"Krad?"
Surprised, he looked at her.
"You're not meant to be alone," Emiko said softly. "You two are part of the same world. You need each other. Separation will only drive you further apart."
She placed a hand on the t-shirt clad chest, patting it gently.
"Sometimes making the first step takes more courage than facing your worst nightmare, but it can be worth it."
With that she left the bemused demon alone, hugged her son on the way out, and stepped into the freshly white world outside.
It took another day for Satoshi to be able to leave the bed and by then
he was doggedly announcing that he would be taking a shower first thing.
Daisuke smiled in amusement as his lover made his way to the bathroom on
wobbly legs, clutching Niwa's arms with whatever strength he could muster.
Krad had returned to his host and Daisuke suspected it was for two reasons:
be close to Satoshi and evade a confrontation with Dark. Damn, they really
had to work something out.
"You'll collapse in the shower and where will that get you?" he asked
rhetorically.
"Clean," came the answer.
Stubborn. Persistent. Single-minded. Hikari Satoshi.
Sighing, Daisuke finally surrendered to the unstoppable force that
was his sick lover and he climbed into the shower with him. Satoshi insisted
to wash his own hair and it almost burned up the last of his energy. Toweling
off was left to Daisuke, who bundled the slender man into a towel and rubbed
him vigorously, drawing a faint protest. When Satoshi was finally in the
bedroom again, dressed in sweater and pants, he settled him in a chair.
"Stay. I'll get something to eat and we have to change the sheets."
"I can go into the living room," came the protest.
"You're not going anywhere."
Satoshi glared at him with all he had; granted, at the moment that
wasn't much. "I'm fine, Daisuke!"
Daisuke scowled, but something dark inside him decided that if Satoshi
wanted to end up flat on his face, so be it. He wouldn't stand in his way.
He had to give it to him: he was more than stubborn. Satoshi had slowly
made his way along the wall, using a hand to keep himself upright, and
into the kitchen.
"Whatcha up to?" Daisuke wanted to know, giving the fridge a closer
look.
"Toast," came the soft answer and he turned around.
Satoshi sat slumped in the chair, looking beat. Daisuke was drawn between
amusement and worry.
"Toast with what?"
"Just toast."
Another scowl, but Daisuke pulled out the bread and walked over to
the toaster. In the end, he threw in a bowl of soup and glared at Satoshi
long enough to make the reluctant patient eat it all.
You'd make a good nursemaid Dark remarked with a grin.
He shot him a dark look.
Satoshi finished the last spoon of soup. Daisuke just refilled the
bowl.
"I can't eat all of that!"
"You can."
"Daisuke!"
"Eat. You were sick, you lost weight, you have to get your strength
back. Now eat."
Daisuke smirked as Satoshi ate a few more spoonfuls, then pushed the
bowl away. He hadn't expected his lover to be able to finish the second
bowl, but he was glad to see he had managed a bit more. Satoshi really
needed to strengthen again and if he played it stubborn, so would Daisuke.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Satoshi shot his lover an annoyed look from behind the reading glasses.
There were smudges under those dark blue eyes and they were red-rimmed.
"I'm working."
"No, you're sick. You're supposed to be in bed!"
"I'm fine, Dai. And I've to catch up on things."
Daisuke muttered something uncomplimentary. "I thought you had more
common sense! And if not you, then Krad!"
Satoshi frowned. "I don't see what he has to do with it."
"A lot since you're his host, sick as a dog, and you should be resting
and getting better!"
Krad won't take over, Dai. Don't forget that. He would never force
Satoshi to submit and do something against his will
I know he sighed. But to let him work himself into a relapse doesn't
help!
"Sato," he said, voice softening. "I don't want you to get worse. You're
just healing. Please…"
Satoshi looked at him, then closed the laptop with a sigh. Long strands
of light brown hair fell forward and Daisuke automatically pushed them
back.
"I just want you to be healthy," he murmured.
"There's so much to do…"
"I know, I know. And we'll get it done."
"What about the Ferris Stone?"
Daisuke grinned a little, feeling a wave of excitement from his partner.
"Dark's already all hyper about it. We'll take a look at it tomorrow night,
seal the damn thing and be done with it, okay?"
"But I'm your back-up…"
"And you still are, but you do it from here. No sitting outside and
provoking a relapse."
Satoshi sighed in defeat.
"Love you," Daisuke murmured and kissed the warm forehead.
No fever, just warmth.
Blue eyes glowed with the same emotions.
Satoshi fell asleep not much later, comfortably ensconced in his winter
blanket. Daisuke stayed where he was, watching the man, caressing his hair
and face. When it was clear that Satoshi would remain asleep, he left the
room again to prepare for tomorrow.
"Figures," Daisuke sighed as he looked at the fat snow flakes lazily
drifting to the ground.
The sky was dark, which had nothing to do with the time of the day,
and there were clouds coming in. Big clouds, coming in fast. For two days
the weather had been great, but now the coast was experiencing another
storm and the first fingers were reaching toward their town. Everyone had
been warned to stay at home, close the windows and sit tight. The ships
had been tied down and no one who didn't have to be out was on the streets.
"You should wait," Satoshi advised, a worried frown on his features.
"We'll be okay," was the simple reply. "No one's up and about. No one's
in the museum. It'll be easy to get in and out. We'll be back before the
real thing hits."
Blue eyes shot him a dubious look and Daisuke gave his lover a cocky
smile before he zipped up.
"Don't worry, Sato. Dark's the famous phantom thief, right? A little
weather won't bring us down."
Yep! Dark agreed cheerfully.
Satoshi sighed, but he couldn't do anything except sit back. "Don't
risk too much," he only begged.
"I won't."
And with that Daisuke was on his way.
Satoshi had tried everything to distract himself. He had watched TV,
but the channels were having trouble with the ever-strengthening storm.
There were more interruptions than running program. He wasn't in the mood
to watch a DVD. So he had turned to reading, almost instinctively coming
back to the target of this night's operation.
The Ferris Stone.
Satoshi settled back on the couch, the huge tome he had borrowed from
Daikii resting on thighs, leafing through it. Krad was a warm weight in
the back of his mind. He was semi-attentive, mostly silent.
Reading through the ancient pages, Satoshi suddenly frowned. Alarm
coursed through him, nudging Krad, and the demon roused a little.
--Sato?--
"I'm not sure," he murmured.
He sought out another chapter, read the text, and the alarm doubled.
"No..."
--Satoshi?--
"It's the wrong stone..."
--What?--
"The museum doesn't have the Ferris Stone! They mislabeled it!" Satoshi
felt his heart miss a beat and his stomach clench. "They took it for something
else."
Krad moved forward, almost right next to him. --What is it?--
"The Seal of Iben. It's a highly dangerous but very beautiful gem,
and it looks like the Ferris Stone. Oh my god! Krad, they're in danger!"
Satoshi struggled to put the tome aside and get out of the blanket.
Outside the storm was howling against the houses.
--Dark's not stupid-- Krad argued.
"They don't expect it!"
--They didn't expect a lot of what they ran into in the past either.
Satoshi... calm down--
Satoshi fell back, shaking. He was still too weak and the medication
was leeching at his strength.
Minutes crawled by, turning into hours, and still nothing.
"It's taking too damn long!" Satoshi muttered, staring out the window
and seeing nothing but white.
--Calm down, Sato. They know what they're doing--
"No, they don't! I misjudged the danger of the Ferris Stone! Daisuke
has no idea about its true strength."
--Dark's with him. He will know--
Satoshi got off the couch and walked over to the bedroom, pulling out
winter clothes.
--Satoshi? What are you planning to do?--
"Go after them of course!"
He felt the prickle of the separation and suddenly looked into a pair
of furious, golden eyes. "You're not leaving in that condition!" Krad snapped.
"I am! Daisuke could be hurt! He could be in danger! He's long past
the appointed time, even with the spare time in case of complications!"
"You won't last a minute out there!" Krad told him firmly, snatching
the woolen pullover out of his hands.
Satoshi glared. "I won't wait any longer! You might not be worried,
but I am!"
"I am worried, but I'm also reasonable."
A snort answered that statement. "Right!" He grabbed for the sweater.
"I'm going."
"No," was the second denial, much harder now.
A strong but yet gentle hand pinned Satoshi against the wall and inhuman
eyes met the blue ones. Krad's features were a mix of determination and
anger.
"I won't let you leave, Sato. Even if I have to use force."
"But Daisuke…"
"Will be fine. He has a sensible head on his shoulders and Dark knows
his way around art. He will sense the danger, any shift in power, ripples
in the magic."
"Don't you worry about him at all? Don't you think he could be in over
his head?" Satoshi demanded.
The golden eyes darkened a little. "I do worry," Krad said after a
moment, his hand dropping away. "I do. But I also know him."
"What if your knowledge of him is proven wrong? What if they require
assistance? The cell phones aren't working and there's no means for them
to contact us," Satoshi insisted.
Krad sighed. "I'll go then."
"What?!"
"You stay here, I'll go and see if something happened," the demon explained.
"But…"
"Stay!"
Satoshi sighed and a fine tremor went through his still weak body.
"I could backseat ride…"
"No. I'm not using your body, Satoshi. You won't make it. I'm going
like this. It's no big deal, all right?"
Hikari met the firm, decisive gaze, then nodded. "Thank you, Krad."
He smiled a little. "You're welcome."
Krad wondered what had ridden him to go out in this weather. The answer
was simple: Satoshi. His host's worries and fears had driven him to help.
Of course he had felt slivers of worry about Dark, too, but his other half
could take care of himself. He didn't believe that the kaitou would be
taken out by something as insignificant as the Seal of Iben. It might be
powerful and dangerous, but the Second Hand of Time or the Link Pin of
Time had been, too. He had survived both. And the Link Pin of Time, the
sword, had hurt him badly.
Krad pushed that thought away. No, not the sword. The one swinging
the sword. The demon. Him.
Ducking his head against the sudden gust of wind, he gritted his teeth
and angled his wings to get a little lower. Clouds were churning overhead
and it got, if that was possible, even worse.
When the first hail started, Krad knew it had gotten worse. Ice rained
down on him, battering against his body, which was protected by his own
magic, and he muttered a curse under his breath. Just bit further. Across
the small stretch of forest and he would be there. The museum was in the
middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature.
The wind pushed him sideways and Krad struggled back on course. The
hail continued to pummel him and as he sank lower, he didn't see the power
lines spanning across the compound.
One wing got caught.
He felt a crackling wave of electricity shoot through him.
Something ripped. Something burned. Something tore and broke. He gasped
in surprise.
And then he plummeted to the ground like a stone.
He didn't feel the branches of the trees breaking under his weight.
He didn't feel the tearing of ligaments and the breaking of bones.
He didn't feel the bone-jarring impact or heard the sizzle of magic
colliding with frozen earth.
