Note: /.../ «-- Daisuke's thoughts Dark's thoughts --» italics
A/N: He... seems like I can't stop using the word 'feelings' after all, eh?

-o-o-o-

Saa, me o tojite.
Chapter 9: Hidden feelings.



Wednesday's sun shone brightly through Daisuke's window. There was a soft, warm breeze outside and the boy was eager to just go out and taste that fresh, clean air. He was resolute now; he was going to tell Dark... if he found him.

Daisuke pulled on a pair of socks and his school uniform's trousers and stood up. Rummaging through his untidy drawers, he found the rest of his outfit and hastily put it on. He was tired, but in a relatively good mood. He could barely believe that 'talking things out' was actually good; and really good, at that. His mother had given him a lot to think about, too and that was what had triggered his decision; that final conclusion he'd come to. The only problem was Dark's absence. He was still ignoring -or avoiding- Daisuke, something that made the boy feel rather sad and guilty. But, he thought, everything has its ups and downs. He was sad because Dark didn't want to talk to him -whatever his reasons were- and he was happy because he'd finally confessed. /Wait a--/

Daisuke soon realised that he hadn't told the entire truth to his mother. He had not once uttered the object of his affection's name. In other words, Emiko had no idea he was in love with Dark. His imagination then, started to display different scenes in which his mother found out about his infatuation with the thief. In one of them, she gasped and choked on the tea she'd been drinking and then had a heart-attack. In the next scene, she cried and sobbed that it was unfair for such a young boy to be with such an amazing man; she looked jealous, much to Daisuke's displeasure. In another of those scenes, Emiko simply hugged both Dark and Daisuke happily and scolded the boy for not telling her who his love interest was. Then there were many other scenes, each one different from the last...

And speaking of Rome...

Emiko's screams of "Daisuke, you'll be late!" brought him back to reality. Shaking his head half-amused, he rushed to get his backpack and ran down the stairs into the hall of his house, vaguely aware of the lack of traps. He thanked his mother telepathically. And, yes, he knew his mother couldn't read his mind, but he was so accustomed to talking to himself...

-o-

Just two more days...

Two more days and everything will be finally over.

-o-

Classes that day went by uneventful. Daisuke arrived home in pretty much the same state in which he had left it; in a rush and daydreaming over silly things. The only things he could recall from his schooling day were Riku's smile, letting him know they were still friends -something that made him really happy- and Satoshi's weird question "did someone drop by your house, yesterday?" What the blue-haired teen had meant, Daisuke had no idea.

As he, once again, got to the comfort of his home without any traps to stop him, Daisuke started to get upset. He had very firmly decided that he would tell Dark the truth, but an unexpected assignment he had to do for tomorrow's art class had made him change his plans unwillingly, if that bit wasn't already clear. It seemed that fate wasn't fond of him, he thought bitterly.

After having a late lunch and chit-chatting with his relatives, he walked up the stairs into the quiet of his room to get started on his project. But, as he gathered all of the materials he needed to create his collage -what he'd been assigned to do- he decided that he'd work better in the attic. That was where he was headed, canvas and a great number of other miscellaneous items, taking careful steps in order not to drop anything on the way.

The Niwa's attic wasn't anything like other family's. This one, instead of an old, unclean place in which people usually store their antiques and photo albums, looked like a living room. It had a few couches as well as a coffee table and there was an immense window, from behind Daisuke could have a broad view of the neighbourhood. He positioned himself in front of the massive windowpane, staring into the clear sky above Azumano. He had to make a collage. Daisuke groaned, he hated collages. And what was even worse, was that this collage was supposed to be a portrait. Who did he want to portray? He couldn't think of anyone... well... almost.

Daisuke started cutting multi-coloured bits of paper. He grabbed a bar of black plasticine and moulded it, smashed it thin and stuck it here and there. The colour papers were added and then he was fumbling through the piles of different kinds of cloth and wool, trying to decide whether to use it or not and how. So many hours seemed to pass by without him even noticing...

"Daisuke?" his mother called from the attic's door, "it's nearly dinner-time, honey." Daisuke told her he'd be at the kitchen in a few minutes and she left. Sighing, he kept on working, so entranced in his emotions that he didn't even know what he was doing, to begin with. It was only after the collage was finished that he took in the portrait's details.

He held a hand up to cover his mouth as he gaped.

-o-

Daisuke woke up on Thursday feeling nervous. He had to show his Art homework to the class and he didn't want to; he had a vague feeling that it would make him feel uncomfortable. Sure, he had done his collage and he was quite happy with the result, although, well... he was a little shocked. By the time he realised he had been making a portrait of Dark Mousy, it was too late to even think of doing anything else. So, nervous as he was and hoping Satoshi wouldn't ask him strange questions, he got dressed and out of the house in a sort of daze. Portrait in hand, without glancing back, he walked in a straight line to Azumano's high school.

"Daisuke!" Takeshi grinned evilly as he approached. He showed his own collage -a badly made up portrait of Agate- and waited eagerly for his friend's opinion.

"Well," Daisuke stammered. What could he say? The portrait was awful, but he cared about Takeshi enough to not say it. "It's... fine," he said finally. That seemed enough for Takeshi who grinned a wider grin and stood aside. However, his eyes got sight of Daisuke's portrait. Frowning as he met his friend's eyes, he smirked.

"I didn't know you were another fan of Dark," he teased. Daisuke blushed fiercely. He turned around and, much to his dismay, caught both Riku and Satoshi staring at him. Sighing, he willed his blush to go away and sat at his desk.

/This is going to be a long, long day,/ he thought miserably.

Just when everyone had settled, the teacher arrived. "Good morning," he said, "have you done your collages?" he asked to the class in general. Most heads nodded; a few tilted to the sides, indicating a half-completed work. All in all, there were some responsible children in there, the teacher thought. "Very well, then. When I call your name, you will come to the front and show your portraits to the rest of the class. I'll make a few questions, you'll hand me your work and I'll mark it and then we'll have a little break." Everyone cheered and he had to call them into silence. "Let me see..."

One by one, the students walked to the front of the class with their portraits. Daisuke watched intently as Riku showed them a portrait of her sister. Risa did the same with her twin; then, Takeshi showed his 'artistic interpretation' of Agate. After that, Daisuke stopped paying attention. He was too nervous about his own work...

"Hiwatari Satoshi," the teacher called and the blue-haired boy walked to the front, canvas in hand. Daisuke's eyes focused on the front of the class again. His gaze met Satoshi's as the boy showed to the class his work, making even the teacher gasp. It was a perfect portrait of a black-winged demon, but... well, it wasn't exactly a portrait then, but it was so very well done that the teacher forgave him and only lowered his grade for not paying attention to the instructions. After answering a few questions, Satoshi went back to his desk, never leaving Daisuke's gaze.

The teacher called tiredly "Niwa Daisuke," and the boy shyly walked to the front of the class, gripping his canvas viciously. He showed it to the class, making girls giggle and boys tease him. "Dark... Mousy?" the teacher asked, perplexed. Not even the girls had thought of him as a model for their works and that made Daisuke feel just as uncomfortable as he had predicted. He hoped he wouldn't blush; that would be disastrous.

"Okay," the teacher sighed; a smile was plastered to his lips as he asked Daisuke "why did you choose him?"

What could he say? He didn't really choose him, it was more like a coincidence. He started working... and then he appeared out of the blue. It was like magic. "Well," he started saying as he invented a reason in his head, "I once saw him on TV and I thought he would make a good picture." Everyone started snickering; Satoshi was smirking, though. Daisuke thought it was odd.

"Do you think he's a photogenic person?"

Daisuke didn't trust himself anymore after the snickers directed towards him. Instead, he simply remained silent and nodded his response. "Well," the teacher admitted, "I think so, too and I also think your portrait is among the best ones I've seen." Daisuke handed him his work and walked to his desk, a minute later, the teacher told him "you've earned yourself an A, Niwa."

/At least I got something positive out of this,/ he sighed to himself as he buried his burning face in his hands.

A few more minutes passed and class was finally allowed to have a break; Daisuke practically ran out of the room. Once outside, he regretted having done so.

"Niwa-kun!"

/Damn./

"Now, why the unappealing grimace, Niwa-kun? It won't take me long..."

"Saga," Daisuke said, face as white as a sheet of paper; he had completely forgotten about their 'agreement' or lack thereof. He was sure the blond man was there only to threaten him into agreeing with his plan.

"Don't get all nervous around me," he smiled a toothy grin at Daisuke, who was still staring at him apprehensively. "I've come to tell you that the offer stands no more," he said merrily, as if it were an everyday thing for him to threaten people and then take back his words. But, considering the person in front of him, Daisuke thought that was quite likely.

"I beg you pardon?" Daisuke asked disbelieving.

"You heard," Saga simply said. Maybe Funabashi had talked some sense into him or something; this man wouldn't change his mind this suddenly, specially considering his obsession with Dark. "I've also come to give you this," he said as he fumbled with the tight, tight pocket of his tight, tight pants. Daisuke blushed and looked away. Smirking and giggling internally, Saga finally succeeded in taking the golden key from his pocket. "Here," he chirped as he pressed the item onto Daisuke's palm, "I'm sure you'll find this useful."

Saga lingered for a while, his fingers gracing the soft skin of Daisuke's palm in a teasing manner. He loved having this kind of power over people; he knew he was gorgeous, after all. And to be honest, he had to admit he thought the boy was rather cute. Though he still preferred Dark's sexy look...

"Goodbye, Niwa-kun."

Daisuke was left staring at the blond's retreating back, his palm still turned upwards, holding the key; his skin felt clammy from his nerves and he was positive his entire face was red with embarrassment. Keiji Saga was one weird guy...

"By the way," the blond yelled when he had almost reached his car, "your collage was lovely!"

Yep; very weird a guy...

-o-

Classes were over in the blink of an eye. Either that, or Daisuke could not concentrate on anything but the golden key in his shirt's pocket. Anyway, the boy couldn't feel more grateful; he wanted nothing but to reach his home, have a hot meal and crawl into bed. Tomorrow promised to be one difficult day and he wanted to be well rested. He also wanted to tell Dark everything he was feeling, but he hadn't found the right time to do it and Dark was still ignoring him. But that was beside the point.

He gathered up his books and left the room, Satoshi following close. "Do you mind if I walk with you?" his blue-haired companion asked. He shook his head, nothing could go any worse and he might even learn a thing or to about the Curse of the Twilight. So the boys walked out of the school in silence, Satoshi feeling uncharacteristically out of place. Daisuke wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say. He could see Satoshi's expressions and he didn't look all that comfortable; he didn't want to make him feel worse.

"Niwa-kun," the boy risked after a while. "I just wanted to tell you that..." he sighed; this was not as easy as he'd imagined. "Even though I, um, like you... well, it doesn't mean..." Satoshi shut up abruptly. Blushing a bright red colour he cursed loudly, all of a sudden dashing away from Daisuke. The boy was left feeling even more confused than he'd been when the blue-haired boy had started speaking. However, he had a bad feeling about Satoshi's sudden departure and so he ran the last couple of blocks, stopping only once he'd reached the safety of his home.

His mother was waiting for him, as usual. She frowned at his unexpected and rather unfashionable entrance, but he simply shook his head, dismissing further inquiries. Emiko then hugged him and told him lunch was already served. Finally able to breathe normally, Daisuke followed her to the kitchen.

-o-

You're breaking my heart, Satoshi...

...just like he did back then...

-o-

Daisuke sneezed. Dark would have done it himself, but he hadn't a body of his own to do so. Someone must be thinking about me... he thought, secretly hoping for that someone to be Daisuke. Sighing, he simply stared off into the black distance. He was bored, having nothing to do and no one to talk to. But it had been his fault anyway, so he hadn't the right to complain. The reason why he's been so oddly quiet -something he knew intrigued his tamer- was that he'd spoken too much. For that, there was no one to blame but himself.

He thought he was stupid to avoid Daisuke since the boy probably had no idea of his feelings, but a nagging pain in his stomach told him it would be best to remain hidden for a while, until Daisuke had forgotten about his slip. If only he knew how mistaken he was...

All that his absence was doing was to pile up different ideas and conclusions in the boy's mind, one more hilarious and inaccurate than the last. Still, even when he knew -somewhere deep inside of himself- that he was making things more complicated, he couldn't bring himself to face Daisuke. He knew himself well enough; if he were given the opportunity, he would confess everything to the boy. He would confess everything he himself couldn't understand and didn't fully believe in.

Life is difficult, but love... love is simply impossible.

-o-

That night, Daisuke crawled under the sheets. His bed was soft against his aching back -too much stress, he thought- and the warm embrace of cotton made him squirm with delight. A decent end to a long, tiring day. Staring at the golden key resting on his nightstand, he wished Dark would at least wish him a good night's sleep. Sighing, he thought to himself expecting Dark to hear him, /Dark, Saga gave me a fancy-looking key. I think you should have a look at it; it might be the key to open the Hikari's vaults./

No response. Sighing once again, this time bitterly, he turned to his side and closed his eyes. He thought he'd fallen asleep too quickly, for he heard a soft, deep voice in his dreams; it sounded far away and he vaguely made out the words, but he thought it said:

Goodnight, Daisuke.

-o-o-o- Mwahahahahahaaaaaa!!! I'm leaving it at that.

The end is near!!! And yet, you may still be thinking: "what the hell is Saga doing in this story?" Well, let me answer your question: I've no idea. I simply love that character and wanted to include him, even if he only made both Daisuke's life and mine a lot more difficult. Oh, whatever...

I hope you liked this chapter! In the next one, the story finally reaches its climax. It will be Friday; you know what will happen on Friday, don't you? Heh... thought so. Have faith!! I've already changed the ending a thousand times so it would fit the unexpected changes I made to the story. For one, Saga wasn't supposed to appear... but I needed to fill up the space somehow, you know. And I DO love him dearly, that Saga guy... Anyway... got off track. REVIEW, please!!!!!!!!!!!!