A/N: Italics represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

Aoi.
Chapter 2: Garden

Satoshi walked up to where the professor was waiting for him, as Daisuke and Dark made their way to their respective seats. The man told the class to remain quiet as he led the boy to an office nearby. Krad was already there as was his adoptive father, wearing that cynically fake smile of his. "Satoshi-kun," he greeted; the professor took that as his cue to leave them three alone.

"Father," Satoshi greeted him back as he took a seat in front of his father. Krad was trying hard not to snicker at the coldness he felt emanating from his cousin, who seemed really upset at having the older man back in the country. He didn't know why he disliked him that much; he might be an inattentive father, but he didn't look that bad either. Not to him, at least.

"I have a favour to ask from you," the older man started saying. "I have a very important business meeting in Hong Kong and I want to take you both with me." The boys went speechless, each of them staring back in silence at the man before them. Satoshi, Krad understood why his father wanted him with him, but himself... what was the point in taking him with them as well?

As if reading his mind, Satoshi asked his father, "you're taking us there so you can brag about on how great a parent you are and how kind and caring you were to take two poor, orphan boys with you?"

Satoshi's father laughed as if he believed the boy was only joking, which he wasn't. When he looked up, smile still plastered on his lips, he shook his head and assured both Satoshi and Krad, his intentions were completely innocent. "Really, I just want you to know other people..."

Still, though neither of them were entirely convinced, Satoshi and Krad agreed to go to Hong Kong. The man, content with their answer, wished the boys a good day and left the office, not before reminding them to pack their luggage, since their flight was due tomorrow's night.

"Great," Satoshi muttered as Krad and himself went back to their respective classrooms. "Just great. It's the first week of school and I'm already going away, for a trip I don't want to make, no less. Great, just... dandy..."

Krad, who didn't seem all that upset at having to go, frowned in his cousin's direction, as he asked him, for reassurance, if what he'd said before was true. Satoshi already knew what he was referring to and nodded. "Of course, the man is a terrible parent and an uncaring idiot; the only reason he wants us there is to put up his most successful facade in order to look more appealing to his dear business affiliates."

"I see... still, it's always a good thing to be travelling to other places..." Krad, judging for his facial expression, didn't seem all too convinced about going along with Hiwatari's show, but it wasn't like he had a choice, either. Waving at his cousin, he turned around the corner to go to his classroom while Satoshi kept walking to the end of the hallway into the first year corridor. When he got there and sat at his usual spot, Daisuke started asking questions. He knew he was going to do it, so it didn't really bother him; he told him everything his father had said back there in the office's solitude. How tomorrow he would be going away for a week or so and how he knew what his father's intentions were, even if the man himself tried to denied them. Daisuke already knew how Satoshi's father was; he suspected that much from what his friend always told him. He thought that, to begin with, a man who left his child to live alone by his own devices, couldn't be called attentive, caring, or even kind. Therefore, he understood perfectly well Satoshi's resentment towards him.

Dark overhead the entire conversation. He didn't intend to do it, but he didn't try to distract himself either. Somehow he could understand this Satoshi guy, but still... having an uncaring father is better than having nothing at all.

-o-

Tuesday morning shone down onto the Azumano district, the very few clouds in the sky veiling the sun's light. Daisuke paced down the streets with ease, taking in the warmth of this holy weather as he made his way to school. Though he loved the peace surrounding him, he missed Satoshi's company. It was the first time in a really long while since he'd last walked alone to school. And speaking of Satoshi's absence... how was he going to get through the entire day? Sure, Satoshi wasn't exactly a party animal, but his intelligent chat and the way in which he expressed his ideas always amused Daisuke. He had the power to turn a regular schooling day into a roller-coaster ride... no, not really, but still, Daisuke was definitely going to miss him for the rest of the week.

As he reached the entrance to the institute, he sighted a dark-haired boy getting lost amongst the crowd; Dark Mousy. Daisuke ran to catch up with the boy's pace, while thinking that he should at least try to get to know him better. Sure, he might look weird, but he was an interesting guy. He thought back to the previous day, when he spent lunch break with him and his friends. He was so cheerful, greeting them with a chirping tune, he seemed too happy to be convincing, actually. In fact, if he compared yesterday's Dark with today's he'd think they were complete opposites. That struck Daisuke as mysterious; he promised to dwell on it further as he finally caught up to the boy.

"Ohayou, Dark-san," he greeted him. The boy jumped in surprise; apparently, he hadn't seen him as he followed him. Having the boy so close to him, Daisuke could tell of the flickering emotions running wildly behind the boy's eyes. He could also witness his expressions changing, which only helped to increase his earlier suspicions; Dark had turned from a shy boy to a static ball of energy in only a fraction of second. Enough time for Daisuke to get a little worried about him.

"Ohayou, Niwa-san, you scared me a bit, but that's alright...!" he still didn't sound convincing to Daisuke, but the boy let it pass, nonetheless. He just walked next to him to their classroom, talking about last night's TV shows.

As they entered the room and walked to their respective seats, Dark suddenly got a little nervous. Daisuke would laugh at his reasons later. The boy had taken Satoshi's seat beside Daisuke and he was afraid the boy would take it badly. "Are you kidding? Why would I mind?" Daisuke smiled, dismissing the subject. The room filled quickly, even though the two boys had arrived early, and the professor walked to the front wall where the blackboard was. Silence engulfed the space within the four concrete walls as today's lesson started.

-o-

The day went by as any other would. Dark and Daisuke had been fooling around the entire day, during class, breaks and club sessions. Any time seemed fine for them to digress on the most unimportant matters. Truth is, Daisuke enjoyed every bit of the boy's company and the feeling seemed to be mutual; so much that he even invited Dark to have dinner at his home the next day. And as Wednesday's evening came, Daisuke walked Dark to his home, where his mother was waiting for them with the table laid and dinner served.

They had ramen and okonomiyaki for dinner and rice cake with sweet-bean sauce for dessert. The Niwas and their guest ate until their stomachs hurt and talked about many things afterwards, as they waited for the pain to subside. When they regained control of their limbs, Daisuke showed Dark to his room, where they played Warhammer and watched anime. Daisuke was glad to find out the boy shared most of his interests and their likes were quite similar and that, added to the wonderful time they were having, helped to push his suspicions about the boy away for a while.

When it was nearing midnight, Dark stood to leave. "Wait," Daisuke stopped him, almost unconsciously. "Wouldn't you like to sleep over? I mean, it's already got so dark outside..." The boy seemed to ponder on the option for a while and it seemed, in the end, he wasn't entirely convinced, but he agreed anyway. And so, Daisuke told his mother about the new arrangement and they prepared a futon for him to lie on while Dark took his host's bed. Sleeping over would be, as they'd soon find out, a very bad idea. The two boys spent half of the night talking and getting to know the other and, when they finally closed their eyes, it was already seven o-clock in the early morning. Emiko Niwa tried to wake them to go to school, but seeing as she wasn't going to succeed in her task, left the boys to sleep quietly.

Dark woke up six hours later. He watched as his new friend slept, while he relived everything they'd done last night in his mind. He couldn't believe that he'd had so much fun with a boy he barely knew. In fact, it seemed he'd never had that much fun before. This boy had a certain something... Dark wasn't sure of what he was thinking about anymore, but one thing was sure: he already liked Daisuke a lot; he felt he could be himself in his presence, he didn't need to pretend. But still, he needed time to let the mask fall off; he wanted to know more about him before telling him everything, before revealing his true self.

Daisuke chose that opportunity to wake up. He opened his eyes lazily, purring like a cat as he stretched his limbs; he wasn't accustomed to sleeping in a futon. He met his friend's gaze as he greeted him with a hoarse voice and his foot playfully hitting the boy in his head. Dark hit him back with a pillow and war ensued. Emiko, hearing the noises and the giggles coming from her son's room, went upstairs to tell the kids lunch was served. "So, Dark-kun, did you sleep well?" she asked to the boy before her. Said boy smiled brightly and answered that he hadn't slept that good in ages. Emiko seemed pleased with the response and walked out of the room. As soon as she closed the door behind her, another pillow fight started.

When the boys became too exhausted to fight, they headed downstairs into the kitchen for their much-needed lunch. As they ate, they talked about many things, most specially about school. But there was one thing that intrigued Dark and he asked Daisuke about it. "Niwa-kun, I was wondering, do you know what is the relationship between Krad and Satoshi?"

"Didn't you go to school with him? I thought you knew him better..."

"Yes," the boy acknowledged him, "I did, but we weren't really close and since I heard they were living together... I don't know, it just intrigued me. Are they lovers?"

Daisuke choked on his drink and his cheeks tinted red. He coughed a few times, making Dark worry; the older boy walked to where his friend was and patted him on the back a couple of times. The coughing subsided, but Daisuke's cheeks were still on fire. "WHAT??" he spat disbelieving at Dark.

"Well, they seem to be so close to the other... and since they ARE living together..." he pondered on the clues for a while, before turning to Daisuke once again. "So, they're not lovers?"

"Stop saying that!" the redhead exclaimed embarrassed as he tried to regain his composure. He took a few calming breaths and proceeded to explain things to Dark. "Krad and Satoshi are cousins, both of them belonging to the Hikari bloodline. Satoshi's parents died when he was seven and was soon adopted by mr. Hiwatari, who knew the Hikaris quite well. He took Satoshi with him, made him change his surname, educated him in his own fashion and tried to turn him into a clone of himself. He failed, needless to say. Six years after adopting Satoshi, Krad's parents died. He was 13 then and though it proved to be a tough challenge, Hiwatari thought to give him a chance and took him in, though there weren't any legal bonds between them.

"He tried to manipulate Krad the way he couldn't manipulate Satoshi, but failed again; Krad never caused him any trouble though, and usually did what he was told without complaining, so Hiwatari always liked him better. Satoshi grew up to be a bit resentful for his father's inattention, but Krad was always there to comfort him, earning the boy's trust and affection. Mr. Hiwatari grew more distant every day. His job didn't leave him much time to spend with his children and he was constantly travelling around the world, paying for the most expensive nannies to take care of the boys. Two years ago, when Krad was sixteen and started upper high-school, he bought a huge apartment for them to move into. Krad was supposed to take care of Satoshi, but the boy, given past experiences, could perfectly take care of himself, which he was sure to make clear to his father. They had a big fight because of that, but everything went back to normal after a while. The point is, Krad and Satoshi are cousins that were taken in by mr. Hiwatari."

"How queer..." Dark thought as he rubbed his chin pensively. "Why would someone like mr. Hiwatari, so young and successful, want to take care of two children?"

"Well," Daisuke said, looking sad as he smirked. "It's pretty obvious..." Dark looked at him puzzled; he couldn't see the obviousness in the predicament. His friend, watching his features contort in confusion, raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know anything about the Hikari family, Dark?" he asked as if he couldn't believe the boy was oblivious to it all. But indeed, he was; the dark-haired teen shook his head and Daisuke sighed. "The Hikari family is the most important family of the Azumano district. They are -how should I put this?- filthy rich. Krad and Satoshi are the very last descendants of the family and are bound to inherit every penny of the Hikaris as soon as they turn eighteen."

"Then, that means... Krad is already rich and powerful?" Dark's eyes had widened into saucers as he asked for reassurance. But Daisuke shook his head.

"Krad isn't eighteen yet, his birthday is in two months. But, yes, he will be rich and powerful, as you kindly put it. He'll only have a right over half of the Hikaris' wealth, though. Once Satoshi turns eighteen, he'll have the other half for himself. Still, the both of them will be filthy rich, as I told you before. With that said, I think it's pretty obvious why mr. Hiwatari took the boys with him, don't you think?"

Dark nodded. It was sad, if he were to be honest with himself. The man didn't love his children, he was just using them. Still, he trusted both Krad and Satoshi to know what to do and knew that neither was going to fall for the trick. In fact, he was sure that just as Krad turned eighteen, he would take Satoshi with him and they'd both forget about the man. But all of the money and power they'd have would never make up for the lack of affection. He stood pensive for a while, he wasn't sure for how long, until Daisuke waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, Dark, do you want to go to the park?" The boy nodded and soon they left the house.

They walked down the two blocks separating the Niwa home from the park in utter silence. Neither said or did anything that would betray what they were thinking. Somehow, having that conversation had made the both of them nervous, specially Daisuke. The boy, after telling Dark about his friend's story, regretted having done so. It seemed the story had made Dark feel a little sad and he didn't know why; it had also awaken some questions in his head about this new friend he had. He wanted to ask him about them, but after seeing the look on his face after finding out the truth about Krad and Satoshi, Daisuke wasn't sure he'd answer. Still, he thought it would be worth to try.

"Dark?" the older boy turned to look at him. "I was wondering..." Daisuke started fidgeting with a lose thread from his shirt as he led them both to a bench by the park's playground. "Earlier, when I told you about Krad and Satoshi..."

"Yes?" Dark didn't know where their conversation was going, but he was starting to feel a little too nervous for his own good.

Daisuke carried on, drawling each word, unsure of what to say or how to say it. "You didn't know about the Hikari family, even though it's the most important one of Azumano and everyone knows about it. And you... you live here and even went to school with Krad! I was wondering, exactly how could you remain oblivious to the whole story?"

Dark stared at the ground as he sat. Daisuke awaited for his explanation eagerly, but at the same time, he felt bad for asking him. It hadn't been his intention to put Dark in an awkward position and if he could erase his own words, he would have done it. Or that's what he wanted to believe, since, in all honesty, he was rather intrigued about that fact. The dark-haired boy finally looked up. His usual happy expression was gone, letting Daisuke see once again those feelings he'd tried to hide the other day. That sadness, the desolation he disguised as shyness, everything was there in his eyes; he could finally see it. This was the real Dark Mousy.

"It's true, I live here and I was born here and I went to school with Krad. I haven't lied to you," Dark said. Then, he brought up his gaze to meet Daisuke's as he told him, with all of his sincerity, "not yet, at least."

Daisuke reddened from the closeness between them. He turned his face away, trying to hide his blush, a reaction he didn't understand, and stuttered. "W- Why would you lie to me?" Dark laughed bitterly; his deep voice vibrated in his throat as he did so, making Daisuke get even redder. What is wrong with me?

"Don't misunderstand me," he clarified, "I wouldn't lie to you. I honestly don't know why, but I wouldn't." Why did he have to say that? Daisuke thought as his cheeks burned. "I'm actually glad you ask," the boy admitted to his friend, "no one ever did before, they just set me up so I'd slip and tell them. They didn't care, they just wanted to bother me..." Daisuke had absolutely no idea of what this boy was talking about, but he was sure what he was about to tell him wasn't good.

"I was born eighteen years ago," Dark started telling as he lost his gaze in the horizon. Without even realising, he had decided to let the mask fall sooner than he'd intended. "The same day I was born, my mother died." Daisuke winced; this story had started off the wrong way and he already regretted having asked. "My father took care of me. I don't know how good a parent he was, though; I don't even remember his face, since the last time I saw him was when I was three.

"I've been told, that one hot day of summer I was playing in the street with my father. He had entered the house to fetch a glass of juice for me, when someone appeared out of the blue, grabbed me and ran away to a car that was parked down the street. When my father came out again, there was nothing there but a note. I could never find out what the note said, though.

"I grew up here in Azumano, in a warm, healthy environment. My parents were very caring and attentive and they would do anything for me; I loved them. I have nothing but good memories of my past with them. Everything was fine until this one day, when it all went straight down to hell. My parents had received a letter and an unexpected visit, my birth father. I always knew I'd been adopted, they never lied to me, but they've been lied to. When they adopted me, they were told I was found abandoned in a dump. Of course, that was a lie, I'd been stolen, but they didn't know that and disbelieved my father's words. They kicked him out of the house, of course, and denied my being there. That happened when I was six.

"Well, it turns out that, a year later, when my parents could finally contact the people that gave me to them, they heard the truth from that people's mouths. The pain and the embarrassment they felt were so great that, later that year, they killed themselves. They were in the Hokkaido area at the time. I had been left here to start my studies at a small but really nice primary school a few blocks from our institute; that's where I met Krad. I had been living with my uncle by then, and I stayed with him after finding out they'd died, since he was my godfather...

"He was an incredible man, he cared for me as if I were his own son. I always loved him dearly. He taught me many things and tried to find out as much information he could gather from my past, just because he wanted me to be happy. He helped me a lot in many aspects of my life and I'll always be grateful for that. I lived with him up until last month, when I turned eighteen and he gave me, as my birthday gift, my own apartment. It's small but cosy and it's only two blocks from his house, so I see him everyday after work."

Daisuke interrupted the boy's story. "You work?"

Dark nodded. "I work at a grocery store near this park."

"But, yesterday, you spent the entire day at home..."

"Yes, but I asked for permission from my boss and he said it was alright. He's a fine old man," Dark said fondly. "And I only work four hours everyday, so he can easily replace me... or he can close the store earlier, but he's an ambitious little one..." he snickered happily, the memories from the story he'd been telling were still fresh in his mind. It ached, but when he thought of all the wonderful people he'd met during his life that had been supportive to him and had helped him so many times, the pain eased and allowed him to feel a little happiness.

Daisuke was rooted to the spot. Everything he'd found out, only three days after meeting this boy, was too much to bear. He couldn't believe he'd asked him such things. And to crown it all, he had no idea of what to do now. Should he comfort him? Should he tell him everything would be alright? Should he just stay quiet? What on earth am I supposed to do??!

"Don't get all nervous on me, Daisuke," Dark told him. "I don't regret telling you about my past. It might seem stupid, but I kinda trust you, even though we've only met a few days ago. You're the kind of person that would help others and be supportive instead of making fun of their problems. I've met a good deal of that people..."

Daisuke smiled. Dark trusted him and he trusted Dark, for whatever odd reasons, and that was enough. He had a few more questions to ask, but he'd find the time to ask them eventually. Meanwhile, the boys thought it was perfectly fine to simply enjoy each other's presence in that beautiful, peaceful park as they watched the toddlers play happily around them.

-o-o-o-

This chapter was named after a Dir En Grey song (I love Diru, it's one of my favourite bands). Oh, yeah, in this story, Satoshi's father hasn't got a single thing to do with the police; he's a quite successful business man. Since it's an AU, I can do whatever changes I want, isn't that sweet? For one, I made Daisuke a total geek, like me! Though I don't play Warhammer... Aaaaaaaaaanyway... please, review!!

And speaking about that, for this story, I'll actually take the time to answer reviews. I didn't do that for SMOT, because I couldn't see the reviews page and I was too lazy to copy each review from my mailbox into a clean .txt file. But all problems have now been fixed, on to the reviews then:

Inferno 13: I couldn't update any earlier than this. I hope the length of this chapter will make up for it.

darksaphire: ditz? Sorry, English is not my mother language, so I have no idea of what you meant. Though, I'm guessing, you meant he's rather naive, maybe a little stupid. Glad you think this is cool, and there will be funny moments, but i plan to keep it angsty.

yamiinuyusuke: yes! I have a fan, yay! I'm glad you're liking this so far!

baka-chibi-puffs: kyaaaa! You're my stalker, aren't you??? Gah! I have fans AND stalkers, what has the world come to???!!! Just kidding, you know I love you .

whiteangelguardian: Ah, but you were right to feel like that... the Dark you saw in the first chapter was not the real one!! Now you know the truth... mwahahaa cough sorry cough choke b-bye...

angel-of-shadows123: right you are, there aren't. Speaking about that, would someone, ANYONE, please tell me of some other archive, site, or whatever where I can find more Dark/Dai fics? I NEED MORE OF THOSE!!

Vespalady: don't be sad! Here's the update, a little late, but it's here at last!

Anyway, I'm really thankful for your reviews, though I hope I'll get a few more for this chapter... hint pleeeeeeeeeeeeease? Oh, well, I have to go now, ja ne!