It had been two hours since that grumpy nurse came and wrapped my arm and Hiwatari still hadn't woken up. He hadn't moved at all, minus the steady rise and fall of his chest. Without thinking, I scooted my chair close to his bed and began playing with his hair. It was so messy, but I slowly de-tangled a small patch of it and ran my fingers through it. If I was paying any attention at all I'd smack myself for it.

He looked very different to me without his glasses. Much more handsome. I wouldn't deny it; even though I don't like boys with glasses, Hiwatari was very attractive. And he was even more so, without his glasses. He would look much better as soon as he was out of the hospital and back in his normal clothes. Not these disgusting gowns the hospital requires their patients to wear.

I don't know what's been causing me to think these thoughts about him, but ever since that night out in the storm, things have been different. I've been thinking about him a lot and in a different way than I normally would.

Usually, if Hiwatari even crossed my mind, my thoughts would have been that he was cold and unfeeling or on other occasions, how smart he was and how lucky he was to not have to try so hard in school. But now… now all I can think is how attractive he is and if he was going to be all right. And that one moment. That one moment during that storm, when I actually felt like he truly cared about me. I'd never seen him act that way towards anyone, let alone me, and yet he showed me his caring side - his human side. I don't know if I'll ever get another moment like that again.

It's strange, how one encounter has changed the way I think about him. In almost every way, I can see him in a new light. Where I would once think he was cold and unfeeling, I started to think of him more as secretive and that he had a lack of trust. It doesn't seem like much of a difference, but it really is. To me it is.

And with all of the thinking I've been doing lately, I've been more and more curious as to what happened to him while I was gone. There was no way that he did any of those things. He didn't have the strength to roll over, let alone move furniture and get to the living room. Did someone else go in his room? But who would want to hurt him? He might not be the friendliest of guys, but he wasn't well known for, to my knowledge, of making enemies. He was always a gentleman or most of the time he was. Sometimes I guess he could be just plain rude. Or straight forward? Yeah… something like that.

I doubt Hiwatari shared his apartment room with anyone and no one on his floor could have done it without being caught or seen by someone. There was a whole flood of people up there and they all decided to leave at the same time. Someone would have seen somebody go in and out of his room. Someone would have heard noise. Someone would have checked on him… right?

All of a sudden I felt something on my hand. I looked down and saw Hiwatari's hand resting over mine. His eyes were still closed but his body was moving ever so slowly. His hand was feeling mine, probably trying to figure out what it was, while his other one was gripped around his blanket. He moved his legs just a little bit so his knees were slightly bent and his eyes slowly started to blink open.

When he finally managed to open his eyes, he looked so confused. He looked over towards me and I gave him a weak smile. He blinked a few times before his eyes went wide with realization. It finally registered with him who I was and he looked around the room and saw that he was in a hospital. He tried to sit up really fast and then flinched in pain. He groaned and fell back onto the bed. I got up and put my other hand on his chest to keep him down. I still hadn't removed my hand from his hair, even though he removed his from my hand a while ago.

"Whoa take it easy. You're still in pain."

"How… how did I get to the hospital?"

"It's a long story, don't worry about it. Are you O.K.? What happened in your apartment while I was downstairs?"

"I… I'm fine. I… something bad happened… Krad…"

The pain medicine the doctors gave him must have been making him drowsy. He really did look fragile. He actually… kind of looked… scared? Like whatever happened in that room had actually scared him. It must have, because even though he was tired there was a sort of wide-eyed look to him. His heart beat was becoming unsteady, the more he tried piecing things together. The more he remembered about what happened, the more his heart beat faster and faster.

But, finally, after a minute or two, his heart rate slowed back down to an even pace and he seemed calmer. He was taking deep breathes. I gave him a few minutes to calm down before I started asking him questions.

"Hiwatari, I really need to know what happened while I was downstairs. Please, tell me."

I sounded like a frightened child.

"It… was Krad. He took over my body. He's the one that moved all my furniture in front of the door and he's the one that tossed me in front of the TV. He's the reason I got sick…"

He started trailing off and then became silent. I didn't actually think he'd tell me. At least not like this. He's usually so brief and all 'I-can-handle-this-myself-so-leave-me-alone.' It was weird having him open up and share this information with me, but I'm glad he did. I knew that Dark was a part of Daisuke and I knew that Krad existed, but I didn't know that Hiwatari was just like Daisuke in the fact that they both had these… angels… inside of them. But Krad wasn't a nice angel. He tried to hurt Dark and even Riku and I. I can only imagine how much pain he must cause Hiwatari.

Was Krad the reason he was the way he was? The reason he was so cold and the reason he never let anyone in? And was Dark the only reason he let Daisuke get even somewhat close to him? Because they both shared something similar? But… why is Krad still here if Dark had disappeared?

"Miss Harada?"

"Yes?"

"What did I say to you to wind up here?"

"Eh… well you asked me for help. So I broke into your apartment and took you here."

"How did we get here? The phones don't work. You couldn't have called an ambulance."

"I told you not to worry about that. I have some questions I want to ask you. Can you tell me about Krad?"

"What could you possibly want to know about him? He's a crazed, homicidal lunatic who's out to make my life Hell. Any further information you want, I'm sure you can get out of Daisuke."

Well that sums up his personality. It's no wonder he is the way he is. I don't think I'd be so nice if I had someone living inside of me that could mentally stress me to no end and physically take over my body and hurt me. No, I don't think I'd be too pleasant.

"Well what was his relationship with Dark?"

"They were opposites. Both out to destroy each other. Why are you so curious about him?"

"Well I didn't know… Krad was a part of you. Things are starting to make sense. It makes sense that you're so cold and wary of people and it makes sense why Daisuke would never tell me about him. Whenever I'd ask him questions about Krad, all he'd tell me was that he was the wrong person to be asking about him. It makes sense to ask you since he lives inside of you."

"He's not 'inside' of me, he's in my head. Any pain he causes me I can only feel because he tricks my head into thinking there's real pain surging through my body. None of it is real, it just feels that way."

"That pain looked pretty real to me. And you said he took over your body, so wouldn't that make you able to really feel him? It had to actually hurt."

"That's something different, entirely. Even Daisuke can tell you that Dark and Krad are a part of our minds, but the only time they can really be felt is when they're trying to come out."

"But Daisuke never seemed to be in pain. I saw him transform into Dark in front of my very eyes and he looked fine."

"That's because Daisuke willingly let Dark out. Dark was never out to hurt people. Krad, on the other hand, would do anything and everything to hurt anyone who got in his way. I had to hold him back and because I did that, he fought back. It causes me to feel real pain."

I can't believe how open he's being. Does he know what he's saying? It really isn't like him to share this kind of information.

"Just let all of this go. None of it matters."

"But-"

"I'm done answering your questions. Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine, really, so just go home. You're no longer needed."

How dare he! Here I am being all concerned, I dragged his sorry butt here after he begged me for help and he has the audacity to tell me to get lost! The nerve!

"I'm not going anywhere! I don't know who you think you are, but you owe me some answers. After the Hell I've gone through to get you here, Hell to get you out of your apartment, I deserve some answers and if not answers at least some respect!"

There goes my temper again. He is such an irritant. I ask again, why do I care so much about him?

"I thought you wanted to pay me back for saving you out in that storm? Call this pay back. Therefore, I owe you nothing. Good day, Miss Harada."

He's such a smartass.

"Really, huh? Payback would have been me getting you out of your apartment and having someone else help you. But instead I got you out and carried you all the way down to a bus sto,p where I screamed at the driver to go faster to get you here AND I stayed here and waited for you to wake up to make sure you were O.K. Sounds to me like I did a little more than pay you back."

"You carried me?"

"Yes stupid, I did! Now you owe me some answers."

"I don't owe you anything. As I recall, I tended to your injury, practically carried you to that bench, shielded you from the storm, carried you home, all while risking my health out in harsh conditions. It sounds to me like we're pretty much even. And for your information you didn't HAVE to stay and wait for me to wake up. You could have left as soon as you dropped me off. So any 'extra' work you did was of your own accord and had nothing to do with paying me back."

I swear, if he wasn't already in a hospital, I'd bunch his teeth in.

"Oh, come on! You were begging for my help. It's so unlike you to forget your pride and ask for help. You don't think I have rights to be concerned about you? Do you really think I'm so heartless that I'd just leave?"

"Face it. You wouldn't give a damn about me if I hadn't saved you. The only reason you stayed was because you would have felt guilty for leaving. If I never would have saved you that night, I wouldn't even be on your mind and you wouldn't care about me."

"If you wouldn't have saved me that night, I wouldn't have come to check on you to make sure you were O.K. and you wouldn't have been able to get to the hospital."

"If I hadn't saved you that night, Krad wouldn't have hurt me in the first place!"

"What? What do you mean? It's my fault Krad hurt you?"

What the Hell was he talking about?! What does him doing something nice for me have to do with Krad?

"Just forget it. It's not important. I shouldn't have said that. I apologize, Miss Harada, and I thank you, once again, for helping me. I've given you your respect and now I ask that you leave me. I'm tired."

Oh no, he wasn't getting off that easily.

"I don't care how tired you are, you said it and now I have a right to know what you're talking about. How is it my fault that Krad hurt you? I didn't even know he was a part of you until just a little while ago."

"You didn't have to!"

"Then how is it my fault?"

He was hesitating now. He had that look of defeat in his eyes and I knew I broke him. I mean, I really do have a right to know. I would never intentionally do anything to get Hiwatari hurt, so I have no idea what I did to land him in that kind of pain.

"You didn't have to know about him because… all I had to do was show you I cared."

"What? How did that get you hurt?"

"Krad doesn't want me to care about anyone. He thinks it's a sign of weakness. I'm supposed to be emotionless. The only reason he let Daisuke get so close was because he held Dark. And even now, Daisuke can still be close to me because there's nothing he can do to stop Krad. But everybody else… they all might have the potential to do something about it. Too stop Krad. When I helped you out in that storm, it wasn't because I felt obliged to, I felt the need to because… I was worried about you. I cared. That scares Krad. He needs to be in control of me or else I might find someone who can stop him. Who can kill him. And he thinks you're the one that can do it."

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that one; I actually got a confession out of Hiwatari, and two, that I'm actually a threat to his life. Krad's powerful and Hiwatari fights him. If Hiwatari tries to hold him back because he doesn't want me to get hurt, he could end up dead. I mean, if Krad really thinks I'm that big of a threat, then Hiwatari's life is in danger… and so is mine.

"Hiwatari I… I didn't know."

"I know. I didn't know it either until he started attacking me."

"Is there any way to get rid of him? Something someone can do?"

"Do you know how Dark disappeared, Miss Harada?"

"Uh… no."

"Dark disappeared because he was only allowed to live until Daisuke found his Sacred Maiden. When he found Miss Harada and kissed her, Dark's DNA started a reaction and then it slowly started to disperse from Daisuke's system. Now that Daisuke has Miss Harada, in Dark's eyes, he has a purpose and doesn't need him anymore. It's no different with Krad."

"So… you need to find a Sacred Maiden and then Krad will be gone forever?"

"The only way Krad will be gone forever is if I never have children. If I were to find a Sacred Maiden, she would make Krad leave my mind and he'd be out of my life forever. But if I were to have children, a son actually, he'd come back and do the same to him as he did to me. I would never allow that to happen."

"So then why don't you just find your Sacred Maiden?"

"If it were that simple, believe me, I would have done it by now. He doesn't let me get close to people. If I don't get close to people how am I supposed to find my Sacred Maiden? I can't. If I'm not strong enough to hold him back, he could break loose and kill everyone. Innocent people, my family, friends, and if I were to find my Sacred Maiden, he'd kill her to."

"But you said Dark disappeared after Daisuke kissed my sister. He wouldn't be able to target your Sacred Maiden because he wouldn't know who she is until you kissed her."

"No. Daisuke knew your sister was his Sacred Maiden long before they kissed. But that kiss sealed the deal and gave Dark the opportunity to vanish. Dark willingly left knowing he fulfilled his purpose in life. Krad doesn't think the same way. He doesn't think his purpose in life is what he was really meant to do. That's why he's preventing me from finding a Sacred Maiden. So he can discover his 'real' purpose."

"That's so dumb! He either needs to accept that he already has a purpose or get over it. It's hurting people, especially you!"

"He knows! He doesn't care if hurts other people or me. He just wants to know if there's something more for him out their then an eternity of making OTHER people happy. You don't know what it's like to not have a purpose."

"Nobody at our age knows our purpose in life. And he has a purpose he just won't accept it."

"Nobody our age has a purpose because we don't wonder about it. Not this early on. We're supposed to just enjoy life and build our character. Find our self, create our self, whichever it is we're supposed to do. That's what we focus on. As we get older we find our purpose. We'll he's been around for centuries and doesn't feel like he has one. Miss Harada, when one finds their purpose they are usually content and satisfied with life. He isn't content, nor satisfied with making everyone else, but himself, happy."

I didn't know what else to say. I knew he wasn't defending Krad, but it seemed like he understood why he was doing what he was doing. But my concern wasn't with Krad because I honestly could care less about someone who hurts and kills others out of greed for themselves. My concern is with Hiwatari. He's not happy and even though he understands where Krad is coming from, he doesn't condone anything he's done.

I feel really helpless right now. Hiwatari's been dealing with this for so long and now that I know what he's been going through, I still don't know what to do. I don't know how to help him.

"I.. I'm sorry Hiwatari. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help you."

"I was never expecting you to help me, Miss Harada."


"A/N: This chapter is a lot of talk. But it was necessary for without it this chapter would have been maybe a page and a half long. Anyway, I hope I stayed in character with these two. I don't want Hiwatari to seem really far out of his cold, secretive nature, but it does seem like something Risa would do. Backing him into a corner until he had no choice but to tell her the truth. She does have that kind of a temper, I think. Well, please review!"