Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Matter of Perspective ❯ Ken ( Chapter 2 )

DISCLAIMER: See previous parts.

A/N: Yes, I'm back with another chapter of this...monstrosity. Who knows? I might actually finish it at some point. In this installment, we find out what Daisuke has in mind and Koushirou makes an appearance. We're still not at the taito yet, but we're definitely making progress in that direction. There's some mention of it here. Daiken lovers will be interested to know that I'm really starting to enjoy the way they interact, so chances are you'll be seeing a real, purely daiken fic from me at some point in the near future.

"Okay," Ken said in a low voice. "I'm listening."

He had to speak quietly; they both did, because standing on a train at rush hour with about a hundred other people wedged in all around you isn't really the best place to discuss things of great importance. Whatever else this was, Ken felt pretty sure he could call it a thing of great importance. The way Daisuke had avoided looking at him ever since they put the condominium behind them, the way he avoided it now, seemed to agree with this assessment. It made Ken extremely nervous.

"Well, it's sort of hard to explain," Daisuke began diplomatically. His eyes were all over the place -- glancing off of strangers, passing over the fairly nonexistent scenery outside, hedging at his backpack and their digimon within, then finally settling on a spot just over Ken's left shoulder. Deliberately not looking him in the eyes. "Look, how long do you think you've known Taichi-senpai and the others? Approximately?"

It was a weird question, and not something he'd ever thought about before. Ken frowned with a quick burst of mental arithmetic. "Seven years, two months, three-and-a-half weeks. Give or take."

"Jesus. That's what approximate means to you?" But then he shook his head fiercely. As much of a scatterbrain as he usually was, Daisuke obviously wanted to stay on track here. "Never mind. I love your little quirks, I really do. Someday, I'll write a book about them. That's not the point. The point is that I've known Taichi-senpai longer than you. He got me into soccer back when I didn't even have any friends. I know he wasted a lot of time giving pointers to this dumb kid who used to follow him around like a lost puppy. Taichi-senpai is like the big brother I never had. And I've never had the chance to repay him."

Ken couldn't help feeling slightly confused at this stage. "Daisuke, I'm not following you. I mean, I can understand that you want to help Taichi-san, but I'm afraid I don't quite see how. Is Agumon going to wake up covered in blue and yellow stars?" Except that his itoshii hadn't really looked interested until Ken mentioned changing people... "You know, I don't think Taichi-san would really appreciate it if we tried that on him."

An odd, distant look. "Not on Taichi-senpai. On Yamato-san."

Was there anything good to say in response to that? He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, I can certainly picture Taichi-san getting a good laugh out of that -- but you might want to reconsider. Even someone with a keenly-developed sense of humor would have trouble in this case, and I'm not sure I think Yamato-san has a keenly-developed sense of humor..."

The Keeper of Kindness had adjusted to many peculiar changes since losing his prodigy status, but exasperation was still difficult to handle. Daisuke's incredulous gaze had the instant effect of shutting his mouth and making him feel stupid. "You weren't going to turn him blue, were you?" he ventured softly.

"No, Ken. I wasn't going to do anything. Hell, I barely even understood your explanation -- you really think I'm up to doing this by myself?"

This struck Ken as a typically Daisuke answer, but somehow, in spite of the abrasive tone, he felt slightly less like an idiot. "All right, then. What are we going to do?"

Daisuke actually laughed, but just as he opened his mouth to explain, a pleasant mechanical voice announced that they were now entering Odaiba Station. Smirking faintly, he shrugged and hitched up his backpack. "Well, you heard the lady -- ninth floor, children's apparel and ugly knickknacks for the tourists. Everybody off."

Caught unprepared, Ken had to hurry before the automatic doors slid shut and the train continued on to Nerima. This involved squeezing in front of people he would otherwise have rather not touched, and then chasing after a shock of cinnamon-colored hair in a crowd that smelled far too strongly of cigarettes. He caught his itoshii by the arm as they were almost out of the train station entirely, and dragged him to a stop.

"Daisuke! You never answered my question. What are we going to do?"

The other boy's eyes glittered and he said mysteriously, "Something that might end up being a lot more ridiculous than just turning him blue and yellow. But we'll see. Maybe it's not even possible."

"Cute." Ken bent over to catch his breath. "I don't suppose you feel like telling me where we're going, if not why?"

"Koushirou-san's apartment. This stuff sounds really complicated, like it might take a lot of memory or whatever -- so I figure we'd want all the latest in computer hardware and software and any other wares. Wetware? Whatever. If it's legal, he'll have it. If it's not legal, he can probably get it. Am I wrong?"

He blinked, still surprised after all this time. "No, Daisuke. You're not wrong. That was very astute. You know, you are really so much more intelligent than anyone gives you credit for."

"I know, but don't tell them. They'll start expecting it. Do you have your breath back yet, or are we standing here and not getting anything done a while longer?"

Indignant, Ken responded, "Well, if you hadn't tried to lose me in the train station..."

"Oh, I'm not complaining." An easy shrug of the shoulders, visible even from the indigo-haired boy's current viewpoint. "But I don't think you should have worn those shorts out of the house if you're planning to keep bending over like that. Some people are starting to stare."

Suddenly, he felt much more rested. "Well, we should probably get moving. If you want to get this project of yours underway, I mean. Which direction is Koushirou-san's condominium in?"

* * *

His socks were paisley; brown, white, and paisley. Ken found them just a little on the distracting side, but that was all right because he wanted to be distracted right now. He wanted to think about anything and everything other than what Daisuke had finally explained as being the purpose of this visit. The feet wearing those socks crossed at the ankle, and he got the distinct impression that Koushirou would have appreciated something distracting as well.

"Okay. Let me see if I understand this. You want to turn one of the other Chosen Children...into a girl. Because of Taichi-san?" he added, doubtfully. Or rather, more doubtfully. After all, Koushirou hadn't sounded particularly certain about the rest of it, either.

Somehow, in spite of everything, Daisuke still managed to keep a perfectly straight face. "Yes, that's right. Look, Koushirou-san: can we do it, or can't we? I know it sounds crazy -- "

"Sounds crazy?"

" -- all right, I know it is crazy. Still. This is important."

Koushirou took a moment to massage his temples. "Yes, so you keep saying. Would you care to explain why?"

There was a very long pause, as Daisuke looked to Ken for help and Ken looked back at him because he still hadn't explained and Koushirou wasn't the only one feeling curious at this point. The Bearer of Friendship dropped his head forward, sighed, and nodded slowly.

"Okay. I wanted this to be a surprise, but I guess you both deserve to know what I'm getting you into." He raked both hands through his hair and sighed again. "Taichi-senpai is in love with Yamato-san."

Whatever Ken may have felt on his own was overwhelmed by shock at Koushirou's indifferent shrug. "Yes," the redhead drawled. "Thank you, Daisuke-kun. As one of Taichi-san's better friends, I'm afraid that I find this announcement entirely self-evident. It doesn't particularly bother me, but I must register my deepest concerns as to the nature of your proposal. The last time I checked, I did get the general impression that no gay man would ever appreciate having the object of his affections changed into a woman."

"He's bisexual, actually -- not gay. But that's not the point." If Ken hadn't known better, he might have almost said Daisuke seemed disappointed at the lack of disbelieving hostility. "We're doing this for Taichi-senpai, not to him. The point is Yamato-san. Because I think he loves Taichi-senpai, too."

Now Koushirou hesitated; appeared skeptical once more.

"Koushirou-san, he does! You know he does. Come on, doesn't the whole thing just seem a little too perfect? What teenage guy actually goes out with the girl his dad likes?"

"His father likes Sora-san?"

Daisuke nodded, and chewed his lip for a few seconds. "Taichi-senpai told me. Apparently they had this conversation. Yamato-san's dad told him that Sora-san was a good girl. That her name went well with Ishida. That she reminded him of Yamato-san's mother." He looked at Koushirou pleadingly. "Yamato-san asked her out the next day."

"Daisuke-kun..."

"He wants to be normal, Koushirou-san. That's what I think. I can understand that -- everyone wants to be normal at some point in their lives, before they realize how little fun that is." Flash of the old smile. The smile he used to make all the time before he started making decisions that got people so close to being killed.

Maybe, Ken thought, Taichi smiled like that sometimes. Maybe Yamato was the only one who noticed. And maybe, as crazy as this whole thing sounded and looked and was, Daisuke had a point. From the expression on his face, Koushirou was entertaining similar thoughts.

"Hey. Surely if Yamato-san were heterosexual, he'd find some girl a little more interesting, right? No offense to her or anything."

It broke the tension; made them both laugh. Then Ken nodded, and Koushirou followed suit.

"Look," he said haltingly, "I love you more than anything, Daisuke. I don't want to be the one to ask this, but someone has to in a such a delicate situation. What if you're wrong?"

"If I'm wrong?" Daisuke had clearly thought of that already. "Then Yamato-san will stay with Sora-san because he really loves her and being a girl won't change that. They'll go on dates and hold hands and kiss tenderly and make me feel like an idiot for ever doubting them. But if I'm right, and he's only dating her because that's normal, then we'll be doing them both a huge favor." He sat up a little straighter then, smiling softly. "I just want to give Taichi-senpai a chance to be what's normal for Yamato-san. Who knows. Maybe he'll see things a little differently."

With raised eyebrows, Koushirou leaned back in his chair. "So, if you're right we make two people very happy. If you're wrong, there's no harm done. Goodness, Ken-kun -- how can we possibly turn him down?"

That was the question, wasn't it? For that one brief, shining moment, relaxing in Koushirou's apartment among the surprisingly-tasteful furniture, his itoshii actually seemed to have nothing but the purest motivations and a harmless but potentially very lucrative idea. Even thinking about refusal felt like denying three people that he cared for an opportunity they all needed and rightly deserved. He thought he had probably had his fill of senseless cruelty for one lifetime. Besides which, no one did puppy eyes quite like Motomiya Daisuke.

They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

TRANSLATIONS
-senpai: Upperclassman. An extra level of politeness, accorded in this case because Taichi is Daisuke's idol. Genuine suffix as used by him in the show itself.

End Part Two