After it All

A D.N. Angel Fanfiction

Over an ocean-side city that sparkled with the dawn's first light rose a tall cliff. Smoke rose from it; smoke from a destroyed magical artwork. The night had been tough. Earthquakes had shaken the land, and a battle between Dark, the winged Phantom Thief, and his nemesis, Krad, had taken place, destruction had ensued from the powerful attacks of magic as the two halves of a single artwork gone berserk, the artwork called The Black Wings.

But now, all was quiet. The dawn light spilled over a new day, and peace flooded the town.

Up on the cliff, two boys, barely fifteen years old, stepped through the smoke. One wore nothing but his jeans and a long coat that was missing the sleeves yet had a high collar and went down to the boy's feet. His eyes were closed as he leaned against his companion, his pale, almost blue, hair glinting in the morning light. His name was Satoshi Hiwatari, and he had been Krad's tamer, or host, until the evil angel was sealed away.

His companion was a red-haired boy, wearing dark clothes and sporting a concerned look as he half-carried Satoshi out and away from the smoking area behind him. Not half an hour before, this boy, Daisuke Niwa, had been Dark's tamer. The boy, too, was a Phantom Thief, but only with Dark's help had he been able to do anything. Daisuke turned his gaze to Satoshi and spoke in a tired yet concerned voice.

"You ok, Hiwatari-kun?"

Without opening his eyes, Satoshi replied in a weak voice, "Yeah." He opened his eyes as the pair came to the edge of the cliff, looking out over the sunrise. The pair stopped. "It's so bright…" Satoshi said, looking out over the sparkling ocean.

"You're right," Daisuke replied.

"But it's a different brightness than before."

"Huh?"

Satoshi, finding himself able to stand on his own, let go of Daisuke's shoulders. He staggered sideways, and Daisuke moved to support him. Satoshi regained his balance and put up a hand to stop Daisuke. "I'm fine," the pale-haired boy said. He stood up straight. "Niwa, can I keep this coat?"

"Huh? Sure." Daisuke smiled.

"I'll try to have fun. In life, that is."

Daisuke nodded happily, glad to see his friend looking brightly to the future. Satoshi had gone over the limit and had almost killed himself, if only to save Dark and Daisuke the trouble of dealing with Krad. But Daisuke had stepped in and stopped him, giving him a reason to live.

"You really are mysterious," Satoshi said with a laugh in his voice.

Both stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the sea and the city, only to hear a distant cry of a girl.

"Niwa-kun!"

Daisuke turned at the sound of his name. In the distance, two girls were running toward them, one waving her arm in the air as she cried his name again. "Niwa-kun!"

Recognizing the girl's voice, Daisuke ran forward toward them, exclaiming, "Riku-san!" And, indeed, it was Riku Harada and her younger twin sister, Risa Harada. Both were Daisuke's age as well. Riku and Daisuke had fallen in love, but they hadn't really expressed it other than one night where they sat out on a beach and watched a meteor shower.

They met half way, breathing hard, but real smiles on their faces. Satoshi followed at a slower pace, still aching from the fight and his attempted suicide.

"Riku-san," Daisuke said, his happiness clear to everyone who saw his face.

"Let me say it first," Riku said. She paused. "I found you." Tears formed in the elder twin's eyes as she exclaimed, "Niwa-kun!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Daisuke returned the embrace.

"Riku-san."

Risa looked on with a happy smile before catching Satoshi looking at her with a half-smile. Satoshi looked away, embarrassed, as did Risa, but they looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes, a blush forming over Risa's cheeks.

After a few moments, Daisuke and Riku moved apart some, remaining in each other's arms. They looked into each other's eyes and moved forward for their first real kiss.

After what seemed like several minutes, though it wasn't nearly half that much, Riku and Daisuke pulled apart.

"We…we could go back to my house and get some breakfast."

"Sounds good," Satoshi said. Without a pause, the four teenagers walked away from the cliff side. Daisuke and Riku led the way, hand in hand, followed by Satoshi and Risa.

It wasn't until they reached Daisuke's street that Risa spoke up.

"Niwa-kun. Are you... are you Dark-san?"

The question made Daisuke falter in his step and keenly aware of the empty place in his mind where Dark had once resided when not in control. He tried to figure out a way to explain it to Risa. "Sort of," he said finally, stopping and turning to face the younger Harada twin. "He was himself, and I am myself. But we shared a body. Two in one."

Risa nodded, trying to understand. She turned to Satoshi. "And you the same with that…that white winged one with the evil eyes?"

Satoshi nodded, not bothering to even think of the one who caused him so much pain.

"What do you mean by was, Niwa-kun?" Riku asked.

And Daisuke explained all he knew about who Dark really was, with help from Satoshi. He explained the origins of The Black Wings as an artwork of the Hikari family; how, when one of Daisuke's ancestors had attempted to steal and seal away the powers of the artwork, things went terribly wrong and Dark and Krad had resulted in the ensuing chaos; how, for three hundred years, Dark and Krad had existed, respectfully, in the male members of the Hikari and Niwa families, fighting one another time and time again; and finally how Dark had awoken once again in Daisuke on his fourteenth birthday and how, just an hour ago, Dark had sealed both himself and Krad back into The Black Wings, never to be seen again.

Risa and Riku listened attentively, surprised that their friend had kept this in the whole year he had been with Dark.

"You…you miss him, don't you?" Riku asked. "You miss Dark?"

Daisuke shoved his hands into his pockets and looked toward his house, where his family waited for his return. "Yeah." He started forward again, aware once more of the empty space Dark had left behind. His three friends followed him toward his front door, which Daisuke opened warily. The battle between Dark and Krad had put a toll on him, and he dearly wanted to climb into bed and sleep the rest of the day as soon as he had eaten.

As he opened up the door, he called out, "I'm home."

"Dai-chan!" His mother's voice carried from the family room and he heard her hurrying to the front door where he and his friends were taking off their shoes. He braced himself for the glomping hug he knew he would get. His mother pulled him toward her when she reached him, holding him closely and

"Ouch, Mom," he muttered.

Emiko let him go with an apologetic smile before turning to Satoshi, Riku, and Risa. "Towa-chan and I were just making some breakfast," she said warmly. "Come join us."

Daisuke's three friends muttered their thanks and followed the two Niwas into the living room.

Daisuke was struck at the normality of the scene before him. His father, Kosuke, was wearily nursing a mug of coffee while his grandfather, Daiki, was immersed behind a newspaper. Towa-chan, a living artwork Daisuke and Dark had once rescued, was bustling about the kitchen, and Dark's familiar, Wiz – a white rabbit-like demon – was munching on a plate of fresh strawberries. The Christmas Tree they had set up and decorated a couple days earlier sparkled at them as they entered. Everything seemed so normal, it almost hurt to think that nothing would be the normal Daisuke had grown used to ever again. Things would be normal when...

When Dark comes back, which will be never, he thought gloomily as a round of greetings filled the room. Towa-chan bustled off to grab more chairs for the guests.

Soon, breakfast was served. But Daisuke was not in the mood to eat. He pushed his food around his plate, not bothering to listen to the short conversations that came up every now and then. Finally his mother noticed how little he had eaten. "Dai-chan, go up to bed. You can eat later."

Daisuke nodded, and gave an apologetic look toward his three friends before standing up and going up to his room. He changed from his thief clothing to jeans and a t-shirt, and went out to the balcony, not minding the chilly weather. He stared out at the water that was glinting with the light of the rising sun. After several minutes, he heard the familiar call of Wiz.

"Kyuu?"

Daisuke looked down. At his feet, the white familiar looked up at him. "Hey, Wiz," Daisuke said, scooping up the furry animal and bringing him into his room. "If you're still here, does that mean Dark can come back as well?"

"Kyuu."

Daisuke smiled, sitting down on the couch he had in his room. He stared absently out the window until he heard a gentle knock on his door. Riku stood in the doorway, looking concerned. "Can I come in?" she asked. Daisuke nodded. Riku sat next to him on the couch. Wiz hopped over to her with a delighted "kyuu."

"Please don't get all depressed about this," she said. "I hate to see you sad."

"I won't. It's not like he'll ever come back to me."

"Kyuu," Wiz added.

Riku smiled before saying, "Risa and I are leaving soon, but...I'll see you at school."

Daisuke nodded and glanced out the window once more. A new day was dawning...

Twenty years later, Daisuke was sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper. He was the only one at home at the moment. Riku, Emiko, Kosuke, and Towa-chan had gone out, and his fourteen-year-old son, Daiichi, was supposed to be at school.

He paused in his reading mid-sentence, a thought occurring to him. He put the newspaper down and grabbed a pencil and paper, settling down at the table. He began to sketch, careful not to pour any emotions into the painting so that it wouldn't awaken like so many artworks had.

Through the years, he had not stopped loving art. He continued to paint and draw, even opening a small museum where the pieces that he, Satoshi, and others made could be displayed. It was a strange thing for a Niwa to do, seeing as the Niwa family had always been stealing art rather than creating it.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was sketching, yet the designs were forming on the paper. Absorbed in his own world, he didn't hear the sound of the back door being lock-picked, nor the soft footsteps approaching him.

"Boo."

Diasuke yelped and jumped, falling backwards off his chair and onto the floor, lying sprawled on his back. He looked up and saw the familiar, tall, young-looking man. "D-Dark?"

"Yo." The Phantom Thief was trying hard not to laugh, but his smirk proved to his former tamer that he found his situation funny. Wiz, who had been napping in a corner, bounded over to his master, exclaiming Kyuu over and over again.

"B-but how are you back?" Daisuke asked as Dark pulled him off the floor. Daisuke noted that for the first time, he was just as tall as the thief.

"It's a funny story," Dark replied, settling down on the couch. Wiz jumped up next to him and Dark stroked the demon's head for a moment before he looked up. His violet eyes met Daisuke's red-brown ones. "See, here I was, in TheBlack Wings, minding my own business and trying to avoid Krad so that jerk wouldn't piss me off for the millionth time in the twenty years I was stuck in there. Suddenly, the whole artwork blazed with light, and I found myself in a new tamer. Krad got out too but he got away, unfortunately." He smirked. "By the way, your son was just as surprised as you were way back when."

Diasuke sighed. He had been expecting this. But he knew he couldn't change it. Dark would be able to look out for the boy. "And Krad's tamer? Any idea?"

"Not really, though Daiichi did say he was with a certain Katsu Hikari. You being friends with a certain Satoshi Hikari – formerly Satoshi Hiwatari, I figured you would know the boy."

Daisuke swore under his breath, and Dark raised his eyebrows. "I take you do know the boy, then."

"Yes. He's my nephew."

"Nephew? How is it that the Niwas are now related to the Hikaris?"

"Riku and Risa."

"Oh?" Dark leaned forward, interested.

"Yes. I married Riku, and Satoshi married Risa."

"Ha. I told you! I knew you loved Riku."

"Yeah, yeah."

They heard the front door opening. "I should go," Dark said. "Don't want to surprise anyone. I'll talk to you later, partner." And with a flash of light, Dark released control back to Daiichi. No one from the boy's appearance that the Kaitou was within him.

"Dad?" Daiichi asked, looking around with confusion.

"You and I are gonna talk later," Daisuke said. "Boy, your mother is going to freak."

"Freak about what?"

Daisuke and Daiichi turned and saw Riku standing in the doorway.

"Dark," Daiichi replied.

"What about Dark, Daisuke?" Riku demanded again as Towa-chan slipped past her to go to the kitchen.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Daisuke replied, holding up his hands. Riku let it drop, but the look on her face said that she was going to get it out of Daisuke one way or another. Daisuke sighed and sat back down at the table to resume his sketching.

Towa-chan, busy in the kitchen, eyed Daiichi as the young Niwa left for his room to get started on his homework. She sensed something different about the boy, something she had once sensed in Daisuke. She knew, being an artwork, that Dark was back. She sighed contentedly. "Ah, things never change!"