Title: Entanglements
Part: One
Authors: Hota and DC
Genre: AU
Warnings: Light shouen-ai, nothing overly bad in this part
Disclaimer: DNAngel does not belong to us. We simply borrow it and the wonderful characters for nefarious, fictional purposes.
A/N: This marks the beginning of what we intend to be an ongoing series. This is a work created with ingenuity, talent, and most of all love for the characters. It starts roughly in the middle of the anime series. Come along and share the ride with us. Your hosts for this trip are Hota and DC (aka Wulf). Reviews and feedback are very welcome.
Another morning and another mundane day at school. Hiwatari Satoshi took his seat in the classroom and glanced briefly at the clock. He was early, as usual, so few students were even there yet, and he knew from experience the only one he even paid attention to would skid in just before class started. Pulling out his books, he set them on the side of his desk and propped his chin up with a fist. Idly, he watched the mill of other students around the courtyard underneath the window.
Krad was in a trance-like state at the back of his head, almost the equivalent of sleeping, though Satoshi was sure his alter was perfectly aware of everything going on in the outside world. That thought didn't help him relax any; he could still sense the ever-present atmosphere of a predator simply waiting to strike settled around Krad.
More students began filing in moments before the bells chimed, and he was hardly surprised when the door opened again to present one Niwa Daisuke, looking more than a bit rushed. The redhead panted for breath as he hurried over to his seat and dropped down, a sigh of relief echoing back to Satoshi. The police commander's lips twitched faintly into a brief smirk, quickly squashing his mild amusement before it disturbed Krad.
The teacher entered late, setting her supplies down before turning to the class with a smile. "Good morning, class. We have a new student today," she said, turning to the still-open door and motioning someone inside the room. A boy stepped through. He had long golden-red hair pulled back in a ponytail, backpack slung over a shoulder, and books held in his other hand as he moved to stand next to the teacher.
"I'm Benjamin Fotori," he said, offering a smile to the class and bowing his head slightly. "Nice to meet you."
"You can take a seat behind Takeshi-san," the teacher said, motioning to the dark-haired boy who raised his hand at his name.
Satoshi narrowed his eyes at the boy as he passed, sensing something that wasn't quite magic from him, but whatever it was still put him slightly on edge. After all his father had already done, he had to wonder if this was another of his tricks. He wouldn't put it past the man to find a cheap almost-Daisuke look-alike with which to torment him.
He felt Krad stir in the back of his head and tensed reflexively, hating the lazily curious air the blond exuded. Satoshi was saved from suffering any immediate taunts or threats from his alter when the new boy tripped on his way to his seat. Benjamin's books slid across the floor, one managing to stop beneath Satoshi's desk.
Well, well, I do hope this isn't some pathetic cousin of the Niwa line, Krad murmured lazily, a yawn punctuating the statement.
Satoshi ignored his alter and kept his attention on Benjamin, reaching down to pick up the book under his desk without taking his eyes off the other boy. He handed it over and tensed when their fingers brushed, briefly feeling a subtle tingle along his nerves that made his hair stand on end. It was definitely not some kind of Hikari magic, but he knew other kinds existed. The Hikari were masters of art and the emotions generated from its creation, but magic of the mind, the elements, blood sacrifice, and even religious forms of power manipulation were outside their areas of expertise. Yet, Satoshi knew his father had both the means and the will to use alternate forms of magic if he was inclined to do so.
Do stop thinking about such despicable things so early in the morning, Krad muttered darkly.
Taking the blond's advice for once, Satoshi caught Benjamin's smile of thanks before the redhead turned to gather his other books and take his seat. Satoshi turned his attention to the teacher when she began the lesson, only keeping half an ear tuned in. His laptop called to him, but accessing sensitive files in the middle of a classroom, when he knew at least all the girls would be watching him intently, was a bad idea. He sighed when he realized his laptop was still home charging and he wouldn't be able to use it until night anyway. Satoshi looked at his watch, sighed inwardly, and opened his book before losing himself in the drone of the teacher's voice. He had enough work to do with the police and his ongoing hunt for Dark to keep him busy.
When lunchtime finally arrived, Satoshi pushed himself up and planned to make good on his escape to the computer room. He knew the teachers would have a royal fit if they found him eating in it, but he didn't particularly care. He had brought his lunch from home for once and was determined to enjoy it alone.
"Hiwatari-kun!"
Satoshi glanced up and found Daisuke walking towards him with an easy smile.
"Are you eating lunch today?"
"I brought my lunch today, if that's what you're asking," he replied dryly, ignoring the subtle warmth that went through him from such a simple question.
"It's not what I'm asking," Daisuke replied firmly, a determined look entering his eyes. "I'm asking if you're going to eat it."
Satoshi had the strangest urge to roll his eyes, but fought it down rather easily. "Yes, Niwa, I will eat," he replied, wondering exactly when these kinds of routines had started between them.
Daisuke grinned triumphantly. "Good," he said simply. He smiled again and headed out after the rest of the students who were eating in the school cafeteria, turning and waving when he reached the door. Half the class would congregate outside and enjoy lunches their parents packed for them.
The police commander watched with a faintly bemused expression before following after at a more sedate pace. He found himself at the computer lab a few minutes later and quickly sat at one of the back computers, tossing his lunch on the desk beside him as he logged into the computer. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for: any and all known information contained in the police files, school records, and government information about one Benjamin Fotori, neatly compiled into one place.
Apparently the boy had been raised in a military family, or at least, his family had always traveled because his father was a lieutenant in the United States Army. His mother was a native of France, born into a wealthy old-world family called Rousseau. His parents had been married in Paris and spent the first two years of their union stationed in the French countryside. Benjamin had been born in Germany fourteen years and three months prior to his father choosing a post at a Japanese military base.
Satoshi reached for his sandwich and took a bite as he scrolled down the screen, frowning mildly at some of the other boy's family history. According to the police database, the Fotori family never stayed on one base longer than a year. For a career officer, it seemed odd to Satoshi, but he'd never had much direct experience with the American military in his line of work. The commander pushed his glasses up and squinted as he leaned forward in the badly worn chair.
"Interesting," he murmured softly. Further digging showed no criminal background on Benjamin, or brushes with the wrong side of the law. His mother, Lilana, had a few speeding tickets, one case of publicly defacing a statue while intoxicated, and unpaid parking tickets. On the other hand, Benjamin's father, Frederick, had no civilian files on record. It was as if Frederick didn't exist before joining the military, or someone was protecting him.
Tapping his fingers beside the keyboard, Satoshi glared at the mouse when the ball wouldn't work quite the way it should have. Glancing down, he saw the slick surface of the mouse pad showed signs of hard use. Giving up on making the mouse work perfectly, the commander silently wished he'd brought his laptop with him before settling for saving the files he'd found on Benjamin. He zipped them together and e-mailed them to his home address to peruse at his leisure.
Satoshi spent the remainder of his lunch glancing through files on the latest anti-theft technology, answering e-mails from the police department, and working an online crossword puzzle. The commander knew it was long past time for Dark to make another appearance, so he was working on preparing a few nasty surprises for the thief when he tried to steal his next piece of art. Between his duties as police commander, various responsibilities to the Hiwatari, and trying to catch Dark, Satoshi had little time to waste on a wild goose chase.
Benjamin Fotori might be completely harmless but Satoshi couldn't take the chance. The feeling the new boy might be able to use an unknown magical ability, and his surface resemblance to Daisuke, made Satoshi suspicious. He couldn't afford the possibility Benjamin might have been enrolled at the school to watch him or carry out one of the schemes dreamed up by Satoshi's father. Until he proved Benjamin was no threat, Satoshi would keep an eye on the newest addition to his class and continue digging up any information he could find.
With a satisfied smirk, Satoshi slung his bag over his shoulder when the bell announced the break was over. He made sure he'd logged out completely and shut down the computer before he exited the computer room. He neatly avoided bumping into other students as he made his way down the hall and back into the classroom.
Daisuke and Takeshi drifted in a few minutes later and retook their seats, laughing as they continued whatever conversation they had been having. Satoshi watched them a moment before turning his attention to the view from the window. Krad's amusement in the back of his mind was all the incentive he needed to focus his thoughts on something other than a certain Niwa.
His eye found another head of red hair and he glanced over to see Benjamin move into the room behind a group of giggling girls. The group of females clustered around one of the front desks as the new student ducked his head and retook the desk he'd been assigned. Satoshi felt someone watching him and resisted the urge to turn and glare at the culprit. His suspicion inched up a notch when he realized it was Benjamin. Every time Satoshi looked in Benjamin's direction, the other male would quickly bury his head in a book and color a little.
The giggling girls pointed at Daisuke and Takeshi as the pair goofed off while everyone waited on the teacher's return. Occasionally, one of them would point at Satoshi, blush, and furious whispering would break out. Benjamin earned several speculative, curious looks. The rest of the class sporadically filed in and the girls finally took their seats as the teacher strode back into the classroom, the noise level abruptly dying.
"Okay, class. We're going to continue with today's lesson. Take out your algebra books and turn to page 109," she said with a cheery smile. A few muffled groans broke out, but the class quickly fell silent when the teacher tapped a ruler against the desktop. Satoshi smirked faintly, opened his book, and promptly ignored his surroundings again. It didn't take long for him to almost completely tune out what the teacher was saying. He paid just enough attention to keep from being caught totally off guard should he be called on, though that was a rare occurrence.
His mind drifted and he found himself thinking about how Daisuke's feelings for the Harada twins seemed to be changing these days. He knew Daisuke had finally given up on Risa; at least for the most part – sometimes he caught the redhead watching the younger twin from the corner of his eye with a somewhat wistful expression, blush-free and no sign of Dark about to break loose. Satoshi puzzled over the way Daisuke had blushed in his direction earlier, looking away from the back of the red head his eyes had drifted to.
Satoshi quickly cut off where his train of thought would lead as he felt the faintest stirrings of Krad gaining a hold, turning his attention back to the safer trees outside. He used the remainder of school to flesh out the details for his latest trap for Dark. When the bell finally rang and the teacher dismissed them, he snatched up his bag and stood, idly picking up snippets of conversation as he walked to the door, though only one caught his attention.
"But Daisuke, you can't just keep moping around like someone killed your puppy forever!" That would be Takeshi, leaning against Daisuke's desk with arms crossed and a concerned expression on his face.
Daisuke blushed and tried to give his friend a reproachful look, but it came out as more of a pout than anything. "I'm not moping," he said firmly, sliding a book into his bag.
"You are most definitely moping. And as your best friend, it's my job to distract you from those silly thoughts of yours. Tomorrow we're going girl-hunting and we're going to hook you up with someone," Takeshi stated with a nod. He slammed his hand onto the desk with a decidedly too-eager look in his eyes.
The redhead blinked and shied back a bit, looking as if he knew Takeshi's intentions all too well. He stood quickly and slung his bag over a shoulder. "Sorry, Takeshi! I'm busy tomorrow, and you know my mom always needs my help with shopping on the weekends!" he called. Then he turned and bolted from the classroom before his friend caught him. Daisuke brushed past Satoshi and threw out an apology before running out the door. Takeshi went by moments later yelling for Daisuke to come back and explain himself, complaining about his friend ditching him when he'd come up with such a perfect idea.
Satoshi's eyebrow twitched, though he wasn't sure if he was more amused or curious. Daisuke was finding excuses to be free of Takeshi and it was only Monday. Satoshi had just enough time to put his things in order before he finally captured the thief. This time, he was sure it would work. With that comforting thought, he headed to his apartment to see what else he could find about the new transfer student to assuage his concern about Benjamin's appearance at school. Satoshi didn't want his father interfering in his life or plans again.