Focus: Hiwatari Satoshi
Course: World Cultures

My sincere thanks to my gracious beta Hosaki, and to Vash, who is important.

Disclaimer: I don't own DNAngel.

Cowboys and Indians

Satoshi looked over at the boy. He was sitting two rows over, but both of the children that usually sat between them had left their chairs in favor of a friend's seat. The boy however, had chosen to use the period in a different manner. The instructor had said that this was going to be a 'free period,' a deceptive title that meant that she strongly recommended that everyone study for the upcoming final exams, but that she knew no one would anyway. She had been right for the most part. The only kids in the class that had actually been attempting to study the material were Satoshi, and Harada Riku, the latter of which had given up once her sister had started pestering her about which bow she though was prettier.

Satoshi didn't like to think that he had stopped studying (not that he needed to study in the first place), but that he had simply taken a break from it. Lord knows Satoshi would never do something like stop studying, or act out of character for the other boy. Satoshi just liked to think that he would pause for the younger boy sometimes, or perhaps Satoshi would admit that he thought about the other boy in his spare moments. Mind you, it wasn't like Satoshi made time for him.

The other boy had utilized the free time they had been given by, of all things, sleeping. His head was flat on his desk, turned in Satoshi's favor. His chest rose and fell calmly, and it could only be surmised that he was dreaming pleasantly from the delicate arrangement of his face. Satoshi doubted that anyone else in the classroom understood the full reason behind why the boy had needed to catch up on his sleep - sleeping during free periods wasn't an uncommon thing amongst school children their age - but usually a nice boy like him wouldn't be caught sleeping in school under any circumstances.

Unless the circumstances were Dark, in which case, such was acceptable, apparently.

He had been out stealing again last night. And Satoshi had been out protecting again. And he had gotten away with another art piece, again. And Satoshi found that he didn't actually care…again. So the Crown of Felicity was gone. And had Satoshi the freedom of mind he would have liked, he could have honestly said that the only thought on his mind would have been, 'So?' It was strange how little he cared that his family's treasures were being taken by their age old rival. But it wasn't for the thief's sake that the Hikari child didn't mind, but for the boy that housed the thief.

Satoshi looked down at his 'World Religions' book as someone approached, making it look as if the genius boy was still studying his lessons, and not his classmate. The girl that had been approaching stopped at the desk next to Satoshi, rummaging around in it for what ever belonging of hers she so desired. Satoshi just kept pretend-reading. It wasn't that he couldn't concentrate on anything but the other boy, he told himself, it was just that he didn't just want to right now, that was all.

After a minute or two of mindlessly staring at the page in front of him, Satoshi started to read some of the words on the page (seeing as he had nothing better to do with his nose in a book), and he idly realized that he had opened to a section about Native American Customs. Not really focusing, Satoshi was reading the bolded words on the page over and over again, not really paying attention to what he was reading. He didn't really feel like studying or concentrating, but then again, there was something in him that protested looking up to see that boy, still sleeping calmly and peacefully and ever so angelically. It took a moment of blinking his eyes before he decided to focus on the sentence he had read about six times.

Among Native American peoples of the Plains culture, a coup was a feat of bravery performed, especially the touching of an enemy's body with bare hands, without causing injury.

'Touching an enemy with your bare hands is an act of bravery?' Satoshi thought to himself. Suddenly he found himself interested in his World Religions work.

He looked over at his 'enemy,' who he knew was always armed with the voice inside his head, and wondered what part of a 'coup' would have been considered 'brave.' Because Satoshi knew for a fact that, using his bare hands was nothing to feel brave about, no matter if it was the boy or the thief, Satoshi had never used anything more than handcuffs, and even then it was only on the latter.

Perhaps it was the very act of touching that one ought feel brave about. Coming in contact with another human was sometimes more than he was used to. Being a solitary person, skin-on-skin contact was a little out of the ordinary for Satoshi. But then again, Satoshi knew that he'd touched the boy before - he had certainly shoved the boy against walls and backed him into corners before - and it hadn't really taken all that much courage to do. He just needed to have a good reason and a semi-violent approach, and he wouldn't forget why his hands were on the other child's skin.

So perhaps…perhaps a coup was viewed as an honor and a sign of bravery because one didn't harm his enemy. Even Satoshi, the Commander of the police force, and the host of a vile daemon, had to admit that he had not the courage in him to often touch the younger boy in a non-threatening manner. While he had touched his enemy before, he couldn't honestly say that he had kept control of himself each time, and that he had not had a subtle urge to cause pain or discomfort. Nearly every time he had come in contact with the other host he had used some sort of physical force. Perhaps it was his inner demon acting from within him, or perhaps it was just the mechanics of the relationship. In what way other than aggressively would a man touch his enemy?

Satoshi thought the question over while he closed his book and looked back over at his 'enemy.' The girl that had been in the way had moved away again, leaving the lane between the boys open once again. Satoshi could see him still sleeping peacefully as if he had not a care in the world. Sleeping as if he was safe from the harm that sat two chairs across the room from him. Suddenly all the thoughts of touching and bravery came back to the forefront of his mind, making his first thought of his want to accomplish such a feat of touching the boy without harming him.

'It would be…honorable, right? A noble act…to get so close and keep such control over myself.'

Satoshi looked down at the cover of the book sitting on his desk. Not because it had any significance, but because it was somewhere else than the loveable face of his opponent. He closed his eyes as he realized he wanted to know what it was like, to hold the boy, and not try to harm him. Just to run a hand over a fair cheek…

And even before he opened his eyes with the ringing of the bell, he realized why a coup was considered an act of bravery. And as he stood from his seat, he understood that not just any coward could get that close, and that not just anyone could show that gentle emotion - the one that he tried so desperately to keep bottled inside - to a person they were ordered to hate. What if the contact wasn't understood? What if the other took it as something it wasn't? What if his allies turned their back on him because of the action? What if he were to be misunderstood and alone in the end?

He understood now, why only the brave committed such an action, and why it had been such an honor. And as Satoshi reached the other boy's seat on his way to the door, he noticed that the boy was still asleep. The boy would be late to his next class if he were left unconscious. Satoshi was the only student left in the classroom.

The instructor was near, and her eyes met his. She waited for Satoshi to wake his classmate. He was close to the boy. All he had to do was reach an arm out and shake the poor boy's shoulder.

Satoshi simply looked at her. Cold. Unfeeling. How enemies are supposed to be. He could never manage to really look at his true enemy that way, but he could at least pretend that was the way he felt. The way he was supposed to feel.

He resumed his walk, leaving the room with the boy that he wanted to touch, but would never have the courage to. Leaving his enemy behind him, proving him the coward that he was.