Title: Little Black Bird
Author: Baka Shojo
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a kind lonely boy called Daisuke. Then there was that one injured little bird named Dark. After being healed, Dark had fallen for a certain redhead. Hard. What's a bird supposed to do?
Dedicated to: Eva, even though she says it's confusing… And why can't you just get an account? And DarkDaisuke will forever be better than SatoDai in my books!
Warnings: Homosexuality, failed attempt at fairytale-sounding, non-descriptive writing, might sound like bestiality (but it's not! Honestly, I swear!), confusing information (whatever, Eva), bad ending, and others.
Author's Notes: Yes, I was trying to make it sound like a fairytale. Didn't end up too good though. But I'm pretty pleased with this story. This is actually the first story that I've written from top to bottom onto a notebook before typing it! And I realized it might sound a bit like bestiality, but nothing happened before the transformation! I mean it!

Little Black Bird

Once upon a time, there was a kind, little boy who lived in the woods. His parents died when he was young and he was sent to the forests because the village nearby was poor and "fresh air would do his sickness good". The little boy grew up, sad and lonely, with only animals as friends. His name was Daisuke Niwa.

One day, Daisuke was walking with his little friends. He listened to their ceaseless chatter filled with squawks, squeaks, shrieks and cries. He had a fond smile as he followed them. Daisuke heard them gossip about some alligator and monkey when he suddenly heard someone calling his name.

Daisuke understands the language of animals from growing up with them. But not only did he know that, Daisuke understood some form of human language as well. Sometimes, villagers who pitied his solitary orphanage would come, bearing gifts and ready to teach Daisuke some words.

"Daisuke!"

He snapped himself out of his thoughts as he turned to the human who called him. It was one of the female youths. Riku with the short, copper hair. She was carrying a basket.

Daisuke's nose twitched. His animalistic nose picked up the scent of blood. Strange. The girl usually brought some human food for him. Is he now giving him raw meat?

If she was, Daisuke was disappointed in her. She should already know that raw meat reminds him of his dead friends. After all, her people had to hunt during winter. Not that Daisuke was a vegetarian saint. He had hunger needs, too.

"Daisuke!" She called out again. Riku stopped in front of him and held up the basket.

The animals scattered as Daisuke stumbled through with some human words. "Waht ish long, Licoo?"

"Daisuke! This poor little black bird is hurt! Can you help him? My mom isn't going to heal him or let me have him!" She begged helplessly. She opened the flap on her basket and it revealed to be the afore-mentioned little black bird.

Blood coated its wing tips and the body was dirty. Daisuke could see that the wing was broken (from a twisted point of view) and the bird was too hurt to move. But it could still talk.

"He-help me." The bird shrieked.

Riku jumped, as if surprised at the bird's cry. She looked around, scared, and pushed the basket into his hands before turning back and running from whence she came.

Daisuke stood stock still while monkeys screamed insanely from trees above. When Riku ran out of his field of vision, Daisuke's eyes slid down to the bird.

And it was like looking at himself.

The bird was alone like him, hurt and broken. Even thought Daisuke is surrounded by hundreds of animals in his section of the forest, none of them were human. And no human understands animals the way he does.

The bird has no parents, it seems. He's twitching like he wants to move, but it appears to be pointless.

Daisuke sighs and brings his face close to the bird before cooing at it. "Hi there, little bird." Daisuke said in what he knew of the bird language. "I'll heal you up. It'll take a while, though. Okay? But first, let's wash that blood off of you."


It felt warm hands cleanse the blood off itself. The muddy, caked blood fell away with the warm liquid. Those giant, warm, and human – it just realized these soft hands belonged to a human – caressed its tiny bird body.

Unexpectedly, the bird felt a jolt of pleasure. His back arched and his broken wing moved. It moved back with a cringe.

"Oh, so you're a "he"?" The human said with an amused voice. The bird felt the warm breath wash over him.

He knew that, without a doubt, this small moment in his bird's lifespan, was the turning point. For what, he did not know.

All he did know, however, was that he changed from an "it" to a "he".


Daisuke couldn't come up with a name for the bird. It seemed quite challenging to give the bird a natural name. And Riku hadn't come visit recently, so he couldn't consult the matter over with her.

But the good thing was that the bird was healing rather nicely. After Daisuke washed off all the dirt, mud and blood, the bird's true gleaming, black, and gorgeous feathers stood out, outshining any natural beauty Daisuke had even seen.

And he saw a lot, considering where he was raised. So in the end, because of this, Daisuke has dubbed the little black bird, "Dark". But occasionally, as a nickname, Daisuke calls him, "Obsidian".


The bird learned how to fly again pretty soon after that. He learned that the pretty human – he said he was called, "Daisuke", whatever a Daisuke was – had given him a name besides "he". The bird's new name is now, "Dark". Daisuke told him that "Dark" meant the color of his feathers and the time when the sun sets and the moon rises.

Dark feels strange whenever Daisuke is near. Dark doesn't understand the feeling, nor does he know how to describe it. All he knows is that Daisuke is a kind, pretty human, unlike the rest of his species. Daisuke is so kind that he doesn't even claim that he owns Dark, unlike that girl, "Riku", who dropped him and broke his wing.

But he's grateful to her. Because if not for her, he'd have never met Daisuke otherwise.

And now, since Dark has the freedom of flying, he's constantly out of the forest, trying to find some pretty jewels to give to Daisuke. But he'd come home every morning with nothing for a little rest and breakfast that Daisuke provides for him.

So far, Dark has found no beautiful gem that matched Daisuke's eyes. Which made him feel guilty for taking Daisuke's food. But when he chirruped this feeling to Daisuke, Daisuke smiled and waved it off. So he tried not to worry the redhead.

Dark gave out a frustrated cry out into the sky. He soared around in circles, sharp bird eyes looking for something shiny.

Shiny. Shiny. Shiny. Shiny.

SHINY!

There! A pretty gleam shimmered in the distance from the human village.

Dark gulped. His body slowed to a halt and his wings flapped to keep himself upright. If he ventured near the human village, he could get caught and hurt, like before. And this time, Dark wasn't sure he'd meet another Daisuke.

But he'd take that chance. All for Daisuke!


Daisuke was worried. His new friend and companion hadn't come home that morning and he was afraid that something has happened to Dark. Dark has never stopped coming back before.

'Of course. Now that he's better, he wants nothing to do with me.' Daisuke thought in a tongue only he knew. He sniffled, not bothering to hide tears of disappointment from the squirrel friend in front of him.

"Dai-chan, what's wrong?" It chattered out.

Daisuke gave a watery smile and shrugged. He didn't know quite well why he was shedding tears. Or maybe he did.

Even thought Daisuke couldn't express himself in the tongue of birds to Dark, they still had a bond. Even when Daisuke couldn't tell everything to Dark. When Dark's wing was broken, Daisuke was the one who nursed him back to health. They had a cleansing, healing bond. Their effect on each other was a good influence. One that would last forever.

At least Daisuke thought it did. But apparently not. Dark was gone now.

A tear slid down his cheeks and Daisuke closed his eyes. A cough found its way to his throat and he cried it out. But that didn't seem to help. In fact, it was like breaking a dam, causing more coughs finding their way to his mouth.

His lungs ran out of breath and he painfully gasped.

"Hu… Hah hu-" Daisuke couldn't breathe. He could vaguely hear the squirrel's scared, nervous chatter. But he couldn't find Dark.

With that last thought, the world turned black.


Dark gave a bird sigh.He found the pretty gem in the village. It was in a human dwelling that had some strange markings. The markings read,
"J-E-W-E-L-R-Y S-T-O-R-E".

It was a rectangular deep, red stone. Something called a ruby.

But the sad thing was: now that Dark has found the jewel, he couldn't get it.

Why? Because he got captured, like he suspected.

Currently, he was locked in a tiny cage painted gold with small cups of pellets and water. The entire cage was stifling and stank, and Dark couldn't take it anymore!

Here he was! Locked in a dingy, old cage surrounded by other trapped animals! Dark was probably worrying Daisuke sick!

And the jewel was tempting him way too much across that stony path.

Dark could've cried. The situation was just so frustrating! At least he knew he had a plan. The next time someone tries to take him out of a cage in hopes of selling him, he would fly for his life.

That should be soon. He was a pretty bird, y'know? All he needed was some patience.

And hours later, true to his predictions, a customer wanted to see him and his genuine, sleek, black feathers.

Dark's beady, dark eyes (which were black with a dark purple lining) followed the human's hands' movements as they neared his cage. His beak twitched in anticipation as the key unlocked the cage.

Wait for it… Wait for it…

The door was opened! Dark pushed the door open even further with his beak and hurriedly flapped his wings and took flight for the skies.

The humans' hands clamped empty air behind him. They had narrowly missed his tail feathers. Dark heard jealous birds squawk and humans scream.

If Dark had lips, he would've smirked at the successful escape.

He flew out the opened door (open during business hours) and flew straight through the glass of the jewelry store, showering glass and blood everywhere. Carefully and painfully, Dark lifted a ruby ring with a plain, silver band in his beak and flew out the broken window.

Dark acknowledged the pain in his wings and torso. The glass had ripped the skin on his wings and they were openly bleeding. Dark felt the strong wind biting into his wounds. Each gust of breath seemed to dig more glass into his wounds and press more blood out.

But Dark didn't care. He needed to bring this ring to Daisuke, to let him adorn the pretty ring on his fingers. Dark needed to admire Daisuke's beauty, completed with the gift. Even if it is no match for the shining, beautiful eyes.


Daisuke was unsure about how long he was unconscious from his faint. He kept on lightly waking before his mind shut back down again.

But the next time Daisuke woke up, there was the bloody form of Dark beside him.

Daisuke let out a sharp, mangled gasp of breath and proceeded to push himself up, albeit a bit clumsily and awkwardly. His strangled lungs painfully took in air as his eyes landed on Dark. Daisuke's heart thumped in pain at the peaceful look on Dark's face. Put the look together with the bloody mess of a body Dark has made Daisuke wonder if Dark was alive or not.

But Dark was not dead. Daisuke knows that (because Dark's tiny bird chest was trembling). But he couldn't help but feel the blossoming, fretful worry.

Daisuke's hands were shaking when he picked Dark's limp form up. The blood was dry and crusty and they crackled and fell onto his hands.

He tiredly pulled his body and Dark's towards the hidden lake that was constantly warm. The nearby volcanoes provided the lake's warmth and Daisuke need that heated water to relax his muscles and to gently wash off Dark's blood once again.

No one ever saw the tiny ring on the floor, shiny and bright.


The warm bath turned out to be a wise decision. Once again, the gentle, caressing hands and comfortable water woke Dark up. His body had tiny, sharp pains everywhere from the once miniscule glasses embedded into his flesh.

This time, Daisuke's expression wasn't so carefree. Instead, it was lined with tiredness, relief, and the lingering worry. It was a good combination, but Dark's favorite human was still beautiful to him.

"Hey…" Daisuke murmured. "You're awake." Daisuke sighs, his relief even more evident. He lay back and the buoyancy kept his nude body above water. He laid the wet and shivering Dark on his flat stomach as the gentle, lapping waves slapped his skin playfully.

The comforting and relaxing moment dragged on. Dark twisted his neck to look both at Daisuke's face and the sky. When he saw the moonlight glimmer off Daisuke's red eyes, Dark remembered the reason why he was so hurt.

"I-I brought you a ring, Daisuke." Dark knew using the first name with humans brings a strange form of intimacy. Anyways, saying that name in the bird language gave him funny butterflies in his stomach. But he never ate any butterflies. They were disgusting.

"You did?" Daisuke muttered. He smiled up at the stars without looking at Dark. Dark glanced away from Daisuke's jewel-like eyes and looked at the sky with the wavering lights above.

"…You know…" Daisuke began a while later. Dark had stopped staring at the stars. They shimmered and wavered indefinitely. But Daisuke's red eyes always shone brightly for him. "You can wish on a shooting star. Humans say the wish will land on Earth and come true."

Dark began to feel uncomfortable. He was vulnerably on top of Daisuke, who was as naked as the day he was born. And that has raised some pretty peculiar sensations in himself. Not exactly painful, but not quite pleasant either. More like an anticipated excited thrill. For what, he didn't know.

And Daisuke was talking about wishes……

Speaking of wishes, Dark has a vague idea of what he wants. To better understand Daisuke. To be able to help Daisuke.

Basically, to be human for Daisuke. (Preferably male, because he's not too sure about the females' breasts filled with milk.)

"Daisuke… I wish… I wish-" Dark began nervously. "I wish I could be a human for you, Daisuke."

"What?!" Daisuke sat up quickly in the waters, causing Dark to fall directly between his legs and onto his… y'know. Dark never really had a name for that appendage of Daisuke's.

Daisuke let out an embarrassed, pained squeak. Dark, on the other hand, gave a belated "oomph".

"F-for me?" Daisuke squeaked. Why will Dark want to be human? For Daisuke no less? No animal has ever expressed any desire to be a pathetic, weak human with afflictions with power. So why did Dark, besides Daisuke's part in the situation. Whatever his part was, exactly.

"Yes. And don't forget about my ring to you. It's still back there on the forest floor, y'know?"

Daisuke sure did. He gulped – hopefully Dark didn't notice that. He stared directly into Dark's tiny eyes. Despite their size, they held a surprising intensity of a gaze in them. And it made Dark seem as if he was bigger than Daisuke, and an equal human at that too. Daisuke felt so uncomfortable, trapped under that dark gaze like that. And Dark had given him a ring! Daisuke remembered from conversations with Riku that humans used rings to signify their bond, attachment, love, and commitment to one another. Dark had given Daisuke a ring.

"This is embarrassing…"


After that statement, silence followed. Somehow, the moment was bother comforting and awkward. And even though Dark confessed (in one sense of the word), Daisuke still seemed pretty oblivious to how he felt. Not that Dark knew exactly what he felt. But that was okay.

Because for that one night, Dark was content with just being with the redhead. Daisuke being naked might've been a factor. But Dark was pretty sure it was also due to the fact that even if Dark is weak and vulnerable, Daisuke doesn't use the situation to his advantage. Dark just knows that he can trust Daisuke.

(But the fact that Daisuke hasn't really done anything could be contributed to the point that Daisuke had no real need to take advantage of a bird, more specifically Dark. At this moment, Dark wants to insert a disappointed sigh.)

Right then, Dark closed his eyes. Mystifyingly ironic, a shooting star fell out of the sky. At the exact same moment, Dark had thought, 'I wish I could be a human and be with Daisuke.'

Daisuke, instead, actually saw the shooting star, and he wished 'for Dark to be happy with the one he loves.'

The shooting star soon fell out of Daisuke's sight and two wishes were made. Whether or not these two wishes would be fulfilled, that is to come.

'-and I don't even need Daisuke to love me… I just want to be with him. And if I turn into a human only to have Daisuke taken away from me, I'd much rather stay a bird and be with him for all eternity.'


That night, a mysterious haze filled Daisuke's tiny house. As he snored sleepily, a swirly starry light began to spin around a snoozing Dark in a tiny nest of rags below the bed.

A white, bright, and warm light entered Dark's soft, black chest and pushed forcefully into his heart. Dark's breaths hitched – 'Holy God of Birds! I can't breathe! – and he almost squeezed his eyes closer. Alas he doesn't have human skin or eyes to be capable to do that.

But the strange light was here to change that. Dark let out a pained gasp as his wings twitched. Slowly, ever so slowly, his body began to enlarge. When it reached an adequate size, the real change began in his torso.

The black feathers transformed into a flat, firm chest, a male's chest of muscles, free of unattractive hairs or fat. The stomach, too, was both flat and slightly muscled.

The change spread to his wings and the feathers began to shed, shimmer, and disintegrate into miniscule tiny pinpricks of bright light. Leisurely, the muscles soon became featherless and they began to reshape themselves into thin, sinewy, human hands.

Over on his bottom half, his tail had fallen away. Dark's legs were now a bit thicker and made of the same material as everywhere else: flesh. His strong legs were long and they made up for Dark's now inability to fly.

And the last but certainly not least important change began to take place. His beak shrunk into a kissable, plum-rose mouth (which was a virgin to all kisses, despite its description). The black feathery head transformed into pale, alabaster skin with royal, high cheekbones. His nose was strong and firm and determined. His once beady eyes were now almond-shaped, ambrosia-like wine-colored human eyes. The black feathers on his scalp were now long locks of spiky black hair that shone violet when the light hit it on a certain angle.

And here you go, Dark's wish came true!

Dark, formerly a small black bird, was now a tall, strong human.

You better watch out, Daisuke Niwa. He's coming to get out. Daisuke Niwa never saw that coming.

Dark felt cold, bare, and naked, like all his feathers were stripped away, but Dark didn't want to break this tranquil moment that he just knew he was spending with Daisuke with the simple act of opening his eyes.

"Oh my god! Who are you?! You squashed DARK!" Daisuke screamed. This came out garbled to Dark, who doesn't understand Human.

Dark blearily opened his eyes and saw a significantly smaller Daisuke, fretting and trying to push him away. When he saw where Daisuke was pushing him (which was his shoulder if you must know), he opened his beak to scream. But where the place where his hard, solid beak used to be was a soft, pliant pair of lips. Instead, he opened those to scream.

Daisuke, in turn, screamed as well. And so ensued a screaming match.


In the end, Dark won the war. It was probably because finding your body changed was frightening AND Daisuke didn't find a bloody mess of feathers and bird guts on Dark's back.

Which was featherless. This certainly is a new experience for Dark. He found out that human skin was so bare and naked. It made Dark feel even more vulnerable, even discounting his injuries – hey! Where did all his small wounds go? Did they miraculously heal when his body changed? That was freaky!

And what was Daisuke muttering?

Wait…. Dark could hear Daisuke's words!

For some reason, when Dark was a bird, his ears couldn't pick up the sound of the Human language. He'd see the humans' mouths move, yeah. But his ears couldn't hear anything!

But now, surprisingly, he could hear Daisuke's speech!

Dark grunted, and then he tried to say something in the tongue of the bird. The words came out a bit gargled, but it was still understandable. But apparently, Daisuke didn't register the words, only the knowledge that Dark was another bird-speaker.

"Y-you know how to speak Bird? Holy God of Birds!" Daisuke exclaimed a few seconds later. And this time, Daisuke understood that Dark didn't know Human. Probably because earlier, Dark had said, "I don't understand Human. Only Bird."

"Um, Daisuke? I-I need help-" Dark was cut off.

"How do you know my name? I doubt that my reputation as an Animal-Speaker can spread that far. And how can you only know Bird if you're a human? I double doubt that you were abandoned – like me – for years and ran around nude the entire time." Daisuke babbled.

"Uh… One thing at a time, Daisuke!" Dark said loudly. "I know your name, Daisuke, because you gate it to me. I'm-I'm Dark! The bird you saved?" Dark addressed. He held up a hand before Daisuke could interrupt. "Um… I haven't heard anything about you being an Animal-Speaker. And I was born a bird. So I wasn't taught Human… Uh, I'm not an orphan?" Dark tried to smile at Daisuke, but it twisted into a sneer and Dark relaxed his unfamiliar face.

Daisuke wasn't really paying attention. His face was red and he was staring at Dark's waist. Dark looked down and immediately blushed, mortified. Even thought Dark didn't understand what was happening, his brain seemed to be sending appropriate signals. Signals that Dark now realized were strangely human.

Dark didn't look up when Daisuke left him. He didn't want to admit it, but he wanted Daisuke to comfort him. Dark was so busy brooding that he hadn't expected Daisuke to throw some clothing at him.

"Wh-wha?"

"Those are so you don't catch a cold. Riku sometimes give me outrageously large clothing. At least now it's being used. Eh, Dark?"

Dark breathed a sigh of relief. So Daisuke believed him. Maybe Dark wasn't going crazy. After all, who would want to be the accomplice of an insane maniac who thinks he was born as a bird?


From that moment on, Daisuke knew that his relationship with that bird-turned-human changed. Forever.

Way to sound dramatic, Daisuke Niwa.

But Daisuke was serious. When he noticed Dark's… - ahem – lack of clothing, he had felt the beginnings of attraction. Daisuke Niwa was no fool about sex. He had the birds and the bees talk with the experts. Yep, you guessed it. The birds and the bees had given him The Talk. To Daisuke, it has become an unspeakable memory. Don't ask.

But, the narrator disagreed. A lot.

The main thing to know is this: despite the fact that Daisuke knew he could get a hard-on from Dark, Daisuke created a new bond with the peculiarly pale boy. (By peculiarly pale, Daisuke meant, "How can you be so fair-skinned when your feathers were black?") Daisuke had begun to tell Dark everything. Well, everything except his feelings. Daisuke seemed to forget what Dark had told him, but he still kept the brilliantly red ring on his fingers for a long time. As a bonus, Daisuke even taught Dark some Human, even though he, himself, was less than adequate in the language.

But life gone on happily. At least as happy as sleeping under the same roof as your crush but not being able to confess can. Sadly, - wow, from happily to sadly, Dark sure had some mood swings – Dark didn't know how to confess.

Daisuke was pretty stubborn. Whenever Dark mentions the words: "love", "like", "adore", and "crush", Daisuke seems to be determined to switch the conversation. And Dark didn't understand Daisuke well enough, either.

Even though they were both humans who feel more comfortable speaking Bird, there seemed to be some sort of barrio between them. As pathetic as it may sound, Dark wished things were like before. Before this awkward rift between them came to be.

But alas, this wish didn't come true, even though Dark's "I wish I was a human for you, Daisuke" did. But… if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride them.


One day, Dark came home – which was technically only Daisuke's house – to a sight that worried him. Riku was pulling Daisuke's arm, and Daisuke was struggling all he could. But he was no match for a desperate Riku.

"C'mon Daisuke! Please! I have to! I promised Risa I'd show her a boyfriend when I don't even have one! Please come with!" Riku was saying. Thanks to his private lessons with Daisuke, Dark understood it.

But Dark was too slow. When he'd reached the clearing in front of Daisuke's house, Riku had already pulled Daisuke a good distance down the road to the human village, where Dark was once captured.

"Where are you taking Daisuke?" Dark called out down the road, but no reply came except for the shrieking of monkeys. Dark frowned. His words from earlier were coming back to haunt him.

"Dammit" (1) Dark muttered as he followed their direction. The footprints were hard to find among the ever-moving leaves, but he trudged on.


Daisuke didn't' know what was happening. He was dizzy and the world was spinning pretty out of hand. Speaking of hands, one of them was pulling him. Daisuke groggily looked to the person tugging him. It was a giant reddish blur with a white-like thing beneath it.

"Okay, I am officially, certifiably insane." Daisuke muttered. "Either that or I'm sick."

"C'mon Daisuke! You're not sick! Let's go!" Riku exclaimed emotionally. Quietly, she muttered. "And even if you're sick, at least you can talk legibly now."

Daisuke could've become angry with Riku for that, but he was beginning to feel too woozy to stand, much less talk. So, in order to stop Riku from moving him too much, Daisuke said, "Riku! I… I think I'm starting to fai….nt…." With that said, Daisuke's body began tipping forward, causing Riku to lose balance. In order to stay upright, Riku let go of Daisuke's arm and watched as his body fell forward.

Suddenly, a loud cry of "DAISUKE!" came from behind Riku. She turned around, only to see a large dark shape dart past her. She turned back around and saw a mysterious man swoop down. Yes, swooping down like a bird. And he caught Daisuke's body before he hit the floor.

Riku watched guiltily as the handsome man gently lay Daisuke on the floor and felt for his temperature. She felt guiltier when the man's eyes widened and he shook Daisuke's shoulders roughly, all the while screaming at Daisuke.

Rather unexpectedly, the man turned to her and began to shriek nonsensically. Riku was pretty sure he was speaking, but Riku never heard that type of Human before. It just sounded sort of like a really loud, really annoying bird.

Wait…

BIRD!

That was it! This man was speaking Bird! Daisuke had told her that birds actually had a language of their own, but she hadn't ever seriously believed him nor considered the words true.

Riku winced and she cautiously stepped forward before kneeling on Daisuke's other side. Quietly, she uttered, "C'mon, sir, let's bring him back to his house. We're not that far. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Tell Daisuke you're sorry."

"I'm sorry, Daisuke…"

'I'm so sorry, Daisuke. I should've came back earlier before she came…'
Daisuke felt strange. He oddly felt warm and cold at the same time. But he could tell the cold was from inside him and the warmth was an external heat.

"Um… Sir? I think the best thing we should do is…" Daisuke heard a feminine voice speak. The language was Human, though. Who was this "sir"? And where was Dark? "I think we should strip him down and you share your body heat with him." Riku's voice was unusually embarrassed. Daisuke thought.

"And you? What would you do?" Dark's familiar deep tone snapped back at her. Daisuke had always wondered how a bird-turned-man could even have such a deep voice. Don't birds say things in a high, screechy tone?

"I'll go into town to buy some medicine!" Riku squeaked out. Daisuke heard a door slam shut.

He felt a warm hand smooth back his hair and Daisuke tried to smile reassuringly, but failed miserably. Daisuke then felt a comforting pair of lips gently touch his forehead, giving a kiss.

And his world turned dark…


When Daisuke awoke again, he felt loads better. He felt his hand firmly clasped and he resolutely opened his eyes, struggling a bit.

Dark was tiredly napping on a chair beside his bed. His hands were both strongly and stubbornly holding Daisuke's hand like a lifeline. (And he seemed pretty used to his new thumbs, Daisuke winced.) Dark was fidgeting in his sleep, as if in a nightmare. "Daisuke! Daisuke!" Dark was crying out.

Frantically, Daisuke squeezed Dark's hands, attempting to calm him down. Meanwhile, Daisuke tried to make soothing noises to placate Dark's dreams. After only a moment, Dark's semi-twitches were calmed. Soon, what Daisuke got from Dark were loud snores and occasional squeezes of the hand.

Daisuke sighed in relief. Dark was okay and he wasn't sick anymore. He smiled fondly at Dark, still denying his non-platonic feelings towards the other. Why would Daisuke fall in love with a bird, after all?

(In his mind, another voice had sneered something along the lines of: 'But he's not some damned small bird anymore, is he? He's one hot piece of ass!')

'Wait, didn't Riku say something about stripping down? Does that mean Dark and I had lay side-by-side, on my bed, naked? TOGETHER? Holy God of Birds!' Daisuke screamed in his mind.

As if in answer to Daisuke's thoughts, Dark suddenly pulled Daisuke's arm and pulled Daisuke into his arms on the chair unceremoniously. Out of breath, Daisuke's mind was out of focus. When Dark suddenly folded his arms firmly across the expanse of Daisuke's back, he froze. And in went Daisuke's nose Dark's scent: of lilacs and lavenders.

'Okay, Daisuke, you've gotta' admit it! You're attracted to this bird-man! Hahahaha! Quit being so melodramatic and in denial, you fool!' Daisuke's other voice in his mind laughed.

'No! I don't like him that way… And even if I did…'

'And even if you did?'

'Why would Dark love someone like me? I'm of another species!'

'He was another species, Dai-chan! And do you remember Dark saying he would be a human for you? That was only the night before Dark changed! C'mon!'

'…You play a good argument…"

"Thank you, but don't try to change the subject.'

'Argh! Fine! I love Dark! I, Daisuke Niwa, a mere human, am in LOVE with DARK, a bird who mysteriously changed into a man! You got that, you bastard? Do you hear me? I goddamn love him!'

'Gosh! You don't have to be so rude! But it's great that you finally admit it. Otherwise you'd be hurting not only yourself, but Dark, too.'

'Hurting… Dark?'

'Yeah! Love is a two-way street. While you're struggling in denial, Dark has to watch you struggling and think that he doesn't have a chance with you! Like a rejection! How would you feel if he rejected you? Are you an idiot, Daisuke?'

'…'

Dark was hurting too? Why hadn't Daisuke thought of that? Daisuke suddenly felt very foolish and very selfish. Here he was, always thinking about "me, myself, and I" while Dark was worrying over him! Daisuke started to hate himself.

"Daisuke, don't go…" Dark muttered. Daisuke jumped, startled. He turned towards Dark and opened his mouth to ask what's wrong, but he stopped. Dark was still asleep. "Daisuke! Please don't go… Listen to me! I-I love you!"

Daisuke sat still, stunned. This was a weird way for hearing love being confessed. Dark tried to shift his body, but there wasn't enough room on the chair. So then, Daisuke was embraced even tighter. Dark sleepily pecked on Daisuke's neck, which in turn flushed unconsciously.

Daisuke was unaware of all these happenings. Instead, all he could hear was Dark saying, "I love you" to him. And even though that was a bit unromantic – what with Dark being asleep and all - Daisuke couldn't suppress the giddy, excited happiness those three simple words sparked in him.

"Dark," Daisuke whispered slowly. Dark stirred, almost waking. "I love you too. I'm in love with you."

As if those were the magic words or an alarming wake-up call, Dark's eyelids slip up to reveal bright, amethyst eyes. They blinked a couple of times before snapping wide open in surprise.

"Da-Daisuke? Wha-what in the world? Why are you in my arms?"

"Dark… I know you heard what I said. Please don't make me say it again. It's embarrassing enough to be confessed to when you're asleep." Dark blushed in retaliation.

"Wha – but – I – hey!"

"Heh, you're blushing! I never saw you blush before." Daisuke laughed, poking Dark's nose. Dark rolled his eyes and successfully prevented the blush from deepening and slash or spreading.

"Y'know…" Dark began, thinking of a way to change the subject. "It's kind of funny."

"What is?"

"When we first met, Riku brought me here. I was injured and you nursed me back to health."

"Right. And when Riku dragged me away while I was sick, you came and took me home and helped me get better too!"

"Yeah. But it's sort of depressing to think our relationship started because of a girl, injuries, and diseases." Dark said, lifting Daisuke's hand. And there was the ring Dark had given Daisuke. Dark lifted the hand to his lips and gave it a simple kiss.

"I love you, Daisuke."

Blushing, and despite what Daisuke had earlier said, he replied back with:

"I love you too, my dear, little black bird."

There once was a little boy who received a hurt bird. He healed the bird up and the bird had fallen for the little boy. The bird wished to be human for his beloved and his wish came true! Then one day, the little boy got sick and the once-bird cured the little boy of his sickness - and confessed! The little boy requited his feelings and they fell in love. The little boy and his bird lived happily ever after.

Daisuke and Dark lived happily ever after.

The End

(1) – How did Dark learn a curse word? I don't know. Use your own imaginations.