Sorry this took so long to get out, but gah! Happy birthday killah-sama! I hope you have fun and get whatever you might think up in your messed-up head to want. XD, I command you all to go and check her out, if you don't know her already. And if you do... go review her fics. It's her birthday, damn it, show some love! XD, enjoy!
RedEyed Wolf-2nd: Glad you liked it so much. Seeing as how this is a gift, I'm really struggling to keep everyone in character, so it won't turn out crap. And whether the fangirls like it or not, Satoshi isn't Mr. Nice-and-loveable. Thanks for reviewing!
Violet Garnets: XD, you flatter me.. it makes me want to run and hide. I always love relationships like Krad and Satoshi's, where Krad's just using Satoshi for his own means, and while Satoshi knows he shouldn't help Krad out, in a sense, he can't help but feel some sick and twisted connection to him. It leads to great mental turmoil, and makes for fun writing indeed. Thanks for reviewing!
Solo Maxwell-Yamato: See how I feel? Now I shall compliment you forever on how great and wonderful you are and how much I love you and make you blush and want to run away XD. And of course you want both, who wouldn't? XD, I'm not fond of Kei, either, but he makes for a good evil guy. I toyed with the idea of actually making Daisuke leave, but then I thought 'well, that just won't do, hell, Satoshi'd just end up tracking him down and dragging him back' XD, thanks for reviewing!
sHiNiGaMi-ArAsHi1412: Yeah, it's post-series, but (and check wikipedia if you don't believe me) it was never confirmed his father died. And, this is a pet peeve of mine, but please don't use what I'm going to call 'words' like 'u' and 'n'. Proper English, please, it's not hard.
ryka phoenix: Yay, I'm glad you think Satoshi's acting in character as well. It's such a huge paranoia of mine that I'm making characters OOC, you have no idea. And Daisuke will shape up and act like his happy self here in a little bit. Not this chapter, but soon. XD, he's just going through his angsty phase right now. Thanks for reviewing!
"Hey," Satoshi greeted softly as he approached the sitting boy.
Daisuke looked up from his place on the bench and offered a small smile that quickly faded, "I'm glad you came."
Satoshi chuckled lightly-- a strange sound, to say the least, "I'm glad you stayed."
Daisuke nodded, "That makes two of us." He closed his eyes and attempted to retrieve a moment's peace from the cold world, but it was to no avail. No matter how much he tried to relax, he always felt vulnerable now that Dark was gone. Even with Satoshi next to him, even with Krad gone, he knew that something could happen and he'd be powerless to stop it. With Dark had gone all his self-confidence, and while he still maintained the skills he always had, he was unsure of every step he took, unable to tell if it was ever in the right direction.
A silence fell between the two, and to Daisuke, it felt very awkward. He had called Satoshi from school for what? To sit here with him and offer emotional support? That wasn't the kind of person the bluenette was, and Daisuke doubted Satoshi's thoughts were centered around helping him cope.
Indeed, Satoshi wasn't thinking of helping Daisuke cope at all, but was more fixated on what his father had said. Everything that had led up to this point seemed predetermined, and Krad's return would only solidify the grand scheme of things. Good had, in a sense, won over evil in the last round, but evil always has a way of returning. Then again, whenever the villain rises again, does the hero not return to save the people once more? Even if Dark did return with Krad, the fact remained that the blonde would still be back in action. Even if his goals were the same as ever, he would cause danger not only to Satoshi, but to Daisuke as well.
Luckily for Satoshi, he had never become dependent on Krad's voice of unreasoning and was able to make decisions on his own. He knew that he had to stop his father from bringing about Krad's return, but the weary look on his friend's face stopped him from agreeing with that choice totally.
"I don't want Krad back, no matter what, but I have the chance to make Daisuke happy again." He knew that it would be impossible to retrieve Dark without getting Krad in return-- things never worked out that well for the hero. He sighed to himself and hung his head, closing his eyes. Things where Krad were concerned were always difficult, but usually the path was clearly marked. Usually, Satoshi could go against the angel with everything he had and didn't have to worry about making the wrong decision. This time, though, his conscience ripped him apart and he couldn't tell what he should do. Perhaps he had been wrong, perhaps Krad had helped him like he claimed to have all those times. After all, whatever choice his other half rooted for, Satoshi knew to walk the opposite way.
"I'm sorry," Daisuke said suddenly, drawing Satoshi's attention, "I shouldn't have called you out here."
Satoshi shook his head and sat next to his friend, "It's alright, it's not like I actually need school."
"I know, you just want to see what it's like to be a normal teenager." Satoshi nearly jumped when Daisuke laughed at his own words, "But you're not, are you? Neither of us are. We can pretend like we have a normal life and normal friends, but anyone who holds a secret like ours can't possibly be normal, can we?"
"Krad always said that I was different, that I was special, and I always believed him, but I never believed it to be a good thing. I always thought of myself as alienated from the rest of the world because they couldn't possibly understand what I was." At this point, Satoshi offered Daisuke a rare, fond look, "But then I realized that everything Krad was saying-- that I was a freak, that no one would ever understand me, that I'd be alone forever-- was all just to keep me submissive and compliant with his ways."
"So...you don't think that anymore?" Daisuke wondered, "Even though so few people know the truth and you are kind of...solitary?"
"No, because I used to be alone because I was afraid of what people would think. I didn't want to trust anyone and tell them all my secrets and have them hate me and leave. That's why I only stayed around people that already knew, regardless of their intentions with me."
"So why do you stay alone now?" It would seem that if he no longer feared getting close, that it would be senseless to keep his distance.
"Because I realized that I am different, but it's not a bad thing, and all the others couldn't possibly understand me. That's alright, though, because I really don't want them to, I'm content with no one knowing my secrets." He glanced at Daisuke, "And those that do are the ones I'm close to."
"He sounds like he thinks he's better than everyone else just because he had Krad inside of him," Daisuke thought, frowning slightly. If anything, he sounded more like Krad than Krad ever did.
Not noticing his friend's hesitation, Satoshi continued, "So even if it's only you that knows, that's alright. I'm not like you, Daisuke, you're right, I don't want or need a lot of people around me."
"Because of how you grew up," the redhead confirmed, "you grew up alone and distanced, so now that's how you prefer it?"
Satoshi nodded, "Just like you grew up with your family and friends, I grew up without any of that," he added at Daisuke's deepening frown, "but don't feel bad for me. I'm used to it, and I don't really know anything else. Just like you can't imagine being alone, I can't imagine being around people, it's not an appealing thought at all."
"But you're around me," Daisuke argued, "And you don't mind me."
"You're an exception," the bluenette told him, "You already know about Krad and you don't care. No one else is like that."
"Not even your father?" Daisuke couldn't even imagine how miserable he'd be if his family didn't accept him because of something out of his control.
"My... father is different," Satoshi said with a hint of disgust in his voice, "He only ever showed an interest in me because of Krad. He was convinced that Krad was the answer to everything."
"So now that Krad's gone..."
"He's..." Satoshi trailed off, frowning, "He's planning on bringing him back." But he couldn't tell Daisuke that. Then again, if his father did succeed in bringing his 'favorite son' back and Dark came with him, Satoshi would have a lot of explaining to do, for he would be sure Daisuke would know he knew about it on some level.
"We should talk about something else," the Niwa suggested, seeing Satoshi hesitate and figuring he didn't want to talk about his father-- even if Satoshi said he didn't like him, it was still likely that the fact that his father wanted nothing to do with him hurt.
"Have you eaten recently?"
Daisuke shook his head and, feeling a bit better now that he'd talked with Satoshi, stood up, "No, maybe we should find something to eat."
"Yeah," he agreed, standing up, "Come on, I know a place that won't care that we're skipping school." Daisuke chuckled (almost laughed) and nodded, following the taller boy out of the park.
---
It was late when Satoshi got home, nearly eight o'clock. He and Daisuke had gone to eat and then spent hours simply talking or sitting in a (for once) comfortable silence. When he walked through the door, he expected a multitude of things: His father sitting there, waiting for him to return so he could try and persuade him again; an empty house, cold and dark, forbidding his entrance but allowing it anyway; the smell of cigarettes drifting in from the parlor and the low murmur of his father's voice, speaking to someone on the phone. Any of that would have been normal and welcoming. However, what he got, a knife to the stomach, was definitely not what he expected and it was most certainly not normal or welcoming.
He looked up to see his father standing over his now-kneeling form, smiling maliciously. Satoshi knew from that smile that only one thing could have happened-- he found a way to return Krad to their world. Satoshi had expected him to, fate wasn't so kind as to allow him to be at peace for the rest of his life, but he hadn't expected him to so quickly. It had been mere hours ago that the older man had left in a flourish of scowls and curses because Satoshi had denied him a vessel.
A vessel which, with the stab of one particular blade, he now had. As everything went black for Satoshi, a golden-white light enveloped him and he fell away to unconsciousness. His father leaned over his form and chuckled as the light faded away to reveal not his unwanted son, but a blonde angel with closed eyes. Krad had returned.
"Sorry, son," the older man sneered to the no longer there Satoshi, "but I'm sticking with Krad."
---
Satoshi woke hours later, though he couldn't be sure quite what time it was as everything around him was dark. He knew what it was like to be in Krad's mind, and this wasn't it. Golden platforms that twisted and turned and a bright set of shimmering stairs leading up to a black cross were unfamiliar to him. He slowly stood and jumped along the path with no other option but to reach the stairs.
Once he reached them, he looked to the cross again and realized that it wasn't a cross at all, but the Black Wings statue and two, limp arms hanging across it. Those arms belonged to none other than an unconscious Dark, who had been pinned to the statue with pure white feathers.
Frowning, Satoshi ran up the long staircase and stopped a few feet away from his old enemy. He approached the thief carefully, "Dark?" No response came, as he had expected. He turned his gaze to the feathers and reached out to touch one. The moment his fingertips brushed the first feather, pinned through Dark's left arm, the bit of wing disappeared into a bright and fleeting light. Blinking, Satoshi looked at his hand, then to Dark, then to the remaining four feathers (one on each leg, his remaining arm, and one through his chest). Without much hesitation, he dissipated the three feathers pinning the kaitou's limbs.
He stared at the remaining feather and reached out to it, "Krad's already been released. There can be no harm in bringing Dark back." With that assurance, he grabbed the last feather and watched as it disappeared like all the rest. Dark's body fell forward and as Satoshi caught him and laid him down, a white light shot from his chest, upward and out of sight. Blue eyes watched after it for a moment before a movement near him caught his attention.
Dark stirred and opened his violet eyes, blinking a few times before looking to Satoshi, "Hm... Hiwatari-kun?"
The bluenette nodded, not sure how Dark would take his presence. After all, nearly every time Dark had seen Satoshi before, he had changed into Krad and tried to kill him. "Where are we?"
"Inside the Black Wings," the thief replied, not at all fazed by the boy's appearance, "Where is Krad and how did you get in here?"
"Krad is..." Satoshi sighed, "He's been resurrected. It's why I released you."
Dark blinked a few times before smacking Satoshi in the head, "Baka! Idiot! How could you do that, you stupid kid?!"
Startled, Satoshi fell backwards and stared at Dark, "What are you talking about? Did you wish to stay pinned up here while Krad went and did as he pleased?"
Dark sighed and stood up. He took a moment to stretch before he looked at Satoshi again, "Krad's soul was here with me, the only thing that was brought back to your world was his body." Satoshi didn't see the harm in any of this until Dark spoke his next words, "Until you released me, and Krad as well."
Uh oh, Satoshi made a no-no. XD, I'm saying 'uh oh' a lot lately when it comes to Satoshi. But he's been messing up a lot, hasn't he? Hopefully he can fix it all, but not likely. Poor him, but he is fun to torture. Hope you enjoyed!
