Archive of Our Own ^beta

The bright, serrated blast cut through the air with the power of a bullet. Daisuke’s knees failed him, having wobbled with overexertion from tearing down Dark Towers left to right and north to south, and the beam had hit him square on the chest. Spit flies from his lips as he's sent flying against tree bark. A sharp shriek bubbles up from his throat, snapping his allies to come running to his side.

Daisuke doesn't really hear a thing. The sounds of battle, and the constant low hum of the Digital World itself has been silenced and degraded. His head is cottony static when Miyako says something he doesn't quite catch, and pulls his head up to rest on her lap. When Daisuke squints, he can almost see Holsmon keeping the one of the Evil Ringed Digimon of the day busy.

Strangely enough, though, the only pain he feels is when he was slammed onto that tree. There's no registering sensation of hurt across his chest. Nothing but a sense of pressure is there. Daisuke doesn't really know if it's related, but he feels a bit colder than usual. They aren't anywhere near the snowy areas, however.

Iori’s voice comes to him as the first noise he hears, and the tremble in it catches him off guard for a second. “Daisuke-san! Are you okay? Miyako-san, please turn him over, we have to check on his back—”

Daisuke sits up, instantly putting his gloved hands on the younger boy’s shoulders in an attempt to soothe him. “I'm okay, I'm okay. Sorry, Iori. Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt at all!”

From the corner of his eye, Miyako looks down at him. Blinkingly, Daisuke looks back.

“He must've broken some special bone for pain receptors!” Miyako suddenly frets, pinching and jabbing at Daisuke's flanks and exposed knees.

Takeru joins in. But even as Daisuke squirmed about, he can tell that Takeru must be seriously playing with him because he's only targeting the areas where he knows that Takeru knows he’s ticklish. “Did he!?”

Daisuke bursts out laughing, rolling away from the group and across the grass and dirt. “Stop! Ahh!” He raises his hands in defense when Hikari tries to urge him back. “It doesn't hurt! I'm serious!”

Hikari pokes on a small bruise on his thigh, making Daisuke sigh at her helplessly. “Hikari-chan, that hurt…”

“Sorry, hehe. See, Miyako-san, he didn't break anything important.”

Hikari pulls him up by his arms. Daisuke marvels at her strength for a split second before all of their attention is recaptured by the fight before them. Holsmon screeches, flapping powerful wings high up in the sky even as the unidentified Digimon clung to his ankle as they attempt to keep him grounded to the earth.

“Go, Holsmon!” Miyako cheers for her partner, throwing her fists up in the air and mimicking his wings. “Break the Ring!”

Holsmon does so. In one speedy swoop down to the ground to disorient his opponent, Holsmon used his dense beak and flattens the Evil Ring resting on its bicep—breaking the data-made metal into pieces.

The children instantly erupted into applause and cheer. “Thanks a lot, Holsmon!”

And just as soon as they cheered, the next wave of enslaved Digimon began to crowd around them. Red, bright glowing eyes revealed the forms of Tuskmon, crawling from between overarching trees.

“It just doesn't stop!” Miyako complains. She whips around to look back at the already previously located Dark Tower, nearly tipping over from Digmon, Lighdramon, Pegasmon, and Nefertimon’s combined attacks.

“Topple over, already!” Miyako clung protectively around Holsmon. “Holsmon wants to de-evolve back to Hawkmon and go home and pig out. Come on!”

“I didn't say that… But I'm not rejecting the idea.”

Right on cue, a final Blue Thunder from Lighdramon fires right onto the last part of the Dark Tower’s broken foundation. It breaks off with a screech as it falls to the ground, causing the ground to shift and crack underneath its weight. Ecological terror aside, it's become a favorite scene for the children to watch.

“Sweet!” Daisuke praises, running to meet Lighdramon halfway as he runs into his partner’s arms. At the last second, he de-evolves to V-mon, which allows Daisuke to toss him in the air before holding him tight to his chest. “Thanks, V-mon!”

V-mon happily clings to him. “Daisuke!”

The group of Tuskmon blink away the reddened glow of their eyes, confused, before carrying on their way to whatever they like to do when they weren't currently enslaved by the Digimon Kaiser. Daisuke doesn't really know. The Gekomon enjoyed playing music or whatever, but he can't really tell what Tuskmon do in their free time. He's really too focused on what he'll have for dinner and the on-going territory war to care.

“And that makes the 5th Dark Tower taken down today.” Iori beams. “Shall we go home?”

“Right, I'm pooped.” Miyako throws her hands behind her head. “I've got a science quiz tomorrow, too…”

“Oh, good luck! We have one in history.” Hikari shoots Daisuke and Takeru an expectant look. “Do you remember the coverage?”

Takeru smiles warmly at her. “Chapter 6-7.”

Daisuke simply nods. “Yeah, I'll definitely go straight to studying as soon as I'm home!”

“...Yeah.” Takeru hands him the exact same smile.

Somehow, this irritated Daisuke. He huffs, turning his heel from the other boy. That's when he notices that the Digimon that Holsmon previously fought was still laying on the ground.

Instantly, a shudder runs down his spine. “H-Hey… Is that one…?”

Miyako jabs at him. Both of them have been reduced teary-eyed. “Don't scare me! Look, they're clearly breathing!”

Daisuke frowns, squinting at the body. And oh, wow, it actually was!

“So, we can't just leave them here…” Iori pokes the Digimon with a stick. He shakes his head. No response. “They passed out…”

“Maybe we could leave them at Digitamamon’s restaurant?” Takeru suggests.

“No way, he's gonna be a total pain again and get us to pay some random fee probably.” Miyako replies.

Hikari hums, thoughtful. “Well, we could always just leave them near here. It's a pretty secluded area because of all the trees and stuff.”

They nod at that. It takes a team of Takeru-Daisuke-Miyako to carry the surprisingly heavy Digimon together to the resting area of wild leaves and dense bushes that the Hikari-Iori team had prepared. They lay the sleeping Digimon on the comfortable pile. It even smells good. All flowery and natural.

Daisuke picks out the smoothest rock he could find nearby, lifting the head of the Digimon as he kicks the stone in place underneath its head. “Pillow.”

Hikari feels that the Digimon might wake up with a sore neck from Daisuke’s stone pillow, but decides it's a kind gesture overall and doesn't say anything.

“Geez, we don't even know their name.” Takeru puts a hand on his hip, studying the body before him.

The Digimon possessed a humanoid shape. Larger than the average human male. They were also muscular, which made the white robes it wore look especially regal. In a sense, they looked almost like Angemon and Angewomon—if the Angel Digimon had a wreath around their head and covered their face with a sheer fabric instead of metallic armor. Also, they had a sci-fi looking gun strapped in a hostler on their thigh. The one that Daisuke was attacked with.

The sight of it makes his chest ache, numb with a sense of cold biting at his ribs. Daisuke pats it away.

They may have shot him, but it's fine overall within Daisuke’s standards. Those Evil Rings and Spirals never had you thinking quite like yourself. Only controlled by the Kaiser’s will, and bent over backwards to please his ego and hunger for power. Daisuke couldn't help but grind his teeth together as his head came to the topic of the Kaiser. That calculated cruelty.

Suddenly, the angel-like Digimon gasped, shooting up from their makeshift bed as the children gape.

Iori stammers. “Good afternoon—”

Daisuke yelps as the Digimon’s hands come to clasp over his shoulders, pooling down to his biceps and to the crease of his elbows due to their non-human size. “You,” the Digimon begins. Their bottom lip barely peeking from beneath the edge of the fabric over their face. “You are the one I attacked, yes?”

Daisuke backs up as much as he can, eager for his personal space. “Yeah—but like, it's cool now. Don't worry about it.”

“No, no, this is bad.”

“Should we be worried, dagyaa?” Armadimon asks.

“Yes!” The Digimon insists.

Immediately, V-mon begins to choke Daisuke as he squeezes his arms hard around the young boy’s throat. “No! What’s gonna happen? Why? Daisuke!? To Daisuke!? What did you do!!”

Daisuke is nearly turning as blue as V-mon himself when he finally manages to pat him off. “Hey! Explain it to me already!”

“Out with it,” Gatomon demands. “If it concerns the powers of Darkness, or even the Kaiser, it's best handled with all of us.”

“Very well. I am Valenmon. Pleasure to meet you all.”

“I'm Hida Iori, nice to—”

“We can all introduce ourselves later! I might be dying here!” Daisuke cries, throwing his hands up.

“Honestly, it could end in death.” Valenmon corrects. “The other option is you will wish you were to die instead.”

Hikari gasps, covering her mouth in shock.

Miyako shudders, a pit of dread for her friend begins to grow in her stomach. Her eyebrows pitch together in worry. Hawkmon soothes her forearms as she squeezes him close. “Is he going to be in a lot of pain? What's going to happen to him!?”

Patamon tears up in Takeru’s arms as he continues to urge Valenmon for more details. “Please, properly explain to us!”

“I never, ever use the gun I have. Not only as we Valenmon, little as we are in numbers, prefer to live in peace… But also because we consider it highly morally incorrect to wield it. However, since I was so foolishly enslaved by the Digimon Kaiser… I loaded my energy into this gun and pawned your friend, here, for a horrible fate.”

If they could see past the veil covering Valenmon’s face, they would see their face crumple in shame. “The human will have to share a kiss with his most despised enemy. It couldn't be anyone but the Digimon Kaiser, Ichijouji Ken, himself. I felt your strongest detest for him, and awoke to it. It is also perhaps why I had chosen to shoot you out of everyone. I warn you this, now; you must kiss upon the Kaiser within the next sundown. Or else… Well, it's certain death from there.”

Daisuke freezes, mouth gaping.

“Your hatred for the Kaiser is..more personal than the others. He is an abhorred master, but he has personally done something cruel to you, hasn't he?” Valenmon continues. “This is why I never use this power. I'm very sorry, human child.”

“... It's Daisuke,” Daisuke mutters. Unsure what to say. Or think. Or feel.

That last one was quickly beginning to unravel an answer right from within him, however.

The other children watched him smolder in silence. Daisuke being upset? Typical. His temper and attitude changes by the hour with the littlest things that push him over. Being quiet as he does so, though? A completely different ball game they didn't know how to handle. Daisuke was probably processing all of this at the moment.

“Isn't there any other way?” Iori tries.

“I'm afraid not. Only a true hate’s kiss can break the curse.”

Daisuke’s lips wobble from the force of his frown. “Don't say it like that. Saying k-kiss makes it sound like… like that, like kissing. I just have to..surprise him. Call it a surprise attack.”

He can feel all of their pitying gazes cast on him. Even Takeru felt so bad for him that he wasn't trying to play into Daisuke’s obvious attempt at making light of the matter. They can't be blamed. After all, who the hell would want to lock lips with the Digimon Kaiser? Daisuke would've never considered being anywhere near his face if not to spit on it or bite his nose, and now, the fact of reality is that this was happening to him.

He's gonna have to somehow nab a kiss from the Kaiser. The Kaiser with his one million enslaved Digimon. Even if Daisuke didn't have a single bone in his bone that was utterly repulsed by the simple idea, and he did, he wouldn't realistically be able to plow through mon after mon to get to him. Especially when it was for a prize he really wasn't into.

Daisuke went home that day with a heavy heart. He was so disturbed by reality that he actually did what he promised earlier; he studied for his history quiz until the clock hit one in the morning, and he passed out next to a worried Chibimon.

Chibimon woke up dazed. His little head spinning with more than sleepiness.

He looks over to his partner. Light snoring tumbled from Daisuke’s throat, and anyone but Chibimon would've thought he looked entirely at peace. He didn't know a lot about humans, but living with Daisuke had him pick up a few things. More Daisuke than general human behavior.

Like the small cinch of skin between his brows, and how Daisuke had kicked off the covers in his sleep when he usually feels cold in the night no matter the weather.

Chibimon gently soothed the furrow between Daisuke’s brows with a soft paw until it went away.

And of course, there was the way he kept gripping his chest area through the fabric of his pajama top. Fingertips are buried into thread and skin in between buttons.

“Is it cold there?” Chibimon softly asks, not expecting an answer from the sleeping boy. He crawled over from his spot on Daisuke’s pillow and curled up next to the hands on his chest.

A small bundle of warmth.

Hopefully it helps.

It was Valentine's Day on a cold February morning. Or at least, Daisuke felt it was cold. He simply chooses to ignore the looks he got for the size of his knitted sweater.

Anyway, Valentine’s. Daisuke didn't even have it in him to feel even a little dejected at his lack of popularity and not receiving any chocolates.

He sat slumped over his desk as he waited for club hours to begin after school. Last night, he couldn't come up with a plan to somehow get the Kaiser to give him a fat kiss on the lips without losing his dignity in the process. So at this point, he's just planning to go with the flow. Knuckles up and elbows reared for swinging.

“Daisuke!” Takeru calls out to him, scooting into the empty seat of his deskmate. “Hey, you actually studied for the quiz, didn't you? Good job! I peeked at the faculty and saw you got a perfect score.”

Daisuke hums, barely heard through stuffing his face in his arms with his head down on the desk. “Mmh. S’that so?”

Hikari and Takeru quickly eye each other. The girl makes her way next to them, leaning at Daisuke’s side of the table. She hurriedly pushes a chocolate bar into the gap of his peeking fingers.

“Happy Valentine's, Daisuke-kun.” She says, hoping for a reaction. Even if it's not serious chocolate, Daisuke has always been the type to glow at any form of affection and praise given to him. Especially since he's not the type to expect anything.

But Daisuke only turns his head a little, peeking up at Hikari and giving her a small smile. “Thank you, Hikari-chan! I'll get you chocolates for White Day, too.”

When they were sure Daisuke wasn't going to do much after that, and simply resign himself to turning into stone, the two go off to huddle up on their own. Takeru leans down as Hikari leans onto him, murmuring quietly to themselves as recess takes place. Crowds of elementary children wander about to hand chocolates to one another, but they pay them no mind.

“He's upset,” Takeru concludes.

Hikari elbows his side. “Well, obviously!”

“If you've got a plan, I'd love to hear it.”

“I don't…” Hikari admits. “If what Valenmon said is correct, there's really no way around it.”

Takeru hums, tucking his fingers under his chin as he purses his lip in deep thought. “Well, you know,” He begins, “A change of perspective might be in order.”

“Meaning?”

He waved his hands around. “I mean that if instead of Daisuke seeing the situation as ‘losing his first kiss to the Kaiser,’ we could frame it in a way that would sound more like ‘taking the Kaiser’s first kiss for himself’—make it sound like he's gaining something, rather than losing anything.”

Hikari claps her hands together appreciatively. “I see! If it's Daisuke-kun, then something like that would definitely work.”

“Right! Since it's Daisuke-kun, there's a 100% success rate!”

A hand on Takeru’s shoulder makes him freeze. “About what’s Daisuke-kun?”

They turn their heads, jumping away from each other. Daisuke looks at them with a raised brow, forearms crossed and tucked under his chest with a frown on his face. At their suspicious behavior, Daisuke cocks his hip. Apparently, he was simply too curious about the two of them to continue sulking. “What's with that?”

Hikari quickly recovers, slipping next to Daisuke’s side with a few gentle pats on his back. “Nothing! But you know, Daisuke-kun, we were just thinking about how mad the Kaiser’ll be at you!”

“Exactly! Like, he's never going to recover from it in his whole life, kind of way.”

“About?” Daisuke asks. It's as if they weren't all aware that his life was hanging by a thread, directing him straight into the lion’s den.

Takeru and Hikari share a look.

Daisuke gapes. “Oh, okay. But about what you were saying, just now?”

Takeru grabs the wheel of the conversation. “So, you know how Ichijouji Ken never had a girlfriend?”

“No. Should I? I'd just feel bad for whoever ended up falling for that guy, anyway.” Daisuke already felt awful enough after finding out the truth. “Not only that, but he's a busybody.”

From the bustling talk between jealous children and gossiping adults, it seems that the boy genius would be setting world records for youngest child to—well, really, just anything at all at this point. When he wasn't caught up in scaling Mt. Everest for the most unsupervised child in the history of since-ever, Ken busied himself with playing a tyrant in another world. But now that he's fully moved into the Digital World, Daisuke thinks he could have a girlfriend. If only because he possibly has a bit more time in his hands, positively not because Daisuke could see any woman realistically liking him in any manner.

Ichijouji Ken’s first and only kiss will be from a very average and regular human boy who's only ever climbed trees. Daisuke couldn't exactly keep from smiling. Serves the bastard right.

Takeru nods enthusiastically. “Yup, yup. He probably hasn't ever been kissed. How sad.”

“We're in fifth grade,” Daisuke notes. “I don't think any of us have kissed.”

Hikari gnashes her teeth together behind curved lips. Seriously, of all the times to start thinking logically… “Yeah, but..this is the Kaiser.”

“So he's a loser for it,” Takeru supplies.

Daisuke beams, appearing to finally be on track to the direction the two children wanted to lead him into. He begins to laugh, shoulders trembling. “You're right! It's because he's always acting stupid so he'll never get a kiss, ever!”

“Which to say,” Takeru continues, nudging Hikari with his foot to back him up. “Once you kiss the Kaiser, he's gonna hate you for life.”

“He'll never be kissed ever again after that. Daisuke-kun, you'll steal his first and only kiss.” Hikari shoves a thumbs up in his face. “Get it?”

Takeru and Hikari sweat, staring at Daisuke’s concentrated expression. Please observe the progression of Daisuke’s changing emotion; lips curled into a flat line as he carefully tucks every word into the wrinkles of his brain, then closing his eyes and tilting his head as the frontal lobe begins its magic, then neurons spark and shift when his expression stills, then finally a wicked grin splits across his face.

“I see. It's really different, isn't it?” Daisuke sighs joyously. “Unlike the Kaiser, at least I have a chance at being kissed again since I'm not the one hiding away from human society.”

They nod. “Right, right!”

“I almost feel bad for him now.” Despite this, the color on Daisuke’s cheeks and the delighted curve under his eyes speak the opposite. “Alright! I understand it all now! I'll go over there right now and pucker up!”

“After English," Hikari reminds.

Daisuke thrusts his fist into the air. “After English!”

“After English!” Takeru repeats.

Brimming with newfound energy, Daisuke skips his way into the computer room after helping with the cleanup. “Guys! Everyone!”

From her spot leaning against an open chair, Miyako grins at him in greeting. “Hikari-chan wasn't kidding. You really did bounce back from yesterday.”

“I wasn't that bad.”

“Daisuke-san, you tried to run into traffic four times on the way home,” Iori unhelpfully adds.

“Anyway!” Daisuke throws his hands up in a cycling motion. “Let's move on!”

Miyako shakes her head. “Wait! I started on a plan just earlier, you know! At least hear me out, and then you all can add your own ideas until it looks like it'll work.”

“Let's hear it, then.” Takeru encourages.

“So, judging by last time with the Deltamon, we can probably assume that Ichijouji Ken would want Daisuke away from us since we're all stronger together. Because of that, I was thinking that we just hand Daisuke over to him. As in, let Daisuke go first and get himself captured. The rest of us will stay here until his D-3 seems totally inactive, and swing by as a rescue team later to save him. Complaints?”

“What if the Digimon Kaiser would just hand over Daisuke-san’s D-3 to a random Digimon and tell them to get moving?” Iori asks. “I feel that we can't really rely on him just leaving it there. He may even take it for himself.”

Hikari interjects. “Oh, but if he's taking Daisuke-kun away, I don't think he'd be bringing the D-3 with him because he wouldn't want us to know where his base is located. And even if he's not bringing him to his base, he probably still wouldn't like the idea of us knowing where he's going around.”

“Exactly,” Takeru nods. “That's why I can see the first thing Iori-kun said to be most plausible.”

“Then, maybe we can list areas that’ll let you know it's not me when I enter those places.” Daisuke suggests. “Like, if I was to stay and wait for the Kaiser at the Koromon village but my D-3 is going to different areas, that'll let you know it's not me.”

Iori sighs. “Great idea, but it's a little disheartening that that is the only thing the D-3’s purpose will amount to for this mission. But then, how will we find where the Kaiser will take Daisuke-san?”

“Well,” Daisuke coughs. “You guys always end up finding us anyway. So it might not be too hard.”

“That's optimistic,” Takeru laughs. “Just so you know, every time the Kaiser kidnaps you for a little bit, we basically turn over every stone in the Digital World looking for you.”

“You, Hope boy, live up to your name a bit.” Daisuke whines. “I believe in everyone here. You all will definitely find me.”

Miyako flips her hair, grinning wildly. “Of course! It's us after all.”

“Geez, our fault for wanting an easier job.” Takedu rolls his eyes, making Hikari laugh along with him.

Iori smiles. “Hard work keeps the skills sharp.”

Suddenly, tears.

“Daisuke,” Chibimon wails, nearly toppling over the keyboard when he runs over to cling to his partner. “Can I really not go with you?”

Daisuke smiles, petting his head carefully. He's found that Chibimon’s skull seems to be a bit tender compared to his form as V-mon. “We already talked about it last night, remember? Before bed, you even promised me.”

“Yeah, but… It's the Kaiser, after all.”

“Right, it's the Kaiser. So it'll be no good if he chains you against a cliff again.” Daisuke gathers his hands around Chibimon’s little torso, throwing him up in the air twice to appease his mood. “Just work together with everyone else, and I'll be back in no time!”

Chibimon laughs at being thrown up, but still looks a bit sheepish in Daisuke’s arms.

Poromon hops onto the table, not yet trusting his little wings for flight. “Chibimon, if you get lonely without Daisuke, we can stay together!”

Hikari smiles, reaching her arms out to allow Chibimon to crawl into them. “That's right, you'll be with everyone. Daisuke-kun will definitely be just fine!”

From the top of Iori’s head, Upamon loudly agrees. “And after all that, we can get Miyako to give us more chocolate!”

All the Digimon began to cheer. Even Chibimon looked relieved, the little bunch of fat between his eyes where eyebrows would've been has relaxed. Daisuke couldn't help but still smooth it over with his thumb. Chibimon smiles happily, kicking his spongey feet in Hikari’s arms.

“That's my family’s hard work you're eating a hole into.” Miyako sulks. Still, she fishes for her pocket.

“Chosen Children, let's roll!” Miyako cheers, turning her D-3 to the screen.

“Wait! I thought we agreed that Daisuke-san would go first,” Iori recalls.

Miyako deflates. “Ah, right, hehe. Daisuke, come over here.”

Daisuke nods, showing off his D-3 at the waiting Digital Gate. “Chosen Children, let’s—oh, lame, it just doesn't feel right when I say it.”

Then, he is sucked in.

—

He'd nearly kicked the TV over when he came flying out of it. Scratching over a bruise on his back as he wonders why they haven't implemented putting mattresses by the scattered TVs, Daisuke raises his head to note his environment.

He seems to have landed in a grassy, open area. When Daisuke squints at the meadow, train tracks lay on the ground not too far away. On his D-Terminal, he's quick to send an e-mail that he'll be drawing a circle and a pentagram on the ground there to summon the Kaiser.

Locomotown. The distant smell of smoke and burning charcoal tickles his nose as Daisuke finds his spot a few feet away from the gently rattling tracks.

High-pitched laughter catches his attention to the Baby II Digimon playing on those said tracks. A Budmon and a Puroromon.

“Hey!” Daisuke calls out, cupping his hands over his mouth. “Get off the tracks! The train’s coming!”

The Budmon and Puroromon seemed stubborn, making displeased noises at Daisuke that he couldn't really decipher from as far away as he was. But soon enough, the hum of the train and the loud cry of its whistle. That was enough to get the young Digimon to Daisuke’s side.

Now, Daisuke is usually one to leave a good deed as is. He's never been one for expecting a prize or a return investment for his kindness. But, he's thinking over what his friends said just earlier, and figures he has to at least lessen the burden in some way.

“Thanks so much, human!” Puroromon says happily, doing an aerial backflip off It's wings. It's friend Budmon quickly bids it's thanks too, apparently shy as it refuses to look Daisuke in the eye after giving him some serious stink eye earlier.

“You're welcome. But you know, can you two do me a really small favor?”

“Yeah?” Budmon urges him to continue.

“Can you guys just stay here in Locomotown for maybe a few hours? about 4 at most, probably. Some people are coming right over here, and they'll be looking for me.”

“Humans?” Puroromon asks.

Daisuke nods. “Digimon, too. I just want you guys to watch the direction of where I'm going, possibly even figure out where that destination is, and tell those people that! Can you?”

“We can,” Puroromon agrees. “It's fun to stay in Locomotown, too. We won't get bored.”

“That's great. Thank you very much, you two!” Then, Daisuke realized something. “Oh, but, if you see a really weird looking human with a cape and probably riding on a huge Digimon, make sure he doesn't see you.”

As the Digimon scurried off to continue playing, Daisuke waved at them. Then, he throws his arms up from his sides and allows himself to fall off on his back from the small boulder he sat on. The ground knocks the wind out of his lung, but he recovers quickly while taking in the view of the clouds above.

How was he supposed to get the Kaiser to notice him? Daisuke thinks of taking a stick and writing on the soft earth a message, something like: let's talk.

Daisuke was already too aware of the fact that the Kaiser had spies everywhere, relaying footage and information to him. So maybe, since he loved to act so omnipresent and omnipotent… And whatever the third omni was.

“Heyyyy,” Daisuke yells out into the sky. “Come here!”

… He could at least pretend to be as all-knowing the Kaiser likes to make himself out to be. Daisuke couldn't believe it, he actually has to find a way to get the Kaiser to come to him instead of simply sitting there and waiting.

And it wasn't helping that Daisuke didn't even particularly fancy seeing him. But what Hikari and Takeru said has stuck to his mind, and Daisuke couldn't help but solely focus his mind on that. It would be the best thing ever…

Just then, after throwing smooth rocks onto the rumbling train tracks just to watch them jump and fall, a Gotsumon had wandered near the area.

One with an Evil Ring. Strange that it was all by itself, as the Kaiser typically commanded it that groups of the same Digimon variant under his control must be the same together. How fishy. Daisuke couldn't care though, as he fastens the Gotsumon to a tree with a few torn up vines hanging off the native trees of Locomotown. He's fought enough of Gotsumon to feel somewhat confident in taking one down himself even without V-mon and the others.

“Sorry,” Daisuke winds the binds tighter. “When the others come, they'll break this off for you. I just need…”

Daisuke directs his gaze to the Evil Ring attached around it's waist. “Ken, get over here. It's just me, as not even V-mon is with me. We gotta talk about something. It's huge, too, but I'm not giving you any details until you get here—OK?”

Strange that the Gotsumon seemed to accept it's fate (for the forseeable few hours) tied to tree bark. Daisuke thinks it's like with Andromon, wherein it's inner self is breaking through the code of the Evil Ring it recognizes that Daisuke will help it.

With nothing else to do, sleepiness begins to lick at the back of his head. He slept late, after all.

He crawls back over to his place on the boulder, and rests his back against it.

He doesn't know how long he spent half-asleep, until he has a split-second to feel a blunt object thwacking over his head—and then, he's gone.

Puroromon and Budmon share a look of fear, their small bodies trembling from inside a small crater. The human being, known as the Digimon Kaiser, was casually throwing the nicer human’s D-3 and D-Terminal onto the tracks.

They noted the direction he left in with a large Airdramon. As soon as he was gone, they ran to collect the discarded items.

“Why'd you get us involved in this?” Budmon moans.

Daisuke wakes, limbs twitching and adjusting with the weight of sleep. A dull throb in the back of his head makes him wince, unwilling to open his eyes.

However, there was an insistent bling, bling sound that kept toying with Daisuke’s faded consciousness. It sounds quite like a doorbell, and he's not sure what kind of sadist would repeatedly press on the buzzer over and over again when Daisuke’s skull was aching this intensely. It feels like he's been hit over the head with a metal pipe.

Still, the beeping continued. Maybe his mom forgot her keys? Still, if she's going to forget her keys this much, then she should just let Daisuke have his own copy now. He's grown quite a bit, hasn't he?

Strained eyelids put in tremendous determination to slowly blink open. Daisuke sleepily drags his torso to rise, keeping his chin tucked into his chest as he lays his weight on his elbows. Easy. He's mentally preparing himself to roll off his bed and make for the door of his bedroom.

Safe to say he only screams a little when a flashlight is shined into his retinas as soon as he raises his head.

Apparently, this was not his room. Brain suddenly kicked into adapting to circumstance and rewiring for memory, Daisuke remembers he is not home. Far from it, actually.

As he blinks away the flashbang and the last dregs of sleepiness from his eyes, Daisuke could only sneer as the Kaiser’s form came into view.

Daisuke feels inclined to allow the Kaiser to taste his wrath at being awoken in such a manner, but he conclusively decides against chasing after a fistfight when he knows what he's here for.

The room he was in lacked any sort of natural sunlight. Not surprising, as the whole room reeked of the sort of place you'd find inside an abandoned shipping container a serial killer would butcher up their victims in. Panels of metal ridges lined up the wall, all brushed with ruins of rust and grime. Daisuke could only find himself silently praising the tenacity of the moss growing on one corner of the room, in between the up-turned linoleum tiles. Remarkable how life can grow even in a place the Kaiser has whisked him away to. If flowers suddenly grew in the Kaiser’s presence, Daisuke’s heart would be so surprised it’d jump out of his mouth. Jesus Christ himself could appear before him and turn water into wine and Daisuke would be less shocked.

“Explain yourself.” Straightforward. Daisuke liked that. This means he can get to smooching twice as fast without the Kaiser’s unskippable dialogue.

Daisuke sighs, properly sitting up and dangling his legs over the edge of the bed—surpsingly clean, unlike the rest of the room—as he begins to sloppily explain the situation. “Okay so, listen, we were taking down your Towers and—”

“I know. I have a buzzer every time you take one down. It's getting very annoying hearing it so much.” Was that what the beeping noise was? Are they already here? Daisuke wondered this, but did his best to keep his expression clear.

“Whatever. You know, we'll bring you down soon enough and—”

“You've said that before,” The Kaiser says because he's unable to ever not have the final word.

Daisuke then continues to explain yesterday’s events. At some point, the Kaiser asked if he wanted water. Feeling a bit thirsty from waking up, Daisuke agreed. He could only frown—not one of disbelief, no, it was very Kaiser-like to pour a glass of water then gulp it down in front of him. At least he didn't stop him when Daisuke poured one for himself and drank from the same cup, despite there being a separate glass for him. If he's gonna be locking lips with the other boy, he'll have to take a small dosage of indirect kissing and saliva traces left on the rim. Desensitisation, or something.

Daisuke doesn't complain, and lets him have the glass of water. It feels a bit like giving your pet dog a whole rotisserie chicken before euthanasia, except all the Kaiser deserves is lukewarm drinking water.

Putting down the Kaiser. Now that was a nice thought.

“Kiss?” The Kaiser repeats with an amused lilt in his tone, which Daisuke immediately eyes with suspicion when he finishes relaying the information. “I see. Is that all? I would've thought you'd try to bargain with getting me to release my slaves again.”

Daisuke does not like this reaction at all. He wanted the Kaiser to be utterly repulsed, threaten Daisuke’s life a little bit, maybe throw himself onto the ground and lay his mouth upon the mold growing on the floor to show that anything would be better than kissing the perfectly human Daisuke.

“It's kissing,” Daisuke feels he has to clarify this, so he throws up his hands and pinches his fingertips together into a kiss. “Look! Mwaah, mwaah, chu~ Ah, it tastes like lemons!”

The Kaiser looks at him disapprovingly. “I am aware of what a kiss is.”

Maybe dying wasn't such a bad idea now that he was thinking of it. Hikari and Takeru had seemed to have forgotten to take into account the Kaiser’s early signs of mental degeneracy and insanity. Things weren't working out how Daisuke planned, and really it's his fault for getting his hopes up. Because since when had the universe proved itself to be worthy of his faith, anyway?

If Daisuke could open his 6th sense, he could hear the cosmic laughter.

Daisuke decides to go back to the basics. “I'm a guy,” he says, helplessly. Moreover, it's Valentine's! Even more than that, their first kiss (individually!).

“Do you think I would like you anymore if you weren't?” The Kaiser genuinely asks. “I hate you. This doesn't change anything. I'll allow you to think about this situation from my perspective.”

Daisuke puts his knees to his chest, directing his eyes to the glass in the Kaiser’s hand as he patiently waits for Daisuke to see whatever picture he was illustrating before him.

Even Daisuke can figure it out. It doesn't take a genius to realize what an incredibly unfair situation this was, with all the world’s luck pouring into the Kaiser’s side. The Kaiser has absolutely nothing to gain from helping Daisuke, hell, he might find it much more convenient to let Daisuke die. One less thorn on his path so that sneaky pest of a human being could climb up the stem and suckle off the rich nectar of the Digital World. Could the Digimon Kaiser go that far? Could Ichijouji Ken? Daisuke couldn't exactly put his trust when the Kaiser deliberately went a mile or two to crush such a precious thing into fragments of insignificance. Like the thin layer of dust that clung to every corner of wherever they were. For that, Daisuke could never forgive him.

It wasn't as if he felt that he was owed something. That day with Ken was nothing more than a surprise that would've had Daisuke giddy for weeks on end. A pale hand held out to him after the match, and Daisuke still didn't fall into any delusion.

But even he has standards. Ken had deliberately hurt him. And really, was it so hard not to own monster slaves and remove even their will and conscious mind? Daisuke had gone 11 years without doing anything remotely close, nor could he imagine himself 5 years later thinking… Whatever was the thought that the Kaiser’s brain had wasted neuron power on developing. Daisuke doesn't even want to try thinking of a situation or basic thought that puts himself in his shoes. Just a waste of time when Daisuke doesn't even have time.

He really doesn't like this guy.

Daisuke realizes, then, that he feels much warmer. The constant stinging cold in his chest seems to have momentarily dissipated, when the Kaiser moves to make the mattress shift under his weight at the foot of the bed. His arm crosses over Daisuke’s hip as he leans closer. Halting, stopping, had the air in his lungs paused midway to his lungs.

But the Kaiser asked him a question.

“I can smell smoke coming from your ears,” The Kaiser says with an impassive smile.

“It's unfair,” Daisuke blurts out his conclusion. “Everything about this.”

“Very.”

Already resigning himself to a fate of the Kaiser’s whims as he waits for the perfect chance to steal a kiss—because whatever he'll make him do, Daisuke will be sure to take what he means to—he seems to remember something.

“How long have I been asleep? I don't even remember falling asleep.”

Two fingers are shoved into his face, nearly poking his eyes out. The Kaiser laughs at his squawk.

“2 hours? But I had 7 just…” Panic settles.

“Yes. You should be happy you woke up at all. I was assuming you'd stay unconscious for a whole day.” The Kaiser sighs, smiling at himself. “I don't think you deserve such a light ending as dying in your sleep, though, so I'm glad.”

Daisuke rolls his eyes. “Talking about light, it's dark in here!”

“Should that really matter to you? You should be convincing me, begging me to kiss you. Do you need some motivation, even though you're the only one here with anything to lose?”

The Kaiser backs off.

And apparently, Daisuke had gotten too comfortable, because the Kaiser grabbed him and shoved him to the ground. Daisuke’s face twists in pain, still feeling the effects of his headache.

“Stay.” The Kaiser demands it. Daisuke could barely hear him over the ringing in his ears, and he's probably only catching every other beginning of a sentence or so. But it does something like this: Do what I want, and you'll live. Very typical.

Daisuke has no options. He only twists on the ground and tries to kick the Kaiser once or twice before giving in.

With a lazy wave of the Kaiser’s hand, yet never lacking in flourish, multiple monitors showcasing a different scene all across the plains of the Digital World had materialized. Recording from every corner of File Island. Daisuke’s eyes darted from screen to screen. While some showed Digimon of various matured levels—his eyes were widening at some of them spying on villages where newborn Digimon stayed together. On one screen, a group of Botamon play together. On another screen are Pipimon. Of course, there is even the Village of Beginnings.

Then, Locomotown with Budmon and Puroromon. It doesn't mean the Kaiser had somehow found out about Daisuke and their little chat just earlier, but Daisuke still really refused to involve those two.

Them still being Ring-free and what Daisuke assumes to be the supposed Dark Tower Down buzzer earlier, Daisuke could assume that his friends were already on their way with what little directions Budmon and Puroromon had to offer.

A satisfied chuckle comes from deep in the Kaiser’s chest at the look on Daisuke’s face. Immediately, the latter hardens it up, refusing to satisfy the other boy. Actually, he stretches his features and makes damn sure he looks ugly. The Kaiser raises a brow.

“Don't worry. I have no interest in such low-levels as that. They'd have no use other than being a waste of Evil Rings.”

That only pisses off Daisuke even more. Concealed in the dark, the Kaiser drinks him in.

“To tell you the truth, none of this was planned.” The Kaiser said, much too smug for Daisuke’s liking. “I’m sure you have your suspicions that I planned this, but I hadn't researched that particular Digimon, nor was I aware of it's capabilities. What a pleasant surprise.”

Daisuke’s anger boils up. “So you're saying you don't even bother to know who the hell you're enslaving?”

“Does it matter when they are to use their abilities to serve me, anyway? One with an Evil Spiral, perhaps. But if it's simply just an Evil Ring, then it's just as forgettable as dust.” He casually rolls his wrist, so carelessly and in a manner of being absolutely untouchable. Which, to Daisuke’s disappointment, he was—the longer Daisuke is kept forced down on his knees like this.

“You're the worst!” Daisuke had repeated this to the Kaiser’s face so many times now that it felt as typical as a greeting. Like opening up the curtains of his bedroom window to see the morning sun, smiling at the birds perched on the electrical lines, and saying: “Ken, you're the worst.”

The Kaiser slams the heel of his boot down. Right next to Daisuke’s ear in a way that doesn't make him shriek. “You don't have to repeat that. I've heard it all before. But, really, right now as well? Where do you get off thinking you can run your filthy mouth when you're in my hands, Motomiya Daisuke? I'll be sure to whip your mouth before I ever think of gracing it with my kiss.”

As if Daisuke is particularly enthusiastic about having to kiss this jackass at all.

As always, calling him by his real name gets him way too ticked off. If anything, that gets Daisuke to bite his inner cheek. The Kaiser has very good precision, and he's at least smart enough not to try him for now. That doesn't mean he'll stop glaring daggers at him like he's trying to awaken latent psychic ability of laser eyes, and blast that stupid cape off the emperor’s hide.

“You better learn to please me, Motomiya.” He sneers. “You only have about 10 hours left. Remember, you're the one who came to me. It's ultimately only my choice should you be spared.”

Forget everything he just said. “You're such a pain,” Daisuke sulks. “I'd rather die at this point. Your breath reeks.”

“No it doesn't.”

“It does!”

“Shall I just hand you over to a Tyrannomon or what?” The Kaiser snaps.

“Only if he's bringing a breathalyzer for you with him.”

“Breathalyzer—you mean a breath mint. That's completely different.”

“So you're aware you need a mint? ‘Cause you said it first. I didn't say that. Also, have you heard of digideodorant?”

Daisuke isn't all too surprised at getting smacked across the face. The Kaiser’s gloved hand swipes on his left cheek with a pain searing heat down to his bones. The force has him reeling, eyes bulging out of his skull as he's forced to direct his gaze to the ground. He doesn't even have time to gather himself from the surprise attack, when that same hand grabs for his chin. Intentionally delicate, careful, mindful of how he holds him as if Daisuke could very well break in his hands. To the Kaiser, Daisuke will break only as he pleases.

Fingers dig into the fresh reddening brand. Daisuke huffs out a quiet groan. The Kaiser pushes up his head, looking down at him. The luminosity of the monitor screens shine down the curves and eclipse of his back, blurring together in elegant sfumato that Daisuke dreams of crushing up into shiny little stars.

“You're almost worth looking at when you're quiet.” The Kaiser tells him. When he sees Daisuke open his mouth to retaliate, he tightens his grip on his jaw with impossible strength. “Don't ruin this for yourself.”

Cold sweat trails down the knobs of his spine. That is when Daisuke takes the warning, the portent of danger that is the Kaiser’s left hand teasing the handle of the whip on his person, and swallows the thickness of his dignity down his esophagus.

A haughty laugh coming from the Kaiser almost makes prioritizing his life seem like a mistake.

“Come on,” He reaches down, yanking the disoriented Daisuke onto his feet. “There is much to do in 5 hours.”

When it comes to the Digimon Kaiser, the humiliation and ridicule cannot be overlooked. While he'd never been interested in music itself, stage plays had been a novelty for him at some point. He was into that sort of thing; planning out the course of events, strategizing, the perfect words to drive out the most emotion, the performance of identity that shined brightly over red curtains onto an open audience.

However, the most important factor is the story. The context that gives the scenario the actual flavor. The story. It's intensely entertaining.

Here was the set-up. Lady Luck had sent a hefty load of fortune at the Kaiser’s way. Who knew a simple Adult level could harness such a strange yet specific ability? It couldn't even be labelled an actual attack within the Valenmon’s arsenal when it takes that many hours to properly destroy a person. It could be classified more as a supernatural curse, than anything. The Kaiser had not cared to be aware of its existence, until Motomiya Daisuke lands himself at the crossfire and the boy ends up at the tracks of Locomotown.

He'd willingly ran up to one of the Evil Ringed Digimon that guarded that area, and demanded to see the Kaiser. He spoke into the metal band himself, as if expecting there to be a whole camera inside, complete with microphone. The Kaiser had to give it to him, he was right. He gave that particular Gotsumon an order not to attack, and arrived within minutes on the back of an Airdramon.

By this point, the Kaiser was already aware of what happened just yesterday. He was expecting Daisuke to grovel his head into the ground begging for a kiss upon his lips—and just barely dodged a punch going straight for his chest, landing on his bicep instead.

Yet, now, here was Daisuke. The shorter boy sits on his ankles by the edge of the Kaiser’s feet. Poor thing is already trembling, has been since he forced him down with the hand in his hair. Lazily, he strokes his head, combing through auburn hair.

Daisuke flinches every time he tugs just a little too hard, shoulders squared with his head tucked into his chest. No, this will not do. This is no good for the Kaiser’s standards. What kind of performer hides his face from the audience? Daisuke wears his emotions on his sleeves, as if his heart wasn't bare and bleeding enough, and the Kaiser decides that this just won't do at all.

He wants to see all sorts of twisted expressions he could make.

“Watch.”

Daisuke, solely as he has no choice but to, does. The Kaiser takes a long second to enjoy the sweetest dichotomy of the anger in his eyes and the desolate tears wetting his bottom lashes.

“This is an early step in my plans,” The Kaiser coolly begins, “I wasn't planning on taking over this area any time soon. However, I believe you've earned a special show after coming to me all by yourself.”

Daisuke’s head, so jittery and so very disobedient, begins to wildly thrash about. He kicks his legs, curls over and kicks at the ground. The Kaiser is so disappointed that putting the cufflinks around his wrists really was a bright idea.

The Kaiser tightened his grip on his hair, as if threatening to rip out his scalp in the process. Daisuke believes it truly so unfair that the enemy could be this powerful. We're they really the same age? Every interview broadcasted on the TV spoke about Ken’s feats, and he hadn't even seemed like a real human being to Daisuke. Then, that fateful afternoon game on the pitch. Ichijouji Ken had walked out of the screen and into the same grassy pitch and utterly demolished Odaiba Elementary’s Boys’ team.

Daisuke had been weighted, measured up to the greatness of Ken, and left wanting with a great scale. However, there was no spark of jealousy. To Daisuke, Ken was just a simple idol that graced the daily news channel every so often. A face in the newspaper. Another certificate, along with a handful of medals around a neck too thin and too young to carry the weight. It was that Ken who had reached out to Daisuke first, when Daisuke was already over the moon to witness him in the flesh, and it was Ken who—

“All by yourself,” The Kaiser accentuates, now looming over Daisuke’s crouched form. Fingertips dig into his skull, threatening to puncture through like wet paper. “Where are your allies now? Your friends? I didn't spot them anywhere nearby when you gave yourself up to me. Did they willingly throw you away?”

“You're not getting in my head, Ken.” Daisuke snaps.

The blow of a slap against his mouth makes him cry out, doubling over as much as the Kaiser’s grip allowed. He cupped his mouth in his hands, wrists tied together as they were.

Daisuke allows a soft whine, digging his knees into the metal flooring. He'll get the Kaiser back for this, no matter what. Especially for even daring to imply that his friends would abandon him. They were getting closer than ever, after all.

His lips felt sore, the edges of his mouth tingling with bug-bites of pain.

When he flicks his head up to glare at his captor, he finds the Kaiser’s profile with his hand to his face. His fingers are splayed open and apart, allowing Daisuke a view of his lips gently puckering and placing a gentle kiss on the crease of his gloved palm.

The same hand he used to smack Daisuke’s open mouth. The one that Ichijouji Ken held out to him when… Honestly, it'd be great if he could get over that already.

The playful lilt of the Kaiser’s pompous grin teases him in all the wrong ways. “Like this, right?”

Daisuke’s stomach drops, but his cheeks color in pink. Looking for something, anything to say; he ends up stammering, “It can't be helped,” and shuts himself down before he could make it any worse.

From the screen, enslaved Digimon continued to fight one another in the Kaiser’s personal colosseum-esque battle arena.

He's been here for 2 hours now. Just another 3 hours. The Kaiser has to keep his promise.

Daisuke had no choice than to believe that. Even if placing his faith in him tasted like welts of poison and flames dancing in his throat.

Somehow, even the Kaiser fulfilling his promise had a lot more ground to it than waiting for the opportunity of his sneak attack. How awful the world has become. Perhaps Y2K really should've ended the world.

Just last year, Taichi had once praised Daisuke for having a good sense of his surroundings. Even if, admittedly, Daisuke’s current skills on the pitch couldn't really catch up with his spatial awareness, it was still something worth patting him on the back about.

It wasn't like Daisuke was showing off then, either. In fact, Daisuke hasn't ever really thought of things like acknowledgement and a desire for it. Yet, he'd licked it up and off his fingertips. Amazing how Taichi can just know things about Daisuke that he himself hasn't figured out.

Another bullet point on the long categorized list of why Daisuke admired Taichi so much; Taichi only gave out praise like that when it was truly deserving, and factually correct. Daisuke had carried the joy of being recognized by the older boy for weeks after that. Not even Jun’s teasing could pierce his bubble of happiness. If it was from Taichi, Daisuke has no right to doubt it.

Daisuke utilizes this skill well. The Kaiser is a quick walker, and will occasionally tug on the chain binding Daisuke’s wrists if he feels that Daisuke’s feet were dragging. Surprisingly, the Kaiser pays little mind at his obvious ogling of every window and door.

Well, if the Kaiser was just going to allow him to figure out their location and do his best to track every hallway and squint at everything outside the panel windows, then Daisuke wasn't going to complain.

Alright, it was the time to make everyone proud. Daisuke continues to quietly memorize every identical door they walk through, and take note of everything outside the windows. Sand. Sand. Sand. Sand. Oh, a little pool of water. Sand Sand Sand. Sand.

As they pass by what Daisuke thinks is the millionth corridor, he finally relents and simply asks where they are. He's been wondering since he woke up.

“My base? Why would I bring you to my actual base?” The Kaiser balks, repeating him. “This is just base #5. You'll have to find base #7 for my genuine base.”

“#7? Why not #1?” Daisuke asks. “Lucky number?”

“Precisely. Maybe you aren't as intellectually disadvantaged as you appear.”

Daisuke scoffs. “Oh, what do you know? Can't believe you were on TV acting like a genius with that mic on your face, and you're here talking about luck like the rest of us regular folk.”

“Very good. Don't lump me in with you insects,” He compliments. At least, Daisuke thinks it was supposed to be praise. “I’ll give you a bit of knowledge to take. Remove your idealistic and simple understanding of what luck even is. Your kind will expect luck to just come to you unexpectedly, and while that could happen, there is no guarantee that you'll be able to make the most of that luckiness.”

The Kaiser stops in his tracks. Daisuke realizes that the hallway, and every passageway they've passed, is deathly silent. Despite the digital sun still hanging on the bed of the horizon, casting peeks of light into the otherwise dimly-lit base, Daisuke feels that there may be no life anywhere near them at all. They haven't even seen any of the Kaiser’s slaves wandering the halls going from point A to point B.

Briefly entertaining the idea that should Daisuke scream, nobody would hear him—Daisuke wonders, and is immediately 100% sure, that the Kaiser was thinking the same thing.

He swoops around then, the flaps of his cloak gracing the ground. “But, in the scenario that you have been waiting for that luck to arrive, you'd know exactly how to make the most of it. Luck is all about being at the right place at the right time, the right way to receive it, and the right way to utilize it.”

Daisuke is actually a bit interested. “Like carpe diem?”

“That's not wrong.” The Kaiser smiles. Daisuke’s eyes refuse to see it, and drags his gaze down to his chin. “Imagine it like soccer. You're not a regular—”

“That's not even necessary…” Daisuke pouts. He's working hard too, okay?

“—But you've scored at least a few times, yes. So, imagine you know you're at a good place to score a goal, and you are just waiting for the ball to be passed over to you. There's a chance that it would be passed to you, as well as a chance it wouldn't. A 50/50. Then, in a different set-up where you're not at a good place to score, there is still a chance that the ball will be passed to you as much as it wouldn't be.”

“It’s wasted luck.”

“Correct. But if you stick with the first scenario of actively waiting at the right place, of making sure you are in a good place to receive luck, you'll be able to fully use that luck you were gifted.”

Daisuke nods, understanding. He's never really looked at concepts that intently before, dissecting it in his brain as he pieces his perspective into something new. That's probably why Ken was so good at soccer, and Daisuke couldn't help but feel his chest tenderly constrict at the feeling of being let in on a secret. Was it a secret? He didn't know, nor did he really want to have it confirmed and risk the Kaiser’s wrath on himself again for seemingly acting so buddy-buddy.

Daisuke nods. “Always be prepared, huh? That's why the real base is #7. I actually saw the horoscope for today in the paper. I got lucky, I'm already wearing something orange.” He kicks his feet up, showing off his orange boots.

The Kaiser grins, amused. “Well, it doesn't look like that helped your luck at all considering you're stuck here with me. Either way, horoscopes and such wouldn't matter in the Digital World after all.”

“Why not?”

“Once I've successfully taken over every plot of land on this island, I'll create my own horoscope. One that is not bound to your world.”

Daisuke squints, frowning at him. Every so often he gets surprised whenever the Kaiser would say some random bullshit like that, and show off his clearly deteriorating mental state. As if Daisuke could forget. He can imagine that the daily lucky items of every single day would just be clothing the Kaiser wore. Or rather, just to be the Kaiser himself. Everyone else is unlucky.

He doesn't get to say anything, though, when the Kaiser opens a door and carelessly kicks Daisuke in the back to stumble inside.

“Ouch!”

Light footsteps waltz inside, pushing his back onto the door to close with a soft click. Daisuke glares up at the Kaiser from his place on the floor, instinctively drawing his knees to his chest to protect himself. He wants to come off as alert, not scared, so he doesn't inch away when the Kaiser squats down right in front of him. Even if Daisuke really, really wants to.

“Your friends are coming, aren't they?” The Kaiser cooly asks.

Daisuke briefly plays with the idea of lying, but he knows that the Kaiser was too smart for that. “Yes.”

The Kaiser appears satisfied with his honesty. “Do you know why I haven't hurt you to my heart's content, Motomiya?”

Because you don't have one. Instead of saying that, Daisuke only tilts his head to allow him to continue. If you ask Daisuke, he's pretty sure that the smacks the Kaiser rained down on him just earlier counted as hurting him.

“It's because I happen to like the way you are suffering at the moment.” The Kaiser gently laughs, covering his lips with the back of his fingers. “You've been feeling cold, haven't you?”

Daisuke blinks. “Where did you get that? I might've been earlier, but that was way earlier.”

The Kaiser ignores his question. Nothing will come of explaining Valenmon’s abilities down to the formatted data that shaped it, when Daisuke will be released by his will. He doesn't like oversharing. “I've found a simple explanation for that.”

The Kaiser's eyes flashed behind his visor, curved into delighted crescents. This is the last thing that Daisuke sees before the lights flicker off, and every curtain is drawn.

Right before he can complain and get up, he feels a strong clasp on his shoulders. The texture, the weight, digging into the joints and making his arms tingle with weakness. It could only be the Kaiser. And of course it was, Daisuke never heard or saw him leave the room. He's still here. Yes. He is. The hands on Daisuke’s shoulders are proof. Solid, warm through the stretched fabric, so undeniably real that Daisuke can't help but hang off of it.

“I'm not scared of the dark, you know.”

No response.

Daisuke scoffs. “I know you're here. What're you even trying to prove with this?”

Still, no response. Daisuke glares into the dark, and nothing even glares back.

Then, the hands leave his shoulders. Daisuke thinks of getting up and running wildly at where he remembered the door to be, but figures the Kaiser must still be in front of him.

Waiting for Daisuke to do something wrong.

What could he do that was wrong, though? Definitely getting up and trying to escape. That was useless for both of them, as Daisuke will lose his chance for that kiss and the Kaiser would miss out on whatever kick he gets out of messing with him. Maybe if he raised his hands, that would be warranted for discipline. He doesn't really know, it's a bit hard to think with how frigidly chilly it had suddenly become. All he's sure about is that the Kaiser was looking for an excuse to fuck him up.

Cold. Yeah. Honestly glacial. A chill had settled over Daisuke’s small back, and he couldn't help but wrap himself up in his arms even more. He wishes he'd worn pants, as the joints in his knees felt weakened by the biting cold.

Stinging. Painful. So frozen over that he felt hot and raw.

“Where… Where the hell are you?” Daisuke tries again, calling out to the Kaiser.

Then again.

And again.

The chill must really be getting to him now. His body has already begun to break out in involuntary trembles, shaking like a leaf victimized in the autumn wind. Autumn. God, now he felt even colder.

The icy sensation seems to sprout from his chest, blooming icicles in his blood stream and cutting off his sense of warmth. If there were lights, Daisuke wouldn't be surprised to find his fingertips turning blue and purple.

What was this? He didn't get it at all.

“Kaiser… Kaiser… Hey, are you really not here?” Daisuke asks again, lips trembling. “It's cold.”

And suddenly comes the birth of spring. In a single swoop, the direction of wind changes for a warmer climate. Daisuke groans, almost leaning into it. He was stopped by the hands (Hands. Skin. Warmth. He'd forgotten all about these. How could he?) laying flat over his shoulders.

Daisuke closes his eyes, breathing in the airy presence of heat. The feeling of someone touching him, a small weight on his own. Something bumps against his nose, making it wrinkle as Daisuke is momentarily overwhelmed by the lick of flames dancing over the contact.

The sound of chuckling, a light exhale over his lips. Daisuke’s brain sparks with the knowledge that the Kaiser’s lips must be only a hair's breadth away from his own.

“See? I like your suffering like this, as well.” The Kaiser’s breath is a tantalizing ghost over the edge of Daisuke’s mouth. “You need this. You need me.”

The hands on his shoulders are the only thing stopping him from inching forward

“I don't want this,” Daisuke insists. Even as he yearns to sew the gap between them.

“You don't have to.”

Daisuke sighs in discontent. “Then, c’mon already.”

He can almost hear the smile in his voice. “Not yet. I haven't had my fun.”

The dome showed the expanse of the great big sky. Sunlight felt warm on his palms when Daisuke reached out to grab at it.

Of course, it wasn't something tangible so it simply shined down on his fingers instead. Still, it's nice to feel an actual regular source of warmth that wasn't the unnatural heat pouring from Daisuke’s chest when the Kaiser was in his presence.

How strange, though. Unlike the previous times when the Kaiser would be sure to goad and explain what his plans with him were, he refuses to answer any questions Daisuke threw at him.

It made anxiety boil in his guts. Knowing the Kaiser, he probably did it for that reason alone.

“I'm cold,” Daisuke says.

That's another change in his behavior. Whenever Daisuke admits to the worsening chill inside of his ribcage, clawing between the gaps with fangs and claws like a lion, the Kaiser doesn't make fun of him. Silently, he pulls Daisuke further into his side. Their brushing shoulders, and the way he allowed Daisuke to tuck himself under his cape made him feel toasty warm.

He's just been feeling drowsy. Maybe he's dying since he's so close to the deadline. Daisuke doesn't really know.

The Kaiser never gets distracted enough for Daisuke to make his ninja move. Earlier in the dark room, he thought about kissing him. His palms pressed against the Kaiser’s cheeks as his fingers curled under his ears, and he wanted to kiss him. Daisuke, disoriented as he was, ended up missing his target and just barely pushed his lips against the Kaiser’s chin.

Which supposedly did not count. Daisuke feels it should have.

The Kaiser hadn't even socked him in the groin or anything for that. He'd just laughed at him. Daisuke supposes that making an embarrassment of himself temporarily sufficed the Kaiser’s sadist streak, rather than believing that the Kaiser wouldn't kick a man while he's down.

The sun feels nice. The Kaiser’s cape is warm like it's insulated. Daisuke wishes his friends were here.

“We're almost there,” The Kaiser speaks up. “You'll like it.”

Doubt.

All sorts of ugly emotions stir within Daisuke, felt through cotton and fabric straining in his brain.

Daisuke has never been above begging.

Orange and blue colors the Digital world in tints above them, where the blazing sun takes its final breath before diving into the ocean. If one looked carefully, it would almost seem as if the sun were swallowed up. Devoid and devoured.

“Ken,” Daisuke says, softly and pleading. “Please just let me, just once… If it's from you then—”

BOOM!

A powerful force makes the whole base shake.

An alert pops into existence by the Kaiser’s head, blaring loud enough to make the Kaiser’s head snap towards it with a knowing scowl. Daisuke tumbles out from under his cape, blinking away the low throb in his skull.

The option to bare his teeth makes itself known. Just as the passing and change of Daisuke’s emotion, fighting spirit is quickly reignited. The small crackle is lit up into a forest fire, and Daisuke is sure of himself enough to know how to keep warm.

And he was about to act so lame, too.

“Already? I was getting to a good part, too.”

The Kaiser's slight annoyance is quickly replaced by genuine fury, when some kind of stray attack had blasted a hole in the wall of the floor they were on. Daisuke quickly covered his head when part of the glass dome above had shattered, raining shards down onto the two boys.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that whichever of Daisuke’s friends had noticed the stray attack had just slightly revealed their whereabouts. Daisuke does his best to run up, opening his mouth to scream for attention, until the Kaiser comes to tackle him.

His weight drags them across the floor, shards of glittering glass scraping against Daisuke’s clothes and the back of his tender knees. Daisuke’s mouth is smothered with an open palm, crushing against his teeth as he struggles. He only ends up cutting himself further.

Daisuke brings his binded fists up, wildly smashing at the Kaiser’s upper chest and shoulders and face and anywhere he could reach. The Kaiser screeches, his grip on him loosening for just a second that Daisuke takes advantage of to roll out from underneath him. At the top floor, Daisuke can finally see with the sunlight pouring in. It makes a target, kissing at the Kaiser’s head clutched in his hands to cradle the pain, doubled over and vulnerable. Daisuke makes sure to slam the metal of his handcuffs over the back of his skull before running away.

For the both of them, pain convulses all throughout their bodies. Daisuke feels it on the back of his thighs and his upper arms where the glass has cut into him, pulsing as he runs. The Kaiser falls to the ground, and winces as he's cut open in similar fashion. The shorter boy cries out when he slips, kicking into his cuts and making the bleeding worse.

Daisuke kicks himself onto his feet, thankfully spotting a large piece of rubble from the explosion that overpowered his own weight. A piece of metal stuck out, only a touch rusted. Immediately, he bolts for it as the Kaiser is distracted.

Yes! Yes! This is it!

Finding the perfect point of pressure by prying his aching wrists as far away from each other as the handcuffs allowed it, the middle chain shakes in tense force. Daisuke hooks it around the serrated edge of the sturdy-looking exposed steel pipe. With the combined effort of stubborn willpower and soccer-trained calves, the muscles in his thighs flex from overexertion, before finally landing a perfect blow and pulling away from the piece of separated cement wall—and a loud SNAP! The chainlink had broken apart. Made out of reformed data as it was, the cuffs around his reddened wrists disappeared into microscopic digital dust. It flickered for a moment.

Daisuke hollers and cheers. Not anymore than a second, however, as a whistling sound just barely registers into his eardrums, he tilts back. He'd barely managed to dodge what he swiftly realizes to be the Kaiser’s whip.

“Stay still!” The Kaiser roars, rearing the whip for another strike. This time, the blow lands. From this distance, the edge cuts Daisuke's left sleeve. A shallow gash forms, making him yell at the fresh sting.

Another whistle. The whip comes crashing down to Daisuke’s chest. The Kaiser is overjoyed, revelling in his pain. Finding control within it. Daisuke cradles his tight chest as he makes a run for the discarded rubble. If V-mon was here, surely he could—

If his friends were here. If by the center, right by the hole blast open by that stray attack. If Daisuke could somehow get there without the Kaiser backing him into a corner.

Daisuke nearly jumps at the sound of the whistle. A crack cutting through the air like lightning, mimicking the velocity and spark. Over and over again as the Kaiser stalked nearer. Wildly swinging at the ground even if he saw where Daisuke had hid behind. He's just doing this shit to scare him, and Daisuke would be lying if he said it wasn't working.

“Daisuke,” The Kaiser’s voice has become shrill with a touch of exhaustion, but that demeaning and downright manic tone of his never loosens up. “You know, I was really going to do it. I'd have kissed you. I would've hated being anywhere near your disgusting mouth, but I would have adored ruining it for you. There's not a chance in hell you would want it—but you need it from me.”

Huh. Funny how they almost synced up thought processes there. Daisuke’s humble coal-powered train of thought had gotten rammed over and obliterated by the Kaiser’s bullet train… Of thought. There could've been a better metaphor, but it's hard to ponder poetics when Daisuke’s trying not to trip and dice open his body over shards of glass.

Whistle. Crack. The cycle repeats itself with every pitch of the Kaiser’s words, closer than ever before. Daisuke runs and leaps behind every other piece of cement and rubble that can cover his body, trying to get to the center. The Kaiser stalks after him like a predator. His anger is bright and blazing, burning the back of Daisuke’s heels when he ends up too close to that nasty whip.

“It's just too bad your friends are messing with my army. I would have left them alone, and simply found myself full on your humiliation by itself. However, that's just not fair. I was willing to play into this equal exchange, only for your allies to take down numbers of my slaves to take you back much too early than the time we agreed on. You and your group play dirty, so to make it fair, I think I'll put an Evil Ring on all of their Digimon. Maybe even feed the youngest to a Monochromon.”

This bastard is really bringing everyone into this.

Despite what little logical sense he had in his brain telling him to sit and think of a plan, Daisuke had abandoned it all and cleared his mindspace of any thought as emotion poured into him. It reignites his fighting spirit, channeling itself into every pulse point of his body and causing him to shoot up and break into a sprint. His ankle twists, sliding his foot across the metallic flooring in a manner that nearly made him tumble. But Daisuke pulls through, never dropping in his speed as he charges towards the enemy.

If he had once caught Ichijouji Ken off-guard, he could do it again.

“Tongue behind your teeth. Clench your jaw,” Daisuke says, right before laying a swift, dangerously heavy punch on the underside of the Kaiser’s chin. The contact is nothing if not lava-hot. Teeth click together.

It takes him for a nasty spin, the world bright and dizzy behind his eyelids as he loses his footing, lulled along by shifting gravity—before Daisuke grabs at the tapers of his cloak, going in for a tight grip on the collar of the Kaiser’s jumpsuit, and planting his lips on his with a force enough to make both their mouths ache.

The Kaiser relays a single note. Motomiya Daisuke’s lips are soft, even when he pushes them to kiss each other so nastily and brutally and without beauty.

He can agree. He wouldn't have it any other way, after all. The Kaiser forces Daisuke to tilt his head, pushing back to deepen the depth, swapping each and every sharp inhale and following exhale. Filtering oxygen through over worked lungs and a grip too tight and heavy-handed. The Kaiser finds himself. Making quick work of mapping out the feel of Daisuke’s arms and shoulders before latching onto his throat.

Daisuke wheezes, pitifully whimpering against his lips for a moment. It makes the Kaiser smile. It becomes a domino effect in which Daisuke huffs, moves his hands to grip on the Kaiser’s wrists, the latter gasping in earnest as a sudden pain alerts his senses.

A rush of something warm and metallic fills the Kaiser’s mouth when Daisuke parts from his lips. Painful and stinging like a blister. It reminds him of a thing of the past as Ichijouji Ken; a young and insignificant child who took dry ice between his lips and suckled on it, only for the ice to cling to his bottom lip. He had a mother once. She fretted and poured boiling hot water over his mouth, and the ice came off with a cold sharpness that stabbed into his lungs. It took a thin sheet of skin, the oral mucosa, from his lip. It had left a scar in its place. With the memories of Ichijouji Ken, this is the closest that the Kaiser has to describe his first kiss.

Stinging, throbbing, painful all the way down to his nerves, and lit on fire with a stabbing icy chill.

Daisuke pulls away, shoving at the Kaiser with a flushed face. Red with anger and embarrassment all the way up to his ears. He wipes his mouth with the back of his gloved fist, but before he does, the Kaiser witnesses a touch of red on his fang.

Blood, he realizes. His blood. This damned insect, Motomiya Daisuke, had made him bleed for the second time. The Kaiser felt that his pride could never be so tarnished. Daisuke had made him bleed, Daisuke had hurt him. The Kaiser let him too close and Daisuke had slipped between his fingers yet again and Daisuke had the nerve to leave a scar—on the inside of Ichijouji Ken’s lip.

His chest swells with rage. He wants to bash the crown of Daisuke’s skull into the wall, make him bleed tenfold for how he did to the Kaiser, let him struggle and wriggle in his arms, hurt him over and over again and maybe let him taste the whip he loves so much, practically begging for it when he cries so the Kaiser will choose to whip his mouth. And then, after all this, after the violence and the cruelty and the feeling of power surging through his fingertips as he digs his hands into the cartilage of Daisuke’s small throat, will the Kaiser partake of his lips once more.

An explosion not too far away shakes the ground. Past the mountains and clearing the clouds in the sky. Something speeds past, cutting through the air as sharp as a dagger.

How lucky.

The Kaiser felt like he had his bottom bit clean off. Daisuke is just lucky. Luck itself could not be controlled.

As if prepared, like it was luck manifested and insisted—a hand encircling Daisuke’s wrist, and he's hoisted up on the back of a Pegasmon in quick succession. Pegasmon. That kid. Takaishi Takeru.

Perfect timing.

Daisuke sits with his back to that boy, a brilliant and utterly disrespectful grin on his face. “Happy Valentine's!”

Then, he is gone. There are no Airdramon or other winged Digimon under the Kaiser’s control that make haste to chase after them. The Kaiser does not allow it, doesn't think he can even give the order for now as he's suddenly having issues voicing orders when he's busy trying to stop the bleeding of his mouth.

How smart. For an insect. If he'd actually planned it with that intention. He doesn't seem to be very bright, so the Kaiser wouldn't put the idea that he'd simply bitten him out of pure vengeance. Either way, luck had played in Daisuke’s favor today—but it will not next time.

Valentine's day, he'd said. February 14th, 2002.

Only a handful of months after Ichijouji Ken denied his humanity and the world he'd been born into, and his ascension as the Digimon Kaiser, had he been kissed for the first time.

Just as a normal boy would.

Motomiya Daisuke’s teeth, stained in red, are sure to leave another scar on the Kaiser’s bottom lip.

February 14th, 2002.

The pass of time eluded Ichijouji Ken.

Has that much time really passed?

“It's not like I was actually going to let him die,” he mutters.

He'll have Wormmon clear up the prepared dinner. He'd even bothered to tell his servant Digimon to get Daisuke a chair so he could sit with him, instead of rightfully eating on the floor. Now look at how his thoughtfulness was repaid. His romantic evening plans are entirely screwed over, and all previous plans of giving Daisuke the kiss he wanted over dinner were thrown out the window at the same time the Kaiser ordered the whole table to be discarded in the same fashion.

Daisuke’s taste still lingers in his mouth. Right next to the flood of blood under his tongue. The Kaiser keeps his lips shut, and sucks on his teeth.

“Please tell me you got it over with,” Miyako begs. She's clinging onto Daisuke’s jacket, pulling and pushing on the fabric.

“He had to have been successful,” Iori says nervously. “I'm not sure we could power through his base like that again.”

"We've been keeping track of time," Takeru says, a smile playing over his face. "Fitting that you'd finish it up by the final hour."

Daisuke frowns. “Of course we can bulldoze through! But we won't have to, because I kissed the Kaiser!”

“Really? That's great, Daisuke!” Miyako laughs, joyfully slinging an arm over the boy as Daisuke wobbles and laughs along with her.

Daisuke smiles, if a bit wonky. “Yeah! It's great, but… You know, it's not that great.”

“Because you had to kiss the Digimon Kaiser,” Iori supplies.

Daisuke blushes, looking worriedly to the side. “Yes. Still, let's move on as quickly as possible about this and never mention it again.”

V-mon comes to hug his arm. The force makes them both reel over, before being pushed back onto their feet by Armadimon. “I'd love to tease you about it as well, but I think I'm just as freaked out as you are, Daisuke.”

“There's nothing to tease!” Daisuke cries out. “Kissing that guy was the worst experience of my life! Felt like—like maggots crawling all over my face!”

“Oh, I don't know, Daisuke-kun. You seemed to be really into kissing up the Kaiser when I got there.”

Daisuke shrieks, tears streaming on his face as he attempts to land a few good ones across Takeru’s chest, which the latter effortlessly dodges while laughing.

“No, I wasn't! It was just so nasty and awful that I was just frozen for a little, okay. And also! I kept telling him to get some gum or something because does he even brush his teeth!? His mouth smelled like a wet foot marinated in a dirty sock! Not only that, but… Ouch!” Daisuke covers his mouth, tingling with pain.

“What's up?” Hikari asks, putting a hand on his opposing shoulder as she comes to lean over him.

Daisuke removes his hands, sticking his tongue out. Almost immediately, a bead of blood rolls down a cut on the tip of his tongue, mixing with saliva.

“Ouch,” Hikari winces. "I'm just glad this is all over. It was so terrible looking for you under a timer like that..."

Nobody mentions that they had hurriedly went back to find Valenmon before continuing on their journey for Daisuke, in order to ask more questions about Daisuke's predicament. Despite the symptoms of low body temperature and dizziness may suggest, the actual cause of death would be an explosion from the inside of Daisuke's chest. Straight gore every where. It's good to just celebrate like this.

Daisuke hurriedly pats the edge of his sleeve over the cut. While the bleeding hadn't stopped, it was at least a lot less than before. “I don't remember biting myself. It might've been from the Kaiser.”

Horrified, Takeru gapes. “Daisuke-kun. All Valenmon said was to kiss him. Not make out with him!”

“I didn't! Nobody put their tongues in anybody’s mouths!" Daisuke insists. “It was probably when I was kissing him and he suddenly started, like, choking me while he was kissing me. Because when he choked me, he kind of pushed and made the kiss a lot deeper, and then—”

Miyako screams. “I don't wanna hear it!!”