Author's Note: I've been working on this challenge off and on for some time, but something made me want to post the first chapter, finally. Unfortunately, since yours truly is disorganized, there will be varying gaps of time to wait between chapters due to the fact that I skip around a lot. But anyway, on to the reason why I started this in the first place. I've always obsessed over the DNAngel series, both the original work and the wonderful gems hidden in its fandom. So now, I want to give back and give everyone else something to obsess over. Sure, I've done fanarts and little 1~2 chapter things, but never anything of this scale. These stories will be independent of each other for the most part, though some will have sequels in later chapters. Feel free to report any formatting/gramatical errors if you find any. A link to the full list of themes will be in my profile.

As stated in the summary, the chapters will focus around Satoshi and/or Daisuke. Given that this is my OTP, a large number of the chapters will at least hint at one having romantic feelings for the other, but this by no means does this always have to be interpreted as such and not all chapters will be this way. So, don't let it scare you off. If you see a chapter you're not comfortable with, just skip to the next one.

Also, keep in mind that the majority of these will occur manga-verse. A few will occur in the anime-verse and possibly one or two AU, but for the most part it's best to have a good knowledge of the manga.

1. Introduction

First impressions mean a lot to people, despite the fact that they are not always accurate. When Satoshi began to attend Azumano Middle School due to the fact that the Niwa of his generation, Niwa Daisuke, went there, he expected something vastly different than what he saw. This boy was to be Dark's host soon, so he expected Niwa to be over-analytical and careful, similar to himself. This would explain why Satoshi had been so unprepared for their first meeting. After all, the only thing he had to go by was a name. Not a person.

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Satoshi had been walking through the hallways of the school after class had ended, carefully memorizing where everything was. He had briefly attended this school for less than a year before he had moved on to high school for the first time, but due to him skipping so many grades, he hadn't been able to be a part of the usual routine that the other students there abided by. The thought of finally getting to know what a regular school life was like had made Satoshi's head spin for a while, though that was more out of wonder than out of stress. Still, he suspected that this precious little free time that he would have after school was one of the things he would enjoy the most. It was quiet; something he was used to.

However, for every moment of silence, something had to break that silence. This particular noise came in the form of a shout from around the corner.

"Saehara, I said I don't want to! Put the camera away!"

Satoshi barely had time to look up before a boy around his own age with bright red hair hastily turned in to the hallway he was walking down. The distracted redhead was looking over his shoulder, as if being chased, and was running at full speed straight at Satoshi. Seconds before they were about to collide, the redhead turned his gaze forward. Eyes going wider than they already were, the boy panicked, and skidded to a stop right in front of Satoshi, so close that their shoes were only about an inch from each other. Unfortunately, this caused the shorter boy to lose his balance. Arms flailing uselessly, he toppled backwards. Reacting quickly, Satoshi grabbed the front of his uniform and yanked the shorter male towards him.

The redhead grunted in surprise when he collided harmlessly with Satoshi's chest. Eyes that were the same shade of scarlet as his hair stared up at Satoshi, a curious expression formed within their depths. Satoshi stared back from beneath thin glass frames, and something seemed to resonate between them.

Although the clumsiness of the person in front of him made Satoshi want to laugh—something he rarely did—the possibility was pushed out by the instincts in his mind screaming at him. This was the one, it was him. The Niwa, the one he was destined to meet, to capture, to destroy. Satoshi could practically hear his own heartbeat growing louder with each passing second, until the pounding was deafening against his ears.

It had been ages since he felt so alive. If he had less control, he would have been smirking by now.

"Aha, caught you!" exclaimed a boy with spiky black hair. Satoshi recognized him as "the loud person" who was in the same class as him. The grin on his face morphed into a perplexed stare. "Eh, Daisuke? What are you doing with the new transfer student?"

Realizing what it looked like, Satoshi let his hands slip from steadying Niwa's shoulders. Pushing up his glasses with his index finger, Satoshi said simply, "He fell."

The expression on the black-haired boy's face changed back into a mischievous one. "Sure he did," he teased, readying his camera.

In a panic, Niwa shuffled behind Satoshi, who had to keep from tensing when he felt hands against his back. He didn't like physical contact much to begin with, let alone from someone who was his family's enemy.

"I said "no pictures", Saehara!" the shorter boy pleaded, peeking out from behind Satoshi, only to duck around the other side when the reporter stepped closer to them. His attempts to go around Satoshi, however, were blocked when an arm was outstretched in front of his path.

"What's your problem?" Saehara asked, miffed that someone was ruining his fun.

Satoshi stared down at him coldly. Though it was interesting to watch his adversary get flustered, something had touched a nerve. "It's rude," Satoshi began, his voice flat to the point of almost being a monotone, "to force people to do things after they've refused." Inwardly, he was amused at how the other was trying to hide the fact that he appeared intimidated. He wasn't doing a very good job.

Saehara laughed nervously. "O-okay. I get it." He turned around and proceeded to walk the other way. "See you tomorrow, Daisuke!"

"Ah, yeah," Niwa responded awkwardly, waving back to the reporter. A moment passed before he bothered to step away from Satoshi. "Thank you. Saehara's a good guy, but he can get crazy sometimes."

Satoshi glanced off to the side, not wanting to look at the genuinely grateful expression. "It's nothing."

If Satoshi had been looking, he would have seen the redhead's smile turn a little guilty. "But still, it's your first day here. I didn't mean to make it hard on you…" he trailed off, before coming to a realization. "Oh! I haven't even told you my name yet. Sorry."

Satoshi bit back the urge to comment that he already knew.

A hand was extended to the spectacled boy. "I'm Niwa Daisuke. Nice to meet you. We're in the same class, so just ask if you need any help." Satoshi stared at the hand. A few seconds passed uneasily.

"I suppose you already know then, but I'm Hiwatari Satoshi," he responded, not taking the hand and opting for a polite bow instead. Niwa, unsure of what to do with his hand, opted to scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

The somewhat uncomfortable silence was interrupted by a quiet, yet slightly irritating beeping noise. Caught off-guard, the redhead jumped. "Ah! I forgot, I should have left by now!" he exclaimed, panic setting in. "My mom's going to freak if I'm home late! Sorry, Hiwatari-kun, I'll see you tomorrow." With a neutral expression, Satoshi watched him dash away. Once he was out of sight, however, his brows furrowed.

That boy seemed like someone who was hard to miss. Now that he thought about it, he did remember seeing him in class earlier that day. And yet…

…Why hadn't he noticed until now? It was true that he didn't really pay attention to people his own age, but after the strange resonance that he had felt a few minutes ago, how could he have not noticed that the Niwa of this generation was in the same room as him? Clearly, Satoshi figured, this boy was not to be underestimated. He would pay close attention to him from now on.

The next day, Satoshi came to school with a small notebook and pen in the shirt pocket of his school uniform.

Author's Note: Chapter 1, end! The characterization in this chapter is very different from what I usually write, since I wanted to explore what Satoshi's frame of mind would be like prior to Dark's awakening, and therefore prior to getting closer to Daisuke. I imagined that things would be awkward for both of them (not necessarily for the same reasons), since in the first chapter of the manga Satoshi seemed to give off such a distant vibe around Daisuke. However, since this was their very first meeting, I had Satoshi do some things that he wouldn't have normally done had he been in full control of the situation. Also, I just had to include the little bit about Saehara being a little scared of Satoshi. There was one scene in particular in the manga that inspired this, though I'm not sure at the moment which volume it was in. (Though I do remember it was the one where the class was on vacation, and Dark was sealed in a mirror.)