AN: One last quick story before NaNo. Just an amusing drabble that happened when I should have been taking math notes. Naturally it was far more interesting than calculus. Belongs to Sugisaki-san not me. Oh, and if anyone is interested, I have a poll on my profile if anyone wants to vote on one of my stories for continuation. Obviously I wouldn't touch it until after November, but feedback would be greatly appreciated. :) Please read and review!


Daisuke watched as Satoshi made yet another note in the little notebook he carried around and suppressed a feeling of unease. "Dark, have you ever gotten the impression that something is off about Hiwatari-kun?"

"No, really?" his other half said sarcastically. He followed Daisuke's eyes to where Satoshi was now reading as if the note had never happened.

"Jeeze, don't bite my head off!" Daisuke said, wincing. He shook his head. "He just feels…odd."

Inside his mind, Dark regarded him with thinly veiled disbelief. "He's stalked you for over a year and you ask that now?"

"It's not stalking! …Is it?" Daisuke paused in his instinctual defense for his friend. "Er, we're friends now so…"

"Daisuke," Dark said in his driest voice, "he's a stalker. He came back to high school for the sole purpose of watching you."

"Well, putting it that way it sounds a little…"

"And he keeps notes on you," Dark continued relentlessly.

"Uh…"

"And he knows where you live."

"Dark…"

"And he changes into Krad when he's around you."

Daisuke frowned. "What does that have to do with—Wait! You don't mean…" He frowned. "The reason he's chasing you is because he's in love with you?"

Dark scowled. He loved the kid, really he did, but sometimes his tamer could be an idiot. "Are you blind? He loves you moron!"

It took a second for this information to process, and once it did, Daisuke sputtered and protested. "What? No, we're just friends!"

"You and Risa were 'just friends' but that didn't stop you from falling for her," Dark pointed out. "You trigger Krad."

"Wait," Daisuke thought, grasping for straws. "Krad's your reflection. Shouldn't he be triggered by hate?"

"Trust me, Hiwatari far from hates you," Dark muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Hmm…" Daisuke frowned. He had to admit, he didn't think Hiwatari-kun hated him. He tolerated him too much for that.

"You're handling this awfully calmly. Have you already forgotten the whole stalker thing?"

Daisuke frowned further at the reminder. "No. Things just make more sense now. All those slightly suggestive and creepy comments he made are being put into focus." He shrugged. "And why he looks so sad. Besides, he's still my friend you know."

"You're the trigger for a being that hates you and you're still going to associate with him? You're either a saint or an idiot," Dark groaned. He had kind of hoped that getting this out into the open would knock Daisuke into his senses. Obviously this had failed. He hadn't counted on Daisuke's naively trusting and kind nature to outweigh self preservation.

"Well, Riku is your trigger and she hates you."

"That's completely irrelevant, Daisuke. I'm not trying to kill Riku." He sighed, wishing not for the first time that he had been saddled with someone a bit brighter. "It doesn't bother you that he's in love with you?" he asked, steering the conversation back on a track he wanted.

"Well," Daisuke thought slowly, "it's Hiwatari-kun. I can't be upset about what makes him…him. He's my best friend."

"I think you need a new definition of friend." He gave up. Really, there was no getting through to him.

"He is my friend. He has his creepy moments, but he's helped me a lot too. He even helped me save Risa."

"Ulterior motives much?" Dark grumbled, but it was halfhearted. He knew he wouldn't be winning any arguments tonight.

"Whatever," Daisuke said, dismissing his other half's comments with a wave of his hand. "At least now I know why I get these weird vibes from him sometimes. I wonder if he'll talk about it?"

"Why not ask him?" Dark said with his usual sarcasm.

"Um, is there any way of doing that without being awkward?"

"…Probably not…"

"I'll let him address it in his own time then." Daisuke nodded, satisfied.

"Like how he addressed your friendship?"

Daisuke winced. "Good point."

"Niwa?" Daisuke jumped and whirled around as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You've been making weird faces for the last ten minutes."

"H-h-Hiwatari-kun! Uh, er…" Daisuke floundered for something to say. It was awkward getting caught thinking about him, even if the other boy couldn't hear his mental conversation.

"Talking to Dark?" he asked, eyes glinting knowingly.

"Uh, yeah…" Did that count as another stalker moment? Daisuke wondered.

"I see. Business?"

"Not exactly?"

Satoshi waited for explanation, but none was coming. Daisuke shifted awkwardly. "Want to get lunch?" he asked finally, extending a peace offering to his embarrassed friend. He thought that it must have something to do with his love life to get him so flustered.

For some reason this made Daisuke look vaguely amused in a nervous way. "…sure…" he relied in an uncertain manner.

Satoshi raised an eyebrow, but shrugged, moving for the stairs, leaving Daisuke to trail behind him on the way to their usual eating spot.

"Hey Dark, I just thought of something. Do we attract stalkers?" Daisuke asked in a slightly choked mental voice.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Satoshi, Risa, Saga, Takeshi… even Riku sometimes. They've all tried to hunt down one of us…or both of us."

Dark mulled that over for a moment before shuddering. "Good point. You must be cursed. Or it's all because of my devilish good looks."

"I'm not sure if I should be disturbed that you're serious or just be annoyed."

"Thank you, I try." Dark grinned, dispelling the chill that came with realizing you're surrounded by obsessive, possessive people.

Daisuke sighed, and climbed the stairs. A lunch with Hiwatari-kun, after all that he'd just thought of, would be nothing at all. After all, he wasn't nearly as terrifying as Keiji Saga.