A/N: yay! my third fanfic! i haven't done much writing, but hopefully that will change with summer coming around. this is a DNAngel fanfic (obviously) and it takes place about 25 years into the future. personally, i was a little depressed when the DNAngel anime series ended, so here's an idea for a continuation. it's just a little thing i've had in mind for a while.

Disclaimer: I do not own DNAngel . . . no duh

The Next Generation

Chapter 1

The Gift of Morning

The alarm buzzer went off, and a loud groan escaped from a lump under the covers. An arm fought its way out of the blankets, groped for something heavy, and threw something at his alarm clock to turn it off. A few silent moments went by before suddenly, "OH MY GOSH! I FORGOT!" A young boy with pinkish-red hair, long bangs, and pinkish-brown eyes sat up abruptly. Niwa Daichii threw the covers aside, sending a small, white rabbit with it.

"Kyuuuuu!" it squealed with protest when it hit the floor with a thud.

Daichii winced and peered down from the top of his bunk bed. "Uh, good morning, With," Daichi replied sheepishly.

"Kyu," With said in a daze.

Daichii swung his legs over the edge and jumped down, completely ignoring the ladder. He landed neatly and rushed toward his closet. Because he was being so reckless, he accidentally slipped on some comic books. He fell face first with a grunt. With stared at Daichii. Daichii rubbed his forehead ruefully and sighed, "I guess that's why Mom and Dad keep telling me to clean my room."

Daichii got dressed quickly and dashed out his bedroom. While putting on his backpack, he slid down the stair railing. "Bye, Dad!" Daichi called as his father was going up the stairs.

"Huh?" Daisuke said. "You're up already? You aren't usually this energetic on a school day."

Daichii slid right off the bannister and explained, "I'm supposed to meet up with Ren today."

"Well of course," Rikae, Daichii's seven-year-old sister, responded in the dining room. She took a bite of her pancakes and added, "The only way Daichii would ever want to get up in the morning was if it had something to do with his girlfriend."

Daichii's eyes burned angrily. He stormed into the dining room and shouted, "SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

Daichii's mom, who was also eating breakfast, gave Rikae a warning look. Then Riku asked, "But Daichii, what does Ren want so early in the morning?"

"Ren said she wanted to give me something, but she wouldn't say what." Daichii grinned excitedly. "I hope it's a birthday present."

Narrowing her eyes slyly, Rikae teased, "No, you're hoping it will be a birthday kiss."

"RIKAE!" Daichii growled, grabbing her collar and holding her up.

"Mommy! Daichii's being mean!" Rikae whined.

"Daichii, let Rikae go," Riku ordered.

Daichi scowled and headed for the front door. His hand was on the doorknob when Riku demanded, "Oh no, Daichii! You aren't going to leave without breakfast again, are you?"

"Mom, I'm already late as it is!" Daichii complained.

"No you aren't young man. You've got plenty of time until school starts! You're a growing boy and need nutrition. Do you just not like my cooking? I'll have you know that I'm a lot better than your aunt. If you tried Risa's cooking, you'd never want to eat again, so be grateful."

"You always say that when I skip breakfast," Daiichi muttered under his breath.

Daisuke came back downstairs to see what all the ruckus was. When he saw Daichii halfway out the door, he nodded in understanding. Riku came from the dining room and said, "Daisuke, tell your son that he should sit down with the family and eat breakfast for once."

"Dear, maybe we should let him go just this once. Tomorrow is his birthday after all."

Daichii slowly began walking out. "Yeah, yeah," he agreed. "I promise tomorrow I'll definitely eat breakfast with you guys."

"But you can't leave now," Riku continued. "You haven't even combed your hair or brushed your teeth."

Daichii froze. He touched his messy hair and smiled awkwardly. He could hear Rikae laughing inside. "You see! You see!" Rikae exclaimed in a sing-song voice. "Daichii's so jittery about meeting Ren that he forgot about more important things." Rikae walked past her parents and stuck her tongue at Daichii. "What kind of wierdo forgets about brushing their teeth. I guess you can forget about that birthday kiss, huh?"

"Rikae," Riku scolded. Then she smiled at her son. "You shouldn't tease a boy about his love."

"MOM!!!!!!"

Daichii slammed the door in their faces. Throwing his skateboard angrily at the ground, he hopped on and sped away from the house, glad to get away from them. "I do not like Ren. I don't like her. We're just friends. Yeah, only friends," Daichii told himself over and over. He past a bunch of black birds. Startled, they squacked and flew away, showering Daichii with a few of their dark feathers. "Ah! Stupid feathers," Daichii muttered, waving them out of his face. When he could finally see again, he was at the fountain park. He stopped and sucked in his breath.

There was Ren. Her back was to Daichii as she waited patiently by the water. Her light blue hair that reached her waist seemed extra glossy in the morning light. The school uniform showed off her skinny figure. Sensing his presence, Ren turned around. When she saw Daichii, her whole face brightened. Her blue eyes sparkled and her smile was prettier than ever. "Daichii!" Ren waved, holding one arm behind her back.

Daichii hesitated for a moment, blushing slightly. She's just a friend. She's just a friend. She's just a friend, Daichii reminded himself as he walked over to her. "H-hey, Ren," Daichii greeted. "What was it you wanted to show me?"

Ren beamed proudly. "I wanted . . . to give you . . . early birthday present," she explained in her usual shy, quiet, and hesitant voice.

She revealed the square gift from behind her back. Daichii took it gratefully and unwrapped it. It was a black photo album with two paintbrushes crossing on the front. Daichii opened it curiously and gasped. Inside were pictures of famous artworks. Daichii gazed in wonder at painting after painting, sculpture after sculpture, sketching after sketching. There were even newspaper clippings that contained interviews with Daichii's favorite artists. "Ren . . ." Daichii breathed. "This . . . this is amazing! It must have taken you forever to find all of these!" Daichii looked at her softly. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

Ren's eyes twinkled happily. She held out one finger in a "wait a minute. that's not all" gesture. Then she turned the photo album to the very last page. It held a painting Daichii wasn't familiar with. It depicted a night scene at the fountain park. The sky was alight with many shooting stars, and a boy with a white rabbit in his lap was watching them in fascination.

"Ren, is that me?" Daichii asked.

"I . . . painted it," Ren explained.

"Really! It's amazing! The color scheme's great and done with such skill! I never knew you were an artist. This looks like a pro did it!" Daichii complimented.

Ren didn't reply, only tilted her head to one side modestly. Daichii wasn't phased by her lack of talking. Mara Ren was an orphan. Her parents died by a mysterious cause when she was still very young. The Mara family took her in, but the deathes had emotionally scarred Ren. Bit by bit, she tried to forget. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, wouldn't talk to anyone. Ren would lock herself in her room all alone . . . until Daichii came along. Eventually, Daichii helped her open up a little, and they became best friends. Though Ren still has trouble with words and can't remember her parents at all, Daichii learned to talk to her through more than just speaking.

"This really is amazing," Daichii repeated. He narrowed his eyes playfully at her. "Of course, it has a few flaws. In real life, I'm much more handsome." Daichii struck an I'm-too-cool-to-care pose. Ren giggled and pushed Daichii. Daichii staggered backward and felt his leg hit the back of the fountain. Struggling not to fall in, Daichii flung his arms out wildly to regain his balance.

"Much more clumsy," Ren corrected. She giggled again before grabbing Daichii's hand to steady him. Daiichi's cheeks grew hot at her touch, but when he saw her blissful smile, he relaxed. Rikae's got it all wrong. We really are just friends, Daichii thought to himself.

Ren tugged Daichii's arm. "Come on . . . slowpoke. You're gonna . . . make us late," Ren said.

Daichii grinned goofily and picked up his skateboard. "Race ya to school!" Daichii exclaimed, already sprinting away. He could hear Ren laughing behind him as she chased after him.

Breathing hard, Ren jogged slowly to the school gate and panted, "I win."

Daichii came up right behind her and gasped, "How far did we run?"

"Little . . . less than . . . a mile."

Daichii groaned. "Not the kind of distance you want to sprint to."

While the two were catching their breath, a boy with brown hair and dark eyes pushed Ren aside. Ren stumbled and glared at the boy, deeply insulted. "There you are, Daichii! What took you so long?"

"I was out running, Haru," Daichii explained. Haru was Daichii's best friend, often a little short-tempered and competetive. They both loved sports, and together, Haru and Daichii were probably the most athletic kids in the grade.

Haru shook his head. "Come on, Daichii. Don't you get enough of that after school? What a perfectionist!"

Daichii grinned and replied, "Actually it was kinda just for fun."

Haru raised his eyebrow. "You've got a wierd sense of fun."

"I guess we were a little crazy," Daichii laughed.

"'We'?" Haru echoed before looking around.

"Yeah, me and Re--" Daichii blinked. Ren was gone, nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? You mean Ren? Why?" Haru asked. "Daichii, Ren's pretty, but she's a little weird if you ask me. No. She's weird if you ask anyone. What kind of girl doesn't talk? If it weren't for her looks, she probably would've been the class geek a long time ago."

"Ren happens to be my friend," Daichii replied dryly, clenching his teeth.

"Sorry, man. Sorry. I wasn't trying to insult you or anything. Just forget about it. Hey! I know a bunch of cheerleaders that are just dying to meet Mister Birthday Boy. Come on, before school starts!"

Daichii followed Haru, his eyes lowered. What was so weird about being friends with Ren? What was so weird about Ren? Daichii frowned seriously. Was he really the only one who talked to her?

A/N: Alright, for all you anime lovers, I have an idea that might be crazy enough to work. You know how whenever there's a preview for a new episode, it will normally have a few lines of dialogue and video clips to tease you. Well, I feel like being different, so I'm going to try something like it. At the end of every chapter, I'm going to include five lines of dialogue from the next chapter and the chapter's name. This is my first time ever doing it, so it might not turn out well. Tell me if you think it sucks.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you. You're just so scrawny and quiet."

"What's wrong, Ren? Are you feeling okay?"

"Why are they all too stupid to understand? What do I have to do to show them how I feel? I can't just tell them!"

"If you're a theif, you might as well come out right now. I've got a gun!"

"No. NO! This can't be happening! This has to be a dream!!!"

THE BLACK WINGS ARISEN