"Satoshi! Don't be stupid!" Daisuke tried to break the spell-circle surrounding his best friend, but he was just a second too slow; the red light flared blindingly bright, and he heard a pained and yet glad cry from the midst of it, as Satoshi's form vanished.

"You're my friend, I need you!" Then the red glow was gone, and he was alone in the whiteness. Tears hit the white ground. "Don't leave me alone…"

For a moment it seemed like something brushed his shoulder, but he was alone.

Dark was gone. Somehow it just didn't seem real that the thief could be gone, there wasn't the emptiness that there had been when the thief was ripped out of him; it felt like Dark was still there, but so deeply asleep that he couldn't be woken. And Satoshi was gone too, in a flash of light and a scream. He couldn't tell which hurt more.

He felt, more than saw a hand reach out to him, but it was already too late. He screamed, but no sound came out, reaching, blindly, anything anyone someone-

Because he was falling again and again and again and even if it had been his own choice he couldn't stop himself, nothing to catch himself with, he'd gone too far and further than he could follow he just wanted to-

"Satoshi!"

A voice, he knew that voice. Something familiar, he clung to it, like a drowning person would.

"Don't be stupid!" he heard it say. Clarity dropped, and in desperation he reached further, further in, his mind finding the voice when actions seemed to do nothing. "You're my friend! I need you! Don't leave me alone…"

Yes, that was it. Somehow he knew he could not let the owner of that voice be sad.

A friend.

His friend.

Suddenly connected again to a body, pain became something he could feel again, and it seemed to strike every nerve on fire. He screamed, and his voice sounded off, odd, and he wondered if perhaps his throat had gone dry in between then and now. Or if he'd even simply forgotten how to use his voice, and was he even alive, he shouldn't be and how was he thinking, why did he have a body when the ritual—? and the power was tearing and he clung to this warmth and—

Oblivion.

There was a familiar feeling in the back of his mind, the feeling of someone else waking up slowly, and then nothing. Could it be Dark? He wondered. Is he still here after all?

'Dark?' he asked.

Startlement radiated from that presence. 'Daisuke?!'

The voice wasn't Dark, but it was one he recognized, although he had never expected to hear it in his mind. 'Satoshi?!'

'I'm… alive? How? And why am I hearing Daisuke?'

After the initial shock they had figured out quickly that Satoshi had somehow, due to destroying his body from the space between Dark and Krad, with Daisuke right there, taken Dark's place in Daisuke's mind. This led to some peculiar circumstances. While Daisuke was glad his best friend wasn't dead, it was like gaining Dark on his birthday all over again minus the thieving aspect. There was another person in his head! Life was rather awkward for a while, but they managed to adjust to their new situation. After all, it was better than the possible alternatives, and there wasn't any way to undo it. Also, trying to untangle them would quite likely kill Satoshi for real this time. And buying more books for his friend wasn't a problem.

Satoshi felt awful, invading Daisuke's life. He was a parasite now, just like Krad had been, a leech on the mind of someone who didn't deserve it. 'Don't say that! You're alive, that's more important.'
'You heard that?' and that was another thing, constantly trying to think quietly, because Daisuke didn't need his worries. Daisuke accepted him, he could feel it, the warmth and affection was overwhelming, and it made him feel guiltier. Face it Daisuke, I'm dead to the world. Even though I still exist, I have a grave. I'm dead. I am essentially a ghost. And perhaps being only an observer in Daisuke's life was even more painful than the fact that he was now a leech. Because no matter how much he was grateful for what little he had left, he wanted to move, he wanted to be able to interact, to do things on his own, read his own books, instead of reading them through Daisuke's eyes and asking him to turn the page, unable to do even that on his own.

'No you aren't! And that reminds me, don't fight this, I want to try something. He stepped back mentally, the way he had to let Dark take control. The shift went as easily as ever, and a moment later he was in the familiar space in the back of his head. Satoshi had control.

'What the— Daisuke, what did you do?'

'I stepped back. You have control, and now we know this works.'

'You could've said something! I wasn't expecting to suddenly have your body.'

' I didn't want to say something and have it not work. But now you can have more freedom. Read your own books, not just watch through my eyes and ask me to turn pages, I know you love reading. Or maybe even paint without worrying because even if magic is anchored to the soul I'm sure we can figure out a way to not do it, and—'

'Daisuke!' the sharp thought cut him off. 'Thank you.' The sheer gratitude in the thought was overwhelming, as Satoshi picked up a book, slightly clumsy in Daisuke's body, or perhaps simply unused to being able to move, after several months of a purely mental existence. He had been able to feel, but everything was muted, secondhand. Their form hadn't changed, he noted as red bangs fell in his eyes. He glanced at the mirror that Daisuke often used when they wanted to be able to see each other without being in the shared mindspace, and was startled to find that while the face might still be Daisuke's, the eyes were his own.

Think we can tell her?

She deserves to know, but how would we tell her without making her think we're insane?

That is a problem, but it's been a few years now that you've been together, and if you want to spend the rest of your life with her-

Don't put it that way, how many times have we had this discussion? It's your life too, and you like her just as much as I do. So if we want to spend the rest of our life with her, we have to tell her.

'Tell her that you saw me die and I've been haunting you ever since.' Satoshi said self-deprecatingly.

Hmm… you know, that might actually work. You realize that you'll need to talk to her without letting her think you're me.

On second thought, let's not tell her.

Don't be like that. What happened to the person who could handle the most awkward situations with ease, like when everyone voted us into the lead roles of Ice and Snow?

I died, and in that situation it just wasn't worth the hassle of talking them out of it.

You aren't dead!

Let's not have that discussion again right now. What if she doesn't believe us? Did you think of that?

All we can do is hope that doesn't happen.

Not quite true, if she doesn't believe us and thinks we're crazy there's something I can do.

What is it?

I can make her forget. I don't like it, but I did it to Risa and Riku once, while you were trapped in the Second Hand of Time, they saw Krad take over, and Risa also saw me force the change back. If she doesn't believe us and thinks we're crazy, I can erase this from her memory.

"There's something I need to tell you."

She looked at him inquisitively.

"I really like you, and I trust you, but there's something you need to know about before our relationship gets any closer."

"Oh? What is it?"

"… You need to meet my best friend!"

She smiled. "Well that's not a problem. What's his name?"

"…and this is where it gets complicated. When I was fifteen and he was sixteen we were caught up in the cataclysm that hit this city ten years ago. I remember the ground giving way… Anyway we were caught in it together. I came out alive. He didn't."

"So you want me to see his grave?" she was confused.

"…No, not exactly, although we may need to, to convince you" he muttered. "I was just a few feet away and I couldn't do anything other than watch as he was torn apart. And this is where it gets strange, because I collapsed, and was rescued, and a week later I heard his voice. In. My. Head. His reflection was in my mirror when I looked in it. My best friend is a ghost, who lives in my head, ever since I was there when he died."

"Your friend, is a ghost."

"Yes. I'm not crazy. And we both love you. And you needed to know before things got any farther. And I can prove that he's real and lived and died, we were in the same class, his name is Satoshi Hiwatari, originally Hikari, and you can look up the records."

She froze, conflicted. On the one hand she knew you were supposed to humor the crazy person. On the other hand this was Daisuke, who was a nice sweet person, and a good artist, and he didn't seem crazy. But he was telling her he was possessed by a dead friend. How could he not be crazy? But he was offering proof. Against her better judgment she looked up. "Show me these records."

"I can believe that he was real, and that you saw him die. And you've proof that he was real. But to believe that he lives as anything more than a memory? I don't know if I can believe that."

"Please, don't run away." He looked down…

…and another person looked up. The face was still Daisuke, but the eyes were a clear sapphire blue instead of Daisuke's red-brown.

"Daisuke is panicking. He thinks you'll either be afraid, or think that he is insane. It is nice to meet you properly, Willow. I have spoken to you a few times before, but not often, and now you know, and I no longer have to pretend to be him.

This wasn't what she was expecting. She hadn't expected his eyes to change, and his expressions were not Daisuke at all. Daisuke was warm and open, where this other, Satoshi, was cool and reserved, guarded. His voice was very different too.

Her mouth had gone dry, and she was slightly wobbly when she said after a long moment, " I, I guess, you aren't crazy. He? You…?"

"No, we aren't. Daisuke is completely sane, and I am amazingly so, considering how I died."

"Oh. Um… are you there all the time, even in private dates?!WHO AM I KISSING?!"

"Yes, although I do try not to intrude, and Daisuke."

"Um… Will it always be that way?"

There was a long pause, during which a mental argument took place, unnoticed by the topic of contention. Finally an answer came in the form of a question. "Do you want it to stay that way? We didn't think about that."

"How could you not think about it?"

"We were more concerned with how to convince you that we aren't crazy." Deadpan tone.

"Oh," she said, in a very small voice. "Um… Can I have Daisuke back now?"

There was another long silence, and this time she noticed the eyes flickering between sapphire blue and red-brown. "He is refusing to come out yet."

"Why?"

"He says he wants to make sure I actually do more than explain things to you and then hide. He says he won't let me back in until you're comfortable with this; he also hopes you won't run away. He says I need more practice being social... HEY." Flicker.

"I'm not running away." She said, and then thought: they really do sound like different people, really different people, and that was like friends arguing, like Xander and Jesse… she felt a pang of sorrow. But a ghost?! No, not asking how he died, torn apart, even though I wonder how that could happen in an earthquake... NO, not going there! "See, still here." And he does sometimes look like he's listening to something no one can hear, or goes so quiet. If he's been talking to this, Satoshi, the whole time… then nothing's changed at all except what I know. "Um. I think I would like to know you as well as Daisuke. I like him, and I hope I can like you too. And you both trust me enough to tell me about this, and, well now that I know it would be wrong to go on as if I don't know about you or pretend you don't exist. So, um, I guess it's nice to meet you?"

Relief rocked them after she left. She wasn't afraid! She accepted them!

I can't believe it. She isn't afraid.

She accepts us. I didn't really think she would.

This is it then?

Looks like. Wow.

And we aren't bound by the old conditions on Dark either. What a relief.

I know. I didn't even want to think about losing you.

…

…

Now that that's over, what was that about me needing more practice being social?

Augh, mercy! Please! Mercy!

Not a chance.

She thought for a long time that night. Could she handle dating him/them, knowing what she now knew, that there was a them? And knowing this brought a whole new set of questions to everything she knew. For one, did all those books really belong to Daisuke? She'd never seen him reading any of them, even though they were clearly well read books. And when could she have met the other one, Satoshi, before? Wait… that business persona, when he's selling paintings, or negotiating gallery space, could that actually be not Daisuke at all? It's always been so at odds with everything else I know about him… what the heck, I'll try getting to know both sides, and we'll see where things go from there.

A.N. I'm not entirely happy with this, but I can't seem to figure out what this needs. It's been rotting on my hard drive for months, so I finally threw up my hands and posted it. I have a few thoughts about where things might go from here, but nothing I write with them seems to work.