Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Other Side of the Mirror ❯ Descent by Love ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: Sugah

<center>~The Other Side of the Mirror~

~Part 4~</center>

He woke at the touch of a hand shaking his shoulder. Blearily, he made a waving-off motion and sat up, still clutching the flame-scribed jacket to his shoulders. Daisuke leaned over him, a serious expression in place, and motioned for him to be quiet.

A glance at the cave's entrance offered a pale orange light, growing faintly stronger as he watched.

It was dawn. Ken looked back to Daisuke, nodding, and wondered if he could stand. He managed to get his legs underneath him, moving stiffly from sleeping on the floor and the previous days, and saw a hand flicker in front of him.

Gratefully, he clasped his own fingers around the wrist and felt the tug of Daisuke's strength pulling him upwards. Muscles groaned in protest, and he was hitched over like an old man, but he was up. By his feet, Wormmon uncurled from his warm little sleeping ball, and without surprise, crawled over to the waiting Raidramon.

"You okay?" Daisuke whispered next to his ear. Ken nodded, at once acutely aware of the rising blush and the similar feelings from before, and paused to shove them aside as he handed back the jacket. Now was not the time to indulge in the faint bit of attraction the other boy held.

~Perhaps never,~ he thought with a cheerless glance.

"Let's go, then. We need to reach a portal, and I think there's an old one only a few miles away."

Ken made a curious expression, and held up his hands in a typing motion.

"Huh? Oh, you mean email?" Daisuke grinned, a faint glint of teeth in the darkness, and shrugged sheepishly. "I left my d-terminal at home, cuz no one ever emails me."

Ken wagged his finger in a "Bad Daisuke" way, and stuck his tongue out, before leaning back in a stretch that involved a grimace, and a quick rub from his fingers..

"Hey! It's not my fault!" The redhead glared back at the spike-haired boy, and reached out to pat Raidramon's armored shoulder. "You coming or what? We got portals waiting!"

With a shy nod, a simple ducking of his head, Ken stood before the black Digimon and bowed to the partners, trying to show his thanks. When he straightened, Daisuke was already perched on the back, one hand curled around the back-flowing horns, the other stretched out for Ken to take.

Without a second glance, Daisuke yanked him up and forward; Ken had no choice but to scramble aboard behind the smaller redhead and wrap his arms around the waist as Raidramon turned silently, with Wormmon seated fearlessly on his head, and exited the low-lying cave.

For a long while they were simply flying over the ground with breathtaking speed. Ken was forced to hold on for what seemed to be an eternity, his arms aching with the strain since he couldn't help the rolling bounces that shifted the two humans together with every step. There was no other handholds but the grip his aching legs were maintaining, and the arms around Daisuke's waist.

~He's so warm,~ he mused, finally admitting his weariness and resting his head on the shoulder. Daisuke didn't seem to mind, and the jacket was smooth under his cheek. Wind rushed by his face, stinging a few shallow scratches and making his hair flair wildly.

Daisuke turned his head a moment later, one hand stretched out in front of him to show Ken the still-small speck of a portal. "That one leads to the school near my house, and it's Saturday, so there's no one there," he shouted back. "We'll be out of here in no time!"

"It looks alright," Daisuke made a faint 'hmming' noise, and tapped his chin as he knelt by the simple TV set. The screen was blank, unblemished by cracks or the like. Ken was eyeing it strangely, although he was quite familiar with the process of entering and exiting the Digiworld, he wasn't quite sure how it'd work without a second D-3.

"Well?"

Ken looked up to find the strangely luminous brown eyes fixed on him and shrugged, holding out his empty hands.

"I know, but…I think it'll work! Let's try, at least." Daisuke motioned him closer, and took hold of his wrist, to Ken's faint discomfort. The yellow leather was warm and rough on his wrists.

"Digiport open!" he cried, and Ken covered his face with his free hand at the light that suddenly beamed forth and made him feel like he was falling.

Daisuke raised his head, counting heads. ~Well, Wormmon's here…but where's Ken?~ Somehow, he had landed on the only chair in the room, upside down until he had slithered off into a heap on the floor. Chibimon bounced around him in excited squeaking, and Wormmon was looking at the desks and blank computers with a surprised awe-stricken face.

~Must've never been out in the real world before,~ Daisuke thought, and rubbed his shoulder from where the armrest of the chair had gouged at him. "Wormmon? Where'd Ken go? Did he make it?"

The green worm nodded, faintly blank in the eyes from the shock of traveling between worlds, and pointed with a single magenta claw. "He's right here."

Daisuke clambered to his feet, reminding himself to use a place that had pillows next time, and peered around the desk where apparently Ken had landed. ~Great place…he gets the floor and I get the chair…~ He peeked over the top.

"…oh…!!"

With a delayed gasp of alarm, Daisuke whirled himself around and faced the front, his face turned a furious red, and squeezed his eyes against the pale images that danced through his head.

Oh yeah. Ken had defiantly made it.

Just without his clothes.

~Uh..uh…wha….~

The white-skinned blue-haired boy was sprawled on his side; he was curled up like a cat in the shadows of the desk, apparently out from the ride. Nothing about him had changed, not even the spike-wild hair. There were the bruises, and shallow cuts still marking the body, but the shredded jumpsuit had definitely stayed in the digital world.

~I forgot…he's technically never been in the real world…Idiot!~ he told himself. An image of the curved legs and hips teased him and he briskly shook his head. ~Well, no use getting all hot and bothered…~

"Um, guys, make sure he's alright…I'm going to get him some clothes…" With that said, he scooted forward, his head held stiffly and forcing himself not to look as he edged out of the door and began to run down the halls.

~Damn …~

By the time he made it back, he was clutching a clean set of gym clothes consisting of a tee shirt, a spare pair of boxers, sweatpants and sneakers, Ken was awake and still behind the desk.

"You there?" Daisuke called out softly, and watched as slim hand waved over the top of the counter. "I've got some clothes here, and I'm gonna toss'm to you, okay?"

Again the hand waved, this time shaking slightly, and Daisuke wondered what the pore kid must've thought when he woke up, naked and alone. Again, the image of a slender figure shimmered in his head, and Daisuke growled silently to banish it. He tossed the sweatpants over the edge after wadding the underwear into a ball and wrapping them up, and waited, the sneaks dangling from one hand.

After a moment of scuffling, the pale face and hair rose into view. The sweatpants fit somewhat loosely, being that Ken was skinnier, and slightly taller, but the main thing was that they fit.

Daisuke gave him a cheerful smile and tossed him the shirt, trying to look like the previous events hadn't mattered. "Well, let's get going."

Ken gave him a faded smile, and tugged at the pants with a guarded look. A faint pink tinge touched his cheeks. ~What happened to my clothes?~ he thought, and felt a horrifying rush of embarrassment that Daisuke might have seen him. To hide it, he slipped into the shirt with a faint inhalation, noting that the shirt had the faint scent of the owner, and felt his blush return twofold.

~What's wrong with me? I shouldn't be getting upset or flustered or…or…~

~I shouldn't be, period.~

"Hey…earth to Ken…Ken…Kee~een…"

Blinking, Ken shrugged, and slipped on the sneakers. *What?*

"Dude, you space out, didja know that?"

A nod. *Yes.*

Daisuke gave him a cautious look and snorted. "Whatever. We gotta get going, though." He held out a bag for Chibimon to jump into, offering it to Wormmon after a second. The worm looked at Ken, who motioned him forward, and then carefully crawled inside.

"This is your captain speaking!" Daisuke snickered as he zipped the bag shut. "Please keep all hands, paws and ears inside the ride, we'll be heading out shortly!" Muffled giggling came from the bag, and Daisuke carefully slung it over his shoulder, giving Ken a look.

"Well, Ken? Shall we?"

Ken nodded, his gaze curiously guarded, and followed him out the door.

They went unnoticed in the back of a bus, seated in the last seat and half-hidden by someone's grocery bag. Daisuke lounged against the uncomfortable backing, hard plastic over metal, and cradled the bag in his lap. Occasionally, there were small shifting movements, and he assumed that the two Digimon were merely re-adjusting. Every so often he glanced in Ken's direction, noting with a faint touch of sadness that while he had a lot of the memories of the Kaizer, and his real-world self, Ken hadn't seen any of this before.

It was unnerving, to think that the boy, perfect-looking in every way, was merely a creation. Daisuke's mind had a lot of problems coping with that fact; to him, Ken looked human, acted human…felt human.

He was leaning against the window, his forehead pressed against the cold glass and stared outside with a quiet retrospective view, as if he didn't want to break the protective shied he had tried to conceal himself with.

~I can read him,~ Daisuke pointed out to himself. ~I can tell what he thinks, somehow. Like I know what he's going to say.~ This thought upset him almost as much as the thought of Ken being surreal. Was he psychic, then? Or maybe it was that Ken was just speaking without words…and Daisuke could hear them.

Odd, indeed.

The redhead took a moment to study the profile of the boy, curious about his life in the real world, who he had been, what he had done, once. Curious to just who the Kaizer had been, or might be, now. His eyes traced the fall of the Kaizerish hair, the wild tousled spikes that defied every law of fashion, and yet remained alluring and somehow… Somehow right for the boy.

~Kindness suits him,~ he thought, and remembered the careful way Ken had carried Wormmon, and the way he had watched things. The way he had smiled. Soft glances, an attitude almost polar opposite of what he had witnessed in the Digital world. Something so un-Kaizer like.

~I don't understand it…if the Kaizer was like this all the time…why was he trying to rule the Digiworld? Why at all?~

Daisuke followed the fine curve of the cheek, the slight indentation of a childhood dimple. He watched and filed away the small nuances for later examination; he was filled with the need to "know" the boy who had ruled. His eyes were a soft violet that could go a hard steely blue when threatened, when angry. At other times, they shifted almost to a pure indigo, like the color of his hair.

The color of his eyes had been indigo…at the waterfalls. Daisuke restlessly leaned his head against the slim headrest in the back, and unconsciously licked his dry lips.

Unlike the indigo color, which signified pain, sadness most likely, his eyes were a soft violet color now. Did that mean he was happy? Satisfied? Content?

Daisuke couldn't tell. Every so often the eyes would blink slowly, and he had a brief encounter with the image of long dark lashes against the soft skin of his cheek; he could only see the profile, and from the angle, Ken's lashes looked soft and thick. Almost like a girl, but not, in the same sense.

~Beautiful…~ up floated the word from the places in his head that Daisuke usually shied away from. ~He is…~ he admitted a moment later, unable to deny the thought, unable to wish it away.

Almost fiercely, he followed that train of thought with a second. ~And he's got no one else here…I'm the only friend he has…~

Bitterness twisted into his heart, painful and cleansing at the same time. ~He needs me… At least he does… The others just put up with me…~

~But I don't mind…I don't mind not fitting in…~

Ken shifted a bit in his seat, his legs oddly close to Daisuke's own, and the redhead wondered, briefly, what the boy would taste like, if he kissed him.

He didn't bother to deny the strong pull he felt for the half-wild silenced boy. Even as the Kaizer, he felt this strange attraction. Back then he had buried it in the ever-present problem of the spires and controlled Digimon. Now…

Now, he had nothing to hide it behind, and he wondered if that was a bad thing. Boy weren't supposed to like boys, right? They were meant to marry the girl of their dreams, the One, and have kids and a dog, and maybe a hamster.

But… He couldn't see himself doing that… Maybe it was nature, or maybe it was from something else, but Daisuke just didn't feel that way.

~I could care a lot about him, though~ he realized, and wondered at himself. He recognized the attraction, recognized the need for the attention of the violet-eyed male, and wondered just where that would lead him.

Daisuke wasn't one to shut away his feelings. He only ignored them, if it was a problem. In this case…Ignoring it was an ability unable to comply.

~Like I can do anything,~ he thought, and smiled wistfully without realizing it. ~I'll just…watch him, and maybe someday…~

~Heh…someday…who knows…~

"Anyone home?"

Not surprisingly, the halls seemed to echo with the call, and Daisuke stepped aside to let Ken enter the apartment, then closed and latched the door. He dropped the bag with the two silent Digimon, and unzipped the bag with a grin. "Hey, Chibi, icecream!" he proclaimed, and upended the bag.

Chibimon tumbled out with a squeal, followed by Wormmon's squeak of protest. Ken smiled faintly, and held out his hands for the blue and green pair.

"Alright, the kitchen's through that door; I gotta go to the bathroom," Daisuke informed, sliding out of his shoes and slinging his jacket over the nearest chair. Ken straightened with the two Digimon in his hands and nodded. Daisuke dashed out of sight, and the wild-haired child was left on his own to puzzle out the apartment layout.

Without much difficulty, he entered the kitchen and fumbled for a light after setting the Digimon on the table.

"Icecream! Icecream!" Chibimon was bouncing excitedly as the light flickered on, and watching Ken with big expectant eyes. Ken smiled at him and turned around to find the fridge to his right. Carefully, he opened the door and peered inside to see if there was anything else edible; he wasfeeling surprisingly hungry.

On the table, Wormmon gave them both a curious glance. "What's icecream?"

"Icecream's the best!" Chibimon gave him a disbelieving stare. "Didn't your human ever give you icecream?"

Unnoticed by the small blue dragon, Ken started and flinched slightly as he rummaged through the freezer.

"No…" Wormmon shook his head sadly.

"That's okay, cuz we have lots of icecream!"

Apparently, Chibimon was right, Ken noticed and shrugged away the sense of guilt over never bringing Wormmon to his world. The freezer contained several cartons of several flavors, most of them full.

He glanced over his shoulder to find Daisuke sauntering into the kitchen, carrying a towel in his hands, and began to line up the cartons on the counter. He half-shrugged, and pointed to the icecream and then to the two on the table.

"Oh, what's your favorite, Wormmon?"

"I don't know…"

"He's never had icecream!" Chibimon seemed to find this an appalling thought; the large crimson eyes seemed to overflow with sympathy tears, and Daisuke smiled.

"Never? Well, he can have one of everything, then." He came up close behind Ken and reached up into the lowest shelf and grabbed two bowls. Clean spoons where snatched from the pile of dishes, and Ken retreated to watch him dish up two sizable bowls of the stuff and place them down.

He raised a brow when Chibimon seemed to dive into his, and encouraged Wormmon to try his own with a small nod of his head. ~I can't believe I've never given him icecream…~

A hand wrapped around his elbow, and he jumped. Daisuke's smiling eyes met his, and the boy jerked his head to the table. "Come on, sit down."

Confused, Ken slid up into the chair and watched Daisuke wet the towel under the faucet. A small pile of First-Aid equipment was lying nearby; Ken began to wonder just what Daisuke was going to do, when he returned with the damp rag in his hands.

"Here, hold still," the redhead admonished, and began dabbing gently at the crusted scabs on his face and neck. He was favored with a concentrating close-up view of Daisuke's face, the way his eyes mellowed to a warm honey brown.

~I must look a mess,~ Ken blinked once or twice as the cloth moved gently. *That bad?* his raised eyebrows seemed to say.

"I'm just cleaning off the gunk. You're dirty, and you need to have these checked out. Don't need any infection, right?"

Ken nodded dutifully, acutely aware of the pressure of Daisuke's fingers on his chin and the warmth of his close body as the redhead worked his way down the neck. The subtle scent that was Daisuke seemed to surround him; he was beginning to feel slightly dizzy, more than a little surreal.

"God…you got some pretty nasty bruises…"

Again, Ken nodded, but this time a little shudder had invaded the movement. The hand that was curled around the chin moved slightly. The fingers seemed to caress his skin as the rag swiped to a different spot.

"Um…I was thinking…If you're in a different body…does that mean there's a super evil Kaizer out there?"

The boy flinched under the cloth, and nodded again in a jerky manner.

"He did this, didn't he…" Daisuke scowled as more of the dirt wiped away. "Don't worry… I won't let him do it again…I…" His voice faded to a whisper as Ken reached up to grasp the hand that Daisuke was using to tilt his head, and pressed his cheek against it in an impulsive way of thanks. A scalding tear trailed down the bruised cheek, dampening the fingers.

"I promise."

*I know…*