Note: /.../ «-- Daisuke's thoughts Dark's thoughts --» italics

-o-o-o-

Saa, me o tojite.
Chapter 5: Unexpected information.



"Do you mean...?"

"Yes," she nodded. Daisuke kept his mouth covered by both of his hands; he was gaping in utter disbelief. Towa no Shirube had been explaining to him what the Curse of the Twilight was in reality, leaving him speechless. He needed to find Dark, needed to talk to him. He had spent the last three hours hiding from Daisuke somewhere in the darkest depths of his mind and he hadn't been able to contact him. But that was about to change; Daisuke was willing to do anything just to get the thief's attention. It was, after all, for his own good.

He thanked Towa one more time before dashing maniacally up the stairs into the kitchen, then ran like hell up another flight of stairs and into the safety of his room. Daisuke took a few minutes to slow his breathing and lay on the bed. Dark didn't seem willing to answer his calls and so he was going to try other means; he was going to -literally- look for him.

He closed his eyes and relaxed. Letting the blackness swallow him whole, he waited for any sign of movement to alert him of the thief's whereabouts. It wasn't long -and he was rather surprised by this fact- before he caught a blur of movement to his right. He snickered inwardly; he had no idea where he was or how exactly he had got there, but he felt completely comfortable standing in the middle of all that nothingness. He walked -or floated, he wasn't sure- to the source of movement, trying to remain unseen. Apparently, he had been successful, for Dark had only noticed him once he had stood before him.

"What are you doing here?" the thief asked perplexed, clearly not having expected Daisuke's presence. He refused to look the boy in his eyes, keeping his head lowered.

"I came here to talk," Daisuke said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You didn't answer when I called you, so I figured out I might pay you a little visit."

Dark remained silent for a while and Daisuke didn't push him to saying anything either. He just stared off into the unlimited distance and sighed. "What do you want?" he asked after a while, still avoiding Daisuke's gaze.

"Well," Daisuke started saying as he tilted Dark's head with his fingers, forcing him to look at him. "I thought you might want to know what Towa told me about the Curse of the Twilight, but I decided not to tell you anything... before you tell me why you've been trying to avoid me."

Dark finally let his eyes travel up to meet Daisuke's. The boy was determined to find out what he was upset about and didn't seem to expect otherwise. He groaned inwardly in frustration, having lost the battle before it had even started. "I've been avoiding you," he said, going straight to the point, "because I can't stand you asking silly questions about something you can't understand."

Daisuke was taken aback by the coldness in those words, but also the pain hidden behind them. He smirked, very out of character, and let his fingers drop from Dark's chin; the man was still looking at him. "How do you know that I can't understand it, when you haven't even told me what it is in the first place."

"I..." he let a shaky breath escape his lips. "Daisuke, I feel... weak. I feel scared, I feel sad. I've never felt like this before. I've never cried before. And yet, now, I find myself crying and feeling all these things that seem so odd... and I barely understand why." He had lost, that was for sure. Daisuke had already got his answer, what he had wanted from the beginning, and Dark was disgusted with himself for not having put up a more challenging fight.

"All of those things," the boy told him, "were always within you, but you chose not to see them. I think that you should tell me what you're feeling right now; after all, if you're avoiding me, it's because what troubles you has a connection with me and therefore it is my problem as much as it is yours."

And Dark surrendered to those once again pleading eyes, piercing his soul and leaving him feeling light and dizzy. Never tearing his gaze from Daisuke's, he told the boy how he didn't know the reason for his breakdown last night. He also told him about his feelings, which the boy seemed so interested about, and how he had been helpless and weak when he was supposed to be brave and protect the both of them. He told him many things, carefully avoiding the one thing that could serve as a connection between each topic.

Daisuke only stared at him with kind eyes, listening to every word he said. He was studying him as he spoke, taking in the details of each gesture he made and how many times he blinked. Dark felt exposed, naked under that penetrating gaze and for a second he feared Daisuke might see the truth he'd been so careful to hide. But his speech ended just as quickly as it had begun and he was safe again, treasuring his secret deep inside himself in silence.

"I think..." Daisuke said after a while, "that I should give you time to rest from this emotional catharsis, before I tell you what Towa said about..."

"...the Curse of the Twilight," Dark finished for him, "everyone seems to only talk about that." He stood up, towering over Daisuke for mere millimetres. Shyly and very slowly, he brought his body closer to the boy's, wrapping his arms around trembling shoulders and, even if it was only a shared illusion, embraced him very gently in a gesture of gratitude. It felt uncomfortable and strange, but it felt so right at the same time; he didn't know of anything else he could do to express what he felt, anyway. Then, as he watched Daisuke disappear into the darkness, he whispered "thank you."

Daisuke opened his eyes; he was smiling, his grin stretching from his left ear to his right one. He was happier than he'd been in days and all because Dark had trusted him enough to tell him what he felt. He was happy because Dark had thanked him and that meant that what he did hadn't been in vain and that it had actually helped him. He was happy because Dark was feeling fine again; or better, at least, but that was definitely something to be glad about.

Too tired to think, Daisuke curled on his left side and let himself drift off to a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

-o-

There was a knock on the door.

"Daisuke?" Emiko called him, peering from the doorway. "Daisuke?" She called again, the boy barely stirring. She smiled sweetly as she slipped into the room, heading in the bed's direction to try and wake her son up.

"Daisuke? It's past lunch-time, honey, wake up..."

Daisuke mumbled something in his sleep. Emiko frowned, believing she had heard wrong, but Daisuke kept on mumbling and soon everything made sense. But was it just a dream her son was having, or...? She didn't dare finishing her question. Instead, she let her hands drop and let Daisuke get some rest. If what she'd heard was true, then he would certainly need it.

-o-

There was another knock, followed by the door opening. Satoshi crept past the doorway, making his way to Daisuke's bed. The boy was still asleep.

Satoshi poked at the sleeping form with a finger, trying to annoy him enough to wake up. Nothing. He pushed Daisuke with his hand, this time a bit more roughly. Yet nothing. He raised an eyebrow and walked around to the other side of the bed. Just what he had imagined.

"Exactly for how long have you been awake?"

Daisuke smirked mischievously and answered, "for a couple of hours..."

The boy sat up, inviting Satoshi to sit on the bed at his side. They looked at each other in the eyes, momentarily awkward in the silence, before the blue-haired teen gathered up the courage to ask another question. "Has Dark done his homework yet?"

"No," Daisuke said after a while in which he had been too shocked to answer.

"I had imagined he wouldn't have done it yet... I just felt curious."

"He didn't," Daisuke continued, interrupting Satoshi from what he was planning to say. "But I did."

That was unexpected. Satoshi's eyebrows rose and he was looking mildly surprised. "What did you do?" he asked rather stupidly, already knowing the answer. Of course Daisuke knew that Satoshi didn't need him to reply, so he just looked at him in the eyes and sighed.

After a short moment in which he kept his gaze lowered, he turned to the boy before him and said in a soft, sincere voice "thank you."

If Satoshi's eyebrows had risen before, now they simply shot up to the skies in utter bewilderment. "What for?" was all he could say, or rather ask, making Daisuke snicker quietly, though he was nervous and his cheeks had coloured pink with embarrassment.

"For not letting Dark steal the pendant." His answer was simple and Satoshi didn't need much more, but Daisuke felt like expressing himself further and he did so. "You knew what the pendant did and you didn't let him take it even though it would have made things a lot easier for you. I thank you for that."

Satoshi felt his soul fall to the ground, leaving him feeling like an empty shell. He couldn't bear the look of gratitude in the boy's face, he didn't deserve it. He had to be honest with him.

"You shouldn't be thanking me," he said, deadpan and serious. "I didn't let him steal the pendant, because it would have made things difficult for me." Judging for the look on Daisuke's face, it was pretty obvious he didn't understand what he was referring to. "I know what the Curse of the Twilight is and what it does, but I have no idea how it works or how the curse within affects third-parties.

"I didn't let him steal the pendant," he stopped to catch his breath, "because I was afraid of what might happen to you."

Daisuke's eyes, usually expressive, went blank; they had lost their light and were now dead and hollow. Satoshi's words pierced his chest and tightened the knot in his throat, choking him. "Satoshi-kun..." he risked, staring at the boy in front of him with tears in his eyes. He felt betrayed, but he felt guilty at the same time. This boy in whom he had trusted was now telling him...

"Don't say anything," Satoshi warned him. "I don't need to hear anything. I just need for you to understand; whatever Dark does will always affect you as well. I can't hurt him because I would be hurting you and I..." he stood to leave; he couldn't say anything else.

Daisuke still couldn't utter a coherent thought regarding Satoshi's words and he felt bad for him. He had told him his secret, but he hadn't known it would hurt the other boy. Now, there was no one else to blame for this turn of events than himself; if only he had remained silent...

Satoshi stood still, his hand on the doorknob. Without turning back, he said, "I never meant for us to have this conversation, but... I guess I couldn't help it. Not anymore, at least. I'll see you on Monday." Then he opened the door and left, muttering the words "I'm sorry" as he walked away.

Daisuke had heard those last words, but he wasn't sure why the boy had spoken them. If there was someone who ought to be sorry, this time, it was definitely him. Or so he felt and anyway, dwelling further on the subject wouldn't do him or Satoshi any good. He chose to let it go, pretending he hadn't heard or that he didn't care, though neither was true. But he couldn't think about it, not now; he needed time for this new information to sink into his system.

Dark chose that particularly weird moment to wake up, suddenly making Daisuke feel a lot better. /Dark!/ he exclaimed happily as he felt the spirit of his friend surfacing from the depths of his mind.

Hello the thief said in a quiet voice, still not very comfortable in Daisuke's presence. He was feeling fine now, having thought over things and having had that little talk with his tamer. How are you?

Daisuke couldn't lie to him. He was as much a part of himself as his body was and it would be unfair for him to lie. So he told Dark everything that happened only moments before his 'arrival' and what Satoshi had said, or rather confessed, about his feelings. Daisuke could hear Dark whistling in surprise and he could almost imagine him widening his eyes to the size of saucers.

Are you sure that's what he meant?

Daisuke raised an eyebrow at Dark, even though he knew the thief couldn't see it. /What do you think?/ he said sarcastically. Surely not even Dark could be that thick... fortunately, he knew the thief hadn't really meant it. Dark didn't want to dwell on this subject any more than Daisuke did, but for different reasons. So, instead of asking further, he simply proposed a change of subject.

Do you... want to tell me what you found out?

It seemed to Dark that that wasn't the right thing to say; not at that moment. Daisuke remained quiet, lost in his thoughts. Dark dared not say a word. Minutes passed and the thief thought he wouldn't get any response from the boy, until he finally spoke.

/The Curse of the Twilight,/ he started in a monotonous voice, /has the countercurse to either separate your body from mine or kill you./ He snickered bitterly, fighting back tears. /Either way you'd end up being free, huh?/

Dark was taken aback by the revelation. Meanwhile, Daisuke was still trying not to let any tears fall. Somehow, telling Dark about the curse brought things to a different level, as if they hadn't been real before telling him. But now everything had change; both him and Dark knew the consequences of stealing the pendant and if they carried out the task, it could mean the end of both of their lives. And so, both boys kept to themselves; neither risking a sigh, much less a word.

That is how the hours passed, until the silence in the room was broken by Emiko. "Daisuke, you're awake!" she chirped happily, completely ignoring the look of utter sadness in her son's face. "I'll be serving dinner in a while, go wash your hands and come down, alright?"

Daisuke nodded and she left, Dark taking over the boy's attention once again. Everything will be alright, Dai-chan, he said, trying to sound as confident as he could, everything always is, in the end.

Daisuke wanted to believe him...

-o-o-o-

Ta-dannnn!! This chapter was shit, I know... But there is a reason is there, or so I hope... Aaaaaaaaaanyway, the next chapters won't be anything out of the ordinary, but have a little faith in me, when the time for them to steal the CotT comes... everything will take shape and things will get interesting. Oh, yes... just have faith.

Reviews are always welcome... please, leave some for me!!!

And speaking about that... thanks to everyone who reviewed whether for last chapter or the previous ones: Akari, Chibis Unleashed, Psycho-kawaii, Kyone, Sakura Angel2, Nakiyume, Kelbora, Star Dragonsong, Trinity Tsunagi, Little Blossom, Bladegryphon, XxMaster-ExX, and xCherry-Flavored-Suicidex. Please, DO review!!!

By the way, if someone could help me here... do any of you know of a good ff archive with DarkxDai stories? I love SatxDai fics, too, but I've had more than my share of those and, unfortunately, all of them seem to have DarkxKrad and I don't really like that coupling, you know... anyway, please help me! I can't seem to find any DxD and I neeeeeeed them!!

Enough of my ramblings now.

See you soon,

Sayounara...