Yolei rolled her eyes, "Listen, picture Ken in yellow sunglasses with purple lenses," Kari nodded, "Now add hair thatĄŻs all wild and spiky," Kari nodded again, "Add a big maniacal grin and picture just the head,"

Kari nearly fell out of her chair, "Oh my god! That wasnĄŻt funny!"

Yolei nodded, "He didnĄŻt do it on purpose. The wind messed up his hair . . . "

Kari shivered, "ThatĄŻs just creepy. HeĄŻs lucky you didnĄŻt hit him in the nose!"

Yolei nodded, "And thatĄŻs not the worst of it. This is the really embarrassing part." She leaned in close to Kari, "It made me really excited. I mean.I wanted to just rip off my clothes, and.and." Yolei cast about for an appropriate euphemism

"Mess up his hair some more?" offered Kari.

Yolei grinned, "Yeah. I keep picturing him in that emperor outfit with a whip, and it makes me so excited! IĄŻm beginning to think something is wrong with me . . ."

Kari was really trying not to laugh, "ThereĄŻs nothing wrong with you, thatĄŻs perfectly normal. I have a few little things I like when me and TK.um.mess up each other's hair," Kari caught herself before she started going into detail.

Yolei suddenly got a sly grin, "This wouldnĄŻt happen to involve."

"Yes," said Kari, blushing beet red, "There is a cheerleader outfit involved," Kari wished she hadnĄŻt mentioned it. She suddenly turned serious, "But it isn't the outfit that turns you on, is it?"

Yolei nodded miserably, "I just can't stop thinking about how he used to be. I mean, like when he had us at his mercy a few times.he could have done any thing he wanted to me. I keep fantasizing about being tied up, or even whipped by him," Yolei looked at the table miserably, "I think I am becoming a masochist or something.Ąą

Kari took Yolei's hand, "I don't think there is anything wrong with you. Even if you are a masochist, which I do not think is true either. You are not crazy, no matter what they say. You just have different needs. Just between you and me, I can relate.better than you think,"

Yolei looked amazed, "You? You like being tied up and stuff?" it came out as barely a whisper, but still Yolei felt like Mimi must have heard, all the way in America.

"Not exactly," Said Kari, barely above a whisper, "In fact, I think TK might relate to you even better," Images of Kari in leather and lace, wielding a whip flitted about Yolei's mind. She swallowed hard, shaking her head slightly, "Have you told Ken yet?"

Yolei twisted her cheap paper napkin nervously, "No, I think it will take me awhile to work up the courage,"

Kari nodded, "It was the same way for me. In the mean time, I suggest you find out as much as you can about the submissive lifestyle. The more you know about something, the less scary it is. I have a few books I can lend you, if you are interested,"

Yolei was begining to wonder if this was a dream or not. Her best friend, a dominatrix? Even the word made Yolei shiver. She slowly nodded her head, and said, "Sure, I think I know a place to hide them,"

Kari nodded, "I'll send them by this afternoon," She got up and began to clear away the table, "Well, I had better collect Gatomon and get going. I left TK home alone.I hope he hasn't worked himself loose yet,"

Yolei was not sure if this was a joke or not, she just started walking toward the pet store. Gatomon and Hawkmon were both wearing black collars, and looking in the mirror. Hawkmon turned to Yolei, "What do you think? Is it me?"

Yolei grinned, "I don't think Ken would like it," Hawkmon looked in the mirror again, and Yolei continued, "You look like you should have glowing red eyes, and be trying to kill us,"

"It does rather look like a dark ring," he said, "We'd better pick another color,"

"Later," said Yolei, "I have laundry to fold,"

"Your no fun," said Hawkmon, following Yolei out of the store. Yolei turned back to wave, but Kari was busy paying for three of the collars. Yolei couldn't help but wonder what they were for, as she walked toward the parking lot. The thought made her sort of weak in the knees.

Hawkmon said, "Let's use Aquilamon this time," it snapped Yolei out of her reverie.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," she replied, raising her digivice into the air.

"Hawkmon, digivolve to . . ." Hawkmon spread his wings and once again felt the amazing feeling of being remade, "Aquilamon!"



That afternoon, Yolei was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee, when the doorbell rang. She got up and looked through the peephole. What she saw nearly made her drop her coffee cup. On her porch, there stood a cheerleader and a French maid! Both were wearing black collars and dog tags, and each held a box. She opened the door in astonishment.

"Mistress has ordered us to deliver these books," Said the maid. It sounded practiced and almost monotone.

"Just set them over here," she said, indicating the table. They hurriedly put the books down.

"She has also told us to ask if there is anything else we can do for you," the cheerleader added, in a similar voice.

"No, that's alright," she said, but quickly changed her mind, "Wait. Let me read your dog tags,"

The cheerleader said, "Mistress forbids us to remove them," and bent down a bit so Yolei could read them easier. The tag read as follows:

Takeru Ishida Property of Hikari Kamia If found, please call 510-3391

(A/N: This is not my phone number, I grabbed it out of thin air. If it is your phone number, then it's purely a coincidence. )

The maid's tag was the same except for the first line, which said, 'Daisuke Motomiya' instead of 'Takeru Ishida'. Yolei was taken aback, "Davis? TK?"

The maid, who was apparently Davis, said, "Those names mean nothing to us when we are serving. Please refer to me as Daisuke, or slave, slut, worm, or something like that,"

Yolei looked at TK in astonishment, ĄŽIs this some kind of joke? I never imagined Kari could make them act this way. Especially Davis!ĄŻ

Davis said, "If there is nothing else, we really should get going. We will be punished if we linger without a good reason to,"

"Um.yeah. You can go. Tell Kari thanks for the books," Yolei replied, still a bit dazed. Davis just looked at her quizzically. She tried again, "Tell Mistress Hikari thank you for the books," Both curtsied politely and left. Yolei watched them walk down to the sidewalk, where Raidramon and Pegasusmon were waiting, ĄŽWhat has she done to them? Is that what I am preparing to become?ĄŻ



The next day, at KenĄŻs office, things were unusually quiet. Ken only had one case that day, and was busily typing away at his computer terminal. Wormon was taking a nap nearby. Ken looked up when the door opened, and was surprised to see Kari walk in.

"Hi Kari, what brings you here?" said Ken, a little louder than Kari would have liked.

"We need to talk," she said, glancing at Wormon, "alone,"

Ken looked incredulous, ĄŽAnd another for the Ken-is-Sam-Spade fan club,ĄŻ he thought, "Uh . . . sure. Hey Wormon!" Ken said, grabbing a stack of envelopes off the corner of the desk, "Mind taking these to the mailbox up the street?"

Wormon woke up and stretched, "Sure Ken," He walked over to the desk and took the letters from Ken. He scuttled out, and Kari shut the door behind him.

"Okay," said Ken, "WhatĄŻs so important?"

"ItĄŻs about Yolei," said Kari. Ken looked startled, "Relax, sheĄŻs alright. Nothings happened. Before I go on, you have to promise that you wonĄŻt act on it until Yolei comes to you first. Also, when the time comes, you didnĄŻt hear it from me. Deal?"

Ken was growing more suspicious by the moment. Clearly this was some practical joke Kari and Yolei were playing on him. He wondered for a moment who else might be in on it, then said, "Yeah, okay. I promise I wonĄŻt do a thing about it, and you are what we in the biz call an anonymous informer. Now whatĄŻs going on?"

Kari took a deep breath, "Well, I think I should start from the beginning. Have you ever heard of the leather movement?"

several minutes later

Ken was sitting in his chair with a stricken look on his face. His pupils had contracted to a tiny size, and he was pale as a Bakemon. Wormon finally walked back into the office looking exhausted, "I forgot how hard it is to climb that slippery mailbox with your arms full. I hope the clients don't mind a few teeth marks in their invoices."

Ken made a little squeaking sound in his throat. Kari said, "He just needs some air, heĄŻll be fine. I have to get going,"

Wormon nodded, still looking concernedly at Ken, "Yeah, bye," he climbed up and opened the window. Ken still just sat there, looking like heĄŻd seen a ghost. Wormon climbed up the back of the chair and perched on his shoulder.

He looked up at Wormon with a look of total non-comprehension, ĄŽWhy do these things have to happen to me?ĄŻ he thought. Then he felt around for WormonĄŻs "hand", and grasped it.

"WhatĄŻs the matter, Ken?" asked Wormon.

Ken looked like a lost puppy, "Nothing . . . everything is fine," Ken didnĄŻt sound at all convinced, ĄŽMy world is ending is all . . . YoleiĄŻs losing her mind and I canĄŻt do a thing about it. Well, it was nice while it lasted, but this is it. This is the part where it all comes crashing to the ground and I get my punishment for all the awful things IĄŻve done. But, why did it have to attack Yolei? Why couldnĄŻt I have just got cancer or spontaneously combusted or something?ĄŻ

"What did Kari want?" asked Wormon.

"Nothing important," Ken stammered. It came out a little louder than he would have liked. He decided heĄŻd better make up a cover, "Mimi had a little accident. Wrecked her car, but sheĄŻs okay,"

Wormon nodded, "ItĄŻs kind of scary when bad things happen to one of our own, isnĄŻt it? We get to thinking that weĄŻre invincible and nothing can go wrong,"

Ken nodded earnestly, "IĄŻll say,"



The next few days were a blur for Yolei. Every last bit of her spare time while Ken was away was spent reading the books Kari had sent. As she delved deeper and deeper, it became more difficult to concentrate on other things. She was learning all about a new world, which she had never known, existed. As the days turned to weeks, her perception began to change. She stopped thinking of herself as sick, and realized that there were thousands like her all over the world.

The only problem for Yolei was that it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to enjoy normal sex. Her ability to please Ken was slipping, and she was terrified that he might be noticing, ĄŽHeĄŻs preparing to leave me. ThatĄŻs the only reason he wouldnĄŻt mention it. HeĄŻs figured out what I am, and now he wants no part of it,ĄŻ

Meanwhile, Ken had been doing some research himself. He read all he could get his hands on about what he though of as YoleiĄŻs "condition". He even wound up borrowing the same books from Kari, once Yolei had returned them.

As Ken spent more and more time thinking about what he would have to do to Yolei one day, he actually began to get excited, "My god!" he said to himself, staring out the window of his office. He had sent Wormon to buy some stamps, just to get some time to think, "IĄŻm losing my mind. Here I am getting excited about doing such terrible things to another human being. And not just any human being, the one I love more than anything. No wonder the dark spores had such an easy time on me! All I need is a little nudge in the right direction and I become a monster again!"

"Your not a monster, Ken" Wormon said, coming up the stairs, "Your just too quick to judge yourself . . . and you need to learn to hide your books better," Wormon was dragging a large book behind him, which had the title Different Loving, "I found this one to be especially informative. You should pay more attention to the part about the morality of BDSM,"

Ken stared at Wormon in amazement, "How is it that whenever I need to be comforted or reassured, you can just sort of tell?"

"ItĄŻs part of being a digimon partner. Besides, I followed you to KariĄŻs house a couple of times when I noticed you were upset," Wormon looked sheepish, "Detective instincts. What can I say?"

Ken grinned, "DonĄŻt worry about it, IĄŻm glad you meddled,"