Got it."

Pegasmon: "Shooting star!"

Pegasmon's attack deleted multiple Soulmon on impact.

Daisuke: "I'm not taking this anymore… if we can't stop our friends, I can at least try to stop the enemy."

Daisuke started rushing towards the Kaiser. He managed to get behind the Kaiser and tackled him off the hill, they ended up near Deltamon.

Daisuke: "Kaiser! Call off your Digimon! Stop getting them killed!"

Ken: "What? Why would I want to do that? Deltamon! Triplex Force!"

Deltamon charged up his attack just as Fladramon had stepped up to defend his partner.

Fladramon: "We won't lose, not to someone like you! Fire rocket!"

Fladramon unleashed his attack and managed to break through Deltamon's attack. Fladramon hit the dark ring causing it to break. Just then Digmon and Holsmon destroyed the dark tower.

Ken: "Heh, seems like I miscalculated. I forgot you go straight for the leader. I can't believe I failed the same way twice."

Daisuke: "What are you talking about? How do you know I go straight for the leader… wait no it can't be you, can it?"

Ken: "Hmph, it's exactly as you think. I, Ichijouji Ken, am the Digimon Kaiser. Now, you may have won today, but from now on, I'll fight seriously."

Ken then jumped on an Airdramon and flew off.

Daisuke: "I… I admired you so much… and yet you go and do this… Dammit!"

The rest of the group ran over to Daisuke as Pegasmon landed. Hikari and Takeru got off and went to comfort Daisuke.

Miyako: "Why… why did you two kill those Digimon?"

Hikari: "Don't worry about it…"

Iori: "How could we not worry? You two just killed those Digimon when you could have just broken their dark rings."

Takeru: "Let's just not talk about it. You guys will understand in time. Let's go back to where Koushiro opened the gate for us."

Takeru and Hikari started to walk away from the group with their Digimon. Daisuke got up and grabbed Takeru.

Daisuke: "Tell us… tell us why…"

Takeru just looked him in the eye.
Takeru: "In this world and battle…"

Hikari: "Not everyone can be saved…"

Daisuke let go of Takeru and the group began walking back to Koushiro's gate.

Koushiro's office

Takeru: "Koushiro, we have confirmed the Kaiser's identity."

Koushiro: "Who is it?"

Hikari: "Ichijouji Ken. It really is that genius kid."

Koushiro: "I see. Well, rest up guys. I don't want you all to be overexerting yourselves."

The group started to leave, except Iori.

Iori: "Koushiro, why is it that Takeru and Hikari are so willing to kill other Digimon?"

Koushiro: "In our adventure, we met many Digimon, some were friendly, and some were not. To survive, sometimes the only option was to destroy other Digimon."

Iori: "But the Digimon they destroyed today could have been saved…"

Koushiro: "Takeru and Hikari are partnered to the Holy Digimon and from what I understand, they are somewhat linked to the Digital World. I'm not sure if it's because of their crests or them being partnered to the Holy Digimon. Whatever they do, they do it for a reason. I trust their decisions."

Iori: "But how would they know whether to kill or not?"

Koushiro: "Although I'm not sure of the reason, Takeru and Hikari seem to have a sixth sense that is related to the forces of darkness. Plus, they both are very experienced, I trust them to lead you guys correctly."

Iori: "I see… Thank you Koushiro."

Koushiro: "It's not a problem Iori. Anyways you should get going, we don't want your family worrying about you."

That's the end for this chapter. It's a bit shorter than usual but that's mainly because the episode I based this on was mostly visual and not a lot of talking.