A/N: Italics represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.
-o-o-o-
Aoi.
Chapter 8: Innermost...
"Um, Krad?"
"Yes, Satoshi?"
"I think you should take a look at this."
"What, the school paper?"
"Yeah, turn to page 5."
"Oh."
-o-
Daisuke was in a good mood that day, his smile stretching from his left ear to his right one. He thought he could hear bells resounding sweetly from afar and little birds chirping happy tunes that made his heart skip a few beats. Everything was beautiful in his perfect little world. Yes, life couldn't get any better for him.
"Dai-chan, Dark is here!"
Well, maybe it could.
Daisuke quickly pulled on his school uniform and rushed downstairs where his friend was waiting for him. Just as their gazes met, the images from the other night flowed back into their minds and they both looked away blushing. Emiko, who was standing between the two boys, frowned and wondered what could be the secret between them. Then again, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
The two boys headed out of the Niwa household and into the open streets of Azumano. The sky was clear and the weather was warm though not unbearably so; it was a perfect day, indeed. Daisuke looked up at his companion; Dark had a pensive look on his face and his gaze was focused in a faraway spot. The redhead looked back to the floor as he walked, he was really happy and he was worried his face might have betrayed him. What had happened in the play the other night was more than he had ever hoped for and even though it had been a weird, surprising experience, neither of them had uttered a single word about it. He wanted to scream to Dark how he felt like, but he hadn't gathered the courage yet. And, besides, Dark had been a professional, nothing in that kiss was real, it was all acting. Or so he liked to tell himself.
Dark walked calmly beside his friend, his breathing even and looking so serene one might have confused him for a sleepwalker... or a zombie. He felt as if floating on clouds, he saw everything as if from afar and his hearing echoed; it was rather scary, Dark decided. He turned to his friend in a moment of lucidity and everything seemed to clear. Daisuke met his gaze and soon the world materialised again; he could see and hear like everyone else and, of course, he was no longer calm. Yes, everything had gone back to normal.
"Um, Dai-kun," Dark risked saying, carefully avoiding his friend's gaze.
"Yes?"
"I meant to say this earlier, but..." the void of silence that had stretched between them made Daisuke nervous. He felt butterflies fluttering annoyingly in his stomach as he impatiently waited for Dark to speak. Maybe that kiss had meant something after all... "Thank you," the purple-haired teen said.
"N-- nani?" Daisuke asked not very intelligently with his eyes wide open and a genuine look of confusion evident on his face.
"I... wanted to thank you for being my, um, partner in the play," Dark explained everything, but Daisuke refused to understand. He wanted something more than this, he deserved much better. Then, if Dark wasn't going to say it, he was going to.
"Dark-kun, I think there's something you should kno--"
"Well, look at the two lovebirds..." a sneering voice mocked the two boys. A dark-haired boy walked past them, snickering with malice at the two boys. "My, who would have imagined our famous Daisuke Niwa was a fag? And Dark Mousy, looking all tough and unreachable... Niwa's bitch, ne? You could have done a lot better..."
By this moment Dark was fuming, glaring daggers at the idiot insulting not only him but the boy he loved. He stepped closer to the offender and crossed his arms over his chest, looking defiant. "And who are you to say such things?"
"My name is Funabashi," the boy declared, his mouth twisting into a smirk as he looked up at Dark's angry face, "you should remember your classmates' names."
"I try to ignore those whom I consider rather idiotic."
Funabashi's smirk widened and he raised an eyebrow. "Why would you change the subject, Dark-kun?" he asked all of a sudden making Dark frown at him. "You never denied being a fag," the boy carried on, "maybe it is that... you truly are...?"
Dark's eyes narrowed into tiny slits, making him look murderous. He wasn't sure of how to reply to that insinuation, but he decided he didn't care about the results. The only thing he wanted was for this Funabashi guy to leave him and Daisuke alone. "I'm not going to speak for him," he said, pointing to Daisuke, "but I have no problem in admitting my being gay." Daisuke deadpanned. Of all the things he thought Dark would say, this was the least expected; he was, for once, truthfully stunned and speechless. "And, before you ask," Dark carried on with his speech, "I'd like to make perfectly clear that we -as in Daisuke and I- are nothing more than friends. Now," he spoke threateningly as he lowered his face to evenly meet Funabashi's gaze, "I'd like to know, before you run away afraid of getting hurt, how you reached that insane conclusion about my being "Niwa's bitch," as you kindly put it."
Funabashi was shivering now, facing a Dark he'd never known. Suddenly feeling apprehensive, he handed the day's school paper to Dark who took it without ever taking his gaze off the boy's. Dark gestured for him to go on and Funabashi went on walking to school without making a single noise. Daisuke was still stunned, the power Dark had over the boy had somehow aroused him. That was so... sexy, he thought, feeling a little bit guilty.
Dark turned to smile at him, finally returning to his usual self, as he unfolded the paper for them both to see. Flipping through the pages, they got to the 'entertainment' section, where a picture of two boys kissing onstage made them freeze. Daisuke read aloud the article accompanying the picture, flinching with each word:
'Onegai,' the long time awaited play by the Hiro no Yume theatre group was, as expected, a great success. With all tickets sold, this romantic masterpiece gathered over a thousand shounen-ai fans in his first and only show. This is a record in what relates to our underground scene and has guaranteed this group's fame for years to come.
The plot is rather simple, but the way in which has been written and the beauty of its staging gave it a mature look. It is also necessary to stress the accuracy of the main actors' performances. Dark Mousy, in his role of Tenryuu Yokoyama, managed to make us, the audience, feel the same emotions he felt; insecurity, fear, shame, happiness, everything he felt we did twice. Certainly, we will be hearing more of him in the future. But of course, he wouldn't have been able to pull such a perfect performance without the help of his co-protagonist, Daisuke Niwa. This boy, unknown even to the underground circuit, played the part of Masuo; he spoke each word with such sincerity it was hard to believe this was nothing more than a mere act. In fact, more than one person imagined them to be more than mates. Here are some comments from random members of the audience...
"Kami-sama..." Dark moaned as the information finally sunk in. "They know... the whole school knows... Satoshi and Krad know... everyone knows..."
"I can't believe this," Daisuke told him, "I just cannot."
"I see you've found out," a voice spoke carefully. Krad approached the two boys with his cousin and Saga clinging to his arm, like a bunny hugging a carrot. "You had it well-kept, this secret, I mean."
"I thought you trusted us," Satoshi feigned disappointment. "Then again, I can perfectly understand why you did it..."
The two boys remained speechless. Deciding they weren't ready to face school that day, Keiji, Satoshi and Krad dragged them to the blue-haired boy's apartment. Once they reached the safety of the building, Dark and Daisuke were forced to explain everything about the play, the decision of keeping it secret and the now infamous kiss. Keiji already knew everything, of course, but neither Satoshi nor Krad seemed the least bit surprised either. Not only about the kiss itself, their eyes betrayed their opinion: neither could understand how, after all that had happened, the two lovebirds hadn't confessed their feelings towards each other yet. Still, they let it pass, spending the entire day fooling around, watching TV and playing games to distract the two boys from their problems. When it was time for them to go home, Keiji, Dark and Daisuke waved their friends goodbye and headed for their respective houses. Before they split ways, though, Keiji spoke.
"I know you're still upset about what happened, but... the play was really good and you did an excellent job, so you should both be proud. I mean, be a little more professional! It was only acting after all, ne?" Dark and Daisuke blushed -it seemed they had done it quite a lot of times that day-, the former wanting to strangle his dear friend. "Ah, anyway, you ought to be just as happy as the rest of the cast is, hell, even more. I didn't even get mentioned in the article!" Both boys turned to glare at Keiji, who laughed nervously. "Ah, well, never mind... the point is, I'll be waiting for you both at home, tonight at midnight."
"What for?" Daisuke curiously asked.
"For the celebration party! We beat all the other plays of the underground circuit, we had a thousand-people audience! And the reviews for the play have all been good, not only in our dear school paper but in every other daily publication of Azumano!" Daisuke's head snapped up, realising his grandfather read the paper every morning after he left for school. Oh, no, now my entire family knows as well... I want to die... "I won't take 'no' for an answer, okay? If you're not in my apartment tonight by half past twelve, I will personally hunt you down and drag you there if necessary. See you then, Dai-chan!"
Dark waved at him as he walked away with Keiji. Daisuke shook his head and moved onwards to his home, praying with each step that his grandfather had been kind enough to keep his mouth shut. But just as he opened the door to his home, he realised that was asking much.
Emiko, Kosuke and Daiki Niwa were standing cross-armed by the door, all of them three wearing their best 'you-got-some-explaining-to-do-boy' looks. Daisuke sighed and looked down as he apologised. "I'm sorry, mother, father, grandfather; I shouldn't have done that."
The three grown-ups looked at each other puzzled and then back to the boy before them. It was Daiki who spoke. "Daisuke, we're not mad at you for doing... that," he said, feeling a little uncomfortable. "We want to know why you kept this secret."
"Yes, Dai-chan," Emiko told her son, "if you ever have a problem, you can tell any of us about it."
Daisuke furrowed his brow in a questioning look. "I don't have a problem," he said and it was true. Emiko smiled a motherly smile at him and nodded, indicating she didn't believe him. "I don't have a problem," Daisuke stated once again, this time louder and more firmly than before.
"Son," Kosuke addressed him, "there has to be a reason for you to do something like this."
"Of course, there is!" Daisuke burst out without even thinking, "I love Dark and I wanted to get close to him, that's all, I don't have a--" the redhead covered his mouth, realising what he'd said out loud and without intending to.
"WHAT?" his parents screamed in unison.
"Um, I... have to go, too much homework..." Daisuke laughed and backed away as discreetly as he could, only to be caught by his father's hands.
"Are you telling me that my only son, my Daisuke, is... is... is... Oh, I can't even SAY it!" Kosuke screeched, releasing Daisuke and covering his eyes as he cried in a rather dramatic way.
"I'm not going to have grandkids??? Oh, why, why are you so cruel, Dai-chan???" Emiko broke into tears and clung to her husband as he did so.
"Um," Daiki said, "I think you should give them time to adjust to this, um, turn of events." Daisuke was thankful, to say the least, to his grandfather. "I mean, they're not as bright as I am..."
"You knew about this?" Daisuke asked him, unsettled about his statement.
"Well," Daiki snickered, "I would have been blind not to notice!"
Daisuke didn't know if he ought to be glad or scared. Heading upstairs into his room, he dropped all of his things and lay on the bed. That day had been of the longest in his entire life yet and it threatened to get even worse. He looked at his watch; it was already seven, he had barely four hours before getting ready for Keiji's party. Do I really want to go? He asked himself, though he already knew the answer. Of course, I want to. I haven't told Dark what I felt yet, I have to do something... and I have to do it tonight. With that last thought, he fell asleep.
-o-
It was half past ten. Dark was preparing his dinner, a cheese sandwich; he wasn't very gifted in the culinary area and he was very tired after a long day of work. He had to catch up to all of the working hours he'd missed the past weeks before his boss would fire him. He sighed as he placed the sandwich on a plate and carried it to the living room along with a glass of apple juice. He sat in front of the TV, he wanted to clear his mind before it was time to go to Keiji's. He flipped through the channels, trying to find something decent to watch; he was rather picky with TV programs, actually. He realised there wasn't anything of his interest at the time, not even anime, so he settled for Utaban. At least those guys were funny.
Dark was about to munch on his food when the telephone rang. Setting the sandwich back on the plate, he lazily walked to his bedroom, where the telephone was. "Hello?" he asked to the one interrupting his dinner.
"Hi, Dark, it's me... Daisuke."
"Oh, um, how are you?"
"I could be doing a lot better actually..."
"Why, what happened?"
"Long story, I'll tell you later..."
"Oh, so you're coming to the party?"
"Yeah, in fact, I was thinking... would it be alright if I picked you up at half past eleven? It's just that, I don't really know where Keiji's house is."
"Sure, we'll go together..." Dark paused momentarily to take in the last word he'd spoken. Gulping down the lump in his throat, he told Daisuke he'd be waiting for him and hung up abruptly. Daisuke, on the other side of the line was a little disquieted by the unexpected reaction, but he let it pass. After all, this night would prove to be a decisive one and he didn't want to get any more nervous than he already was by thinking nonsense.
Dark went back to his couch in front of the TV and munched on his sandwich as he'd intended to before being interrupted by his friend. The people of Utaban were interviewing some new pop artist, whom Dark wasn't interested in. He turned off the TV before he'd finished eating. The sandwich didn't take much longer to disappear though, and soon Dark was doing the washing up of all the things he'd used. After he was done, he went to his bedroom to pick a few clothes form his wardrobe and headed straight for the bathroom to have a much needed bubble bath. He needed to relax a bit, after all.
As he hid himself in the pinkish foam, he let his thoughts flow freely. Everything that had happened in the past week, from his boss' warning to the kiss with Daisuke, was coming back to his mind in violent floods. He hadn't taken time to simply ponder on his things since that last time he sat on a park bench alone with himself at the late hours of night. He thought it was weird to be doing that, it didn't seem that much useful, but he found he couldn't go on if he didn't do it. It was like a primary need for him, to simply rest for a while and think; it was as if he were studying himself through his thoughts. And after doing that, only after having done so, he would know where he stood and what to do next. Otherwise, everything was nothing more than a blurry mist before his eyes. I'm weird... he thought with a smirk on his face as he snorted.
Ding dong.
The doorbell ringing distracted him from himself and brought him back to reality. He checked on the bathroom wall's clock and realised that it was already half past eleven. He guessed that was probably Daisuke standing behind his door and climbed out of the tub dripping wet and cursing, taking in the wrinkles on his skin. Damn...
Ding ding dong.
"In a minute!" he yelled from the bathroom as he dried himself off and pulled on a bathrobe. The ringing ceased; apparently, Daisuke had heard him. He made sure his feet were dry -he didn't want to leave any footprints on the apartment's carpet- and headed for the door. Making sure it was Daisuke who waited for him, he opened up the door and stepped aside, letting his friend enter his home. "Hi," he told the redhead in a tiny, embarrassed voice. When Daisuke saw him covered with only a robe, his hair soaking wet and looking tousled from washing... well, the indecent teenager's thoughts running wildly in his mind turned him into a tomato, his cheeks going a bright shade of red.
As Daisuke looked away, Dark said, "I'm sorry, Daisuke, I'll have to leave you alone for a while; I need to get dressed," he finished, finding himself blushing and barely noticing the similar look on his friend's face. "Help yourself," he told the boy, "there's juice in the fridge and cookies in the cupboard under the sink; you can turn on the TV or the stereo, I'll be back in a moment." With that, he walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind.
Daisuke was left standing in the same spot where he'd first spotted his friend's cotton clad figure. Shaking his head, he hesitatingly walked to the kitchen and helped himself with a glass of juice. He didn't know why, but his throat had gone dry all of a sudden. Sipping on his cold drink, he went to the living room and turned on the TV. He zapped through the channels, one after the other, finding nothing decent to see. Turning off the TV, he simply sat and tried to relax as he measured the words he'd be telling Dark later that evening.
Just as he'd promised, Dark was back after only a few minutes of getting ready for the party. Doing justice to his name, he was clad in black clothes; leather trousers, a tight, sleeveless shirt that glittered in the shadows and a stud-belt. His hair, though still wet, looked as gorgeous as ever, falling freely around his face and curling on its ends. He was, Daisuke decided, simply stunning; beautiful.
"So, should we get going?" Dark asked. His redheaded friend answered with a nod and they both left the apartment. Dark locked the door behind him and called for the elevator. They waited for a few minutes, but the thing refused to work. "Ne, Dai-chan, was this thing working when you came here?" Daisuke nodded and Dark frowned. Shrugging, he said "then I guess someone left the door open. Ah, well, it's only three floors after all..." The two boys started walking down the steps in silence. The only sound between them came from the friction between Dark's trousers' left and right legs. "This is what I hate about these things," he told Daisuke, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"That's okay," Daisuke told him between a sudden fit of giggles, "I'm not doing any better." He referred to the fact that he was wearing rubber cargo-pants that sent warm breezes through his legs every time he moved.
"At least those don't speak..."
"If you hate them that much," Daisuke reasoned as he tried stifling his laughter, "why do you wear them?"
Snickering, Dark stopped in his tracks and gestured to his entire body. "What do you think?" Daisuke didn't respond, he merely blushed and looked away. Suddenly uncomfortable, Dark went on walking, occasionally checking behind his back to see if Daisuke was following.
The walk to Keiji's apartment was uneventful. Again, there was nothing but the sound of Dark's trousers reverberating in the echoing silence as they moved forwards. They would meet the other's gaze and smile from time to time, but that only helped them feel even more nervous than they already were. "Um, this is Keiji's place," Dark told Daisuke once they'd reached an ancient-looking building. He rang the bell and waited for Keiji to come down to let them in. The blond didn't take long, as he came bouncing up and down the stretch between the foot of the stairs and the entrance of the building where his friends were waiting for him.
"Hi!" he greeted them cheerfully. "I'm so glad you could make it," he told Daisuke, "I knew this thug was going to come, but I was worried about you." Getting closer to the redhead, he whispered, "ne, did he promise you something in exchange for your attending the party?" He raised his eyebrows for emphasis, making Daisuke blush so red he thought he'd be having a pressure rise. "Ne, Dark, don't get angry with me..." Keiji told his friend who was glaring daggers at him. "What do you want me to say? Just look how you're dressed, anyone would misunderstand..."
"I hate you so much..."
"No, you don't, you know that." Keiji smiled happily as he held his friends by their hands and dragged them into the building and up the stairs to the second floor. One could easily tell which one was Keiji's apartment. For one, there was only one apartment per floor, but also because the boy's door was a bright yellow colour with a bunch of small, colourful banners plastered on its surface. Some of them simply read the boy's name, while others had phrases such as 'whip it good!' or 'love shack' It was weird, to say the least.
"Do you really live here?" Daisuke asked him.
Keiji turned to smile a toothy smile at him as he goofily answered, "yeah, cool, isn't it?" Daisuke looked at Dark who looked away as they both tried not to laugh at the ridiculously decorated door. It felt out of place in the old, rusty building painted grey; it was yellow, after all... But nevertheless, Keiji seemed quite fond of that door. And just why am I thinking about that bloody door, anyway? Daisuke asked himself.
When the three friends entered the apartment, they were greeted by the happy (-ly drunk) people of the Hiro no Yume group. Some of them were on top of a wooden stage singing and dancing to 'Gekiai Merry Go Round,' a song by Psycho Le Cému, Keiji's favourite band. It was rather fun to see, Daisuke decided between claps and cheers and some distant catcalls. Once the song was over and the five actors got down the unsafe-looking stage, the redhead noticed there was a karaoke system in the left corner. He feared the worst when someone, a boy named Yuu, pushed him towards the stage. He hated singing and the idea of jumping onstage and singing in front of all those people didn't seem much appealing. Thankfully, Dark was there to save his honour as he volunteered to sing the Sailor Moon opening, 'Moonlight Densetsu.'
Okay, now this is... scary, Daisuke thought worriedly. Somehow, the image of a leather-clad Dark singing shoujo anime songs didn't seem to fit. Yes, something was either deliberately wrong or he simply ignored a few aspects of Dark's life. And yet, as he stared at the silly dancing of his friend as he sang, he knew this was the real Dark; the one that only sought happiness. Yes, Dark, who had to suffer the most awful disgraces, now wanted to live his life the best he could.
When the song was over, a group of (still) sober people had gathered in the living room. They were sitting in a circle and in its centre was an empty bottle of vodka. Dark patted his friend on the back and motioned for him to drink something, as he handed him a glass of beer. Daisuke was hesitant, but took it nonetheless. Only a second later, they were being dragged into the circle by Keiji who sat them opposite each other. The blond sat next to Daisuke to prevent his running away. Dark made a gesture of apology from the other side of the circle as he was forced to spin the bottle. Granted, it pointed at a boy. There are only five girls in this group and none of them is playing! Are all of these people gay? Daisuke asked himself feeling genuinely curious. Still, his curiosity was soon replaced for utter jealousy and a feeling of disappointment: the bottle was pointing at none other than Keiji.
"Oh, joyous day!" Keiji squealed, making Dark snicker as he approached him. Their lips met for a very brief instant in which Daisuke fumed and Dark felt guilty for unknown reasons. "Ah, you could have been a bit more passionate, Dark-kun! We've known each other since we were little, after all..." Keiji exclaimed, pretending to be hurt. Dark laughed and poked his tongue out at him, regretting it the moment he laid eyes on Daisuke; the redhead was looking sullen and upset and he somehow guessed it was his fault.
It was now Keiji's turn to spin the bottle, stopping with its neck pointing at himself. "Um, well, this means I get to choose..." He rubbed his hands and snickered with malice as his friends laughed. "I want to kiss..." knowing it would probably cost him dearly, he risked everything he had with his choice. "I want to kiss Daisuke!" I so love to bother my friends, he thought gleefully. Keiji looked to his right, where the redhead sat staring at the floor and seething with rage; he had no idea of what was about to happen, so caught up in his own thoughts he was. "Ne, Dai-chan..." Keiji smiled as the boy looked up. He puckered up his lips and Daisuke shook his head frantically, unwilling to kiss him. This is so embarrassing... "Come on, Dai-chan, I'm not that awful a kisser," Keiji teased him and the redhead gave in. He had agreed to play this game and now he had to bear the consequences. Keiji pecked him on the lips sweetly, as if he'd known he had little experience on these things. It was rather soothing in a way and Daisuke felt more at ease with the situation; this was all a game, after all.
Keiji pulled away quickly, not wanting to mess things up that much and passed the bottle to Daisuke. The redhead spun the offered object and prayed for all he was worth that it would point to either Dark or himself. But, as it usually happened, luck poked its tongue out at him and made a very unhappy person of himself. The bottle had stopped in front of a boy he knew from the play's cast; he was the one who played the part of Masuo's brother, Nakaya. Daisuke cursed himself as Nakaya all too happily crawled to where he was to collect his kiss. It was short and very uncomfortable, Daisuke decided, and he was glad it ended soon. This boy spun the bottle and the game kept going in its usual, redundant routine.
Daisuke looked at his watch; it was almost two in the evening and this so-called party was getting more and more boring with each passing minute. To make matters worse, he'd seen Dark kiss at least three more boys, which was something that didn't appeal to him in the slightest. Fortunately, the people of the circle had grown tired of playing and went back to their initial activities: dancing and drinking. Yes, everything was fine once again.
Daisuke grabbed another glass of beer before walking to the couch and sitting down. He was soon followed by Keiji, who took the empty seat beside him. "Are you alright?" the blond asked Daisuke. The redhead didn't respond, he simply glared at him and sipped on his drink. Keiji sighed and looking serious for what Daisuke thought was the first time, he told him, "I didn't know you would get so upset about a stupid, little game..."
Daisuke turned to look at him, the glare still glowering though softened by a thin layer of watery substance. Tears; tears of helplessness he was trying to fight back. "You don't know what you are talking about..."
"Yes, I do," Keiji insisted. "I've always done..."
"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked him, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his T-shirt.
"About..." Making sure no-one could see him, Keiji whispered in the redhead's ear. "I'm talking about you and Dark." Daisuke froze and turned to look at him with a questioning stare. "Yes, I know you like him."
"Then, if you do," Daisuke tried to process the overload of information. "If you know... why did you let him kiss you? Why did you kiss me?" He was starting to cry now, tears softly running down his cheeks as he tried to hide his face from the people in the room.
"It was nothing more than a game!" Keiji tiredly exclaimed, his voice never rising above a whisper. "I was trying to make this entertaining!" With a more wicked twist to his smirk, he looked almost flirtatious. "And besides," he told Daisuke in a mocking way, "you liked my kiss, didn't you?" Daisuke looked away, he was tired of all these games; he just wanted to tell Dark how he felt and have those feelings returned. He wasn't asking for much, or so he liked to think. "Dark loves you," Keiji told him, as if answering to his unasked question. For an instant, the world seemed to stop spinning. Everything either living or lifeless had stopped moving, there was only the even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the echoing of Keiji's words. Still, as the effects of such blissful statement started to fade, he noticed his surroundings. Everything was real again and he could see and hear everything that was going on in the room. Everything, even the image that shattered his heart into a million pieces.
"If he does love me, as you just told me," he addressed Keiji with such pain in his voice that the blond himself felt hurt. "Why is he kissing another boy?" He finished his question just as he stood to leave. Keiji tried to catch up to him, but he got distracted by the sight of his best friend trying to fight off a boy who was clinging to him for dear life. Oh, no, he complained as he pushed past the dancing people to where Dark was still struggling to get free. This is going to get ugly...
"You, idiot! Leave my friend alone!" He screamed as he violently pushed the drunken boy off Dark. The purple-haired teen looked relieved, to say the least. That smile vanished though, once Keiji dragged him towards the door and briefly told him, "Daisuke saw what you did and now he's pissed off; get to him before it's too late." With those last words, Dark found himself standing outside the apartment's door, dumbfounded. Nevertheless, once the meaning of the message sunk in he made a mad dash down the stairs.
When he reached the ground floor, he nearly panicked. There was no-one there and the entrance door was wide open. He cursed his own luck as he ran out of the building and in the direction of Daisuke's house. Just as he'd imagined, he found the boy walking round the corner of a street that headed to his home. He was crying and he looked angry, making Dark feel uncertain about approaching him. Still, he hadn't many choices so he decided to simply follow his instincts.
"Daisuke, wait!" he yelled at the boy. Daisuke looked back and started to run, obviously trying to avoid any contact between them. But Dark was faster and managed to catch up to him and grabbed the boy by his left elbow. The redhead struggled to free himself, but all of his efforts were futile; Dark was not only faster than he was, but also stronger. "What is wrong with you? Why are you so angry?"
"I'm not angry!" Daisuke screamed in a rather unconvincing way.
Dark was still holding onto the boy, but the redhead was putting up such a fight that it was hard to keep him in place. Suddenly exhausted, Dark pushed the boy into a wall and towered over him, trapping him where he was standing with his arms placed on each side of his head. "I didn't do anything to you, Daisuke, why is it that all of a sudden you hate me! I thought we were friends!"
"That is exactly what I thought," Daisuke replied bitterly, "and that is what I tried to change."
"What do you mean?"
There were a few seconds of dramatic silence. Daisuke sighed and looked up, his red, glassy eyes meeting Dark's. "Haven't you noticed still?" He looked away, setting his gaze on a cat that sat on the far end of the street. He snorted, "Keiji told me you loved me. Can you believe it? For an instant I thought he was telling the truth..."
Dark lowered his gaze to the ground, letting his arms drop from the wall. Snickering bitterly, he let the mask fall. "He was telling the truth."
Daisuke would have listened to the angels singing and the bells ringing if only he hadn't witnessed the earlier scene. He could not believe him, as much as he wanted to, after seeing him kiss another boy. "No, he couldn't have been," he refused to believe him, it was simply impossible. "I saw you kissing that other boy."
"What?" Dark shrieked with disbelief.
"I saw you," Daisuke repeated. "You wouldn't have done that if you really loved me."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Dark screamed, he wasn't going to let this pass unnoticed.
"You sound just like me only moments ago..." Daisuke tried to snicker, but all that he managed was to prevent an angry sob. "I don't know why Keiji said that, but he sure was wrong..."
"No, he wasn't!" Dark finally exclaimed, fed up with the world and the many twists of fate and life. He was tired of running away, of trying to hide; he was sick of everything and he would throw himself into damnation if he didn't do something about his situation. "I love you, Daisuke. I've tried to hide it, because I thought you would reject me. I still have my doubts, but I'm tired of hiding. I love you. Now, whether you believe me or not, is your problem."
Daisuke met his gaze once again. He could see the sincerity in the boy's eyes, the flush on his cheeks as he made his confession. He could see it all, but there was still one thing he didn't understand. "Why did you kiss him?"
Dark threw his arms up in the air in frustration. This was getting annoying, but he thought he might as well explain before it got any worse. "I didn't do that! The drunken idiot was touching me and trying to kiss me and I kept trying to shove him away!" There was a pause in which Dark made sure Daisuke believed him. He sighed, gathering the courage he needed to speak those last words the kept clouding his thoughts; "the only one I want to kiss... is you."
With that, he brought his lips to meet Daisuke's. Though they had already kissed, nothing could be compared to this. Dark hungrily drunk in the sweetness of Daisuke's mouth, which tasted strongly of beer and salt, he guessed that was because of the tears he'd been crying. The redhead wrapped his arms around Dark, clutching him protectively and claiming him his property. He'd waited long enough for this to happen and now he wasn't going to let it go. Whatever happened, whatever words were spoken, nothing would ever change his mind. He would never let Dark go. That was the last thought that crossed his mind before everything went black.
-o-
Ta-dannnn! You cannot complain: this chapter was 10 (ten) pages long!! I tried with all of my might to write it decent, but, hell, you're the only ones to judge. Ah, my Writer's Block is slowly fading away. Still, it's a pity that I'm recovering when the story is ending... yes, the story is coming to an end: next chapter's the last and then there's the epilogue and then... that's it, finito, no more. Until I get another plot going (no more Aus, they're not easy to write). But thou must not grieve, for I have more than one idea that might be put into paper. Until then, you have Kirei. hint
Chapter notes:
The title: it comes from one of my favourite songs by the Japanese deity: Közi. Who is this Közi guy? He used to play the guitar in Malice Mizer (my favourite band), where Gackt and Klaha (and some Tetsu guy) used to sing. The other guitarist of this band is quite famous; Mana, who is now in Moi Dix Mois, is the most popular cross-dresser in Japan. Yeah, that was quite a bit of information, ne? You should download something by any of those artists I mentioned; they're all amazing...
Funabashi is evil? Yes, in this story, this cool, though unknown, character is rather stupid, annoying and simply disgusting.
The theatre group's name, 'Hiro no Yume,' means something like 'rabbit's dream.' Needless to say, I named it like that because of our beloved bunny-sensei's obsession with, well, bunnies. And the play's name, 'Onegai,' (as far as I know) means 'please.' All you Japanese speakers are invited to correct me if I'm wrong.
Utaban: I have no idea if that show is still on air, but I couldn't think of anything else. And, besides, I'm in love with those interviews they did to Gackt and some of their comments won them a tiny little part of my heart. Those guys are funny, indeed... butabara!! (don't ask...)
The banners on Keiji's door: 'Whip it' is an eighties' classic by Devo. 'Love Shack' is, perhaps, the B'52s most famous song. Those two I like lots... I'm a sucker for eighties' music...
Random names that appeared on the text: Yuu (that's the name of one of the Goddesses' pilots in Megami Kouhosei); Nakaya (Shino's son in Sakende Yaruze! -I love that manga-)
Well, that's it for now; I really hope you liked it. If so, please, leave a review. I feed on those... and, yes, I'm still obsessed with Hellsing... --;
Review time: ne, only three reviews? I'm sad... I hope I'll be getting more with thi chapter (come on!! It's TEN pages long!!! Be nice to me!!! ...please?)
Staryday: I hope this answered your question (which I think it did). They kissed again, awwww....
KageKitsune16: la li ho! (this is how Gravitation affects our lives... pathetic, ne?) I'm really glad you liked it and that I made you happy. You make me happy with your reviews, so you know what to do hinthint
Pyro Demon: it's the seventh chapter. I thought I'd fixed that little detail... guess not then, off to fix it now. Glad you liked last chapter, I hope you like this one just as much.