The Light in the Shadows:

Chapter 10: The Sealing of Kokuyoku

AN: This idea came to me before going to sleep one night. I wrote it a few days later listening to Moonlight Sonata to start off, then The River Flows in You for the middle and the ending song is Kiss the Rain.

Idea: What if Dark was tired of his existence of being bound to the Niwa bloodline? Appearing in every male generation only to fade away once they'd found true love. And what if he was also tired of constantly fighting with his other half?

X

Dark moved carefully around the circle checking that all of the runes were drawn in the right places and were charging properly with magic. Purple eyes turned to the middle of the circle where the ravaged remains of the once magnificent Kokuyoku stood. The thief smiled sadly and then turned his gaze to check on the final figure needed for the ritual to work. His counterpart was slumped on his knees held up by dark purple magic. The blond's head was bent forward hiding his face but Dark knew that the hunter was still unconscious due to the lack of protest from the white clad being. The kaito moved over reaching out one tan hand to stroke over soft flaxen hair. "Soon my other half we will be reunited as we should have been all along." He turned away again pacing around the edge of the circle feeding magic to the runes that were starting to glow a light purple. He knew that they would be fully charged when the runes were the same dark purple color as his hair. The black angel's attention was once more drawn to his counterpart as a soft groan signaled the ice hunter's awakening.

Krad lifted his head looking around in confusion wondering what had happened. The last thing he could remember was watching through Satoshi's eyes as the teen planned out the traps that would be used the next time a note was sent out from the phantom thief and then… nothing. Golden eyes flared with sudden alarm as they took in the softly glowing runic circle surrounding him. He tilted his head back far enough so that he could see a bit of the statue looming behind his kneeling form. The hunter then attempted to rise only to discover that he was frozen unable to move except for his head. The white angel looked around once more finally noticing his darker half standing several feet away watching calmly. "Mousy! What the hell is this!"

"You know very well what this is my other half," Dark smiled gently at the now furious ice angel.

Pale lips curled into a sneer, "that desperate to get rid of me are you?" The blond's tone then turned even more mocking, "you really are an idiot Mousy. You'll be sealed along with me." The sneer was quickly wiped off the light hunter's face replaced with shock at his counterpart's response.

"I know," purple eyes locked with now stunned gold.

It took a few moments for Krad to recover from the rather shocking statement from the thief. He then cocked his head voice becoming sweet as honey. "What's wrong Mousy, your beloved humans turn against you or something." Gold eyes lit, "I can help you, I have found a spell that would give us our own forms." The ice demon's tone then turned wheedling, "think of it Mousy. Your own body no one in your head but you able to do anything you want when you want. Able to steal anything you want and not just the stuff that the humans tell you too." White wings attempted to flex, "come, release me and we can do the spell now. You can have your freedom tonight."

"No," Dark spread his hands, "while the offer sounds tempting. I know that all magic comes at a price." Now Serious purple eyes regarded the hunter, "the price of this spell is too high. I will not sacrifice my tamer even to gain my own body."

"WHY!" Krad cried in frustration, "why are you so loyal to them! Why is one Human's life more important than yours, one human's life more important than mine!?"

Dark closed his eyes sadness filling his being at his counterpart's outburst. "Because my other half, we were never meant for this world and they were. We were created through an accident of magic." He opened his eyes taking a step closer to the other angel, "you and I were ripped out of our true place and bound here for as long as the bloodlines continue."

"But don't you want to live!" The ice demon struggled to rise again, "don't you want freedom?"

"Live? What actually is living? Have we ever really truly lived?" Dark closed the rest of the distance between the two halves crouching down in front of the blond. "Tell me Krad, are we really living or just existing? Have either of us ever had real true freedom? You are always fighting your tamers for control, none other than our creator has let you do as you please. And I…" He was cut off by a snarled.

"You have freedom! A life!"

The phantom thief shook his head, "no not really. Yes the Niwas let me out more than your tamers do and they are my friends but I wake as you do in each generation of males to find that my friends have moved on with their lives. I wake for a few years and then fade back into sleep when they find their true love. I have never been able to travel, have a home just of my own, decorate or even just go out for a walk with out having to ask." He reached out a hand stroking fingers along a pale cheek, "we are both equally trapped in our existence bound forever. Maybe trapped in different ways but trapped none the less. So I ask you, what kind of freedom, of life is that?"

The white angel pulled away lip curled, "better a half life than no life."

Dark smiled gently again, "we will live. We will return to the world that we came from and where we truly belong. We can finally rest and be at peace." His eyes then hardened in determination, "and I won't let you be destroyed. You are the other half of my soul, a part of me as I am a part of you."

"Destroyed?" The ice angel stopped his struggles looking confused. "What are you talking about?"

"So," Dark closed his eyes, "the kid was able to hide it from you."

"Hide what!?"

"To protect my tamer Daisuke and future generations of the Niwas from you; Satoshi was going to end the Hikari line with himself." The thief's hand reached out to clasp a white clad shoulder feeling the other trembling beneath his fingers. "He was planning to go be sterilized so that he could never have children with him being the last there would be no future generations. No more Hikaris for you to be born into," the thief's fingers tightened, "you would have died along with him."

"No, I can destroy him before he destroys me. Better to die fighting then fade away," the light hunter began to strain once more against the magic holding him. "I will live! I will gain freedom!"

Dark sighed at the other's stubbornness, "and what will you do with that freedom?"

Golden eyes blinked, "...?"

The thief nodded, "thought as much. You my other self have been so focused on gaining your idea of freedom that you have not planned for what comes after."

A pale jaw set, "I will figure it out."

"And you really think the Niwas are going to just let you fly free?" One purple eyebrow lifted.

"I will destroy them."

"And what if the rest of the humans find out about you?" Dark cocked his head.

The blond scowled, "I will destroy them too."

The black angel rolled his eyes, "you do know how many humans are in the world?"

Silence.

"Some life," the Kaito reached out again to his hunter fingers tugging lightly on blond bangs. "Always hiding what you are, constantly looking over your shoulder and if they ever did catch you, discover you." Dark grimaced not really wanting to think more on it.

The ice demon trembled trying to wrap his wings about his body, "I will not be forced back into eternal darkness."

"Darkness? Is that really what you remember?" The thief cocked his head.

The blond refused to meet questioning purple eyes. "I… don't really remember." Krad drooped as the fight seemed to drain from his body.

Dark's sad smile softened at the emotionally shaken light, "I remember not light, not darkness but warmth and peace. The feeling of completeness and belonging. Please, stop fighting me, trust me."

Golden slit pupil eyes looked up at his darker half imploringly, "I just wanted to be free. Is that really so wrong?"

"No," The black angel reached out drawing his lighter half's body close in a comforting embrace, "I really do understand." He release the binding magic holding the other captive.

"I… don't want to die," it was only heard as a soft murmur as the white clad body relaxed giving into his other self's offered warmth. "I just want to belong."

"I Know," Dark smiled in contentment as Krad fully relaxed against him one hand fisting in the fabric of his black coat collar the other pressed against his chest. The thief carefully folded his wings protectively over the light angel shielding him from view. If one was looking in from the outside all they would see of the ice demon was a few strands of pale blond hair, a few white feathers and one gloved hand. The black angel glanced over at the sealing runes and nodded as he noticed that they were fully charged. Purple eyes closed a peaceful expression on his face as the runes flashed drawing the two magical beings back into the statue they were born from. When the light cleared the room was empty except for the once empty Kokuyoku now filled with its soul and magic.

Dark last words in this world faded away into silence only heard by one other.

"Always together, never again separate… we will belong… we will live forever.