WHEN FRIENDSHIP IS FORBIDDEN, LOVE PREVAILS

By kathlaida-princess

Summary: Story number one of the "What if...?" series. What if Takeru were a professional murderer and Kari was his target? Takeru Takaishi, captain of the secret alien Luna Group and professional murderer, is sent to Earth to destroy the reason of their disgrace, a young detective called Hikari Kamya. But his arrival brought an accident that may change his plans completely, throwing a lifetime of teachings out of the window. A small Takari that shows us that sometimes there are bad things that happen for good reasons. Takari and PataGato.

Disclaimer: This time, I just don't own the Digimon characters. The plotline and most of the places are mine!

Author's Notes: Hello, dear readers! Yes, this is another Takari story, but this one is completely AU. For a while now, I've been imagining a series of small, most of them light, Takari AU stories whose initial situation derives from a simple question beginning with "What if...". My main purpose is to create a happy ending for T.K. and Kari in every story, no matter how bad the situation is. The question of this story is "What if Takeru were a professional murderer and Kari was his target?" and I hope you do like this idea and, of course, this fic. You can give suggestions under the form of "What if..." questions in your reviews, I'd appreciate that a lot! :) Thank you for your time, here comes the story!

CHAPTER 1

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MURDERER

Many look up to the stars, to the infinitude of the universe, and see nothing but an endless sea of darkness and loneliness, never believing that someone, in that very moment, might be lost among those shiny dots, looking back at them.

How they are wrong…

The Earth, in all its beauty and uniqueness, is not unique at all when it comes to bearing life. Most of those stars one can look up to are surrounded by one or many life-bearing planets, filled to the brim with many different living beings, none of them really human, however alike us. The universe on its own is a humongous and very diverse ecosystem, with many wonders yet to be discovered. Or could we really believe that, with the little knowledge we have, we are alone in this universe?

And what kind of living beings are we talking about? Well, all kinds. They all are very similar in basic shape and biology to Earth's inhabitants, but each planet's specific environment has leaded them all to evolve differently from what we are used to see, making almost every imaginable creature exist. There are planets were they can't breathe oxygen, there are planets where creatures are completely made of all kinds of stone instead of flesh and bone, there are planets where water has been completely replaced by other liquids, there are planets whose living beings seem to have been taken from a horror movie and there are planets that are almost identical to Earth, except for their language, their politics, their geography.

Do each planet's inhabitants travel around space? Are there such things as UFOs? It's true, most planets have evolved so much in technology that they are able to go across the universe in (not flying saucers but) spaceships and meet other planets. In fact, the Earth is one of the youngest planets of said group, that is why space travel is still a distant perspective here.

Do those visitors mean us harm? Of course not. The Earth is relatively distant from other life-bearing planets, so there aren't many visitors, but those who come know how to respect us and usually keep away from trouble. But there are many humans who have contacted them and are aware of the actual enormity of the universe, and they help us to keep good relations with other planets. Planets, however, do not start wars against each other. One planet alone needs constant care and attention, a war would be a disaster to all. Still, keeping good relations is essential, especially when a planet needs help.

Our story first took place in a planet called Kalatheia, one of the most evolved life-bearing planets in the Milky Way. It was silver where the Earth is blue and it was grey where the Earth is green or brown. It was very prosperous and completely industrialized, but the obvious clarity of the sky showed no traces of pollution. It was ruled by Prince Fergus (now King), the only heir to the late king, who, some believed, had committed a terrible act of injustice before his death. Its inhabitants were very similar to humans, except for their unearthly pale skin-tone and their eyes with vertical pupils.

The planet was at peace, but a secret rebellious organization kept attacking it imperceptibly, wanting to make justice for the king's (believed) unfair decision of expelling them from Kalatheia a long time ago. That organization was called the Luna Group and had its headquarters in a gigantic yet undetected spaceship which constantly orbited the planet. All of them lived in the ship, with very different jobs and tasks. Some of them merely maintained the place while others thought of plans to attack Fergus's rule or raided the planet to steal the essential goods they needed. That's why there were many smaller ships connected to the main one.

One member of that third group was in one of those smaller spaceships, heading to Kalatheia. He had already crossed the planet's atmosphere and he was simply enjoying the beautiful view.

The sky really looked magnificent at that time of the night, when the industrialized part of Kalatheia was totally immerged in darkness and the millions of stars across the space provided its only natural light, reflected on his bright blue eyes. It was his great dream to explore those stars he knew filled with life, to one day be free to return home, wherever that might be. But Takeru's thoughts were interrupted by a monotonous, boring beep from the ship's control panel.

"Captain, we should be able to land now," an acute voice said.

"Yes, BatPig, I'm coming," Takeru answered, lazily coming to the front of the ship. His partner, who really fit his name, looked like an orange pig without a nose, but he hadn't a spiraled tail and his orange ears looked like bat wings. He had gorgeous blue eyes, just like his, and wore a small black cape with a red crescent-moon symbol printed on it (the mark of the Luna Group), also similar to his.

The creature looked at the young man and asked, "You can call me Patamon, I trust you that much. You look awful! Do you want me to land?"

The other replied, while sitting on the pilot's seat, "No need, Patamon. And I still remember the state of the last ship you landed!"

"I was sleepy that day! The general made me work a lot the previous night…"

Takeru rolled his eyes and removed the ship from automatic pilot, starting the landing sequence towards the crowded planet. He was probably completely used to that, since his movements seemed to flow out of him in a mechanical way. The many grey buildings were coming closer and closer and the young man approached a ship parking lot. As the air vessel gently touched the ground, Takeru reviewed the plans for the night in his mind. Get in, find an eligible victim, do his job, use the money to get supplies and discreetly return home. Home. Not that it had real meaning to him, but it was the most suitable word at the moment.

The young man covered his distinctive golden-blond hair with a broad hat, not to be recognized as a human among Kalatheia's inhabitants, which was part of his disguise. He took his cape off, which hid perfectly normal, casual yet classy clothing, and he put what seemed to be a button inside one of his pockets, very carefully. Before leaving, Takeru turned to Patamon, "I'm ready. Please, take care of the ship while I'm gone. I won't be long." There were no traces of emotion in his voice, but something about his eyes could let one know that he'd rather not do whatever he was doing. Just following orders...

The orange creature nodded and the handsome human left, under the night's protective cloak, towards a nearby nightclub across a labyrinth of dim light-filled streets. No one looked suspiciously at him, no one would ever know he didn't belong there.

The activity inside the nightclub was chaotic at that time of the night, the entire crowd moving like a frantic group of scared bugs in rhythm with the lively music. This was good for Takeru: the bigger the confusion, the easier his job.

He bypassed the horde towards the bar, keeping a circumspect eye out for possible victims and, as soon as he sat down on one of the stools, he found one. She was beautiful, with her pale skin, slender body, transparent eyes, pitch-black long hair and equally dark long dress, dancing like the others. And the young man could tell she was rich, very rich. Perfect.

First step: he had to attract her to him. The blonde looked again at her, but very noticeably this time, smiling both timidly and desirously to grab her attention. He was clearly experimented on this, for the woman returned the same lustful look immediately after. The two remained like this for about one minute, until Takeru was sure she was interested in him. He then beckoned for her to join him and she left the dancing crowd with a broad smile, going gladly to him.

Second step: he needed to take her to somewhere secluded. As soon as she sat by his side, Takeru ordered a cup of hot chocolate (for him) and a glass of an exotic drink (for the woman). When they came, he smiled at the newcomer, saying, "Good evening, my lady. Let me first say that it is a pleasure to come all the way here just to see such thrilling dancing as yours. For that, you win this drink." At this, the blonde took the delicate glass and set it next to the woman with a gentle smile. She smiled even more gently and circled her own elegant fingers around the glass, bringing it slowly to her lips while saying, "Why thank you, kind sir. It is an honor to receive such compliment from someone like you…"

Takeru let out a light chuckle and sipped from his own hot chocolate cup noisily but, to the eyes of the woman, adorably too. And he made her giggle, for a not-so-thin trail of brownish foam remained, covering his upper lip. With another chuckle, the blonde motioned his hand with what seemed to be a calculated speed to grab a nearby handkerchief, but the woman swiftly placed her hand over his, having a better idea…

Drawing her face nearer to the human's beautiful eyes, she whispered, "I can take care of that…" and her lips locked his in a gripping, smoldering kiss, making not only the foam but also a considerable amount of his saliva disappear. After that grabbing moment, the blonde was ready to ask, "Would you… would you like going somewhere more private?"

And, her face beaming, she replied, "I can lead the way."

Third step: he had to kill her quickly and painlessly. The woman took his hand and guided him through the dancing crowd again, to an almost hidden back door which led to a completely deserted part of the street. Takeru thought that this certainly wasn't the first time she did that. The blonde took her other hand and kissed it. He was smiling when he said, "Here we are, then…" And they resumed their kissing.

The young man was already so used to doing it that he didn't need to see what he was doing anymore. While their mouths were set in their own exploration adventure, his hands traveled down to her waist and then his right hand entered one of his pockets, grabbing hold of that button-looking object. Now caressing her up to her shoulders, the blonde placed the button on the base of her neck, pressing it down after a long kiss.

The effect was immediate. Her whole body instantly stopped moving as if it had shut down completely. Takeru had to hold her tight to prevent her from falling and then laid her on the floor carefully. There was a strange mix of emotions twirling inside his eyes, as if this was something he really didn't want to do, but he still did everything perfectly and automatically. He checked her vital signs and closed her eyes before proceeding. She really was dead. He then shuffled inside her purse to get what he had killed her for: her money. And his knack to find the richest victims remained, for in his hands there was now enough money to buy two months worth of supplies for the entire Luna Group.

He said a prayer, guarded the button again and hid her beautiful corpse the best he could before leaving, as discreetly and normally as he had come in.

Takeru spent the rest of his time in Kalatheia shopping, acquiring small quantities of supplies in each store, not wanting to attract the other's attention to a rather exaggerated amount of food or weaponry he held while leaving just one shop.

He stopped by the ship every time before going to the next store and Patamon nodded approvingly every time. People didn't notice any of that, then or in any other time. People were just to distracted with their own lives and that was a good thing for the Luna Group.

When the shopping was over, Takeru returned to the ship for good and the orange creature noticed that he looked very absent-minded again. "You still look awful, Captain… Really, is there something wrong?"

But the blonde just shook his head, replying with great conviction, "Nah, it's just the girl was really pretty this time. It's a shame she is dead right now." He even managed to smile, while reading the ship again to take off. And Patamon seemed to be convinced. He laughed, "I see. Well, you brought a lot of stuff today. Maybe the General will be pleased and allow us to find a girlfriend next time we leave the headquarters!"

"Yeah, maybe…" the young human replied, as the ship left the ground beneath it and Kalatheia, that magnificent orb of silver, going towards the stars, towards another (yet much bigger) ship.

Takeru wasn't sure why he felt like that. He felt guilty every time he had to kill, but today it was more intense… Maybe he regretted the way he lived, maybe he wished he were never part of the Luna Group and, even though he knew he was doing the right thing helping them (for they had suffered such great injustice!), his heart kept yelling that something there was terribly wrong… Not to mention his loneliness, his lack of human company. It wasn't easy being a homeless and perfect women assassin… Especially for someone as good and pure-hearted as Takeru.

The Luna Group headquarters were right in front of the now, a humongous black ship with many doors, windows, and a huge red crescent-moon symbol drawn over it. It was protected with the most advanced security technology, and only the smaller ships like theirs could see, sense or reach that giant, making it undetectable to anyone outside the group.

It was Patamon who pressed the rest of the buttons to allow the smaller ship to enter the bigger one, while the blonde put on his cape again. When they were inside, next to the other many small ships with other Luna Group members, the two companions carried the supplies out and into the huge storeroom next to the hangar, pilling one box over the other. And when the job was finally done and Takeru was ready to go write his report in his own room (before a well-deserved night of sleep), another Luna Group member approached him with a message.

"Captain Takeru, I'm glad you arrived safely! The General wishes to see you," he announced.

"Is there something wrong?" the blonde asked, frowning.

"No. Apparently, he has a mission for you. A very special mission…"

END OF CHAPTER

And this is it, for a first chapter! I wanted to add the Luna Group history, but then it will be too big, I will put it in the next one!

I sure hope this sounds promising!

Please, give me suggestions for more titles for the "What if…" series!

See you all next chapter!

kathlaida-princess logging out…