a/n: Hi!... Again. First off: Oppsies! _ I realized my 'Dreaming of Red Threads' sounded scarily like White Rose's fic with the entire meet in dream and everything... er... GOMEN~! My fic had *nothing* to do with White Rose's fic! (It's a good fic though so anybody who hasn't read it yet should!) It was actually mostly inspired by 'Origins' by Lady Crysiana. Who, BTW, does some really good DNAngel fics too... ^_^ Anyway - gomen. I did not mean to do that! ^_^ Arghness.

Ah yes. My first Satoshi/Daisuke fic. Done when I'm sick, no less.

The usual warnings: OOC people (read: Satoshi), sucky writing, shortness. *pause* Meet my cute blonde muse, Alec. He's doing the disclaimer. I'm going to find someplace to sleep...

Alec:... -_-v *ahem* The disclaimer! DNAngel and anything belonging to DNAngel does not belong to Chibi. It never has, nor will it ever. If it did, Chibi would either be richer or DNAngel would fail as a manga do to horrible drawing.

[Hospital Love]

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It's always the same. The same smell, the same chairs, the same waiting room, the same white washed walls... Satoshi thought, leaning against the wall. Besides him was the door the room number 342 in which a certain young red hair boy lay sleeping.

After everything... will you die from a cold - pneumonia? It was rather ironic - as Niwa Daisuke, or Dark Mousy, he'd never been captured, no matter how well Satoshi had planned, waited, or hunted him. Dark Mousy.

Yes. Satoshi hunted the phantom thief. It was an obsession, and goal. Something to work for.

He'd be lost without it.

For Daisuke... it was never an 'obsession'.

Just a quiet love.

Was it love? He certainly cared for the smaller boy.

A lot.

Enough to awaken... Krad.

You must never care for anyone! Never let anyone get close to your heart!

Our family curse!

Someone... a woman who might have been his mother had warned him. However, it hadn't helped. He couldn't control what had... what had happened. He'd never meant... but...Daisuke had even survived the encounter with the demon...

Twice.

And he'd even saved Satoshi's life from Dark.

I knew you had more power than anybody gave you credit for. Satoshi slowly ran his fingers down his pencil. He pulled out his notebook as well, to give himself something to do while he waited. After all, Hikaris, or Hiwataris, it didn't matter which, never fidgeted. Just cool. Calm. Collected.

He hated it.

He hated his life.

He hated this thing people thought was his life.

The only thing he liked in it was Daisuke.

Except Daisuke is also Dark, isn't it? sneered some small part of his mind.

That doesn't matter. He replied, trying to ignore the small voice and the uncomfortable truths he'd been battling ever since Dark had made his reappearance after forty years.

/Of course it does./ The voice wouldn't go away. /You need to capture Dark, but then you end up hurting your precious Daisuke. But if you can't hurt the poor, innocent boy, you'll never catch Dark. Such a predicament.../

Shut up.

/Can't shut me up. I'm not like Krad./Satoshi grimaced at the name.

I hate you.

/You hate all your voices./ It snickered. /But I'll be nice today and leave you alone./

Satoshi did not sigh with relief but he did loosen up.

I've always watched you

He played with his notebook for a moment, flipping through different entries.

There - there was the one where he had caught Daisuke picking a lock successfully. An electronic lock at that.

Then he knew. For sure, without a doubt, that Daisuke *would* be the next Dark Mousy.

And there'd be nothing Satoshi Hiwatari - Satoshi Hikari - could do about it.

The one person Satoshi liked... the one person he had ever considered 'friend'...

They'd become enemies.

Even if he didn't want it.

Even if Daisuke wouldn't want it. Might not want it.

But Daisuke wasn't the type who would want to hurt anybody on purpose. Not unless a person threatened someone he loved, someone he cared for.

All his observations later... all about Daisuke...

/Admit it, Hiwatari, all your *other* entries are on Daisuke, too.../

I thought you said you'd leave me alone.

/Did you know it's considered a sign of insanity when you begin talking to youself?/ It snickered again. /Okay, okay, I'll really go this time./

Flipping back to the front and going more slowly, he realized that little voice was right.

Ever since the beginning, he had watched him...

Closing his eyes, he ran away from where his thoughts took him, not wanting to thing about what it would mean, this revelation. Leaning closer to the door, he heard the hushed voices of Daisuke's family.

Listening to the voices of love...

"Dai-chan... Dai-chan... kaasan is here. So is tousan and jiisan. You'll be okay, Dai-chan. You can make it." Emiko whispered to her son as much for him and for herself. "Dai-chan, you'll be okay. You won't fail, you won't give up. And Dark will make sure you won't give up, ne?"

He could imagine the tears on the face of Daisuke's energetic and sometimes overzealous mother.

"Kaasan will make you your favorite dish when you get home and I promise no jobs until Dark says it's okay."

"Daisuke? Hai, it's tousan. Even though we don't know each other very well..."

Impossible. Even if Daisuke did only know a person for a short amount of time, he makes it feel like you've known each other forever. A gift...? He loves everybody...

"But I want you to know I love you. We never got very much time before but...

"We should later, ne? To catch up on *everything*. It'll be fun. Maybe a picnic? At least now you don't have to bother with stealing more artwork or wearing your kaasan's weird clothes."

"What was that? Kosuke-san?"

"Heh, iie, nothing!"

"Get well soon, Daisuke. We all miss you, and we're worried about you."

That would Daisuke's grandfather. Daiki. The phantom thief before Daisuke.

"Dark, take care of Daisuke. Please. Don't let him go."

Always Dark. Always him.

There was silence in the room. Opening his eyes, a pair of white sneakers filled Satoshi's vision; he looked up to see Emiko giving him a hard look. He returned it with his impassive mask. Daiki and Kosuke hung behind her, uncertain and unwilling to get in Emiko's way. She looked as if she internally debating about something before she finally pinned him with her no-nonsense, don't-you-/dare/-try-it look.

"Go in. Daisuke needs all his friends there." She told him shortly and then turned around and walked away.

If Satoshi had been any less than himself, he would have stood there with his mouth hanging open. As it was, he was shocked into a few moments of complete stillness.

"Well? Go!" Emiko called over her shoulder, still walking away.

He wonder exactly what she was up to but wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He hurried into the hospital room without needing to be told again.

waiting for you

Daisuke looked small and young against the starch white hospital sheets. But then, Daisuke was always small for his age. He could see the IV tube connect into a vein in Daisuke's right arm. His spiky red hair was limper and the pallor of his skin spoke volumes for how sick he was.

Satoshi sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"Niwa-kun...

"Daisuke...

"It's me. Hiwatari. Satoshi." He stopped, unsure of what to say.

Never let anyone get close to your heart.

He'd never needed to express himself before.

"Your kaasan said it was okay to come in."

That was pathetic. He thought bitterly.

Why can't I just say what I want to say?

"I want to say... sorry. For all the pain I've caused you. For everything I've put you through. And

Krad... I'm sorry about Krad.

"If things were different... I wish things were different.

"I don't want to be your enemy, Daisuke.

"I... I... I want... I...

"I want to be your friend." And more

"I don't understand you. You care so much for everyone around you. Even me. Even though I've caused you so much pain. How can you forgive me? I can't forgive myself... I never wanted to take away your more precious person... I never want to cause you pain..."

longing from afar

He touched Daisuke's pale hand, running a finger over the soft skin and across the knuckles. He clasped the hand in his own, bending his head over the hands.

I liked you before...

You were nice to me.

I thought you were weak.

But you persisted.

You made me like you.

You proved to me to love somebody isn't a weakness.

But you were wrong.

For me, it is a weakness. I'm not lucky like you.

And then... and then...

I fell in love with you.

And I couldn't admit.

I had to lock the emotion far, far away. Otherwise... otherwise...

It's already happened. Krad has appeared.

Why...?

Why must you be so kind?

"Why did you make me love you?"

the one I love

"Daisuke... always so cheerful."

Satoshi closed his eyes and remembered everything he could of the boy lying so still in the hospital bed now.

Daisuke, always like a light. He just drew people to him.

Daisuke laughing with his friends, playing on the field with his friends.

Daisuke offering food to Sekimoto.

Daisuke listening to Risa even when she rejected him. He had even tried her food.

Never hurting another person's feelings. At least, not intentionally...  

trying to understand everything you teach

"Hi... Hiwatari-kun...?"

"Dai - Niwa!" Satoshi sat straight up, beginning to feel giddy, light headed, and in his gut, dispair and horror. This wasn't happening. He didn't just practically confess his feelings and have Daisuke wake up and here him.

It wasn't happening. It wasn't.

Daisuke smiled weakly at him. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice soft.

"Visiting."

"Aa. At least you won't have any trouble with Dark, ne?"

"You should go back to sleep. You're still very sick."

"Aa." Daisuke smiled at him again, nodding slightly and fell asleep, but not before squeezing his hand with his own.

His breath caught in his throat.

:Satoshi-sama. Wouldn't it be so easy to kill the Wing Master now? He's sick and just sleeping there...: cajoled the coy voice of his hated other.

:No! I won't let you!:

:You don't have a choice. I'll make it so you won't remember, Satoshi-sama... I can even do it without anybody finding out...:

:NO! No no no no no no!: But he could already feel the change beginning. :NO!: he cried again, quickly distangling his hand and running out of the hospital. :I won't let you... hurt... him...:

In the place where Satoshi once stood, Krad glowered.

:You won't be able to protect him forever. When I kill him, you'll be mine forever, Satoshi-sama.:

:Never. I'll never let you kill him.:

:No one can stop me forever.:

do you return my love?

"Hiwatari-kun...

"Don't go..." Daisuke curled in the direction of where Satoshi had been.

"Gomen... Daisuke..." whispered Dark sadly.

^owari^

a/n: Er... what the is up with that ending...? o_O This is why I'm refusing to write again when I'm sick. Nuh uh. Never again. The whole thing sucks. I hate the style. The title is just weird. And why pneumonia? *shrugs* It was the first thing that came to mind. -_-v

Alec: You know it probably would have turned out exactly the same even if you weren't sick.

Chibi:...-_-; maybe... Anyway - it was too short! Blah. I. Don't. Like. I'm just going over to that corner and bang my head a couple of times and wish I didn't catch this stupid whatever it is... *sniffles* *cough* argh... fever... *shuffles off*