Note: /.../ «-- Daisuke's thoughts Dark's thoughts --» italics
A/N: In this chapter, italics also represent scenes from Dark's past.
-o-o-o-
Saa, me o tojite.
Chapter 10: Once again.
Friday, the dreaded day, had arrived. Daisuke gazed at his watch; 8 p.m. There was a knock on the door and he already knew who it was. "Daisuke?" Emiko approached him with a nervous smile. "It's time for Dark to..." but she never finished her sentence. The legendary thief Dark Mousy appeared before her, looking sullen and upset. "I'll just leave these here..." Emiko said, laying a pile of neatly folded clothes on a corner of Daisuke's bed. She slowly backed away, suddenly feeling strangely awkward in the thief's presence.
"Thank you," Dark mumbled lazily, feeling rather guilty for the reaction he'd caused in the woman's behaviour. She smiled at him, this time feeling a bit more comfortable, and left the room, closing the door behind her. Dark then proceeded to put on his clothes. Daisuke was poking in his mind, he could feel him, but he wasn't saying a word.
I guess it's time then... he thought as he checked the watch around his wrist, Daisuke's. He picked the mysterious key from the boy's nightstand and walked to the door of the room. He stepped outside, slowly but determinedly making his way downstairs to the front door where Emiko and the rest of the Niwas were waiting for him.
Emiko was the first to say something. Well, she didn't exactly say anything; actually, she just jumped to where Dark was and hugged him tightly. The thief was surprised at first, but then he returned the embrace and whispered soothing words in the woman's ear. When they pulled back, he could see her crying; apparently, she didn't think things would go well. Smiling, he told her to have a little faith and her face brightened a bit. "Good luck," she said and stepped out of his way. Kosuke nodded his head -Dark didn't understand what he meant- and Daiki wished him luck and told him that whatever happened, there would always be something positive to take from the experience. Dark would have been better off without hearing those words; somehow, they depressed him. And, finally, as he pressed his hand on the doorknob, he heard the one voice he needed at the time. The one voice he'd been carefully trying to avoid, trying to block from his hearing.
/Everything will be alright, Dark. It always is, in the end; you said so./
I know, Daisuke, he answered shyly after a while. I know.
-o-
Dark arrived to the Hikari Ancient Home only minutes after he left the Niwas'. Wiz was now perched on his shoulder as he walked through the familiar gardens into the back of the house, where the vaults were. Daisuke was silent again and -maybe for the first time in days- that made him upset. Perhaps he was just nervous and needed a reassuring voice to soothe him, perhaps he just missed him; whatever the reasons, he now hated the silence between them. And Wiz... the only words it could say were "kyu" and "daisuki," neither of which he wanted to hear at the moment.
He took the key from his pocket and looked at it as he walked forward. It was a bright yellowish colour, pure gold, and there were symbols engraved on its surface. He snickered to himself as he thought that even the Hikari's keys were works of art. Dark came to a stop. A large, white marble vault was standing proudly before his eyes; its golden lock waiting to meet its partner. Dark was gladly willing to co-operate, after all, there was nothing he wanted more than to put an end to all of his misery once and for all.
"Not so fast, Dark," a cold voice drawled behind his back, "not before we sort things out."
He turned around to face the blond he knew was standing behind him. "What do you want us to sort out, Krad? There's nothing between us."
"Oh, but you see..." the blond said as he walked closer to him. "There are things you took for granted; lives you destroyed just to get away with your wishes. Or have you forgotten, Dark, everything that happened in the past? Have you forgotten who you were? Have you forgotten why you are who you are today?"
Dark was growing more and more impatient with each second that passed. Krad knew something he didn't and that was more than enough to keep him worried. "What are you talking about?" he asked angrily, spitting out the words as if they were poisoned.
Krad only giggled evilly. "I see," he smiled sadistically, "apparently, the Eldest put a charm on you; he blocked your memory. But don't worry," he said as he stepped even closer to Dark. "I have the power to make you remember a thing or two..." Krad then threw a bright blast of magic to Dark's chest, making him wince in pain as the images returned to his brain and he fell to his knees in exhaustion.
-o-
"Come here, you idiot!" whispered Saga to one frustrated Funabashi as he ducked behind a large headstone, his camera firmly gripped in his hands. The man obeyed, though he didn't stop a few comments from slipping; the angry blond would have clenched his fists weren't his hands busy holding the camera. "Shut up!" he hissed, focusing the lens in the scene taking place in front of him, by the Hikari's vaults entrance. "So that is what the key was for..." he thought aloud as he observed Dark, who was talking to a blond guy he'd never seen before.
-o-
"Tadao Hikari; there is only one name, but two different people behind it."
"The magic bonding them..."
"I'll never understand."
"They can talk to each other."
"Krad?"
"I love you, Dark."
"Can you see me?"
"I can hear you."
"What are we?"
"Who is she?"
"Satori Niwa... I'm in love with you."
"The Niwas... our enemies..."
"I don't care."
"The Eldest will know what to do."
"I don't want to be a Hikari anymore."
"You shall be punished."
"Satori..."
"You'll be forever dependent on those you chose over your own name."
"There is a curse inside the pendant."
"Ancient dark magic..."
"Dark... you're breaking my heart."
"I'm sorry."
"The body... it's dividing into two separate corpses."
"All that is left of them is a shadow."
"Throw it away..."
"One day... one of them will come to life again."
"Where am I?"
"I'll hurt you... just like you hurt me."
-o-
"I'll kill you." He recognised the voice; it was the same cold voice that told him he loved him and then tried to hurt him. Krad's voice. The blond was lying on top of him, his nose gently nuzzling the side of his neck. Dark remained still for another while, petrified in shock. All of those things he'd remembered, he didn't know if they were true.
"Were they true?" he asked to no one in particular, savouring the words to make them real. Krad snickered, his breath tickling the skin of Dark's neck. "Were they true?" he repeated. Krad said nothing. Dark was getting more upset with each passing second and his nerves were betraying him. He had started to shake, a slight shiver, but Krad noticed it nonetheless and couldn't help teasing him about it. The blond tilted his head back so he could stare into the thief's eyes. "So lifeless... just how I love you," he said as he moved forward and pressed his lips to Dark's.
The thief, feeling helpless, did nothing to shake him off. He let the tears flow freely as he lost his gaze in the endless sky; the same sky he'd spent hours and hours staring at. And that big, bright moon... the same moon he had sang to only days ago. Suddenly, as another image showed in his mind, he pushed Krad away from him. His eyes focused in the realm surrounding him; the time and space of this present. He held Krad's gaze for a short instant before rolling over and pushing himself on top of the blond. "It was real," he acknowledged after a moment, "but not to me." He moved his hands quickly, wrapping them around Krad's neck; with an unusual glint of hate in his eyes, he squeezed tightly, choking the blond who couldn't move due to the weight on his body. Dark was enjoying every bit of that moment, it was the least Krad deserved; he had ruined his life and now he was going to take his. Krad's eyes were now unfocused and empty, their life fading away into nothing. Dark was resolute; he was going to kill him.
/Dark!/ a voice cried loudly in his mind, /please, don't kill Satoshi-kun!/
Daisuke! Dark repeated the name to himself as his eyes grew wide. This wasn't himself; he wouldn't kill someone, not even when that someone was the one who destroyed him. Daisuke, he repeated, as the scenes replayed once again in his mind. His head ached, but the scenes wouldn't stop tormenting him. His skin went numb as he shivered with cold; he started sweating uncontrollably and he wanted to retch, but nothing stopped those images from clouding his thoughts. With a lot of effort, Dark focused on the present time once again; Krad wasn't beneath him anymore. He hated himself at that moment; he had lost his prey and that made him angry. He stood up from the floor, clutching his head in his hands. The pain was still unbearable, but hate was blurring his vision and it became the only thing he could see; that, and Krad's form standing weakly in front of him.
"I'll be the one to break you."
Forgive me, Daisuke... A black swirl of energy, magic in its purest state, accumulated power in Dark's hand. The hate and the resentment cursing through the thief's blood only helped to poison that energy, causing Daisuke to flinch in pain inside the thief's mind. Everything will be alright in the end, he repeated like a mantra.
Everything will be alright.
Dark screamed in agony as the blast of dark magic shot from his palm into the blond angel's direction. Krad dodged the attack and prepared one of his own, shooting white rays to the thief. Sparks of magic flew in every direction; a white spark exploded violently next to a pile of old headstones. Keiji Saga fell to the ground, unconscious. Dark noticed the man and, for a brief instant, got distracted; Krad seized the opportunity to throw yet another blast of energy to him, this time hitting his chest. Dark kneeled on the ground, out of breath; the same old images started playing and replaying in his mind and he felt his blood boiling as the anger returned full force into his body. He couldn't die; he couldn't let Krad steal his life from him once again.
He couldn't let him take Daisuke away from him.
Dark stood up, his hurt chest screaming in pain. His eyes had narrowed into slits, their colour almost golden in the darkness of night; his dirty, bleeding hands shook with loath. Krad couldn't believe his eyes; he thought he'd finally killed Dark, but the thief was standing before him, looking murderous. He smirked; the battle wasn't going to last long, anyway. He couldn't let Dark win; he had to pay for everything he did in the past. His sins needed a just redemption and Krad needed revenge. Dark had to die.
Two identical blasts of magic shot from each other's hands; crimson stars, the colour of blood, made their way into their targets' direction. Dark leapt to his left, only thinking about protecting Daisuke as much as he could. Krad wasn't fast enough, though. The bright reddish stars pierced his chest, sending him flying in the air. His head hit the cold earth and his eyelids closed; he was unconscious.
Not pausing for rest, Dark walked to the vaults' door. He turned the key in its lock and the black iron gate opened. Making sure Daisuke was alright -which he was, though quite weak- he stepped inside. The room was big and covered in shadows and the walls were lined with dry flowers; in the furthest wall there was a single coffin, which seemed odd to Dark. If this was, indeed, a vault, there should be more than just one coffin. Still, he wasn't going to complain; this place was horrible enough as it was.
Inhaling deeply as he gathered the courage to move, he looked at the wall in front of him. Above the coffin, there was a golden plaque. Suddenly curious, he walked forward. The ground beneath him was cold like the earth outside and he could feel his feet cooling through his leather boots. His breath came out in foggy clouds and his hands started to shake, but he was already so close that he couldn't stop moving. It was as if he was being drawn by a magnet to the golden plaque.
He was now standing by the coffin, his eyes only inches from the plaque. He inclined his head to read:
Tadao Hikari
1567-1583
Dark froze. He couldn't remember how to breathe, anymore. So... it had been real. The dream I had... it wasn't a dream. It was real. This body... it belonged to me? He couldn't take it anymore, he had to look inside. He knew it would be pointless and that the only thing he would find was probably going to be a pile of rotten bones, but he had to do it; he had to know if everything was real.
He removed the lid from the coffin, holding his breath. He felt filthy and regretted every single one of his movements, but he couldn't stop. Something inside him told him that whatever happened, it would be worth his actions. Finally, he saw it. Emptiness. There was nothing in the coffin, but a note and... a pendant; the Curse of the Twilight. He picked up the sheet of paper and read the message written on it. It only said: I knew you were going to do it. He frowned upon the words, he didn't understand exactly what they meant. Shrugging, he turned to the only other object that lay inside the coffin. His forehead was bathed in sweat by now and his hands felt clammy as he picked up the pendant. It was now or never, he thought, as he pulled the Curse of the Twilight on. The black stone shone opaque on his chest and he was mesmerised by the swirling rays of silver in the little diamond's surface. It was just as beautiful as the first time he saw it, though it wasn't until then that he noticed those weird lights sparkling in the stone's centre.
Still staring at those crazy lights, he became dizzy. He yawned, suddenly feeling sleepy as a black fog blurred his vision. Maybe he was just passing out. Perhaps the Curse was already taking effect. Maybe... maybe he was dying.
Black was everything he could see; endless darkness. Something he was accustomed to, yet this time he felt scared and uneasy. This wasn't like anything he'd seen before. Daisuke's voice rung in his ears: everything will be alright. And he hoped with all of his might that it would be; at least for Daisuke's sake. Then he heard hissing sounds, like a snake that bared his fangs ready to strike... the sudden cold...
"What is your wish?"
That was the last thing he heard before being wrapped in a whirl of red threads, the only coloured things in this colourless world. He felt like he was choking, the threads cutting through his skin, so tight they were; his life was being squeezed from his body like juice. "What is your wish?" the voice repeated. He didn't know what to say, he couldn't think about anything else but the pain he was experiencing. "What is your wish?" it kept repeating, each time louder. Dark was crying, salty tears of pain left marks on his pale cheeks. He wanted to stop suffering. He didn't want to cry anymore, he wanted to heal once and for all. His eyes widened. He wanted to live.
The red threads tightened even more around his body until he felt his consciousness slip; he was fading away into the black nothingness around him, his body disintegrating, being massacred by those threads. This time he knew he was dying. And deep inside, as he faded into oblivion, he prayed that Daisuke was going to be alright as he promised him...
-o-
"congratulations, Dark, your wish has finally been granted."
The ghostly figure of Krad that had emanated from Satoshi's body dissipated into nothing. The blue-haired boy lay still on the ground, his chest heaving with each painful breath. His eyes were cloaked with tears and he was shivering from head to toe. He felt hollow and alone; Krad wasn't a part of him anymore. In fact, he wasn't real anymore. Those last words he said let Satoshi know of the result of the ancestral match.
Finally, he thought, the battle is over.
The distinctive sound of a stone smashing into the ground and breaking into bits was the last thing he needed to hear to confirm his suspicions. The battle was, indeed, over.
He won.
-o-o-o-
By the way, this is a meaningless note but... I took the name Tadao from the character of Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Tadao Yokoshima. I love him, he's amazing!! I'm in love with those series...
Reviews are welcome, now more than ever. I need an ego boost-up!! Aaaand... if I don't get at least ten reviews, I won't update!! (I'm so mean, I know...)