Wakka-wakka-I got chapters and yooooou want 'em!
Krad remained in the corner after Hiro left, mulling things over, a hundred thoughts churning in his mind. He almost felt like he had been split into two beings again. Like the cognitive part of him was locked away from his body, which was running purely on instinct at this point. Krad, once again, was caged in the body of another, as he had been for four hundred years. There was almost a comfort in the familiarity of the situation. Except that he was his own host. And it was driving him mad.
The rational side of him argued that this situation was inevitable and out of his control, as he had been assigned a knife for a gunfight. Hikari magic was really nothing to be trifled with, and in the hands of somebody like Hiwatari, the results were unpredictable. The irrational side of him argued that he was pathetic and weak, and that as a terribly flawed, disgusting creature, he'd deserved everything he had gotten. It was the penance for his impotence.
Pulling himself from his cyclic deprecation, his thoughts turned to the young security guard. To know that Hiro and Salvatore had taken care of things for him was a relief. There was something about the prospect of being strapped down to a lab table and split from stem to sternum by a bunch of whitecoats for shits and giggles that was not so appealing. And (though he would never admit) struck a tiny iota of fear into him. He certainly didn't need the authorities apprehending him only to discover that not only did he not have an identity, but he wasn't exactly human. He would then be linked to Dark, and if they'd taken him from the Niwa household, they would be questioned, along with everyone they knew, they would get to Satoshi, and Commander or not, they would pry into his history and discover the Hikari and… well.
For all the things that the young guard and his strong, silent partner had done for him… he wasn't sure that there was anything he could do to repay them.
The sound of the door opening pulled him from his musing. It was strange that no matter how much he tried to force his head to look up, it wouldn't. But he guessed that it was Daisuke. And when his body finally caught up, his assumption was correct. The boy had an uneasy smile on his face as he slowly approached. "Krad? Um… do you want to go to bed?" He received a blink in response. "I hope you're not planning on sleeping on the floor. Did… did he make you sleep on the floor?" Gold eyes blinked slowly at him. "Yes." He was surprised with himself, that he was able to give an answer. The angel's voice was thin and scratchy. Like one hundred thread-count sheets. Without his regular 'punishments', he wasn't using it nearly as much. Screams exercise the larynx rather well.
Daisuke sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "I don't know what to do. What am I supposed to do? You've gotta be in there somewhere, Krad. How am I supposed to help you get better when I don't even know where to start?" "Maybe we should all just give him his space and be gentle with him." The boy turned at the voice. "Dad…" He smiled, leaning close to whisper into his son's ear, "Krad's strong. He'll come around. He just needs time." Daisuke frowned, but nodded. A firm hand clapped him lightly on the shoulder.
Kosuke padded over to the closet. He pulled out two thick blankets and a pillow and laid them out on the floor. His gaze met that of the angel. A warm smile graced his visage. "Now, Krad, you understand that you're not a prisoner here, and you can come and go as you please. But I understand that it will take some getting used to. So you can sleep on the bed, but if you're more comfortable on the floor, you can sleep on the floor. Alright?" There was no answer, but he continued to smile anyway. "Okay. Goodnight, Krad. Sweet dreams." The two Niwas left him, still sitting in the corner with his knees drawn to his chest.
xxx
"Go. Away." "Whhhyyyyyy?" The blue-haired boy blew out a weary sigh. "Because." "Because why?" This was going to be one hell of a headache… "Because I said so." The thief scoffed. "'Because I said so'? What are you, my mom?" "Dark, I really don't want to deal with you right now. You've caused enough trouble. For fifty lifetimes." Booted feet met the polished wooden surface of Satoshi's coffee table. His eye twitched. Dark sighed, turning serious. "I know. But… I gotta fix this. I can't have Krad afraid of me. It's just not natural."
Satoshi flipped another page in his book. The angel droned on. "You? He'll forgive you. Probably already has. He knows you better than anyone else, and he'd understand why you took the chance. But me…" He barked out a dry, humourless laugh. "Daisuke was right. We've always had this kind of… messed-up thing between us. Not really trust, but… it kind of was trust? I mean, he tried to kill Daisuke a few times. And most of my other Niwa tamers. But he tried to kill them because he wanted me to have the host body. In some weird way, he was kinda trying to help me, you know?" Another page. "Mmhmm."
The Hikari really was listening, contrary to his mime. Especially when Dark began talking about his relationship with Krad. He had known that Krad was obsessed with having a body of his own; a life of his own. All too well. And then his wish had been granted—he had been given his own person. Something that was entirely his. Something that wasn't dependent upon another to survive. Then, with the stroke of a pen, he had taken that freedom away. He had once again made Krad a prisoner.
At first, he had been all right with it—ecstatic, if he were being honest. Then that niggling feeling started pushing its way in. He started to wonder why Hiwatari had wanted him. Okay, he knew why. He just hadn't wanted to think about it. So he'd tried not to, and it had worked… for a while. When he'd asked his 'father' if he could see Krad, and had been denied, that niggling feeling turned into full-on alarm. And after the angel showed up at the Niwas' home… Satoshi didn't often feel guilt—especially in regards to a certain homicidal blonde… but he felt it now. It made his stomach turn.
He realised that Dark had long since stopped talking. A miracle in and of itself. The thief was just sitting there, staring at his shoes. "You know, sometimes I have a hard time remembering the beginning. Remembering what I was before we were split up." He chuckled fondly. "You know, I remember what he was like with our first hosts. He was so… timid. And the first time we met… I actually thought he was a girl. I… thought he was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Not that I'd seen that many back then. Then he spoke, and I was like, whoa! That's a dude." Satoshi snorted. "I'm sure that's not verbatim." "Che. And when we finally figured out that we were… you know, each other… we looked forward to spending time together. Until…"
Dark trailed off, sorrow lacing through his tone. The blue haired boy knew, of course, where it was going, but he wanted to hear it from Dark's mouth. "Until?" "You know, until we started fighting. Having to fight. Having no choice but to fight. The Niwas figured out real fast that they could use me to steal art. And I didn't have a problem with it so much—Hikari art is dangerous. I should know." He gestured to himself. "And I became the Thief. But in turn, it meant that Krad would become the Hunter. I know he didn't want to do it. And I don't know what they did to him to make him cooperate. But over the years, I could see his walls becoming thicker and broader. I could see him slipping away. But what was I supposed to do about it? We had no say. And then when I finally get to make my own choices… I take his away from him. I thought it was 'cause I hated him… now I know that I was just denying how much I cared about him. When I saw him last night, saw the anger and fear in his eyes…"
The Hikari boy had long since tucked his book away. Dark now sat with his head in his hands, messy violet hair spilling all around his head. "What do I do, Satoshi? What am I supposed to do?"
xxx
The former thief touched down lightly on the dew-covered grass. It was frost not long ago, he mused, meandering into the house. As he climbed the stairs, he kept going over the conversation he'd had with Satoshi. Well, it was more like the kid sitting there while Dark poured his stupid heart out all over the place. He'd ended up revealing a lot more than he had originally intended, but… it was too late now. Freak-genius weirdoes like Hikari didn't forget things.
Dark paused in front of Krad's bedroom door. When he put his ear up against it, he could hear the soft, steady breathing of sleep. Ever-so-carefully, he turned the doorknob and slipped inside. The legendary phantom thief certainly wouldn't be so-named if he couldn't see in the dark. Golden blonde hair spilled out from beneath a blanket and over the edge of the bed.
The corners of Dark's mouth twitched into a shadow of a smile. It fell as tanned fingers barely caressed the silk-like strands. A bit of fear slithered into him as Krad stirred. 'Shit! Can he sense me here?' "Mmah… Dark… Dark…" The thief worried his lip as he stared down at his other half. 'Should I stay? He had such a bad reaction this morning…' He pulled Krad's hair back from his face, going stock-still when the blonde's brows scrunched together. "Mmm… Dark… help…"
His mouth went dry. The lump in his throat seemed to get bigger. With a shaky breath, the violet haired angel dropped to the floor and leaned against the bed as he had the night before. He gently laced his hand with Krad's as his eyes slipped closed. The weight of his guilt was exhausting, and he was asleep within moments, despite the awkward position.
Both angels slept peacefully that night.
xxx
Argentine stood in the doorway to Krad's room, shocked by the scene before him. Well, it was partially shock, and partially fear. Maybe a little confusion, as well. After he woke this morning, he sought Dark, just… because. When he discovered the phantom was not in his room, he searched for him until he felt the telltale Hikari energy from behind Krad's closed door. He hesitated—he'd always been wary of Krad (terrified, really). But he pressed on, only to see Dark crumpled on the floor, unconscious, and the blonde Hunter huddled in the corner shaking violently, hugging his knees so tightly that his knuckles were white. "Uhhh… uh."
The lizard turned then, marching directly to Daisuke's room. He flung the door open, and without even bothering to wake the redhead, gripped his arm and dragged him out of bed and over to Krad's room. Daisuke, groggy and confused, slurred incoherent phrases at the artwork until he was pushed into the bedroom. Bleary eyes took everything in. He groaned. "Daaark! What did you do?" When he got no response, he became worried. "Dark? Hey, Dark." He shook the thief, who groaned and cracked open his eyes. "Ugh… Dai? What happened?" The redhead rolled his eyes. "That's what I want to know."
Dark sat up and scratched his head, avoiding the lump that had formed on the side. "Uh… the last thing I remember is a scream, and then–WHACK!–and I was out." He turned then, looking over at the distraught angel in the corner. He sighed. "What were you even doing in here, anyway?" The thief frowned. "Ehh… I was just… uh…" Daisuke stopped him. "No, never mind. Just… you should probably leave now so I can calm Krad down." Violet eyes briefly darkened. "Yeah, fine… c'mon, Argentine… let's go find something to eat." The lizard nodded, turning to leave, but cast a lingering glance to the frightened angel.
Following Dark down the stairs, he tried not to think about the blonde Hunter, instead focusing on his idol. For the thief, however, this morning's incident was all he could think about. Last night, it almost seemed like his presence was comforting the angel. But when he woke up… Dark rubbed the bump on his head gently. And it was awfully strange that Krad had attacked him so fervently the day before, but had recoiled this morning. He wondered if there was any kind of reasoning at all behind it or if it was completely instinctual. If that were the case, then it would be safe to say that Krad's mental state was indeed fractured. Reuniting the two (or perhaps more) pieces would be a spectacular–near impossible–feat.
The thief shoveled cereal into his mouth, scowling, while Argentine picked at his. The lizard was lost in thought. Since Krad had been there, he hadn't actually laid eyes on the angel, avoiding him for obvious reasons. Seeing him like that… huddled in the corner like a frightened animal… it was something he would never have believed if he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes. All he had ever heard or seen of Krad was a vicious, merciless creature with no regard for others or his hosts.
After several minutes of pondering, he heard Dark rise from his chair and place his empty bowl in the sink. He stared down at his own cereal mush and sighed. Soft footfalls shuffled into the kitchen. "Well, Krad's calmed down now. And I still want to know what you did to upset him like that." The thief sighed gruffly. "I didn't do anything, Dai. I just… When I came home last night, I was walking by his door. So I opened it to check on him. He was having some kind of nightmare, so I sat by the bed to calm him down, and I guess I fell asleep. Then he musta woken up, saw me next to him, freaked out, and punched me."
Daisuke frowned. "Well… maybe you shouldn't go into his room anymore. You know how he is around you." "He needed me." Deep red eyes blinked at him slowly. The redhead was confused. But he decided to let it go. "Just… stay away from him, for now. Until he starts to come around. And stops trying to kill you." "Yeah, fine." The thief walked out of the room. Daisuke leaned on the counter with his head in his hands. Argentine continued to poke at his mush.
xxx
Days went by before the Niwas were able to coax Krad from his room, but he wouldn't go anywhere without some kind of chaperone. Special care was taken to keep Dark as far away from the timid angel as possible. They hardly needed another relapse.
"It's so weird! It's like he's some kind of living doll one minute, and then the next, he's responding to me! I just don't understand how to… fix him." Daisuke sat with his head resting on the kitchen table. A plate of food was placed next to his head, then in front of Dark who sat across from him, lounging casually back in his chair. The young Niwa boy had been, for the most part, ignoring the phantom thief. He had his reasons, but it pissed Dark off to no end. He felt himself falling into the pattern of blaming Krad for everything, before reminding himself of the current situation. Of exactly why his former wing host was ignoring him.
So he let the teen have his peace.
"I don't know, honey… But he seems to be more responsive than he was when he first came here. Maybe we just need to give him time. I don't think he's completely lost. If he was, he wouldn't have escaped in the first place." Claret eyes gazed up to meet a matching set. "I guess." Across the table, Dark ate in silence.
xxx
It was bothering the hell out of him. Argentine knew little about Krad—only that he was some kind of homicidal maniac hell-bent on destroying Dark. So naturally, he was afraid of him. But the other day, when he'd seen the blonde curled in on himself in the corner... the fear in his eyes... he began to wonder if Krad really was as bad as he'd been made out to be. The Hikari certainly weren't fans. They couldn't have been if they'd created a piece designed solely to control him.
The lizard stopped suddenly. In his musing, he'd wandered by Krad's door. There was a small hesitation as he placed his hand on the door, leaning in close so he could hear what was going on inside. It was silent, as he'd expected. He thought briefly about opening the door, but felt like that might be a violation of privacy. Instead, he wandered slowly over to Daisuke's bedroom. He was pretty sure the boy was inside, and he knocked on the door gently. Wide red eyes met his. "Argentine? Did mom send you to get me for something? Or are you looking for Dark, because I don't know where he is." The lizard shook his head slightly. "No... I was... I kinda wanted to talk to you." The teen was a little surprised, as Argentine didn't normally seek him out. "Oh! Sure... come in."
The pair settled on Daisuke's bed, and sat in silence for a few moments before the redhead cleared his throat. "Uhh... so... You wanted to talk to me about something?" Argentine bit his lip. He wasn't really sure how to bring it up, really. Actually, he wasn't really sure what he wanted to bring up. "Well... it's... it's... about Krad. And Dark." The Niwa was more surprised, even, that Argentine wanted to talk to him about Krad. "What about them?" He let out a huff in his frustration. "I don't know. I just... I feel weird. I was always afraid of Krad. And now he's so messed up, and... I just... I don't like it. I don't know why, but I just don't like it. And Dark... It was his fault, and... the Black Wings is my idol—the perfect artform I'd always hoped to be... but he's so flawed. And Krad's also the Black Wings. And they're both... connected, and... I want to love Dark and hate Krad, because that's what I'd always been told, I guess. But I want to hate Dark now for what he did, but I can't, because... he looks like he feels so bad about it. He barely sleeps now, and sometimes he looks like he wants to die from the guilt. And Krad looks so helpless... like he just wants to die. And I want to help, but I don't think I can. I don't think any of us can. Not me, not you, not miss Emiko, or your dad, or even Satoshi. I think Dark's the only one who can help, but he's so scared of him but so mad at him, and I don't know what to do."
The lizard took a deep breath, and red eyes just blinked at him. That was a lot. But Daisuke couldn't deny the truth of his words. "I think you're right. We can't help him. He's been here for two weeks, but nothing we've done seems to be helping. The only one that seems to get a real reaction out of him is Dark." The redhead scrubbed at his eyes and groaned. "There has to be a way!" The pair sat in silence for a few minutes before the door opened slowly and the Niwa matriarch stepped through. Her face was noticeably drawn, but her eyes were soft. She came to sit next to her son, stroking his hair fondly. "Patience. His healing will come with love and patience. That's all we can do. As for Dark... he may never earn his grace."
The dark angel standing just outside the door took her words like a punch to the gut. There was not a sound as he slunk away.
I thought I'd give this to you guys. Those of you left. And, like I've said before, I WILL finish this. Soon, I hope. Kinda sad it's taken more than 9 years to write something that's less than 70,000 words... considering some people write 100k in one month. -.-
Well. I'm trying to punch this out, but I don't want it to sound rushed or haphazard. But I also don't like filler. I think that's my problem. Oh well. As a lawnmower says, "I de-grass."
Hope you all enjoyed this exciting, Argentine-heavy chapter! Love and hugs!
^.^ JJ