Konnichiwa Minna-san!! I got such nice reviews that I decided to continue the story! I'm so glad you're liking the story… ^^;; Gosh, I sounds like a ditz. Anyway… I've got the next chapter finished, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Talk to you later. Ja!
ChainedChapter Two: Illusions?
"Ji-chan! Ji-chan!" Daisuke called as he threw open the door. Niwa Daiki walked into the living room, looked at Daisuke, and sighed deeply. The boy was falling behind in his thievery… he must do something about training again.
"You don't have the necklace, do you?" He stated sadly, shaking his head with disappointment. "What happened, Daisuke? You were doing so well."
"Niwa-ji! That is NOT our problem at the moment! I think certain things are a little more important… like why I'm not in his body!" Dark pointed at Daisuke, and stated his words quite impatiently and angrily.
At that moment, Daiki's eyes darted from Daisuke to Dark, then back again. Slowly they went wide at the sight of two of them. "Anou… why are there two of you?"
Dark opened his mouth to yell at the old man for his stupidity, but Daisuke cut him off, his voice frantic with worry.
"Ji-chan, Dark went to go steal the necklace… and this is what happened!!" Daisuke's eyes went wider as he talked to his elder.
Daiki thought for a moment, resting his chin in the crook his thumb and forefinger made. Then he looked up and his eyes brightened with understanding. "Ah! I remember… it's the necklace of illusion breaking! I can't believe I was foolish enough to ask you to steal that! What an idiot I am! Ha ha ha ha ha!" He laughed, as if this whole thing was just a simple misunderstanding that could be easily righted.
Meanwhile, in the sane part of the human world, Daisuke and Dark looked at Daiki as if he'd fallen off his rocker and started falling into the bottomless pit below it. What in the devil's name was he talking about!? What 'Illusion Breaking' necklace? Were Daisuke and Dark just an illusion?
"Illusion…?"
"Breaking…?"
Dark and Daisuke both exchanged very confused looks, before looking back at Daiki.
"Nani!?"
"Niwa-ji… we aren't an illusion." Dark said, his confusion becoming evident in both his eyes and voice. "I'm real… and so is Daisuke."
Daiki blinked, looking at Dark as if he's proclaimed himself emperor of the free world. "Dark, you aren't real… well, you weren't before… now you are."
"What do you mean?" Dark asked, blinking profusely. He felt a certain degree of indigence towards the old man and his words. "I can touch things and feel emotions…"
"Ah, that may be, Dark, but that doesn't make you real. Have you ever dreamt before? Or, on a broader scale, have you ever slept?" Daiki's eyes looked at Dark in a frighteningly mysterious fashion.
Dark could only shake his head, wondering what dreaming and sleeping had anything to do with being real. "Iie."
"Nor have you eaten, drank, or… dare I say… felt true love, And I'm not talking about that infatuation with Riku-san." Daiki nodded knowingly as Dark's eyes went wide.
He didn't do any of those things. He didn't need to, his host had always done them for him. He didn't eat, drink, sleep, dream… but didn't he feel true love? Wasn't he in love with… Pause.
Dark poked around in his mind, making sure that none of Daisuke was left there. He wasn't, and Dark, for the first time in his life, was alone in his mind. He'd never realized how different it was, not having some one with you always. Nor how lonely it felt.
"You weren't an illusion…" Daiki stated, yanking Dark from his thoughts. "But you were not real. And that apparently seemed good enough for the necklace."
"But… Niwa-ji…" Dark said carefully. "I was in love with someone…"
"Oh? True love? Meaning that you and her exchanged pure feelings of love."
Dark blinked, letting his confusion fall. So that was it, because Daisuke didn't love him back… that was why he'd never felt true love. Dark sighed deeply and, for the first time, felt exhaustion entering his body with its slow, painful flames.
"I guess not…" Dark said slowly, looking at Daiki tiredly. He wanted deeply to succumb to the darkness that was slowly working its way across the edges of his vision.
"So… now what?" Daisuke asked, blinking innocently at his grandfather.
"Well… I suppose it's best that you two rest… and then try to steal it again tomorrow night. Maybe we'll be able to find a way to put you back together."
"Uhn…" Dark managed, feeling his shoulders begin to slump. What was this feeling…? It was awful! All Dark wanted to do was close his eyes… but he shouldn't! He had to figure this out! And he wasn't able to sleep, after all he wasn't…
Yawn
…real.
"Anou… Dark, are you tired?" Daisuke asked, his eyes wide as he watched Dark's posture begin to slump over.
"Tired? I can't be tired… I not real, remember?" He looked strangely at Daisuke and tried, as best as he could, to right himself in the proper standing position for a debonair thief, such as himself.
"You are real, Dark." Daiki said, sighing deeply and exasperatedly. "I just told you you were. I told you that you weren't real before, but you are real now. There's a time difference in there." Daiki looked as though no one in the world ever listened to him, and Dark deeply wanted to punch his overzealous face in. But that wasn't possible, due to the fact that his arms seemed to be made of warm Jell-O. So he settled for angry words, and mean looks.
"Shut up, Niwa-ji." Dark glared, completely unaware what exhaustion was doing to his attitude. Daiki just rose an eyebrow.
"I recommend that you sleep, Dark. I don't want to have to put up with your nasty comments." Daiki said indignantly.
"Grrr… I've had just about enough of you, old-man!" Dark yelled suddenly. "You sit here all nice and cozy in your house, and try to explain this as if I'm two years old and I don't understand! I get the idea!"
Dark was about to punch him, but Daisuke grabbed his arm.
"Dark don't! Just… let's just get some sleep… you'll feel better in the morning, I promise."
Dark could only stare in utter wonder at Daisuke. He'd… he'd stopped Dark from hitting his grandfather. And now Daisuke was trying to help him cope with being real.
Dark, not for the first time, wanted to hold Daisuke… but now… now it was possible! He could reach out and touch the redhead! He looked at Daisuke's hand on his arm, his concerned eyes… his beautiful lips.
Oh my god! He's real!
Dark suddenly reeled back, yanking his arm from Daisuke. The thought hadn't registered until now. Daisuke was real! Everything about him… his face, his eyes, his limbs, his body… everything was there, real, touchable. Dark could reach out and feel the boy, the one he loved so much.
His eyes went wide and he swallowed hard. "Anou… sleep… right…" He felt his cheeks get warm… and waited for himself to turn into Daisuke. His emotions were running rampant and the Daisuke meter was shooting up like a rocket. Transformation was inevitable, the only thing he could do was close his eyes tight and wait for it to pass.
The only thing that passed, was time.
"Dark…? Um… Are you okay?" Daisuke asked, placing a finger to his lips and leaning forward. He studied Dark's closed eyes and worried face with a sort of mild curiosity and concern.
Dark's eyes shot open and he gave a yelp, then jumped back as he stared into the glowing amber eyes of Daisuke. There was Daisuke… and Dark was not him.
Oh, that's right… we're separated now.
The lack of transformation now would be weird. Dark would be able to mask his unstable emotions. His DNA was properly coded now, and he could hide emotions, thoughts, and other things from his former host.
The thought its self was mind-boggling. Dark, whose entire existence relied upon some one else, and whose thoughts and emotions could almost always be read, was now able to think freely, to be his own person and not have to confine to the personality of his host. He was his own host.
However…
This whole sleeping bit needed to be answered right away.
"You can sleep on a futon I keep in my room." Daisuke said, as if he could still read Dark's thoughts. He started towards his room. Dark followed dumbly, completely unaware that his feet were moving. Exhaustion was not something he wanted to feel again. Ever.
"Mn…" He managed to grunt in response to the redhead in front of him.
Dark had been in his room many times before, but this time… it was different. He was seeing it with Daisuke actually in the room. This stirred some interesting images and thoughts within Dark.
Dark swallowed hard, exhaustion some how not overcoming his nervousness. Why he felt nervous, he wasn't sure. But he felt nervous… and it wasn't good that he did.
Daisuke pulled out the futon and set in on the floor. Dark just watched him slowly, his every move burning into his memory like a hot coal.
This could not be happening. Daisuke was real! And Dark was no longer trapped inside his body. He was free… free to move on his own, think on his own… love on his own. It was as if it were a blessing of the millennium. Dark was now his own person… he was able to reach out and touch people… like Daisuke.
Daisuke… real… the idea of it seemed only a fantasy twenty-four hours ago. Dark wanted to be able to feel the contact, feel the electrons pushing against each other to create the feeling of touch. Dark wanted to feel Daisuke.
Dark reached out gingerly and carefully touched Daisuke's arm. He jumped and whipped around to look in the gorgeous lavender eyes of Dark's.
For a fleeting moment, Dark could've sworn that he felt time stop. That there was nothing in the world but Daisuke, Dark, and his rapidly beating heart.
"What is it?" Daisuke asked softly and carefully, so not to offend the thief whom now took no residence in his mind, but residence in his house.
"You're real…" Dark whispered, looking into the young man's beautiful, amber eyes. He watched as Daisuke stared into his own again, then as his cheeks flushed and he took a step away from Dark.
"So are you…" Daisuke whispered, looking toward the ground. He slowly looked back up at Dark, eyes pleading with him. Pleading for what, Dark wasn't sure. But one thing he knew… he wanted to stop it. He wanted Daisuke to be happy. He deserved it.
"We'll get you back where you belong, Dark. I know we can." Daisuke forced a smile at Dark, then threw a blanket and a pillow on his futon.
Dark blinked. Daisuke wanted him to be happy, he wanted him not to worry… and it seemed as if he were ready to do anything to help Dark. The thought made Dark's stomach flutter as if a bird were trapped within his stomach. Daisuke cared…
Dark shook his head of anymore thoughts, then turned to Daisuke and watched as he kicked off his shoes, then threw off the leather trench coat, and began unbuttoning his shirt. Dark just stared at him, unable to move, unable to blink, and just barely able to breathe. Daisuke was… Daisuke was undressing!
He had never had the pleasure of watching Daisuke undress. Dark was sad he didn't… he was so beautiful. So perfect in almost every physical aspect, that in made Dark feel as if he were an unformed lump of clay, waiting for the artist to find his inspiration.
"Dark? Aren't you going to go to bed?" Daisuke asked, as he kicked off his pants. Dark blinked, his cheeks suddenly flushing as he watched Daisuke pull on a pair of pajama pants. He needed to come back to the real world… besides, his exhaustion was beginning to take effect on him. Zoning out would relate to disastrous consequences.
"Oh… right…" Dark blushed again, then began pulling off his own clothes, feeling very uneasy about undressing in front of Daisuke. Though why, he didn't know. He was physically and emotionally mature, so why was it such a big deal that he had to undress in front of another… set aside the fact that this other was also a special person to Dark.
"Here…" Daisuke gave Dark a tee shirt and a pair of pajama pants. "I'm not sure if many of my clothes will fit you… you're a lot taller then I am. Maybe mom'll take you shopping or something tomorrow."
"Mm… yeah… I guess so." Dark managed, blushing deeply as he pulled off his own pants to put on the pajamas. He avoided all contact with Daisuke as he crawled onto his futon, next to Daisuke's bed.
Daisuke looked down at him for a moment, then crawled into his own bed. "We'll fix this Dark… we'll get you back where you belong."
Unable to comment, due to exhaustion and his flaring cheeks, Dark simply muttered an: "Mn." Then set his head down on his pillow and close in sleep deprived eyes.
The question is…do I want to go back?
Dark didn't have time to ponder the question, because the next thing he knew, he was eating breakfast with the Niwa family.
"Dark, dear… would you like some cereal?" Emiko questioned.
Dark turned to look at the woman, only to find her clad in a black leather bikini. She batted her long eyelashes at him, while pushing the cereal box in his direction.
Dark's eyes went wide out of pure amazement and disbelief at the sight of his second favorite Niwa.
"Aa! Niwa-san! Please clothe yourself!" He gasped jumping back from the table, and blinking heavily.
"But, Dark-chan." she batted her long eyelashes at him. "I'm in love with you…"
She crawled over the table to sit in front of him.
"Gah! Niwa-san! PLEASE!!" He hit the wall in the middle of his back-pedaling and could only stare at Emiko in utter shock. He did not like Daisuke's mother… that was not possible, and he would like it very much if she would quit coming on to him!
"Dark-chan…"
Dark's head whipped around to the door, as he heard a different voice resound in his ears. He locked eyes with a pretty brunette, scantly clad in red lingerie. Riku… what was Riku doing there? In the morning, and in… that!?
"Ri-Riku-chan? Anou…" Dark felt his cheeks get red. Emiko was in front of him, a wall behind him, and Riku at his side. He was quickly running out of options on how to escape. It looked as though he was going to be stuck here… and that wasn't good.
"I want you, Dark…" She whispered, stepping forward seductively, and letting her eyelashes fall slowly over her gaze. "I know you're attracted to me… I know you like me…"
"But… um, Riku…" Dark stuttered, very uncomfortable at this whole situation. "I'm very sorry, but… I'm not attracted to you… anymore…"
"Are you attracted to me?" A voice asked, completely different from Emiko's or Riku. Dark swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut. He knew whose voice this was, and the question it had proposed could turn Dark's work, entirely upside down.
He turned slowly to stare into large, amber eyes. Eyes that he felt he could have looked into forever. Daisuke's eyes.
"D… Daisuke…" He stuttered, feeling the world around him melt away. The younger boy looked up at him, his eyes wide with anticipation of the older boy's answer.
"Are you?" He questioned again.
Dark felt everything around him go quiet, and everything but him and Daisuke melted away. Dark had to tell him the truth… after all, he had asked for it.
"I am…"
"I HATE YOU, DARK!!!"
Dark bolted upright in bed, gasping for breath. His head and heart pounding almost too fast for him to bear. The words that had brought on his current state, still echoed mercilessly in his ears and mind.
'I HATE YOU, DARK!!!'
Does he hate me?
Dark swallowed hard and pulled his knees close to his chest, pondering his first ever dream. He was unable to control the world around him, unable to control even his own actions. He felt helpless in his own world that his subconscious had created. And yet… everything had been so realistic… and it all felt so…truthful, so real. So, then was that why Daisuke's words had hurt him so much? Or was Dark paranoid to the point of hallucinating everything? Even his own demise of heart?
Slowly, Dark stood up and looked over at Daisuke. He was sleeping peacefully, his covers bundled into his arms. He looked like an angel… so perfect and pure, so untouchable.
Dark wanted nothing more then to touch his face… the skin he'd felt only once when Daisuke had pleaded with him to stop being mean to his grandfather. He wanted to feel that skin again…
His long fingers brushed softly against the redhead's cheek.
"Dark…" Daisuke sighed in his sleep.
Dark reeled back, as if he'd touched a hot stove. Daisuke had whispered his name. Did the redhead know of his love for the boy? Or was he cast into the shadows by his innocent nature? Had his whispered sigh of Dark's name been just fluke?
I wish I could see his thoughts…his dreams. I never realized how lonely it is when you're not in my mind, Daisuke.
Daisuke sighed in response and turned over on his side.
"Oh well… sleep, right. Need sleep…" Dark crawled back on his futon, feeling very alone and utterly helpless.