BAM!

Disclaimer: You know what? No! I refuse to bend to your evil government ways! I DISCLAIM NOTHING!

Ken gave a light sigh as he stared at the worksheet in front of him. The page was still blank, his pencil lying forgotten at the desk corner. It was pretty easy stuff, but at that moment his mind couldn't be farther from Physics. His legs itched to run, to feel the soccer ball against his foot. He glanced out the window for the thousandth time that class, yearning to be out in the light drizzle that still fell over the city.

The final bell of the day rang and Ken leapt to his feet so fast he knocked his chair over. He shoved his books in his bag, gave the teacher a polite bow, and tore out of the door toward the soccer field. A few minutes later he was walking across the field, the rain pattering lightly against his wig. He was glad the makeup used to feminize him was water proof.

"Hey, Rein!" Ken turned around to see Daisuke jogging across the field toward him, grass splashing beneath his feet. Ken waved, a grin jumping to his face.

Daisuke slowed to a walk as he reached Ken and began stretching, preparing for the tryout. Ken followed suit, loosening up his legs and core, getting his blood pumping and his muscles warmed up. He had gone through the routine so many times before it was second nature to him now.

"Ready to blow these guys away?" Daisuke asked, motioning to the small horde of boys making their way to the field.

"You know it," Ken replied, his voice sounding high-pitched in his ears. The Institute had installed some sort of voice alter-er directly into his voice box. He had been told that the surgery was easy and harmless, but it still worried him every time he spoke. He hoped it was reversible.

The coach came into view across the field, accompanied by... Ken let out a groan as he recognized Tomida striding along arrogantly. Ken had spent the whole of a minute talking to the boy, and had quickly grown to dislike him. Which said something about Tomida - Ken was rarely quick to judge someone. Making Ken out to be his personal property probably didn't help the matter though.

Daisuke cursed beside him as he spotted Tomida. "I should have known..." he muttered.

"Hmm?" Ken raised an eyebrow. How could he have known that a bully like Tomida was on the soccer team?

"That's how we met," Daisuke explained shorty. "I was kicking the ball around, and he asked to join. He's... well, to be frank he's amazing." Ken could tell that that pissed Daisuke off to no end.

"We'll just have to see how amazing he really is," Ken said in a cool voice. His name was famous amongst more than a few soccer teams in the district. Come to think of it, he remembered romping the field with the North Narita team back in his emperor days. He'd beaten them in the preliminaries for the Junior Japanese Soccer Cup. They had been none too happy at being beaten by a bunch of middle schoolers.

"Oh, hello," the coach said when he spotted Daisuke and Ken standing patiently. "Can I help you two?"

Tomida's eyes practically popped when he saw Ken with Daisuke. The expression quickly turned to a furious glare, directed at Daisuke. Daisuke seemed to notice too. His fists clenched, and he leaned forward, almost challengingly.

"We'd like to try out for the soccer team," Ken explained hurriedly, before the two boys began trading blows. "If that's alright with you."

"Of course!" the coach exclaimed. "We're always looking for fresh players. Just let me inform the team, and we'll get started."

As the coach moved off toward the cluster of boys stretching at the field's center, Ken noticed Tomida and Daisuke move off a little ways. Neither boy looked at all happy.

Ken followed with his arms crossed. He didn't much like confrontation, but something he hated even more was bullying. He knew Daisuke could handle it easily on his own, but when it was about him, Ken wasn't about to just stand back and watch.

"-warned you to stay away from her," Ken heard Tomida growl as he approached the older boy from behind. "I don't want to have to warn you again. She's mine."

"I'm not anyone's, Tomida," Ken said coolly. Tomida jumped slightly and turned around, obviously surprised to see Ken standing there.

"Oh... Rein," Tomida suddenly put on his most charming smile. "I didn't see you there. I don't think you quite understood what we were talking about. Daisuke and I were just having a friendly chat about... a card down at the game shop. You see, we both play the same card game, and-"

"Right," Ken cut through Tomida's rambling. "Just don't get any ideas."

"Don't worry about me, my Lady," Tomida bowed and stalked off, obviously frustrated. Ken watched him go with a frown. He would be trouble, Ken could sense it.

"Thanks," Daisuke broke the short silence. "I don't know what that guy's problem is."

"I've met guys like that before," Ken replied with a sigh. "They're never fun to deal with."

Daisuke opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the coach called to them and waved them over. Ken jogged to where the rest of the team stood expectantly. He could see a couple of the boys eyeing him up and down, either trying to determine whether he'd be any good or checking him out. He even caught one staring at his breasts. God, that could get annoying fast...

"We'll test your skills with a scrimmage," the coach explained. "You'll both be on the same team. I want to see how well you work together, as well as with the other players. Which spot do you usually play?"

"Left-wing forward," Daisuke said confidently.

"And you?"

"Centre," Ken replied, a little nervous. He had never had to ask for the spot before - that was where all his coaches had placed him without second thought.

The coach gave him a slightly skeptical look, but nodded anyway. "Alright, let's go."

As Ken moved to take his place on the field, he heard Tomida say, "Better score a goal on me or your out," as he passed by Daisuke, taking his spot in the opponent's goal. Ken placed hands against his knees, squeezing them tight. With a little effort he pushed all thoughts and frustrations away, clearing his mind of everything but the game.

The whistle blew, and Ken was a blur. He pulled the ball back behind him, dodging the opponent's centre lithely. His feet danced the wet grass as he dribbled the ball up the field. A second later another player moved to check him, and he passed the ball over to Daisuke, who had found an open spot further up the field.

Ken wasted no time in moving further up the field, dodging players with ease. He found it a little hard to run in his school shoes and skirt, but that didn't stop him from leaving the opponent players behind him. Daisuke, seeing that Ken was already open and primed for a shot on net, launched the ball in the air and passed it skillfully over a defense's head.

Feeling the ball against his fake breasts, Ken let it drop back to his feet and reeled back. In goal, Tomida grinned at him confidently, urging him to make a shot on net.

The ball soared as Ken kicked it, and Tomida leaped to intercept. It streaked through the corner of the net in a flash, missing Tomida's hands by a foot. As he landed hard in the wet grass, Ken could hear the larger boy curse. Tomida's type never liked it when "their girl" was able to beat them at something. Especially not sports. Ken couldn't help but smirk.

"Amazing coordination!" the coach called from the sidelines. "First to three, I think."

The ball was brought back to center field, and Ken prepared himself once again for the game.

"You were amazing!" Daisuke exclaimed, his hands balled in fists as he waved them excitedly. "I mean, really awesome!"

"Thanks," Ken said. He had heard this from Daisuke after more than a few games, but every time he couldn't help but blush.

"Did you see the look on Tomida's face after I scored that last goal?" Daisuke continued to rave. "Man, he must have been pissed!"

"We do seem to work well together," Ken nodded. Of course, he knew the reason why. Playing soccer for years together had taught them how to work almost as one person. Today Daisuke's body seemed to have instinctively cued it to the fact that it was playing with Ken.

Daisuke shook his head in disbelief. "But seriously, Rein. You were awesome. You play as well as a friend of mine back home, and he's the best I've ever seen."

The coach had accepted them on the team with what could only be called glee, a keen twinkle in his eye. Now they were walking back toward their apartments, which happened to be not too far from each other. Ken could help but smile at how quickly he had been able to befriend Daisuke. It had been a lot easier than he had expected.

"Tomida's face though!" Daisuke began to crack up again, folding his hands behind his head. "Did you see-"

"Ah!" Ken suddenly interrupted, stopping on the spot. His entire face flushed bright red, and he had to remind himself to breath. That had not... it didn't... not to him...

Daisuke continued on for a few more steps before realizing Ken had stopped and, turning around, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Someone..." Ken found that he couldn't say it aloud without feeling like his ears were aflame. "Someone just pinched my butt." It still stung too.

Daisuke stared at Ken for a moment, and then his hands were fists once more, this time swaying out of aggression instead of excitement. "What the hell!" he said aloud to the crowd of people pushing by. A few of them glanced his way with raised eyebrows.

"Daisuke..." Ken mumbled. He was already embarrassed. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to them.

"No, whoever the hell did that needs a serious smack to the head." Daisuke began to stalk back in the other direction, as though he'd already spotted his target.

Grabbing Daisuke's arm, Ken dug his feet into the cement and tried his best to hold his friend in one place. "Daisuke! He's long gone by now! Come on."

With an annoyed grunt Daisuke stopped, still glaring at the crowd of people along the street.

"Who the hell does that?" Daisuke muttered as they started walking again. "I mean..." He seemed at a loss for words.

Ken couldn't help but rub the sore spot on his bottom. It seriously had been rude, but he hadn't seen who had done it. He wondered if it was a normal occurrence for girls.

"Seriously, pinching someone's ass," Daisuke continued, as though it had been him pinched. "If I ever get my hands on him..."

"It's alright, Daisuke," Ken assured the redhead. "I was just startled, that's all."

"But it was rude!"

"I'm aware," Ken replied, voice surprisingly calm. "But even if we had caught him, we couldn't just beat the crap out of him in public."

"We could have stalked him and done it in private."

Ken raised an eyebrow.

"Or, you know," Daisuke shrugged. "Handed him over to the pinching police?"

"Aha," Ken smiled. "Your logic as flawless as always, I see."

"As always?" It was Daisuke's turn to smile and raise an eyebrow. "And how would you know about my logic?"

Oops. "Oh, I can tell," Ken covered smoothly, punctuating with a mocking smirk.

"Uh huh. I see how it is. I'll have you know I'm a veritable genius."

"Oh, big words. A genius, eh?"

"Quite."

"Indubitably?"

"Foshizzle, my grizzle."

The way Daisuke said that caused Ken to suddenly stop and double over in laughter, much to the chagrin of those walking behind him.

"Daisuke... that was... what the hell," Ken said between gasps of air.

Daisuke started chuckling slightly. "It wasn't that funny," he said, his chuckles quickly beginning to break into laughter.

Ken tried to reply, but couldn't. It really hadn't been that funny. Maybe he was just happy to be spending time with Daisuke again, or... or something. He couldn't think right then.

A few minutes of unexplained laughter later found Ken breathing hard, holding the stitch in his left side. People stared at them as they passed, but he ignored them. He straightened, trying to talk through the after-giggles.

"My apartment is just down this way," he explained, pointing down one of the roads leading off the intersection they'd stopped at. "I'll see you in homeroom tomorrow?"

"Sounds good," Daisuke nodded with a wave. "See ya then, Rein."

The walk to his apartment only took a short five minutes. He opened the door and slipped his shoes off with a slight sigh of relief - the day had taken more out of him than he'd expected, and girl's shoes were tighter than they should be.

"Ken!" a sudden voice exclaimed, and Ken had the sudden instinct to duck and run. A second later his mother zoomed around the corner, trapping him in the apartments small entryway. "You're home!"

"That I am, mother," Ken said with a slight smile. Somehow, he knew what was coming.

"How was your day? Did you have fun? Did the teachers accept you? Did you make any new friends? Did you get raped? Did you get picked on? Did-"

"Mom!" Ken interrupted, slightly daunted at the barrage of questions. "The day went fine."

"Oh..." somehow his mother managed to look slightly sheepish. "That's good then."

"I met Daisuke," Ken mentioned as he began to pull his coat off and move further into the apartment.

"Did he recognize you?" Ken raised and eyebrow, and his mother shook her head slightly. "No, I suppose he wouldn't. How is he, then?"

"He's fine."

"Anything else interesting, hun?"

"Tried out for the soccer team."

"Oh?"

"We both got on, with relative ease."

"Figures," his mother said that rather offhandedly. Ken raised an eyebrow again as he dug an apple out of the fruit basket and took a bite. His mother smiled and explained, "I've seen you play, hun, and the way Daisuke raves about your... what were his words? Ah, 'mad skills', I believe. Something tells me the team for the Japanese soccer league would accept you if you tried for them."

Ken had to chuckle at that. His mother would probably think him the perfect candidate for the next moon landing, if anyone asked. And if that person didn't actually intend on putting Ken in that kind of danger. He couldn't ask for a better mother.

"I'll be in my room," he said lightly, turning in that direction.

"Dinner is at five," his mother called after him.

"Alright."

Closing his bedroom door behind him, Ken flicked on the computer and waited for it to boot up. Then the first thing he did was check e-mails. Five new ones, whoa.

The first three were from Hikari, Iori, and Miyako, all asking him how his first day went and whether he had seen Daisuke yet. The fourth was from Takeru, and it read:

Hey, how went your first day? Catch lots of guy's attention? Heh. Just wanted to ask that (though I think Hikari probably spammed the crap out of you making sure you were all right) and let you know about a funny coincidence. I'm heading up to Narita this Friday afternoon for basketball, and we'll be playing the North Narita HS team. We'll have to try and get together. I sent Daisuke a heads up too, so somehow we'll have to make the excuse that you're a friend I used to know, or something. Unless you two have already ran off into the sunset together. :P

Anyway, wish ya luck with the experiment!

Takeru

Ken smiled. It would be awesome to see his friend again. He only hoped he could see the others soon as well. Maybe they could set something up in the Digital World if he, Koushirou, and Gennai could get the computers to let them through again. They were so close...

Moving down to the fifth and final e-mail, he had to give a slight start. It was from Daisuke, and if the time stamp was right, the boy must have doubled back after Ken left and used the library computer again. The email was dated for not five minutes prior. Clicking on it, he read:

Ken! Ha! I got to the computer again! And this time I have a pass. Let's see the library lady chase me away this time!

I'm doing fine. Glad to hear everyone else is doing fine as well. I should send them all e-mails while I'm here. Thanks for covering my ass last time by the way.

How goes work on the whole Digital porting thing? It would be awesome to see you guys again, and I was thinking that the Digital World would be a lot easier than the train. You said that Gennai said that he had finally been able to fix something on his end, so it should just be a quick programming problem, right? I wish I could help, but I don't even know if I understand what I just said, let alone everything else. I should have taken Koushirou up on his offer to teach me a thing or two.

Anyway, anything new with you? I met a girl at school today. Funny thing is, she's new too. And totally cute. Maybe something more will come off it... but maybe not. At least I've made a friend, right? I guess you don't get the crest of friendship for nothing. I knew it wouldn't be long before people became attracted to my awesomeness and came seeking my friendship.

Oh, also: what colour goes well with blue eyes? You have them, so I'm hoping you know. Just wondering.

Talk to you soon!

Daisuke

Cute! Ken supposed he should take it as a compliment, but come on. He was at least a little hot, right? He glanced at the standing mirror in his bedroom and cocked his head a little to the side. Yeah, he would date her if he weren't her. And she was most definitely hot.

And why did Daisuke want to know what colour matched his eye colour? Was the buffoon picking out bikinis for "Rein" already? Ken couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh. When Daisuke found out that he was Rein, the redhead was going to be so embarrassed!

I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading, and for reviewing!