Forget For the Moment

By Seraphim.Poison

Dark + Krad

Chapter Two: Forced Trust

Dedicated to Sheridan, Shiranai-Kyuri, + Co.

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"I lie here tonight in the darkness
I've never felt so alone
Tomorrow I'll wake up still lonesome
'cause things haven't changed since you've gone

 …

How long do old memories last
Why can't I forget it
Why can't I admit it
There ain't no future in the past."

~ No Future In The Past (Vince Gill)

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                Midnight approached on the swift wings of the hours quicker than Dark Mousy would have expected, but it scarcely mattered to him anymore. When one was dead, one hardly bothered to note the time. In fact, this little rendezvous was the only reason he had even attempted to remember what the hour was. His nature, however, would not be put out, and considering the late hour, it was not unnatural to see that the kaitou's eyelids were lowered half way in a sleepy manner over unfocused amethyst orbs. His lean body lay in the outspread arms of the statue of Saint Mary that had previously protected him from what he suspected would've been some nasty damage, even in this spirit body.

                Giving a wide, unabashed yawn, the phantom thief lifted his half-open gaze once again to the broken, worn stain glass windows of the ancient church, quite ready to give up to sleep as he watched the night dust dancing in the pale, soft moonlight. But, as he shifted positions slightly in the cold and less than comfortable stone arms, his mind allowed the memories to pass through the barrier once more… And Dark found himself pondering on the events of the evening, despite his urge to close his eyes and rest…

                "Where?"

                At first, surprised at the fact that, first of all, he had actually asked, Krad, the cold-hearted demon that he had to admit, under normal circumstances, he would not have even had a civil conversation with unless he absolutely had to. For second, that, in turn, Krad had actually shown up. Considering this and what to reply with, Dark frowned, saying nothing until he felt a hard, impatient gaze land upon him. He lifted his violet gaze to meet a metal gold, and he found himself responding without further thought.

                "Here." He answered simply, but was unable to resist a taunting comment as he continued, "At midnight. That's in a few hours, which ought to give you some time to find the temper switch and turn it off."

                "… You truly are shameless, thief." Krad remarked coolly enough, turning his head in a wave of flaxen silk, choosing to not immediately accept Dark's proposal.

                "Tell me something I don't know." The phantom thief replied, sounding somewhat impatient himself as he folded his arms in a rather childish gesture, "Like, whether we're going to meet, or you're going to leave and never come back. With the second way, I can't say I'd really mind."

                The taunt, however, failed to hit its mark as Krad exited the church into the crisp evening air, turning back once before shutting the large wooden double doors behind him with a resounding thud, leaving Dark alone with the dust and the past.

                "Stupid bastard… Leaving me here…" Muttered Dark to himself, casually pushing back wispy strands of dark purple hair from his eyes, settling into the not-quite-gentle embrace of the statue, prepared to forget the whole Krad escapade a get some rest…

                "They say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."

                Amethyst eyes snapped open immediately at the sound of the familiar cold voice, turning to face the doorway. The phantom thief found the air catching in his throat as he saw the image before him… It dawned upon him vaguely that he had quite forgotten exactly how beautiful the hunter before him was, but the moon's silhouette around the magnificent figure approaching him reminded him rather swiftly. But, the moment lasted only briefly, as Dark merely had to think of the energy balls that false angel could produce to bring him back to reality.

                "Fashionably late, I see." Dark commented dryly, returning his gaze to the stain glass windows.

                "Did you have nothing better than to count the minutes, thief?" Responded Krad just as wryly, closing the great doors behind him as though to say there was no turning back now.

                "I'm dead. What did you expect?" Dark sighed, putting one arm around the statue's neck to hoist himself into a sitting position, "That I go socialize with all the other pointless specters?"

                "Being dead has made you lose your sense of fun." Krad replied, a ghost of a smile gracing perfect lips as he selected a seat on a chapel bench near the Saint Mary and briefly ran his slender fingers through silky golden hair. "Or perhaps the Wing Master being dead has done that."

                The last statement, casual as Krad made it sound, brought the point of the meeting back into focus. Dark frowned slightly, an expression that did not quite suit the face that formerly wore a seductive or mischievous smile so often. For a moment, the two allowed a peaceful silence. The phantom thief stared into the face of the statue that silently carried him, his air one of thought. What had he expected to come out of this discussion? Half of him hadn't even thought the demon would make his appearance. The other half hoped that he would, as he had, just… So that they could talk. Talk about the past, talk about forgetting… Talk about things that only the two of them, two who had lost so much, could talk about.

                "Daisuke's death has done many things, as I'm sure that the …" He paused, old habits nearly forcing the words 'creepy boy' from his lips; after a moment, he continued, "…Death of Hiwatari has."

                "… You cannot possibly imagine."

                This remark wrenched a broken-sounded laugh from inside of Dark, a poor shadow of the rich laughter that would usually emerge. So, perhaps Krad did not understand as much as Dark had hoped he would have. He did not see how much they were a like now, despite what Dark had previously told him.

                "Don't you see?" He asked, voicing his thoughts out loud, "We've lost something, you and I, and we're both stuck here, both lost… And you... You just refuse to understand!"

                Some inner anger must have reached his tone, for when Krad replied, his tone was low and dangerous, the way it had been on many dark nights so long ago.

                "You don't need to yell, thief." He remarked acidly, "I am here, you realize, despite all your nonsense and the plain, simple fact that we hate each other to hell and back."

                At first, Dark had no reply. He felt the heat of anger that had slowly been making its way up into his voice slowly subside. As much as he hated to admit it, Krad was right. He was there, wasn't he? … Dark sighed again, feeling tired once more. Perhaps it was time to forget everything, fade into nothing… But, he was unable to forget.

                "I…" He stopped himself sort of what might've been an apology or confession, pausing to recompile his thoughts before continuing, "I just want to talk. No energy balls, no flying fists. Just talk."

                "I find that hard to believe."

                "That makes two of us."

                It was the blonde this time that allowed a pause. On the outside, he seemed very collected, calm. But, the inside was complete chaos. Questions raged like a storm. How to start, how to start… There was so much that he had kept to himself ever since Satoshi-sama had passed away. And here, his mortal enemy, was offering him what might have possibly been release.

                "So, let's talk." He said at last, bringing a sun-gold gaze to meet Dark's deep amethyst one. 'Before I change my mind…'

                "Yeah, sure, let's talk."

                Here was the chance. A chance to speak, to let go all the pain that had been harbored inside of the two of them for what seemed like an eternity of ages. But, neither was sure how to begin. It was quite awkward in the first place to be preparing to express inner sorrow and pain and loss… To a person that one had spent most of their life hating. But, Dark figured, after some time of arguing with himself and briefly glancing at the expectant Krad, that, because he had initiated this entire mess, he ought to start first.

                "I've been… Tired." He spoke, for once wanting to chose his words carefully, "I feel like a part of me is gone…"

                He stopped, turning to look at Krad as though to see his expression, half expecting the demon to be laughing or at least smirking, as he was so accustomed to. But, there was nothing. Just an unreadable face and a listening subject. So, slowly, picking up the beat, Dark continued.

                "I've had to cope with a Niwa's death before. But, Daisuke was the last. There will be no more fourteen year boys to turn into famous thieves. And for Christ's sake, I'm not even in heaven! Or in Hell, or whatever. I'm stuck here. With you nonetheless!"

                "Tragic, isn't it?" Krad spoke as soon as Dark had finished his speech. "Like a depressing fairy tale."

                Dark frowned slightly once more, folding his arms and sliding back down into the cold embrace of the statue, answering in an irritated grumble, "I should've known better than to even try to talk things out with you, of all people."

                "But, you didn't." Krad replied with a small smirk, "And, might I note, while you've started your confession, I have not…"

                It seemed that the two of them have a wonderfully active habit of dropping the last straw on the others back, and before either could blink, Dark had slipped from the Mary statue and had lunged for Krad's throat, a vicious snarl of his face. Krad's metal gold eyes widen slightly at first, but then, he deftly dodged under the fist, catching the thief's arm.

                "No flying fists, I thought?" He inquired, arching an eyebrow.

                "Changed my mind…" Dark managed from behind bared teeth, yanking most ineffectively to regain the captive limb.

                Krad tightened his grip at the resistance, his eyes narrowing slightly as he suddenly pulled Dark uncomfortably close, whispering dangerously, "What is this really about, Dark…? What is it you really want?"

                The thief said nothing, clenching his free hand into a fist, his body tense from being just a little bit too close. He yanked in vain again, clearly angry and more than annoyed, his expression showing it quite clearly.  However, the other refused to let go, waiting with an almost mock patience for an answer to his question.

                "Old question, isn't it?" Hissed Dark, malice growing in his tone, "I should have known you would have been completely incapable of helping yourself or me!"

                "Help? Is that it now?" Krad's voice suddenly became less sharp, but the purr that took its place caused more distrust than the malevolence had.

                Dark felt strange, something he couldn't quite place. Whatever it was, he was dead sure he didn't like it, and immediately tugged again on reflex, surprised as Krad suddenly released him. He stumbled backwards a few steps, but managed to recover easily enough, warily keeping his distance from the other.

                "My dear thief, is that a blush I see…?" Now it was the blonde's turn to taunt.

                 The kaitou, much to his dismay, discovered that too much time with Krad within his personal space had indeed flustered him enough for the slightest of pink hues, and this fact merely annoyed him more. He closed and open both fists a moment, vaguely wondering what Krad's face would look like with a lovely purple bruise on it. But, despite himself, he forced control upon himself. Dark gave a soft growl and turned away, temper cooling slightly.

                "I don't need you." He snapped, running his hand through an ocean of violet, "Don't know why I bothered wasting my time. But, hey, we've got forever, right?"

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TBC

[.seraphim poison.] And I wanted to write more, but now is time for sleeping. X.x;; Ah, the pains of being young~! Anyways, a big thank you to my first reviewers, Sheridan and Shiranai-Kyuri. Silver Tears and "Me", too~! You guys are great, and this whole chapter is especially for you~! =^.^= I also wanted to note that I did go back to the first chapter and revise. There were a couple mistakes that I didn't catch until after I had posted it. X.x If anyone knows a wonderful beta reader or is a wonderful beta reader, please e-mail me. You can contact me at acidicXrain@hotmail.com! [.end seraphim poison.]

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