Oooh, I'm in a writing mood. So that means this gets updated and there's all kinds of goodies in this chapter. Next chapter might be a little of a slow down chapter, though, but the plot will commence shortly thereafter. Just so you know, I've officially decided that this fic is ending once Dark gives away his ribbon. I may do a little follow-up chapter afterward, but that is the ending time-frame. I think it's like... two weeks or so away in the fic, so my guess is another seven to ten chapters. XD, so about another year (hopefully not, but who knows?). I'm actually kind of excited, I never know when my fics are going to end. It's almost like this is a real story. Wow, look at me rant XD. Enjoy!

Note: I hate to do this, I really do. However, there is a lot of shit going on in my life right now and I don't want to keep putting you guys in the dark of when the next update is going to be. Having said that, I'm going on hiatus for a little while. My guess is a couple weeks to a month. When I come back, I will come back with at least a chapter, maybe two, but I can't concentrate on this right now and I really hate feeling obligated to do it so I don't disappoint anyone. I'm really, really sorry, and I promise to make it up to you all somehow.

Doreiku: XD, trust me, it surprised me, too. You know, when I started out writing this fic, I had wanted to write it so I could have a slave-rape fic, but now that I'm actually writing it... it's just not going in that direction. Ah well, maybe next time. Thanks for reviewing!

hunted-snark: Overdone, perhaps, but I still can't get enough of it. Unless it's bad rape... like, badly written, I mean, then I can get plenty of it. And partially the point was to get Krad in trouble, but it was also to show that Krad isn't afraid to go to great lengths to prove his point, and also it shows how secure he thinks he is in Dark's house that he can go and hurt something close to him. Thanks for reviewing!

Random-vampire-luves-satoshi: I know, I know, I take forever anymore with these updates. At least I still put something out, right? Thanks for reviewing!

SilentKiller1: Most likely not, but be honest: Is Krad ever happy about most things? XD, thanks for reviewing!

"Just like a little angel, isn't he?" Krad snickered, crossing his arms across his chest.

Satoshi sent a cold glare to the boy at his side, "I'll take care of my end of the bargain, so go to your precious master."

"Fine, but I want him gone until after Dark-sama's birthday."

Curious, Satoshi quirked an eyebrow, "How far away is that?"

"Two weeks from now." Krad sent a glance to the bluenette, "You can do that, right?"

"Krad, I appreciate you making a fuss and breaking me out of that place, but I don't think the devil himself could keep Daisuke away from Dark-san for two weeks."

"So you can't," the blonde hissed in disappointment, "I should have expected as much."

"I'll keep him away for as long as I can, but I'm not doing this for your benefit and I'll ask you to keep that in mind."

"Whatever," the taller boy scoffed, turning his back on the sleeping redhead, "If you don't do as I want, I'll have no problem causing plenty of problems for both of you."

Satoshi wordlessly glared after the blonde until even his footsteps drifted from the empty hallway. He wasn't sure if Krad could do as he had threatened, but he was positive he didn't want to take that kind of chance with Daisuke.

"He's lying." A simple answer to a situation he was making a huge deal of. Then again, that was exactly what the sandy-haired boy leaning against the doorway was good for.

"How do you know?" the bluenette wondered, eyeing up the strange boy.

Argentine gave him an odd look (as if he gave anything else), "He wouldn't cause anymore trouble, not anytime soon. After all, he's still trying to win Dark-sama back and that's his main concern."

"How do you know so much about him?" Satoshi questioned, sitting at the foot of Daisuke's bed, careful not to wake the sleeping boy.

"I don't," he replied simply, "not more than I know about anyone else."

"You seem well-versed in his ways, more so than anyone else."

"Do I?" Argentine let a hint of a smile creep across his lips, not maliciously but certainly mischievously, "Everyone always makes him out to be so complicated and mysterious, but what he doesn't want anyone to know is that he's really as simple as everyone else. He lays all of his feelings out on the table, what's difficult to read about that? Even for someone like me, I can see all of his intentions, why can't you?"

Satoshi frowned slightly, "Someone like you and someone like me are two very different people. You say he's simple and yet appears complicated, but couldn't the same be said for you?"

"It could," the blonde nodded, "but it's not."

The blue-eyed boy hesitated slightly, "So how can you see what everyone else is blind to? How can you read him so well and see what's apparently so obvious when the rest of us are mystified?"

"You're asking me these kinds of questions?" Argentine wondered, tilting his head, "It seems like you think I know myself well enough to answer."

"And you don't?"

"I don't."

Satoshi's eyes narrowed slightly, "You don't know yourself, but you still think you know someone like that well enough to state such facts?"

"That's the thing you don't seem to understand, and I'm not sure why," he chuckled slightly, as if it were all a joke, "Krad-san and I are very different people. How would understanding myself help me to understand him at all? In fact, I think that's why no one else can understand him, because you all expect him to think along the same lines that you do; you think he's, on some level, just like the rest of you."

"So that's how he does it? He sacrifices knowledge of himself to gain insight into everyone else's thoughts?" Satoshi wondered if Argentine was really that complicated, or if he (like Krad) simply made himself out to be that way.

Dismissing his previous words, Argentine waved a hand, "I won't take up any more of your time, but I will say this... have Daisuke back before the end of the month and as soon as possible."

"What? Why do I-" Satoshi was interrupted by the other boy slipping out of the room and down the hall. He sighed and shot a glance at Daisuke, confirming that the redhead was still asleep. "How much more complicated can things get?"

---

"So you're back." It wasn't a pleasant statement that Dark uttered, but more of a forced acknowledgment of the blonde at his door.

Krad offered his master a sneaky smile and tilted his head to the side, "Why do you say it like that? You make it sound so bad."

"Get out, Krad." Dark narrowed his eyes slightly when his slave refused, "Now."

"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me back," the golden-eyed boy said off-handedly, "I mean, after going through the trouble of getting Satoshi-kun back and all."

Dark hadn't been moving much while Krad was talking (only his eyes were scanning the pages of the book in hand), but at those last words, the purple-haired boy froze. Purple eyes traveled from his book upward until they locked with Krad's. "What did you say?"

Krad's grin only widened, "You heard me right: I brought Satoshi-kun back. He's in with Daisuke-kun right now." Before Dark could react, Krad's face became solemn and he approached his master's bedside.

"Krad, what are you-" In one, fleeting motion, Krad sunk to one knee and bowed his head. The next words he spoke were so low that Dark, as close as he was, had to strain to hear them.

"I apologize, Dark-sama, for everything I've done recently. I know it hurt you and for that I am... truly sorry."

Time seemed to freeze in that room with Dark's vivid gaze trained on his slave. His mouth was slightly agape and he held his breath, as if waiting for Krad to snap his head up with a huge grin and tell him it was all a joke. But no laughing ensued, and the blonde kept his head bowed, waiting for Dark's response.

Slowly, the owner reached a hand out and placed it upon the light, silky strands of hair. He sighed softly and closed his eyes, "I don't know what's gotten into you lately, Krad, but don't pull a stunt like this again. You've caused a lot of problems for me."

Krad nodded shortly, like a trained dog, and only raised his sights when Dark's hand returned to the bed. He glanced up at his master, his eyes full of uncertainty, "Are you angry with me?"

"No," Dark decided, "but..."

Never hesitating, Krad pushed it, "But what?"

"Get up off the floor, you're scaring the shit out of me with that obedient act."

Krad blinked a couple times before his trademark grin returned and he slid onto the bed next to his master, "Hey, even I know when enough is enough."

Dark raised a skeptical eyebrow as to say 'like hell', but only tugged his favorite bedtime toy closer to him. "You're such a weird kid," he muttered.

"But Dark-sama," Krad half-whined, "I'm just as old as you."

"I could never tell with that attitude of yours," the purple-haired boy retorted, "However, I am grateful you finally took responsibility for something."

Krad chuckled, "And it'll never happen again."

---

"See? They're back together and fine, so we can go."

Daisuke had woken up not long after Krad left and he and Satoshi had a short talk on their plans. Of course, Daisuke was thrilled to have some time alone with his best friend, but he was also hesitant about leaving Dark. Satoshi finally convinced him that Dark would be fine without him for a little bit, and even showed him the pair curled up together in bed. Seeing that Krad was back in his master's good graces, he didn't feel quite so bad about considering the offer.

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" he whispered, not wanting to be caught by his master.

"It'll be fine, and I'm sure if you ask, Dark-san will have no problem with it."

"But for how long? If we're not back soon..."

Satoshi raised an eyebrow, "Why is the time limit so important?" He remembered briefly what both Argentine and Krad had insisted on; while Krad was pushing for past the end of the month, Argentine insisted that Daisuke return before that time.

"It's kind of like a ceremony or something," Daisuke told him, "On Dark-sama's birthday, at the end of the month, he gives out a silk ribbon to his favorite. That person can't be sold or given away for the whole year."

"And you want this thing that badly? What's the big deal? Even if you don't get it, it doesn't mean he doesn't like you." Sometimes Satoshi really didn't understand a thing about his friend.

"That's not all, though. The day afterwards, he sells someone that he dislikes." Daisuke frowned slightly, "If I'm not here at all until that point..."

"You really think he'd sell you?" The bluenette wasn't really sure why he was encouraging Daisuke to have faith in his master, but it seemed the right thing to do. After all, Daisuke was happiest when he was around Dark. "Even if you don't get that ribbon, there's no way you'd be the one Dark would sell. I've seen the way he looks at you, and going through all of this for you, there's no way he'd sell you off."

"You really think so?" the redhead wondered, "I know I've made a big impact on him in the short time I've been here, but I'm just not so sure if it's good or not."

"I'm pretty sure it is," Satoshi sighed, "Listen, I really need to head home and check up on everyone there. I'll be by in a couple days, you think you can be ready by then?"

The red-eyed boy nodded quickly and smiled, pulling his friend into a hug, "I'm really glad you're back, Satoshi."

Pausing for a moment to adjust his glasses that had been knocked askew by their collision with Daisuke's head, Satoshi smiled just a little himself and returned the embrace, "Things will work out fine for you, you're too good of a person to have a hard life forever."

"I'll see you in two days," Daisuke whispered, "Have a safe trip, and don't get caught again."

Satoshi chuckled slightly, "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" At having Daisuke stick his tongue out at him, Satoshi waved his farewell and disappeared down the stairs.

---

"Young love, how adorable." Emiko leaned over the railing of the stairs and watched Satoshi depart. She looked to the boy at her side, comfortably perched on the same railing, "Don't you agree?"

Argentine shrugged slightly, "I don't have a real opinion on it."

"I guess you've never been in love?" she wondered.

As expected, the blonde shook his head, "I don't believe I know the emotion well enough to determine if I've ever felt it." He tilted his head to the side and cast a glance to her, "How do you know if you're in love? It's not like there's a detector that goes off if you fall in love, is there?"

"Well," Emiko paused and put a finger to her chin, "it's just one of those things that you know... you know?"

Another head shake, "No."

"Oh," she sighed and looked back to the door, "Well, when you fall in love, it's very easy to tell it. Until you feel that way, though, it can be confusing. I admit, when I first met Kosuke, I wasn't sure if I was in love or not. It didn't take long, though, before I realized that he was the one for me."

The sandy-haired boy nodded, "Then I don't suppose I'll ever get to experience that." At Emiko's startled look, he let an amused smile play across his lips, "I'll be here with Dark-sama for the rest of my life, and I don't think there's anyone here I'd want to love."

"You really think you'll be here forever?" she asked. It seemed depressing to think that you'd always be stuck in the same place with no chance of escaping.

"Well, of course, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He shrugged again, "Even if I don't love him, I believe that I belong with Dark-sama."

Emiko's expression changed to one of fondness as she tousled the slave's hair, "Dark's lucky to have such a dedicated boy with him. I'm sure he feels the same way about you."

Argentine's eyes never showed any sign of happiness at this opinion, only reflecting what some might call stupidity. Those that knew the boy, though, knew better-- Argentine was knowledgeable in many areas that very few could master. "Perhaps," he finally agreed.

I guess there's no need to say that last little scene was completely random. But aww, I almost squealed myself when I was writing that bit with Krad apologizing. Sorry if that was so very out of character for him, but in all honesty, he strikes me as the kind of guy to apologize if he really knows he really messed up. And of course, Dark would be the only person he'd ever apologize to. I will admit I have a weakness for characters like that apologizing every once in a while. Like Urahara-san from Bleach when he was apologizing to Ichigo for this or that. I was going 'awwwwwwww!' the whole time. He's so adorable. Haha, I'm fangirling over Bleach right now. Hope you enjoyed!