Title: Chasing the Dream
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
Pairing: Dark x OC, Daisuke x Riku, Satoshi x Risa
Spoilers: N/A
Summary: They used to say that if man was meant to fly, he'd have wings. But he did fly. He discovered that he had to.
Word Count: 1,231
Warnings: I'm pretending the anime ending never happened. So this is going the based off the abrupt ending of the manga and make assumptions as to what happened from there.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Summary is from Star Trek: The Original Series.

A/N: Dark deserves love. And if I'm being completely honest with you, I never liked Risa (other stories involving her notwithstanding). So I'm not pairing her with him here, and only for sake of avoiding two OC characters am I putting her with my Satoshi.

There was nothing. No sound. No light. No awareness of anything. For so, so long. How long, Dark could never tell – it always felt as if he were floating in dark water, or in a dream, with no sense of time or place. Then, slowly, so softly he could never tell when it first began, awareness would begin to drift back into his world. He would see a flash of color (A car? Hair? A building?) or hear a brief clip of a voice. The first person he heard, was always the last person he had heard from before. Daisuke's voice. Daisuke's laugh.

Oh, yes, he remembered now. There was a girl… what was her name this time? Riku… Harada Riku… that's right. She loved his tamer, and then Dark went away. Away to where there was nothing. To this realm the Hikari had created. To this limbo he lived in for years and years. Always wondering if this would be the generation when there were no new Niwa, when this would be the last time the world ever saw the Phantom Thief Dark.

But life was coming back – light. He could sense that something was coming, that he was close, so close – the pressure was an unbearable weight on his chest, a breath-hitching, all consuming ache that he couldn't release – if only he could –

"I'm sorry, Niwa-san, I don't return your feelings."

Yes!

Freedom!

Dark could feel the inky blackness of this realm fall away like water from a duck's back, felt himself clawing his way to the surface, inch by inch, slowly, so slowly…

He could hear his new tamer sputtering, could see flashes of a city street as he ran home, could hear voices asking questions – Was that Daisuke's voice? And a woman – Riku? He felt his host's anger, felt the body he was trapped in shift and stretch, felt sinews and muscles change as the form turned into something new, something familiar –

- then the sweet, sweet release of tearing through the blackness, of consciousness stretching, of filling out into his body, of being alive again.

A slow stretch of his back, like a cat after a long sleep, ignoring the panicked screaming of a young boy inside his own head, he slanted a cocky grin up at the boy (now a man) who he hadn't seen in a lifetime. "Hey, Daisuke, long time no see."

So you're telling me this is going to happen to me every time I think about Aya-san?!

Dark stuck a finger in his ear as if that could help drown out the yelling inside his head. "Dai-chan, stop freaking out. It's not so bad." A slow smirk. "You get to see what it's like the be a real ladies man for a change."

I don't want to be a ladies man!

"Ma, ma, you're just like Daisuke." Dark stood from where we was lounging on Niwa Dai's bed, feeling a brief clench of nostalgia for the last time he was in a Niwa's room. "Besides, it's almost time for us to get headed to the museum." A wide grin. "It's time for Phantom Thief Dark to make his next appearance."

Phantom Thief Dark will appear to steal the Eleventh Hour at 7 PM

From his perch atop a nearby roof, Dark could see the museum was surrounded by police officers, news reporters, and crowds of people – some sporting 'I Love Dark' posters. Ah, just like old times…

Dark I don't want to do this! It's not right!

"It's tradition, Dai-chan! One your family has proudly – for the most part – and loudly borne for generations." He leapt off the building into the shadows below. "Besides, your job is pretty simple," with a quick yank, he jerked a passing security guard into the alley, knocked him out, and donned his hat and jacket. "All you have to do is find your Sacred Maiden," he pulled the hat low over his eyes and walked purposefully through the crowd, "And then you're home free!"

Dark! You're going to get caught!

"Nah, this works every time." A girl near him turned to stare at him in confusion when he spoke to no one. Ignoring the alarm spewing from inside his head, he let a slow, lazy grin form, part gentlemen, all insolent rascal. "Sorry, ma'am, just talking out loud to myself."

"O-oh, that's okay, sir." Her face was as red as Daisuke's hair.

"Have a nice night," with a tip of his hat, he left her in a puddle of emotion and continued on, ignoring Niwa until he was all the way inside the museum. "See I told you, it works every time." A quick look around and he unerringly followed the long hallways to the control panel in the very back of the museum.

But isn't the statue in the East Wing?

"Just you wait, little Niwa." And Dark flipped off the lights.

Immediately, chaos erupted: screams and shouts of panic, officers yelling orders, the buzz of walkie-talkies, pounding feet as security ran to and fro, trying to solve the issue. In the glare of flashlights, Dark became just another officer running down the halls. Only he was running towards the roof. Bursting out into the moonlight, he immediately took off his disguise, seconds before a small blur launched itself at him.

Wiz?!

"Hey, little buddy!" He took the statuette from his partner. "You did good! Now for the grand finale!"

What just happened…?

"Fancy meeting you here… Dark." Spinning back towards to rooftop entrance, a shadow shifted, moving forward, revealing itself to be a man hidden in the gloom behind the door. "It's been a long time." A slow smile, a glinting of glasses.

Dark relaxed. "Hiwatari," he grinned. "Or should I say, Hikari. What do you go by these days?" No answer. "By the way, do you have a brat of your own running around?" A laugh. "So I know who to keep my eye out for."

There's a Hiwatari Toya in my class…

"So it's Hiwatari still, huh? Still trying to forget the past?"

Satoshi merely smiled and stepped further into the moonlight. "Please tell Daisuke I send my regards. And watch out for Dai-san, I know how dangerous being your tamer is."

He knows it's me?! Am I going to jail?!

"Ah, you're no fun, Hiwatari! You know I'm perfectly careful!" A wink, even as Satoshi pulled out his radio and commed in their location. "Most of the time."

And Dark leapt off the roof, black wings scattering feathers against the backdrop of the moon.

It was good to be back.