"Hey," Dai murmured, holding the other man.
"He… left…" Satoshi groaned. "Why?"
Confusion warred in his eyes and he tried to push away from the only source of strength he had, but he was too weak. His body hurt just as much as it had hurt Krad.
"I don't know."
Satoshi stared at him, sagging more into his hold. He was trembling a little.
"He's… still there… but like… sleeping," he murmured. "It's almost peaceful." He looked around. "We're in your home."
"Yeah. Somehow we got out of wherever Dark and Krad were… but I wonder how."
Satoshi nodded. He relaxed into the familiar warmth of his lover, taking strength from his simple presence, when the door opened. Both men froze, but Daisuke smiled as he discovered his parents and grandfather. Satoshi tensed, trying to push away, but Daisuke didn't let him.
"It's okay," Dai murmured.
The cameras, he realized. Whatever had happened here, even between Dark and Krad, it had been recorded. His parents had surely watched them wake up, had listened to them. The house was full of surveillance equipment and traps.
"You're alright!" his mother exclaimed, smiling.
"Yeah, looks like it."
She approached them, then knelt down and held her palm against Daisuke's head as if checking for fever. Her expression was soft, warm, filled with slight worry. Finally, as if pleased with whatever she had felt and seen, she turned to Satoshi. She repeated the procedure. Hikari froze, eyes wide at the motherly touch.
Sure, Emiko had accepted him as her son's lover, but now that Krad had returned…
"You're both fine. At least you're back. I guess you need to rest a little more." Emiko looked at her son. "How's Dark?"
"Sleeping. He's kinda out of it."
"Probably. You went through a lot." Her eyes were in Satoshi again.
He was silent, his eyes meeting her gaze evenly, but he refused to comment on Krad.
"Mom, what happened?" Daisuke asked.
"Do you think you can come downstairs? I've cookies and tea…" his mother offered. "We can talk then."
He nodded, then shot a look at his lover. "Sato?"
The other pushed away from him, gritting his teeth. He was visibly fighting not to give in to his exhaustion and pain. "I'm fine."
But he still had to rely on Daisuke getting him downstairs and he didn't like it. Satoshi's face was a mask and he refused to meet anyone's gaze as the two young men settled on the couch. Emiko handed out mugs of tea and Daisuke noted how much Hikari's hands were trembling. He wanted nothing more than to take him into his arms, but Satoshi's hunched over position told him quite clearly the gesture wouldn't be appreciated.
"When you disappeared, we immediately started a search," Kosuke explained when they had settled down. "We found traces of magic and tried to follow it, but it was impossible to do so. About twelve hours ago, both of you appeared in a shower of magical energy, looking like your alter egos, and promptly collapsed."
"Why did you take me in?" Satoshi asked tonelessly.
Daisuke shot him a sharp look.
"Because you needed help," Emiko answered simply. "Both of you."
Satoshi stared at her, unable to comprehend. Daisuke wondered if six years could be erased so quickly. His lover was part of the Niwa family… and the family feud had ended. There was no other Hikari left and Satoshi had denied his heritage, the hatred. He had gone against destiny and won.
"What now?" Daisuke wanted to know.
"Good question, actually," his grandfather answered. "This has never happened before. Dark was never bound to anyone as he seems to be bound to you. With him, Krad has returned as well."
Satoshi suppressed a wince, but Daisuke saw it nevertheless.
"I think we have to wait and see. For now, both need to heal and considering what was done to them, what little we actually know…" he gave both of them a hard look, "… of which you probably know more than any of us… it will take a while."
"I should go then," Satoshi murmured and tried to rise, but his swaying form was quickly caught by Daisuke's father.
"You'll stay."
Wide eyes stared at the man. Kosuke smiled calmly, almost serenely.
"I think we all have to learn anew what having Dark and Krad means, don't you think?"
"I'm not sure there is much change," Satoshi murmured, evading the dark eyes. "He's back. It will be just like before. That's why I shouldn't be here."
"No," Daisuke interrupted, feeling Dark stir inside him. "It's why you have to be here, Satoshi. You can't stay alone and if you leave, I'll follow you."
Dark murmured sleepily and sounded like agreement. He wasn't really awake and Daisuke wondered how he would take the news of his involvement with Satoshi as a lover. Well, time for that later.
"We both will," Daisuke added firmly.
"When he grows stronger, he'll be back to trying to kill you!" Satoshi argued, voice cool.
"How do you know?" Kosuke wanted to know, radiating such calm, it was hard to be upset.
"Because Krad will never change!"
"For now, you'll stay here," Emiko told him firmly. "You can't seriously consider to be on your own."
Satoshi looked like he wanted to argue, but he finally deflated, sinking back into the couch. He looked pale and exhausted. There were silent tears brimming in his eyes, frustration and fear battling for the upper hand.
In the end, Daisuke and Satoshi ended up in Dai's old room. The high bed had long since made way for a large futon and Satoshi curled up, staring at the wall.
"Why?" he whispered.
Daisuke spooned up behind him, taking the stiffening form into his arms, pressing a little kiss against the soft skin of the neck. "Because I love you, Hikari Satoshi. Because I think we can only solve this together."
"Krad... When he's strong enough, he'll try to kill you again. I don't think I can keep him from taking over." His voice hitched. "It'll hurt… I know it'll hurt… it always did. And I'll hurt you…"
Daisuke buried his head against his lover's shoulder, feeling the tremors, hearing the remembered agony of before. He couldn't even imagine what it had been like for him all these years. Dark had been gentle, warm… pleasant.
"We'll wait and see, Satoshi, okay? We did this before, we can do it again. I'm here for you, understood?"
Silence answered him, but finally the other nodded. "Okay."
Daisuke watched him fall asleep, the exhaustion too deep.
Dark?
Here came the soft reply.
He's scared
Yeah
Daisuke sighed. You think… after what happened… that Krad will revert to his old self?
Dark sighed. I honestly don't know
I hope not
The answer was a soft grunt. Daisuke drifted off as well, curling himself around his partner in his mind just like he was curled around Satoshi, and Dark did the same. He embraced the presence inside him, both sharing the mind they were bound to.
Missed you
Krad had listened to the conversation, had felt the fear radiate off
his host, and it made him sick. Part of him was intrigued by the physical
closeness of the two men, wondering. Another part was trying to deal with
conflicting feelings regarding his current situation. He was free once
more, had a human body at his disposal, one he knew. He knew which buttons
to press, how to overpower him, but there was suddenly a terrible reluctance,
too.
He stood inside the white plains of Satoshi's mind, watching the flickering
spark. Still so weak, still so vulnerable, and deep inside him something
rose.
Protect him. He's my survival.
But Satoshi was scared. There was still the iron resolve to keep Krad
from harming his friend, but also the realization that it meant nothing
but pain for him. A world of suffering because he had voluntarily bonded
with the demon again.
Krad approached the flickering spark and it morphed into Satoshi's
form, the representation of him in his own mind. He settled down beside
the young man, cross-legged, his wings curled around him like a mantle.
He studied the slender form. He had really grown. He was his own size by
now. The hair had grown out, bound back into a pony tail, and the glasses
were gone. He had actually gained some color, his skin no longer so pasty
white. And muscle, too. A boy who had become a man… without the interference
of the demon that had been awakened at his fourteenth birthday.
The Hikari curse.
Krad reached out and flicked back a strand of hair, careful not to
disturb the sleeping host.
'You look like him,' he thought with a faint smile, old memories rising.
'So much that it hurts. But you aren't him. None of the Hikari ever came
close. Except you. You felt so right and wonderful… You're mine.'
Yes, Satoshi was his. He belonged to him and no one else. Because of
his blood. Because he was a Hikari. Because this was his host. And because
he was very special.
Mine. It echoed through his head.
Possessive. But strangely enough, it held no cruelty any more. It was
a positive thought. He liked it. He wanted this to be a… cooperation. He
wanted this Hikari to be part of it, not just a vessel, a tool, that could
be destroyed one day.
Mine.
Satoshi moved uneasily and he reached out, stroking over the light
hair.
Mine.
The young man quieted a little, but he seemed more tense than before.
"Shhh," he murmured.
How did Dark do this? How had he won his host's trust?
Krad smiled humorlessly. Stupid question. Dark had never tried to conquer,
he had coexisted. It was why Daisuke had so easily accepted the symbiosis,
why he had fought to keep his partner.
Satoshi would never trust him. He feared him, hated him, was terrified
of the creature that was bound to his blood. Krad raised his golden eyes
to the sky above. It was of the same white as everything. He couldn't leave
this body, except if another seal pulled him out of it. He couldn't sit
back and be nothing either. He was himself and he was a person.
Damn, he mused. Two souls, one body, and an abysmal hatred between
them.
Not good.
He would have to find a solution… one day.
Satoshi woke to the sensation of being watched. Without opening his
eyes, he knew who it was. Turning inside his head, he met the calm, golden
gaze of his tormentor. Krad sat on the ground, dressed only in a pair of
white pants and a similarly white, sleeveless vest. His hair spilled out
over his back, the style ethereal and unreal. His wings were out, snow
white, perfect, like all of him.
Well, Satoshi mused, not so perfect any more. There were bruises visible
on his skin, especially around his wrists, and his eyes held a tight expression.
Pain spoke in them.
Satoshi sat up, cautiously watching the eternal creature. Krad made
no hostile moves. He made no moves at all, actually. They looked wordlessly
at each other. Finally Krad smiled humorlessly.
"Just like old times."
Satoshi flinched involuntarily. "I won't let you have this body without
a fight," he said calmly, voice steely.
"I never expected anything less of you, Hikari Satoshi. You were always
a worthy opponent, even if you lost each and every time."
The slender form tensed. Satoshi knew that Krad was in no condition
to try anything... at least at the moment.
"But I don't want it," Krad added non-chalantly. A grin spread over
his lips. "I think it already belongs to someone else, doesn't it."
Satoshi frowned, suppressing a shiver at the implications. What was
the demon up to now? How would he know about Daisuke…?
"I think… cooperation," the word sounded almost as if it was a foreign
one to him, "would be the better choice."
Hikari smiled darkly. "Do you want me to believe you? You always lied
to me. You always deceived me. You always… dominated me."
Krad's features twitched a little. "Don't you believe that I can change?"
Another dark smile. "No. You're weak at the moment, unable to take
over, but you will try again. You can't but want this body, to exist in
your own, corporeal form. It will end one day, Krad, but not without a
fight."
With that Satoshi rose and walked past the seated figure. On the outside,
he returned to consciousness, his eyes blinking open. He was still in Daisuke's
room and his friend was sleeping next to him on the futon. He knew there
were cameras here, watching them, but he didn't really care. Somehow Hikari
doubted his lover's parents would really watch them like this. He sat up,
rubbing his eyes. He still felt too shaky, too exhausted, but the tiredness
was receding.
He gazed at the sleeping form of his lover, smiling tenderly. Reaching
out, he almost touched the familiar body, then curled his hand into a fist
and withdrew it.
Satoshi rose slowly, testing his strength, and then walked out of the
room into the bathroom. He splashed water into his face and gazed into
the mirror, looking at his reflection. He almost expected golden eyes to
look back at him. As it was, it was only him he was facing. Pale, slightly
haggard, dark bruises under his eyes, his long hair unruly. He stared into
the blue eyes, surrounded by an almost white face. His face. Krad's features
overlapped his own and he winced away, quickly evading the mirror's eyes.
Back to his past.
Back to the torment.
He had saved Daisuke and Dark's lives, but his own was condemned. Maybe
ending this existence might be the best idea after all. He had contemplated
it before, when he had been just a teenager, but now those thoughts returned.
There was a soft knock on the door and he flinched. Quickly wiping
away the last droplets of water, he opened the door, not the least bit
surprised to find Niwa Emiko. She was smiling at him, a warm and slightly
worried expression in her eyes, and she held a towel.
"If you want to take a shower, feel free. I've towels for you."
"Thank you," he replied quietly.
She smiled more. "You're welcome, Satoshi."
He felt slightly more alive after the shower, but the fear, the looking-over-your-shoulder,
wasn't gone. Krad was lurking deep inside him, ready to come out, ready
to strike at him, and he couldn't let his guard down.
Long hair damp but in his usual pony-tail, Satoshi dressed in fresh
clothes – Daisuke's – and made himself as presentable as possible. Dai
was only slightly smaller than him and the clothes were worn out and old,
very comfortable, too. They fit well. Walking into Daisuke's room, he noticed
that his lover was awake. He sat on the bed, cross-legged, eyes closed,
apparently meditating. A smile stole across the bland feature of the other
man. Daisuke, meditating. It was a contradiction in itself.
Dark brown eyes opened and his friend looked at him, quizzical and
worried.
"How do you feel?" Niwa asked softly.
"Better."
He nodded, rising gracefully. He looked so confident, so very much
balanced, as if he now had what he had missed before. That was exactly
what had happened. Daisuke had Dark back. Part of his very soul.
His lover touched him, a hand tenderly cupping his cheek, and before
Satoshi could stop him, soft lips pressed against his. He was desperate
for contact, to chase away the cold returning to his body with the demon
now residing in it, but there was also the need to protect Daisuke.
Satoshi pushed away, taking a few steps back. "Don't. You don't know
what could happen!"
Daisuke followed him, eyes so wide and worried, it tore at his heart.
"Don't run," he whispered.
Satoshi clenched his teeth, hands balling into fists. He evaded the
dark gaze, but he couldn't evade the sensations racing through him as Daisuke
touched him again, pulling him close.
"We'll handle this together this time," his lover whispered fervently.
"Only together."
He clung to the slender form, wishing it were so easy.