Title: Grove of Angels
Author: Gia
Rating: PG
Pairing: None
Time: The land is Solcia, ruled by the Hikari family. It is a time of royalty, magic, and wars.
Summary: Two boys, since birth, are raised to protect the Crown Prince. Since the beginning, one of the boys has refused such a duty, until a chance meeting with the Prince. Follow from the beginning, how they trained, and their interactions. Watch as a thief joins the ranks, hair as golden as the sun's, but its intentions are dark. Who says there are no such things as angels?
Disclaimer: The story here is non-profit and for purely entertainment purposes; nor is it affiliated to Asuka Magazine, Tokyo Pop or any other publishers of DNAngel. Some of the places mentioned in my story will be taken from the video game, Eternal Ring, though nothing from its storyline will be taken for this fanfic. The characters belong to Yukiru Sugisaki and the plot belongs to me.
Author's Note: I'm changing the difference of age between Dark and Daisuke. They will be a year apart.
Two young boys were sleeping on two separate cots that were pushed together. One boy had hair that mirrored the night, and the other had hair that mirrored flames of fire. Unbeknownst to the two sleeping boys, there were a group of men discussing their very future.
"They will be raised for the Crown Prince, your Lordship, I will see to it myself." Captain Kosuke Niwa stated. There were general murmurs from the other men who stood around the two. This meeting was a tradition, a tradition that was carried for each Crown Prince. And it was a tradition that was… old.
"Sire, I must say that I disagree!" A man from the side called, Lieutenant Hiwatari yelled. "To train only two boys, one who will be the same age as the Crown Prince, it is preposterous! They will hardly be able to protect--"
"Hold your tongue, Hiwatari!" Kosuke spat.
"I will not listen to a fool--" Hiwatari began, but the King intervened.
"I will follow through with Kosuke's advice."
"My king, I.." Hiwatari averted his face.
"Kosuke!"
"My king?"
"See to it that their training is thorough. I trust everything will be taken care of." The king turned to the other men, "Sadly, I must end this meeting short. My son is waiting."
The other men bowed, and left the room one by one.
Grove of Angels
By Gia
Chapter One: The Two Guardians are Introduced
"Dark! Daisuke! Gods, where are they!?" a voice yelled, frustration evident in his voice. The voice belonged to Kosuke Niwa, Captain of the Guards, in sole guardian to the late King and Queen.
He was standing in a rather large open market with squat buildings lining the area. The clearing was crowded with merchant's tents and small wagons, people milling about and creating an atmosphere of business. Merchants shouted their wares and if one were to listen closely, they could hear several musicians playing for dancing crowds. Everything was so colorful, as if the people were trying to stand out from their sandy-colored surroundings and their peers by wearing more and more flamboyant clothing. Kosuke could smell something sweet drifting through the air and he knew that if he couldn't get them to come back, the food would inevitably do the job for him.
Resisting the urge to maim the nearest innocent bystander, Kosuke weaved his way expertly through the crowd, looking for his two young charges. Dark and Daisuke. Two boys. Two evil boys, rather. Now, probably they seemed evil now, only because they were giving him trouble.
But so early in the morning! Honestly, what could such a well-deserving man like himself, suffer like this?
…Shut up.
"Dark! Dai—what the—!"
There was a momentary pause in the hustle and bustle of the market, probably due to the sight of the Captain of the guards bumping heavily into two boys. Kosuke, having had the breath knocked out of him, looked up and squinted horribly at the glaring sun. Fortunately, a head popped up in front of his face, blocking the sun.
It was Dark, the taller of the two, and at the age of 16 grinned down at his surrogate father. "Sir 'Suke! Why are you in the market so early in the morning?"
Another head popped up beside Dark's, it belonged to Daisuke. The contrast of their hair beside each other screamed for attention. "Looking for us?" the boy asked curiously. Daisuke, who was 15, usually tended to be the less wild one.
Although, that was only by a small margin.
Letting an exasperated sigh fall from his lips, he pushed himself up. "You would think at your ages, you would act more mature." The boys had previously gotten off him and stared at him silently. They were standing still, hands behind their backs, and for the entire world like two innocent boys.
Pfef.
With a practiced reflex, Kosuke reached out both hands and managed to snag the back of both their collars before they could run away again. "I think you've both had enough of the market for one day, kids. It's time to go back to your studies."
Both boys groaned but allowed themselves to be dragged back to palace grounds.
The wide open windows allowed the noon sun and wind to drop by. It caused the thin curtains to flutter easily, giving the room a pleasing atmosphere. Unfortunately, nothing of this pleasant atmosphere pleased two of in the inhabitants. Not at all.
"Dark, cease from pretending to snore."
"Zzzz…"
"Daisuke, if you please?"
…
"Zzz--mph!" Daisuke grinned devilishly, expertly dodging the flailing arms of his surrogate brother. With a grin, he stopped pressing Dark's nose together. It seemed that the need for oxygen outweighed Dark's desire to slack from studies. Heh.
"Now, we can continue the lesson. Dark, would it kill you to at least pretend you're listening?"
Rolling his eyes, Dark straightened in his desk, but finally seemed genuinely interested. Kosuke smiled affectionately and decided they may need a break from all the book work.
"I think a change in studies would be better, hm? How about we continue with our sparring lessons?"
Both boys perked up immediately, and were falling over themselves to get to the door. Kosuke laughed openly, amused at their antics. It was much better now, than it was before. He hadn't gotten along well with Dark, and Daisuke was still too young to trouble him. It was Dark, the boy who had a stubborn will.
Flashback
Kosuke had just put Daisuke to bed, the boy had fallen asleep immediately after. He had just closed the door behind himself until he came face to face with Dark, who was just eleven years old. "Dark? What are you doing out of bed?"
Dark had a frown set upon his face and he crossed his arms. "I don't want to guard him."
Kosuke raised his eyebrow, fully aware of who Dark was speaking about, but he asked anyway, "Who?"
"You know who!" Dark yelled.
Kosuke gave him a sharp glance, causing Dark's childish anger to deflate immediately. "Dark, it is yours and Daisuke's duty to protect the Crown Prince. That is why you will train, that is why Daisuke will train."
"I don't even know who he is!" Dark put in, although his voice was quieter. "Why do we have to protect him? What's so special about him? I just want to protect Daisuke. He's the only family I have, so he's special! Not him!"
Kosuke's eyes narrowed. Such flagrant disobedience would not do. He reached out and grasped Dark's arm. Swiftly, he led the boy from the hallway and towards his quarters so they could speak privately and to not arouse any unwanted attention.
He shut the door and turned to Dark. "I know you can't understand this, not now, you're too young. But your duty to protect the Crown Prince is important, very important. I know you and Daisuke are close, but when you are older, you both will be his sole protectors. As I was to the King and Queen."
"But why! Why do we have to! Why us?!"
Kosuke was slightly taken aback by Dark's anger. It was sudden, unexpected. Well, he had anticipated such a reaction in the future, but not one so unplanned. Why did Dark react so badly?
He placed both hands on Dark's shoulders, his own serious eyes staring into Dark's childish ones. "Because, Dark, it was foretold. You and Daisuke will be the ones to protect the Crown Prince because only the two of you can do it. Only you. Only Daisuke."
Dark's entire demeanor seemed to fall into defeated resignation. There was only a moment's silence.
"Then, Daisuke and I will train to be the best." Kosuke adopted a surprised look. "We'll be the best so there won't be any danger around us, and I won't have to be afraid for Daisuke.. Or for me."
Kosuke smiled understandingly. To Dark's surprise, Kosuke hugged him. "I will train you and Daisuke, Dark. You won't have to worry."
End of flashback
Since that time, his relationship with Dark wasn't so strained. They had come to finally get along and it made Kosuke genuinely happy. With no sons of his own, it was nice to have Dark and Daisuke around. However, the memory was also tainted. It was the same year that the King and Queen had been assassinated.
Now that Kosuke thought about it, it may be due to that fact that Dark was so anxious. Personally, Kosuke felt at fault for that. As the protector for the King and Queen he should've been able to stop it. But…
Kosuke closed his eyes as his brain was assaulted with the images of that day. There was nothing to do about that past now. He was going to make sure that the prince would not suffer such a fate. And he would do that through Dark and Daisuke.
A building, low-roofed like the palace, though it was much longer than it was wide stood separate from the castle. There was a tall set of closed, wooden double-doors in the middle of the long wall, and the path that we were following led up to them. Like their "classroom", the building had many windows cut into the walls to let in the breeze. Inside, there was a training hall, which was like a gigantic room.
Daisuke, watching avidly as Kosuke and Dark practiced sparring, actually felt at home in this building. They'd spent so much time training that he shouldn't feel surprised. He'd have to wait till later before he could learn the more complicated moves. He watched as Dark swiftly dodged Kosuke's never-ending assaults. Daisuke knew enough to see that Dark was quite vulnerable if he continued to dodge without any clear idea of his next move.
With a good-natured sigh, he watched as Kosuke took the opening and send Dark flying a few feet back. Dark was on his feet in a matter of seconds but Kosuke shook his head. With a smile, Daisuke stood up from his spot to walk over to them.
"Losing your touch, Dark?" he teased.
Dark scowled, but shrugged easily. Kosuke smiled, "Your technique is improving Dark, you just need to be quicker. Or at least have a strategy or a goal to stop your opponent. Maybe devise a way to disable your opponent, and then you'll have more time in executing anything else if your opponent can still fight."
Dark nodded. When it came to physical training, it seemed Dark became more mature.
Kosuke turned to Daisuke. "Have you been practicing what we learned last?"
Daisuke's cheeks were tinged pink at the question, but he nodded. Dark smirked behind his hand, and nudged Daisuke in the side. Daisuke glared at Dark's smirking face but was interrupted from saying anything when the sound of feet running caught the three's attention.
Kosuke immediately lost his smiling face and he turned around to face a young man, obviously one of the guards. Said guard looked rumpled, hair in disarray and his breathing erratic.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but the prince--"
Kosuke grabbed the front of the soldier's shirt, pulling him close to his face. "What about the prince? What has happened?"
"We found him, sir," the scared guard replied, "on the floor of his room. One of the men tried waking him up."
"And?" Kosuke growled, his fist tightening around the man's shirt.
"He did wake up, sir, but he's-- he's throwing the men around. Somehow, he's not even touching them--"
Kosuke's eyes widened considerably. "No.." He let the guard go, and stared to the side at the castle. Being outside was a disadvantage, Kosuke knew, it would take time, no matter how short, to get there. Turning to the guard, he muttered two words. "Follow me."
He only had time to glance behind himself and meet eyes with both Dark and Daisuke. The message was clear. Stay here. The two boys could only watch in stunned silence as Kosuke and the guard ran off. "What do you think is going on, Dark?"
Daisuke waited for Dark to answer, and was surprised to receive none. He looked at Dark in the corner of his eye. "Dark?"
Dark, who was seemingly lost in a daze, came back. "Hm? Did you say something Daisuke?"
Daisuke frowned in confusion but let it pass. "Never mind, it's nothing." Daisuke turned away, wondering what they could do now. Daisuke knew that he shouldn't feel so calm, but.. Honestly, he didn't really know what the importance was. Kosuke seemed very worried about the Prince. It made Daisuke secretly wonder if Kosuke would react just the same if he or Dark were in trouble.
Of course, Daisuke knew the answer to that question and it made him feel guilty for ever thinking Kosuke would not care. In an effort to clear his thoughts and to do something rather than standing around, he turned back to Dark. "I think I'll go back inside. Maybe did a little studying for when Kosuke comes back. Want to come?"
Dark stretched his arms up over his head. "Nah. You go on ahead. I think I'll practice a bit more."
Daisuke nodded and made his way outside.
Dark watched Daisuke disappear from view before turning back to survey his surroundings. He wasn't really paying attention to any of the weapons displayed on the side of the walls; he was already lost in his own memory.
Flashback
Dark was only eleven, and he was too restless to fall asleep. At this time of night, he only envied the fact that Daisuke could fall asleep so easily. Other than that, he felt at home. Maybe it was the fact that this time was associated with his name. Dark. Maybe because it was black, that it seemed to blanket everything, it made him feel protected. Regardless of the reason, Dark felt safe.
He planned on going down to the training building, maybe practice the newest technique Kosuke showed him. He followed the well worn path to the building, feeling strangely electrified.
The sudden gust of wind made Dark aware of the chill in the air. He didn't want to admit to himself that he couldn't handle the chill, but he gave in a rubbed his arms to keep warm. Looking back to where he came from, he realized that he should probably just head back. He made a move to turn around until something shined in front of him. It was floating along the wind. And it was white.
Squinting his eyes, he jogged towards what was floating with the wind. With a quick reach of his hand, his fingers closed around the floating object.
A white feather.
Where could this have come from…?
He tipped his head back to look up into the black sky. Something so white, and obvious as this should be easy to pick from the sky. He allowed his eyes to search above him, but he couldn't see anything. He turned around to search atop the training building.
And got the surprise of his young life.
He drew in breath, eyes widening to an impossible size at the sight on top of the roof. There was a boy there, young it seemed, possibly Daisuke's age. The roof was slanted on both sides, so it made Dark wonder how the boy had got up there in the first place. Of course, that part of the question could be easily answered due to the large, white wings projecting from the boy's back.
The boy was sitting on the slanted edge, his profile facing Dark. He didn't seem to notice the intrusion, if that's what you could call it, and Dark was in no hurry to call attention to him. It gave him a chance to look at the boy's features. Unbelievably pale skin, as if he'd hardly seen any sun, and the oddest hair color. It matched the blue skies perfectly, possibly varying shades of darker blue.
He took a step closer.
The boy atop the roof immediately turned his head in Dark's correction.
Oh Gods! He's seen me! Think, Dark, think!
Dark didn't know whether to run towards the building, or stay his ground and see if he would engage in battle. Dark secretly hoped it would be neither, he didn't exactly want to look like a coward.. And for the simple fact of self preservation.
To his surprise, the boy stood, perched precariously on the roof. The wings unfolded around him, framing the boy. Dark's brain duly noted that he wore expensive clothing. There was another gust of cold wind, only this one seemed to wrap itself around the boy on the roof. In a flurry of white feathers..
The boy was gone.
Dark immediately scanned the skies for any sight of him, but there was not even the faintest hint a feather. Disappointed, he headed back towards the palace, exhausted.
The next day, however, Dark was immediately filled with impatience. He wanted to head over to the training building to see if the boy would be there, but he still had some studying to do. Kosuke wanted to teach them about geography, something which Dark tolerated to an extent, but he had no time for that now. He walked as slow as he could to the study room, Daisuke walking beside him and staring at him as if he was crazy. "Why are you walking so weirdly, Dark?"
Weirdly! How.. How dare he! He was walking slowly! "I'm not in the mood for geography."
Daisuke tilted his head. "Is that all? You seem impatient to get somewhere."
"It's nothing." Dark replied.
"Hm.. Certainly doesn't seem like nothing. But I'll let it go for now. I'll arrive early, so Kosuke won't be too angry with you."
"Thanks. I owe you one."
"One? Hah. That's funny, Dark, really. I'll call on this favor for later."
Dark adopted a wounded look. "Since when did you become so evil?"
"Since I hang around you!" Daisuke laughed, managing to ruffle Dark's hair before sprinting off.
Dark glared at Daisuke's back, but allowed a smile to slip onto his face. He still planned on walking slow, but at least he didn't have to worry about Kosuke being overly angry. He passed by a shut door and heard the sound of two voices. It sounded like an old man's and a young boy's voice.
He wasn't the eavesdropping type of guy, but when an opportunity presented itself, who was he to refuse? Grinning openly, he leaned his head against the door. There was the sound of papers rustling before the teacher, -well that was what Dark assumed-, continued to question the student.
Maybe they're new recruits.
"I've heard you've developed an interest in training?"
"Archery, to be specific." the boy replied.
Dark raised an eyebrow. Archery? Dark wasn't aware that there were a need for archers.
"Sire, perhaps your Father would have wanted--"
"Wanted to train with hand-to-hand combat. Yes, I know. With weapons, as well, if I remember correctly."
"…"
"Archery."
"I will see to it, sire."
By that time, Dark's eyes were just as large as the night before. The boy in there, he was the Crown Prince! The one he and Daisuke are supposed to protect!
Here was his chance to actually get a look at him… but how?
As if answering his question, or rather, assisting him, the door opened. Dark had just enough warning time to ease himself behind the door. It seems the teacher, or whoever he was, was going off to see to the boy's request.
Prince, he corrected himself.
Making sure the man was far enough, Dark brought his head around the door to peek in. His sharp intake of breath was masked by the boy coughing at the same moment.
It was the same boy he'd seen the night before.
Said boy was busily writing something done, possibly work, and didn't seem to notice him watching. Quietly, Dark drew back.
What was the Prince, exactly? Was this evil sorcery?
Mind confused with thoughts, he hurried to the study room.
That night, Dark had come to a decision. He needed to speak to Kosuke, and tell him that he wasn't so sure that he and Daisuke should protect anyone. What happened between he and Kosuke, was something Dark didn't want to dwell on at that moment.
End of flashback
Dark snapped himself out of his memory. He sometimes wondered what he and Daisuke were doing, if they were ready to protect someone. If he was. He barely knew this boy, how was he supposed to do his job well? What if he didn't like this prince?
Dark sighed tiredly, maybe he could head back to the study room and get some work done there.
AN: How do you like it so far? My first DNAngel fic. Since both the storyline and genre is a bit of a stretch for me, I hope everyone will still enjoy the story! I would also love to hear what everyone thinks of my story, so feel free to review or PM me!